The clock runs separately, on a second phone or right in the app - online chess clock. The easiest set-up: one player opens the timer on their phone, the other puts their phone with the camera by the board. Then you don't even need to tap “Start the game”: recording starts by itself as soon as the clock is started on the other phone.
There are two views, switched at the top. “Camera” is what the camera sees: the board with the frame and labelled pieces. “Board” is a clean position, as in any chess app, with a move counter. The game record grows underneath. You don't need to look at the phone while playing - this is for the curious.
After the checkmate the app goes back to the game screen by itself. All that is left is to mark the result, and the game with all its moves appears in its card.
If the phone gets bumped by accident, the recording carries on.
We tested recording on dozens of real games played on ordinary boards: different boards and pieces, daylight and evening light, the camera above and to the side. In all these conditions the app reads the position of the pieces with high accuracy.
Recognition keeps improving: every game played with the camera makes it even more accurate. More about what it can do - chess board recognition with a camera.
| Scoresheet | Electronic board | Phone camera | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you need | a pen and a scoresheet | a special board and pieces | a phone and a stand |
| Who writes the moves | the player, after every move | the board | the app |
| Distracts from the game | yes | no | no |
| Your own board and pieces | yes | no, only its own set | yes |
| Engine analysis | type the moves in by hand | via the board's software | a button in the app |
The scoresheet is still the rule in FIDE-rated tournaments, where players keep score themselves - chess notation and scoresheets. Electronic boards are for broadcasting the top boards of big events - electronic chess boards. The phone camera covers everything else: a club night, an amateur tournament, training, a chess match with a friend.
Recording is the first step. The next one we are working on is showing the game live while it is being recorded: on a screen in the hall and by link, so it can be followed from anywhere in the world. The app cannot do this yet. How broadcasting is set up today - demo board and broadcasting.
Yes. In the Vibe Chess app the game screen has a “Record the game with camera” button. Put the phone on a stand so it sees the whole board, and the app records every move by itself and saves the game in its card.
No. Any ordinary board and any pieces will do: wooden, plastic, tournament or home sets.
On a stand or a tripod, so that all 64 squares are in the frame. You can film from above or from the side at an angle, from either player's side.
Yes. Castling, en passant and pawn promotion are recorded by themselves, just like ordinary moves.
Highly accurate: we tested it on dozens of games on different boards, in different light and at different angles. Every new game makes recognition even more accurate.
In the game card tap “Analyse the game”. The engine calculates each player's accuracy, shows a graph of the game and the best move in every position, and marks inaccuracies, mistakes and blunders.
Not yet. Showing the recorded game on a screen in the hall and by link is the next step we are working on.
The Vibe Chess app is built for an evening over the board, not for online play: it keeps the sign-up list, the pairings and the table while you deal with people and the venue. All of it free.
The bot is constantly improved based on real tournaments. If you need a feature that isn't there yet, message the developers right inside the bot with the /support command. Many features appeared exactly because organizers asked for them, and useful ideas get added quickly.
What recognition can do - chess board recognition. What to do with a recorded game - game analysis in the app and how to analyse your own games. Classic recording - notation and scoresheets.
At the board since childhood: hazy about his rating, precise about every rook he has blundered. Counts an evening as a good one if the opponent stayed to talk afterwards instead of rushing off to check with an engine. Message →
