How to Use Chess Engines to Improve Your Game

A Complete Guide for Beginners, Intermediates, and Advanced Players

In the modern era of chess, the once-mystical art of improvement has been turbocharged by the rise of chess engines. What was once reserved for grandmasters with expensive software is now at the fingertips of every club player with an internet connection. Yet, despite their power, many players don’t know how to use engines effectively. Worse, misuse can actually hurt development.

This article will guide you through the correct ways to use chess engines—like Stockfish, Leela Chess Zero, and Komodo—to improve your playing strength, develop better understanding, and correct your mistakes, all without becoming dependent on the computer.

1. What Is a Chess Engine?

A chess engine is a program that evaluates positions and finds strong moves using either brute-force calculation (Stockfish) or neural networks (Leela Chess Zero). Engines do not guess—they calculate and evaluate based on deep analysis and precise algorithms.

Popular engines include:

• Stockfish: Fast, highly accurate, best for tactical and general analysis.

• Leela Chess Zero (Lc0): Neural-network based, plays with intuition and strategy, great for long-term plans.

• Komodo Dragon: Balanced engine with customizable playing styles.

You can access engines through:

• Websites: Chess.com, Lichess.org, DecodeChess.

• Software: ChessBase, SCID, Arena GUI.

• Applications: Lucas Chess, DroidFish, Chessify.

2. Why You Should Use an Engine—Carefully

Chess engines are tools, not teachers. They can point out the right moves, but they don’t explain why those moves work unless you guide your own learning. Blindly copying engine suggestions creates passive understanding and limits growth.

Engines can help with:

• Identifying tactical errors

• Finding better alternatives

• Evaluating critical positions

• Testing opening ideas

• Practicing endgames

But they cannot replace pattern recognition, strategic understanding, or emotional control—all essential human elements in chess.

3. Post-Game Analysis: The Best Use of Engines

Arguably, the most effective use of engines is after a game—win or lose. Here’s a step-by-step process for analyzing a game properly:

Step 1: Analyze Without the Engine

Go through your game first on your own. Ask:

• Where did I feel uncomfortable?

• What were my candidate moves?

• Did I miss any tactics or strategic ideas?

This builds independent thinking and self-awareness.

Step 2: Turn on the Engine

After your analysis, turn on the engine to:

• Verify your assumptions.

• Identify outright blunders and inaccuracies.

• Explore deeper lines you didn’t consider.

Most engines will give you an evaluation bar and a list of top candidate moves with scores (e.g., +0.7 means White is slightly better).

Step 3: Study Critical Moments

Focus on key turning points:

• Where the evaluation shifted drastically.

• Where you went from better to worse (or vice versa).

• Missed winning combinations or drawing chances.

Step 4: Understand Why, Not Just What

Use an interactive tool (like Chess.com’s “Explain” feature or DecodeChess) or consult a coach or YouTube video to help understand complex engine suggestions. If that’s not available, ask yourself:

• What principle does this move follow?

• What is the long-term goal?

• What was I afraid of, and why is it not a problem?

4. Using Engines for Opening Preparation

Chess engines are excellent for preparing and refining opening repertoires, especially when you’re ready to go beyond memorization.

a. Build a Repertoire

Use tools like:

• Lichess Study

• ChessBase Opening Explorer

• OpeningTree.com

Feed in your preferred lines and see what the engine recommends. Stockfish can help:

• Confirm the soundness of an idea.

• Suggest alternate moves that avoid theory traps.

• Identify where most blunders happen statistically.

b. Learn Typical Motifs

Study not just the first 10 moves, but also:

• The resulting pawn structures.

• Piece placement goals.

• Typical middle-game plans (based on engine analysis).

Don’t blindly copy engine lines—use them to discover ideas, not memorize 20-move variations without understanding.

5. Tactics and Calculation Training

Engines can create tactical training sets:

• Take a game you played and isolate a tactical blunder.

• Turn on the engine and play from the critical moment as a puzzle.

• Use the engine to check if you calculate the variations correctly.

Many training apps now include engine-generated puzzles, ensuring they are both relevant and challenging.

6. Endgame Mastery with Engines

Engines are fantastic in the endgame, where precision matters most. Use them to:

a. Learn Theoretical Endgames

Study basic positions like:

• King + Pawn vs. King

• Lucena and Philidor positions

• Rook and pawn endgames

• Bishop of opposite color endgames

With tablebase access, engines show the perfect line every time.

b. Play Endgame Positions

Set up an endgame you struggled with and play it against the engine. Start on equal terms and gradually reduce your advantage. Use hints sparingly to test your understanding.

7. Blunder Checking and Accuracy Scores

Engines help calculate accuracy scores by analyzing your moves:

• Brilliant: Rare, creative move (engine-confirmed).

• Best / Excellent: One of the top choices.

• Good / Book: Still sound, even if not best.

• Inaccuracy / Mistake / Blunder: Diminishing quality.

Sites like Lichess and Chess.com provide automatic post-game analysis with color-coded evaluations.

Be cautious not to overemphasize these labels. A “mistake” in a lost game might not matter as much as a “good” move in a winning one.

8. Setting Limits: Avoiding Overreliance

Pitfalls to Avoid:

• Copy-pasting lines without understanding

• Using the engine during live games (cheating)

• Feeling discouraged when the engine always finds better moves

• Analyzing every single move, even irrelevant ones

Best Practices:

• Limit engine use to post-game review or opening prep.

• Always ask, “Would I find this without help?”

• Keep a chess journal with lessons learned from engine review.

9. Comparing Engine Types for Training

For improvement, a hybrid approach works best: use Stockfish for sharp accuracy, Leela for strategic balance, and Komodo for learning at different difficulty levels.

10. Bonus: How to Play Against the Engine

If you want to practice against the engine:

• Choose reduced strength (e.g., 1800–2200).

• Limit its depth or set time per move.

• Start from a position (e.g., after a specific opening).

• Use the engine to simulate an opponent with a specific weakness (aggressive, passive, etc.).

Lucas Chess and Lichess both allow adjustable engine levels that mimic human-like responses.

Conclusion: Master the Machine, Don’t Worship It

Chess engines are among the most powerful tools a player can use—but only if approached with the right mindset. Think of them not as oracles, but as mirrors that reflect your thinking. They show the cracks in your reasoning, the gaps in your understanding, and the moments of brilliance you didn’t recognize.

By using engines to diagnose mistakes, practice key concepts, and understand moves more deeply, you can accelerate your chess improvement in ways never before possible.

Remember: the best players today don’t just follow engines—they learn from them.