Hi! I'm Pawnie — your friendly chess coach

Chess lessons that actually click.

I look at your games, spot the things tripping you up, and explain them in a way that makes sense for your level — from 400 right up to 1800. No jargon dumps. No condescension.

Chess.com & Lichess Free to start 10-minute setup
your game · move 9
Bb5+ ?!
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
level
up!
Heads up — that bishop's about to get nabbed by a pawn! Try Bd2 instead. 🛡
The trouble with chess online

Engines tell you the best move.
They don't tell you why you keep making the same mistake.

🤷

Generic lessons miss your games

You sit through openings you don't play and drills that don't match your habits. An hour later, nothing sticks.

📉

Engine evals are noise

"−1.4" means something went wrong. It does NOT tell you what to do next time. That's the whole problem.

🎯

You don't know what to study

Tactics? Endgames? Openings? Without a real picture of YOUR weaknesses, it's all guesswork.

How it works

Four steps. About ten minutes. Then your games stop feeling random.

📥
01

Send me your games

Drop a Chess.com or Lichess username, or upload a PGN. I'll fetch your last 100 games.

🎚
02

I figure out your level

20 short puzzles + 2 of your games tell me exactly how to talk to you.

💬
03

Every move, explained

Plain language for the basics. Real chess vocabulary when you're ready. Tap "why?" anywhere.

📅
04

A weekly plan, just for you

30 minutes a week, aimed at the one weakness costing you the most rating.

The aha moment

Same blunder. Two coaches.

I don't dumb things down for beginners or talk down to intermediates. I just adapt. Flip the toggle — same position, two completely different conversations.

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Coach Pawnie says
9. Bb5+

You moved your bishop to a square where Black's pawn can grab it for free! Pop it somewhere safer — like d2 or e2.

Try this
9. Bd2 Bd6 10. h3 O-O
Engine eval
depth 22
−2.1
after 9…c6
Useful — but won't fix it tomorrow.
Pattern tracking

I remember every mistake — so you don't have to repeat them.

I build a living model of what trips you up, across every game and session. Real product, not a marketing chart.

PTRN-001High impact

You hang pieces 3× more in time trouble.

> 10:00
18%
5–10
22%
1–5
31%
< 1:00
78%
14 hung pieces · 23 gamesDrill
PTRN-002Recurring

60% of equal endgames lost — king activity is the gap.

Equal endgames · last 30n=18
22% W18% D60% L
Your king averages 2.8 moves into the action. Strong opponents: 5.4.
PTRN-003Opening habit

h6 too early in the Italian — weakens your kingside.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 h6?! (8 of last 11)
73%
freq
−42
elo
0.31
cp drop
Try: d6 / a6Repertoire
Updated 4 minutes ago27 patterns tracked
Your weekly plan

Thirty minutes. Aimed at the thing actually costing you points.

One weakness per week. Lessons, puzzles, a model game — all aimed at the same target. No 200-puzzle mountains you'll never finish.

⏱ 30 min/week🎯 Personalized
This week's focus

Endgame king activity

Why: you lose 60% of equal endgames. The king is the issue.

Progress3 of 8
Active king in pawn endgames
Lesson · 6 min
The king as an attacker
Lesson · 4 min
📖
Opposition & key squares
Lesson · 8 min
🧩
King activity puzzles
20 puzzles · 12 min
3/20
👑
Capablanca vs. Tartakower, NY 1924
Model game · 10 min
★ Featured
Next: Opposition & key squares
Pricing

Honest pricing for an honest coach.

No seat math. No "enterprise" tier. Three options. That's it.

Free

Get a feel for it
$0
forever
  • 5 game analyses / month
  • Basic level-adapted explanations
  • Calibration test
  • Pattern previews

Pro

The coach you actually use
$9
per month
  • Unlimited game analyses
  • Full pattern reports
  • Personalized weekly plan
  • Unlimited "Why?" chat
  • Repertoire tracker
★ Best value

Annual

Best value · save 27%
$79
per year
  • Everything in Pro
  • Priority calibration updates
  • Quarterly progress letter
  • Early access to features
FAQ

Things people ask before they sign up.

Chess.com gives you an engine eval and a best-move arrow. I explain why a move is bad in your vocabulary, track patterns you keep repeating across all your games, and turn them into a weekly plan. Engines find moves; I coach players.

No. In Beginner mode I describe moves in plain language ("your bishop went to a square Black's pawn can capture"). You'll pick up notation naturally — I toggle it in as you grow.

Below 600: works great, but I focus heavily on piece safety and basic tactics — that's usually what you need. Above 1800: explanations stay strong through ~2000, but my pattern detection isn't tuned for master-level subtleties yet. I'll be honest if you've outgrown me.

Pull them from your Chess.com or Lichess username (read-only, no password), upload a PGN, or paste in moves. I can also auto-import after every session if you connect your account.

Nope. I use Stockfish for evaluation and verification, but the explanations, pattern detection, and lesson generation are layered on top of a coach model trained on annotated games and feedback from titled coaches.

Stop guessing what to study.
Start improving on purpose.

Free to try. No card. Calibration takes ten minutes — you'll see your first real explanation right after.