LotusChess
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Rated 4.8 from over 27,000 reviews

Your personal chess coach, in your pocket.

For players from their first move to club level: openings, endgames and tactics, a few minutes a day.

The London System course in Lotus: rank Expert, next rank Master, and the path through section 12The London System course in Lotus: rank Expert, next rank Master, and the path through section 12

Our story

Lotus Chess was created by two brothers, Raphael and Maxim Nitsche, who started playing chess at the age of four. After building MATH 42, a maths learning app reaching over 7 million students across the world, they set out to build the best way to learn chess.

Raphael and Maxim as children, playing chess at a beer garden table
Where it started: Raphael and Maxim at the board as kids, in a beer garden.
Maxim and Raphael Nitsche today
Today: Maxim and Raphael, building Lotus Chess together.

Creators and grandmasters we work with

Everything you need to improve

From your very first move to club level, Lotus trains every part of your game, and every exercise adapts to you.

Foundations

New to chess? 150+ short, interactive lessons take you from how the pieces move to your first real games.

Why learning with Lotus works

Whether you're learning the game from scratch, building your openings or learning to win endgames, each course is designed around how that part of chess is best learned, so it shows in your real games.

Foundations

From zero to 1,000 Elo, fast

  • The fastest way in The most structured, easiest and fastest way from your first move to 1,000 Elo.
  • Hands-on from move one 150+ short, interactive lessons, no experience needed.
  • No padding Built to get you playing good chess quickly, not to keep you in the app for as long as possible.
A Foundations lesson on mating patterns: the rook cuts the king offA Foundations lesson on mating patterns: the rook cuts the king off
Openings

Built from your games, made to win

  • Crushing lines The punishing replies to the mistakes your opponents make most often, so you win quickly when they slip.
  • The moves people really play Lines picked from 100,000,000+ real games, so you're ready for what your opponents actually play, not for engine theory nobody meets.
  • Your openings Connect Chess.com or Lichess, and your course follows the openings you actually play.
Openings training in the London System: play the move you learnedOpenings training in the London System: play the move you learned
Endgames

The endgames you'll actually reach

  • Clear structure 60+ lessons that teach the endgames you're most likely to meet in your own games.
  • Playouts You play 180+ positions out against a human-like engine instead of reading the solution.
  • Spaced repetition Positions come back until you can apply them in a real game.
A rook and pawn endgame lesson: the active rook against the passive oneA rook and pawn endgame lesson: the active rook against the passive one
Puzzles

A fair challenge, every time

  • 100,000+ puzzles Matched to your level, across every tactical theme.
  • One puzzle rating One rating across all themes, so every puzzle is a fair challenge and every solve moves you up.
  • Your range Set the rating range you want to train, and a hint is there when you're stuck.
A solved puzzle at puzzle rating 2186A solved puzzle at puzzle rating 2186
Game analysis

See exactly where the game was lost

  • Every game, instantly Your accuracy for every game you play on Chess.com or Lichess.
  • Mistakes move by move Every inaccuracy, mistake and blunder, and how the evaluation swung.
  • What to train next Your games tell Lotus which openings to focus on, so your training follows your real weaknesses.
Game analysis: 82.7% accuracy, with every move classified from best move to blunderGame analysis: 82.7% accuracy, with every move classified from best move to blunder

Also in Lotus

Your opening focus

Lotus analyses every opening you've actually played and tells you which course to focus on first, so you progress as quickly as possible.

Opening variations

Once the main line sits, go deeper into each opening with its variations, one at a time.

Works offline

Opening and endgame lessons work without a connection, on the train or at the club.

Streaks

A daily streak keeps your training going, a few minutes a day.

The team

Five people building the best way to learn chess.

Thomas Loepp-Thiessen
Thomas Loepp-Thiessen
General Manager
Samy Abdelhafeiz
Samy Abdelhafeiz
Senior Engineer
Nikolai Nitsche
Nikolai Nitsche
Chief Chess Officer
Raphael Nitsche
Raphael Nitsche
Co-founder
Maxim Nitsche
Maxim Nitsche
Co-founder

Lotus Chess Nigeria

Lotus Chess Nigeria is the chess school Abdul, a chess teacher in Nigeria, runs for children. We support it with boards, clocks and the teachers' pay.

Children at Lotus Chess Nigeria working on chess exercises around a table A girl at Lotus Chess Nigeria thinking over her next move
200+
children learning
15+
former students now teaching
2025
running since
  • A room to grow A safe room where kids meet after school to learn chess, solve puzzles, play tournaments and find friends.
  • School support The program helps with school fees and books so kids stay in class, because a good chess player needs a good education too.
  • Young teachers The best older students become teachers. They lead classes, are paid for their teaching and start new chess clubs in schools.
Support Lotus Chess Nigeria

What players say

★★★★★

Improved my opening

I tried books, tried to create my own studies, but neither worked as well as Lotus Chess for my opening prep. I consistently get through the opening in decent shape.
richsutor · App Store Canada
★★★★★

Great app for every skill level

I am a pure beginner and in the space of 20 minutes I have already learnt the most common openings for white.
Helpful person 29 · App Store UK
★★★★★

Very unique

The app forces you to make moves you were not getting right: again and again… until you start understanding the complexities of the position.
asheshgaur · App Store US
★★★★★

Great Learning aid!

Pretty happy with Lotus Chess, I love how you get tailored advice based off your actual games. Highly recommended
Sahkmiawf · App Store Australia
★★★★★

Amazing app

Don’t often leave reviews but this app has been amazing for learning openings. Highly recommend anyone learning chess to try this app and practice a few lines
JahanU · App Store UK
★★★★★

Meta Analysis

Exactly what I was looking for. It takes meta analysis of all your games and gives you suggestions based on data.
daeinkang · App Store US
★★★★★

Seun May

Been playing for 30 odd years and found it easier to follow sequences of chess openings with the app
wolemay · App Store UK
★★★★★

Great Chess App

I like that it teaches you step by step how to improve with many exercises and tons of practice.
Cacique16 · App Store US
★★★★★

Brilliant chess opening trainer!

Fascinating learning methodology to learn quickly and effectively.
Thereds8 · App Store Canada
★★★★★

Great app for learning openings

This app is really helpful for learning chess openings, I’ve just been studying the Catalan and the app makes it quite easy. Highly recommend!
Bogusmonth · App Store US
★★★★★

Great App

Super helpful for a beginner to learn openings and recall moves from memory
Joseph Olusegun · App Store Australia
★★★★★

Awesome app

Love the learning in this app. I feel more confident to play other lines I have never been able to play before.
Genesis618 · App Store US

Start free. Go Pro once you need it.

Same app, same training. Pro unlocks everything, and you can cancel any time.

Free

Get to know Lotus.

$0forever
FoundationsFirst section
OpeningsFirst 2 sections
Crushing lines2 per opening
Opening variations1
EndgamesFirst section
Puzzles10 a day
Game analyses1 a day

Pro

Everything, unlocked.

$49.99a year, $4.17 a month
Get Pro yearlyYou save 58% compared with monthly.
FoundationsAll
OpeningsAll
Crushing linesAll
Opening variationsAll
EndgamesAll
PuzzlesUnlimited
Game analysesUnlimited
Free$0foreverPro$49.99a year
Foundations1 sectionAll
Openings2 sectionsAll
Crushing lines2 per openingAll
Variations1All
Endgames1 sectionAll
Puzzles10 a dayUnlimited
Game analyses1 a dayUnlimited

That's $4.17 a month, 58% less than paying monthly.

Prices in USD as listed on the App Store; local prices may differ. Pro renews automatically until you cancel.

Your personal chess coach. Free to start.

Download Lotus Chess and start your first lesson in under a minute. iPhone, iPad and Android.