Welcome to ChessMind Pro! I'm your chess coach. You play as White (the bottom pieces). Click a piece to see where it can move, then click a green dot to go there. I'll teach you strategy as we play!
How to Play Chess
Your Goal
Trap the opponent's King so it can't escape. That's called checkmate β and you win!
How Each Piece Moves
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King β Moves one square in any direction. The most important piece β if it's trapped, you lose! You can also castle (a special move with the Rook) to get your King to safety.
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Queen β The most powerful piece. Moves any number of squares in any direction (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal). Protect her!
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Rook β Moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically (like a plus sign +). Great for controlling rows and columns.
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Bishop β Moves any number of squares diagonally. Each Bishop stays on one color forever. Having both Bishops is strong.
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Knight β Moves in an "L" shape: 2 squares in one direction + 1 square sideways. The only piece that can jump over others!
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Pawn β Moves forward 1 square (or 2 on its first move). Captures diagonally. If it reaches the other side, it becomes a Queen!
Beginner Strategy β The 4 Rules
1Control the center. Put your Pawns and pieces toward the middle of the board (squares e4, d4, e5, d5). Whoever controls the center controls the game.
2Develop your pieces. Move your Knights and Bishops out early β they're useless sitting behind Pawns. Don't just move Pawns over and over.
3Keep your King safe. Castle early! This tucks your King behind Pawns. An exposed King in the center is a target.
4Don't give pieces away. Before every move, ask: "If I move here, can my opponent capture this piece for free?" If yes, don't move there.
Piece Values (What's Worth Trading)
β Pawn = 1 point | β Knight = 3 | β Bishop = 3 | β Rook = 5 | β Queen = 9 A Rook (5) is worth more than a Knight (3), so trading your Knight for their Rook is a good deal.
Find the best move! Solve puzzles to sharpen your tactics.
Game History
Review and replay your past games.
Settings
Enter your Anthropic API key to enable AI-powered coaching. Tips, analysis, and move explanations will use Claude AI. Your key is stored locally and never sent anywhere except Anthropic's API.
Haiku is fast and cheap. Sonnet is smarter but slower.
Cached tips are reused for positions you've seen before β saving API calls.
The coach learns your patterns over time to give personalized advice.
Password is set in the server environment. To change it, update APP_PASSWORD in Vercel.