Product
2025

TACTIX

The world's most beautiful 3D chess learning platform with AI-powered coaching.

TACTIX

Hero Image

Main project showcase

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Client

Internal Product

Industry

EdTech / Gaming

Timeline

Multi-phase

Year

2025

Services

Brand Strategy · Design System · UI/UX Design · Frontend Development · Backend Development · 3D Development · AI Integration

01 — The Challenge

Understanding the problem

The chess software market is dominated by outdated interfaces that feel clinical and uninspiring. Existing platforms prioritize function over form, missing the opportunity to make chess feel like the elegant, strategic art form it truly is. The challenge was to create a chess platform that could rival AAA game visuals while maintaining educational depth—essentially 'MasterClass meets Gran Turismo' for chess.

TACTIX

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Challenge context visualization

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02 — The Approach

How we tackled it

We adopted a 'visual excellence first' philosophy, building the 3D rendering system before the game logic to ensure the visual standard would never be compromised. We chose React Three Fiber for declarative 3D scene management, allowing rapid iteration on lighting, materials, and animations. For the chess engine, we implemented Stockfish WASM client-side—eliminating server costs and latency while enabling offline play.

TACTIX

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Design process & iterations

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TACTIX

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Implementation details

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03 — The Solution

What we built

TACTIX delivers a premium 3D chess experience with mahogany-framed boards, realistic Staunton pieces with lathe-turned geometries, and professional 3-point lighting with bloom and vignette post-processing effects. The Learning Academy features 25+ interactive lessons across beginner to advanced tracks. The Stockfish integration offers 5 difficulty levels with real-time position evaluation. The exam system uses Google Gemini to generate personalized coaching reports.

Tech Stack

React 19TypeScriptThree.jsReact Three FiberTailwind CSSZustandStockfish WASMSupabaseClerkGoogle GeminiWebSockets

TACTIX

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Full showcase view

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04 — The Outcome

Results & impact

TACTIX successfully demonstrates that chess software can achieve AAA visual quality while remaining performant across devices. The adaptive DPR and LOD systems maintain smooth framerates even on mobile. The local-first architecture with Supabase sync ensures progress is never lost while minimizing backend costs. The platform is positioned for global ranked matchmaking and premium cosmetics monetization.

25+

Lessons

100+

Puzzles

5

AI Levels

0ms

Server Latency

TACTIX represents what chess software should have always been—a visually stunning, intellectually engaging experience that respects both the beauty of the game and the intelligence of the player.
TT

Tactix Team

Product Vision, TACTIX