Don't just teach the game.
Build the board.
A teacher-controlled chess classroom where you create your own positions, assign structured practice, and watch every student improve — with no chat with strangers and no personal data required from kids.
The free chess sites weren't built for your classroom.
Lichess and Chess.com are great places to play. But a classroom needs a walled garden, teacher-authored content, and progress you can actually act on. That's what NGCHESS is for.
⚒ You build the position
Set up any position on any board, define the goal and hints, and assign it as a lab. Turn your own coaching into reusable exercises — something no consumer site lets you do.
🔒 A real walled garden
No public matchmaking, no messaging with strangers, no comment feeds. Students only interact inside classes you control.
📊 Progress you can use
Accuracy, time spent, puzzles solved, and commonly missed ideas — per student and per class, so you know who needs help before the next session.
| Capability | Free consumer sites | NGCHESS Classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher-created custom positions & labs | Limited / none | Yes |
| Assignments with due dates & tracking | No | Yes |
| No chat with strangers | Varies | By design |
| Join without student email/personal data | Usually required | Alias only |
| Per-student progress reporting | No | Yes |
| School invoicing / purchase orders | No | Yes |
Running a class takes about ten minutes.
Create a class
Name it, pick a grade or skill range, and get a join code instantly.
Students join
They enter the code and pick an alias — no email, no account, no personal profile.
Assign practice
Pick a starter lesson pack, a puzzle set, or a lab you built. Set a due date.
Review progress
See who finished, accuracy, and the skills your class keeps missing.
Five starter lesson packs — plus labs you make yourself.
Each pack includes learning objectives, interactive positions, student exercises, and teacher notes, with a recommended skill level. Assign as-is or use them as a model for your own.
How the pieces move
The absolute basics — movement, capture, check, and the first safe habits.
BeginnerOpening principles
Center, development, king safety — why the first moves matter.
Beginner → IntermediateCheckmate patterns
Back-rank, ladder, and the mates every student should recognize on sight.
Beginner → IntermediateTactical motifs
Forks, pins, skewers, and discovered attacks — the engine of winning chess.
IntermediateBasic endgames
King-and-pawn, opposition, and the technique to convert an advantage.
IntermediateTeacher-built labs
Create a position, set the goal and hints, save it as a template, and share it with another teacher.
Any level · you decideStart free. Pay only when you need labs, reporting, and scale.
- 1 class + join code
- Puzzles & starter lessons
- Basic assignments
- Alias-only student join
- Custom positions & labs
- All lesson packs
- Assignments + due dates
- Progress reporting
- Teacher-created challenges
- Up to 5 instructor accounts
- Club leaderboard
- Private tournaments
- Branded club page
- Progress reports
- Multiple teachers + school admin
- Bulk roster import
- School branding
- Private tournaments
- Invoicing / purchase orders
- Central administration
- SSO / roster integration*
- District reporting
- Priority support
- Custom agreement
Running a program?
One-time pricing for libraries, camps, and after-school clubs — registration, a tournament, leaderboard, and completion certificates.
Safety and student privacy, built in from the start.
🛡 Safety by design
- ✓No direct chat between unknown users — ever.
- ✓No public matchmaking. Students play only inside classes you control.
- ✓No ads and no third-party content feeds.
- ✓Teachers control every class interaction and can archive a student anytime.
🔑 Minimal student data
- ✓Students join with an alias — no email or personal profile required.
- ✓No public student profiles by default; visibility stays inside the class.
- ✓Role-based access, account deletion, and data export on request.
- ✓Clear student-privacy documentation and a data agreement for schools.
We designed NGCHESS to collect the minimum student data. We'll share our privacy practices and a data-processing agreement so your district can review them against its own requirements — we don't ask you to take a compliance claim on faith.
What teachers say after a pilot.
“Being able to drop a position from our lesson straight into an assignment changed how I run practice.”
“The no-chat, alias-only setup is the reason our district approved it.”
“I can finally see which kids are stuck on which ideas without grading anything by hand.”
Teacher FAQ
Do students need accounts or email addresses?
No. Students join a class with a code and pick an alias. There's no email, password, or personal profile required to play and complete assignments.
Is there any chat with strangers?
No. There is no public matchmaking and no messaging with unknown users. Students interact only inside the classes you create and control.
Is there really a free plan?
Yes — one class, up to 20 students, puzzles and starter lessons, with no card and no expiry. Paid plans add custom labs, reporting, larger rosters, tournaments, and school tools.
How is the pilot different from the free plan?
The 30-day pilot unlocks the full paid feature set (labs, reporting, up to 30 students) with no card required, so you can evaluate everything. The free plan is a permanent basic tier.
Can my school pay by purchase order or invoice?
Yes. Teacher and club plans can be paid by card; schools and districts can pay by invoice or purchase order. We know not every school can use a credit card.
What data do you collect about students?
The minimum needed to run a class: an alias, in-class activity, and progress. No personal profiles by default. We'll provide our privacy documentation and a data agreement for review.
Run a free 30-day pilot with your class.
No credit card. Up to 30 students. Guided onboarding and a starter lesson pack, with help converting to an annual plan only if it's working for you.