Zugzwanged

Opening & tactics trainer

Only for iPhone

Free · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.

iPhone

Zugzwanged is focused chess training for self-directed players: build your opening repertoire, see exactly where your real games leave it, and train both openings and tactics with purpose. REPERTOIRE BUILDER Build it in one tap, import a Lichess Study, or add lines move by move. As you build, every opponent reply shows how often you actually meet it at your rating and time control, drawn from millions of real games, and the explorer marks its suggested answer, based on statistics, your own games, and engine evaluation. Set one coverage goal, such as answering everything you meet at least once in 100 games: that single number decides which missing answers count as gaps, how complete each book is, and which lines you drill, so they always agree. A REPERTOIRE BUILT FOR YOU, IN ONE TAP No repertoire yet? Zugzwanged builds complete White and Black books for you, automatically. Each book opens with the first move you actually play, and every reply is chosen on evidence: engine evaluation, master practice, and results at your own rating level, favouring moves that keep the book's pawn structures so the repertoire hangs together as one plan. It covers the replies you actually meet, builds in the background even if you close the app, and lands as a normal book you can train immediately or edit freely. SPACED REPETITION Train your own lines on a schedule that gives common replies more attention and rare sidelines less. A daily ration keeps sessions finishable, and you can always drill a whole book before a tournament. LEARN FROM YOUR GAMES Connect Chess.com or Lichess. When a game leaves your book, open that exact position on the analysis board and decide whether your repertoire needs another move. A COMPLETE TACTICS TRAINER Solve rated puzzles, build custom sets by theme and difficulty, repeat failures, or run Woodpecker-style cycles. Zugzwanged also mines tactical mistakes from your own games and turns them into personal puzzles. NO COURSES, NO GIMMICKS Zugzwanged does not sell opening courses or pick a repertoire for you. No ads, no tracking, no leagues or artificial rewards. Free while in beta.

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Redesigned training card - One clear count per task, and a paused session picks up where you left off - Retry missed moves later the same day with the same setup, now part of Train - Train more goes straight to training when there is only one option Better opening training - Difficult moves show the move that led there and the line so far - Failed moves count toward today's limit, and retries after 30 minutes are graded Fixes - Evaluation bar no longer flips sign when stepping through a play-out - The engine pauses briefly before replying in play-out, even when it finds a mate - Hint and copy buttons use the same icons as the rest of the app

The developer, MIKKEL JUUL ERUP, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

  • Data Linked to You

    The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:

    • Contact Info
    • Usage Data
    • Diagnostics
  • Data Not Linked to You

    The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

    • User Content
    • Identifiers

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More

Seller
MIKKEL JUUL ERUP
Size
31 MB
Category
Education
Compatibility
Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • iPhone
    Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • iPod touch
    Requires iOS 15.0 or later.
  • Mac
    Requires macOS 12.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
  • Apple Vision
    Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
Languages
English
Age Rating
4+
Copyright
© 2026 Mikkel Juul Erup