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Coaching prompts: make the AI chess coach your own

A prompt decides how the coach works for you: how deep it goes, how much jargon it uses, how long its answers are. Pick one of ours, take one another player shares, or write your own.

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One question, three coaches.

The same question about Morphy's Opera Game, answered with each built-in prompt.

Prompt

What's the best move here? Morphy's Opera Game, after 15...Nxd7

16.Qb8+!! wins on the spot: a queen sacrifice that mates in two, 16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8#.

  • The knight on d7 is Black's only defender. It blocks the d-file and is the only piece that can take on b8. Taking the queen pulls it off the file, and the rook comes to d8.
  • The king has nowhere to go. The bishop on g5 covers e7 and protects d8, while Black's own bishop on f8 and pawn on f7 take the other squares.

Other moves give Black time. 16.Qb5, pinning the knight, even throws the win away: after 16...Be7 17.Bxe7 Kxe7 the bishop on g5 is gone, and it's a draw.

White has something crushing here. Can you find it yourself?

  • Look at Black's knight on d7. What is it doing for Black right now? It has more than one job.
  • Now look at White's rook on the d-file. Which square would it love to reach, if only the knight weren't in the way?
  • Is there a check that forces the knight to leave its post, even if it costs you something big?

Give it a try: which move would you play?

White can win right away by giving up the queen!

  • 16.Qb8+ puts Black's king in check. The only way out is to take the queen with the knight: 16...Nxb8.
  • But that knight was standing in the way of White's rook on the d-file (the column the rook is on). Now 17.Rd8 is checkmate: the rook attacks the king, the bishop on g5 protects the rook, and the king has no square to run to.

This trick is called a deflection: you lure a defender away from the job it was doing. When one enemy piece guards something important all on its own, look for a way to pull it away.

Three built in

  • Coach, for club players: a verdict, the key ideas, short lines. It's where everyone starts.
  • Trainer, for improving players: questions and hints that lead you to the move, so you find it yourself.
  • Beginner, for casual players: one idea at a time, plain words, no numbers.

Write your own

Copy a built-in prompt and change what you'd like, or start from scratch: tell the coach how to answer, what to look for, how long to be, and which of its tools to use. Your prompts are private until you share them.

Share yours, use others'

Share a prompt under a public username, and other players can vote for it, copy it, or add it to the prompts they choose from. The shared prompts are listed with the most votes first, so the good ones are easy to find.

Switch any time

Choose your prompt in your settings, or right next to the board while you analyse. The next answer comes in the new voice.

Questions

Is it free?

Every plan, Free too
  • Your own coaching prompts

Everything each plan has: the plans.

Does a prompt change what's true?

No. A prompt changes how the coach explains, not what it checks: with every prompt, the coach answers from Stockfish's analysis, and its claims are checked the same way. See the AI chess coach.

Can others see my prompts?

Only the ones you share. Stop sharing one, and it's gone from the list and from everyone who added it.

What can a prompt change?

Its workflow, its focus, its level and its tone, and which of the coach's tools it uses. The rules that keep the coach honest stay the same underneath every prompt.

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