Focused training for self-directed players

Build your repertoire. Learn from your games.

Zugzwanged combines a full opening repertoire builder with a complete tactics trainer. See where your games left your book, investigate the position, patch the gaps you care about, and train tactics found in your own games.

Your book is measured against how often positions actually occur at your rating — not against someone else's course.

See how it works Or get the iOS beta

Free beta, no invite needed. It runs in your browser, nothing to install. The iOS beta is open too, free via TestFlight. Say hello at [email protected]

Zugzwanged's deviation review: the exact position where a game left the repertoire, with the move played in each game

Your games

One game. Two useful signals.

Opening position to investigate

See the exact position where a game left your book. Open it in analysis, compare the alternatives, and decide whether your repertoire needs another move.

Tactical mistake to train

When a suitable tactic appears in one of your games, turn it into a personal puzzle inside the full tactics trainer.

Repertoire builder

Build the book you actually want to play.

Add lines move by move or import an existing Lichess Study. Every opponent reply carries how often you actually meet it — 1 in 3 games, or 1 in 40 — from the Lichess database of millions of real games, filtered to your rating band and time control. You set where the line falls: everything down to 1 in 100 games gets covered and drilled, anything rarer stays reference. One number sets your gaps, your coverage percentage and your drills, so the three can never disagree.

The repertoire screen: four books with their move counts, how many are left to learn, and how much of their lines each one covers

Spaced repetition

Keep the repertoire ready.

Train your own lines with spaced repetition. Common replies receive more attention, rare sidelines receive less, and you can always ignore the schedule and drill an entire book when you want to prepare intensively.

The training screen: 29 moves to review and 15 to learn, with the due count for each book

Your games

See exactly where the game left your book.

Connect Chess.com or Lichess and Zugzwanged compares your games with your repertoire. When a game leaves the book, open that exact position in the analysis board, inspect the alternatives, and decide whether the repertoire needs to change.

The game deviations screen: 44 positions from your games, each card showing the book, the position and the move you played

Tactics

A complete tactics trainer — built in.

Solve rated puzzles, train custom sets by theme and difficulty, repeat failed positions, or work through Woodpecker-style cycles. Zugzwanged can also mine suitable tactical mistakes from your own games, giving you positions drawn directly from your play.

A rated puzzle mid-solve: side to move, the board, your live rating, the clock, and the session's solves so far

Insights

See what needs attention.

Follow your puzzle rating, compare themes against your own level, and revisit positions you failed. Zugzwanged shows progress and weak spots without adding leagues, levels, or artificial rewards.

The dashboard: two months of puzzle rating, and the themes you score worst on measured against your own level

Who it's for

Built for players who manage their own improvement.

Zugzwanged is for players who want to build or import their own repertoire, review what happened in their real games, and train with purpose. It does not sell opening courses or choose a fixed repertoire for you.

Build or import your own repertoireReview positions from your real gamesTrain openings and tactics with purpose

The beta is open.

Create an account and train in your browser right away, or install the iOS beta via TestFlight. Questions? Write us at [email protected]

Or get the iOS beta