Learn Chess with Clear Explanations and Practical Training

ChessDoctrine brings together 82 opening guides with the plans behind the moves, 685,000 verified puzzles from Elo 400 to 2400, free opening trainers, a plain-language glossary, strategy guides, and human-like bots that play at your own rating instead of a strong engine pretending to be weak.

Browse 82 opening guides Play a human-like bot
Opening guides Ruy Lopez 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
82 GUIDES
Ruy Lopez, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5

Every guide gives you the plans behind the moves, not a move list to memorize.

Browse the guides
82opening guides, organized by first moveOpenings 685kverified puzzles, 700+ per Elo levelPuzzles 89opening and skill trainers to practice withPractice 34legends to play, plus a human-like botPlay chess 6free tools, including Mega Chess AnalysisChess tools 88video lessons on our YouTube channelYouTube

What's inside

Learn an idea, practice it against the bot, then check it in your own games. Everything is free, with no sign-up.

Opening Guides

Plans, traps and model games, from the Ruy Lopez to the London System, with every critical line checked by a top engine.

1.e4 · 44/ 1.d4 · 24/ Flank · 14/ Ruy Lopez/ London System
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Chess Puzzles

Tactics, mates and endgames from Elo 400 to 2400. Three free hints per puzzle, instant feedback, no sign-up.

Tactics/ Checkmate/ Endgame/ Middlegame/ Easy/ Hard
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Practice

One skill at a time instead of one game at a time: your opening against the bot, calculation, endgame technique, strategy, blindfold play and board vision.

Opening trainers · 82/ Calculation/ Endgame technique/ Strategy ideas/ Blindfold
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Play Chess

Three kinds of opponent on one board: a strength ladder, a bot calibrated to your own Elo, or one of 34 chess legends.

The computer/ Human-like bot/ Chess legends · 34
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Chess Tools

Free tools for your own games: Mega Chess Analysis of your recent games, an analysis board, a board editor, an Elo calculator and a PGN filter.

Mega Chess Analysis/ Analysis board/ Board editor/ Elo calculator/ PGN filter/ Next move
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Chess Terms Glossary

From castling to triangulation: chess vocabulary in plain language, each term linked to where it appears in practice.

Castling/ En Passant/ Stalemate/ Scholar's Mate
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Strategy Blog

Practical guides to strategy and improvement, opening roundups and book guides, written by Anton Shuravin.

Best for White/ Best for Black/ Official Rules/ Basic Strategy/ Board Setup
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Latest lessons bite-size videos by Anton
How to Play the Middlegame Like a Pro | Best Strategies & Tips YouTube ↗ How to Play Italian Game in Chess | Explained in 4 Minutes YouTube ↗ King's Indian Defense Masterclass: Play Like Kasparov! YouTube ↗
Subscribe 88 lessons and counting
Ruy Lopez1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
1.e4

The opening of World Champions: a complete classical repertoire built on pressure against e5.

Read the full guide
82 opening guides

Learn an opening by its plans

Plans first, memorized lines second. Each guide explains the pawn structure, the typical piece play and the traps, and every critical line is checked with a top engine. Start with the six classics here, or browse all 44 guides for 1.e4, 24 for 1.d4 and 14 flank openings.

When a guide clicks, play it: Train the same opening against the bot

White to move — mate in one You play White
Click a white piece, then its destination. One move ends the game.
685,000 verified puzzles

Puzzles that meet you at your level

That puzzle is a back-rank mate — the pattern that decides more club games than any opening novelty. The puzzle trainer serves tactics, mates, endgames and opening traps matched to your rating, from Elo 400 to 2400: 700+ puzzles per level, three free hints, instant feedback, no sign-up.

Tactics puzzles  ·  Checkmate puzzles  ·  Endgame puzzles  ·  Middlegame puzzles  ·  Easy puzzles  ·  Hard puzzles

Measure, then practice

A report on your own games, and opponents to practice against at your level.

Mega Chess Analysis

Find the mistake that costs you the most points

Enter your Lichess or Chess.com username. Mega Chess Analysis reads your recent games phase by phase (opening accuracy, tactical blunders, endgame conversion) and ranks the mistakes you repeat by the points they cost.

The report names what to practice this week, and the matching puzzles and bot games are one click away.

Analyze my games
Sample reportmetric → action
Blunders per game 2.1 Fix: 15 min of tactics puzzles at your Elo, daily.
Opening accuracy 61% Fix: re-read the Ruy Lopez guide — plans first, lines second.
Endgame conversion 38% Fix: rook-and-pawn endgame puzzles, Elo 1200–1600.
Illustrative sample. Your report is computed from your own games — free, no sign-up.
Play vs legends

Play against bots tuned to a chess legend's style

Face 34 chess legends, from Morphy and Anderssen to Fischer and Korchnoi. Each bot plays in its namesake's style, at the strength you set. Pick a seat and play the game out.

All chess legends →
Paul MorphyPaul Morphy Adolf AnderssenAdolf Anderssen Wilhelm SteinitzWilhelm Steinitz Siegbert TarraschSiegbert Tarrasch Mikhail ChigorinMikhail Chigorin Harry PillsburyHarry Pillsbury Emanuel LaskerEmanuel Lasker Frank MarshallFrank Marshall Akiba RubinsteinAkiba Rubinstein José Raúl CapablancaJosé Raúl Capablanca Savielly TartakowerSavielly Tartakower Richard RétiRichard Réti Rudolf SpielmannRudolf Spielmann Aron NimzowitschAron Nimzowitsch Géza MaróczyGéza Maróczy Alexander AlekhineAlexander Alekhine Max EuweMax Euwe Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail Botvinnik Samuel ReshevskySamuel Reshevsky Paul KeresPaul Keres Sultan KhanSultan Khan Vasily SmyslovVasily Smyslov David BronsteinDavid Bronstein Miguel NajdorfMiguel Najdorf Efim GellerEfim Geller Tigran PetrosianTigran Petrosian Lev PolugaevskyLev Polugaevsky Leonid SteinLeonid Stein Mikhail TalMikhail Tal Bent LarsenBent Larsen Boris SpasskyBoris Spassky Viktor KorchnoiViktor Korchnoi Svetozar GligorićSvetozar Gligorić Bobby FischerBobby Fischer

Created and written by Anton Shuravin

ChessDoctrine is one person's project: he built the site and writes every guide on it.

Anton Shuravin, creator and writer of ChessDoctrine

Anton Shuravin

Creator & writer
  • Created ChessDoctrine and writes every guide
  • FIDE-rated player; 1900+ on Lichess in bullet and blitz
  • More than 14 years of chess; 88 lessons recorded for the YouTube channel; B.A. Linguistics (in progress)
Lichess profile ↗ YouTube ↗

How we check accuracy

Critical lines are cross-checked against the Lichess Opening Explorer and a top engine at high depth before publishing. Guides are re-reviewed as theory evolves, and each page carries its author and last update date. Read our editorial standards.

WrittenDrafted from 14+ years of tournament play, never auto-generated.
VerifiedEngine- and database-checked before it reaches the page.
Kept currentRe-reviewed as theory evolves, dated and signed.
Spotted an error? Tell us and we correct it. About us  ·  FAQ  ·  Privacy

Frequently asked questions

The six we are asked most. The rest live on the FAQ page.

Chess Doctrine is a free chess learning site with 82 opening guides, 685,000 puzzles, trainers for openings, calculation and endgames, a glossary of chess terms and a strategy blog. You can play the computer, a human-like bot or 34 chess legends, and use free chess tools such as Mega Chess Analysis. Everything is written by Anton Shuravin and engine-checked.
For most beginners we recommend the Italian Game as White and the Caro-Kann Defense against 1.e4. Both teach sound development with manageable theory. Browse all 1.e4, 1.d4 and flank openings to find your style.
ChessDoctrine is created and written by Anton Shuravin, a FIDE-rated player with 1900+ on Lichess. Every article is checked with a top chess engine and the Lichess Opening Explorer before publication. See our About page.
No. Beyond openings, we maintain a chess terms glossary and a blog on strategy and improvement. You can also play a human-like bot in any opening or against 34 chess legends, solve hundreds of thousands of verified puzzles, and run a free game diagnosis.
Yes. Every guide, glossary entry and article on Chess Doctrine is completely free to read — and the bot, puzzles and diagnosis are free to use, with no sign-up. Start anywhere: openings, terms or the blog.
Head to our Chess Terms glossary: short, plain-language explanations of chess vocabulary, each linked to related openings and articles where the concept appears in practice.