Make a chess puzzle video: set up the position, hold, reveal the solution
A puzzle video is a position, a question, a pause and an answer. ChessDrama Studio lets you set up any position, hold on it for as long as you like with "White to play" on screen, and then play the solution with zooms, flags and sound, in landscape for YouTube or vertical for Shorts.
Set up the position
Open Set up position and drag pieces onto the board until it matches the puzzle; the FEN is shown as you go and the panel tells you if the position is not legal. If you already have the puzzle as a FEN, paste it as a PGN with a FEN header and the studio opens at that position. A puzzle from a game you played is simpler still: import the game and start the line from the position where the tactic appears.
Build the puzzle
The shape of a puzzle clip that people stop scrolling for.
- A title card with the question: "White to play and win", "Mate in two", "Find the only move."
- Hold on the starting position. A flag on it keeps the board still at the slower pace set for moves with text, and more than one frame on the same position, each with its own flag, holds it as long as you like while you count down to the answer in your own words.
- Reveal the first move with a zoom so the piece is unmistakable on a phone screen, and a flag with one line on why it works.
- Play the rest of the line at a brisker pace, with arrows for the threats and a spotlight on the mating net.
- Finish on the final position with the result on screen and the defeated king toppled.
Wrong answers and side lines
Puzzle videos are better when they show why the obvious move fails. Add the tempting try as a variation; branches stay in the project and you can make a clip of the refutation as well as of the solution. A flag on the losing move saying what goes wrong teaches more than the right answer alone.
Sound and voice
Move clicks and a heavy thud on captures give the reveal its weight. Record a voice-over clip against the first move to pose the question, and another against the solution, or let the robot voice read your flags. Or record the playback yourself and talk through the solution live, which is free.
Export for Shorts or YouTube
Render in 9:16 for TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts, or 16:9 for a puzzle series on YouTube, up to 4K at 60 frames a second, on Pro at 5 US dollars a month. Free accounts record the playback with their own screen recorder.
Questions
- Can I import puzzles from Lichess or Chess.com?
- Copy the puzzle's FEN and paste it into the studio as a PGN with a FEN header, with the solution moves after it, or set the position up by hand in a minute. The studio does not fetch puzzles by number.
- How do I pause on the position before the answer?
- Moves with text on them play at their own, slower pace, so a flag on the starting position holds it. For longer, give the position several frames, each a scene of its own with a flag. A voice-over clip holds the move until it finishes too.
- Can I show a countdown?
- Not as a built-in timer. A series of flags on the same position, each a frame of its own, lets you count down in words, and a voice-over can do it aloud.
- Can I make a batch of puzzle videos?
- Save each puzzle as a project and keep your board colours, fonts and timings as a global preset, so every clip in the series looks the same. Pro renders queue up to ten an hour.