Noctie features — a chess AI built for training
Noctie is a training partner, not an engine: it plays like a human at your level, grades every move you make on a seven-step scale, and turns your mistakes into puzzles. Everything below is included in every plan (€14/month or €8/month billed yearly) and in the free 7-day trial.
What you get
-
1
Play a human-like chess AI at your level
Noctie plays like a person from advanced beginner to grandmaster strength: humanlike opening choices, humanlike mistakes and even humanlike move timings — no random engine blunders.
Trained on over a billion human games; strength range up to ~2800 Elo.
-
2
Instant color feedback on every move
Every move is graded the moment you play it, from Blunder to Excellent, based on how good it looks from a human perspective rather than raw engine evaluation.
7 feedback levels: Excellent, Great, Good, OK, Dubious, Mistake, Blunder.
-
3
Puzzles from your own mistakes
After each game Noctie turns your most instructive mistakes into flashcards, then schedules them with spaced repetition until the pattern sticks.
Flashcards are generated automatically after every game.
-
4
Practice openings your way
Pick any common opening and Noctie answers with the lines real people play online — traps included — or import your own repertoire as a PGN and drill it in full games.
Import repertoires from Lichess, Chessbook, Chesstempo or ChessBase as PGN.
-
5
Set up positions and endgames
Build sparring positions or pick from Noctie's library of instructive positions and play them out against a human-like opponent without a clock.
-
6
Lessons and daily content
Work through interactive lessons on theoretical endgames and positional themes, learn openings from commented repertoires, solve the daily puzzle and beat the weekly scenario.
100+ interactive lessons, a daily puzzle and a new weekly scenario.
-
7
Free rating test
A short calibration game estimates your playing strength from your moves and sets your starting rank — no trial or subscription needed to find your level.
The rating test is free without starting a trial.
Noctie chess rating: how the difficulty tracks you
Noctie can estimate your playing strength from your moves. You start with a short rating test — a free calibration game that sets your starting rank — and from then on ranked games adjust the level: win and you face tougher opposition, lose and it eases off. Ranks run from Pawn 1 to Queen 5; the table is Noctie's own rough guide relative to Chess.com online blitz.
| Tier | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pawn | ≈ 400 | ≈ 500 | ≈ 600 | ≈ 700 | ≈ 800 |
| Knight | ≈ 900 | ≈ 1000 | ≈ 1100 | ≈ 1200 | ≈ 1300 |
| Bishop | ≈ 1400 | ≈ 1500 | ≈ 1600 | ≈ 1700 | ≈ 1800 |
| Rook | ≈ 1900 | ≈ 2000 | ≈ 2100 | ≈ 2200 | ≈ 2300 |
| Queen | ≈ 2400 | ≈ 2500 | ≈ 2600 | ≈ 2700 | ≈ 2800 |
Why your Noctie rank can differ from your online rating, and how to make the estimate more accurate: rating test guide →
Instant feedback: the seven grades
As soon as you make a move, Noctie's AI grades it by how good it looks from a human perspective — not by centipawn loss. Reasonable moves that fail only to an obscure engine line are not punished, and clever, non-obvious moves get credit. Made a mistake? Take it back and ask for a hint.
| Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Excellent | A great move that's hard to find |
| Great | A strong and non-obvious move |
| Good | One of the best moves in the position |
| OK | A somewhat unambitious move |
| Dubious | An inferior move but not a clear mistake |
| Mistake | A clear mistake or missed opportunity |
| Blunder | A critical mistake harming your chances |
Noctie AI chess vs a normal engine
Turn a regular engine down to “beginner” and it doesn't play like a beginner — it mixes flawless moves with random blunders no human would make. Noctie goes the other way: trained on over a billion human games, it plays like a person at your level, from beginner to grandmaster strength.
| A regular engine | Noctie |
|---|---|
| Strength from calculating millions of positions per second | Strength from intuition learned from a billion human games |
| Always hunts for the objectively best move | Plays the moves people at your rating actually choose |
| Weakened by sprinkling in random blunders | Makes the mistakes a human at your level would make |
| Snaps out book moves instantly | Thinks in a human rhythm, even in the opening |
Who Noctie is for — and who it isn't
Noctie is for players who want to practice: relaxed games against a believable opponent, feedback while the position is still on the board, and a review loop built from their own mistakes. It suits advanced beginners upward — total beginners will find the first games tough and their first win worth celebrating. If you want the strongest possible engine for cold analysis, or you only want to play rated games against people, keep your engine and your Chess.com or Lichess account: Noctie complements them (you can even import those games) rather than replacing them.
In numbers: 100,000+ learners on web, iOS and Android, 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store (606 ratings), and a public roadmap and changelog that shows what has shipped.
Try it on your own games
Take the free rating test first, then start the 7-day trial with every feature unlocked.