Everything in one free chess home
Serious chess training. No subscription.
Play, review, study, and track your improvement in one place. Busted Minds Chess includes the tools players expect from a premium chess plan without a paywall, training limit, locked Nova personality, or ads.
Public beta, built with care
We are launching in public beta. Availability may change as reliability, accessibility, and fair-play systems are validated; the core Local and Nova experiences remain free.
Improve without running into a premium wall.
Every feature listed here is available as often as you want. An account is only needed when a feature saves personal progress or stats.
Unlimited game review
Run Nova Review after every game for accuracy, critical moments, and stronger alternatives.
Try it freeUnlimited move explanations
Understand why a move worked or failed through clear, practical feedback on the position.
Try it freeAdvanced chess stats
Track performance by result, color, time control, opening, recent form, and more.
Try it freeUnlimited puzzles
Solve and replay every tactics level with hints, coaching, and progress tracking.
Try it freeUnlimited chess lessons
Study rules, tactics, strategy, openings, endgames, and review without a lesson cap.
Try it freeUnlimited Nova coach games
Play guided games with adaptive help and a training focus you choose.
Try it freeEvery Nova personality unlocked
Choose any available strength, style, and personality without paying to unlock an opponent.
Try it freeNo ads
Focus on the board without banners, popups, sponsored moves, or advertising interruptions.
Try it freePlay your way
Online
Account for rated playMatch by clock and rating, invite a friend, reconnect after a drop, or meet a calibrated Nova League opponent when the live pool is quiet.
Nova League
No account neededChoose a strength and style.
Local
Works offlineShare one screen for hotseat chess with clocks, legal move guidance, board flipping, and no sign-in or database usage.
One connected platform
Built around the player, not the queue
Learn from every position
Daily puzzles, opening practice, focused lessons, mistake review, endgame drills, and an analysis board that grows with you.
Compete with context
Separate time-control ratings, provisional placement, leaderboards, achievements, Arena and Swiss events, plus private club tournaments.
A chess-first community
Public profiles, clubs, challenges, annotated games, reactions, safe messages, and visible block, mute, and report controls.
Made for real devices
Responsive boards, keyboard controls, move announcements, reduced motion, high contrast, low-bandwidth preferences, and installable PWA support.
Private by default
Local and direct Nova League games avoid cloud writes unless you choose to save. Large engine results stay in your browser by default.
Nova at your side
The Busted Minds Chess mascot appears across computer games, lessons, puzzles, and review. Nova League personas remain clearly labeled as automated opponents.
Serious chess without an always-on engine bill.
Clocks render locally. Analysis runs in a Web Worker. Local and Nova League play avoid cloud traffic until you save. Online state is compact and authoritative. That architecture keeps the service responsive while respecting shared-resource limits.
Your move
Start with a board. Keep what matters.
Play instantly as a guest, then create a permanent account when you want ratings, events, friends, and saved progress.