Notation is a chess coaching app that teaches you why — not just what.
Every chess evaluation comes from Stockfish 18, running entirely on your device. Every pattern, weakness, and tactical motif is detected by hand-tuned on-device classifiers built on decades of coaching theory. The language model's only job is the last step: explaining what the analysis found, in plain English, like a coach sitting next to you.
The chess is never generated. It's explained.
THREE COACHING FRAMEWORKS
Notation is the first chess app to operationalise multiple grandmaster-level coaching frameworks as deterministic measurement:
• Dan Heisman's seven positional elements — Mobility, Vulnerability, Centre Control, Coordination, Speed, Time, Flexibility — measured per-position with super-GM baselines
• Jeremy Silman's coaching emphasis frames — fifteen frames choosing what to teach at each moment
• Jacob Aagaard's positional predicates — Where are the weaknesses? Which is the worst-placed piece? What's the opponent's plan?
All computed on-device. All deterministic. The same principles human coaches have used for decades, encoded into classifiers that run before the language model ever sees the position.
GAME REVIEW
Every game gets a coherent on-device review — no API key needed, no internet, no cost. Template-driven narrative against the full coaching substrate. When you want depth, upgrade once with your own Anthropic or OpenAI API key, o ruse the On Device LLM with no additional costs and the richer review becomes the permanent artefact for that game. Nadia comments on at most six moments — only the ones worth learning from. PDF export of every review.
PLAYER PROFILE
Style axes — Aggression, Tactical Alertness, Positional Play, Endgame — derived from the substrate with confidence bands. The seven Heisman elements sit below as evidence. Full-screen iPad dashboard. PDF coaching report you could hand to a human coach.
OPPONENT SCOUTING & MATCHUP REPORTS
Scout reports surface the full eight-axis substrate on any opponent. How-to-play-against framing with concrete suggestions. Player-vs-opponent comparison across all axes with weakest-phase detection.
SHADOW — YOUR CHESS TWIN
Shadow learns how you play and saves checkpoints. Play yourself from six months ago. See how far you've come. Coming soon: calibrate Shadow to your real-life rivals by importing their games.
PLAY ON YOUR PHYSICAL BOARD
Pair with Chessnut Air, Pro, Go, Air+ and Move over Bluetooth. Notation tracks every move on real wood while Nadia coaches.
PRIVACY BY DESIGN
Stockfish on-device. All coaching classifiers on-device. Cohort baselines on-device. Optional cloud AI is bring-your-own-key — your Anthropic or OpenAI API key, your account, your data. We never see it. Leave the field blank and Notation works fully without it.
IMPORT YOUR GAMES
Connect Lichess or Chess.com. Import PGN files. Nadia analyses everything in the background.
£2.99. One-off. No subscription. No ads. No tracking. Yours forever.
Ratings & Reviews
This app has not received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
v3.0 — The coaching substrate is complete.
Game Review, rebuilt from scratch:
• On-device review for every game — no API key, no internet, no cost
• Nadia comments on at most six moments per game — only when there's something worth saying
• Three-layer narrative: top verdict, per-moment walk-through, takeaways
• Upgrade any review with Nadia's deeper commentary — one-off, not per-game
• PDF export of every review — print it, email it to a coach
Eight measurement axes on every position:
• Heisman's seven positional elements (Mobility, Vulnerability, Centre Control, Coordination, Speed, Time, Flexibility) — calibrated against 21 super-GMs
• Aagaard's three positional questions as a predicate library
• Fifteen coaching emphasis frames from Silman and Heisman choosing what to teach and when
Player Profile, rebuilt:
• Style axes (Aggression, Tactical Alertness, Positional Play, Endgame) derived from the substrate with confidence bands
• Full-screen iPad dashboard
• PDF coaching report — cover, style profile, per-axis deep dives, narrative summary
Opponent Scouting + Matchup Reports:
• Full eight-axis substrate on your opponents
• How-to-play-against framing with concrete preparation suggestions
• Player-vs-opponent comparison across all axes with weakest-phase detection
Nadia's voice, tightened:
• Every claim traces to measured data — she never invents observations
• Pedagogy-led: when coaching point and engine diverge, she teaches the lesson and acknowledges the difference honestly
• Terse by design — most moves don't need commentary
Under the hood:
• Per-moment evaluation cache — faster analysis, especially on long games
• Substrate-write integrity hardened across five code paths
• CloudKit schema migrations done deliberately — slow on purpose
Version 3.0.1
The developer, Darren Cox, 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 Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary based, for example, on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
Provider
Darren Cox
Size
446.1 MB
Category
Board
Compatibility
Requires iOS 18.6 or later.
iPhone Requires iOS 18.6 or later.
iPad Requires iPadOS 18.6 or later.
Mac Requires macOS 15.6 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
