4 Chess Tools to Improve Your Game
Chess is a game with 1500 years of rich tradition, but as we have changed, the game has evolved with us. In its youth, great chess players wrote books claiming their mastery of the game was unrivaled. In the 50s there was the emergence of computer chess, giving the game an entirely different facet. Today we find ourselves in a digital age, with a wealth of tools that have never been available before. At Premier Chess Coaching, we have come across some tools with great value to all levels of chess. Here are our favorite chess tools, so you can take your game to the next level:
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ChessKid (Website and App)
Level – Beginner – Intermediate
Chesskid.com is a great tool to help young kids develop chess skills in a fun way. Chesskid is an app that walks you through everything from basic rules to advanced play. You can play people with similar skill levels from all around the world, as well as offline chess bots. Beyond playing games, this app is perfect for kids as they have great child-friendly videos to help improve your child’s game in an engaging way, as well as a wealth of puzzles designed to hone their chess mind. Best of all – the app is 100% ad free! So, you can trust your kids won’t be distracted by advertisers when learning chess.
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Majestic Chess (PC Game)
Level: Beginner-Intermediate
We know at least some of you are smiling at the mention of this amazing game. Majestic Chess came out in 2003, so while this is not a ‘new’ tool, there have not been many chess tools that measure up to it. This game has many difficulty settings for all kinds of player, and even lets you set different difficulties for different stages of each game. The ‘Adventure Mode’ is really where this chess tool shines. It allows you to play though a chess-themed fantasy world that creatively teaches you everything from notation, through to advanced chess strategy.
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Lichess (Android & iOS)
Level: Beginner-Advanced
Lichess.org is a fantastic website used by many chess enthusiasts as their main resource. More recently, the lichess app is a fantastic chess tool to polish your game on the go. There is a huge player base, so you can be sure to face all types of human opponents, in a variety of games including bullet, blitz, classical, and correspondence chess. The big plus of this app is that it features offline chess games and puzzles so you can brush up on your skills no matter where you are. It also doubles as a standalone chess clock!
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Chess Coaching
Level: Beginner – Advanced
While chess coaching is by no means a new chess tool, the accessibility of coaching has skyrocketed over the past decade. Chess is more increasingly being brought into primary and secondary schools, and great chess players have a much easier time transitioning into chess coaching with the internet. Do keep in mind, that as the availability of chess coaching goes up, you also have to be careful that you are choosing the right chess coach for you. The right chess coach is an irreplaceable tool that will help you reach amazing heights. If you are thinking about getting a coach for you or a loved one, please feel free to contact us!
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Play Magnus (Android & iOS)
Level – Beginner – Advanced
Play Magnus is a cross-platform app that allows you to play a very special chess engine, one that is designed to play like Magnus Carlson. This is an interesting chess tool that really brings chess into the modern era. You might be thinking that playing one of the best chess players of all time may not be the best idea for a chess tool, and you would be right. However, Play Magnus has actually been designed to copy Magnus Carlson’s strategies throughout his life, so you are able to play him at any age! We find this is a great way to understand Carlson’s playstyle at different ages, but also a great way to understand the growth from a beginner to a master of the game.