Welcome to your personalized Chess PGN Trainer! This app is designed to help you build, analyze, and master your opening repertoire. Whether you are memorizing complex lines, evaluating games with Stockfish, or managing massive PGN libraries, this guide will help you get the most out of your training.
1. Getting Started: Building Your Library
The Library is the heart of your app. Here, you can store and organize all your chess repertoires and analyzed games.
To add a new PGN to your library, tap the Add... button at the bottom of the screen. You have three options:
• Import Local: Select one or multiple .pgn files saved on your device or iCloud Drive.
• Paste: Copy a PGN text string from anywhere (like an online chess site) and paste it directly into the app.
• Download from Market: Browse and download curated PGNs directly from our cloud catalog. Some files are free, while others are exclusive to premium members.
Choosing a Perspective:
When you load or import a PGN, you will be asked which side you want to train as (White, Black, or Both). This sets the default orientation of the board and determines which side's moves you will be tested on during training.
2. Searching & Managing Your Studies
As your library grows, finding specific lines is easy using the Search Bar. The app supports powerful search filters:
• By Name: Type the title of your PGN (e.g., "White Repertoire").
• By Opening (ECO): Search for standard chess openings or ECO codes (e.g., "Sicilian Dragon" or "B90").
• By Move Sequence: Type exact chess notation to find a specific position. You can even use ... as a wildcard to skip moves! (e.g., typing e4 c5 ... Nf3 will find any game that features those moves, regardless of what happened in between).
Managing PGNs:
Tap the card of any PGN to expand it. By tapping the More Options (...) menu, you can:
• Export PGN: Share the raw text file with friends or other apps.
• Rename: Change the display name of the study.
• Add to...: Merge the selected PGN into another existing study in your library.
• Delete: Permanently remove the study from your device.
4. Ask Stockfish: Analysis & Editing
Whenever you are reviewing a game or studying a line, you can access powerful engine analysis. Our app features a built-in Stockfish engine (with NNUE support) to evaluate any position on the board.
Using the Engine:
• Evaluation Bar: Shows who is winning. Positive scores favor White; negative scores favor Black.
• Engine Lines: Toggle "Show Engine Lines" from the menu to see the top 5 best continuations calculated by Stockfish in real-time.
• Play Against Engine: Want to practice a specific position? Toggle "Play Against Engine" to have Stockfish automatically play the opponent's moves against you from the current board state.
Editing & Annotating:
• Add Engine Lines: See a Stockfish line you like? Make the move on the board, open the menu, and tap "Add line to the study" to permanently save it to your PGN.
• Assessments & Comments: Tap the Pencil icon next to the current move to write your own notes. You can also assign standard chess assessments (NAGs) like Brilliant move, Blunder, Mistake, or Interesting move.
5. The Energy System & Your Trainer
To keep the app running smoothly, certain heavy computations and premium features consume Energy Points.
Every user starts with a free Trial of 100 Energy Points.
What costs Energy?
• Opening a massive study (over 1,800 moves): 1 point
• Running a full Game Analysis: 2 points
• Adding a new variation to a study: 5 points
• Merging two PGN files together: 5 points
• Downloading a Member-Only file: 10 points
Note: The app will always warn you before consuming points. If you run out of points, you will see the message: "Your trainer has no energy left. Features requiring energy points will be restricted." All free features (like viewing your saved games and standard training) will remain fully accessible.
Promoting Your Trainer
You can check your current energy balance and promote your Trainer by tapping the Account Profile Icon on the main library screen.
• ♟️ Trial User: Anonymous account.
• ♙ PawnBeak: Free registered user. (Sign in with Apple to instantly claim a +100 point bonus and upgrade to a PawnBeak!)
• ♘ KnightBeak: A one-time purchase that permanently adds +1,000 Energy Points to your wallet.
• ♕ QueenBeak: An annual subscription that grants Unlimited Energy and unlocks all premium features.
• ♔ KingBeak: The ultimate tier. A one-time lifetime purchase that grants Unlimited Energy forever.
6. Account & Cloud Sync
We highly recommend tapping "Sign in with Apple" on the Account page.
Why Sign In?
1. Cross-Device Sync: Your energy points, library, and Trainer status are securely backed up to the cloud. If you get a new iPhone or iPad, simply sign in to instantly restore your data.
2. Sign-In Bonus: You instantly receive 100 free Energy Points the very first time you link an account.
Managing Your Account:
• Restore Purchases: If you reinstall the app, tap this to retrieve your active QueenBeak or KingBeak status.
• Restore Energy Warnings: If you previously hid the pop-up warnings that appear before spending points, you can turn them back on here.
• Delete Account: You can securely delete your account and all associated data at any time. (Note: Deleting your account will erase your points, but it does not cancel App Store subscriptions like QueenBeak. Those must be managed in your iOS Settings).