Pioneer 2 - a Soviet chess computer that thinks with plans, not brute force

Most chess engines just calculate deeper to get stronger. I took a different approach - I extracted the strategic plans from hundreds of Karpov's real games and built a personality layer that selects moves based on those plans rather than raw calculation.

The result plays recognizably like Karpov. Positional, restrictive, patient. It beats stronger engines sometimes at lower depth because the plan logic doesn't need deep search to work.

The beginner and easy levels use our own in-house Python engines which have their own interesting playing character - so even at lower levels it doesn't feel like a dumbed down version of the same thing.

No login, no download, runs in your browser. Soviet retro interface.

Play: https://play.pioneer2chess.com/

Would love feedback from serious players - especially on whether the styles feel authentic to you.