Reading and editing

A study opens like a game: the board in the center, the move tree on the right. Everything that holds for a game’s variations and annotations holds here — playing a move creates a branch, Cmd + ↑ promotes, Cmd + E comments. The difference is one of intent: in a study, the tree is the work.

Building the tree

The basic gesture: lay down your main line, then step back (←) and play the important opposing replies — each opens a branch, where your prepared continuation goes. Comments (Cmd + E) carry the memory: “avoid Qg4 here”, “the idea: f5 before Nf3”. A healthy work plan: one branch = one opposing reply = one lesson.

The opening explorer is this work’s natural companion — it shows, position by position, what masters play and what amateurs play; the engine lines validate the continuations.

Reader mode

The Reader mode button in the toolbar turns the study into a full-frame book: the interactive board on one side, the unfolded tree with its comments on the other, like the pages of a theory volume. Clicking any move in the text brings the board to the position; keyboard navigation follows your shortcuts.

It’s the evening-review mode — the one where you browse your repertoire instead of editing it.

Reader mode Reader mode: the study reads like a theory book, board in hand.

Snapshots

Régence protects your studies on its own: before every overwrite, a snapshot of the current state is created automatically. The history opens via Game > Study snapshots… (Cmd + Ctrl + I) — and any previous state restores in one click.

The position editor

For a study that doesn’t start from move one — endgames, typical positions, exercises — the position editor builds any position, piece by piece or from a pasted FEN. It opens from its dedicated button in the analysis toolbar, starting from the displayed position.

Everything is adjustable:

  • The piece palette: clicking a square places the selected piece; ⌥‑click flips the color of the placed piece. The piece and color selectors change what you drop.
  • Side to move — White or Black.
  • Castling rights — O‑O / O‑O‑O for each side, as checkboxes.
  • Counters — the 50-move rule and the move number.
  • Clear · Starting position · Mirror — start from an empty board, the initial position, or reflect the position.
  • The FEN field, at the bottom: paste a FEN and Load, or copy the FEN of the position being built.

A live validation tells you whether the position is legal (“Position valid — ready to apply”). Then Analyze on the board opens it in analysis, or Copy as image exports a diagram (see Exporting a position as an image).