Repertoire Builder v1.1 is Live + Chessboard Magic Updates

“Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician, and the endgame like a machine.” — Rudolph Spielmann

It’s here! Version 1.1 of Repertoire Builder is live and packed with new features. The platform has now grown to over 3,300 users, who’ve collectively added more than 1 million moves across 7,000+ repertoires. It’s been incredible to see the growth, and this release adds even more tools to help you train smarter.

It’s free to get started with the Repertoire Builder, so you can jump in and begin building your repertoire today. Get started with Repertoire Builder

If you have any questions Join the community on Discord

What’s New in v1.1

Puzzle Module

Sharpen your memory and understanding with creative drills.
The new Puzzle Module is designed to challenge your repertoire knowledge in fresh ways:

• Play the Opening – get a variation name from your repertoire and see if you can play it correctly.

• Guess the Opening – a Wordle-style twist for chess lines, drawn from your repertoire.

• Memory Trainer – memorize a position in seconds, then rebuild it from scratch.

• Where Are My Pieces? – a visual recall test: your position is shown as plain white and black circles, and you need to identify what piece belongs where. A surprisingly fun way to sharpen memory and visualization.

Local Engine Integration

Unlock powerful analysis with your own engine.
With Local Engine Integration, you can now power your training using your own UCI engine. Tested with Stockfish (15–17), Komodo Free, and Berserk, this feature lets you run stronger or custom analysis directly inside Repertoire Builder. All you need is a small proxy app to connect the two.

Note: Engine Evaluations are now also Cached so you can toggle between moves and not have to regenerate the engine from the start.

A proxy server needs to be running so that the website can communicate with your desktop computer. https://github.com/HollowLeaf1981/CBMEngineProxy

Candidate Move Trainer

Test your understanding, not just your memory.
The new Candidate Move Trainer lets you pick a position—either from your repertoire or one you’ve created manually—and test yourself by finding the best candidate moves. It’s a great way to move beyond rote memorization and deepen your true understanding of a position.

Positions Card

Save and reuse positions across the platform.
The new Positions Card makes it easy to save positions for later—perfect for a tricky middlegame you want to revisit. Saved positions can be launched straight into Practice or the Candidate Move Trainer, or stored for review when you have time.

Position Overview Card

See all your moves in one place.
We’ve added a brand-new Position Overview Card that brings together everything you need to understand a position at a glance. Instead of jumping between the Opening Tree, your Repertoires, and your Library, this card consolidates the data into a clean and compact table.
For any position on the board, you’ll instantly see:

• Move – the candidate moves available.
• Total – the overall number of times each move appears across all sources.
• Reps – how often that move occurs in your own repertoires.
• Library Items – how often it appears in your imported games and studies.
• Opening Tree – the number of times it has been played in the wider opening database.

This makes it easier than ever to compare your preparation against the theory and your personal practice. You can click on a move to add it directly to your lines, speeding up your workflow and making study more interactive.
The Position Overview Card is designed to be compact, efficient, and fast, so you can focus on learning the moves that matter most.

Practice Module Improvements

Train smarter with more control and new modes.
The Practice Module has been upgraded with more flexibility and variety:

• CPL thresholds let you tune Stockfish and ChessDB opponents, making them sharper or looser depending on what you want to train.
• Practice blindfold chess: swap pieces for circles or make them invisible to push your visualization skills.
• Seamless integration with Positions and the Opening Library, so you can start training from wherever you like

Other Updates

• Improved injection of Master Games into repertoires and library items.
• A new Usage Card so you can track limits and growth.
• Library upgrades: bulk tagging, easier deletion, smoother management.
• Chessboard Sounds – 4 options now available, with more on the way.
• General performance enhancements, hundreds of interface tweaks and bug fixes.

Chessboard Magic Updates

Alongside the major new features, we’ve also expanded our standalone training tools:

• (45) Practice Trainer – practice against a variety of sources as an independent tool, without needing to enter the full Repertoire Builder.
• (46) Candidate Move Trainer – now available as its own module, so you can sharpen your move-spotting skills anytime.
• (47) Opening Tree – explore openings with a dedicated standalone tool, complete with engine cards borrowed from the Repertoire Builder for deeper analysis.

I’ve still got 17 more applications to build before Chessboard Magic reaches my personal goal of 64 chess related games and tools — and I’m excited for the journey ahead.

Coming Soon

The journey doesn’t stop here—v1.1 is just the beginning. Here’s a look at what’s next for Repertoire Builder:

Customizable Layouts

Soon you’ll be able to design Repertoire Builder around the way you work best. Enable only the cards you want, resize them, and move them to suit your workflow. Even better—you’ll be able to save multiple layouts, so you can quickly switch between different setups for study, training, or preparation.

Upgraded Training Module

The Training Module is about to get a major boost. It already offers powerful ways to sharpen your skills, but we’re enhancing it with more training options and deeper integration into Repertoire Builder. This expansion will make the Training Module an even more versatile tool for learning, practicing, and reinforcing your repertoire.

Additional Puzzles

I’m adding a new set of standard puzzles to the Puzzle Module to give you a fuller training experience. These will bring more variety and depth to your practice, helping you sharpen tactics, recognize patterns, and enjoy even more ways to challenge yourself outside of your repertoire work.

PGN Merging

Repertoire building will become faster and more effective with the ability to merge PGNs directly into your lines. Expand your preparation with ease.

Subscription Model

A flexible subscription option will soon be available, allowing you to raise your limits and unlock advanced features when you need them.

Opponent Preparation Tools

Repertoire Builder is moving beyond study into competitive preparation. With User Scout and Opening Prep integration, you’ll be able to analyze your upcoming opponents and compare their repertoires against your own.
This next wave of updates will transform Repertoire Builder from a powerful study tool into a complete platform for training, preparation, and performance.

Wrapping Up

Whether you’re new to Repertoire Builder or an existing user, now’s the perfect time to try out the new features. Your feedback has shaped much of this release, and I can’t wait to hear what you think.