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Introduction
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The art of chess has fascinated down the ages, through Alice and beyond. PCs 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... Don't panic! There is plenty of friendly introductory material online, such as here or here. Lists of free tutorials here and here. |
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Discussion
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As with the other recommendations listed below, if you're feeling lazy—like me—you can just sit back and watch a couple of them battle it out. The program can continuously analyze the state of play and will provide hints if asked. You can also play through and analyze historical games, or use the program as an interface to play other people online for free via a variety of servers. |
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The 2.0.1 version of the program allows very straightforward installation. The smaller of the two available download files come with just the SOS engine preinstalled. The larger download file is worth its weight as it comes a large selection of engines, including the strong freeware Rybka 2.2. An interesting feature is the ability to handle Shuffle Chess or Fischer Random Chess. |
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Crafty Chess comes with a pleasant, intuitive interface providing ready access to useful features such as engine strength and thinking time adjustment. Although there's only the one engine, you can easily instruct Crafty to play either or both colors whenever you want. Much to enjoy. |
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You can play against the GNU Chess engine or lots of other chess engines, such as the Crafty engine, which can be downloaded from here. You can also play Internet chess by connecting to the FICS servers. With this program, games can be saved in the PGN, EPD and FEN chess file formats so that you can always return to continue with the games or analyze them. PyChess also offers opening books and other useful features including undo moves, hint and spy modes, sound and animation effects. |
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More free chess software?
For games with other humans over the internet:
For beginners:
3D interfaces:
Free chess resources straight from your internet browser: Of course, you can also do all sorts of chess-related things via your internet browser from a host of sites. - For instance, you can access a great online database of historical chess games, some annotated, from here. - You can play humans online (after free registration) at many sites, including chess.com. Both MFO Chess and ChesSOS also give you the chance to challenge other players at Fischer Random.
- For free chess graphics resources (including icons, diagram kit, wallpapers and more), try Virtual Pieces.
- Chessopolis presents a well organized collection of computer chess links (and there's also Chess Theory).
More free chess software coming soon ...
In the meantime, why not take a stroll around Zarkon Fischer's Free Chess Programs—This 'top pick' chess freeware site is a must for any keen player. |
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Or want something traditionally different? Try Chinese Chess. The ancient game of Xiangqi (Elephant Chess) is an exciting, living game. A river runs through it. But the elephants can't cross. The Chinese Chess section of Gizmo's Best Free Computer Chess has moved here. Or the Game of Go. Nowadays the most powerful chess programs can sometimes beat even the strongest Grand Masters. If you feel that chess has become a bit passé, try the classic Far Eastern game of Go. Quite different from chess, Go is based on just a handful of simple rules. But its depth of play and subtlety make it a strong rival. Besides, Chess and Go seem to activate the brain somewhat differently. The Go section of Gizmo's Best Free Computer Chess and Go has moved here. Please help us by rating this review
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4.2.7 
Unrestricted Freeware 
Windows
0.8.4 
Open Source Freeware (includes program code) 
Linux
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Both of the links for 'Crafty Chess' in the quick selection guide are being flagged red by WOT and my browser is blocking them. Just thought you might want to check it out.
I posted the original query about the links showing red, which they were at the time, but wasn't logged in and just left it as anon. I was trying to find a game that I could play against my nephew (one that maybe I could beat him at) but my browser was blocking the links... I thrashed him at Scrabble instead :) They're both green and working ok now.
Cheers.
Thanks for this. Will inform the editor, or moderator.
Yes, thanks all - I've just changed the links. Should be ok now.
Thanks also for the other recent suggestions from JonathanT and Anon - TBR soon...
Bob
For bughouse chess Thief seems to have a really good interface.
http://www.thief-interface.com/
Thanks for this suggestion. I'd been planning to add something about chess variants...
For beginners this is my contribution :
Lucas Chess http://lukasmonk.110mb.com/indexEN.htm
(open source)
Robert Hyatt (Crafty) was my graduate level Database professor in college (University of Southern Mississippi) in the late seventies. He wrote a world class mainframe chess program: [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crafty ] and continues to do great work. I highly recommend this program. Thanks Gizmo for recognizing this work in your "best picks" list.
Winthrom
Thanks - on the list for review
ThankYOU
Personally I love Facebook's (free) chess application. 50,000 users of all levels, something to suit everyone. You can play the machine, but playing people from around the world is much more fun!
I need Complete free Chess to paly in my Office Computer but found noware :(
Try GeeksWithChess.com
Best Free Chess Problems on the Internet?
My choice would be Raymond Keene's Winning Move.
Raymond Keene is a well known chess writer and columnist. His daily chess column in the Times contains his commentary of an historical or topical game, such as from the current Karpov Kasparov rematch. The column always closes with a tactical Winning Move problem, often related to the game just presented.
If Raymond Keene's most recent Winning Move offerings don't slake your appetite you can access a whole lot more from here (hint: if the text on old pages appears garbled, try right clicking to "view as image").
Here is a good free online chess site:
http://www.geekswithchess.com
can somebody please reccomend me a good computer checkers software? I been dying to find one.
go to slowblitz site, n have mooch about there
Try Amusive Checkers, which includes three versions of checkers: Russian, English and give away.
What about of Jose?
http://jose-chess.sourceforge.net/index.html
Thanks - I'll check this out
Sorry for not replying earlier: AWOL
Have you tried this yet? It's flagged on Virustotal by TheHacker! Probably false positive though!
Sorry for the delay replying. Yes, I do think that alert is a false positive and Jose is almost certainly a safe program.
I liked the look of the program a lot. However, on my Vista system it is just too buggy to test its capabilities. I tried installing it more than once for review on this page, but after a few seconds the menus all blank out on my system. This may be a system or a Vista related related problem
(though the program is supposed to be usable on Windows 98 onwards).
Any more feedback on Jose?
I have Jose running on XP SP3. Good, simple interface. No issues with the program install or operation. Uses MySQL to store played games. Documentation says other chess engines can be used with the game.
I found this on a site that I found a link to here, http:// realgreatgames . com/index.php?task=view&id=21316 it's a pretty good chess game and it doesn't freeze my computer.
Thanks, but no thanks. I couldn't even figure out how to castle. I think clearly recognizable pieces are important too - especially perhaps for beginners.
I've posted a few suggestions for Shogi ("Japanese Chess") here:
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-free-computer-shogi-japanes...
Feedback welcome.
Bob
Nothing is better than Brutal Chess:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/brutalchess/
Scarcely a strong player... But children of all ages may enjoy the 3D graphics. See how it develops.
Are there any free games for bridge players?
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-computer-bridge.htm#comment-16...
If someone is looking for Backgammon, I reccomend http://www.gnubg.org/
This is great! One of the more "entertaining" articles posted :)
Thanks
Enjoy!
:)
One of the strongest chess engine in the world now is Rybka. The previous version, Rybka 2.2n2 is available for free.
http://www.rybkachess.com/index.php?auswahl=Demo+version
You'll need a chess GUI. I'll recommend Arena.
http://www.rybkachess.com/index.php?auswahl=FAQ
Arena is a great recommendation: it installs directly (and very easily) with a variety of engines including Rybka 2.2 and offers useful features on a good GUI.
Arena 2.0.1 Setup: http://www.playwitharena.com/directory/download.htm
For the record, Portable_WinboardX_Rybka does actually have the Rybka 2.2n2 mp engine preinstalled along with two less strong ones. The Crafty package provides another of the best engines, and the set-up allows you to adjust its strength directly from the GUI.
http://wbec-ridderkerk.nl/ is a popular site (mentioned in Arena help, BTW), which simply cannot be omitted from any discussion about computer chess. For years it holds tournaments of the best chess engines (link "WBEC Tournaments"), and it appears that the results are more or less representative of their true strength; personally, I followed them for more than four years.
All news about updates, newcomers, download links, ratings (link "WBEC Ratinglist"), etc. you can also find there.
Now what we have here: free version of Rybka is naturally one's first choice, and we have to add Fruit, Glaurung, Thinker, Spike, ProDeo (this one, the successor of Rebel, is not on a par with the others in terms of playing strength, but beats all records in analysis of some famous positions on my system) and a few others.
Some of my best chess bookmarks:
http://www.wtharvey.com/prodex.html - Chess Puzzles by Grandmasters
...
(waiting when your great spam filter let me post the others)
lloonn
Thanks lloonn
As soon as possible
Battle's distant sound...
BTW, M. Lloonn
Ever thought of being a category editor on this site?
Your BF Computer Chess needs you!
PS I'm concerned that the recommendations on this page should cater for all abilities, ages and inclinations. All suggestions greatly appreciated - B.
Well, the application for a job was not an ulterior motive behind my posting here :-). Seriously now, I am currently sort of busy and as a result spend much less time on computer chess than I did, say, couple of years ago. However, I think to organize this page from a point of view of STRONGEST free chess engines, best GUI's and sites is not difficult. Arena and Winboard were mentioned (I am not aware of any comparable freeware), 10-15 or so best free engines with some comments, probably Polyglot adapter, a few other things... Chess sites are numerous, but there are not many good ones in my expereience. For instance, they often give you positions and puzzles with a few solutions. Why bother to see their own solution in this case? It's better to launch strong chess program and check the way you found. The spam filter of this site still doesn't allow me to post links to some REALLY GOOD sites.
http://www.shredderchess.com has opening database, endgame database (Nalimov Endgame Tablebases, 6 pieces). It also offers three puzzles every 24 hours - direct link isn't allowed by the spam filter - probably GOOD FOR BEGINNERS (well, these positions can also pose a problem for super-grandmasters, if they are limited to a few seconds :-) ). You can play online with Shredder, many times computer chess champion of the world.
Chess Tactics Server (direct link isn't allowed by the spam filter - use Google; it's not directly related to COMPUTER chess). That's a REAL THING. Disclaimer: if you take your successes and failures too seriously, you have to be quite proficient at the game of chess not to get deeply distressed here :-).
lloonn
Thanks for your thoughtful and expert suggestions, lloonn, which I'll follow up as I get time. I'll try to do some "average player" rusting and edit them in.
I agree that rating programs by strength is easy enough and Arena probably comes out on top for features and interface. But Gizmo's Freeware has never pretended to be a specialized chess players' site (I think that's what you're getting at too). So in addition to recommending the strongest, most versatile and feature rich freeware options, this page should ultimately also be catering for the casual and curious. Basically, for folks wanting well designed software with an undemanding interface that'll deliver lively gameplay at any level... Children too of course - suiting various age groups and aptitudes - and their parents or teachers. Something of quality for everyone.
I'll have to give this some thought (sleep it over).
Thanks again
Bob
PS If the spam filter bothers you, you might like to register - I think you'll find the name lloonn hasn't been taken yet! Otherwise i can just google as usual.
BabasChess is also popular client to play on the FICS network. I personally prefer BabasChess's interface over WinBoard's interface.
http://www.babaschess.net/
Thanks Jonathan - BabasChess looks really impressive and I've already enjoyed observing some online players and going over the games with Crafty.
Do feel free to edit this page any way you think good ... I started it really just with the main idea of recommending WinboardX_Rybka and a nice Go tutorial as HotFind(s), but your suggestions are helping it grow.
The links http/tinyurl etc don't work - "Network Interrupted" message! Other links refer to source codes and other terms with which I'm not familiar. I just want to click, download and play.
"I just want to click, download and play."
You can do this with Chenard: http://cosinekitty.com/chenard/
- Download winchen.zip
- Unzip the folder and click the exe file inside.
(A good engine coupled to a basic interface.)
Sorry you've been having problems (I've just checked all the tiny urls again and found them all working so maybe it was a temporary issue).
"Other links refer to source codes and other terms with which I'm not familiar."
- Portable WinboardX: After downloading and unzipping the compressed folder you'll find a ReadMe file. Here's an extract:
INSTALLATION AND USE:
1. Extract "WinboardX_Rybka.exe" to any Folder you like ...
2. Start "Create_Shorcut.cmd" to create Winboard shortcut on your Desktop (OPTIONAL)
3. Start Winboard
4. Choose what you want to do (play against engine, engine vs engine, or play on internet chess server...)
NOTE #1: If you choose to play against engine you can choose two engines - the first one is the engine you will use for analysis or playing, while second one you choose plays black in "Two machines" mode.
- Crafty Chess Interface 2.0: Download the binaries, unzip, and move the folder to wherever you want. Try running crafty.exe
If the programme starts, then you're underway. If not, you may need to download from Microsoft the "VB6 run-time library": you'll find the full instructions and links at the bottom of the download page.
- For the Go set-up I suggested,download the Jago board from here:
http://www.rene-grothmann.de/jago/
You'll need to follow the instructions for Windows (which may involve installing the Sun Java platform if you don't already have it): click Download and install the self installing JagoClient version and then run the installer.
When you launch Jago from the Windows start menu go to "Actions", click "Play Go (using GMP)" [unless you want to play a human player online] and set your handicap to zero.
this the game i adore and thanks g=for this information really awesome
This a great link thanks I have been looking for a good free Chess game. I shall watch what others put here as well
Tony
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