The Brief
The founders - two chess grandmasters - developed a new and unique chess education methodology. They raised funding and needed a technical team to turn their vision into a real product - a full-blown chess education SaaS that could bring their methodology to students worldwide.
This wasn't an MVP. It was a complete product build: interactive lessons with adaptive opponents, AI coaching, audio-narrated content, an achievement system, subscription tiers with credit-based unlocks, and a full admin dashboard. Built to compete in a crowded EdTech market by making learning chess genuinely engaging.
What We Built
We built the entire platform over two years - 35 database models across learning, gameplay, progress tracking, achievements, subscriptions, and administration.
Interactive Chess Minigames
Custom game modes with adaptive difficulty powered by Stockfish 16 running in the browser. Students learn by playing, not just reading. Computer opponents are configurable per level, with game history and statistics tracked across sessions. A drag-and-drop chessboard UI built on React Chessboard with touch support for future mobile use.
AI Chess Coach
An AI coaching feature powered by Anthropic's Claude that provides personalized guidance. Students can ask questions about positions, get explanations of concepts, and receive feedback on their play - a grandmaster-level coach available to every student.
Structured Learning Path
Content is organized into modules, chapters, levels, steps, and tasks - a deep hierarchy that mirrors the grandmasters' methodology. Each task tracks individual student progress.
Audio-Narrated Lessons
ElevenLabs TTS integration generates narration for lesson content, cached in S3 for performance. Makes content accessible and engaging across different learning styles.
Achievement & Credit System
A gamification layer with achievement categories, milestones, and unlockable content. Students earn credits through progress and can unlock openings and endgames. Daily completion tracking encourages consistent practice. Five subscription tiers (Free through Unlimited) control access to content and features.
Onboarding & Personalization
A structured onboarding flow that assesses student level and preferences, with responses persisted for personalization. The platform adapts to each student from the first session.
Admin Dashboard
Full content management for the client's team: chapter editing with collaborative locks (so two admins don't edit the same content simultaneously), Stockfish level configuration, student management, platform settings, and whitelisted email registration for controlled rollouts.
The Result
The desktop platform is built and ready for launch - the grandmasters' methodology brought to life in software. The product handles the full user lifecycle from signup and onboarding through learning progress, game history, achievements, and course completion. Mobile development is starting next, extending the platform to where most students actually learn.