Opening Improver

Learn the moves your opponents actually play.

Most opening trainers show you the GM-database response. Most of your opponents have never seen that response in their lives. Pawnther shows you what the player at your rating actually plays — and drills the practical branches before the glamorous theory.

Opening tree · Sicilian Defence Maia 1500
1. e4 c5 Sicilian
2. Nf3 d6 Najdorf-bound
2... Nc6 Open Sicilian 29%
2... e6 Taimanov 15%
Stockfish
Eval after 2. Nf3 d6: +0.18 · main line theory
The big idea

Your opponents don't play theory.

The GM database is a curated record of how the best players in the world respond to your opening. At club level, no one plays those moves. Your 1450 opponent plays whatever they remember from the YouTube video they half-watched last week.

Pawnther filters its opening tree by your Maia-equivalent rating. The moves you'll actually face are ranked by frequency. The brilliant-but-rare GM theory is still there, but it's not the headline.

"Wait, my opponent didn't play 4...Nc6?"

— Every Sicilian player below 1800, every game.

Pawnther's fix
Show the ranked frequency at each branch, by ELO band. The line you'll meet appears first.
How it works

Three concepts. One opening flow.

The Opening Improver isn't a single screen. It's three connected tools that share the same database of human games.

Opening tree

Read-only browser of the opening database. Filter by your ELO band, see frequencies, click a node to see Stockfish's take. Free for everyone.

Free

Remember the Line

Spaced-repetition drilling. You pick a line, Pawnther tests you on it until you produce it cold. The system schedules reviews so you stop forgetting last month's prep.

Opening Improver

The big one. You play your opening against Maia, who responds with the frequency-weighted move at your ELO. Wandered off-book? Stockfish patches you back in.

Frequency over theory

After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3, players at 1500 choose:

The percentages below are pulled from Maia 1500's game database. Compare them to the GM database — they're not the same.

2... d6 Najdorf bound 56%
2... Nc6 Classical 29%
2... e6 Taimanov 15%
Pawnther's recommendation
Drill anti-Najdorf lines first. Then anti-Classical. Skip Taimanov for now — you'll face it once a month.
Opening Improver · current line
Position
After 5. Nc3 a6 (Najdorf)
Your move. What's your plan against 6. Bg5?
Stop memorising lines you'll never face

Open one opening tree.

Free tier covers the read-only tree for every opening family. Pick yours and see what you actually face.

Open the tree