How Much Do Chess Variants Cost to Play?

Chess variants cost nothing to play here. All 20, from Chess960 and Crazyhouse to Horde and Racing Kings, run in the browser against four engine levels or live against other players, with clocks and analysis, and no sign-up. The paid plans exist for coaches who want the variants on every student's account, and for players who want the full lesson set alongside them.

Start a free game of any variant in the browser while you read; no sign-up.

What do the variants cost to play?

Nothing. Every variant on the variants hub opens in the browser with no account and no card. Against the computer there are four levels, so a beginner and a strong player both get a game. Live play against other people runs with real clocks and a rating. The analysis afterwards goes through every move. That is the full experience, and it is free because the variants are the funnel, not the product.

Why are they free?

Because the business here is the academy for coaches, and the variants are what bring players and students to it. A coach whose students play Crazyhouse on a Tuesday night is a coach whose students turn up on Wednesday. Charging for the game would cost more in lost coaches than it would earn in subscriptions, so the game stays free and the coaching tools are what carry a price.

What does a paid plan add for a player?

The complete set of interactive lessons and unlimited puzzle runs. The variants themselves do not change. A player who only wants to play Chess960 against a good engine, or Horde live with a clock, never needs to pay, and should not. A player working through the 197 lessons in order alongside the variants is the one the app plans are for.

What does a coach pay?

The trainer plans start at $48 a month for up to 15 student accounts, and the 20 variants are on every one of them, with the lessons, the engine and the assignment tools. A coach who uses Endgame Arena for conversion practice or Three-Check for attacking practice can assign the variant as homework and see who played it. The record is what the coach is paying for; the variants were free before and are free after.

Is there a catch in the free tier?

No download and no account, so nothing to cancel. What the free tier does not include is the private academy: a roster, assigned work and a dashboard, which only make sense for someone teaching. A solo player sees the whole game. A parent who wants to see what a child is doing gets that through a coach's academy or by sitting next to them, which for most families is the better option anyway.

How does this compare elsewhere?

Most places that host variants host a handful, and the rarer ones, Peasants' Revolt, Charge of the Light Brigade, Pawn Battle, are hard to find with an engine behind them at all. Here they are on the same board as the standard game, with the same four computer levels and the same analysis. A guide for each one is in the Library, which is unusual, because almost nobody writes about most of them properly.

What about a coach for variants?

A coach earns the fee for variants the same way as for standard chess: by watching you play and naming the habit. A student who loses every Endgame Arena position from a winning start does not need a rulebook, they need someone to see that they rush when ahead. That is what private coaching here is, a live game on a shared board at $60 a session, and the coach can set the board to any variant that isolates the problem.

When should you pay for anything?

When you are teaching, or when you want the lessons and unlimited puzzles alongside the play. Never for the variants themselves. A player who is asked to pay to try Chess960 is being charged for something this site gives away, and the reason it gives it away is that the game is not the business.

The short answer

• All 20 variants: free, in the browser, no sign-up, four engine levels, live play, analysis.
• App plans: the full lesson set and unlimited puzzles, for players who want them.
• Trainer plans: from $48 a month for 15 students, with the variants on every account and a record of who played.
• A coach: $60 a session, for the habit no variant can name on its own.

Common questions

Are all 20 chess variants free on Grandmaster Gains?

Yes. Every variant plays in the browser against four engine levels or live against other players, with clocks and analysis, and no sign-up. The paid plans are for coaches and for the full lesson set.

Do I need an account to play Chess960 or Crazyhouse here?

No. Open the variants hub, pick one and play. An account only matters if you want a rating history or you are a student in a coach's academy.

What do the paid plans add?

For players, the complete lesson library and unlimited puzzle runs. For coaches, the variants on every student account with assignments and a practice record, from $48 a month for up to 15 students.

Can a coach teach with the variants?

Yes. A coach on a trainer plan can assign any variant as homework and see who played it, and a live coaching session can be set to whichever variant isolates the problem.

Read next in this cluster

• How to Choose Chess Variants for Practice
• Chess Variants vs Standard Chess: Which Should You Play?

Where to go from here

Everything above is the practical layer, the part that decides whether a club survives, whether a child keeps playing, and whether a coaching business pays. It is also the part almost nobody writes about, because it is less interesting than opening theory and far more useful.

If you are teaching, the two things that move the needle fastest are structure and measurement: a session that has the same shape every week, and a number each student can watch go up. Neither requires you to be a strong player. Both require you to be organised, and organisation is the thing you can actually control.

The rest of this Library covers the chess itself: twenty-one openings written from both sides, seven complete guides to tactics, endgames, checkmate patterns and strategy, and twenty variants with a guide each. All of it is free, and all of it is playable on a live board, which matters more than reading it.

More on coaching and scholastic chess

• Chess Variants Examples and What Each One Teaches
• Chess Variants Mistakes That Waste Practice Time
• Chess Variants vs Standard Chess: Which Should You Play?