Brass Pawn vs Chessvision.ai: full playable trainer with photo scan vs scanner utility
Full playable Apple trainer with photo reader vs dedicated scan utility
| Capability | Brass Pawn | Chessvision.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Core role | Complete 8-mode chess trainer + built-in camera/photo board reader | Specialized 2D diagram scanner for websites, YouTube videos, PDFs and screenshots |
| How photo scanning runs | 100% offline on device via Apple Vision + four-corner tap + verification editor | Cloud computer-vision API (internet required to submit image and fetch FEN) |
| Real 3D wooden board photos | Built specifically for photographing a physical board on a table or a book page | Optimised primarily for flat 2D digital screenshots, PDFs and printed 2D diagrams |
| What happens after scanning | Play on against Stockfish 18 / Reckless 0.10 locally with live move coaching | Opens cloud Stockfish evaluation or exports FEN link to Lichess / Chess.com |
| Bundled training modes | 14,351 tactics, 116 positional, 15 endgames, Rush, Guess the Elo, 900 Watch games | PDF eBook reader, video lookup and scanned-diagram library |
| Privacy of photos | Photos stay on your iPhone, iPad or Mac (system PhotosPicker, zero Pictures entitlement) | Cropped diagram images sent to remote recognition servers |
Pricing, scan limits and platform support
| Factor | Brass Pawn | Chessvision.ai |
|---|---|---|
| Free board scanning & engine play | Included free offline with zero scan credit limits and unlimited engine play | Daily/monthly scan limits on free tier; membership required for unlimited scans & eBooks |
| Paid unlock | $3.99/month or $39.99 one-off permanent unlock (for unlimited daily training drills) | Recurring monthly or annual Chessvision.ai membership |
| Supported platforms | Native iPhone, iPad and Mac | Chrome/Firefox browser extensions, web eBook reader, iOS and Android apps |
| Licence | GNU AGPLv3 open source, zero ads | Proprietary commercial SaaS & extensions |
When to use Brass Pawn vs Chessvision.ai
| Use case | Better tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Photographing a real wooden board or printed chess book on iPhone/iPad offline and playing on against Stockfish | Brass Pawn | Four-corner tap + on-device Apple Vision + local Stockfish 18 works with zero Wi-Fi and zero scan caps. |
| One-click scanning a 2D board inside a paused YouTube lecture in desktop Chrome | Chessvision.ai | Browser extension captures video frames directly inside desktop web tabs. |
| Converting a 300-page chess PDF book into clickable side-by-side diagrams | Chessvision.ai | Includes a dedicated cloud PDF chess eBook reader. |
| Having daily tactics, positional judgement, endgames and coached sparring in the same app you scan into | Brass Pawn | Combines the board reader with 8 complete offline training modes. |
| Keeping camera images strictly on device with zero cloud upload | Brass Pawn | All Vision inference and engine evaluation stay inside your Apple device. |
Why Brass Pawn uses four corner taps and an always-on editor
Automatic line-finding pipelines routinely fail on real-world phone photos of wooden boards shot at an angle under warm room lighting — and even strong square classifiers misread two or three pieces on shadowed squares. Brass Pawn’s photo reader (Play → Board → Photo) asks you to tap the four corners of the board, runs Apple Vision locally on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, and sends the result straight into a quick correction step before Stockfish 18 or Reckless 0.10 takes over.
Zero Pictures-folder permissions on macOS and iOS
Choosing an existing image in Brass Pawn goes through Apple’s out-of-process system PhotosPicker, which hands the app only the single image you picked rather than requesting read access to your photo library.
Honest boundaries
When Chessvision.ai is the better fit
- Chessvision.ai’s Chrome/Firefox extension scans YouTube chess videos and web pages in one click and finds matching YouTube lectures containing that exact position.
- Chessvision.ai includes a dedicated multi-page PDF chess eBook studio.
- Chessvision.ai runs on Android, Windows and Linux browsers; Brass Pawn is native to iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Brass Pawn’s photo board reader work offline without internet?
- Yes. Both the Apple Vision square recognition and the Stockfish 18 / Reckless 0.10 analysis run completely offline on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
- How do I reach the photo scanner in Brass Pawn?
- Open Play → Board → Photo. On iPhone or iPad (or a Mac with a camera) you can take a photo directly or pick one from your library via Apple’s system PhotosPicker.
- Are board photo scans metered or locked behind Pro?
- No. Reading a board from a photo and analysing or playing on from it against the engine are completely free.
- Does Brass Pawn gain access to all my photos when I pick a diagram?
- No. Brass Pawn uses Apple’s system PhotosPicker, which runs outside the app and passes only the single image you selected — requiring zero photo-library folder entitlement.
Native on iPhone, iPad & Mac
Practise offline with Stockfish 18 and Reckless 0.10
Play unlimited coached games against the engine or over Game Center for free, with five daily exercises in Tactics, Rush, Positional judgement, Endgames and Guess the Elo — and zero advertising under the GNU AGPLv3.