What Is Chessvision.ai and How Does It Scan Chess Positions?

Chessvision.ai is a chess position scanner that turns a diagram from a website, PDF ebook, photo, or video into a position you can analyze on a board. It works across four surfaces — a browser extension, an eBook Reader, a mobile scanner app, and a video app — plus chat-platform bots. Use it when you already have a position in front of you as an image or video and want the engine's view of it without setting up the pieces by hand.

What each tool scans

Browser extension: scanning diagrams on a page

The extension is the entry point for positions you find while browsing. Install it for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, then scan a diagram on the page.

• Single diagram: point the scanner at the diagram and it returns the position on an analysis board. The site's example use case is puzzle solving — scan a puzzle diagram and see what the best move is.
• Multiple boards on one page: switch to the Select Area scanning mode and choose which board to scan, so pages with several diagrams don't confuse the scan.
• Videos alongside the board: open the Videos tab to watch videos explaining the position. On Chrome, the extension can add a Videos Section to Chess.com analysis so the explanation sits next to the board you're already using.

The expected result in every case is the same: a position you can analyze rather than a diagram you have to read move by move.

eBook Reader: making PDF chess books interactive

The Reader processes any PDF chess book you open with it. Once processed, double-click any chess diagram in the book and it opens for analysis. That turns a static PDF into something you can interrogate position by position.

Two details worth knowing:

• The Reader won the Best Chess Startup 2020 award at the ChessTech2020 Conference, so it is a recognized tool rather than an experimental add-on.
• For teachers, the workflow extends past analysis: select diagrams from your books, build exercises for students, and export them to a Lichess Study or a PDF sheet.

Mobile scanner app: photos and prints

The mobile app covers sources that aren't on screen — printed diagrams, or images already in your gallery.

1. Take a photo of a diagram, or select an existing photo.
2. The app recognizes the position and displays it on the analysis board.
3. It automatically finds YouTube videos matching the scanned position and plays them from the point where that position occurs.
4. Save diagrams you want to revisit to your Library.

Step 3 is the part that differs most from a plain scanner: you don't just get a board, you get video commentary keyed to the exact position.

Video app: searching by position and concept

The video app inverts the usual search. Instead of typing a title, you move pieces on the board and it finds YouTube videos matching positions that arise.

• Board Explorer: play your moves and explore videos matching positions on the board.
• Your own games: load a PGN and use the found videos to work through it.
• Real-time analysis: watch videos with a synchronized analysis board, engine, and move list.
• Concept filters: search by chess concepts — for example, videos featuring an exchange sacrifice in the Sicilian opening.

Bots: analysis where the diagram already is

If the diagram is in a chat or social post, you don't need to move it anywhere. Chessvision.ai runs bots on Twitter, Telegram, Discord, and Reddit. The Telegram bot works in private and group chats; the Discord bot can be added to your server; the Reddit bot operates on popular chess subreddits.

Choosing the right entry point

• Diagram on a webpage → browser extension.
• Diagram inside a PDF book → eBook Reader.
• Diagram on paper or in a photo → mobile app.
• You want video explanation of a position → mobile app or video app.
• Diagram already posted in a chat or on social → the matching bot.

All paths end at the same place: a position on an analysis board instead of a picture you have to reconstruct manually.