Chessnut Companion – Beyond Timing. Towards Mastery.

What Is Chessnut Companion? 

At its core, Chessnut Companion is a standalone, competition-level chess clock. Use it on its own, and you get precision timing with support for every major tournament format. But connect it to a Chessnut smart board, and it becomes something entirely different: a training and play hub where every move happens on a real board, not on a screen. It automatically detects your moves, switches the clock, syncs to platforms, and coaches you in real time.

This is what sets it apart from traditional clocks, old-school chess computers, and standalone apps. Your hands stay on real pieces. The intelligence is in the device beside you.

Key Features 

Tournament-Grade Chess Clock

Supports all standard time controls — rapid, blitz, increment, delay — with high-precision timing. Built for club nights, training sessions, and formal competition. Presets are included, and custom configurations are fully supported.

AI Coach — Real-Time Guidance That Adapts to You

This isn't a generic engine analysis that dumps a best-move line after the game. Chessnut Companion's AI coach works with you during and after play, offering guidance that matches your level.

For beginners and kids:

The coach focuses on the "why" — explaining in plain language why a move is strong, where you went wrong, and what to consider instead. It's like having a patient teacher sitting next to you, turning every game into a learning moment.

For intermediate and advanced players:

The analysis goes deeper — evaluating pawn structure, piece coordination, long-term strategic plans, and positional nuances. It helps you understand the direction of a position, not just the best move.

Designed as a training partner, not a replacement for a coach. It fills the gap between "analyze with an engine" and "hire a personal trainer" — making high-quality chess improvement accessible to everyone, every day, at home or at the club. 

Smart Board Integration — Your Board, Automated

Paired with a Chessnut smart board (compatible with all Chessnut boards except EVO), the Companion uses the board's sensors to detect every move in real time. Your pieces move on a physical board — the digital world follows automatically.

Auto mode: Your move switches the clock automatically — no button press needed.

Manual mode: Prefer to press the clock yourself? That's an option too.

Opponent auto-switch: Your opponent's moves default to automatic — the clock always knows whose turn it is.

Display orientation adjusts automatically, no manual setup required.

In clubs, classrooms, and multi-game sessions, this eliminates the friction of constant manual clock management. Set it up once, and focus on the game.

Multi-Platform Online Play — Your Board, Your Platform

Chessnut boards have always supported online play on Chess.com, Lichess, and other major platforms. With Chessnut Companion, that experience gets a significant upgrade.

Powered by Android with full Google Play access, Companion opens the door to the entire chess app ecosystem.

What's new with Companion:

Seamless integration — the Companion acts as the central hub, connecting your physical board directly to your preferred platform with less friction and more reliability than before.

Beyond Chess.com and Lichess — any chess app on Google Play works with your board. The device grows with the ecosystem.

The result: your Chessnut board now works with more platforms, more smoothly, and with more ways to play and train than ever before. 

Voice Control — Hands on Pieces, Not on Screens

When you're in the zone — deep in calculation, pieces in hand — the last thing you want to do is stop, pick up your phone, and tap through menus. Chessnut Companion eliminates that friction entirely.

With a simple voice command, you can:

Start a game — "Start a new match" and you're playing in seconds, no setup screens.

Search for content — Find a specific tournament game, a player's recent match, or a famous historical game — just by asking.

Launch training — Jump straight into puzzles, tactical drills, or endgame practice without navigating a single menu.

Switch platforms — Move from Chess.com to Lichess, or open a different training app, all by voice.

Launching end of June — be among the first to get yours on the Chessnut official website.