ChessZCam · for junior chess families
For many families, an ordinary phone recording is all a tournament game needs. ChessZCam becomes useful when you also want the moves themselves: a checked PGN for the coach, a digital board beside the footage, or a calm replay of a selected game at home.
Is it useful for your family?
An extra app only makes sense when it solves a problem you keep running into — one that an ordinary recording does not.
A possible family workflow
The aim is not to judge a child during the round. It is to make a later conversation easier, when everyone is ready for it.
Record selected important games rather than treating every round as a production.
Ask the organiser first, and follow their rules on camera placement, privacy and fair play.
Check the PGN against the video or scoresheet before sending it to a coach. Uncertain moves are flagged for you, not guessed.
Use the game to explore decisions and patterns — not to replay a disappointment straight after a loss.
Keep selected games as a long-term record of learning, style and tournament experience.
If the setup adds more stress than value, the simpler camera workflow is the better choice.
What ChessZCam does for a family today
An Android phone does the work; ChessZCam Studio for Windows is there if you prefer a big screen. Detection runs on your own device, offline, with no account. Pick a step:
Record Game Video saves the whole game in 1080p with audio and a framing guide, to analyse at home. Detect Live Game turns the camera straight into a PGN without saving any video — the low-storage path for a long tournament day.
Every move sits beside the exact video frame it came from and the board after the move. Moves the camera was unsure about are flagged for review instead of guessed.
Optional offline analysis grades each move from Book move to Blunder and shows accuracy per player, with plain-language commentary in English and Malay.
Export the recording with a broadcast-style digital board laid over it — landscape, or portrait for watching on a phone — up to 4K.
A PC adds resources, not concepts: a phone alone can record, detect, review and export. Why we built it that way →
Where it fits
Useful when you repeatedly need a digital move record for coaching or replay. If you mainly want memories, or already receive a verified PGN, a normal recording is enough.
Camera stability, lighting, board visibility, video quality and the device all matter. No detection is perfect — that is why the review screen exists.
Look at flagged moves against the video or scoresheet and correct the PGN where needed.
ChessZCam is for recording and review — never for settling a dispute at the board. That belongs to the arbiter, under the tournament's rules.
Same Wi-Fi or hotspot, the Android app, one board per link — and it shows whatever the camera detects, so it is never an official record. How Viewer Mode works.
Real tournament footage · made with ChessZCam Studio
Both videos come from real tournament games, with human intervention kept to a minimum so they show today's abilities — and limits — honestly.
Read what failed and what changed →
See all four field tests →
A quick note on accuracy. In both videos almost every move was read correctly, including checks and castling. You may notice the digital pieces sometimes moving slightly out of step with the video — timing we are still refining. ChessZCam is still being built, and its accuracy depends heavily on the quality of the source video. If you spot a wrong move, please tell us.
An earlier beta sample is still on YouTube: ChessZCam live beta testing sample.
Questions before trying it
No. A normal phone recording may be completely sufficient. ChessZCam is meant for families who repeatedly need a digital position, a checked PGN or a coach-ready record alongside the video.
Yes, in trial builds, and only where the organiser permits it. With Viewer Mode a parent outside the playing hall follows the live digital board in the ChessZCam Android app, on the same Wi-Fi or hotspot as the camera phone — not from home or over mobile data. It shows engine analysis, so it is never for players and never an arbiter's record. Fair-play rules, privacy and a calm playing environment always come first.
No. ChessZCam records and digitises games. Improvement still depends on thoughtful review, good coaching, practice and the child's wellbeing. Engine grades are a starting point for that conversation, not a judgement.
Not necessarily. A few selected, important games may give enough material without turning every tournament into a monitoring exercise.
No. ChessZCam is not an adjudication device, and its accuracy depends on the setup and the video quality. Anything that happens at the board is for the arbiter to decide, under the tournament's rules.
No. Detection runs on your own device, and videos and games stay there. No account or internet connection is needed to record, review and export.
No. An Android phone alone can record, detect, review and export. ChessZCam Studio for Windows adds a big screen and more speed. The compatibility page has the details.
Studio comes first, with a free 14-day trial on one PC that starts only when you agree to the terms and start it in Studio (no code needed); trial invitations go to the waitlist first, with a guided tour and a demo clip to try before setting up a camera. Package prices are on the ChessZCam page, and waitlist members get 50% off their first package when sales open. Joining is free and is not an order. Current progress is on the launch status page.
Read next
A fair-play guide to following a child's OTB chess calmly.
Read the guide → CHESSZCAMWhat happens when the camera misses a move, and how it is put right.
Read the article → AFTER THE TOURNAMENTWhy a likely rating change is an estimate — never an official figure.
Read the article → FOR COACHESHow a checked PGN fits into regular game review.
See the coach page →Keep the setup simple
A simple recording remains a valid — and often better — choice for many families. If a checked move record or Viewer Mode would help yours, join the waitlist now. Trial invitations go to the waitlist first, and members get 50% off their first ChessZCam package when sales open (packages). Joining is free and is not an order. ChessZCam is built by one independent developer and chess parent in Malaysia, so constructive feedback from families is very welcome.
