Welcome to the Chess PGN Trainer Beta!
With this app, you will be able to Start or Import, Build, analyze, expand, and train on your Chess Openings Repertoire. I’ve kept the introductory information minimal because I want to see if the app's features are naturally discoverable for a real-world user. While some features are premium (requiring in-app purchases), the free tier and initial credits give you plenty of room to test the full power of the app.
What You Need Before We Start
To really test the app, you should be a player who understands what PGNs and opening repertoires (courses) are. Please have the following ready on your iPhone:
A PGN of a repertoire: Choose an opening you normally play games with (like a Pirc, Dutch defense, or whatever you prefer). If you don't have one, search for "Lichess Opening Study Smith Morra Gambit" on Lichess, click the Share icon below the board, and tap the blue button to "download Study PGN". Detailed instructions are here
A PGN to paste: Have another example PGN copied to your iPhone clipboard to test the paste function.
A game of your own: Have a PGN of one of your own games ready, or have your chess.com / lichess.org account handy to test the "Check my game" function.
How to Install the App
This beta is run securely through Apple’s TestFlight program.
Contact me to get a TestFlight URL for the Beta: If you are on this page, you already know how.
Download TestFlight: Install the free "TestFlight" app from the App Store (published by Apple Inc.).
Install the App: Once I register your Apple ID, you will see "Chess PGN Trainer" available to install inside the TestFlight app.
How to Test: Fiddle with Everything!
If you see a button, press it. Explore menus, and don't be afraid to test the In-App Purchases (no real money is spent) if you feel like it. Spend about 15 minutes trying to do what you would normally want to do with your repertoire.
When reporting feedback, please categorize it into one of these buckets:
"Ughs" (Visuals): Crooked UI, or items that look too big/small. Please include a screenshot.
"Hmm?s" (Confusion): Features or buttons that remain unclear even after you've fiddled with them. Please include a screenshot.
"I could not" (Missing Features): Things you expected to be able to do, but couldn't figure out how to accomplish.
"Unexpected" (Bugs): The app did one thing (or did not respond at all) when you expected it to do something else based on your inputs. Let me know what you did, and what you expected to happen.
How to Send Feedback
The Easiest Way (Screenshots): If you see an issue while in the app, just take a screenshot on your iPhone. This will immediately prompt a sharing sheet where you can type your comments and send the feedback and crash log directly to me.
TestFlight App: You can also open the TestFlight app, tap our app, and select "Send Beta Feedback".
Crashes: After a crash, a dialog box usually appears when reopening the app. Please opt to share that crash report with your comments.
One Last Thing: Feature Discoverability
At the END of all your testing, please send me a final piece of feedback if you DID NOT see how to do any of the following features in the app (don’t read the list now – only after you are done exploring):
· Merging two PGNs/Studies (or adding one Study PGN to an existing one)
· Analyzing a position using Stockfish
· Adding a Stockfish-analyzed line back to the repertoire
· Removing (forgetting) a line from the repertoire
· Reviewing your game to see where you deviated from the repertoire, or where the opponent made a move not in your repertoire