ChessLLM · macOS 14+ · Free

Play chess against
any LLM.

Frontier cloud models through OpenRouter, or entirely offline with LMStudio, llama.cpp, or Ollama. A pure-Swift engine enforces every rule; the model you've chosen plays the moves — with streaming commentary in the tone you pick.

Get ChessLLM → See features
FreeBring your own model
Offline-capableLocal or cloud
No serversWe don't have any
ChessLLM showing a chess board mid-game with the move list on the left and a live LLM commentary feed on the right
Features

A real chess engine. The opponent of your choice.

ChessLLM keeps the rules honest in pure Swift, then hands the moves to whatever model you've pointed it at.

♟

Full chess rules

A pure-Swift engine enforces everything, for both sides.

  • ✓Castling, en passant, promotion (pick your piece)
  • ✓Checkmate, stalemate, 50-move rule, threefold repetition, insufficient material
  • ✓You can never make an illegal move — and neither can the LLM; it's re-prompted with the legal options
⌘

Designed for the Mac

Native SwiftUI throughout, in a familiar three-pane layout.

  • ✓Move list, board, and commentary history side by side
  • ✓Keyboard shortcuts; Settings in the standard ⌘, panel
  • ✓Your API key lives in the macOS Keychain — never in plain text, never on our servers
Four commentary tones

After every move, a live commentary track — in the voice you choose.

Switch tones mid-game and the next move's commentary uses the new one. Try them:

♞
Funny commentary
Knight to f6 — fashionably late, and slightly underdressed for this position.
Bring your own LLM

Four providers, one consistent interface.

All four speak the same OpenAI-compatible chat-completions protocol. Switching is one click in Settings.

OpenRouter Cloud

Frontier cloud models — Claude, GPT-4o, Llama 3.1, Gemini, and more. Bring your own key.

LMStudio Local

Point at the local server and pick a loaded model.

llama.cpp Local

Point at llama-server and pick your loaded GGUF.

Ollama Local

Point at the default port and pick any pulled model.

The details

Pricing, privacy & requirements.

Price
Free
Cloud usage (OpenRouter) is billed by that provider — cents to pennies a game. Local models are free.
Privacy
No servers, no data
The only network traffic goes to the provider you choose. Run local and it never touches the internet.
Requirements
macOS 14 (Sonoma)+
Apple Silicon or Intel · a provider: OpenRouter, LMStudio, llama.cpp, or Ollama
Get ChessLLM

Pick a model. Earn its respect.

ChessLLM is free on the App Store. Bring a cloud key or a local model, choose a tone, and play.

Download on the App Store → Support