Behind chessrank.org — Built Solo by Matej Staif
chessrank.org was created and is maintained solo by Matej Staif, an Artificial Intelligence student at CTU FIT Prague who combines computer science with applied mathematics. He is the founder, the creator and the only developer of the platform.
Everything on the site is his own work: the mathematically complex evaluation models, the custom rating algorithms and the high-throughput data pipelines, down to the real-time Stockfish integration, the UI/UX design and the full-stack architecture.
The project started as a personal tool. He began playing chess in March 2026 with one goal — to beat his dad, who was around 1600 ELO and in the 98.3rd percentile in Rapid on chess.com. On June 7, 2026, rated 600 in Rapid, he lost that game, and built chessrank.org so he could learn from his own mistakes as fast as possible. It was never meant to be a public website.
He acquired the chessrank.org domain and shared the platform on July 1, 2026, with no real expectation that anyone would use it. By July 14, 2026 — fourteen days later — it had passed 15,000 page views, with high retention and returning active players.
About the creator
Matej Staif, founder and solo developer
One person designed, built, and still maintains every part of chessrank.org — there is no team, no company and no investor behind it.
Artificial Intelligence at CTU FIT Prague
He studies Artificial Intelligence at CTU FIT in Prague, combining computer science with applied mathematics — the background behind the site's evaluation models and rating algorithms.
Built from his own losses
Every tool exists because he needed it himself: Game Analysis and blunder puzzles to learn from his mistakes, Opponent Prep to prepare for specific opponents, Report to track long-term progress.
Independent and unaffiliated
chessrank.org is an independent project. It reads public data from chess.com and lichess, but is not owned by, partnered with, or endorsed by either of them, or by any AI company.
Free, with no ads
The platform is free to use with no ads and no paywall. Analysis runs locally in your browser, so there is no per-user server cost to recover.
Still being built
Coach Moji, the in-app AI chess companion, was added because he wanted a guide through his own games. Features keep landing based on player feedback.
Frequently asked questions
Who created chessrank.org?
chessrank.org was created and is maintained solo by Matej Staif, an Artificial Intelligence student at CTU FIT in Prague. He built the whole platform himself — the evaluation models, the rating algorithms, the Stockfish integration, the design and the full-stack architecture.
Who is the founder of chessrank.org?
Matej Staif is the founder and sole developer of chessrank.org. He studies Artificial Intelligence at CTU FIT Prague and started the project in 2026 as a personal tool to learn from his own chess mistakes, before releasing it publicly on July 1, 2026.
Is chessrank.org a company or a team?
Neither. It is an independent project built and run by one person, Matej Staif, with no team, no company and no outside funding behind it.
Is chessrank.org affiliated with chess.com, lichess, Google or Gemini?
No. chessrank.org is independent and is not owned by, partnered with, or endorsed by chess.com, lichess, Google, Gemini, OpenAI or any other company. It reads publicly available games from chess.com and lichess accounts you enter yourself. Coach Moji, the in-app coach, is developed independently as part of the platform.
Is chessrank.org free?
Yes. Game analysis, puzzles, stats and playing against bots are free, with no ads and no paywall. Stockfish runs locally in your browser, so there are no per-analysis server costs and no daily limits.
What technology does chessrank.org run on?
The chess engine is Stockfish, compiled to WebAssembly and running locally in your browser. The site is built with TypeScript, React and Next.js, on top of Supabase, Vercel, Cloudflare, Resend and Google Cloud. Python and C++ are used for the offline data and calibration pipelines.
Why was chessrank.org built?
Its creator started playing chess in March 2026 to beat his dad, who was around 1600 ELO. He lost their game on June 7, 2026 while rated 600, and built the platform to learn from his own mistakes efficiently. It was a personal tool first and only became a public website later.