Anki Chess

Created at: 2020-08-03 ; Last updated: 2020-12-27

Many people (ab)use Anki for spaced repetition chess training. In this post I want to explain why I think Listudy is a better alternative.

Try out: Learn openings with Listudy.

Prior Art

Here is a list of different techniques used so far to use Anki for chess and why I think they are not optimal.

Anki Addon: PGN Chess Flashcards

This Plugin has been created by u/nukeychess on reddit: https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/340753088

They uploaded a video of the addon in action: https://streamable.com/k6d77

This is a pretty good implementation. Moves can be played dynamically. But unfortunately this addon is not usable for the latest versions of Anki.

Static Images of Positions

This has been created by u/AsymmetricWarfare on reddit: building_an_opening_repertoire_using_anki

Here is a image of the system in action: https://i.imgur.com/9gAfMSX.png

Another implementation is used here: https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/1413734466

This system has the disadvantage that moves cannot be played dynamically. In my opinion this makes learning less enjoyable.

Why Listudy is better

Before I explain why Listudy is better I would like to explain briefly what Listudy is. On Listudy you can upload PGN files or import them from Lichess. These PGN files can then be used in “studies” to learn positions using spaced repetition. This is the same system that Anki uses. In this way tactics, endgames and openings can be learned.

Now that we all know what Listudy is I would like to explain why I think Listudy is more suitable for chess training than Anki.

Conclusion

I firmly believe that Listudy is better for studying chess than Anki. Listudy is especially designed for chess and therefore has many big and small optimizations that are not possible in Anki.

Try out: Learn openings with Listudy.

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Comments

Hi Thanks for making this amazing website Great work One thing I wanted to ask is that how to create chapters for eg when I use lichess study link it creates different chapters but if I use my PGN it is not creating chapters Thanks

by: honi

Chapters are created automatically if there are multiple games in a PGN.

by: Arne

discovered this website a few hours ago and I love it. I've been waiting for something like for two years. And I agree about Anki.

by: oussama1

I have been looking for this for about a year and I vaguely remember discovering the old listudy long ago (which was not good enough TBH). The new version looks amazing. All the best!

by: montri

Hi! I cannot see the spaced repetition aspect of this, where does it tell you when you are due for a repetition? -Raum

by: Fernsage

Perhaps I'm missing something, but like Fernsage, I don't see where is the spaced-repetition part on this site

by: chimera

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