BeaconChess
A chess coach that suggests moves and explains why they work
What it does
Play human-like opponents from ~1100 to ~2000. Beacon suggests useful moves, explains why they work, and shows mistakes and missed tactics in plain English, right on the board. Your games stay on your device. Pay once for a personal license. No subscription.
Play human-like chess opponents from ~1100 to ~2000 with an AI chess coach that explains blunders, missed tactics, and candidate moves in plain English.
BeaconChess grades your games, explains blunders and missed tactics in plain English, and shows candidate moves with likely replies on the board. Move evaluations become board-specific explanations about threats, tactics, development, king safety, and structure. See several plausible choices instead of receiving one unexplained engine command. Open likely replies and follow the continuation on the same board so the lesson is easier to remember. The first coached game and first three pasted-PGN analyses are free, with no email or card. A personal license is $79 once during the founder offer, with no subscription or automatic renewal. Private chess coaching commonly costs $40–$80 per hour.…from beaconchess.com
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