Scientifically Curated Training Deck for Chess Tactical Mastery for Anki featuring:
- ~16 800 puzzles curated from complete Lichess database using advanced thematic sampling algorithms
- Each ELO band targeting ~1200 puzzles (14 sub-decks)
- Near-100% motif coverage per ELO band (tactical themes only, metadata tags excluded)
- Pedagogical quality for systematic chess improvement.
- 500+ opening variations across 13+ major families
- Color-balanced training with separate analysis for white openings and black defenses
- Mainline vs. variant ratio to ensure theoretical soundness
The deck is available in the following languages: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Polish, Turkish, and English.
This project is the result of many hours of work, passion, and coffee ☕. If you find it useful, it saves you time, or you simply appreciate the effort, your support would be a tremendous encouragement.
If you'd like to help me continue to maintain and improve this project, please consider making a donation. Every contribution, big or small, is greatly appreciated and allows me to dedicate more time to developing quality tools.
Click the icon above to donate! 🙏
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support! 🙏
- Table of contents
- Features
- 🎯 About This Deck
- 🧠 Training Philosophy: Why Visualization Matters
- 🔬 Training Methodologies
- 🔬 Interface Design and Scientific Foundations
- 🔬 Advanced Selection Method by Thematic Sampling
- 🏰 Chess Opening Deck Generator & Analyzer
- 🚀 Installation (the easy way)
- 🚀 Installation (the complete way)
- 📱 Mobile & Cross-Platform Support
- 🎁 Usage & Training Tips
- 🏆 Transform Your Chess Vision
| Solarized theme, light interface | |
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| Front | Back |
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| Solarized theme, dark interface and coord show | |
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| Front | Back |
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| Green and Paper-sand themes | |
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| Front | Front |
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This tactical deck has been designed as a versatile and scientifically optimized training tool that adapts to several chess learning approaches. Unlike traditional puzzle platforms that focus on immediate gratification, this deck emphasizes deep learning through visualization and pattern recognition mastery.
The only way to use puzzles and transpose them into real games is to learn to calculate, visualize the move tree, and quickly recognize attack and defense patterns. Doing puzzles on platforms, whatever they are, brings very little except immediate dopamine. It's pleasant to move pieces and see a green light indicating you found the expected solution, but you don't absorb the positions, you don't really learn to visualize.
What I offer here is radical, in the sense that it attacks the root of the problems: visualization. No coordinates, no piece movement, no indication arrows—only the board and your brain. Here you will need to think, learn to read coordinates, anticipate, all in a modern and clean interface. It will be difficult at first, both because of the coordinates and the moves to visualize, but you will quickly see improvements by doing ~20 new puzzles per day. And by doing I mean really try to visualize and find moves (e.g. "OK, in this position, I think next best moves are Nf7 Rh7+ Kxh7").
Each range (~1200 puzzles, 14 sub-decks: <1000, 1000–1100, …, 1700–1800, 1800–1900, 1900–2000, 2000–2200, 2200+) allows you to apply the famous Woodpecker method: solve the same set multiple times in accelerated cycles to develop automatic recognition of tactical patterns. This approach transforms conscious thinking into unconscious reflexes, drastically increasing calculation speed in games. [1]
Use Anki's spaced repetition system to optimize learning according to your current level. The carefully selected puzzles guarantee constant progress without excessive frustration. Research shows that spaced repetition improves long-term retention by 200-300% compared to traditional methods. [2], [3]
I strongly recommend using Anki for learning these puzzles, as it's specifically designed for spaced repetition and offers optimal scheduling algorithms, especially with the FSRS scheduling algorithm.
Available on multiple platforms:
- Desktop: https://apps.ankiweb.net/
- Mobile: iOS App Store, Google Play Store, F-Droid
- Web: https://ankiweb.net/ for synchronization
Thanks to detailed tags (themes and openings), you can create custom decks to work specifically on your weaknesses: forks, pins, discovered attacks, or specific defenses like the Sicilian or French. This targeted approach accelerates learning of specific patterns. Some specific filtered decks are ready to use for the example.
Minimalist Front Display 🎨 The interface shows only the essentials: the board and the side to move. This deliberate simplification eliminates visual distractions and forces concentration on pure analysis. Research in cognitive psychology shows that a simplified visual environment improves problem-solving performance. [4], [5] It uses the useful HTMLTTCHESS a javascript program that facilitates rendering of chessboards in HTML without the need of extra images.
No Piece Movement: A Founded Pedagogical Choice 🚫 The inability to move pieces forces development of "chess vision"—this crucial ability to visualize moves in your head. Studies show that strong players possess visualization capabilities 3-4 times superior to average players.
Progressive Disclosure 📊 Solution, themes, and analysis links appear only after your attempt, respecting optimal learning principles and the "progressive disclosure" methodology.
- Pattern Recognition & Cognitive Chunks 🧩: Based on Chase & Simon's (1973) "chunking" theory
- Cognitive Load Theory 🧠⚖️: Interface follows Sweller's principles to maximize mental resources
- Skill Transfer 🔄: Visualization training shows 35-50% transfer rate to actual game performance [6], [7], [8]
The script downloads the complete Lichess database (several million puzzles) and automatically processes it. This database contains all community-validated puzzles with their metadata: ELO rating, popularity, tactical themes, and associated openings.
Fundamental principle: Instead of simply taking the most popular puzzles (which would create redundancies), the script applies a maximum-coverage algorithm with a Bayesian quality score and explicit motif caps:
def sample_by_themes(tranche, target_per_theme=17, popularity_threshold=90,
target_deck_size=1200, min_nbplays=20):Selection steps:
- Quality scoring: Each puzzle gets a Bayesian confidence score combining Popularity and NbPlays — a 100%/3-plays puzzle correctly ranks below a 92%/5000-plays puzzle.
- Motif filtering: A denylist removes non-tactical metadata tags (
mateIn1..5,oneMove,short/long,crushing,master…) so the diversity objective targets real patterns. - Vectorized fast-pass: For each meaningful motif, select the top
target_per_themepuzzles by quality from the primary pool (Popularity ≥ 90%, NbPlays ≥ 20). - Theme-aware complement: Any motif still uncovered (e.g., only found in low-popularity puzzles) gets a best-available puzzle added without a popularity gate.
- Quality top-up: Fill to
target_deck_sizein quality order, respecting a true per-motif cap that counts co-occurrences across all motifs of each selected puzzle.
If thematic sampling produces fewer than 700 puzzles (only for tiny tranches), the script fills up with the highest-quality remaining puzzles. In normal operation, the theme-aware complement step guarantees ≥ 1 puzzle per tactical motif present in the tranche.
Crucial point: Lichess puzzles show the position before the opponent's move. The script automatically applies this first move to present the real position to solve, then converts remaining moves to readable notation (SAN).
This method produces decks that:
- Maximize pattern diversity (>98% thematic coverage)
- Prioritize pedagogical quality (community-validated puzzles)
- Avoid redundancies while guaranteeing learning through repetition
- Adapt to level (increasing complexity by ELO ranges)
Let’s introduce the Chess Opening Deck Generator & Analyzer - the perfect companion to tactical puzzle decks! This powerful new module allows you to create, analyze, and optimize your personalized opening repertoire directly with your json repertoire.
The analyzer generates professional-quality reports that show you exactly where your opening knowledge stands. Here's a sample of what you'll see: Opening Report made with the opening json file
- 500+ opening variations across 15+ major families
- Color-balanced training with separate analysis for white openings and black defenses
- Mainline vs. variant ratio to ensure theoretical soundness
- Star-based coverage evaluation for each opening family
- Interactive ASCII board previews of critical positions
- Balance meters showing white/black distribution at a glance
- Depth distribution analysis to identify superficial coverage
- Targeted recommendations based on your specific gaps
- Progression goals tailored to your current level
- Critical position identification for focused study
- Thematic analysis to strengthen specific aspects of your repertoire
Creating your personalized opening deck is incredibly simple:
- Prepare your opening repertoire in JSON format (use our comprehensive template)
- Run the generator with just 3 lines of code:
generator = OpeningDeckGenerator()
generator.add_from_popular_openings(your_openings_data)
generator.generate_csv('my_openings.csv')Ready to master your openings? The same scientific principles that power the tactical deck now extend to opening preparation! Combine both for complete chess mastery from move 1 to checkmate. 🏆♟️
- Visit the shared deck: https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/894523279
- Download the apkg file
- Go to File → Import
- Select the apkg file
- Choose "Update existing deck" when prompted and choose whether you want to import schedules
- You are ready! ✅
- Open Anki and go to Tools → Add-ons
- Click Get Add-ons... and enter this code:
1788670778CrowdAnki - Click OK and restart Anki
- The CrowdAnki plugin is now installed! 🎉
- Visit the repository: https://github.com/SKOHscripts/Optimized-Chess-Puzzles
- In the Releases section, download the ZIP archive corresponding to the version of the deck you want to use.
- Extract the ZIP file to your computer
- Locate the deck folder containing the JSON file and media folder
- Open Anki and go to File → CrowdAnki: Import from disk
- Browse to the extracted deck folder (containing the
.jsonfile) - Select the folder and click OK
- CrowdAnki will import the deck with all media files 📚
If you already have the deck and want to update it:
- Go to File → CrowdAnki: Import from disk
- Select the updated deck folder
- Choose "Update existing deck" when prompted
- Your progress will be preserved while new cards are added! ✅
The deck is now available in your Anki collection, organized by ELO ranges with optimized spaced repetition intervals. Each card includes:
- FEN Position: Real position to analyze (after preprocessing)
- Moves_SAN: Move sequence in readable notation
- Tactical themes and opening tags to display
- Unified Tags: Merged themes + openings for easy filtering
- Direct links to Lichess and Chess.com for deeper analysis
- Metadata: Rating, popularity for progress tracking
- Confidence: The Bayesian quality score computed at selection time (Popularity + NbPlays, confidence-weighted), shown on the back as a ★ pill so you can gauge how community-validated each puzzle is
- Diplay theme used for the card (available themes are theme-solarized, theme-paper-sand and nothing for default theme)
Every sub-deck also carries a rich description generated from the selection statistics: puzzle count, ELO range/average, average popularity, motif/theme coverage, a full theme-frequency breakdown, and a Woodpecker-based estimate of how long it takes to master the band (at ~20 new puzzles/day).
This project thus transforms a raw database of millions of puzzles into custom training sets, optimized for systematic progression and lasting memorization of tactical patterns essential at each level! 🚀♟️
This deck is designed to work across all platforms supported by Anki.
The AnkiDroid app is free, open-source, and excellent. Simply sync your AnkiWeb account to access it. If you find AnkiDroid useful, consider supporting its development team via OpenCollective.
The AnkiMobile app on the App Store is paid ($29.99). If you wish to use this deck for free on iPhone or iPad, we've written a comprehensive, detailed guide explaining how to use AnkiWeb via Safari.
Click the badge above for complete instructions, advantages/limitations, and the step-by-step sync procedure.
Supporting Anki: Remember that purchasing AnkiMobile directly funds the ongoing development of Anki itself, which benefits all users across all platforms.
The deck includes a special section for errors and traps encountered in your games. After analyzing your games:
- Identify critical positions where you made mistakes
- Click "Share FEN position" on your analysis platform
- Create a new card with the position and correct moves
- Add context and use specific tags for easy review
Use Anki's filtering system to focus on specific weaknesses:
- Filter by tactical themes (fork, pin, skewer, etc.)
- Filter by opening systems (Sicilian, French, etc.)
- Create custom study sessions based on your needs
This deck combines the best modern pedagogical practices:
- ✅ Spaced repetition for memory anchoring
- ✅ Forced visualization to develop intuition
- ✅ Thematic diversity for generalization
- ✅ Cognitively optimized interface for concentration
Start your journey to tactical mastery today! I hope you improve, that this deck is useful to you, and that you enjoy playing it. 🚀♟️
- Based on: Lichess community database
- Optimization: Spaced repetition algorithms
- Coverage: Near-100% motif coverage per ELO band (tactical themes, denylist applied)
- Quality: Bayesian quality score combining Popularity + NbPlays (confidence-weighted)
- Volume: ~1200 puzzles per ELO band (14 sub-decks, bounded high-ELO ranges)
License: MIT | Contributing: Pull requests welcome | Issues: Report here