What should I play here?
Put the position on the board and the engine names the move it would choose, how much it is worth, and what it expects to happen next.
White to move
Analysing from a photo?
This page needs a FEN or a board you set up by hand. The app reads a position straight from a photograph of a real board or a screenshot, and keeps your saved positions between sessions.
Common questions
- How does the engine decide which move is best?
- It searches ahead move by move, scoring the positions it reaches by material, king safety, pawn structure and piece activity, and keeps the move that leads to the best score assuming the opponent also plays well. The move it names is the first move of that line.
- Is the best move always the move I should play?
- Not always. The engine assumes both sides find every good reply. Below master level a slightly worse move that creates a practical problem often scores better than the engine's choice, which may require six accurate follow-ups to be worth anything.
- Why does the best move change if I analyse again?
- The search stops on depth or time, whichever comes first, so a position analysed twice can be searched slightly differently. When two moves are close in value, that is enough to swap which one comes out on top. A large swing usually means the position is sharp rather than that the engine is unreliable.
The app
Knowing the move is not the same as finding it
Reading an engine’s answer is easy. Producing that move yourself, against an opponent, with a clock running, is the part that decides games. Chess Engine for Stockfish plays full games against you at a strength you choose, so you can practise the position rather than only study it.