For years, I used many chess tools at the same time. One for live games, one for online games, one for over the board games, another for preparation. It worked, but it was never clean.

Chess players are used to bad workflows. But why should it be like that? We deserve better tools.

Following chess on the phone annoyed me for a long time. That is one of the reasons I started ChessEver.

I am a chess Grandmaster with a peak FIDE rating of 2638, and ChessEver is the app I wish I had as a player. It is a live chess broadcasting and following app for iOS, Android, and now desktop. This is why I am building it, and where the desktop version is going.

Why I started ChessEver

The first goal was simple. Make it easier to follow chess.

Chess.com and Lichess are excellent for playing, training, puzzles, and analysis. I use them too. But following live chess events is a different problem.

When you follow a tournament, you are not only opening one board. You may want to:

• follow several games,
• track your favorite players,
• switch between boards quickly,
• see which events are live,
• get notified when someone you care about is playing,
• keep a board open while using your phone,
• later review the PGN or prepare for the game.

That is what ChessEver is built for. On mobile, this became features like favorite players, starred events, personalized feeds, swipe between games, notifications, and Picture-in-Picture boards.

Mobile is great for following. But serious chess work usually happens on desktop.

Why does desktop matter for serious chess players?

If you are a tournament player, coach, streamer, or serious chess fan, you eventually need a real workspace.

You want to open games, search PGNs, compare positions, prepare for opponents, organize databases, and follow live games without jumping between a dozen tabs.

That is why we started ChessEver Desktop. The idea is to connect two things that are usually separate: live chess following and chess preparation.

Broadcast sites help you watch games. Database tools help you study games. But the live chess world and the preparation workflow often feel disconnected. ChessEver Desktop is our attempt to bring them closer.

Is it a ChessBase alternative?

In some ways, yes. ChessEver Desktop is being built as a modern ChessBase alternative for players who follow and study chess seriously.

ChessBase is powerful. Many professionals use it, and it has been the default chess database tool for a long time. But I think there is room for a modern alternative. Not because every ChessBase feature needs to be copied. That is not the goal.

The goal is to build the essential workflow well:

• follow live tournaments,
• open and review games,
• manage PGNs,
• search relevant games,
• prepare for opponents,
• build personal databases,
• connect live chess with preparation.

Many players do not need a thousand features on day one. They need the core workflow to be fast, clean, and reliable. That is what I want ChessEver Desktop to become. A modern chess workspace for people who follow and study chess seriously.

Built from my own frustration

I am building this as a Grandmaster, but also as a chess fan. I know these small problems because I have lived with them for years.

You are preparing for a game and want to find relevant games quickly. You are following a tournament and want to jump between boards without losing context. You want to save a game, check a line, or see what a player usually does in a position. You want your databases with you when you travel, on your phone. It should be better than it is.

What ChessEver Desktop is focused on

ChessEver Desktop is still early, but the direction is practical. The focus is:

• live tournament following,
• favorite players and events,
• PGN workflows,
• chess database organization,
• online games database,
• game review,
• preparation tools,
• cleaner desktop navigation,
• a modern workspace for serious chess users.

The mobile app proved that people care about following chess better. Desktop lets us go deeper. It gives us room for tables, boards, notation, search, preparation, and the longer workflows that do not fit naturally on a phone.

Who is ChessEver for?

ChessEver is not only for grandmasters. A serious chess fan can have the same problems.

Maybe you follow your favorite players. Maybe you follow open tournaments, junior events, national championships, or norm events. Maybe you want to know when a player from your country is playing. Maybe you want to watch several games, not only the top board of the biggest event.

Most chess coverage focuses on elite tournaments. That is understandable. But the chess world is much bigger than that.

One of my goals with ChessEver is to make more of the chess world easier to discover and follow. Not only the events that already get all the attention. If we can do that well, we are a step closer to the better tools chess players have deserved for a long time.

Frequently asked questions

What is ChessEver? ChessEver is a live chess broadcasting and following app for iOS, Android, and desktop. It lets you follow live tournaments, track favorite players, switch between games, get notifications, and move from following a game to reviewing and preparing from it.

Is ChessEver a ChessBase alternative? ChessEver Desktop is being built as a modern ChessBase alternative. The focus is the core workflow that serious players use every day: managing PGNs, searching games, building databases, preparing for opponents, and connecting live chess with preparation.

What platforms does ChessEver run on? ChessEver is available on iOS and Android. ChessEver Desktop is in beta for macOS, Windows, and Linux, currently for subscribers

Can I follow live chess tournaments on ChessEver? Yes. Following live chess is the reason ChessEver exists. You can follow several games at once, star events, favorite players, and get notified when a player you follow is on the board.

Who builds ChessEver? ChessEver is built by Vasif Durarbayli, a chess Grandmaster, and his team. The mobile app launched in November 2025.

Where can I download ChessEver?

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chessever/id6752567269.

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chessEver.app