I've talked to some chess coaches and got negative responses every single time when I suggested that AI can help in chess improvement. The common argument was that AI is like a chess engine. They know the best move but cannot TEACH chess. I tried hard but cannot convince these coaches that AI can be an additional tool that any chess coach can use. Heck AI can't even play proper chess unless it is connected to Stockfish or something!
AI isn't replacing coaches; it's amplifying a human coach methodology.
For example, a Perplexity Comet-Powered browser works like having a tireless assistant who handles the grunt work you already do manually. Instead of spending hours reviewing each student's games for recurring mistakes, Perplexity analyses their annotated Lichess or chess.com games. It categorises blunders by theme—the same themes you teach: back-rank weaknesses, undefended pieces, tactical oversights.
Students arrive at lessons with their weaknesses already identified and custom puzzle sets created. Coaches spend valuable time on what AI cannot do—providing nuanced strategic guidance, psychological coaching, and the Socratic questioning that builds true understanding.
It's an "Interactive Loop" - reinforces classical teaching: students solve positions, then explain their reasoning to the AI coach, which asks probing questions. When they struggle, they create variations—exactly what you'd assign as homework.
This isn't chess-by-computer. It's proven methods, used by human coaches, scaled. The AI handles pattern detection across hundreds of games; human coaches provide wisdom, motivation, and the human touch that turns information into mastery. Traditional coaching remains irreplaceable—AI is just providing a research assistant who never sleeps.
