The opening trainer is a study mode that walks you through a chosen opening on the board. Instead of memorizing lines from a book you play the moves yourself: find the right one and you advance, miss it and you get help.
It opens when you switch the study mode to “Study openings” on the practice page.
How does the drill work?
You pick an opening first, then one of its variations. A progress counter sits on screen: how many of the line's moves you've played correctly.
You move one step at a time. The next move has to be played on the board; a wrong move simply means try again. That's a different thing from reading lines — moving your hand on the board makes it stick far better.
Why the coach notes matter
In an opening, the point isn't the move order but the reason behind it. Turn the coach notes on and each move comes with a short idea: hold the centre, get the bishop to an active square, castle the king into safety.
Once that clicks, you're not lost the moment your opponent leaves the book. It's the player who understands the plan, not the one with twenty memorized lines, who takes over — something we also covered in our rating post.
Continuing from the line you studied
Finishing the variation isn't the end: you can carry on from that exact position against the computer. That closes the classic gap of “I know the main line but not what comes after”.
To see which openings you actually play and where you lose, the My openings page is built for it — details in our opening statistics post.
Who is it for?
🌱 Beginners: knowing one opening properly beats knowing ten halfway.
🔁 Repeat offenders: if your recent losses cluster in one opening, refreshing that line here is the fastest fix.
📈 Repertoire builders: try a new opening in a controlled setting before you risk it in a real game.
To pick an opening and start: the practice page.
See you in the next story.
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