Features
Masterboard is built for the complete game-improvement workflow — from game import through analysis, repertoire, and training. Here's what's inside.
Game Library & Import
- Import from PGN files — single games, multi-game files, or entire folders
- One-click import from chess.com and Lichess by username, date range, and time control
- Automatic background sync — new chess.com and Lichess games import on their own, filtered and filed where you want them
- Import any public Lichess Study directly into an opening repertoire
- Record over-the-board games directly in the app
- Duplicate detection on every import — the same game is never stored twice
- Organise with folders and cross-cutting collections
- Bulk select, move, and delete games
- Filter by player, result, date, ECO code, time control, or source
Annotation & Board Editor
- Full variation tree with nested alternatives — not just a linear move list
- NAG annotation symbols: !, ?, !!, ??, !?, ?!
- Free-text comments on any move or position
- Board arrows and square highlights saved with the game
- Copy FEN or PGN at any point for quick sharing
- Board editor to set up any position from scratch or by pasting a FEN
- All annotations saved in standard PGN format — no proprietary lock-in
Engine Analysis
- One-click Stockfish download — set up in seconds from Settings, with the right CPU build chosen automatically
- Download Leela Chess Zero, or human-style Maia networks (1100–1900) to see how a player of a given level would respond
- Any UCI-compatible engine supported: Komodo Dragon, Stockfish variants, and others
- Real-time evaluation with centipawn score, an evaluation bar beside the board, search depth, and time
- Multi-PV mode: view up to 5 candidate lines simultaneously, with best-move arrows on the board
- Click any candidate line to jump to that position on the board
- Configurable hash size and thread count per engine
- Automated game analysis classifies every move as an inaccuracy, mistake, or blunder
- Run two engines simultaneously for side-by-side comparisons on the same position
Opening Repertoire
- Separate repertoires for White and Black
- Visual variation tree for building and navigating your lines
- Import an entire repertoire from PGN in one step
- Add comments and annotation symbols to any move
- Live ECO classification as you step through moves
- Master games and your own history shown side-by-side with your preparation
- Add new opponent moves directly from the Explorer panel
Master Database Integration
- Download a ready-made master database directly in the app — no hunting down or building multi-gigabyte PGN files yourself
- Choose a collection to match your disk: Masters (both players 2200+), Elite (2400+), or the Full OTB database of over ten million games
- In-app delta updates keep it current, downloading only what changed and verifying every update
- Move popularity, W/D/L%, and average Elo from master games at any position
- Or index your own large PGN collection for personal-game statistics alongside it
Workspace & Customisation
- Drag, resize, and hide panels to match your workflow
- Board colour themes: Brown, Blue, Green, Purple
- Five piece sets: Cburnett, Merida, Alpha, California, and Staunty
- App accent palettes: Walnut, Slate, Forest, Navy, Burgundy
- Dark and light mode with system preference detection
- Connect chess.com and Lichess accounts for quick import
- Set your name once for automatic personal game detection across all statistics
Training
- Opening drills powered by FSRS spaced repetition — your schedule adapts based on how well you know each move
- The app plays opponent moves automatically; your responses are scored immediately
- Drill your full repertoire, a single colour, or any branch
- Comments and symbols from your repertoire shown after each answer
- Review mode walks the full repertoire regardless of schedule — ideal before a tournament
- Session summary with moves reviewed, success rate, and cards due next time
- Coverage heatmap showing recall probability for every move in the tree
Guess the Move
- Play through any saved game as one side and try to match the moves
- Scored against the engine — the best move earns full marks even when it differs from what was played
- A separate Elo-style rating tracks your guessing strength and improves across sessions
- Works on any game in your library: your own games, master games, or study material
Personal Statistics Dashboard
- W/D/L results broken down by colour, time control, and opening
- Accuracy trend chart to track improvement over time
- Gallery of your most common error positions to study and revisit
- Blunder heatmap showing which squares appear most in your mistakes
- Luck rate and opportunism rate: how often opponents gift you wins, and how often you convert them
- Filter all figures by folder, collection, or date range
Opponent Preparation Report
- Search any opponent from your game library
- Results and opening tendencies broken down by colour
- Their most frequent and most successful opening systems, ranked by result
- Positions where they've deviated from their own established patterns
- Export the full report as PGN for study in any chess tool
- Batch-analyse all games against an opponent in one click
Personal Tactics
- Puzzles automatically extracted from your own games — the exact positions where you blundered
- FSRS scheduling: missed positions return sooner, mastered ones are spaced out
- Each puzzle links back to the game it came from, with adjustable strictness for what counts as correct
- End-of-session summary with your solve rate, plus a full drill history
- Puzzle pool grows automatically as you analyse more games
Universal Improvement Loop
- Import or record any game — OTB, chess.com, Lichess, or PGN
- One-click engine analysis flags blunders and inaccuracies automatically
- Opening deviation detection shows exactly where you left your prepared repertoire
- Add the opponent's unexpected move to your repertoire — it's due in the next drill session
- Tactical mistakes from the game are added to your personal puzzle pool