Passport Hunting

Hey everyone! 👋
Just wanted to share a massive milestone on a project I’ve been working on for a long time: I am on a dedicated mission to collect every single passport flag on Chess.com!
As of today, I have officially hit 216 out of 244 countries and territories. Reaching the final stretch has been an incredible ride, and it really shows just how beautiful and global this community is.

Flags I Still Need (The Final 28) I am down to the absolute endgame. If you have any of these flags on your profile, or if you know an active player who does, please send a challenge or drop a comment! I am happy to play any time control (Bullet, Blitz, Rapid, or Daily):
- Anguilla (ai) (done)
- Antigua/Barbuda (ag) (done)
- British Virgin Islands (vg) (done)
- Brunei (bn) (done)
- Burundi (bi) (done)
- Cayman Islands (ky) (done)
- Chinese Taipei / Taiwan (xt) (done)
- Comoros (km) (done)
- Curacao (cw) (done)
- Dominica (dm) (done)
- Equatorial Guinea (gq) (done)
- French Guiana (gf) (done)
- Gabon (ga) (done)
- Grenada (gd) (done)
- Guinea (gn) (done)
- Guinea-Bissau (gw) (done)
- Jersey (je) (done)
- Laos (la) (done)
- Liberia (lr) (done)
- Montserrat (ms) (done)
- Namibia (na) (done)
- New Caledonia (nc) (done)
- Palau (pw) (done)
- Sint Maarten (sx) (done)
- South Sudan (ss) (done)
- The Gambia (gm) (done)
- Tonga (to) (done) (done)
- Western Sahara (eh) (done)

Reflections on the JourneyThis quest has given me a little bit of everything:
- 🤝 Meeting incredibly chill, supportive people from corners of the earth I never thought I'd connect with.
- 🌍 Gaining a massive appreciation for how truly global chess is.

If you are on a similar passport-hunting journey, drop your current count below! Let's connect, share tips, and help each other finish our collections.
Thanks to everyone who has helped me get to 216. Let's finish this off strong! 💙

Hey everyone! 👋

I am thrilled to share a massive update to my passport-hunting journey: The ultimate endgame is officially over. I have successfully collected every single passport flag on Chess.com!

From starting out with just a handful of local flags to tracking down the final, incredibly rare territories, reaching a perfect 244 out of 244 feels surreal. My last missing pieces, including Guinea-Bissau (gw), have finally crossed the finish line.

Looking back at this quest, it was never just about ticking off boxes on a digital trophy case. It completely changed how I view the chess world. I have traded moves and shared conversations with players from tiny island nations, remote territories, and corners of the globe I only ever read about on maps. The chess community showed up in a massive way. From people sharing contacts to players hopping online at odd hours just to help a stranger cross a flag off their list, the support was unmatched.

For those of you still out there grinding on your own passport hunts, do not give up! It takes time, but the community is out there and ready to help you fill your passport book. If you are currently hunting, drop your count or your rarest find in the comments below so I can cheer you on.

Mission complete. Cheers to a truly global game!

PS: For anyone looking for advice on how to target those last few rare flags, my best tip is to constantly monitor the open challenges lobby, or use the member search tool to filter by the specific country you need. Look for players who are currently online from that region and send them a direct challenge!

Congrats on 168! That is a solid foundation, but you are exactly right, it becomes a real grind from here on out.

To answer your question: yes, you definitely want to switch over to a PC for this. While the open challenges lobby does exist on mobile, it is incredibly limited compared to the desktop website.

On the mobile app, it only shows a small fraction of the total pool, mostly just Daily challenges (where players have a day or more per move). On top of that, the app completely hides the country flags on this menu, making it useless for passport hunting. If you still want to check it out on mobile, you can find it by tapping the "Play" button on the home screen, then tapping the downward arrow directly below "Play against Coach". From there, select "Custom Game" and look at the top for "Open Challenges".

For flag hunting, the PC website is mandatory because it shows you the full live list with flags. To find it on the web, go to "Play Online" under "Play" (or use this link i think is the same: https://www.chess.com/play/online). Click on "Custom Challenge", and then look at the top right of that specific setup You will see a small icon that looks like a chessboard with an eye on it. Click that icon, and it will open up the real, unfiltered list of open challenges.

TL;DR: The app technically has a version of it hidden away, but it is too limited for flag hunting. Use the PC, open that challenge list with the eye icon, and your grind will get a lot easier!