PyChess AI is an offline, distraction-free chess application powered by the Stockfish engine and a professional analysis suite.
Built with Python and a sleek dark-mode UI, it turns your desktop into a personal chess dojo — a place to play, analyze, and improve anytime, without needing an internet connection.
- Challenge the world-class Stockfish engine with customizable difficulty levels
- Smooth, intuitive controls
- Automatic opening recognition
- Customizable board themes and sound effects
- Clean, immersive dark-mode interface
- Post-game analysis with no ads or clutter
- Blunder detection and best-move suggestions
- Evaluation graph visualization
- Tactical threat detection shown directly on the board
- Replay every move with full move history
- Explore “what-if” move variations
- Interactive game review to improve pattern recognition and strategic insight
Follow these steps to install and run PyChess AI.
Each step includes what to do and why it’s required.
This downloads the entire project to your computer.
git clone https://github.com/your-username/Chess-Bot.git
cd Chess-Bot
PyChess AI uses several external libraries.
Create a file named requirements.txt containing:
python-chess
PyQt5
pyqtgraph
qdarkstyle
Install everything using:
pip install -r requirements.txt
PyChess AI requires the Stockfish engine for all calculations.
- Download Stockfish from the official website
- Create a folder named stockfish/ in the project root
- Place the Stockfish executable (e.g.,
stockfish.exe) inside that folder
The app automatically detects the engine at runtime.
openings.bin— Polyglot opening book (improves opening play)chess.ico— optional icon for the application
Place these inside the assets/ directory.
Run the application using:
python main.py
Select your color and difficulty, play your match, and click Analyze Game afterward for full engine analysis.
To create a portable Windows executable:
pyinstaller --onefile --windowed --icon=assets/chess.ico \
--add-data "assets;assets" \
--add-data "stockfish;stockfish" \
--add-data "config.ini;." \
main.py -n PyChessAI
Your packaged app will appear in:
dist/PyChessAI.exe
You can run or share this file like any standard Windows application.