Next move calculator
Stockfish 16.1 · runs in your browser
Play a move by typing it, like e4, Nf3 or e7e8q, then press Enter.
Commentary
Example captured Oct 16, 2026e4 takes space in the center. White is slightly better, by about 0.3 pawns, and d4 is almost as good.
Top 3 lines · scores from White's side
- +0.3e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 exd4 Bc4 Nf6
- +0.3d4 d5 c4 c6 cxd5 cxd5 Nc3 e6
- +0.3Nf3 d5 d4 Nf6 c4 c6 e3 Bf5
Best move
e4
+0.3What the next move calculator does
It compares the legal moves in your position and recommends the strongest move it finds, with a one-line reason.
- Stockfish 16.1 runs in your browser, up to depth 20
- Top 3 moves with an evaluation, and a label for every move you play
- Free, no account: paste a FEN or PGN, play moves or set up the board
Three ways to load a position
Play the moves, paste a FEN or PGN, or set up the pieces by hand.
- 1
Play the moves
Drag or tap pieces from the starting position. Every move is analyzed straight away, and the arrows under the board step back and forth.
- 2
Paste a FEN or PGN
Copy a FEN or a game's PGN from any chess site and press Load. A PGN loads the whole game and opens at its last move.
- 3
Set up a position
Press Set up, pick pieces from the tray and tap squares. Choose who is to move, then press Done.
How the next move calculator works
Stockfish 16.1 searches your position on your device, stopping at depth 20 or after 8 seconds, whichever comes first, and ranks up to three candidate moves.
The engine loads the first time you touch the page, then every position is analyzed in your browser. The search streams, so the best move and the evaluation bar update as the engine looks deeper.
When it finishes, arrows on the board show the top three moves, and the sentence under the best move says what it does: a capture, a check, a forced mate, or how much worse the next choice is. Press Play it to make the move and see the best reply.
Chess move finder and puzzle solver
Use this chess solver to find the best move in a position from a puzzle, a book or a finished game.
Set up the pieces and choose whose turn it is, or paste a FEN or PGN. The online calculator ranks up to three candidate moves, shows the evaluation and gives a short explanation of the top choice.
A move generator lists legal choices; a move finder compares them. This calculator shows the engine's leading choices rather than a list of every legal move. Try your own move on the board to compare the reply.
Find checkmate
Yes. When the engine finds a forced mate during its search, it shows M followed by the number of moves to mate.
M3 means White can force mate in three moves; -M3 means Black can. Play the suggested move to analyze the next position. If no mate appears, the search may simply not have found one yet.
Try this mate in one: White's king is on f6, White's queen on g6 and Black's king on h8, with White to move. Qg7# is checkmate. The # symbol means checkmate.
Try mate in oneHow Chessvia labels your moves
Every move you play on the board gets a label, from brilliant to blunder, based on how much it changes your winning chances.
The engine's evaluation is turned into winning chances from 0% to 100%, and each move is compared with Stockfish 16.1's top choice in the position before it. These are Chessvia's own thresholds, the same ones our full game review uses.
Brilliant. A piece sacrifice that keeps your winning chances, when you were not already completely winning.
Great. The only good move, or a move that turns a losing position into a winning one.
Best. The engine's own top move.
Excellent. Costs under 2 points of winning chances.
Good. Costs 2 to 5 points of winning chances.
Book. Reaches a named opening position.
Inaccuracy. Costs 5 to 10 points of winning chances.
Mistake. Costs 10 to 20 points of winning chances.
Blunder. Costs more than 20 points of winning chances.
1. e4 book. King's Pawn Game.
1... e5 book. King's Pawn Game.
2. Bc4 book. Bishop's Opening.
2... Nc6 good. Black's winning chances: 51% to 47%. Best was Nf6.
3. Qh5 good. White's winning chances: 53% to 48%. Best was Nf3.
3... Nf6 blunder. Black's winning chances: 52% to 2%. Best was g6.
4. Qxf7# best. The engine's top choice.
How do I find the best move in chess?
Check your opponent's threat, then compare checks, captures and threats for both sides before choosing a move.
Pick a few candidate moves and work through your opponent's strongest reply to each. Before committing, check whether your move leaves a piece undefended or allows a forcing reply.
For practice, make your own choice first, then check the position here after the game or in a puzzle. If the engine prefers something else, play through the reply and see what your choice missed.
Practice checks, captures and threatsReading the evaluation
The evaluation is shown from White's side: a positive number favors White and a negative number favors Black. It is an engine assessment expressed in pawns, not a count of extra pieces.
The bar beside the board shows the same score as a share of the board: the more white, the better for White.
- 0.0 to 0.3 either way
- Roughly level
- Play for small edges: develop, castle, improve your worst piece.
- 0.3 to 1.0
- A slight edge
- Keep improving your pieces; one more advantage can make it real.
- 1.0 to 3.0
- A clear advantage, often a pawn or more
- Trade pieces when ahead, avoid trades when behind.
- Above 3.0
- Usually winning
- Look for the cleanest way to convert and check every capture.
- M1, M2, M3…
- The engine has found a forced mate; positive means White mates, negative means Black
- Play the suggested move and analyze the next position.
How to beat the chess part in the Password Game?
Match the game's position on this board, choose the correct side to move and use the best move shown in algebraic notation.
Press Set up, place the pieces exactly as shown, choose White or Black to move and press Done. Read the move beside Best move, rather than the evaluation number or the whole engine line.
For example, Qg7# means the queen moves to g7 and delivers checkmate; a + means check and x means a capture. Keep the move's capitalization and notation marks. The answer depends on the position shown in your game.
Next move calculator vs. full game review
Use the calculator for one position; use a game review when you want to know where a whole game went wrong.
The calculator answers one question: what now? It suits puzzles, a moment from a game you are still thinking about, or a study position. A game review goes through every move of a finished game, marks the mistakes and explains why each one mattered. On Chessvia that review comes from Chessy, the coach that explains the why behind each move in plain English.
Engines are for after the game. Do not use engine help during a game where outside assistance is prohibited.
Review a whole game with ChessyFrequently asked questions
What should my next move be?
Set up your position above and press Find best move: the calculator shows the strongest move it finds, the evaluation and the top three lines. Playing your own game? Make your move first, and the board labels it from best to blunder and shows what the engine preferred.
What is the best move in chess?
It depends on the position: the best move is the one that keeps your winning chances highest, and that is what the engine ranks. Put any position on the board above to get it, with up to three alternatives.
What is the best first move in chess?
1.e4. In this calculator, Stockfish 16.1 at depth 20 ranks 1.e4 first, with 1.d4 and 1.Nf3 also at +0.3. Press Find best move on the starting position to see it yourself.
Is this checkmate?
It is checkmate when the king is in check and has no legal move. Set the position up above: the panel says "Checkmate. White wins." (or Black) when it is, and shows M1, M2 and so on when a forced mate is coming.
How to checkmate in 2 moves?
With Fool's Mate: 1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4#. Black mates on the second move because White's f- and g-pawns opened the diagonal to the king. Load the position and the calculator finds Qh4#, shown as -M1 because Black mates.
What is a blunder in chess?
A blunder is a move that throws away a large part of your winning chances, usually by losing material or allowing mate. This calculator labels a move a blunder when it costs more than 20 points of winning chances, like 3...Nf6 in the Scholar's Mate example above (52% to 2%).
What is a brilliant move in chess?
A brilliant move is a good piece sacrifice: you give up material and your winning chances hold. Chessvia labels a move brilliant when it sacrifices a piece, costs under 2 points of winning chances and leaves you at least level, unless a simpler move was already completely winning.
What is FEN?
FEN is a one-line text code for a chess position: where every piece stands, whose turn it is, castling rights, the en passant square and the move counters. The starting position is rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1. Paste any FEN above and press Load.
What is PGN?
PGN is the standard text format for a whole chess game: the players and event in square-bracket tags, then the moves, like 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6. Paste a PGN above and the board opens at the game's last move.
Analysis runs on Stockfish 16.1 in your browser, compiled to WebAssembly by stockfish.js. Stockfish is free software under the GNU General Public License v3; its source code is on GitHub.