A better Chessity to celebrate our 5th anniversary

Today is Chessity’s 5th birthday. As we mark this milestone, it’s you we want to celebrate. That’s why we have a special present for you. With our biggest release yet, rolling out during the week, we are giving every chess player unrivaled powers to learn and train.

Everything you value in Chessity is now even better. Plus, there’s more of it

Chessity’s founder Janton van Apeldoorn still remembers how he felt on 11 November 2011. After months of late-night designing and programming with his chess friend Henk Kuyer, the very first version of Chessity was ready for the world: a new online chess learning and chess training tool, centering on the fun of game-based learning and filled to the brim with brilliant technology.

"I sat in my home office and pressed the release button, sending Chessity into the open. I literally sat waiting for it to go viral." Well. It didn’t. "I might have been a bit naive."

Today we reach over 27.100.00 user-solved chess puzzles, conneting users in over 215 countries.

But Chessity’s launch planted a seed. A powerful seed that sprouted. A lusty sprout that grew.  And grew. And blossomed and bloomed. Today, we reach over 27.100.000 million user-solved chess puzzles, and 365.000 chess enthusiasts. Chessity connects chess players, students, coaches, clubs and schools from over 215 countries.

Every chess player, trainer or teacher comes to Chessity looking for something different. Some want to learn the rules or play some online chess, others want to boost their rating. Or you might be looking for a high-quality chess teaching method that is easy to use and low in cost. Thanks to personalized technology, Chessity is able to help you all. In today’s anniversary release, you’ll discover that everything you value in Chessity is now even better. Plus, there’s more of it. So let’s start unwrapping your present.

More personal. More powerful. More fun.

More intelligent than ever

Discover the new power of 200+ chess lessons, ranging from beginner to master level. Every person is different and so is every chess student. For the most effective learning, you want to practice at exactly your own level of difficulty. With the right amount of feedback at exactly the right times. Not for the average student. But for you. Just you.

While interactivity and adaptive response have always been key concepts, the new release adds tons of artificial intelligence to create a stunningly effective learning experience: your learning experience.

An exam to top it off

As a teacher, you want to make sure that your students have mastered the concepts they practiced. Creating your own test papers can be very time-consuming and ineffective. That’s why we designed an exam to conclude the lessons at Pawn Level (The River). All premium members can take a practice exam to establish their skills. Completely integrated into the program, the official exam is a special feature for Chessity Coaches. Students who pass this exam can receive the Pawn Diploma, their very first chess diploma.

A special bonus for Dutch users: the Royal Dutch Chess Association (KNSB) has given its stamp of approval for the exam procedure and has officially recognized Chessity’s Pawn Diploma.

Unveil the magic of chess

After learning the basics, the real fun starts. Learning the rules suffices to play the game. But building essential chess skills lets you see the real magic of chess. Start exploring. Use the 80 advanced beginners’ lessons - the new Knight Level – to guide you. Including a friendly game to learn chess coordinates and Monster Mate, a game in which you learn to develop tricky mate plans.

Fun with frogs and aliens

As more and more chess teachers and schools select Chessity as their chess teaching method, growing numbers of kids use the website. Gamification adds fun to their learning. And so does the special kids’ interface. Children love The River, the simplified kids’ mode of the Pawn Level lessons. They relish the happy frog jumping from lesson to lesson. In Knight Level, the frog is traded for a naughty alien that travels through space.

Frogs and aliens, they are not just a design thing. This child-friendly look serves a real purpose. After all, the most powerful learning tools are the ones that kids are delighted to use.

Bring your expertise to life

For some teachers, correcting students' assignments feels like a hobby. But for the majority, is doesn't. As the system delivers instant feedback when a student makes a mistake, you save a lot of time. The student dashboard shows each student's individual progress, so can you can bring your expertise to life and offer tailormade support where needed.

Don’t miss out on:

• Gaming your training. Join the gaming arena to compete against others in fun mini-games or a game of chess.
• Learning new chess motives to find new ways to beat your opponents.
• Solving puzzles to find tactics fast in your own games.
• Improving your visualization skills. Enhance your vision in the revolutionary Route Planner games.
• Inspiring your students to love learning chess with Chessity.
• Joining the community. Play with friends, socialize your training and analyze together.

Enjoy your new Chessity

There’s so much to say about the new Chessity. Over the next period, we are going to fill you in with more details. Allowing you a peep behind the scenes. Sharing what insights and research led to our choices. Explaining relevant learning theory to back up your teaching or training regime. And there’s more exciting news to come.

So stay tuned. Keep an eye on the blog section. In the meantime: enjoy your new chess learning and training as it will unfold to you over the next seven days.

Start learning and training

Oh, in case you get lost: check out the brand new Help Center, answering all the questions that get asked most often. Just so you know: there will be a link to it in the footer of the website.

Do you want to help us?

Connected people are stronger than organizations. This is something that we firmly believe in. People that share a personal engagement can jointly achieve much more than any traditional company.

Would you like to join us in improving Chessity? Just drop a comment below and tell us what you think about Chessity. If you want to be more actively involved, please let us know how you can help.

Refer a friend

We are confident that you love Chessity so much that you’ll want to tell a friend. If you feel that your friends are missing out if they don’t know about Chessity, please recommend us. If we’re not good enough yet, let us know how we can earn your referral.

(Non-Chessity images: www.freepik.com)