Chess is a recreational and competitive board game played between two players. It is enormously popular, with millions of people playing in clubs, online, by correspondence and in tournaments.
Chess is suitable for players of all ages. Besides being entertaining, it can help develop concentration, memory, logical thinking and problem-solving skills. The basic rules can be learned quickly, but mastering the game can take a lifetime.
Linux offers an excellent selection of chess software. Applications range from straightforward graphical chessboards and online clients to sophisticated analysis tools, training software and databases capable of handling huge collections of games. Many applications can also use powerful external chess engines through protocols such as UCI and XBoard/CECP.
To provide an insight into the quality of software that is available, we have compiled a list of 18 top chess applications, identifying our favorite front ends. All of these tools are released under a freely distributable license.
Let’s explore the 18 chess applications at hand. For each application we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, screenshots, together with links to relevant resources. Start playing one of the greatest games ever devised. Play chess, have fun!
| Chess Apps | |
|---|---|
| Lucas Chess | Highly polished chess app with superb training facilities |
| En Croissant | Modern chess GUI for play, analysis and study |
| PyChess | Feature-rich GTK chess client |
| Scid | Powerful chess database and analysis application |
| Knights | Chess game for the KDE desktop environment |
| ChessX | Chess database and FICS client |
| ChessMD | PGN database viewer and analysis tool |
| XBoard | Graphical chessboard for engines and online play |
| Cute Chess | GUI, CLI and library for chess and engine tournaments |
| Nibbler | Chess analysis GUI for UCI engines |
| GNOME Chess | Simple chess client for the GNOME desktop |
| JFXChess | JavaFX chess GUI centred around Stockfish |
| Python Easy Chess GUI | Play UCI chess engines, analyse positions and review saved games |
| Obsidian Chess Studio | Modern chess analysis and training platform |
| CoreChess | Chess GUI for UCI and CECP engines |
| SlugChess | Chess with Fog-of-War and shuffled officers |
| Pawn Appétit | Chess analysis, game management and opening repertoire training |
| Focalors | Offline chess coaching with game reviews and personalised puzzles |
This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.
 Explore our carefully curated directory of recommended free and open source software, covering every major software category.The directory forms part of our extensive collection of articles for Linux enthusiasts. It includes hundreds of detailed reviews, together with free and open source alternatives to proprietary software from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. LinuxLinks also covers interesting projects worth exploring, Linux-compatible hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful free and open source Linux application that we haven’t covered? Tell us about it using our submission form. |
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No brutal chess?!?! You fail!
Brutal Chess wasn’t even close to being recommended. An abandoned 11 year old game, never left alpha, which was pretty awful even back in 2007.
Thanks man!
can you recommend any chess apps that give me access to previous games played by GMs or something ? i want to study a lot of games, thanks in advance
i am trying to make progress im relatively new player. I need something thaat has various strength opponents. Im not learning much at present just getting smashed all the time. I cant get Lucas chess to install. Im not a linux pro just want something to insstall without all the linux B. S.
Lucas Chess is what you need.
You definitely don’t need to be a Linux ‘pro’ to install Lucas Chess. The developer provides an easy installation with his .sh file.
What steps have you tried to install Lucas Chess? Have you asked the project for any assistance in installing the software?
what about en-croissant
Looks interesting, we’ll check it out. Thanks for the suggestion Mike.
What about ChessMD
Mod edit – link removed as per the Comment rules
Looks a good candidate for inclusion. Thanks.