Chess & Strategy
Counterplay
Hand-built, checked puzzles and an opening coach that explains every move: the chess an AI is honestly good at.
Counterplay is a free chess trainer you play inside ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Fixed-answer chess puzzles and an openings coach, not a full-strength opponent. Solo, 15–30m a run. No signup and no app — open it in your assistant, or paste the play prompt anywhere else.
- Players
- 1
- Length
- 15–30m
- Rating
- All ages
- Version
- 1.1.0
Works with ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini. Free, no signup.
Opens your assistant with the game loaded. ChatGPT usually runs it straight away; Claude waits for you to press send. Same link on your phone as on your desktop. Playing in Gemini? Tap Copy the play prompt and paste it into a new chat. What works where.
No web access, or want it as an installed app?
The game card is the entire game — every scene, rule and answer, about 11k characters. Paste it when your assistant can't browse the web. The Skill installs Counterplay into Claude on any plan: download it, then turn on code execution under Settings → Capabilities and add it at Customize → Skills → + → Upload a skill.
How to start
- Open your AI. Start a new chat in ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. No paid plan required.
- Paste the card. Paste the whole Counterplay card into the chat, then say "puzzles" or "openings". Puzzles is the default and opens on CP-1.
- Solve or drill. Work the position or the opening line. The coach explains ideas and nudges you toward the plan.
- Check the answer. Solve it, or give up, and the coach shows the written solution and the one-line reason it works.
Questions
- Can ChatGPT actually play chess?
- No, not reliably. Large language models predict text rather than legal chess moves, so they drift into illegal moves and blunders as a game goes on. They are genuinely useful for coaching, explaining ideas, and drilling puzzles, which is exactly what Counterplay uses them for.
- Why puzzles and openings instead of a full game?
- Because those are where an AI helps and does not fail. Every puzzle's answer is written on the card, so the coach checks your move against a fixed, known solution, and opening lines are known theory the AI can explain. You get accurate positions and a coach, not a shaky opponent.
- How do you know the puzzle answers are right?
- Every puzzle is hand-built and checked, and its solution ships written on the card. The coach reads that fixed answer instead of computing chess, so it grades your move against a known-correct line rather than inventing an evaluation.
- Do I need to know chess notation?
- No. You can describe moves in plain language and the AI will translate, though standard notation works too. Counterplay meets beginners where they are and still gives stronger players the precise lines and explanations they want.