Next Chess Move

Deep chess analysis powered by Stockfish and elite engines

Next Chess Move is a focused, no-nonsense tool for players who care more about accuracy than eye candy. Instead of trying to be an all-in-one chess suite, it zeroes in on one task: calculating the strongest moves from any position with serious engine power.

Out of the box, it runs Stockfish 15.1 directly on your device, giving you a very strong analysis partner even when you’re offline. For most club players and serious hobbyists, that alone is more than enough to uncover blunders, explore tactical shots, and evaluate opening ideas.

Where the app really distinguishes itself is in its engine roster and optional cloud muscle. You can tap into a growing library of engines, including Lc0, Cfish, Ethereal, Arasan, Berserk, and many others, each with its own evaluation style. Switching engines lets you compare opinions and gain a more balanced understanding of a position, which is invaluable for deep preparation or study.

The NCM Pro upgrade unlocks access to powerful remote hardware: 16-core AMD Ryzen servers, RTX 2080 GPUs for Lc0, and 6-man Syzygy tablebases on SSD. In practice, this means faster, deeper, and more reliable evaluations, especially in complex endgames where tablebases shine.

The interface is clean and functional, though it leans more toward utilitarian than polished. Newer players may find the wealth of engine options and analysis parameters slightly intimidating at first, and the best experience with Pro features depends on having a stable connection.

Despite these caveats, Next Chess Move is an excellent choice for ambitious players, correspondence specialists, and anyone who wants engine analysis that goes beyond the basics. It’s a specialized tool, and within that niche, it performs impressively well.