---
title: I will share some chess tools with you
description: From Commercial Monopoly to Open-Source Freedom
image: https://image.lichess1.org/display?fmt=webp&h=550&op=thumbnail&path=NNK4rUIgppZj.webp&w=880&sig=c4d945dcc3a88f02336f4f96de7f92548d6ab186
---

If you are playing chess and using tools. You may have heard of them: **Chess.com and ChessBase**. The flagship product of a German company, is a powerful database software that comes with a high price tag **Chess.com** is the world's largest online chess platform, yet its advanced analysis features usually require a premium membership subscription. For serious chess players, **ChessBase** is practically the industry standard, but its licensing fees, which often run into hundreds of euros, deter many people from using it

***

However, free chess tools are here. **The strongest engine Stockfish**, **constantly improving lichess analysis**... and so on. So I will share some **free and strong** chess tools with you

## **I. The PC side Tools**

### 1.1 [En Croissant](https://encroissant.org/) (★★★)

![image.png](https://image.lichess1.org/display?fmt=png&h=0&op=resize&path=9F1UiRUKWNF0.png&w=800&sig=d7f92522d6f003667a56b767fe2c124929753d27)
**Downloads:**
[Windows x64 0.15.0.exe](https://github.com/franciscoBSalgueiro/en-croissant/releases/download/v0.15.0/en-croissant_0.15.0_x64-setup.exe)
[Linux amd64 0.15.0.AppImage](https://github.com/franciscoBSalgueiro/en-croissant/releases/download/v0.15.0/en-croissant_0.15.0_amd64.AppImage)
[Linux amd64 0.15.0.deb](https://github.com/franciscoBSalgueiro/en-croissant/releases/download/v0.15.0/en-croissant_0.15.0_amd64.deb)
[Linux x86_64 0.15.0.rpm](https://github.com/franciscoBSalgueiro/en-croissant/releases/download/v0.15.0/en-croissant-0.15.0-1.x86_64.rpm)
[Mac x64 0.15.0.dmg](https://github.com/franciscoBSalgueiro/en-croissant/releases/download/v0.15.0/en-croissant_0.15.0_x64.dmg)
**Get it on** **[Github](https://github.com/franciscoBSalgueiro/en-croissant)**
**If you have download bugs.** **Please copy the link and go to the webpage to download**

***

That sounds delicious. This is a **free, open-source cross-platform** tool with a modern user interface friendly to both new and professional chess players. It supports linking lichess.org and chess.com accounts and importing games from these two platforms. More importantly, it can call the cloud API of lichess, allowing you to look up chess openings and train with puzzles directly within the software

### 1.1.1 How to install the engine there

Click **Add New**, then click **Local**, and fill in the local path of the Stockfish UCI executable file you downloaded. The whole process basically involves graphical clicking operations, which is intuitive

### 1.2 [Arena Chess GUI](http://www.playwitharena.de/)(★☆☆)

**Downloads:**
[Windows 3.5.1.ZIP](http://www.playwitharena.de/downloads/arena_3.5.1.zip) (Portable Version)
[Windows 3.5.1.exe](http://www.playwitharena.de/downloads/arena_3.5.1setup.exe)
[Linux 64bit 3.10beta.tar.gz](http://www.playwitharena.de/downloads/arenalinux_64bit_3.10beta.tar.gz)
**If you have download bugs. Please copy the link and go to the webpage to download**

***

The UI of Arena Chess GUI resembles the old ChessBase version, but its interface looks outdated and cumbersome. **Worse still, its official website lacks HTTPS certificate,** so I only rate it ★☆☆. After you install the engine, click **Edit and Analyze** to start the analysis

### 1.3 [Lichess Analysis](lichess.org/analysis)(★★☆)

Strictly speaking, this is not downloadable software, yet it serves as the primary daily analysis tool for many chess players and merits dedicated discussion. It integrates the Opening Explorer and seven-piece endgame tablebases, supports cloud analysis requests, and runs the local WASM version of Stockfish directly within web browsers. Its drawbacks are that its performance is far inferior to a natively deployed local Stockfish, and an internet connection is mandatory to access it

### 1.4 [Stockfish](https://stockfishchess.org/)

**Downloads:**
[Windows x86-64 avx2.zip](https://github.com/official-stockfish/Stockfish/releases/latest/download/stockfish-windows-x86-64-avx2.zip)
[Linux x86-64 avx2.tar](https://github.com/official-stockfish/Stockfish/releases/latest/download/stockfish-ubuntu-x86-64-avx2.tar)
[Mac.tar](https://github.com/official-stockfish/Stockfish/releases/latest/download/stockfish-macos-m1-apple-silicon.tar)
**If you have download bugs. Please copy the link and go to the webpage to download**
Stockfish itself is a command-line program and requires a GUI for operation

### 1.5 How to choose these

If you are a new to chess, you can pick En Croissant; if you need software similar to ChessBase, Arena is more powerful (albeit with an unattractive interface); if you only need to analyze a single move temporarily, using Lichess Analysis in your browser is the fastest option

## **II.Mobile tools**

### 2.1 [Lichess Mobile App](lichess.org/app)

Get it on [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.lichess.mobileV2) or [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lichess/id1662361230)
Get it on [Github](https://github.com/lichess-org/mobile/releases)
**Download:** [v0.24.6 2406.apk](https://github.com/lichess-org/mobile/releases/download/v0.24.6/2406.apk)

***

Analysis ➡️ three dots ➡️ Stockfish ➡️ search time = ∞ Threads = 1 or 2

## **III.How to adjust engine parameters on the GUI interface**

![image.png](https://image.lichess1.org/display?op=noop&path=93afsHT9rFWj.png&sig=c02f260814129f42e50268e3be0889271c1ce4f1)Take several most commonly used parameters as examples:
**Threads:** It is set to the number of physical CPU cores you have or the number of physical CPU cores minus 1
**Hash:** It is set to 1 GB, and it is best not to exceed one quarter of your computer's system memory
**MultiPV:** It is set to 1; set its value to ≥2 if you need to view multiple variations
**Move overhead and nodestime:** It is set to 0

You can directly paste this piece of code into the corresponding position of the JSON:

```
{
  "settings": [
    {
      "name": "Threads",
      "value": 8
    },
    {
      "name": "Hash",
      "value": 1024
    },
    {
      "name": "MultiPV",
      "value": 1
    },
    {
      "name": "Move Overhead",
      "value": 0
    }
  ]
```