Rukh vs Chessbook

Repertoire builder · Facts as of October 2026 · Last updated October 24, 2026

The short verdict

Chessbook is a repertoire builder: you write the openings you want to play, drill them with spaced repetition, and it tells you when your online games deviate. It rewards players who maintain a repertoire file. Rukh needs no file. It checks your games against the engine and your own history, finds the misses that repeat, and talks you through the better line.

Chessbook is for

Disciplined improvers who know which lines they want to play and want deviation alerts from their chess.com and Lichess games.

Rukh is for

Players with no formal repertoire who still want to find and fix the mistakes they repeat.

Rukh and Chessbook side by side

Feature comparison of Rukh and Chessbook as of October 2026
Feature	Rukh	Chessbook
Learns from your own games	Yes. Follows your chess.com games.	Yes. Checks your chess.com and Lichess games against your repertoire.
Uses your clock	Yes. Reads the clock on every move to find the ones you rushed.	No clock analysis in game review found. Its Chessbook-1 bot models human think times.
Engine-checked advice	Yes. Every move is checked by Stockfish before Rukh says it.	Engine evals are one input alongside master stats.
Waits for a repeated miss	Yes. A lesson opens only after the same miss shows up 3 times in your real games.	Flags every deviation from your repertoire.
Mastery measured in real games	Yes. Mastered means playing it in 4 of your next 5 real chances.	Tracks deviations.
Talks the line through	Yes, in conversation and out loud.	No conversational coach found.
Reviews new games on its own	Yes. Reviews new games without being asked.	Flags wrong moves in your online games.
Courses and drills	No course library. Lessons come from your own misses.	Yes. Repertoire builder with FSRS spaced repetition.
Lichess	chess.com only for now.	Yes.
Platforms	Web. No native app.	Web, iOS and Android.
Price	One-week free trial, then a subscription.	Web: free to 200 moves; Pro $7 a month billed yearly.

“Not found” means we looked at the product’s own pages and did not find it, which is not the same as saying it does not exist. Details and sources are below.

Where Chessbook is strong

Your repertoire, with coverage tracking and gap finding using master stats, engine evals and results at your level.
Checks your chess.com and Lichess games and gives instant feedback when you play the wrong move.
Spaced repetition on FSRS, per its own wiki, plus model games and apps on web, iOS and Android.
Chessbook-1, a human-like bot released on 2026-10-19, for training games at 600 to 2800 and any time control.
Strong word of mouth among serious improvers.

Where Rukh is different

Rukh does not need a repertoire. It works from what you actually play.
A deviation is not always a mistake, so Rukh checks with the engine and only teaches a miss after it repeats 3 times.
It reads your clock for rushed decisions.
It tracks mastery by whether you play the move in 4 of your next 5 real chances, and explains the line in conversation.

Pricing

Chessbook: on the web, a free Starter plan (save up to 200 moves) and Pro at $7 a month billed yearly, per its site. The iOS app lists a different free cap (400 moves) and Pro at $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year. Rukh: a one-week free trial, then a subscription.

Prices as of October 2026. They change, so check the product’s own page before you buy.

Rukh and Chessbook: common questions

Does Chessbook check my games?

Yes. It checks your chess.com and Lichess games against the repertoire you build. See chessbook.com (opens in a new tab).

Do I need a repertoire to use Rukh?

No. Rukh works from your own games and finds the openings you actually play and the misses you repeat.

How much does Chessbook cost?

As of October 2026, the web plan is a free Starter plan (up to 200 moves) and Pro at $7 a month billed yearly, per its site (opens in a new tab). The iOS app (opens in a new tab) lists different terms.

What is Chessbook-1?

A 199-million-parameter human-like chess bot that Chessbook published on 2026-10-19. Its think times and time-pressure errors are modelled, and its author says he is exploring game-review uses. See the announcement (opens in a new tab).

Try Rukh on your own games

Type your chess.com username for a free look at your openings, no signup. Rukh itself starts with a one-week free trial, then a subscription.

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Or get early access to the coach

Sources

Last updated October 24, 2026. Rukh makes this site, so read it with that in mind, and tell us if anything about Chessbook is out of date.