All of Norway's chess club · sjakki.no
Sjakki
Play and learn chess. Free and in Norwegian.
The daily puzzle, learning with Matt the chimpanzee, analysis of your games and live chess against all of Norway. Everything that costs money elsewhere is free here. No ads. No paywall.
Everything you need to play and learn is here now. More arrives continuously.
The daily puzzle
Hi! I'm Matt. Ready for today's puzzle? Your turn. Find the best move.
The promise
Three things you can count on
Completely free
Game review, unlimited puzzles, lessons, Insights and the Opening Book. Everything that is premium on chess.com is free on Sjakki. No ads, no paywall.
Completely Norwegian
Norwegian by default, English as an option. Norwegian product names, a Norwegian tone, Norwegian leaderboards. The language isn't a translation, it's the product itself.
Safe for children
The safest place a Norwegian child can play chess online: phrase chat instead of free text, unsearchable child profiles and a guest mode with no personal data.
The mascot
Meet Matt, the chimpanzee cheering you on
Matt is the coach everyone should have had: kind, enthusiastic and honest about the chess. He celebrates when you play well, gives a friendly thumbs down when you miss, and speaks up when you lose focus. Never shame. Never nagging.
- Explains why: every good move gets an explanation, so you learn the pattern and not just the answer.
- Celebrates your progress: brilliant moves, new records and milestones in your Crown Streak are celebrated as they deserve.
- Kind when you miss: a thumbs down, but always with a way forward. Try again, look at the bishop.
- Always plays fair: Matt never comments on moves while you play rated games against real opponents.
- Never nags: no guilt, no passive aggression. Quiet hours in the evening for children.
Everything you get
The whole chess toolbox, free
Most of it is ready now, and the rest launches continuously through the autumn and winter. Everything marked Premium on chess.com, free here costs money elsewhere.
Solve puzzles
- The daily puzzleOne shared puzzle for all of Norway, every day. Solve it, keep your Crown Streak going and share your result as an emoji row with friends and family.
- Puzzle trainingUnlimited, freeAs many puzzles as you like, drawn from real games and sorted by theme: forks, pins, discoveries and mating patterns. The difficulty follows your level.
- Puzzle RushHow many puzzles can you solve in three minutes? Adrenaline, high scores and a leaderboard of its own for the fastest in the country.
- Puzzle DuelChallenge a friend and solve the same puzzles at the same time, in real time. Fastest and most accurate wins.
- Board Vision and Piece SolitaireVision training that teaches you to see the whole board, and solitaire chess where the pieces capture each other until only one remains. Perfect light days for the Crown Streak.
Learn with Matt
- The Pawn SchoolAll lessons freeThe learning path from the very first move to your first win. Interactive lessons on the board with XP, stars and Matt explaining along the way. No prior knowledge needed.
- Matt explainsPremium on chess.com, free hereMatt tells you why the move is right, not just that it is. In every puzzle, every lesson and every analysis.
- The tactics and strategy pathsOnce the basics are in place: combinations, attacking plans, pawn structures and positional play that take you towards 1200 and beyond.
- The endgame pathPawn versus king, rook endgames and the patterns that decide even games. The part of chess most people skip, served so it actually sticks.
Play
- Play Matt and his friendsAll bots freeBots with personality at every strength, from fresh beginners to grandmaster level. Takebacks are allowed, so you can experiment and learn as you go.
- Live chessReal opponents at your level, matched by rating. Rapid first, then more time controls as more people play.
- Evening MateAll of Norway's shared tournament, every evening at 8pm. Join when you like, play as long as you like, and see how far you get on tonight's list.
- All time controls and Chess960From lightning bullet games to calm long chess, custom controls and Fischer chess where opening theory is reset.
- Correspondence chess with Time ShieldPremium on chess.com, free hereChess at your own pace with days per move. Vacation mode and Time Shield protect your time when life gets in the way.
- Clubs and Sjakki TuesdayClub rooms for the country's chess clubs with their own tournaments and club leagues, and a weekly signature tournament all of Norway can meet in.
Analyse
- Matt's reviewAfter each game against a bot, Matt shows you the three moments that decided it, and what you can do differently next time.
- Game reviewPremium on chess.com, free hereFull engine analysis of your games: every move classified, an accuracy score, blunders and brilliant moves. Matt explains the turning points in Norwegian.
- Analysis boardA free analysis board with full engine strength right in the browser. Move the pieces however you like, see the evaluation and the best lines as you think.
- InsightsDiamond on chess.com, free hereStatistics on your playing style over time: which openings you score with, when in the game you slip, and what you should train.
- The Opening BookPremium on chess.com, free hereExplore openings move by move with master games and your own games, and build your own repertoire.
Build the habit
- The Crown StreakYour streak is a golden crown that lights up every day you solve the daily puzzle. Freezes are earned through effort, not bought, and vacation mode is there for lazy weeks.
- XP and milestonesEverything you do gives XP: puzzles, lessons, games and analyses. The 7, 30, 100 and 365 day milestones unlock the board themes Fjord Glimpse, Northern Lights, Gold Edge and Royal Jubilee.
- The Piece LadderNine weekly leagues from the Pawn League to the Legend League. Collect XP, move up, and fight your way to the weekly final, the Sjakkiade, against the country's keenest.
- Friends and familyFriend streaks, family streaks and the Dinner Puzzle: one shared puzzle for the dinner table. Chess is one of few games three generations play together, and Sjakki is built for it.
- Local leaderboardsBest in class, best in the municipality, best in the club. It's more fun to be number three in Fana than number 48,212 in the world.
Watch and understand
- Sjakki TVFollow Norway Chess and the World Championship with live boards and Norwegian commentary tuned to your level. Play guess the next move with the family on the sofa while Carlsen thinks.
- Shareable gamesShare your game with a link that shows the whole course of play, and export PGN whenever you want to take your games with you.
- Customise everythingFive piece sets with Royal as the default, ten ready-made board themes, or make your own colours. The contrast guard makes sure the pieces are always easy to see.
For schools
Chess in the classroom, with no forms at all
Teachers get a class code that students use without giving a name, an email or anything at all. No personal data, no consent forms, no IT department. Just chess. The teacher sees who in the class has solved this week's puzzles, and the students compete for the class leaderboard.
A class code in 30 seconds
Create the code, write it on the board, done. Works on every device, including the school's iPads.
Zero personal data
Students play as pseudonymous guests. Nothing to consent to, nothing to delete, nothing to worry about.
Made for school chess
Students who discover chess through school tournaments get a place to continue, that same autumn.
Safety
Built safe from the first line
- The world's safest chess chat30 curated Norwegian phrases instead of free text. Nothing to misuse, no bullying.
- Unsearchable child profilesGenerated nicknames, friends only via a shared code, chat off by default for children.
- Guest mode with no identityPlay without an account: no name, no email, no tracking across sites.
- Parents are in controlParental consent for those under 13, quiet hours in the evening and a parent panel with an overview.
- Fair play from day oneCheat detection before rated games open, and a rating refund to you if your opponent cheated.
The story
Why free?
Sjakki is made by Peter Steen Klæboe, a 14-year-old chess player from Bergen. He plays online every single day, and wondered why getting good at chess should cost money. The analysis that explains what you did wrong, the lessons that teach you the openings, the puzzles that sharpen your eye: all of it sits behind paywalls.
Chess is part of Norwegian culture now. We have the world champion, the TV broadcasts and the school tournaments, but not the place where the whole country can play and learn in its own language. That's what Peter is building.
Ready for your first move?
Solve today's puzzle, start the Pawn School or play against Matt. It's all free, and you need no account to begin.