Hey everyone!
Thank you all for the feedback since launch, I'm reading every review and it's already shaping the game. Special thanks to M. Figorito for the detailed review that led to most of the fixes in this patch. This is exactly the kind of feedback that makes the game better for everyone.
AI Strength Overhaul
I found a critical bug: the AI at every difficulty level was playing significantly weaker than intended. The Master AI was barely stronger than Hard, and both were hanging pieces in positions any intermediate player would spot.
Here's what changed:
Easy / Intermediate: Slightly stronger. Will still make mistakes, but fewer random blunders.
Normal: Now plays solid chess. Should feel like a decent club player.
Hard: Noticeably tougher. Finds tactics more reliably and punishes your mistakes.
Master: Major improvement. Thinks much deeper, no longer gives away pieces in basic positions, and plays sensible openings. Should now feel like a real challenge for experienced players.
Legend: The strongest the engine can play. Uses all available thinking time to find the best move.
I also fixed a bug where each AI's personality style (Titan's love of center control, Ember's all-out attacks, etc.) could accidentally override a good move with a bad one. Personalities still play with character — they just won't hang a bishop to do it anymore.
Time Controls
Added all standard chess time formats to the Play screen:
Bullet: 1+0, 2+1
Blitz: 3+2, 5+3
Rapid: 10+0, 15+10
Classical: 30+0
The clock already supported increment (bonus seconds after every move), but the buttons for Bullet and 3+2 weren't showing up. Fixed.
Tournaments now also have a time control picker — no longer locked to unlimited.
Academy Puzzle Fixes
Fork puzzle (Chapter 2, Lesson 3): The old puzzle had Qa4 as the answer, but Black could simply play Rxa4 and capture the queen — making the "fork" useless. Replaced with a correct position.
Skewer explanation (Chapter 2, Lesson 5): The skewer was already on the board with nothing to learn from it. Replaced with a position where you can see how the skewer is created.
Other Fixes
Fixed analysis incorrectly flagging "missed capture" when you already captured a piece
Fixed journey dashboard not fitting on smaller screen resolutions
Journey track scrollbar is now always visible
Thanks for playing Chess Kingdom. If you run into anything else, leave a review or drop by the discussions, I'm listening.