You just played a great game over the board — a sharp middlegame, a tactic you're proud of — and by the next round it's gone, because the moves were never written down. ChessGaze fixes that: point your phone at the board and it uses computer vision to track every move automatically, then exports the game as PGN so you can review it on Lichess or Chess.com.
OTB stands for over-the-board — chess played on a real, physical board and pieces, as opposed to online. It's how the game is meant to be experienced: in a club, at a tournament, or across the table from a friend. The one downside of OTB versus online is that nothing is recorded for you. Online, every move is saved automatically; over the board, you're on your own.
Traditionally, recording an OTB game means writing algebraic notation by hand on a scoresheet — move by move, while the clock is running. It's slow, it breaks your concentration, and in fast time controls the notation is the first thing to go. Then you have to type it all back in to analyse it later. Approved electronic scoresheets exist, but they're expensive and tournament-specific.
ChessGaze takes a different route. Instead of sensors in a special board, it uses your phone's camera and an on-device AI model to see the position and detect each move as it happens — the same idea behind self-driving-car vision, pointed at your chessboard. No writing, no special hardware, no cost.
Rest your phone against a stand, book, or small tripod so the camera can see the whole board.
ChessGaze detects the starting position and every piece using computer vision.
Play naturally. Each move is recognised and recorded automatically — no writing, no tapping.
Export the finished game as PGN and open it in Lichess or Chess.com to analyse.
ChessGaze is built for club players, coaches, and improvers who play on a real board and want their games saved for analysis — the tactic you missed, the endgame you want to show a student, the win you'd love to replay. It's also great for casual games at home, at a café, or on a park bench.
A quick, honest note on rated tournaments: many official events restrict phones and electronic devices at the board, so ChessGaze is best for casual, club, and training games — always check your tournament's device rules before using it during rated play.
Yes — ChessGaze. Point your phone at the board and it tracks every move with computer vision, then exports the game as PGN. It's free on iPhone and Android, and works with the chess set you already own.
ChessGaze runs an on-device AI model that detects the pieces on your physical board from the camera feed, figures out what moved between positions, and records the move in standard chess notation — all offline, with no internet required.
No. Unlike sensor boards that cost $200–400, ChessGaze uses your phone and any ordinary chess set. See our comparison with smart chess boards.
Yes. ChessGaze exports a standard PGN file, so you can import it into Lichess, Chess.com, or any engine to review with Stockfish.