ChessLise Breaking Updates

ChessLise Breaking updates

Hey all, I'm back with some breaking updates! It's been quite a journey since my last ChessLise blog post about the initial web version. Back then, I talked about various problems I was facing and how I would address them in future releases. Well, here I am writing about exactly that!
If you're new here and don't know what ChessLise is, feel free to check out my previous posts after reading this one.

This blog is just me going over ChessLise's latest Discord commands and the fully redesigned website with features that solve the problems we chess players face day to day, and some amazing new updates I'm working on.

So let's dive in :)

Solving Real Chess Problems

When I talk about chess problems, I don't mean the puzzles, but the problems we face when we are not doing chess, it's around chess, for example, finding someone to train a chess opening with. I'll be honest, finding someone to study with or just play consistent games was frustrating me. You'd join random Discord servers, post "anyone want to practice openings?" and either get no response or end up with someone way above or below your level. The mismatch problem was real. Even if you didn't use Discord, you did find a random game on Lichess and pray someone will play into your special opening theory, and they hit you with some random bongcloud theory.

ChessLise Network:

To solve this problem I faced, and I guess chess players face this problem day to day, I decided to come up with algorithm to connect players, I took inspiration on matched on Lichess by time control for a game, but instead of the time control I thought about players answering certain questions like "What's your favorite X?" The idea is simple you answer 6 questions such as what is your favorite platform (Lichess, or guest Lichess), the time control you like, the player, chess piece, opening, and chess style you like and from there the system will search for at least one condition to be met to find you a chess friend which you can connect with and possibly train opening, talk about chess or just hang out! I call this matching system ChessLise network, where players can join the network, and players in and outside the network can find players according to their preferences. Sort of like Facebook but not really..

(Example search where I look for a player who might admire Gukesh's play, I can connect with Jackie on Discord to discuss his favorite Gukesh games, and also teach me King's Indian Defense, you can log in to join the network easily to find new people like Jackie.)

ChessLise Sessions:

Another problem I kept running into was organizing chess activities. You'd want to practice a specific opening or work on endgames, but coordinating with others was a mess. Someone would say "let's do some tactical training" in a Discord chat, but by the time you see the message, they're already done or offline. I was missing out on so many good study opportunities just because of poor timing and organization.

To solve this, I created ChessLise Sessions - think of it like posting events, but specifically for chess activities. The concept is straightforward: any player can create a session for whatever they want to work on, whether it's tournament prep, opening study, endgame practice, or just casual games. They describe what they're doing, when they're doing it, and others can browse through all the available sessions and join the ones that interest them. The sessions are open to everyone. If you're a chess coach who wants to post details about your upcoming lecture, or a complete chess noob like me who needs to understand how endgames work in a group Discord call, ChessLise Sessions supports it all. Users can specify where the session is happening (Discord server, Lichess study, etc.) and share their Discord details so interested players can reach out directly.

It's like having a bulletin board where everyone posts their chess activities, but instead of being scattered across different Discord servers and getting buried in chat history, everything is organized in one place. Players can see what's happening, what's coming up, and participate instead of missing out because they weren't online at the right moment. No more "oh, I wish I knew you were doing Sicilian prep, I would have joined!"

The tool is quite universal - whether you want to host a training session, organize group study, or find others to work on specific aspects of your game, it gives everyone a central place to connect and coordinate their chess activities.

(As you can see, many players have already started posting their sessions, since Reza wants to play openings, I can connect with him, which I already did! When you are logged in, you can create, update, and delete the session directly without running any Discord commands.)

ChessLise Communities:

I was also getting frustrated with finding decent chess Discord servers. You'd search "chess discord" and get random invites, join a server that looked promising, only to find it's either completely dead with 5 people who haven't spoken in months, or it's so chaotic and massive that your messages get lost in the spam. I wasted so much time hopping between servers trying to find communities that actually matched what I was looking for - whether that was serious study groups, casual blitz players, or people who shared my opening preferences.

To tackle this problem, I built ChessLise Communities, essentially a curated directory of chess Discord communities. Right now, the platform has communities like Classical Match for those into serious long-form games, Lichess Ladders for competitive ladder play, ChessDojo's training program community, and Chessboard Magic's website community. Instead of blindly joining random servers and hoping for the best, players can browse through these different communities and see what each one is actually about.

The idea is simple: save players the headache of server shopping. You can see what each community focuses on - whether it's classical training, competitive ladders, or specific chess platforms - and join the ones that align with your chess interests and goals. No more joining 10 servers just to find one that isn't either dead or overwhelming. It's like having a chess community matchmaker that connects you with Discord servers where you'll actually want to stick around and participate.

(As you can see, the communities are listed, one can explore and join them than having to search other places, community owners can also request to be part of Chesslise communities!)

Discord Commands: Making Chess Experience Great

Chess Puzzles Were Boring and Repetitive

I love tactical puzzles, but most Discord bots serve the same basic puzzles over and over. You'd get the same fork or pin pattern for the fifth time this week, and it just wasn't helping me improve anymore. I wanted access to fresh, challenging puzzles that would push my tactical vision forward.
The /puzzle command became my solution to this problem. It taps into Lichess's massive puzzle database - we're talking about 5+ million puzzles here. The variety is incredible. You can get anything from basic tactics to complex combinations, all sourced from real games. No more seeing the same 50 puzzles that some bot developer manually added. Every time you use the command, you're getting a fresh challenge that helps you grow. ChessLise also allows selecting puzzles from a particular chess theme, like doing an endgame puzzle with pawn breaks, or doing opening-based puzzles on the theme of hanging pieces, so you don't hang the queen after reading this blog post ;)

(Can you solve this mate in 4 puzzle?)

Reading Chess Games in Discord Was Painful

Ever tried to analyze a game in Discord? Someone pastes a PGN and you're stuck trying to visualize 30+ moves in your head, or you're constantly switching between Discord and a chessboard just to follow along. It was incredibly annoying, especially when you wanted to discuss specific positions or variations with others in the chat.

The /pgn command solves this problem completely. You can actually read and scroll through games right in Discord. Move forward and backward through the game, see the position clearly at each step, and follow along without needing external tools. It's one of those simple ideas that just makes the Discord chess experience so much smoother. Now, when someone shares a brilliant game or wants to analyze a position, everyone can follow the discussion properly.

(As you can see, the /pgn command properly parses the pgn game, and also highlights the move played in the embed itself)

ChessLise & Lichess Ladder Integration:

I was also struggling to find high-quality competitive games to watch and learn from. Sure, you could browse random games on Lichess, but finding consistently strong players and following ladder competitions was a mess. You'd hear about these great ladder matches, but had no easy way to track players or see leaderboards. Lichess ladders provide a great quality of classical chess and a ladder system for players to win and play their best chess.

The /ladderplayerinfo and /lichessladders commands tackle this problem head-on. These aren't sponsored features or anything - I just think ladder games provide some of the highest quality chess you can find, and that is why I added ladder commands to ChessLise. The commands let you view detailed ladder player information and browse ladder leaderboards right from Discord. Whether you want to follow your favorite ladder player's progress or see who's dominating the current season, you can get all that info without leaving your Discord chat. It's perfect for keeping up with competitive chess and finding those high-level games worth studying.

(A preview of the current 30+30 Lichess ladder leaderboard, about 97 players are fighting their way up to the ladder, you can see the official standings here)

Demo

https://youtu.be/wZaXtWi22C0?si=wV8mtOjqtqTH9J1z

Conclusion

I built ChessLise to solve my problems, and it turns out other chess players had the same frustrations. The new website and Discord commands aren't just features, they're solutions to real problems we face as chess players. If you haven't tried the new stuff yet, give it a shot. And if you run into other chess-related problems that ChessLise could solve, let me know. Every frustration is just another opportunity to make the chess experience better!

(Matt, who actively uses ChessLise, praises the new updates, thanks @Matt!)

ChessLise website
ChessLise team to get updates
Discord community

Thanks for reading,

- Noob