Help

Getting started

1. Tap Sign in and choose Sign in with Lichess. Luftchess only reads your username.

2. The recent public games of the username Luftchess is set up with come in. They are looked at overnight, so the first coaching usually appears the next day.

3. Open Games and choose your newest game. Luftchess shows the moment that mattered and one better idea.

Why is my game missing?

• Only standard chess is read. Variants such as Chess960, Crazyhouse or King of the Hill are skipped.
• New games arrive when Luftchess next asks Lichess for them, and they are looked at overnight. A game from a few minutes ago may not be there yet.
• Games are read from the Lichess or Chess.com username Luftchess is set up with. Games on another account will not appear.

Still missing after a day? Write to [email protected] with the game’s link.

Installing on a phone

Luftchess runs in the browser, so there is nothing to download. To keep it on your home screen:

• iPhone, in Safari: sign in, tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.
• Android, in Chrome: sign in, open the menu (the three dots), then Install app or Add to home screen.

Words used in Luftchess

Luft

The square you give your king by pushing a pawn, so a back-rank check cannot mate. It rhymes with foot.

Tabiya

A standard position that an opening leads to, from which many games start their real fight.

Win chance

Out of 100, how likely the side to move is to win from here, worked out from the engine’s score. Moves are judged by how much of it they give away.

Pawns, not centipawns

Engines count in hundredths of a pawn. Luftchess talks in pawns and plans, because that is how people think at the board.

Tablebase

A complete record of every position with seven pieces or fewer. It gives the exact result, not an estimate.

See why

Tap a move and the board plays the line that shows why it worked or did not.

Common questions

Is it free?

Free while friends test it. We will say so on the home page before anything changes.

When can I join?

Not yet. Today Luftchess is set up for one player’s games. Accounts of your own are being built, and invitations open when they arrive. To hear when, write to [email protected] with your Lichess username.

Does it post to my Lichess account?

No. It only reads your username, and hands the access back to Lichess at once.

Is Luftchess the same as Luft?

No. Luftchess (luftchess.com) is not connected with other chess products that use the name Luft.

Reporting a problem

Write to [email protected]. Say what you tapped, what you expected and what happened instead; a screenshot helps. We read every message.