r/GothamChess

I know, it's not brilliant

I was up 10 points of material by turn 21, it took me 30 more turns to win. So whatever your guess is add 8 for the W

I’m 14 and built a full-stack, privacy-first chess platform from scratch (Beta). Would love some feedback!

Hey r/chess**,**

I wanted to share a passion project I’ve been working on over the last few weeks. I’m a 14-year-old developer, and I decided to challenge myself by building a complete, full-stack chess platform completely from scratch. It’s currently live in beta, built and hosted using Bolt.new, and I’m looking to get some feedback from actual players to help me improve it.

The Link to check it out:

https://full-stack-chess-web-iz66.bolt.host/

🛠️ The Philosophy Behind the Site

There are already massive chess platforms out there, but my main goal with this project wasn't to compete with them—it was to see if I could build a secure, lightweight alternative that respects the user.

Personally, I am incredibly focused on digital privacy and clean network traffic. A lot of modern websites are bloated with dozens of third-party tracking scripts, invasive analytics, and heavy backgrounds that slow things down. I wanted to build a chess environment that is completely transparent. The backend architecture is built to handle user data securely, storing only what is absolutely necessary to make the app work (like your account and your games) without any hidden tracking.

🚀 What’s Packed Into the Beta Right Now

I’ve focused heavily on getting the core full-stack infrastructure solid before adding too much visual fluff. Here is what is fully functional today:

 Secure Authentication System: A clean login and signup flow. Your credentials and session data are handled safely.

 Responsive Playable Interface: A lightweight, smooth chess board designed to handle piece manipulation cleanly without lag.

 Match History Tracking: Every game you complete is saved to the database under your profile, allowing you to go back and keep a record of your progress.

 Game Review System: An analytical tool built in so you can step back through your board states post-match and review your moves.

🚧 What’s Coming Next (Under Construction)

The biggest challenge I'm tackling right now is Multiplayer. The UI components are there, but I am currently ironing out the real-time networking and matchmaking backend to make sure it's fast and stable. Right now, it's a work in progress, but full P2P/Server-side multiplayer matchmaking is the next major milestone.

💬 I Need Your Feedback!

Because the site is in active beta development, player feedback is everything. I’d love for a few people to create an account, test the board, and tell me honestly:

1. The Feel: How does the piece movement and board responsiveness feel compared to what you're used to?

2. The Tools: Is the Game Review UI intuitive? Did you run into any weird glitches when analyzing a finished game?

3. The Flow: Did you experience any friction or bugs during the login or signup process?

4. Features: What kind of unique tools or features would make you want to use a lightweight, privacy-respecting site like this?

Thanks a ton to anyone who takes a few minutes to look at the code's output and move some pieces around. I'll be in the comments responding to feedback and taking notes for the next update cycle!

At first, I thought it was on the exact same day, but now I'm seeing that one is in June and the other is in July. Still cool though.

Game: https://www.chess.com/events/2026-naroditsky-memorial-masters-rapid/02/Hess_Robert-Rozman_Levy

10 min rapid

whenever I look at the half life two game cover I can't not see Gotham Chess. Maybe it's just me, but they look identical.

(ps i haven't played half life two in many years, maybe it's just the cover photo)

>His books are been pirated openly on a site, he should put a stop to this

After I played rook to b2, I grabbed my head and thought "WTF have I just done?" But my opponent managed to top me in sheer foolishness.. he resigned, completely forgetting that he had a back rank checkmate.