Dictate Chess - Voice control for chess.com

Introducing Dictate Chess: Play Chess with Your Voice

I recently created a Chrome extension called Dictate Chess, and I’m excited to share it with the chess.com community. The extension is simple: instead of clicking with your mouse, you can say the cords out loud to click them, making chess more accessible and improving board vision.

How It Works

After enabling the microphone in the extension popup, you can control the pieces on chess.com using your voice:

- Say a square (like "e4" or "h7") to select it.
- Say two coordinates (like "d2 d4" or "b1 c3") to move a piece.
- Say "short castle" or "long castle" to castle when available.

The extension will then click the appropriate squares for you and complete the moves.

Why this helps with board vision

Dictate Chess is more than just a hands-free way to play. It can be a tool for improving board vision. By saying moves out loud, you’re practicing how to think in coordinates and visualize the board more clearly.

I’m planning to use this extension to train for blindfold chess, where you play without seeing the pieces at all. Having to verbalize the moves is a key step toward becoming good at blindfolded chess.

Future Plans

This is still a relatively new project, so it may be buggy at times. I’m working on making the interface smoother and adding more natural chess notation support (like “bishop e3” or “queen takes rook”).

One feature I want to implement is an "announce moves" option. So the extension can say the moves back to you as they’re played, which would make this the extension great for blindfolded training.

Try It Out!

If you want to experiment with Dictate Chess, you can try it right now on chess.com in games, puzzles, or analysis boards. Just install the extension, click the mic button, and start speaking your moves.

It's out on the chrome webstore at this link: 

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/Dictate%20Chess/bkoiphbkkllonhekefljeahpamhggkip?hl=en

I’d love to hear feedback, ideas, or bug reports so I can keep improving it!

This extension is not a chess engine, it doesn't suggest moves or provide any competitive advantage.