Chessable
Reddit take
AI summary of the Reddit excerpts below — not a quote
Chessable is a prominent platform for chess opening preparation, widely recognized for its MoveTrainer technology which facilitates memorization through spaced repetition. Users value the access to high-level repertoires authored by grandmasters and the convenience of mobile-friendly study sessions. However, the platform faces criticism for its high video pricing and a perceived shift toward anti-consumer policies, specifically regarding the restriction of previously free community content. While effective for drilling lines, some users find it encourages rote memorization over deep conceptual understanding, leading to a preference for traditional books or more flexible repertoire-building tools.
Pros
- Effective MoveTrainer system for memorizing opening variations
- Access to high-quality, rigorous content from top-tier players and GMs
- Abundance of 'Short & Sweet' courses for quickly learning opening basics
- Convenient for short, 5-10 minute study sessions on mobile
- Ability to create and train private custom courses
Cons
- Video instructions are often considered prohibitively expensive
- Recent policy changes moving free community content behind a Pro subscription
- Can feel like 'cramming' moves without providing sufficient strategic context
- Less flexibility and customization compared to competitors like Chessbook or Chesstempo
- Course quality varies, with some relying too heavily on engine lines
Caveats
- The 'Lifetime Repertoires' (LTR) can be overwhelmingly deep for non-professional players
- MoveTrainer may only test one specific variation, which some find limiting
- Relying solely on digital drilling is often viewed as an incomplete training 'diet'
Best for
- Serious club players seeking rigorous opening analysis
- Players who struggle with memorization and prefer interactive drilling
- Users looking for high-production-value courses from famous grandmasters
Avoid if
- You prefer learning through conceptual books rather than rote drilling
- You are on a tight budget and want to avoid expensive video add-ons
- You want a tool primarily for building and highly customizing your own PGNs
This summary uses balanced time weighting with about a 6-month half-life. The evidence is older (median age ~391 days), and since Chessable is a fast-changing digital service, some recent policy or feature updates may not be fully captured.
Sentiment
51 positive (50%) · 19 mixed (19%) · 31 negative (31%)
Trust + time weighted score: +23% · raw score 20%
What redditors said (10 of 101)
If you want a strong player to choose a repertoire for you, there are tons of those in physical books and electronic books as on Chessable.
Obviously chessable exists also.
If you want some resources, you can always search for the position on chessable, although most will be paid.
If you're going to use it to train openings or build opening repertoires, then I would suggest, Chesstempo, or Chessable, or Chessbook, or any number of other much much better tools.
Chessable is ok but I find it very gimmicky and the videos are way too expensive in my opinion.
I stopped purchasing chessable courses unless its a cheap tactics course. I found it much more useful to read the book and build my own pgns with the book.
If they teach it then it's even better (this is where chessable comes in handy for me).
I despise learning courses from chessable. I tried it and I don’t like just memorising lines, I feel like I’m not evening playing chess when I do it.
Use the search by position function on chessable to find courses. I recommend doing your own work, but at 1600 otb it is probably best to get a course to have the main ideas shown
If you don't want to spend time and energy on making your own repertoire you can get some courses by chessmasters, on chessable for example.
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