Getting Started

Create an account, import games, and start analyzing

Chess.ceo is a multi-board chess analysis platform with engine analysis, a game database, puzzle training, and more. This page walks you through your first steps — from opening the app to importing your first game.

The Home Screen

When you first visit Chess.ceo, you'll see the Home screen with everything you need to get started:

• New Board — opens a fresh analysis board where you can make moves, run the engine, and study positions.
• Player Base — opens a player search where you can look up any player's games, rating history, and statistics.
• Game Base — opens the game database for searching millions of games by position, player, event, or date.
• Files — opens your saved PGN file collection for organizing and browsing your games.

Below those buttons you'll find quick actions: Paste PGN lets you paste a game directly from your clipboard, and Setup Position opens the position editor. There's also a player search bar for quickly looking up any player.

The Sidebar

The left sidebar is your main navigation hub. It always shows two permanent items: Home and Files. As you open boards, player pages, game searches, and other tabs, they appear in the sidebar as dynamic entries.

• Reorder tabs by dragging them up or down in the sidebar.
• Close a tab by right-clicking it and selecting Close.
• Collapse the sidebar by clicking the collapse button at the top, giving you more screen space for analysis.

Creating an Account

Click Sign In in the sidebar to create an account or log in. You can browse Chess.ceo freely without an account, but creating one unlocks several features:

• Cloud saves — your PGN files are stored on the server and accessible from any device.
• Encrypted storage — optionally encrypt your saved games with client-side AES-256 encryption.
• Puzzles — access the puzzle trainer and track your solving progress.
• Progress tracking — your analysis history and settings persist across sessions.

Your First Analysis

Ready to study a position? Here's how to get started:

1. Click New Board on the Home screen or in the sidebar to open a fresh analysis board.
2. Make moves by clicking a piece and then clicking its destination square, or by dragging pieces directly.
3. Press E to toggle the engine — you'll see Stockfish's evaluation and best lines appear in the engine panel.
4. Use ← and → to step through moves one at a time.
5. Press Home to jump to the starting position, or End to jump to the last move.

At the top of the board you'll find the ribbon menu with tabs for Home, File, Edit, View, Board, and Settings. These give you access to all board actions — saving, importing, panel toggles, piece sets, and more. Hover over any button to see what it does and its keyboard shortcut.

Importing Games

There are several ways to bring games into Chess.ceo for analysis:

• Paste PGN: Copy a PGN to your clipboard, then press Ctrl+V while the board is focused. You can also use the Paste PGN button on the Home screen.
• Import a file: Go to Files in the sidebar, then drag-and-drop a .pgn file onto it, or use the import button.
• From the database: Open the Game Base, search for a position or player, and double-click any game to open it on a board.
• Drag from search results: In the Games tab, you can drag a game row directly onto the sidebar to open it in a new board.

Setting Up a Position

Want to analyze a specific position rather than a full game? Use Setup Position on the Home screen to open the position editor. You can paste a FEN string directly, or drag pieces onto the board manually to build any position you want. You can also access the position editor by right-clicking the board and selecting Setup Position.

Tab Types

Chess.ceo organizes your work into tabs, each designed for a different task:

You can have multiple tabs of any type open at once — each runs independently with its own state.

Where to Go Next

Now that you're set up, dive deeper into specific features:

• Game Analysis — making moves, creating variations, adding comments and annotations.
• Engine Analysis — configuring Stockfish, understanding engine output, and using cloud engines.
• Keyboard Shortcuts — master the shortcuts to speed up your workflow.