Aimchess Review: Is the AI Tool Actually Worth It?

Aimchess* has made headlines as the #1 AI-based chess tool, with over 100.000 users registering in 2021 alone. That is certainly high praise for a tool that has only been launched in 2020. Hence, a lot of chess enthusiasts wonder if Aimchess* is worth using, and how exactly it can help to increase their rating and chess skills. I’m here to answer all your questions on Aimchess and give an honest review on whether Aimchess is a good investment (and for whom!). Let’s get right into it!

What is Aimchess?

Let’s start with the basics. Aimchess* is a digital chess training program that uses artifical intelligence to analyse your online games and create a personalized training program based on your strengths and weaknesses. Sounds complicated, but it’s really just an improvement over the regular training suites we know from Lichess or Chess.com.

Here is how Aimchess* describes itself in a funny video commercial:

How Aimchess Works

Aimchess* has two primary features, which can be summarized into to categories: analysis and training. Both these Aimchess features provide a good way to bring your chess to the next level. Let’s look at how exactly you can use them.

Analysis: Reports Of Your Online Games

One of the main features of Aimchess* is the analysis of your online games. You can connect a Lichess, Chess.com or Chess24 account to your Aimchess account and create an exhaustive report of your previous games. This is an overview of such a report:

As you can see, my openings aren’t that bad, but I definitely need to work on my resourcefulness (which is my ability to draw or win games when I have a disadvantage).

My personal stronghold is Advantage Capitalization, which is my ability to convert material or positional advantages into wins:

This is only a small overview of all the data Aimchess* collects and gives you insight about. Their AI will tell you about your openings, endgames, tactics, time management, resourcefulness and advantage capitalization.

But, the main advantage of Aimchess* is the fact that you can now start working on your weaknesses with personalized training sessions.

Personalized Training

So, let’s look at those personalized lessons. The most basic form are personalized tactics:

In these, you are presented a puzzle that is based on previous mistakes you made. I couldn’t find out whether these are actual positions I played previously or if they just have a similar theme (maybe someone knows?).

Overall, there are 13 different options in the Aimchess* training room:

They are all personalized and based on your previous online games on Lichess, Chess.com or Chess24.

In addition, Aimchess* has released Adaptive Tactics. Those are puzzles that adapt to your strengths and weaknesses, as well as using spaced repetition learning.

Have you tried our adaptive tactics that learn from you? Just start doing tactics exercises in Aimchess and you'll start to get personalized feedback based on your mistakes!#chess pic.twitter.com/UDmovftmdC

— Aimchess, by the Play Magnus Group (@Aimchessdotcom) December 7, 2022

How Aimchess Can Help You Improve Your Chess

Aimchess* can be a useful tool for improving your chess skills because they allow you to practice specific types of positions or tactics that you need to work on. By solving puzzles that are tailored to your specific weaknesses, you can focus your practice on the areas where you need the most improvement, rather than just solving random puzzles (as is the case on Lichess, Chess.com or Chess24). This targeted practice can help you become a stronger chess player by helping you develop your tactical and strategic skills in a more efficient and effective manner.

“Blunder Preventer Puzzles”

An especially innovative approach to chess learning are “Blunder Preventer Puzzles”. Most chess training sites (or those that offer tactical puzzles) focus only on the offense by posing the question: “How do you win material after your opponent made a mistake?”. Aimchess* takes a different approach and also teaches you how to avoid blunders of your own, by offering “blunder preventer puzzles” that focus on the defensive side of chess. Here you are offered two seemingly good moves to choose between, but: one is a fine move, while the other is a blunder. So choose wisely.

What I Don’t Like At Aimchess

Overall, I really like the idea and execution of Aimchess*. Aimchess is a good tool for chess players to approach improvement from a numbers- and fact-driven basis. However, there are some things that really need to be worked on to make Aimchess* the perfect solution for chess improvement!

First off, I found the UI to be buggy at some times. This is to be somewhat expected as Aimchess* was only founded in 2020, but after being aquired by PlayMagnus in 2021, I feel like it’s time to work out the bugs. I had problems with connecting my accounts (worked after a few tries, still not ideal) as well as getting stuck in a never-ending loading loop. Nothing major, but annoying nonetheless.

Also: the UI seems kind of empty and filled with a lot of white-space. This is in complete contrast to their main website, which is really flashy and fancy. This is not major issue, but it makes the product seem almost unfinished.

We’re going to look at pricing in the next paragraph, but I want to mention it here as well. For almost 8$/month I expect a bit more features to be honest. Lichess already offers incredible analysis and training completely for free, so Aimchess needs to offer some incredible value to compete here.

Can You Use Aimchess For Free? A Look At Pricing

The good message upfront: Yes! You can use a basic version of Aimchess* for free. However, there is a premium subscription, which might be worth your money if you’re serious about improving at chess.

Aimchess* offers three tiers of service:

• The free version allows one 40 game analysis report each months, a weekly personalized study plan, one daily warm up + training session as well as unlimited studies.
• The premium version has no restrictions on the amount of reports, a vast analysis of your previous online games, deeper analysis as well as no restriction on daily trainings.

Looking at the cost, Aimchess Premium is $7.99 when billed monthly and $4.85 when billed annually. The free version is not time limited in any way. With this, Aimchess is rather affordable compared to a chess coach, but can it actually replace one?

What To Expect (And What Not To Expect) From Aimchess

When looking to improve your chess, it can be easy to look for shortcuts. Trust me when I say, there are no shortcuts to getting better at chess. With that in mind, I think it is important to manage expectations when it comes to using Aimchess*.

From Aimchess*, you should expect:

• A helpful tool in your arsenal to increase your overall chess rating and performance.
• An increase in your learning efficiency, as you can concentrate on particular weaknesses in your play.
• A great chess interface with lots of data to work through (be prepared for this!).

But, you shouldn’t expect:

• A cheap shortcut to becoming a Grandmaster.
• A replacement for a real chess coach.

Judgement Day: Is Aimchess Worth It?

With all the positives and negatives mentioned, it is time to strike judgement.

For me, Aimchess is worth it for players who are very serious about improving their chess. I would recommend everyone to sign up for a free account with Aimchess*, since you really have nothing to lose here. You can get a good grasp for most features even in the free version, at which point you can decide whether Aimchess Premium is worth the investment.

Aimchess* can be a great addition to any chess player’s suite of training tools, especially as it seemlessly integrates into your routine by linking to your online chess accounts.

Aimchess Socials

• Website: https://aimchess.com/*
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aimchessdotcom
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aimchess_digital_coach
• Support: [email protected]

Aimchess FAQ

Check Out Our Other Reviews

• Chess.com Review: Is a Premium Membership Worth It?
• ChessMood Review: Is ChessMood a Good Investment?
• Aimchess Review: Is the AI Tool Actually Worth It?