Help center on Ironwood Chess

Getting started

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Open a game

Play a game in Ironwood or open one from your saved games. You can also import a PGN, the common text format for chess moves. The game review shows the move list and lets you step forward and backward through positions.

Open Game library → Import… and choose Paste a game or collection, Lichess, Chess.com, or Scoresheet. Fetch recent games by username from either online source, or one completed Lichess game by its link. See Import games for the workflow.

Playing a game

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The Play sidebar section offers New game against AI, Online → Lichess lobby, Online → FICS lobby, and Self-play. The online choices open their lobby directly; the local choices open a setup panel beside the icon rail. Local games run on your device; Self-play lets you make moves for both sides.

In New game against AI, choose Built-in Stockfish or an installed engine from a connected Companion using the Engine dropdown. The refresh icon reloads that list. For Stockfish, enable Limit to Elo rating and choose a target from 1320 to 3190 before starting; with limiting off, the current skill setting applies. Other engines show their advertised strength controls; engines without Elo controls use their Engine settings. For a profile with separate White and Black ratings and alternating colors, choose Train against AI.

Import games

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Open Game library → Import…, or Manage library → Import games… inside Saved Games, to choose among four tabs. In a separate Saved Games window, this focuses the main app and opens its Import window; keep the main window open. If no main app is available, the Saved Games window opens the app’s import page. Drag the title or outer background to move the window; drag an edge or corner to resize it. The tab row wraps on narrow windows, and panel contents scroll vertically when needed. The gold-bordered window has a heavy paper-grain outer background and recessed content sections. Close it with × or Escape.

Puzzles

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Open Training → Lichess Puzzles…. Puzzles load into the main board. Ironwood saves the current ordinary game when linking a puzzle, but choose Play → Save current game first for any game you want to keep, especially a temporary player-profile review. Use Saved Games to reopen it afterward. Finish an active online or training game before opening puzzles.

Choose Daily puzzle, or use Practice to choose a theme and difficulty and request a new puzzle. Loading requires an internet connection. No Lichess sign-in is needed; difficulty is relative to Lichess’s anonymous baseline of 1500, rather than your personal rating.

Playing online with FICS

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Ironwood connects to FICS, the Free Internet Chess Server, for online games and spectating. Choose Play → Online → FICS lobby or click FICS in the bottom status bar to open the Free Internet Chess Server window directly. An existing FICS session is reused. Its main tabs are Console, Chat, Lobby, History, Watch, and Play. The bottom Lichess button opens the separate Lichess lobby.

Connecting as a guest or signing in preserves your current board, moves, analysis, and layout. FICS takes over the main board when a game starts or you open a watched game. During live online play, FICS supplies the authoritative moves and clocks and engine assistance is disabled. Finished games are saved on this device for later review and analysis.

Keyboard move input

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

During your turn, start typing a move. The first keystroke opens a translucent overlay showing your input; you do not need to click a move-entry field first.

Key	Action
Enter	Play the typed move if it is legal.
Backspace	Remove the last character.
Escape	Clear the input and dismiss the overlay.

Accepted move notation

Example	Meaning
`e4`	Move a pawn to e4.
`Nc3` or `nc3`	Move a knight to c3.
`exd5`	Capture on d5 with the e-file pawn.
`O-O`, `o-o`, or `0-0`	Castle on the king side.
`O-O-O`	Castle on the queen side.
`a8=Q` or `a8=q`	Promote a pawn to a queen on a8.
`e2e4`	Move from e2 to e4 using coordinate notation.

Piece letters can be lowercase. Pawn notation is checked first, so b4 still means the b-pawn move. If two pieces of the same type can reach a square, include the required file or rank, such as Nbd2. You can omit a trailing check or checkmate marker.

Board and view settings

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Use the 2D/3D button above the board to switch the board display. The position and moves stay the same. Flip board above the board puts the other color at the bottom without changing the position.

Click 3D ↗ beside the board’s 2D/3D button to open a companion 3D window. Drag it to a second monitor while continuing to use the main board. The companion follows moves, game history, and board orientation. Use its theme dropdown to choose Marble, Wood, Glass, Art Deco, or Egyptian independently of the main board. Click Flip board to flip only the companion board; its orientation then stays independent of the main board while moves continue to synchronize. Reset view resets the camera without changing this orientation. Click ? for camera controls. Click outside the help pop-up or press Escape to dismiss it. It is view-only, with independent rotation and zoom: right-drag to rotate, hold the right mouse button and scroll to zoom, or click Reset view. Click 3D ↗ again to focus the existing window. Closing it leaves your main workspace running. If your browser blocks the window, allow pop-ups for Ironwood. Keep the main window open for synchronization.

Import games from Lichess

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Bring completed Lichess games into Ironwood without downloading a PGN file first. You do not need to sign in to Lichess or provide an API token. Fetching games requires an internet connection.

Import a player’s recent games

Open Game library → Import…, or Manage library → Import games… in Saved Games.
On the Lichess tab, enter the player’s username, such as Dr_Tiger.
Click the gold Fetch games button. Follow the status below the input while Ironwood retrieves up to the chosen number of matching completed games (20 by default).
A collection opens the game-selection window directly. There is no Paste tab or Continue step.
Select the games you want, or use Select matching to select all games matching the current player filter. Click Import selected.
Open Game library → Saved games and choose Imported Games to find the imported games. Open a game to review its moves or start analysis.

Ironwood skips games that are already in Saved Games. Importing a collection saves the selected games; analyze them individually after opening them.

Board themes and appearance

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Choose a theme

Open Settings → Board → Theme… to browse the 2D Pieces and 3D Boards tabs. The chooser always opens on 2D Pieces, so browsing flat-board themes does not load 3D previews. Select 3D Boards to load those previews. Switching tabs leaves your current board unchanged. Click a preview to apply a theme; double-click to apply it and close the chooser. Choosing a card also switches to its 2D or 3D board view.

Saved games and backups

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Use Play → Save current game to keep the current game, and Game library → Saved games to open the library. A confirmation appears after saving succeeds. Errors are reported instead of a success message; a Companion save can report that the local copy is safe while synchronization is pending. Ironwood also restores the current board and related preferences when you return to the same browser and site.

While signed in to Lichess, loading a saved game does not open the lobby. If you are playing correspondence, Ironwood puts that online game aside and keeps your connection; resume it from Your ongoing games later. During a live online game, loading a saved game disconnects online play without resigning on Lichess. Its clock continues. See Play on Lichess.

Train against AI

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Choose Training → Train against AI… and choose Manage profiles to create a profile for Built-in Stockfish or a supported installed Companion engine. Each profile retains its engine and options. For Stockfish, enter a profile name, choose Starting target Elo from 1320–3190, and select Create profile. The default is 1320. Start the game to play White against Stockfish at your chosen target. Games use the standard starting position with unlimited thinking time for you. Stockfish gets up to one second of search time per move. Unfinished training games from earlier versions also become untimed when reopened.

Import a chess puzzle from another site

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

You can bring a puzzle’s starting position into Ironwood in two ways: copy its FEN if the source offers one, or import a screenshot of its board. Ironwood does not import a puzzle by pasting a website URL. It also does not receive the source site’s solution or scoring rules; you are setting up the position to explore it yourself.

If the site provides a FEN

On the source site, look for Share, Export, Copy FEN, or a similar control. Copy the complete FEN line. A complete FEN has six space-separated parts, including whose turn it is.
In Ironwood, open Play → Self-play. Choose Starting position → Custom FEN.
Paste the FEN into the custom-position box. Ironwood should show Valid position. If it says Needs attention, check that you copied the full line and not just the piece-placement part.
Start the game. Play the puzzle move, then make the opponent’s replies yourself to explore the line. For an engine opponent instead, choose vs AI Engine before starting.

If you prefer to inspect or adjust the position first, click Edit board / Import screenshot in the New Game dialog, paste the FEN into the editor’s FEN box, and click Load FEN. After checking it, click Use in Ironwood to return to the New Game dialog.

Taking notes and adding annotations

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Open Annotations

Choose Annotations, to the right of Tactical, then Drawings, Notes, or Chess Symbols. Gray subtabs and sunken sections keep these tools beside the board. Notes and drawing tools no longer open from toolbar icons or floating windows. The position label above the panel identifies the selected move.

Your writing, symbols, and drawings are independent of engine results. You can use them without running analysis.

Add or edit a move note

Select the move in Moves.
Choose Annotations → Notes → Position note.
Choose Add note or Edit note, or double-click the note text.
Write in the editor inside Notes and choose Save note. Cancel leaves the saved note unchanged; Delete note removes it.

Double-clicking a move in Game Moves, or right-clicking it and choosing Add note… or Edit note…, opens the same editor under Annotations. Its heading identifies the move and its plain-language description. Long text scrolls within the panel.

Drawing arrows and highlighting squares

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Use board drawings to show plans, threats, routes, and important squares without moving pieces. Drawings belong to the displayed position and work on both the 2D and 3D boards. You can combine them with written notes and annotation symbols.

Open the drawing tools

Choose Annotations → Drawings. The tools sit beside the live board in a sunken panel; they no longer use a board-toolbar icon or a floating window. Gray Drawings, Notes, and Chess Symbols subtabs share the Annotations workspace.

Tactical Map

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Tactical Map helps you inspect the displayed position without running engine analysis. Pattern and threat lines, Knight reach, and attacker/defender bubbles work in both board views.

Open and arrange the map

Choose Tactical, immediately to the right of Explore. Tactical Map is part of the sidebar, with its contents inside a sunken section. Its board-toolbar shortcut and floating window have been removed. Switching away from Tactical hides its temporary overlays and returns board inspection to the selected tool.

Import games from Chess.com

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Open Game library → Import…, or Manage library → Import games… in Saved Games, and select Chess.com. Enter a Chess.com username and click the gold Fetch games button. Status messages appear below the input. No login or API token is required; fetching needs an internet connection.

Enter just the username, such as hikaru, rather than a profile URL. Recent usernames lets you reuse the last 20 distinct usernames submitted with Fetch. The newest is first; using a name again moves it to the top. The list stays in this browser on this device and is separate from Lichess history.

Opening Explorer

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Connect to Lichess

Read about [ECO code] on ChessCodex opens the matching opening category, such as A04 for the Zukertort Opening. The link appears when Lichess supplies an ECO code and follows recognized openings as you explore. An ECO category may cover several variations.

Opening Explorer uses your existing Ironwood Lichess sign-in session. Sign in through the Lichess lobby; no separate API token is needed. Signing out clears access and cached results. If your session is rejected, sign out and sign in again.

Evaluation and the graph

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

The score is from White’s point of view

An evaluation is Stockfish’s estimate of a position. A positive number favors White; a negative number favors Black. Around 0.00 means Stockfish sees a roughly balanced position. +1.00 is an advantage for White worth about one pawn in the engine’s scoring system; −1.00 favors Black by about the same amount. It does not mean a pawn has necessarily been won or that the game is decided.

Expanded game analysis graph

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Open the full graph

Open the Analysis tab and run Analyze full game with Stockfish 19, then choose Expand inside the graph’s upper-right corner. The expanded view shows the game title, analyzed-position count, evaluation graph, move details, notes, and a board preview. Use the close button to return to the workspace.

This Expand opens the played game’s evaluation graph. The separate Expand beneath Engine prediction opens predicted continuations as mini boards.

Compare saved analyses

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Choose a saved run

Open a game and select Analysis. The Analyze / Analyze again controls and engine selector appear first; Saved Analysis is below them. Choose a run in its dropdown. When multiple runs are available, numbered gray raised buttons provide a quicker way to switch.

Click a numbered button or press 1–9 for the corresponding run. Numbers follow the dropdown order; buttons beyond 9 remain clickable. The dropdown and highlighted number stay synchronized after the selected run loads. Refreshing the list or saving another run can change the order.

Review time use and move quality

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Open Analysis and choose a timing tab below the evaluation graph. The views use recorded move timings and the selected analysis run. Hover chart marks for move details; click to review that position. Missing data is left unavailable rather than invented.

On smaller screens, choose Hide controls & graph beside the Analysis heading. This hides the engine controls, Saved results row, and evaluation graph together, giving Summary, Critical Analysis, and the timing tabs more vertical room. Analysis progress and errors remain visible. Choose Show controls & graph to restore the section.

Play on Lichess

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Connect and open the lobby

Choose Play → Online → Lichess lobby or the bottom Lichess button to open the lobby directly. If signed out, the lobby shows Sign in with Lichess and Reconnect saved session. Opening it does not start OAuth. Choose the sign-in control when ready, authorize Ironwood on Lichess, then return to the lobby. Ironwood never asks for your Lichess password.

The lobby opens manually. Being connected does not make it reopen whenever you start a local game or load a saved game. Refreshing reconnects your account without automatically engaging an existing correspondence game. Open the lobby and select a game when you want to resume it.

Lichess player profiles

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Open your account or another player

Click the bottom Lichess button, then choose Player profile in the lobby. Enter a username and choose Load player, or choose My account while signed in. The window title identifies the player’s name and account ID. Public profiles can be browsed by username; account-specific actions require your Lichess sign-in.

Use Load in new window, or reopen Player profile from the lobby, to compare players. Each gold-bordered window has its own player, selected time control, date range, and position. Drag or resize it to fit your workspace.

Move labels

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Ironwood compares a played move with Stockfish’s recommendation and with the position before and after the move. A label answers how much the move seems to have hurt the player’s chances, not whether the move looked attractive.

Label	Plain meaning
Best	The engine’s recommended move, or a move with almost no estimated loss.
Good	A sound move that gives away little.
Inaccuracy	A small missed opportunity.
Mistake	A meaningful loss of chances.
Blunder	A severe loss of chances.

Ironwood converts evaluations into an estimate of winning chances before setting these labels. Its cutoffs on that quality-loss scale are 0–10 for Best, 11–50 for Good, 51–100 for Inaccuracy, 101–200 for Mistake, and above 200 for Blunder. These are not CPL cutoffs. The same centipawn change can matter much more in an equal position than in a position that is already won.

Import a game from a scoresheet

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Open Tools → Enter a scoresheet…, or Game library → Import… → Scoresheet → Enter scoresheet. Both open the same workspace, with a heavy paper-grain outer background, sunken sections, and raised controls. The title stays outside the sunken sections. The workspace has four panels: a board preview and validated move list at the top, with your scoresheet photo and manual entry table below. On narrow screens the panels stack, with buttons to jump between the photo and entry table.

What do the move symbols mean?

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

After analysis, Ironwood puts a symbol next to a move to summarize its move-quality label:

Symbol	Ironwood label	Meaning
★	Best	Stockfish’s choice, or virtually no estimated loss.
+	Good	A sound move with only a small estimated loss.
?!	Inaccuracy	A small missed opportunity.
?	Mistake	A meaningful loss of chances.
??	Blunder	A severe loss of chances.

These are Ironwood’s analysis marks. They are not move commands or a judgment of the player. A mark may change after the deeper critical-move check finishes. The thresholds use estimated loss of winning chances, so ? does not mean a fixed number of centipawns.

Accuracy and CPL

Sat, 31 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Compare the players

After full-game analysis finishes, open Analysis → Summary. Two comparison charts replace the separate player summary cards:

Accuracy (higher is better): compare the players’ percentages on a 0–100 scale.
Average centipawn loss (lower is better): compare how much evaluation each player gave up per move. This chart adjusts its scale to fit the game’s results.

Each chart groups the results into Overall, Opening, Middlegame, and Endgame, with the players’ bars side by side. Gold represents White and sage green represents Black. The legend includes both names, and numerical values appear above the bars. Both players share the same scale within each chart; the accuracy and CPL charts use different units and scales.

Analysis glossary

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Accuracy — A 0–100% summary of how well a player’s moves preserved the chances Stockfish saw. See Accuracy and CPL.

CPL (centipawn loss) — The estimated amount of evaluation given up on one move. One centipawn is one hundredth of a pawn in the engine’s scoring system. Lower is usually better. See Accuracy and CPL.

Depth — How far ahead Stockfish searched along a line, counted in half-moves. More depth can reveal ideas that a shorter search misses.

Best move and engine line

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Compact prediction console

Prediction groups the gold evaluation and best move, analysis controls, engine and depth, board guidance, variation selector, and continuation playback in one compact sunken console. The prediction table uses compact rows and a scroll area for longer lines. The evaluation remains in White’s perspective. The engine menu retains browser Stockfish and connected Companion choices. Use the continuation’s playback and expand controls to inspect lines without losing the main game.

Search depth and settings

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Open engine settings

In the app’s bottom status bar, click the gray raised Engine button beside the engine name and Ready/Analyzing state. You can also use Settings → Engine settings….
Select Play, Realtime Analysis, or Full game Analysis. The selected tab has a raised gold finish and dark text.
Adjust the settings, then click Apply. Cancel discards your changes.

Engine settings are unavailable while full-game analysis is running or paused, and during a live training game. Stop full-game analysis before changing its settings.

Set up Companion for Windows

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Download and start

Use the official Companion download page for the Windows package, requirements, and publisher-signature information. Extract the complete ZIP into a permanent folder. Open current and run ironwood-companion.exe. Look for Ready in the status window.

The tray icon keeps Companion available after closing its status window. Use Quit from the tray menu to stop it completely. The browser cannot use Companion while it is stopped.

Companion 0.1.5 and later adds Settings → Start Companion when I sign in in its status window. The current public Windows release is 0.1.8.

Engines and storage with Companion

Sun, 01 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Install an engine

Connect Companion using the Windows setup guide. Open Settings → Engine settings… and choose the + button next to the engine list.

Auto-install shows packages supported by the selected Companion. Choose a package to download and install. Companion downloads directly from the original publisher, checks the package, and registers the engine. Downloads can continue after closing the window. Engines and any models are stored on the Companion computer.

Companion troubleshooting

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Companion will not start

Extract the entire ZIP first; do not run the executable inside the compressed archive. Keep the package files together, and use the Windows x64 package on a supported computer. See the download page for requirements and Windows publisher-signature information. If security software blocks the package, verify its source and checksum; do not disable protection to make it run.

The built-in Start Companion when I sign in checkbox requires 0.1.5 or later. The current public Windows release is 0.1.8. Use Check for updates…, or download the new ZIP and follow the manual update instructions while preserving your data folder. In a supported build, open the status window and check the Settings row. If you moved the application folder, clear and enable the option again from its new location. Startup runs after Windows sign-in, so it will not run while the PC is waiting at the sign-in screen. If Windows has disabled Companion under Settings → Apps → Startup, enable it there as well.

Game phases and critical moves

Wed, 28 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Opening, middlegame, endgame

Ironwood uses the following rules to classify each move:

Phase	Rule
Opening	The first 20 half-moves in the game: 10 moves by White and 10 by Black.
Middlegame	After the opening, the combined non-pawn material total is above 26 points.
Endgame	After the opening, the combined non-pawn material total is 26 points or fewer.

One half-move is a move by one player. The opening rule takes priority even if little material remains during those first 20 half-moves.

Optional usage statistics

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Ironwood asks whether you want to allow optional usage statistics. Choose Allow statistics to participate or No thanks to decline. Playing, saving games, and engine analysis work with either choice.

Expand Privacy details in the choice window to read more without leaving the app. Reading those details does not select an answer.

Local development on localhost or 127.0.0.1 uses the same consent choice without a special URL. Consented local events are labeled local_test, separate from production dashboard data.

Pawn structure, piece mobility, and king safety

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Open the positional insight tabs

Open a played or imported game and choose Position, then select Pawn Structure, Piece Mobility, or King Safety. The engine summary and evaluation graph remain in Analysis. The three positional views work directly from the game positions; they do not require a completed Stockfish analysis. They follow the selected move as you navigate the game.

Drag the left edge of the right panel to give these views more horizontal room. Scroll the panel to reach the lower content. The structure and safety evolution tables show ten rows at a time, with additional entries scrollable.

Syzygy endgame tablebases

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Look up an endgame

Open a completed game and select an endgame position in Game Moves. Choose Explore → Endgames, then Look up this position. You can also import a setup position for study. The Tablebases tab is unavailable during an active online game.

Ironwood supports standard positions with seven pieces or fewer, counting both kings, and no castling rights. A king, rook, and pawn against a king and rook is a five-piece position. Pawns count as pieces for coverage. Positions outside this range show Outside tablebase coverage.

Troubleshooting and recovery

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

A frozen page

If buttons and the board stop responding, reload the same Ironwood tab. If the browser cannot reload it, close that tab and reopen Ironwood. Reopening restores data that was already saved in this browser; work that had not been saved may be lost.

Keep the same browser and site address when recovering. Local development ports, browsers, devices, and private sessions can have separate storage. Do not clear site data as a first troubleshooting step. Make a backup before resetting data whenever the app is responsive enough.

Saving and sharing analysis

Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Ironwood keeps saved games in your browser’s local storage. A PGN file is a portable text record of chess moves. You can import a PGN to review a game, and export one to share its moves and supported annotations. See What is PGN? for an example.

To download one saved game, open Game library → Saved games, choose its ☰ options menu, and select Export PGN. The same option appears beside the close button in that saved game’s larger board preview. It exports the complete game as plain PGN, regardless of the preview position. For several games or other formats, select games in the library and use Export → PGN, Annotated PGN, or Analysis JSON.

Lichess studies

Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 -0600

Open Training → Study. Paste a public Lichess study URL into the import box and choose Import study. The study opens in Study mode at its starting chapter. Public studies must allow downloads.

When no study is open, choose one of the selectable Saved studies cards. Storage location switches between Browser and a connected Companion; Connections… manages connections. Choose another study… returns to the picker, while Return to current study restores the loaded workspace. Opening a saved study from Saved Games also uses Study mode.

What is FEN?

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

FEN stands for Forsyth–Edwards Notation. It is a short line of text describing one position: which pieces are on the board, whose turn it is, and a few rules that depend on what happened earlier. It is useful for sharing a puzzle or starting a new game from a particular setup. It does not contain the moves that led there; use PGN for a whole game.

The normal starting position is:

What is PGN?

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

PGN stands for Portable Game Notation. It is a text format for a whole chess game. It can include player names, date, result, the moves, and comments. Most chess software can read it.

Here is a short example:

[White "Alex"]
[Black "Sam"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 1-0

The lines in brackets are tags with game details. 1. starts White’s first move; Black’s reply follows. 1-0 means White won, 0-1 means Black won, 1/2-1/2 means a draw, and * means no result is recorded. The moves use standard algebraic notation.

How to read chess moves

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Board squares have a letter a–h for the file (column) and a number 1–8 for the rank (row). e4 is one square. When reading from White’s side, a1 is the bottom-left corner.

The usual move list uses SAN, or Standard Algebraic Notation. A capital letter names a piece: K king, Q queen, R rook, B bishop, and N knight. Pawns use no piece letter. For example, Nf3 means a knight moves to f3, while e4 means a pawn moves to e4.

What is Elo?

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Elo is a rating system that estimates a player’s results against other rated players. A higher rating generally indicates stronger past results in that rating pool. A rating is not a percentage, an engine evaluation, or a prediction of any one game. Ratings from different sites or playing speeds are not directly interchangeable.

If two players have equal ratings, the basic Elo formula expects each to score about half a point per game on average. A win scores 1, a draw 0.5, and a loss 0. Winning against a much higher-rated opponent normally gains more points than winning against a much lower-rated one.

Using the Position Editor

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Use the Position Editor to build a puzzle or a custom starting position without typing a FEN yourself.

To bring in a puzzle from a different website, follow Import a chess puzzle from another site for separate FEN and screenshot instructions.

Open it

Choose Tools → Position Editor to begin with the current board. If you are creating a new local game, choose Play → New Play → Local → Starting position: Custom FEN → Edit board / Import screenshot. This route returns the edited FEN to the New Game dialog.

Help center on Ironwood Chess

Getting started

Open a game

Playing a game

Import games

Puzzles

Playing online with FICS

Keyboard move input

Accepted move notation

Board and view settings

Import games from Lichess

Import a player’s recent games

Board themes and appearance

Choose a theme

Saved games and backups

Train against AI

Import a chess puzzle from another site

If the site provides a FEN

Taking notes and adding annotations

Open Annotations

Add or edit a move note

Drawing arrows and highlighting squares

Open the drawing tools

Tactical Map

Open and arrange the map

Import games from Chess.com

Opening Explorer

Connect to Lichess

Evaluation and the graph

The score is from White’s point of view

Expanded game analysis graph

Open the full graph

Compare saved analyses

Choose a saved run

Review time use and move quality

Play on Lichess

Connect and open the lobby

Lichess player profiles

Open your account or another player

Move labels

Import a game from a scoresheet

What do the move symbols mean?

Accuracy and CPL

Compare the players

Analysis glossary

Best move and engine line

Compact prediction console

Search depth and settings

Open engine settings

Set up Companion for Windows

Download and start

Start automatically when you sign in

Engines and storage with Companion

Install an engine

Companion troubleshooting

Companion will not start

Companion does not start when I sign in

Game phases and critical moves

Opening, middlegame, endgame

Optional usage statistics

Pawn structure, piece mobility, and king safety

Open the positional insight tabs

Syzygy endgame tablebases

Look up an endgame

Troubleshooting and recovery

A frozen page

Saving and sharing analysis

Lichess studies

What is FEN?

What is PGN?

How to read chess moves

What is Elo?

Using the Position Editor

Open it