Lesson
Teaching that stays close to the boardPlain language, short instruction, and the board sitting right under the explanation.
Offline · No ads · No accounts
Learn chess properly, in 30 sessions.
A calm, offline-first chess app for children and beginners. Clear instruction, guided puzzles, on-device progress, and a real graduation point that prepares learners for play beyond the app.
One-time purchase
Progress stays on device
Built for ages 7–14
200+
Guided puzzles and practice positions that keep lessons active instead of passive.
30 → 90
Foundations is the current release. The full path grows from 30 structured beginner sessions to a 90-session curriculum.
3
Bundled launch languages in the Android release: English, Spanish, and French.
See the app
The product, shown as plainly as it behaves.
Real screens from the current build. No staged marketing renders.
Curriculum
Structured lessonsFamilies and coaches can see order, scope, and a finish line.
Practice
Guided puzzlesThe learner keeps applying each rule instead of only reading about it once.
Progress
Local, no cloud accountProgress review stays on the device. A decision parents understand quickly.
Why families choose it
The beginning that ends well.
Most chess apps for children try to keep them inside forever. ChessGraduation is built to teach the rules properly, reinforce them with puzzles, and hand the learner off to real play.
What it is
A proper beginning in chess
Clear instruction, puzzle reinforcement, and a real finish line.
What you will not find
No pressure tactics
No streaks, countdowns, chat loops, or reward-loop pressure.
Where it leads
Graduation onward
The app prepares the learner for clubs, coaches, and the wider chess world.
For families
Children learn to think before they learn to win.
A calm first chess app you do not need to supervise. Ten minutes on the kitchen table, no ads, no chat, no accounts. The product teaches; the parent does not have to become a co-instructor.
- Short sessions that fit real family routines
- No expertise required from the adult
- One-time purchase, on-device progress
For coaches
A curriculum you can teach from
The lesson order is concrete enough to assess before buying. Foundations runs across 30 structured sessions, with puzzle reinforcement at every step.
For clubs & schools
Works in imperfect environments
QR progress sharing replaces dashboards. The app runs offline, which is what after-school programmes and rural classrooms actually need.
Why families trust it
What the app includes, and what it refuses to become.
Quiet product decisions matter more than loud marketing claims.
01
Works offline by design
Zero network requests at runtime. Learning progress stored locally on the device.
02
Structured lessons + puzzles
Foundations covers 30 structured sessions, guided puzzles, and first full games.
03
One-time purchase
Full app planned at €19.99. Foundations is €9.99 during development.
04
Graduation mechanic
Designed to hand the learner off when ready for clubs, coaches, and broader platforms.
It is the first chess app I have shown a beginner where the next step is always obvious and the noise is always absent.Coach voice · Beginner programme
1
Foundations
Core rules, legal play, first full games, and puzzle-backed reinforcement across 30 sessions.
2
Matchplay
Notation, clock handling, deeper tactics, and stronger practical decisions.
3
Graduation
Certificate on device, practical next-step guidance, and a respectful handoff to clubs or major platforms.
Curriculum
The full path is visible before you buy.
Foundations teaches legal play in 30 sessions. Matchplay is the planned continuation toward confident club and tournament play.
Foundations
30 sessions · beginner track
1–2 Board and setup
- The board is a map
- Set up the board
3–5 Pawns
- Pawns step forward
- Pawns capture diagonally
- Pawns can be promoted
6–13 Piece movement
- The rook moves straight
- The rook captures on its line
- The bishop moves diagonally
- Bishops stay on one colour
- The knight jumps in an L
- Knights capture where they land
- The queen combines two patterns
- The king moves one square
14–20 Check, mate, and draws
- Check means the king is under attack
- There are three ways to answer check
- Checkmate ends the game
- Simple mate patterns
- Stalemate is not checkmate
- Some games finish level
- Checkmate and stalemate review
21–24 First full games
- Your first guided game
- A game with fewer prompts
- Make your own plan
- Legal game checkpoint
25–30 Material and graduation review
- Not every capture is good
- Pieces have different values
- Win material in one move
- Mixed piece review
- Mixed king safety review
- Foundations review and graduation gate
Matchplay
Sessions 31–90 · planned continuation
31–36 Opening principles
Learners move from knowing the rules to choosing useful first moves: claim the centre, develop pieces, castle safely, and avoid early queen adventures.
Centre control, development, and castling demonstrated in games.
37–42 Forks
Forks introduce tactical vision: one move can create two threats. The goal is to spot loose pieces and overloaded defenders before moving.
Learner solves 80% of fork puzzles.
43–48 Pins and skewers
Pins and skewers teach line pressure. Learners practise seeing when a rook, bishop, or queen makes a piece unable to move safely.
Learner solves 80% of pin/skewer puzzles.
49–54 Basic endgames
These sessions slow the game down to essential endings. The learner practises the two clean mating methods they are most likely to need first.
K+Q vs K and K+R vs K checkmates.
55–58 Algebraic notation
Notation turns a played game into something the learner can review. The focus is simple reading and writing, not tournament bureaucracy.
Learner transcribes a 10-move game correctly.
59–66 Clock awareness and tournament etiquette
The learner meets practical tournament habits: using a clock calmly, touching pieces carefully, recording results, and behaving well at the board.
Learner completes a timed practice game.
67–75 Mixed tactics
Mixed tactics combine forks, pins, skewers, mate threats, and material choices so the learner stops solving by category and starts reading the board.
Learner solves 80% of the Matchplay puzzle set.
76–85 Consolidation games
Longer games against a stronger local opponent test decision-making without online pressure. The learner practises opening habits, tactics, and endgames together.
Learner wins 3 games against Intermediate AI.
86–90 Graduation preparation
The final block checks readiness, prepares the graduation handoff, and points the family toward clubs, coaches, and broader chess platforms.
Learner meets the final graduation conditions.
Pricing
Pay once for a defined beginning.
No subscriptions. The product graduates the learner; the relationship is finite by design.
Available now
€9.99
Foundations
30 structured sessions, guided puzzles, progress tracking, and a certificate at the first milestone.
- One-time purchase
- For families who want a proper first step now
- Discounted while only Foundations is included
Planned full price
€19.99
Full curriculum
The full app once Matchplay is complete: deeper puzzle sets, stronger practical play, and the full graduation route.
- One-time purchase, no subscriptions
- Clear upgrade story from Foundations
- Same calm, offline-first standard
One-time pricing matches the graduation promise: parents pay once, the product does its job, and the relationship does not depend on ongoing pressure.
For coaches and clubs — ask about licences →
From the blog
Buying context, not content noise.
Short reading on beginner chess learning, offline trust, and when a learner is ready to move beyond the app.
FAQ
Questions that affect trust most.
Short answers to the questions families and coaches ask first.
Yes. The learning experience is built for offline use, with progress stored locally on the device.
Aimed primarily at beginners roughly ages 7–14 who can read independently, but the product is open to any motivated learner.
The product is built to minimise data burden. Progress lives on the device rather than in a cloud profile.
No. The product is positioned as the beginner on-ramp that prepares learners to join the wider chess ecosystem with confidence.
Ready when they are
Build strong foundations. Graduate with confidence.
Private by default, offline-first, and honest about scope. Pay once, learn properly, then move on to real play.