Chessboard Magic: Feb 2025 Update

Welcome to the February 2025 update for Chessboard Magic! This release introduces a new category of classic arcade games with a unique chess twist. These games take the nostalgic gameplay you know and love—fast-paced mazes, puzzles, and more—and reimagine them with chess-inspired elements to bring a fresh perspective to the classics.
Whether you grew up playing these timeless arcade hits or are discovering them for the first time, their blend of strategy, fun, and nostalgia is sure to captivate players of all ages. Stay tuned as we continue to expand the magic of Chessboard Magic!

Join us here: Chessboard Magic Discord
Visit chessboardmagic.com

Updates

This past year has been full of exciting changes and improvements on Chessboard Magic. I’ve been hard at work creating new games, updating existing ones, and adding useful tools that make the platform more robust and fun for all chess lovers. In this update, you’ll find a mix of new features, game improvements, and behind-the-scenes optimizations that will make the site even more enjoyable.

• (New Game) Whack A Pawn this fast-paced game challenges your reflexes and strategy as pawns pop up from their squares on the board, daring you to tap and "whack" them back before time runs out. Designed for players of all ages and skill levels, Whack A Pawn combines vibrant visuals, engaging sound effects, and increasingly challenging levels to keep you on your toes.
• (New Game) Jumping Knight a twist on the classic Flappy Bird concept with a chess-inspired flair! Guide a nimble knight through an endless chessboard, leaping over obstacles and collecting points. With vibrant visuals, engaging gameplay, and challenges for all skill levels, it’s endless fun!
• (Learning) Checkmate Trainer practice classic checkmating patterns in a fun, interactive chess game designed for all skill levels. Play against an engine, sharpen your strategies, and improve your endgame skills with vibrant visuals and engaging, hands-on practice
• (Learning) Coordinate Trainer learn and master chessboard coordinates through fun, interactive challenges designed for all skill levels. Perfect your spatial awareness and board mastery with engaging visuals and dynamic gameplay, making learning both effective and enjoyable!
• (Tool) Chess Clock The Chessboard Clock app brings the functionality of DGT clocks directly to your mobile phone. Designed for convenience and accuracy, it replicates the classic chess clock experience with customizable time controls, intuitive touch controls, and a sleek, user-friendly interface. Perfect for games on the go!
• Performance Optimization - With the growing number of players (averaging around 150 users per day), I’ve worked on optimizing performance and upgrading the backend infrastructure to handle the increased traffic. This means a smoother, faster experience for everyone!
• Bug Fixes & Usability Improvements - Of course, no update would be complete without several bug fixes and improvements to make the site more enjoyable and user-friendly. Thank you to everyone who reported issues—I couldn’t have done it without your help!
• Added Free Promotion - This will be used to provide free promotion to chess content creators or resources. Message me if you want to be included or know of other resources that should get some extra exposure.

Programming Chess Web Applications

Creating chess web applications has been an incredibly fun and rewarding journey, and I want to share that experience with you! That’s why I’ve put together a five-part series to help you program your own chess web app from scratch. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting out, this series covers all the essentials to get you up and running.
Here’s what’s included in the series:

• Part 1: Getting Started – Dive into the basics of web development as we install the necessary tools and set up your first chess web application. You’ll learn how to create a solid foundation for your project and get comfortable with the development environment.
• Part 2: Integrating Stockfish for Analysis – Take your app to the next level by integrating Stockfish, one of the world’s strongest chess engines. Learn how to add powerful analysis capabilities to make your application truly interactive and insightful.
• Part 3: Deploying Your Chess Web Application – Once your app is functional, it’s time to share it with the world! This guide will walk you through deploying your application to a live server so anyone can access and enjoy it.
• Part 4: Customisation of Your Chessboard – Stand out by giving your chessboard a distinct look and feel. This section will teach you how to modify the visual aspects of your board, from colors and styles to animations and themes.
• Part 5: Creating a Basic Game Review – Build a game review web application that lets users analyze their moves, explore variations, and learn from their mistakes. This step combines functionality and user engagement to create a complete chess experience.

If you haven’t read these yet, do check them out!

Coming Soon

I am happy to announce that even more chess-themed Arcade games are on their way! These upcoming games are inspired by beloved gaming genres, now reimagined with a unique chess twist. Here's a sneak peek:

• Rook Runner: An endless runner where you dodge obstacles, collect bonuses, and aim for the highest score.
• Pawn Breaker: A brick-breaking game where you bounce a piece to smash blocks and unlock new levels.
• King Hunt: A Pac-Man-style maze game where you navigate a grid, collecting items and avoiding enemies.
• Chess Crusher: A Candy Crush-style puzzle game where you match and clear pieces to complete challenging levels.

I am also planning to develop the following chess applications:

• Repertoire Builder: This will allow chess players to prepare their openings with comments, explore variations using an engine, and compare their played games against their repertoire. Users can make their repertoires public and connect their Lichess or Chess.com accounts for deeper analysis
• Opening Analyzer: A tool designed to pinpoint inaccuracies in the opening phase of a game, providing players with insights into how to build a solid foundation right from the start.
• Game Review Tool: A feature that allows players to analyze their games move by move, highlighting mistakes, blunders, and missed opportunities to help them improve their play.
• Chess Principles Integration: A new addition to the Learn section that will teach key chess principles, such as control of the center, piece activity, and king safety, to help players understand and apply these concepts in their games.

The next release will be on our 1 year anniversary on the Tuesday 27th May 2025, yes, it has only been one year since my initial release with 5 games.

Full Catalogue of Chessboard Magic

Here’s the latest update on Chessboard Magic—now featuring an impressive 39 unique items! With a goal of reaching 64, just 25 more items to go. I’m excited to keep pushing forward and make it happen!
Games (17):

• (NEW) Whack-A-Pawn
• (NEW) Jumping Knight
• Chess Cryptogram
• Decrypt Chess
• Rotating Image Puzzle
• Chess Anagrams
• Chess Slide
• Chess Crossword
• Chess Hangman
• Chess Wordsearch
• Guess the Elo
• Guess the Eval
• Guess the Move
• Guess the Opening
• Guess Who
• Image Puzzle
• Play The Opening

Analytics (2):

• User Scout
• Opponent Prep

Learn (7):

• (NEW) Checkmate Trainer
• (NEW) Coordinate Trainer
• Notation Trainer
• Hidden Chess
• Hand and Brain
• Where Are My Pieces?
• Resources

Library (7):

• Classic Games
• Miniature Games
• World Championships
• Chess Glossary
• Chess Quotes
• Basic Rules of Play
• Competitive Rules of Play

Tools (6):

• (NEW) Chess Clock
• Tablebase
• Fischer Random Generator
• Gif Generator
• Opening Explorer
• PGN Viewer

Thank You

I just want to take a moment to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Since our launch on May 27, 2024, we’ve come so far together, and this is only our sixth release. I’m incredibly grateful for all of your support, suggestions, and feedback—it has truly helped shape Chessboard Magic into what it is today.
Every time you share the site with a friend or leave a comment, it means the world to me. I’m committed to making Chessboard Magic even better, and I’m excited about what’s to come. Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, happy chess playing!

Warm regards,
Toan Hoang (@HollowLeaf)
Creator of Chessboard Magic

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