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342 points avadhesh18 | 9 comments | | HN request time: 0.313s | source | bottom

Hi HN!

I'm the developer of rdx, a mildly popular ad-free, privacy and user friendly Reddit client. This time, I made something for a very specific use case: solving chess puzzles with no internet.

Why? Well, my Wi-Fi is terrible in the bathroom—and that's where I do some of my best thinking. I tried printing out “mate in X” puzzles to solve offline, but they weren’t fun without interaction. So I built OffChess.

OffChess is an iPhone/Android app that contains over 100,000 chess puzzles, fully offline and completely ad-free. You can solve puzzles by category (Mate in 1/2/3/4/5, tactics like pins/forks/skewers, or openings like Sicilian/French, etc). You gain or lose points based on how you perform, so there's a light rating system to keep things engaging.

No accounts, no tracking, no monthly subscriptions, no internet required. Just pure, old-school tactical chess training, wherever you are.

You can check out the iPhone/iPad app at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chess-puzzles-offchess/id67447... or the Android app at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.offchess

Would love feedback, bug reports, or suggestions.

Thanks!

1. laurentlb ◴[] No.44499018[source]
Nice project!

As it was not clear from the description, there's a one-time payment (4.29€) to get more than 7 puzzles in a day.

Lichess also offers a good alternative to this, although their offline support is limited.

replies(4): >>44499150 #>>44499327 #>>44499756 #>>44504746 #
2. scotty79 ◴[] No.44499150[source]
To be fair you shouldn't be sitting in the bathroom for that long because you'll develop hemorrhoids.
replies(2): >>44503337 #>>44507934 #
3. jaredhallen ◴[] No.44499327[source]
TacticMaster on F Droid seems to have all the same features for free.
replies(1): >>44499407 #
4. avadhesh18 ◴[] No.44499407[source]
A great app no doubt but the descriptive hints on OffChess and a different rating system set OffChess apart from TacticMaster.
5. deepdarkforest ◴[] No.44499756[source]
CT-ART 4.0 is the gold standard. Again, not fully free, but it has some very instructional features, like playing against alternate moves, solving mini versions of a puzzle, playing the opposite side etc. Used it for years.
6. reaperducer ◴[] No.44503337[source]
To be fair you shouldn't be sitting in the bathroom for that long because you'll develop hemorrhoids.

Maybe he's really good at chess?

(Unlike my former co-worker who would monopolize the one men's room stall for two hours at a stretch doing chess puzzles on his phone, and I'd have to go to the IT building. Gross.)

7. zikduruqe ◴[] No.44504746[source]
> offline support is limited.

You are limited to 50 puzzles when off the network, and when you reconnect, the next 50 (or the delta between how many you played and 50) are redownloaded.

8. eru ◴[] No.44507934[source]
Just use a standing potty?
replies(1): >>44508710 #
9. scotty79 ◴[] No.44508710{3}[source]
I thought squatting was all the rage.