For chess enthusiasts
Chess Engine
Learn chess.
Study the old masters.
Follow classic games move by move and explore how the masters built their positions. Pause, go back and study how the pieces work together — at your own pace.
“Sixty-four squares.
A world of possibilities.”
A companion at the board
Your game,
move by move.
Chess Engine is a Windows application for creating, saving and studying chess games. Record your own moves or open a saved game and follow the position as it develops.
Stop at an interesting moment, examine the squares each piece controls and flip the board to see the game from your opponent’s side.
Tools at your disposal
What you can do
From the first pawn move to your final review — here is what the program offers today.
Create & save
Start a new game, open saved games and use Save or Save As. Games are stored as text files in the program’s own format, including the game name, date, player names and moves.
Record & edit
Add a move by selecting a piece and its destination square on the board. Cancel a move you have started entering or remove the last recorded move.
Replay the game
Play through a game automatically and pause whenever you like. Step forwards or backwards, or jump straight to the starting position or the final move.
Choose your side
View the board with White or Black at the bottom. The black perspective rotates the board by 180 degrees, along with the coordinates, pieces and highlights.
See each piece’s reach
Show the squares controlled by White, Black or a selected piece. Coloured highlights show controlled squares and possible moves to help you examine the position.
Get to know each piece
Select a piece to see its type, identity, current square and number of moves made. The highlight makes it easy to follow on the board.
Get help with the rules
When you record a move, the program checks whose turn it is and whether the move is legal. It warns you about illegal moves and lets you choose whether to save them anyway.
Keep track of the game
Follow the move list with the current move highlighted. The status bar shows your place in the game, while the board displays coordinates, the game date and player names.
Work at your own pace
Use menus, toolbar buttons or the keyboard: the left and right arrow keys step through moves, Home takes you to the beginning and End to the last move. The board adapts to the window size.
Explore classic games
Watch and study historic games played by the great masters of chess. Both PGN and FEN formats are supported.
Ready for your desktop
Your move next.
Download Chess Engine for Windows and give your chess games a home of their own.
Download for WindowsFor Windows 11 or higher
Behind the program
Developed by Anders Hesselbom
I have worked in computer programming and software development for over three decades. I thoroughly enjoy playing chess, even though I am not particularly good at it. That interest led me to build a program that serves both as a practical tool for correspondence games and as a resource for anyone who wants to study classic games between the great masters.
Photo: Anders Nordquist