Never forget your openings again.
Build your variation tree and drill it with adaptive spaced repetition. Stop forgetting on move 8.
Free. Forever. No card required.
You buy a Chessable course. You read a 400-page book. You annotate variations in PGN files scattered across folders you never reopen.
Then the game happens. Move 8. The position you studied three times, by heart. And the move — the right move — isn't there.
The problem isn't the study. It's that you're not studying well.
Smart Drill with FSRS-5: for each variation it computes your forgetting curve and shows you the position at the right moment. You don't review what you already know.
Automatic blunder review from your chess.com account
The latest generation of spaced repetition, calibrated to you
Stockfish 17 runs in the browser via WebAssembly — no server
No cap on the number of lines in your personal repertoire
3500+ ELO analysis right on the page via WebAssembly. Zero install, no remote servers. When Lichess has the position cached, it's instant.
Build, train, play, refine. The study cycle of serious players, finally without friction.
Start from scratch on the board or import a Lichess study. Add variations, annotations, alternative lines. Your repertoire, the way you think about it.
Smart Drill quizzes you on the moves. FSRS-5 decides what to review and when, so you only study what actually matters.
Connect chess.com and we analyze your games. We spot where you leave prep, where you blunder, where you forget. Surgical feedback.
Add the new variations learned from your mistakes. The cycle restarts, and every week you're stronger than the last.
"Memory is choice. Every forgotten variation is a game lost before the eighth move."
Build your repertoire as an actual variation tree. Drag & drop, zoom, annotations on every node. See everything at a glance.
The most advanced spaced repetition algorithm out there, calibrated on your moves. Reviews what you're forgetting, not what you already know.
Real-time engine analysis via WebAssembly. Zero install, zero server, zero waiting. 3500+ ELO evaluations while you study.
Paste a Lichess study link and it becomes your repertoire. Ready to drill in 10 seconds, annotations and sub-variations included.
Link your account and we find the worst mistakes from your games. Add them to your repertoire and stop repeating them.
We turn study into a habit. Daily goals, streaks, unlockable trophies. Motivation is no longer your problem.
ChessNotes helps you build your own. Free, no compromises, with the right tools from day one.
Full comparison table→| Feature | ChessNotes | Chessable |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, forever | $20-80 per course |
| Spaced repetition algorithm | FSRS-5 (latest generation) | Proprietary MoveTrainer |
| Visual tree editor | Yes, with drag & drop | Limited to purchased courses |
| Analysis engine | Stockfish 17 in-browser | Not included |
| Lichess study import | One click, instant | Not supported |
A solid repertoire starts with a few main lines picked to match your style. On ChessNotes you build a visual tree: each branch is a variation, each node a move. Add annotations, alternatives, strategic ideas. The point isn't covering everything, it's knowing what you actually play cold. Aim for 3-4 openings with white and 2-3 systems with black, then expand only when the basics are solid.
Passive repetition doesn't work. You need active spaced repetition: see the position, find the move, get feedback. ChessNotes uses FSRS-5, the most advanced spaced repetition algorithm available, to show you the right variations at the right time. Study 10-15 minutes a day and you'll retain more than you did in hours of book work. No paper flashcards, no manual Anki — everything in one flow.
Yes — ChessNotes is free forever, no credit card, no cap on variations. Chessable is great but most courses are paid and the personal repertoire feature is an afterthought. ChessNotes was built for people who want to build and train their own repertoire, not follow someone else's. Import free Lichess studies, analyze with built-in Stockfish 17, and run FSRS-5 drills without a subscription.
Every time you answer a position, the algorithm estimates how hard that move is for you and schedules the next review. Miss it, and it comes back soon. Nail it with confidence, and you won't see it for days or weeks. The result: you memorize hundreds of moves with minimal effort. ChessNotes implements FSRS-5, the same algorithm used by serious study apps, tuned for the chess domain.
FSRS (Free Spaced Repetition Scheduler) is the next-generation algorithm that replaced Anki's SM-2. It models your personal forgetting curve instead of applying a flat schedule. For chess this matters: variations have wildly different difficulties and FSRS-5 adapts to that. Result: fewer pointless reviews, better long-term retention. ChessNotes is one of the first chess platforms to use it natively.
We won't ask for a card. We won't ask for your cat's name. Just an email, and you're in.