For chess coaches
Easier, more effective chess coaching.
Go through a game with one student or the whole class, as if you were sitting at the same board.
Free for coaches. Your students don’t pay either.
Maya Okonkwo
1740 · 6 games this week · 4 with notes
vs. R. Delacroix
Slav Defense · 30+5 · yesterday
vs. A. Lindqvist
London System · 15+10 · Tuesday
vs. J. Ferreira
Caro-Kann · 10+0 · Monday
vs. K. Nakamura-Reyes
King’s Indian · 30+5 · Sunday
Your student’s side of it
Your student’s thinking comes with the game.
They write on their own moves while the game is fresh — what worried them, what they worked out, why the plan looked right at the time.
A PGN gives you the moves. It can’t tell you why they played them, and that part is already sitting on the move it belongs to when you open the game.
On move 14
Maya · 14…Qb6
I knew the queen was loose here but I couldn’t find anything better. I spent six minutes and then panicked.
Maya · 19…Rad8
Felt like the only move. I didn’t look at the a-file at all.
Writing back
Write back on any move.
Your reply sits on that position, so move 14 and move 31 never blur into one thread. Your student answers you in the same place.
One to one, what the two of you write stays between you — not their friends, not another coach. In a class, the whole class reads it, because the lesson on one game is worth more to the people who did not play it.
Move 14 · between you and Maya
Maya
I spent six minutes here and then panicked.
Maya
Oh — it wanted c5. I never looked at it.
Just Maya, unless she’s in a class.
Lines
Play a line and they can step through it.
Some ideas take a paragraph to write and three moves to show. Play those moves out on the board and save them.
The line sits under the move it answers, and your student taps through it one position at a time. Add words to it or let the moves stand on their own.
A saved line
Instead of 18…Nxf6
Tap any move to put the board there.
It adds up
What you teach stays on the game.
Their thinking, your lines, the questions either of you asked — all of it sits on the moves it belongs to. Open it together in a lesson or work through it on your own, and it’s still there the next time either of you comes back to the game.
Worth knowing
Built for the person reading the game.
Free, for both of you
Coaching on Cortex costs nothing, and your students don’t need to pay for you to work with them here.
Private between you
What you write reaches that student and nobody else — not their friends, not another coach they work with.
The engine, when you want it
It’s a control on the board, and turning it on changes nothing on their side. Their own first look at the evaluation stays theirs.
A page that isn’t theirs
No lesson cards written for a beginner, no progress meters. Their game, their notes, and room to answer.
Questions
Straight answers.
How do I link with a student?
Either of you can start it. Send them a link, or accept theirs.
Once you're linked, their games show up on your page as they play them, so you don't have to ask for each one.
Do I have to pay?
No. Cortex Chess is free for coaches, and your students don't need to pay for you to read their games and write back.
Can I play out a line for them?
Yes. Play the moves on the board and save the line. It sits under the move it answers, and your student can tap through it a position at a time.
You can add words to it or leave the moves to speak for themselves.
Who else can see what I write?
It depends on whether they're in one of your classes. One to one, only that student sees it — they can choose to share it with one of their friends, but that's switched off until they turn it on, and another coach they work with never sees it. In a class, everyone in the class reads it, which is the point: what you explain on one game is worth more to the people who didn't play it.
What is a class?
A group of your students who can see each other's games, notes and your feedback on them. You make one, send its link, and everyone who opens it becomes your student and joins the class in one tap — no email addresses, and it works for people who don't have an account yet. They see what the class can read before they join, and they can leave whenever they like without ending your coaching.
What if I only want to look at one game?
A player can send you a single game as a link without linking with you at all. You get the same page. The link stops working the moment they take it back.
Start with one student.
Link with a player you already coach and see what their games look like when their thinking comes with them.
Free for chess coaches and their students.
Not a coach?
If you play chess and you’d like your coach reading your games, send them this page.