What’s new in chess.rodeo

What humans play, an opening book and full Stockfish

Pro gets two new blocks on the analysis panel: an opening book and the “What humans play” table. Analysis settings now offer the full Stockfish.

• -Pro: the “What humans play” table. It shows which moves players rated 1100, 1500, 1900 and 2300 choose in the position, how often, and what Stockfish thinks of each. In the opening it also shows how often you played the move yourself
• -Pro: an opening book on the game page and in analysis, built from master games or from Lichess
• -Pro: full Stockfish in the browser. Pick it in analysis settings; the file is 95 MB and downloads once

Bots that talk, play without an account, and a game ticket

Bots on the play page now talk during the game. You can play a bot and solve puzzles without signing in. Every game gets a headline and the score against your opponent.

• -Bots talk during the game: they say hello, react to captures, checks and blunders, and say goodbye when they resign. At most once every two moves, and you can turn it off. Every bot in the list now has a face
• -You can play a bot and solve puzzles without signing in. You need an account to review the game you played and to save solved puzzles
• -Puzzle themes are grouped into sections: checkmates, tactics, endgames and more. Solve a whole section, or open it and pick one theme
• -Every game gets a one-line headline, such as “Was +4.7, but lost”. Click it to jump to the move that decided the game
• -If you have played an opponent more than once, you see the overall score: “You 6½ — ½ · 7 games”
• -Game ticket: an image for stories or a square for a post, with a QR code that opens the review. You’ll find it under “Share”
• -Pro: coach goals are set separately for each platform and time control
• -Pro: the home page shows how many points are left to your coach goal, and says so when you reach it
• -Pro: if you play with the extension and background analysis is on, the game goes to review the moment it ends. It used to wait for over an hour
• -In new reviews the coach explains 12 more kinds of mistakes. They used to get the generic line “the move worsens the position”
• -The icons across the site were redrawn as one set. The library now has portraits of 41 masters

Your own board, sounds and import by link

You can now set up the board, the pieces and the sound the way you like, and some of it is in Pro. A game from chess.com or Lichess opens from a link.

• -15 piece sets instead of six, all free. One of them, Rodeo, we drew ourselves
• -Hue and brightness sliders work on top of any of the 12 palettes. Share your board with a link, and anyone can apply it with one button. Your board theme is stored in your account and follows you to every device
• -Coordinates on the edge, on every square, or hidden. Blindfold mode, outlined marks for people who find colours hard to tell apart, and a dimmed board at night. All of it is in the board settings
• -Pro: 3D pieces, square textures (wood, marble, stone, paper, cloth), your own piece colours and board colours taken from a photo. The photo never leaves your device
• -16 sound schemes, two of them free. Volume control and vibration on Android
• -Import by link: a game from chess.com or Lichess, or a Lichess study or broadcast. Works without an account. Pasting a FEN opens the analysis board
• -Endgame tablebases for up to five pieces check endgame mistakes. Under the move it says whether the win was kept or lost. Works in new reviews
• -Pages open without a blank screen: their layout shows up at once, and the data fills in
• -In videos a brilliant move plays in slow motion, with a “!!” badge
• -14 new achievements: ten for playing bots and four for live games on Lichess
• -Pro: the coach’s review is prepared by itself as soon as the game is analysed

Bots with character and achievements

The play page has 24 bots, each with its own style and its own openings. Reviews, puzzles and streaks now earn achievements.

• -24 bots: six playing styles, four strength levels each, from 400 to 2600. Every bot has its own openings, a short bio, a greeting and a line at the end of the game
• -Set the bot’s strength with a slider in steps of 25 and give odds from a pawn to a queen. During the game you get three hints, takebacks and a blunder warning
• -A ten-step ladder where each bot is a match to two wins. Trainer mode has four goals: just play, practise an opening, play out one of ten endgames or beat your own rating
• -The pause before a bot’s move is now at most three seconds; in a 10+0 game it used to reach 14
• -16 achievements for reviews, puzzles, the daily puzzle, streaks, Woodpecker cycles, mistake cards and your repertoire. A notice tells you when you earn one, and the full list with progress is in your profile
• -A new payment card: under the price it says when you will be charged and how much
• -Small things: in analysis ↑ and Home go to the start of the game, ↓ and End to the end, and F flips the board. Decimal numbers now follow the page’s language

Deleting your account

You can delete your account in settings. It is deleted 14 days later; until then it works as usual, and you can cancel the deletion in one click. Pro auto-renewal is switched off right away.

• -Your chess.com and Lichess games and their analyses stay on the site, found by your handle on the platform. Uploaded PGNs and games played here are deleted with the account

Shield, Woodpecker cycles and a bot that plays your opening

Two new trainers in puzzles, and the bot can now play openings from courses.

• -Shield. You see a position and a few moves, and pick the best one on the first try. Open to everyone; Pro adds a deck built from positions in your own games
• -Woodpecker cycles. You solve one set of puzzles round after round, each round faster. Free: a set on one theme. Pro lets you mix themes, take bigger sets and build a set from the tactics you missed in your own games
• -A bot that plays your lines. Pick a course or your own repertoire, and the bot plays the opening from it. Free: two starter courses; Pro: all of them
• -Your own home page. With chess.com or Lichess linked, the home page shows your ratings, your games of the week and the positions worth another look
• -Insights and Coach are now one section. Subscribers also get progress, repertoire, psychology and goals there

Live games on Lichess, premoves and background analysis

You can now play live opponents on Lichess without leaving the site, and open the analysis the moment the game ends. With Pro, new games are analysed on their own, no button needed. A game can be shared as a picture, a FEN or a PGN with the analysis.

• -Live games on Lichess. Connect your account, find an opponent or challenge a friend by username. The game is played here, and the analysis opens after the last move
• -Premoves. While your opponent thinks, set your next move — several in a row if you like
• -New games are analysed automatically in the background. Available to Pro subscribers
• -Share a game: a picture of the position, the FEN, or the PGN with the analysis
• -Chess960 games can be analysed too

The coach opens to subscribers, and move preview

The coach review is open to subscribers: it walks the game move by move and points out where you gave the position away. Hover any move and a board appears beside it with the position that follows, while the main board stays where it is. The sidebar and the analysis panel can now be pinned.

• -The coach review is open to every subscriber. The coach walks the game move by move: it names what went wrong, shows what was better, and builds a review deck out of your own mistakes
• -The coach names only what can be checked on the board: a fork, a pin, a hanging piece, mate in N. Where the cause cannot be proven, it says “this move made your position worse” and invents nothing
• -Move preview. Hover a move in the list, in the engine lines or in the coach review, and a mini-board appears beside it with the position that follows. The main board does not move. Switch it off in the analysis settings; Pro
• -The sidebar can be pinned. The padlock in its header keeps it open, and the page narrows beside it instead of sliding underneath. On a wide screen it pins itself
• -The analysis panel has its own padlock, left of the column switch. It puts away the controls that float over each card: the layout stays as it is, the cards stop offering to be dragged
• -Email about what is new, if you want it. Subscribe with a toggle in settings or a checkbox when you sign in; unsubscribe from any letter with one link
• -Small things: the pricing page was rewritten, so you can see what Pro gives and what Free already has; the puzzles on the home page lead to tactics rather than openings; the move list no longer stumbles when you scrub quickly with the arrow keys; the rating chart no longer counts casual games

Opening courses and the repertoire trainer

The openings section is open. 12 courses, 4,037 positions, and every one of them carries a note on why the move is played. The trainer drills your repertoire by spaced repetition, and you set the volume yourself — from a single main line to the whole tree. Two courses are free; the rest need Pro, or seven trial days without a card.

• -12 courses for both colours: King’s Pawn Opening for White and for Black, the Italian, Scotch and Petrov, the French, Caro-Kann, Sicilian, Scandinavian, Slav, Pirc Defence and the London System. Each of the 4,037 positions carries a note on why the move is played and what it changes
• -Three volume levels. “Core” is the main line, “Standard” adds the opponent’s second most popular reply, “Full” is the whole course. A line at any level runs to its end; the levels differ in how many opponent replies it prepares you for, one or ten
• -Spaced repetition: a correct move grows the interval, a mistake sends the position back for review. Transpositions share progress — you learn a position once, whatever move order took you there
• -The course is visible before you enrol: the plan, 507 lessons, 36 master games, and at each of the 86 branching points, which line to take and what it leads to
• -The courses are translated in full into 16 languages, comments on every move included
• -Two starter courses are free. The rest need Pro or seven trial days — no card required
• -Game review: engine lines persist between visits instead of being recomputed on every move, the browser now runs Stockfish 18, and the review video downloads on a phone

Redesigned game analysis page

The analysis page was rebuilt: a panel of cards, live engine lines, variations in the move list, and a move-times chart under the evaluation graph.

• -The analysis panel is made of cards: engine, evaluation graph, accuracy, move list, move times, key moments. Cards can be dragged, collapsed, hidden, pinned and laid out in one or two columns, and the layout is remembered
• -Engine lines: up to five variations with evaluations, and clicking a move plays the line on the board. On positions already analysed, the lines come from the saved analysis with no recalculation
• -Variations in the move list: under inaccuracies and mistakes there is a short verdict and the best line, which opens in one click. You can turn this off in settings
• -The move-times chart is shown by default under the evaluation graph and is readable in the light theme
• -The pieces keep up when you scrub quickly with the arrow keys
• -Small things: the counter shows full moves, and at the starting position you see the game date and opening code (ECO) instead of a service label

Puzzles: retry and play on, plus a daily streak

After a wrong move in a puzzle the piece goes back and you can try again. Once a puzzle is solved you can play it on against the engine. Only the first attempt counts toward your rating. A daily streak counts puzzles and game analyses.

• -A wrong move in a puzzle: the piece goes back and you can try again right away. We don’t show the best move; tap “Explain” and the engine tells you how much your move cost
• -After you solve a puzzle or view the solution, the board becomes an analysis board: move for either side, the engine replies and rates each of your moves. None of it affects your rating
• -Only the first attempt changes your rating; solving the same puzzle again earns no points. Any checkmate counts as a solution, even if the puzzle records a different one
• -A puzzle leaderboard: by rating, by puzzles solved this week, and by best streak
• -Daily streak: solved puzzles and analysed games extend it, and the counter sits in the menu. You can pick your time zone in settings
• -Play vs AI: a king in check is highlighted, the result appears after a short pause so you see the final move, and once you close it you can browse the game instead of landing on the new-game screen
• -The “Miss” and “Great” ratings now take the tactics in the position into account: a fork, a pin, a material win. The home page no longer downloads the engine and demo videos in advance, about 7 MB

A new look and live numbers on the home page

The home page, blog, games page and settings moved to a new design and a new typeface. The home page shows live site numbers, and the games page shows a 30-day summary.

• -New design and typeface on the home page, blog, games page and settings. For new users the site theme follows the system setting by default
• -Live numbers on the home page: games imported in total and in the last hour, games analysed, today’s top rating, puzzles solved
• -An “Archive” block on the games page with the last 30 days: win rate, average accuracy, best win streak
• -Examples in the import form: Carlsen vs Gukesh and a typical game between players around 1200 open in one click
• -Blog articles have a table of contents, and the home page has a “Frequently asked” section

Puzzles, in-browser analysis and Google sign-in

A puzzles section with a rating and themes. Games are now analysed in your browser. You can sign in with Google.

• -Puzzles: millions of positions, and a rating that goes up for solved puzzles and down for failed ones. Pick puzzles by theme: fork, pin, mate in N, endgame, castling and dozens more
• -Game analysis runs in your browser, free and unlimited, at depth 15. With Pro you can raise the depth to 18, 20 or 22, or switch to analysis on our server
• -Sign in with Google: if you are already signed in to Google, there is no email link to wait for
• -A 6-digit code now comes with the sign-in link. It helps when the email is open on your phone and you need to sign in on your laptop
• -About half a megabyte of scripts was removed from the home page, so it opens faster on a phone
• -A checkmated king tilts 45° and its square turns red

Unlimited video, video styling in Pro

Anyone can make a video from a game, with no limit. It is recorded in your browser and not stored on the server. Video styling is now part of Pro.

• -Videos are not stored on the server, but you can record one again for any game. That is why “My Videos” was removed from the menu
• -There is no limit on the number of videos
• -Pro only: remove the chess.rodeo watermark or add your own, the Brutalist Print style, a poster with an image at the start of the video, and the timeline editor with the Editorial and Viral templates
• -Also in Pro: record yourself on camera as the game plays

Install as an app, video settings and fixes

chess.rodeo can be installed as an app on a computer or phone. Videos can have custom board colours, a trail behind moving pieces and your own watermark. If a PGN holds one game, its analysis opens right after import.

• -chess.rodeo installs on your desktop or phone home screen as a separate app
• -Video: custom board colours, a trail behind the moving piece, an adjustable watermark, 16:9 landscape format
• -Video: player ratings and the move counter are shown correctly, captured pieces sit on the right side when the board is flipped, the watermark and fonts appear from the first frame
• -Video: pieces no longer stutter in the final MP4
• -PGN import: if the file holds one game, its analysis opens straight away, without the list

Player switcher and Local games

In the games list and in insights you can switch between your accounts and players you have searched for. Uploaded PGNs and games against the AI have their own tab.

• -Linked accounts and searched players appear as tabs above the games list and above insights
• -A “Local games” tab for uploaded PGNs and games against the AI, with filters: all, vs AI, PGN
• -Refreshing the list no longer skips new games
• -When you go back to a player you have already opened, their insights show at once, and the repertoire loads when you scroll to it

16 languages

The site is translated into 16 languages. The language is picked from your browser settings, and the switcher has moved to the sidebar.

• -New languages: Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, German, French, Chinese, Turkish, Polish, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Kazakh and Uzbek
• -On your first visit the language is picked from your browser settings
• -The language switcher is in the sidebar and opens as a list
• -Where a translation is missing, the English text is shown

Sync button, translations and phone layout

New games come in with one button, move ratings are translated, and the interface fits a phone screen.

• -The “Sync” button on My Games pulls in your latest games without leaving the page
• -On a phone, buttons, menus and the analysis block fit the screen, and the page no longer scrolls sideways
• -Move ratings are translated: Brilliant, Blunder and the rest appear in your language
• -Display settings are fully translated

New move icons and a video timeline

The move rating icons were redrawn, each rating has one colour across the site, and videos are built from parts on a timeline.

• -The move rating icons were redrawn
• -Each rating has the same colour on the board badge, in the move list, in the analysis block, in the stats and on the evaluation graph
• -Videos are built on a timeline from parts: hook, poster, game, freeze frame, ending. Ready-made templates are included
• -Chess.com player avatars go missing less often
• -Opening a game from the Chrome extension shows the board from the side of the player who imported it

Unlimited game analysis

Imported games can be analysed without limits, on the free plan too. Some insights sections are now Pro only.

• -The limit on analysing imported games is gone for every plan
• -Pro now includes Study Moments, Opening Mistakes and the Repertoire Explorer
• -The rest of insights stays available without Pro

New study moments and PGN import in My Games

Study Moments show three new kinds of mistakes, and you can upload a PGN straight from My Games.

• -New study moments: missing the only defensive move, grabbing material at the cost of the initiative, and ignoring a new threat
• -A freshly uploaded PGN game shows up in My Games right away
• -The PGN tab in My Games has its own import form: add a file or pasted PGN right there

Study moments and game links

Insights now include Study Moments, practical mistakes from your own games. A game link keeps the player and the side of the board.

• -Study Moments in insights, three kinds of mistakes: overpressing a winning position, not punishing a mistake, letting the opponent back into the game
• -Time-scramble episodes and positions where you stayed well ahead anyway do not count as study moments
• -Each category can be expanded to show more examples
• -A game link keeps the player and the board side, whether it is opened from a list or shared

Sign-in, payment and account settings

Sign-in pages and emails come in your language, sign-in and Pro payment errors are fixed, and account settings are in one place.

• -Sign-in pages and emails follow your chosen language and no longer switch to English
• -Fixed a repeated sign-in prompt after following the email link, and an error that stopped Pro payments from going through
• -Subscription, linked chess accounts and general settings are on one page
• -Display Settings combine board, notation, sound and analysis options in one panel

Import and notation fixes

A game with no moves no longer opens as a broken analysis, move counts in the list show right away, and piece icons in notation sit on the line.

• -A game whose PGN holds only the result no longer opens as an analysis without moves
• -Move counts in the games list are taken from the game record, so they show before the analysis finishes
• -In key moments and notable moves, piece icons are aligned with the text
• -My Games and several analysis screens are more fully translated into Russian

Phone layout and translated tool pages

The home page, My Games and the analysis page fit narrow screens, and the FEN analyzer, PGN analyzer, free analysis and accuracy calculator pages are translated into Russian.

• -The home page, My Games and the analysis page fit narrow screens
• -Captured pieces and action buttons no longer break the phone layout, and the full list of captured pieces opens with a tap
• -The FEN analyzer, PGN analyzer, free analysis and accuracy calculator pages are translated into Russian

Game videos and My Videos

Videos made from your games for TikTok, YouTube or Instagram are now kept in My Videos, where you can also watch them.

• -Make a video from the game page: 9:16, 16:9 or 1:1, speed, board side and more
• -Finished videos stay in My Videos for 30 days and can be watched on the site without downloading
• -How many videos you can still make today is shown before you press the button

New player insights

The insights page was rebuilt: rating, accuracy, openings and habits, with examples from games shown on boards with arrows.

• -Rating trend, accuracy spread, opening stats and habits: how often you lose right after a loss or win after one, lose on time, resign
• -Filters by period and time control: bullet, blitz, rapid
• -An opening table with win rate, accuracy and number of games, sortable by any column
• -Peak rating for each time control in the player header
• -Worst blunders with the evaluation swing, and mistakes by game phase
• -Interesting games, missed brilliant moves and opening mistakes on boards with arrows

Play vs AI

You can play Stockfish on chess.rodeo: pick a level and a time control, and open the analysis after the game.

• -Stockfish at 8 levels, from Toddler (600) to Grandmaster (2300)
• -A chess clock with several time controls, plus games with no time limit
• -Captured pieces and material advantage next to each player
• -Browse the moves during the game with the arrow keys or by clicking a move
• -The game is saved to your games, and its analysis opens with one button

Mini boards in the games list and an analysis counter

• -Each game in the list shows a mini board, the opening and key moments
• -A counter on the home page shows how many games have been analysed, updating live

Russian interface and sign-in by link

The interface is translated into Russian, you can sign in with a link from an email, and Terms and Legal Info pages were added.

• -The whole interface in Russian
• -Sign in with a link from an email, no password
• -Player avatars load together with imported games
• -Terms of Service and Legal Info pages

Link previews and new typefaces

A new picture for links shared on social media, new typefaces, and extension banners in the same style.

• -A new picture for links shared on social media. Added to a phone home screen, the site is named chess.rodeo instead of chess.koz.tv
• -Body text is set in Figtree, headings in EB Garamond
• -Chrome extension banners are restyled to match

Analysis keeps its ratings while you browse

While a game is being analysed you can browse the moves, and moves already rated keep their ratings.

• -Move ratings no longer disappear when you browse the game during analysis
• -Black’s move numbers during analysis are no longer one too high

Analysis depth on screen

Next to the evaluation you can show the depth Stockfish reached. Turn it on in analysis settings.

• -For positions from a saved analysis, the depth they were actually computed at is shown
• -Accuracy is no longer written with a double percent sign

Highlight games on the home page

The home page shows recent games worth a look: comebacks, brilliant moves, near-flawless play, titled players, blunder-fests and the longest games.

• -Fresher games rank higher, and no more than three of one kind are shown
• -A sacrifice in an already lost position no longer counts as a brilliant move

Board flip control

Flip the board from the analysis UI or with a hotkey.

• -Flip button in analysis
• -Keyboard shortcut: F

Time controls and game endings in insights

Insights show how you do in each time control and how your games end.

• -Win rate in bullet, blitz and rapid; how many games ended in checkmate, resignation or on time; rated games against casual ones
• -The stats include all of a player’s games, even ones imported by someone else

Draw on insufficient material

Fixed the result of games lost on time.

• -If the time ran out but the opponent lacked the material to mate, the game is shown as a draw

The best move is no longer an inaccuracy

A move’s loss is the difference between the evaluation of the best move and the move played.

• -The best move is no longer marked as an inaccuracy
• -If the move played is not among the engine lines, the loss is taken from the evaluation before and after the move

Checkmate in the evaluation

A move that delivers checkmate is no longer marked as a blunder.

• -Checkmate is shown as # instead of a number