Development log
Building better chess decisions.
A dated history of features, improvements, and changes to Make Good Moves, a chess training app that mixes tactical, positional, and critical decisions from real games.
Updated September 28, 2026
Password recovery and steadier sessions
- Added secure email password recovery with reset links, expired-link handling, and clear return-to-login guidance.
- Improved authentication recovery so temporary connection or token-refresh problems no longer make signed-in accounts appear logged out.
Positional ratings and account controls
- Added positional puzzle-rating updates from eligible attempts by players with established tactical ratings, including faster movement when results strongly disagree with a puzzle’s current estimate.
- Added secure account deletion that removes the sign-in identity and personal account data while retaining puzzle attempts and moves under an unrelated anonymous record.
- Published Privacy, Terms of Service, Support, and account-deletion pages for Make Good Moves LLC, with direct contact and puzzle-reporting guidance.
- Fixed bugs related to saving puzzle attempts and session logs.
Smoother reviews and session summaries
- Redesigned the session summary around tactical rating, session score, and clearer Tactics and Positions breakdowns, with Keep Training emphasized as the primary next step.
- Improved completed-puzzle scrolling on touch devices by locking piece movement until Analyze is selected while allowing swipes that begin anywhere on the board.
- Improved opponent-response retries so an incorrect legal reply lands on the board, receives a red highlight, and returns after a short pause without removing full-line playback.
- Fixed missing Best and Excellent move arrows at the end of puzzles and when several strong or mating moves are available.
- Fixed mobile session summaries whose top content could be clipped and unreachable when the summary was taller than the screen.
Share puzzles and challenge friends
- Added public puzzle links so friends can play a shared position immediately, with a starting-board preview when the link is posted.
- Added shareable five-position session challenges. Friends can play the same positions in order and compare their own result with the original score.
- Improved recovery when a training session loses its connection between positions.
- Fixed the "Awaiting Connection" bug.
Critical Moves join training
- Added Critical Move puzzles alongside tactical and positional training, with a balanced mix of decisions drawn from real games.
- Added Defense, Counterplay, Simplification, and Perpetual Check themes to help explain critical decisions after a puzzle is solved.
- Added Critical Moves as a progression skill and a separate filter in Recent Puzzles and Notes.
- Added account settings for showing EXP gains after puzzles and the EXP stage of session summaries, plus a direct Train Now button.
- Updated the homepage and How to Play guide to explain all three puzzle types, and improved the reliability of puzzle generation.
Engine-guided move feedback
- Added browser-based Stockfish evaluation for positional moves outside the saved deep-analysis lines, with consistent Good, Inaccuracy, Miss, and Incorrect feedback. More than one reasonable chess move can now receive useful guidance even when it is not an accepted solution.
- Added explanations for moves that allow forced mate, material loss, forcing play, disadvantageous pawn transformations, favorable exchanges, or positional opportunities.
- Added an interactive response challenge that asks players to find the opponent’s strongest reply after a significant mistake.
- Added concise engine-line playback with controls for stepping backward and forward through the relevant continuation.
- Improved material-loss detection by evaluating the complete exchange from before the player’s move and excluding unrelated moves after the capture sequence.
- Preserved engine feedback, response attempts, and line navigation when leaving and returning to an active training session.
- Added clear retry feedback for incorrect tactical moves without revealing the type of solution, and improved the reliability of move checking and daily-streak celebrations.
Position notes and reporting
- Added private position notes for recording candidate moves, plans, and lessons after training.
- Added a Notes library with outcome and discipline filters alongside recent puzzle history.
- Added position reporting for incorrect solutions, unclear feedback, duplicate positions, and technical problems.
- Preserved the active chessboard, puzzle progress, and current training position across account visits and sign-in.
- Improved account navigation, mobile tab scrolling, review-mode labels, and homepage session continuity.
Daily training streaks
- Added daily chess training streaks, progress feedback, and a celebration for continued practice.
A clearer training experience
- Redesigned the puzzle training page for clearer decisions, feedback, and board controls.
- Added opening information to positional chess puzzles and a complete How to Play guide.
- Improved move classifications, analysis colors, search descriptions, and mobile presentation.
Sign-in and session insights
- Added Google account sign-in with explicit account selection.
- Added privacy-conscious training session measurement to understand completion and continued practice.
- Improved sign-in guidance for returning players.
Experience and progression
- Added experience points and progression across tactical and positional chess training.
- Expanded the account page with clearer progress, discipline levels, and training records.
- Improved session stability when changing tabs and expanded public information about puzzle sources.
Puzzle review improvements
- Made recent puzzles easier to open and review on touch devices.
- Added stronger move navigation controls and improved positional puzzle rating visibility.
- Added internal puzzle review tools to support position quality checks.
Ratings and player profiles
- Added tactical rating placement so puzzle difficulty can adapt as a player trains.
- Launched the account and training profile experience with player statistics and history.
Polish and discoverability
- Improved visual details, reliability, page descriptions, and search engine presentation.
Player accounts
- Added secure player accounts so ratings, results, and progress can follow each user.
New homepage
- Redesigned the Make Good Moves homepage around mixed tactical and positional chess training.
- Improved homepage loading, responsive behavior, and the live training-position preview.
Sound and feedback
- Added chess move sounds and refined visual feedback throughout the puzzle experience.
Structured training sessions
- Added five-position training sessions with a clear ending and performance summary.
- Introduced the first public homepage and improved puzzle timing, analysis, and visual clarity.
Mobile training and saved data
- Added responsive phone and tablet layouts for chess training on smaller screens.
- Added persistent training data and support for showing the moves that led into tactical positions.
Real-game positional puzzles
- Added a pipeline for creating positional chess exercises from real games.
- Improved analysis depth and introduced quality safeguards for one-sided or unreliable positions.
Analysis, hints, and tactical puzzles
- Added Stockfish analysis with candidate lines and board arrows after a puzzle.
- Added progressive hints, move retries, solution playback, themes, and skip controls.
- Added tactical chess puzzles sourced from the Lichess open puzzle database.
The training board takes shape
- Established the focused chessboard layout and the visual foundation for puzzle training.
Make Good Moves begins
- Created the first playable chess decision trainer.
- Added engine-backed position evaluation and support for playing complete ideas instead of a single move.