Best 5 free Chess Software. Best interface for the Free Internet Chess Server. All five of these free programs. I also feel commercial software is unnecessary.
The best chess game was, but the best chess videogames are something else entirely. The rules of chess are simple, but it's one of the most demanding tests of foresight, tactics, and mental endurance there is. Because there multiple reasons to play software chess—roughly split between causal fun, studying, and competition—there are many different kinds of programs and games out there. This guide will introduce you to the software chess world, with advice for players who just want to play casually online or offline, as well as those who want to seriously study opening moves and analyze historical matches. The best free online chess games is my preferred online chess game. It's free and supports plenty of match styles, including multi-day correspondence.
The best thing about it is that you can play anonymously without creating any kind of account, though I find that means I'm more likely to encounter players who resign or request a draw immediately—you never know who you might be paired with. For practice, you can also play against the Stockfish engine (more on what that is in the sections below). Is a good commercial free alternative. You have to put up with a few ads, and it'll bug you to pay for an optional premium subscription, but as a way to quickly start playing chess online at any skill level, it's one of your best bets. It runs in your browser with a simple, clean board design, and has a ton of players so I've never had a hard time finding a match with someone of a similar skill level (which is to say, not very much skill). The best chess videogame is a gorgeous chess game for those who just want to play chess without dealing with the complicated software in the sections below. It includes VR support, an AI opponent with several difficulty levels, as well as local and online multiplayer, Twitch integration, and the option to export matches.
It also includes basic tutorials for newcomers. For anyone who simply wants to play chess, this is your game—simple and beautiful, like chess itself. It's a good deal, too: just, and $9.09 right now during the Halloween sale. For a free-to-play alternative, try. It's not nearly as slick as Chess Ultra, and it crashed on me pretty quickly, but hey, it's free.
It supports online play with a separate account, and comes with a good computer opponent via the Stockfish engine (see the section below for an explanation on that). The best chess engines and GUIs If you want to play against a powerful, customizable computer opponent for the purpose of studying chess, you'll want a chess engine, such as the free and open source or its derivatives. Is also highly ranked, though you'll have to pay a subscription for the latest version (Komodo 9 is free), and costs €40 for the standard edition. These engines are primarily for training—you can play against them, analyze chess positions, and pit them against each other—so they're for people who seriously want to study the game. If you're not sure a chess engine is something you want to tinker with, don't buy anything—free engines are extremely powerful.
(I consult the rankings from.) An engine alone won't do much for you, though, as they don't include any kind of graphical user interface, just a console. To play against a chess engine or use it to analyze boards, it must be paired with a chess GUI, but there are lots of free ones. Most come with many engines installed already, so you can get started with one download.: Simple and easy to understand for beginners, Lucas Chess is a good place to start.
It includes a bunch of engines and training tools, and the UI isn't too confusing, even if you're unfamiliar with the more complicated functions of chess engines.: Arena Chess is more daunting for newcomers than Lucas Chess, but it includes a, as well as support for 19 languages and a Linux verison.: It isn't the prettiest GUI, but WinBoard and Xboard are feature rich and include support for chess variants, too.: Like the other GUIs on this list, SCID can be used to play against an engine, but it's most useful as a fast way to organize and analyze databases of chess games. You'll want to pair it with MillionBase, a massive database of chess games in PGN format (scroll ) or other chess game databases. If you like the SCID interface, you can also try as a GUI for playing chess.
Commercial chess software You can play and learn a lot about chess without spending a dime, and that's where I recommend starting, but pro packages come with lots of bells and whistles if you have the cash. Much of what you're paying for is their completeness, and the quality of their training tools. Fritz 15 is a storied piece of chess software, and its current engine is written by creator (though you can use it with other commercial and free engines).
It's a bit of a mess to install (activation keys!) and the interface is just as complicated as any free software's, but it comes with huge database of games, and some nice features. I especially like 'Friend Mode,' which allows you to play against a computer opponent that adjusts to your skill level. It also offers hints that aren't too direct, helping you learn without losing track of why a certain move is better than others. Fritz 15 also includes a 6 month membership to. If you want a complete package and don't mind spending the money, it's a reasonable choice. It isn't any easier to use than the free options, though, so I'd suggest looking up.
If you want to spend less, is still available, as is the $20, which isn't as simplified as you might expect from the name—you're getting a lot of the same features as in later versions, and you can import newer engines. For a pricier, less flashy option, (which I haven't had a chance to test yet) boasts a large database and feature set. Only serious chess players or those who want to design their own chess engines will want to. These tools are not for playing, but for analyzing chess matches. Fun chess-related games For something a little different, below are some entertaining chess and chess-adjacent games. Is a clever puzzle game in which you must arrange chess pieces on a board such that they are all protected exactly once.
It's not too challenging, but it can help beginners train their ability to instantly read the board. Is another chess-based puzzle game. The goal is to move knights, with their classic L-shaped movement rules, onto the square of their color on small boards. If it sounds easy, you've got another thing coming. Is just a tad overpriced for a game that runs in DOSBox and takes ages to play because it's full of silly, slow walking and battle animations, but nostalgia forgives all. Has become much easier to recommend than it was.
The price has dropped to just $6, and a couple of features have been added. You have just about no chance of finding a random opponent online anymore, but it's still pretty fun to play against the AI. The gist is this: it's like chess, except with special units with new behaviors and a new win condition. Aside from a checkmate, you can win by crossing the board's mid-line with your king.
It's a cute twist that requires you to think very differently.
Introduction The art of chess has fascinated down the ages, through and beyond. Computers provide countless opportunities for learning, playing, practicing, studying, and even watching both online and offline. Convenient freeware chess programs are available that give you all you need to do these things straight out of a single box at any level.
Great for beginners and experts alike. If you or your children are just learning chess. There is plenty of friendly introductory material online including recommended at this end of this page. This review of free chess software together with chess-related resources on the Internet will aim to address the varying needs of players, ranging from the casual to the keen. Rated Products.
Originally developed for GNOME desktops, presumably running well for other Linux desktops and Windows. Also recommended Desktop Chess.
gives you a handy free portable software package containing Winboard (a well known chessboard GUI for Windows) coupled with three different chess engines of different levels. Rybka 2.2 remains one of the strongest available free chess engines, and it can be used for game analysis. You can also play against two lesser engines (Delfi 4.5 and Phalanx). Portable WinboardX + Deep Rybka 2.2 used to be one of Gizmo's main recommendations, but this free software package does not seem amenable to development. Still plenty to enjoy. Portable, Windows.
a fun program with a nice assortment of engines (Crafty 23.0, GNU Chess 5.07.9b and Sjeng 11.2). Its sound effects may well appeal to children, for whom the lack of an undo button could—in some circumstances—be an advantage during actual play. Program development seems to have stopped at version 0.1.0, but Haundrix seems to work fine even on Windows 7.
Windows, Linux, including 64-bit. is the free version of the commercial Fritz software and is considered a must play for chess lovers, because it allows you to sample one of the notoriously powerful Fritz engines, with its characteristically quirky tactical play (and you can also grab slightly more recent Fritz 6 engine).
Unfortunately, Fritz 5.32 refuses to install on my Vista set up, maybe due to multicore processor issues. Windows. has an excellent reputation with Mac users and the full version is now freeware. Sigma comes with its own built-in engine which can be adjusted for strength. Mac Online Chess., play chess online right away against the computer or after logging in, play against human opponents., play friendly online chess at your own pace after a free signing up. also gives you the chance to challenge other players at Fischer Random. Mobile Chess.
Gizmo's recommended free Android app is Chess for Android and Jeroen Carolus's Chess as listed. For Apple iOS devices, try Chess.com and Stockfish Chess which are compatible for the iPad and iPhone as recommended. Learning Chess.
is an interesting freeware chess tutor which challenges you to play and beat increasingly strong engines/levels of play from beginner up to expert (think Rybka!). As in some video games, the program expects you to win twice at any given level before moving on to the next one. In tutor mode, Lucas Chess will flag a stronger move found by the engine and give you gameplay hints on lines of play. Your reaction to Lucas Chess will probably depend on individual learning style and personal taste.
Well worth exploring. Portable version available. Windows and Linux Internet Chess Clients. provides an attractive interface to play or watch human games on the FICS (Free Internet Chess Player) network. An interesting feature is the ability to go over a game you've just watched or played with some analysis from Crafty. Windows; Linux with Wine.
If you enjoy modern chess variants like Crazyhouse, Losers, Suicide, Kriegspiel etc., try open source internet chess client Windows; Linux with Wine Related Products and Links You might want to check out these articles too:. Chess Tutorials., an attractive site provides an excellent learning tool and a sound starting point for beginners. The simple but effective presentation gives you the feel of having quite a sizable interactive book at your fingertips, enticing you to explore many aspects of the game at leisure. Animations work well and there are plenty of well indexed games to play through or download.
A seamless experience, highly recommended. is a bit more advanced but also has a nice collection of learning resources with plenty of advice and annotated games. sports 'a place to enjoy and learn about chess' with plenty of coaching material to browse and study. Online Chess Resources Online chess databases and e-books. has a search engine which provides access to a great free online database of historical chess games, some annotated. You can either play games back on ChessGames' online java app or download as.pgn files. should help you locate and download free e-books on chess from various sites, including.
Online chess puzzles. A large collection of daily chess puzzles (mainly taken from real matches) is available at. The interactive applet has good graphics and the hints are stimulating.
For a catalogued collection of puzzles, try: searchable by Grand Master, opening and year. Some composed chess problems too. Editor This software review is copy-edited. Please help edit and improve this article.