Product status · updated 16 October 2026
What is working, what is being tested, and what comes next.
zonChess has two products, and both are in active development: SwissMax, a Windows companion that works beside Swiss-Manager, and ChessZCam, phone-camera move detection with a Windows Studio and a live console for vMix and OBS. Neither is on sale yet. ChessZCam package prices are published on the ChessZCam page — Studio first, then Android and Live — and SwissMax pricing will be announced separately. Waitlist invitations come before public release. Studio 1.1.2 will first be shared with a small group of friends for testing. After those checks pass, waitlist invitations follow; public rollout comes later. Sales remain closed.
Nothing is on sale yet — and the waitlist goes first.
Both apps work today as pre-release development builds, and both are being tested at real tournaments before they are offered to anyone. We have not fixed a sale date or a price, and we would rather tell you that plainly than guess.
zonChess is built by one independent developer and chess parent in Malaysia (Motivace Studio) — no company behind it and no sponsor. Constructive feedback is genuinely welcome. Read the developer note.
- Early trial first. Everyone on the waitlist receives the early trial of SwissMax, ChessZCam or both before the public release.
- Your feedback shapes the finish. What works — and what breaks — at a real event goes straight to the developer.
- Launch details to you first. Price, licence and release date go to the waitlist once they are decided. For ChessZCam, waitlist members get 50% off their first package when sales open. Joining is free and is not an order.
SwissMax · Windows 10/11 · beside Swiss-Manager
The tournament day is covered. The early trial is being prepared.
The core workflow around Swiss-Manager is in use by organizers in private testing, and September brought a new workspace and a rebuilt certificate designer. Swiss-Manager and the arbiter keep authority over pairings and official results — SwissMax handles the work around them.
Working
Registration, pairing posters, LAN scoring and Winner Studio
The full operational flow around Swiss-Manager: registration cleanup and Swiss-Manager export files, 14 pairing templates, score collection from helper phones on the venue LAN, prize schemes and winner graphics in 22 styles.
Working
Estimated ratings and a combined FIDE/MCF Player Lookup
Preview a player's likely rating change before results go official — always an estimate, never an official figure. MCF is the Malaysian Chess Federation, Malaysia's national rating list; organizing elsewhere and want your own federation or club rating handled the same way? Tell us. How the estimate works.
New · September
A new workspace and a rebuilt E-Certificate Studio
Seven numbered areas with a bar that always shows tournament, section, round, last save and last backup. Certificates are designed directly on the page — 29 templates, 24 backgrounds, EN/BM/中文 wording, 300-DPI PNG, A4 PDF or ZIP — backups now carry them, and stale or incomplete results packets are refused. See the screens.
In progress
The early trial build for the waitlist
Installation notes and a simple way to send feedback are being prepared. Every release passes a written checklist first: a clean install, an in-place upgrade that keeps your projects and settings, a published SHA-256 hash, and a full workflow run on a real organizer PC.
In progress
More real tournaments
Organizers are running the current build at live events, across more halls and more network conditions. Their experience decides what gets finished next.
Not yet
Public release and checkout
Nothing is on sale. The sale date, price and licence terms are not decided; they will be published only when SwissMax is ready for dependable use on tournament day — and the waitlist hears first.
Honest note: Windows may say “Unknown publisher”. The installer is not yet signed with a paid trusted-publisher certificate — for now we would rather put that effort into chess tools — so SmartScreen may warn you on first install. Every release is published with its SHA-256 hash, so you can confirm you have exactly the build we shipped.
ChessZCam · Android + Windows
ChessZCam · phone & Studio
ChessZCam Live · vMix & OBS
Tested at six real tournaments — and grown into a complete studio.
ChessZCam has moved from a detector to a full workflow: record, analyse, review, repair, grade and export on the phone and on Windows, plus a redesigned console for live broadcast. Real-event testing continues, because every hall is different.
Current builds, still pre-release. Studio comes first, then Android and Live.
Tested
Four tournament field tests, July to September 2026
KawanCatur 1st Edition Tournament (5 Jul); Saiful Arena Chess Tournament @ Taiping Mall (18 Jul, the first live YouTube production); SJKC Keong Hoe, Penang (26 Jul, two monitored games followed to checkmate); and Lotus's Kulim (19 Sep). Each test fed the next build. See the photos and videos.
Latest result
Table 1 live into vMix at Lotus's Kulim
A phone on a boom arm watched Table 1, ChessZCam detected the moves on the spot, and the position went live into a vMix production — in a busy hall, on the venue's own network. That day used earlier builds: Phone app 1.14, Studio 0.18 and Live 1.5.
New · September
From detector to complete studio
Six operations — Record Game Video, Analyze Video, Detect Live Game, Broadcast Live, Sync PGN to Video and Open Project — with review and repair beside the video evidence, on-device Stockfish with move grades from Book move to Blunder, overlay video export up to 4K in the Obsidian Glass HUD, ChessZCam Studio for Windows, and ChessZCam Live for vMix & OBS with a Tally-style console and Overlay Designer. See the screens.
New · October · in trial builds
Viewer Mode for parents and coaches
Spectators outside the playing hall follow the live digital board on their own Android phone, on the same Wi-Fi or hotspot. Two phones are enough; a PC is optional. It has been tested on real phones in both set-ups, and it runs smoothly. It has not yet been used through a full tournament day. How Viewer Mode works.
In progress
More venues, phones and board sets
Every hall teaches us something about lighting, framing and networks. The current build is being run through more of them — camera position, brightness, contrast and focus still need validating across more setups.
In progress
Release readiness and the early trial
Consistency, recovery behaviour and operator comfort under live conditions come first. The early trial for the waitlist includes a guided tour with a 90-second demo clip, so you can try the whole workflow before setting up a camera.
Not yet
General public release
The public release follows once ChessZCam is stable across supported setups. Package prices and licence terms are published on the ChessZCam page; the waitlist hears each release date first.
Honest note on accuracy. Detection quality depends on the setup and the video — camera position, a steady stand, light and focus matter most. ChessZCam is for recording, review and broadcast, never for settling a dispute at the board: the arbiter decides.
Keep reading
Useful references
The detail behind this page: what is planned next, what each build added, and the honest limits.
Development roadmap
What is done, what is being built now and what comes next — for SwissMax, ChessZCam and the zonChess portal.
See the roadmap → UPDATESChangelog
Release notes for both products, written for organizers, from the October 2026 trial builds back to the first releases.
Read what's new → CHESSZCAMKnown limitations
What ChessZCam does not do yet, and where the setup matters most.
Read the limits → CHESSZCAMCompatibility and setup conditions
Phones, PCs, boards and venue conditions that give the best results.
Check compatibility → BLOG · SWISSMAXWhy SwissMax is built beside Swiss-Manager
A companion for the work around the pairing program — not a replacement for it.
Read the post → BLOG · FIELD NOTESChessZCam at SJKC Keong Hoe
Notes from the third tournament test in Penang, where two monitored games reached checkmate.
Read the field notes → STORYProject journey
How both products got here, one tournament and one build at a time.
Follow the journey → STORYWho builds this
One independent developer and chess parent — no company, no sponsor.
Read the developer note →Early trial
Want to be first to try them?
Join the waitlist: you will receive the early trial of SwissMax, ChessZCam or both before the public release, plus launch news as each phase becomes ready. ChessZCam package prices and the 50% waitlist offer are now announced; SwissMax pricing follows separately.
ChessZCam · 15 October 2026
A staged release
Studio first → Android APK → Live. A free 14-day Studio trial that you start yourself in Studio, with no code; package prices and the 50% waitlist offer are announced.
See packages & trial details