Why Improve my Chess exists

The problem we set out to solve

Chess has never been more accessible. Millions of new players signed up to chess.com after The Queen's Gambit aired and the COVID lockdowns hit. But getting better at chess is a different story. The tools that exist tend to fall into two categories: free analysis that's generic and shallow, or human coaching that costs $50–100 an hour.

Most adults who picked up chess recently can't justify a paid coach, don't have time for endless puzzles, and don't want to wade through another opening database. They want to know one thing: why am I losing the games I'm losing?

Who this is for

Improve my Chess is built specifically for chess.com players rated 400 to 999 ELO. We're not trying to coach grandmasters. We're not trying to be a deep engine analysis tool. We're trying to help the player who just lost three games in a row understand exactly what went wrong, in plain English, and what to practise tomorrow to fix it.

If you're stuck below 1000, the patterns costing you games are nearly always the same handful: hanging pieces, missed one-move tactics, and lost won endgames. Our AI finds them in your actual chess.com history and turns them into drills built from positions you've really played.

How it works

We connect to the chess.com public API to fetch your games (no chess.com password needed). We send the games to Anthropic's Claude AI, which has been prompted by us to act as a coach for sub-1000 players specifically — to explain things in beginner-friendly language and focus on the moves that actually decided the outcome.

From there, we generate three things you can't get from chess.com's built-in Game Review:

• Ask My Games — ask Claude anything about your chess.com history in plain English ("which openings do I lose with most?")
• Scout — build a personalised battle plan against any chess.com player by analysing their games before you sit down to play.
• Training — drills built from your real mistakes, not generic puzzles from a textbook.

The team

Improve my Chess is built by Alexander Sowter, a software engineer and improving chess player. The product is built solo, which means decisions get made fast and feedback gets shipped fast. If you find a bug or have an idea, the email at the bottom of this page reaches the person who wrote the code.

Our principles

• Honest about limits. We're a beginner-focused tool. If you're rated 1500+, you'll outgrow us. We'll tell you that before you pay.
• Transparent pricing. Free for 3 game analyses, no credit card required. £4.99/month or £39/year for unlimited — cancel anytime, no surprises. See full pricing.
• Your data stays yours. We use only public chess.com data. Your account password is never asked for. See our privacy policy for details.
• No fake AI hype. We tell you exactly which AI model is running (Claude Sonnet 4.6) and what it's good and bad at. The AI isn't a grandmaster — but it's patient, accurate, and available at 2am.

Get in touch

Questions, feedback, bug reports, or partnership ideas: hello@improvemychess.co

We read every message and reply within 24 hours.