Next Chess Move Calculator
Set the position on the board below, or paste a FEN, and Stockfish will tell you what to play next. It runs in your browser, it is free, and it does not ask you to sign in.
How to use it
- Play moves on the board to reach your position, or paste a FEN into the box. Most sites let you copy a FEN from the analysis screen.
- Check the side to move. This is the single most common mistake: the same position with the other player to move usually has a completely different answer.
- Choose a depth and press Find the best move.
There is no account, no sign in, and no limit on how many positions you can check. Nothing on this page is gated.
Reading the answer
The top line is the move the engine would play. The number beside it is the evaluation after that move, measured in pawns and always from White's point of view, so +1.4 means White is better by about the value of a pawn and a half, and -0.6 means Black is slightly better. M3 means forced mate in three.
The two lines below the best move are the next best alternatives. Compare their evaluations. If all three are within about 0.3 of each other, the position is quiet and your move choice barely matters. If the best move is a pawn and a half better than the second best, you have found a real tactic, and that is a position worth understanding rather than memorising.
The engine will not make you better on its own
Asking an engine for the next move answers this position. It does nothing for the next one. The players who improve fastest use an engine backwards: they play the move they think is right, then check, and the gap between the two is the lesson.
That gap is also the thing worth tracking. One position tells you nothing; thirty games tell you that you keep missing the same idea. Chess DNA sorts your mistakes into nine weakness themes, including missed forks, missed pins, back rank weakness and hanging pieces, so the pattern shows up instead of hiding one game at a time.
What depth should you use?
Depth is how many half moves ahead the engine searches before it commits to an answer. Depth 10 is quick and already stronger than almost every club player. Depth 18, the setting Chess DNA uses when it analyses your imported games, is far more reliable in sharp tactical positions but takes noticeably longer in a browser tab. Start at the balanced setting and raise it when the position is unclear.
The engine is Stockfish 17.1, the same open source engine that powers analysis on Lichess and inside Chess DNA. It runs as WebAssembly in your own browser, so your position is never uploaded anywhere. The first search downloads roughly 7 MB of engine; after that it is cached and every later search starts instantly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the next best move in chess?
There is no single answer that holds across positions. The best next move depends entirely on the position in front of you, which is why an engine has to search it rather than recall it. Set your position on the board above and the engine will search it in a few seconds.
Is this next move calculator free?
Yes. It runs Stockfish in your own browser, so there is no server cost to pass on and no reason to charge or to ask for an account. There is no limit on the number of positions you can check.
How strong is the engine?
Stockfish 17.1 is far stronger than any human player, including world champions, even at low search depths. At depth 10 in a browser it will already outplay a strong club player; at depth 18 its move choice is reliable in sharp tactical positions too.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The engine is WebAssembly and downloads on your first search, roughly 7 MB. It is then cached by your browser, so later searches start immediately. Nothing is installed and no position leaves your device.
Can I paste a FEN from Chess.com or Lichess?
Yes. Both sites let you copy the FEN of the current position from the analysis board. Paste it into the position box above and the board will update.
