Bottom Line Up Front

If you are looking for bullet games, you won't find them here. Chess via CLI is all about taking it slow. Real games with real opponents are supported via snailmail, but the real training value is in strict SAN input parsing, blindfold puzzles, and vision training. Further explanations of each are below.

What's Different Here

Chess on CLI-Games is no-frills. You don't move pieces with a mouse, you type in the SAN instead. This friction point provides a wealth of training value that your opponents will not have. Making a move in chess is in reality an extremely complex biochemical and neurological process. Slowing down and thinking about each step in that process ensures the links between them are battle tested and rock solid. When you first start out, it will feel like a slog. Good - that is by design. When you start to speed up, when it stops hurting, you will know that your process has been optimized and you will see the efficiency gains over the board.

Puzzles from Lichess - Thousands of real positions, rated by difficulty. Filter by ELO range, piece count, or both. Multi-move puzzles play through to completion.

Blindfold Mode - You ever plonk your Queen right into the crosshairs of your opponent's Knight? Of course you have. That's because you failed to maintain a mental model of the board state in your working memory. Blindfold mode addresses this. Start with a small number of pieces - configurable at game start - and gradually work your way up.

Vision Training - It's just naming letters and numbers, how hard can it be? Thirty seconds on the clock. A square lights up, name it fast. Your final score is correct over attempted. Believe it or not, this is a critical step in achieving whole-board awareness. Optional increased difficulty tiers.

Daily Puzzle

Every day, a new puzzle. Same for everyone. Solve it. Compare times. Brag or suffer in silence.

Access it with daily from the main terminal.

Getting Started

chess           Open the mode selection menu
chess -p        Jump straight to puzzles
chess -pb       Blindfold puzzles
chess -v        Vision trainer
chess -1        Play the AI

Puzzle Filters

Dial in exactly what you want to practice:

chess -p --elo 800           Easy puzzles
chess -p --elo 1500-2000     Intermediate range
chess -p --pieces 6          Endgames (few pieces)
chess -p --pieces 20-32      Middlegame chaos
chess -pb --elo 1200         Blindfold at 1200 level

Combine freely. If filters are too restrictive and nothing matches, widen them or try again - puzzle batches vary.

Vision Trainer Modes

Basic mode (30 seconds, no flags) is ranked on leaderboards. Everything else is practice.

chess -v                     Basic - identify squares
chess -v --flip              Board flips randomly
chess -v --moves             Mixed piece move questions
chess -v --time 60           Longer rounds
chess -v --flip --moves      Challenge mode

Volume Tracking

Volume is the product of puzzle difficulty and board complexity. Particularly useful for tracking bindfold progression. Try to reach 1 million. Must be signed in to track progress.

Volume = puzzle_rating * pieces_on_board / 100

Check your stats with stats puzzles.

Chess at CLI-Games