What is Icarus Chess?
Icarus Chess is an online tool for chess learning, training, game storage, research and match organisation, available exclusively for Lichfield Chess Club and Burton Chess Club members. It has been built and tested by club members (with a lot of help from our AI overlords!), with features added over time during the early part of 2026.
It runs in a web-browser on both desktop and mobile devices. To get a clear understanding of what it can do, it is probably easiest to download the latest manual:
Frequently Asked Questions
What can it do?
Here is an overview of the main things Icarus Chess can do:
- Analyse your games with Stockfish, storing them for future reference.
- Watch live games from local, national or international events. Add an embedded YouTube video for commentary where one exists.
- Perform Deep Analysis of your games, with text analysis.
- Tag or group your games into folders or 'collections'. Import Lichess studies as collections.
- Import games from Lichess or Chess.com accounts into your library
- Share images of board positions, or annotated PDFs and animated GIFs of games. Share entire games for online sharing using a read-only viewer.
- Play against human-like bots at a variety of levels and time controls. Start your bot game from any position, or against a bot based on the opening repertoire of an online opponent.
- Solve puzzles based on specific openings or endgame types. Create your own custom puzzles from your own games to test yourself in future.
- Create your own timed training sessions and assign them to a calendar, linking activities from elsewhere in the site.
- Bookmark, tag, and watch YouTube videos from your favourite chess content creators.
- Upload and organise PDFs of chess books or magazines. Read them on-screen next to a digital board. Send any book position for instant analysis. Annotate on pages with post-it style notes or using a stylus.
- Research online players from Lichess or Chess.com, and analyse their opening repertoires. Store or refresh this information for future encounters.
- Store information about ECF-registered players, find current and past ratings and recent opponents. Organise players into groups and run reports on rating changes and other metrics.
- Review current league positions for your teams, and compile fixtures from multiple leagues to create your own chess fixture list.
- Use a set of Captain's Tools to organise a team and track availability of the players you have invited to play.
Who can use it?
Any member of Lichfield Chess Club or Burton Chess Club can use Icarus Chess. All we ask is that you actively contribute in feeding back on any bugs or issues you discover. We always welcome suggestions for new features too.
Does it cost anything?
No! Icarus Chess is completely free for Lichfield Chess Club and Burton Chess Club members.
How do I get started?
Contact Richard Anderson (07515 376508) and he'll send you an invitation link. You'll just need an email address and password to create a login.
Why is it called Icarus Chess?
Simply because a club member suggested that maybe we were "flying a little too close to the sun" in creating it. (Thanks, Albert).