Blog
Notes on free AI chess coaching
What a good AI coach does and doesn't do, how to learn during a game without playing on autopilot, how to study so it sticks, and how the engines underneath think.
Chess opponents kids can actually beat
Why matched opponents matter so much for children, what a losing streak does to a young player, and how Walnut's animal friends start very weak and grow with your child.
KidsHow to teach your child chess (ages 5–12)
A practical guide for parents, by age: short sessions, one piece at a time, puzzles that feel like games, and why letting them win now and then is part of the plan.
KidsIs an AI chess coach safe for kids?
An honest checklist for parents: who owns the account, who your child can talk to, what is kept and how to delete it, and whether the AI stays on topic. And how Walnut Chess answers each one.
Walnut ChessA free AI chess coach, and why it stays free
Walnut Chess is completely free: no subscription, no premium tier, no card. Here is exactly what that means, why we built it that way, and what "always free" commits us to.
ImprovementHow to get better at chess for free
You don't need a paid subscription or private lessons to improve at chess. A free weekly routine built on guided games, puzzles, reviews and a little study, plus the best free resources to go with it.
CoachingWhat is an AI chess coach? What it should do, and what it shouldn't
An engine gives you the best move. A chatbot gives you confident guesses. A real AI chess coach combines the two so it is right about the chess and useful to you. Here is what to expect from one.
ImprovementYour first week with an AI chess coach
A day-by-day plan for the first seven days with Walnut Chess, about twenty minutes a day, from the first chat with your coach to your first real game review.
CoachingGuided play: how to learn during a game without playing on autopilot
Feedback helps most at the moment you make a decision. Guided play puts an AI coach beside the board while you play, and a few habits keep it teaching you rather than playing for you.
CoachingAI coach or human coach? What each does best
A good human coach is still the gold standard, and most players will never have one. Here is what an AI chess coach does well, what a human does better, and how to combine them.
StudySeven endgames every club player should know
A short list of endgame positions and rules that come up again and again, and win or save more half-points than any opening trick.
Game AIPlaying an AI at your level: Elo, handicaps and honest bots
What an Elo rating really predicts, why a well-matched opponent teaches more than a perfect one, and why we name our bots after the class of player they play like.
ImprovementLearning from your own games: a twenty-minute review routine
Your own games are the best study material you have. A simple routine for reviewing them, plus the blunder check that prevents the most common losses.
StudyHow to study openings without memorising everything
Learn the ideas first, memorise only the lines that bite, and use spaced repetition for the rest. A practical plan for building a repertoire you actually remember.
CoachingWhy a coach beats a raw engine line
An engine tells you the best move. A coach tells you why, what else you could have played, and what to remember next time. Here is the difference, and how to get the second from the first.
Game AIGame AI beyond chess: ghosts, Go, poker and real-time strategy
Why some games fell to computers decades before others, and how search, learning and plain good design each play their part.
EnginesHow chess engines think: from Turing's paper machine to NNUE
Minimax, alpha-beta, evaluation functions and neural networks: the ideas behind every chess engine, and the seventy-year road that got us to Stockfish.