Chessmate (trychessmate.com) review: scores and evidence

A1 :2Importing your games (Chess.com, Lichess, PGN files)

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — version 1.1.0 of 4 October 2026: "Import your games from Chess.com or Lichess"; no PGN file import in the app (the viewer at https://www.trychessmate.com/pgn-viewer reads a pasted game without saving it)

A2 :0Automatic engine analysis of every game

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — imported games can be replayed ("Replay your games"); no engine analysis is announced; https://www.trychessmate.com/terms: "not a chess engine"

A3 :0Recurring mistakes identified across all your games

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — "recommendations based on how you play" to pick openings; no statistics or aggregated mistakes are shown

A4 :0Types of mistakes covered (tactics, strategy, endgame, time…)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — no mistake typology published

A5 :0Written explanation of each mistake

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — notes on the opening moves being taught; nothing explains the player’s own mistakes

A6 :0Stated verification of the diagnoses (procedure, rates)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — no game diagnosis, hence no published reliability

A7 :0Tracking each weakness over time

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — "A Puzzle Rating, a daily goal, and streaks" track the exercises, not weaknesses in play

A8 :0Comparison with players of the same rating

https://www.trychessmate.com/privacy — weekly league ranked on "learning points", not on play; no comparison by rating band

B1 :1Building a personal repertoire

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — "For now, Chessmate teaches curated opening courses"; opening recommendations drawn from the player’s games (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638, v1.1.0) but no free-form repertoire building

B2 :2Training the repertoire (drills, games)

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — Study / Review (spaced) / Challenge modes; no full games against the repertoire

B3 :0Spotting where you left your repertoire in your games

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — the import is used to "discover which openings to learn next"; no deviation from the repertoire is flagged

B4 :2Verification of the lines taught (engine, practice)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — names and move orders "checked against established opening theory", every move validated as legal when the catalog is built, the whole catalog "analyzed with Stockfish 18", human review of any flagged move; https://www.trychessmate.com/: "cross-checked against multiple opening sources"; no numeric evaluation threshold — lines are engine-checked, but no game database is named as a source: level 2

B5 :2Opening explorer and statistics

https://www.trychessmate.com/opening-explorer (re-read on 10 November 2026) — free explorer with no account, Lichess statistics filterable by rating and time control, master or online games; no engine evaluation

B6 :2Explanation of opening plans and ideas

https://www.trychessmate.com/openings/italian-game — written plans for each variation with diagrams, trap courses (https://www.trychessmate.com/chess-traps); no model games

C1 :0Exercises drawn from your own games

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — imported games are replayed, no exercises built from the player’s mistakes

C2 :1Bank of tactical exercises (size, themes, rating)

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — "Tactical puzzles from real games" with a "Puzzle Rating"; neither the size of the bank nor sorting by theme is published

C3 :0Endgame training

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — no endgames

C4 :0Strategic and positional training

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — no positional exercises

C5 :0Training defense and alertness

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — no defensive exercises

C6 :1Training calculation and visualization

https://www.trychessmate.com/chess-board-coordinates — "Find the square / Name the square" coordinates trainer against a 30-second timer; no calculation exercises

C7 :1Difficulty matched to your real level

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — "A Puzzle Rating" on tactical puzzles; no target success rate published — no page says the exercises adjust to that rating: level 1

C8 :2Spaced repetition (named algorithm)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — "fixed, expanding schedule": 1, 3, 7 then 14 days, back after 10 minutes following a mistake; the algorithm is not named and due dates are not shown

C9 :1Personalized training plan

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — v1.0.10: "Opening recommendations that match your level and goals"; a daily goal (https://www.trychessmate.com/features) but no detailed plan

D1 :2What the free plan actually lets you do

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq (re-read on 10 November 2026) — "one course of your choice is fully free", and every other course opens with a free first line; opening trainer, traps and explorer free with no account on the website

D2 :2Annual price of the full plan

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — "$34.99 a year" ≈ €32

D3 :2Commercial transparency (price shown, trial, cancellation)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — prices shown on the website; free trial with a reminder "the day before it ends" (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638, v1.1.7); cancellation in the store settings (https://www.trychessmate.com/privacy); trial through the store, card required

D4 :3Number of paid tiers (how simple the offer is)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — a single Premium ("unlocks every opening course") by the week, month, year or for life

E1 :1Published evidence of effectiveness

https://www.trychessmate.com/ — "Real five-star reviews from Google Play" (testimonials); no effectiveness data with a stated method

E2 :2Chess verification of the content (positions, lines)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — catalog "analyzed with Stockfish 18", human review of flagged moves, legality validated; the "large evaluation loss" threshold is not quantified

E3 :2Transparency of the method (algorithms, code)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — engine named ("Stockfish 18") and review schedule published (1, 3, 7, 14 days); code not public

E4 :3Marketing claims that can be checked (no overselling)

https://www.trychessmate.com/features (re-read on 10 November 2026) — the "1500" to "1800+" "in a few weeks" chart (archive of 11 October 2026) has been removed; factual wording ("can add up to better results") and stated limits: https://www.trychessmate.com/openings/italian-game "Each has gaps against common White moves", statistics "not whether a move is objectively best"

F1 :2Courses organized by rating level

https://www.trychessmate.com/openings/italian-game — every course labelled from "Difficulty 1/3" to "3/3"; no path by rating band

F2 :0Course authors named and titled

https://www.trychessmate.com/about — "We publish under the team name instead of individual bylines"; no named author

F3 :2Content formats (text, video, interactive)

https://www.trychessmate.com/openings/italian-game — long text with diagrams, plus the interactive trainer (https://www.trychessmate.com/chess-opening-trainer); no video

F4 :1Published method of progression

https://www.trychessmate.com/blog — general advice ("Opening lines vs opening principles", "How to memorize chess openings"); no step-by-step curriculum

F5 :3How often the content is updated

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — dated version history, updated every month (1.1.8 of 6 November 2026, 1.1.7 of 3 November); https://www.trychessmate.com/blog dated every month from July to October; courses "Reviewed October 16, 2026"

G1 :0Playing humans online (pool, anti-cheating)

https://www.trychessmate.com/terms — "not a chess engine, tournament service"; no online play

G2 :0Realistic artificial opponents

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — no artificial opponent

G3 :0Replaying one specific position against the machine

https://www.trychessmate.com/tools — the board editor copies a FEN, with no game against the computer

G4 :0Tournaments and organized competition

https://www.trychessmate.com/privacy — only a weekly league of learning points; no tournaments

H1 :2Platforms available (web, iOS, Android, desktop)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — "available for iPhone on the App Store and for Android on Google Play"; on the web, only free tools (https://www.trychessmate.com/tools), not the app

H2 :1User ratings and reviews (stores, press)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wyverse.chessmate (re-read on 10 November 2026) — 4.2/5 from 626 reviews; App Store 4.8/5 from 24 ratings (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638)

H3 :2Interface languages available

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — 8 languages (English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish), opening names and explanations translated into Japanese (v1.0.6); localised notation not observed; website in English and Korean only

H4 :0Accessibility (keyboard, screen reader)

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — "has not yet indicated which accessibility features"; only the https://www.trychessmate.com/chess-board-coordinates tool mentions the keyboard

H5 :1Offline use and known incidents

https://www.trychessmate.com/privacy — training data "primarily stored on your device"; offline use not documented; no status page

I1 :0Preparing for a named opponent

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — no opponent preparation

I2 :0Annotating and sharing games (studies)

https://www.trychessmate.com/pgn-viewer — read-only, "not uploaded"; no annotation or sharing

I3 :0Entering a game played at a club (photo, scoresheet)

https://www.trychessmate.com/tools — position editor and PGN viewer, no entry of a game played at a club

I4 :0Searching your games (filters, position)

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638 — "Replay your games"; no game list or filter shown

J1 :0Access to human coaches

https://www.trychessmate.com/features — no human coach

J2 :0Size and activity of the community

https://www.trychessmate.com/ — no forum or Discord

J3 :0Tools for trainers, clubs and schools

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — no tools for clubs or schools

J4 :0Engagement mechanics (streaks, virtual currency, reminders)

https://www.trychessmate.com/faq — subscription at "$5.99 a week"; lines unlocked "with a short ad" and offer notifications (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-openings-chessmate/id6780793638, v1.1.4 and v1.1.7); streaks, daily goal and weekly league (https://www.trychessmate.com/privacy)

K1 :0Exporting your data (games, repertoire)

https://www.trychessmate.com/privacy — progress stored on the device, no export offered

K2 :1Protection of personal data (GDPR, hosting)

https://www.trychessmate.com/privacy (updated 6 November 2026) — processing "in the United States and other countries", PostHog, Google Analytics, AppsFlyer, Firebase; "We do not sell"

K3 :0Public API and source code

https://www.trychessmate.com/pgn-viewer — reads a pasted PGN game; https://www.trychessmate.com/tools: an editor that copies the FEN; no API or public code — reading a pasted game is neither import nor export of the player’s data: level 0