What is Chess Mcp

chess-mcp is a MCP Server designed to assist users in analyzing chess positions using the Stockfish chess engine. It provides professional evaluations and visual representations of chess boards directly within the Claude interface.

Use cases

Use cases for chess-mcp include analyzing specific chess positions, studying master games, validating moves, and exploring common strategies employed by high-rated players.

How to use

To use chess-mcp, install it via Smithery or manually by following the installation steps outlined in the README. Once installed, open Claude Desktop, access the tools icon, and input commands to analyze chess positions or retrieve data from the masters database.

Key features

Key features include position analysis with Stockfish evaluations, visual board representations, best move suggestions, and access to a masters database containing games played by players rated 2200 and above.

Where to use

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Chess Analysis Assistant for Claude

This tool helps you analyze chess positions and get professional evaluations using Stockfish, right within Claude! You can:

• Get position evaluations
• See visual board representations
• Analyze different moves and variations
• Look up positions in the masters database (games played by 2200+ rated players)

Requirements

• Claude Desktop installed on your computer
• Git installed on your system

Quick Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install Chess Analysis Assistant for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install chess-mcp --client claude

Mac and Linux Users

Open Terminal and run this command:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/turlockmike/chess-mcp/master/install.sh | bash

That’s it! The script will:

1. Install required dependencies (Node.js 20+, Stockfish, Cairo)
2. Configure Claude Desktop
3. Set up the Chess Assistant

Manual Installation (Windows or Advanced Users)

If you prefer to install manually or are using Windows, follow these steps:

Requirements

• Claude Desktop
• Node.js version 20 or higher
• Stockfish chess engine
• Cairo graphics library (for board visualization)

Step-by-Step Installation

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Mac Users:

# Install Homebrew if you haven't already
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

# Install required packages
brew install stockfish cairo pkg-config jq

Windows Users:

1. Install Node.js (LTS version)
2. Download Stockfish and add it to your PATH
3. Install Cairo

Step 2: Install Chess Assistant

npm install -g chess-mcp

Step 3: Configure Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Navigate to the configuration file:
   • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
3. Add this configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chess": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "chess-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

4. Save and restart Claude Desktop

Using the Chess Assistant

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Look for the tools icon (🔧) - it should show chess analysis tools
3. Try these example prompts:
   • “Analyze this position: rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1”
   • “Show me the current position”
   • “What’s the best move in this position?”
   • “Look up this position in the masters database”
   • “Show me master games from this position after 2000”
   • “What are the most common moves played by masters in this position?”

Features

Position Analysis

• Engine evaluation using Stockfish
• Visual board representation
• Best move suggestions
• Move validation

Masters Database

• Search positions in games played by 2200+ rated players
• Filter games by date range
• See win/draw statistics
• View most common moves with success rates
• Browse recent master games with player ratings

Need Help?

If you run into any issues:

1. Make sure all requirements are installed correctly
2. Verify Stockfish is accessible from your command line
3. Check that all paths in your Claude Desktop configuration are correct
4. Restart Claude Desktop after making any changes

Common Issues

• “Tools not showing up in Claude”: Make sure you’ve configured Claude Desktop correctly
• “Stockfish not found”: Verify Stockfish is installed and accessible from the command line
• “Node version error”: Make sure you have Node.js version 20 or higher installed
• “Canvas installation failed”: Make sure Cairo is installed correctly for your operating system