Magnus Trainer - Train Chess

Very good to get better at chess

The skills that make you a better player, especially if you are into blitz games, are gamified. It's great fun. The app is a bit glitchy and the games are light on explanation. The help and support functions are nonexistent. But it's just you against the app, so you can eventually figure it out and move on. I think I play better now than I did before I started using the app. I think I visualize the board better. For the cost of this app, I hope so.

I’ve struggled to learn how to play chess, and this is the first app I’ve been able to understand…mostly. Once you get to learn the pawn, the game suddenly adds in pieces to avoid or capture without noting it or reminding you of their movement patterns. To a total newbie, this was immediately chaos. The checkmate lesson/practice was essentially impossible. Too many pieces to keep track of right as the knowledge is still fresh. It was like being thrown into the deep end of the pool after a 15 min swimming lesson. The pieces should’ve had a lot more practice that gradually introduced obstacles, and the checkmate level should’ve stayed much simpler for that first lesson. Also, I find it off-putting that the developer has his face everywhere, as well as his own games and moves as examples, as well as a way of writing the lessons that is absolutely giving narcissist. Listen, I get that you’re good at chess but you don’t have to center that in your app design. Make it about the users, not yourself. Lastly, there’s a huge lag when you tap the lesson levels, it takes about 10 seconds to actually load. I’ve only gotten through the piece lessons so far, but I do appreciate that I’ve learned more about chess with this app than any other. I hope it continues to be helpful!