Why I Built Tactical Radar

The gap I kept running into

Like many chess players, I could solve tactical puzzles when I knew there was something to find. But during an actual game, I could still miss those same kinds of opportunities.

The difference was simple. A puzzle had already told me that a tactic existed. During a real game, nobody gives you that information.

You have to recognize the moment for yourself.

That gap between solving a known tactic and noticing one in the flow of a game became the idea behind Tactical Radar.

“Knowing how to solve a tactic is not the same as knowing when there is one to solve.”

The decision before calculation

Traditional tactical puzzles are valuable. They develop calculation, pattern recognition, and tactical technique. I still believe they are an important part of chess improvement.

But they usually begin after one of the most important decisions has already been made: the player knows that the position contains a tactic.

I wanted to train the decision that happens before calculation begins.

Tactical Radar mixes tactical and non-tactical positions, preserves the context of the original game, and makes false alarms matter alongside missed opportunities. Sometimes there is a tactic. Sometimes there is not. The player has to make that judgment without being told what kind of position is coming.

That is the skill I created Tactical Radar to train.

A little about me

I have an academic background in mathematics and physics, and my professional background is in software development.

I am also a serious adult chess improver. Tactical Radar sits at the intersection of those parts of my life: my interest in analytical problem-solving, my experience building software, and my own effort to become a stronger chess player.

I created the kind of training tool I wanted to use myself.

Built independently

Tactical Radar is independently built and maintained by me. I design the training system, develop the platform, test new features, study how players use it, and personally review the feedback people send.

That also means feedback does not disappear into a distant support department. When someone reports an issue, shares an idea, or explains how a feature affected their training, it reaches the person responsible for making the product better.

What I’m trying to build

I am not trying to replace ordinary tactical puzzles. I am building the part of tactical training that I felt was missing: the bridge between being able to solve a tactic and recognizing that the opportunity exists in the first place.

My goal is to help players understand their tactical decision-making more clearly.

Are you missing real opportunities? Seeing tactics that are not actually there? Recognizing the moment but choosing the wrong continuation?

Tactical Radar separates those problems so that players can see what is really holding them back and train with greater purpose.

Thank you for giving something I created a place in your chess training.

Warren W.

Founder & Software Architect, Tactical Radar