Chess guidance,
not chess noise.
A structured curriculum, spaced-repetition mistake review, and a calibrated engine opponent. Pay once. No login. No ads. No XP grind.
Every move tagged. No guesswork.
The engine runs on every position. Each move gets a delta against the engine's best line — and a verdict you can read in a glance.
Engine evaluation, not vibes.
Each move scored by how much win-probability it cost against the engine's top line. Brilliant, Great, Good, Inaccuracy, Mistake, Blunder — the same verdicts a coach uses to review your game.
Tagged with the motif you missed.
A blunder is labelled — fork, pin, back-rank, hanging piece. You learn the pattern, not just the move number.
No public rating. No streak shame.
The feedback is yours. There is no leaderboard, no opponent rating change, no "you've fallen 23 points" notification.
You won't forget what you got wrong.
Every mistake enters a 5-box Leitner queue. Get it right, it moves up. Get it wrong, it drops back. Cards resurface on the schedule that puts patterns into long-term memory.
5 boxes. 1d → 3d → 7d → 14d → 30d.
Solve a card cleanly: it promotes one box. Miss it: it drops to Box 1. The schedule widens as memory consolidates — same pattern Anki and Pimsleur use, applied to chess motifs.
Four levels of help.
Motif nudge → why it works → a ring on the piece to move → the engine arrow. Each step reveals just enough to keep you thinking, and drops the score awarded so the system tracks how much you actually solved.
Today's load is finite.
Only cards that are due. No infinite scroll, no "one more puzzle" loop. Finish the queue, you're done — the next session arrives when memory is actually starting to fade.
A loop that actually compounds.
One screen. Three signals. Play a calibrated game, solve the daily puzzle, review what you missed. The kind of loop that turns 15 minutes a day into a real rating.
Open the app, see what's next.
Resume your last game, run the day's review queue, or solve the daily — all surfaced on the home screen. No ten-tab settings page, no shop, no banner ads.
Wins, streak, private rating.
Three numbers, all yours. The rating is a private estimate from puzzle results and engine deltas — never broadcast, never used for matchmaking pressure.
15 minutes is enough.
Daily puzzle (~2 min), review queue (~7 min), one calibrated game (~6 min). The loop is bounded by design — you finish, you close the app, you come back tomorrow.
Where it sits in the chess software stack.
Other apps are great at what they do. They just aren't this. One Chess is the focused, one-time-purchase study tool that lives between a coach and a game server.
| Feature | One Chess | Chess.com | Lichess | Coach (1:1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $4.99 once | $14/mo | Free | $30–80/hr |
| Structured curriculum | Partial | Partial | Full | |
| Spaced-repetition mistakes | Manual | |||
| Calibrated opponent (ELO) | ||||
| Works offline | ||||
| No account required | — | |||
| Ads | None | On free plan | None | None |
| Social / feed | None | Heavy | Light | None |
4 phases. 12 chapters. 37 nodes.
A path from first principles to endgame technique. Every chapter has a node count because nothing here is filler.
Assessment Protocol
Move from reactive to proactive — scan the board before every move.
- The Pre-Move Checklist3
- Piece Activity & Geometry3
- The Center as the Engine3
Tactical Vision
Spot the patterns and calculate forcing moves first.
- Core Tactical Motifs4
- Forcing Moves & Calculation3
- Defense & Prophylaxis3
Strategic Planning
When there are no tactics, build a long-term plan.
- Positional Evaluation3
- Pawn Structure & Breaks3
- Improve the Worst Piece3
Phases of the Game
Opening, middlegame, and endgame as one continuous decision.
- Opening Principles3
- Middlegame & Imbalances3
- Endgame Fundamentals3
$4.99. Once.
For less than the price of a coffee, the price of one hour with a coach, or one month of a chess subscription.
What you'd otherwise pay.
One hour with a coach: $30–80
One month subscription: $14
One year subscription: $168
One Chess: $4.99 forever
- Full curriculum, all 4 phases.
- Mistake review with spaced repetition.
- Move-quality feedback on every game.
- Calibrated opponent, ELO 600–2200.
- No ads. No account. Works offline.
Reasonable doubts, handled.
What makes One Chess different from Chess.com or Lichess?
Those are great game servers. One Chess is a structured course with a built-in calibrated opponent. No social feed, no ads, no XP. You pay once and the app stops trying to monetize you.
Is there a free version?
There’s a 7-day free trial. After that it’s $4.99 once. No subscription.
How does the 7-day trial work?
You get full access for 7 days through the App Store or Play Store trial mechanism. Cancel before day 7 and you pay nothing.
Do I need an account?
No. Progress is stored locally. There’s no login screen and no server-side profile.
Does it work offline?
Yes. The curriculum, the engine, and your progress all run on-device.
Will my progress sync between iOS and Android?
Not in v1. Progress lives on the device you’re playing on. Cross-device sync is on the roadmap.
Where do I download it?
Use the App Store or Google Play buttons above. Same app, same price.
Is my data sold?
No. There are no third-party analytics on this site. The only personal data we collect here is the email you submit on the waitlist, plus a hashed IP for abuse prevention.