ChessAgine MCP Skill v0.6.3 (chessagine-mcp-v060)

ChessAgine provides comprehensive chess analysis through 40+ specialized tools integrating Stockfish, Leela Chess Zero, Maia2, Lichess, Chessboard Magic, and multiple chess databases. v0.6.3 adds Chess 960 support, theme analysis tools, game review generation, and tactical summaries.

Core Workflow Principles

Context Priority

When handling chess requests, always:

1. First consult this chessagine skill for chess-specific context, tools, and workflows
2. Then reference user's project memory related to chess for personalized preferences or context

Always Visualize

Every position analysis must include visualization using the correct MCP rendering tools:

• Single positions: Use chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:render_chess_board with FEN
• Full games: Use chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:render_pgn_viewer with PGN

Chess 960 / Fischer Random Support

Many tools now accept an is960: boolean parameter (default: false). Pass is960: true when:

• User mentions Chess 960, Fischer Random, or FRC
• FEN has non-standard castling rights (e.g., HAha instead of KQkq)
• User explicitly mentions a randomized starting position

Tools supporting is960: get-boardstate-for-fen, get-boardstate-for-move, is-legal-move, get-theme-scores, get-theme-progression, analyze-variation-themes, compare-variations, find-critical-moments, generate-game-review

Multi-Source Validation

For important positions, combine multiple data sources:

• Opening database (fast orientation)
• Engine analysis (best moves)
• Master games (practical validation)
• TCEC/Correspondence (computer/deep human perspective)

Right Engine for the Job

• Stockfish (depth 18-25): Best objective moves through brute-force calculation
• Elite Leela: Master-level human perspective (~2500 rating) for strategic insights
• Leela: Neural network for positional understanding
• Maia2 (rating 1100-1900): Human-like moves matching specific player strengths

Progressive Depth

Start with quick overview, deepen analysis only where critical:

• Quick check: depth 15-18
• Standard analysis: depth 20-22
• Critical positions: depth 25-30

Quick Start Workflows

Analyze Position

1. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-boardstate-for-fen (understand position)
2. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:render_chess_board (visualize)
3. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-stockfish-multipv-analysis (3 lines, depth 22)
4. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:fen-openingbook-lookup (if opening)
5. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-lichess-master-games (master practice)
6. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-theme-scores (optional: material, space, king safety breakdown)

Analyze Game (Quick)

1. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:fetch-lichess-game (get PGN) or accept user PGN
2. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:generate-game-review (comprehensive theme review with critical moments)
3. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:render_pgn_viewer (navigable game view)

Analyze Game (Deep)

1. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:fetch-lichess-game (get PGN)
2. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:parse-pgn-into-fens (extract positions)
3. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:find-critical-moments (identify key turning points)
4. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-stockfish-analysis on critical positions (depth 20)
5. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:render_pgn_viewer (navigable game view)

Study Opening

1. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:fen-openingbook-lookup (identify opening, common moves)
2. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-lichess-master-games (master statistics)
3. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-chessboardmagic-tcec-stats (computer evaluation)
4. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-stockfish-multipv-analysis (5 lines, depth 25)
5. Fetch sample games from relevant database

Find Best Move

1. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-stockfish-best-move (tactical solution)
2. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-stockfish-multipv-analysis (alternatives, 3 lines)
3. Cross-reference with chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-chessdb-analysis
4. Optionally add chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-chessdb-pv for engine best line from ChessDB

Compare Variations

1. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:compare-variations (pass rootFen + named variation arrays)
2. Interpret theme scores per variation (material, mobility, space, positional, kingSafety, tactical)
3. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:render_chess_board on key resulting positions

Puzzle Training

1. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-puzzle-themes (show available themes)
2. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:fetch-chess-puzzle (with theme/rating filters)
3. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:render_chess_board (present)
4. After attempt: chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-stockfish-best-move (verify)

Chess 960 Analysis

1. Confirm is960: true for all supporting tool calls
2. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-boardstate-for-fen with is960: true
3. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:render_chess_board (visualization works for all variants)
4. chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3:get-stockfish-multipv-analysis (Stockfish handles 960 natively)
5. Note: Opening book and master game databases are standard chess only — skip for 960

Tool Categories

Position Analysis

• get-stockfish-analysis - Tactical evaluation (depth 18-25)
• get-stockfish-multipv-analysis - Show alternatives (3-5 lines)
• get-stockfish-best-move - Quick best move without full analysis
• get-stockfish-batch-analysis - Analyze multiple positions in batch
• get-leela-analysis - Strategic/positional evaluation
• get-elite-leela-analysis - Master-level positional understanding
• get-maia2-analysis - Human-like moves at specific rating (1100-1900)
• get-chessdb-analysis - Large database position lookup
• get-chessdb-pv - Principal variation (best line) from ChessDB (new in v0.6.3)
• queue-chessdb-analysis - Queue position for background ChessDB analysis

Theme Analysis (New in v0.6.3)

• get-theme-scores - Scores for material, mobility, space, positional, kingSafety, tactical, light/dark square control at a FEN. Supports is960.
• analyze-variation-themes - How themes evolve across a sequence of moves from a rootFen. Supports is960.
• get-theme-progression - Track a single theme (e.g., kingSafety) over a variation. Supports is960.
• compare-variations - Compare multiple named variations by theme analysis. Supports is960.
• find-critical-moments - Find moves where theme scores change significantly (default threshold 0.5). Supports is960.
• generate-game-review - Full game review with theme progression, critical moments, output as text or JSON. Supports is960.

Theme enum values: material | mobility | space | positional | kingSafety | tactical | lightsqaureControl | darksqaureControl

Tactical Analysis

• get-tactical-position-summary - Hanging pieces, forks, pins, semi-protected pieces for a FEN (new in v0.6.3)

Opening Research

• fen-openingbook-lookup - Fast lookup in 12k position database
• get-lichess-master-games - Grandmaster game statistics
• get-chessboardmagic-tcec-stats - Top computer engine statistics
• get-chessboardmagic-corr-stats - Correspondence chess statistics

Game Analysis

• fetch-lichess-game - Get game PGN from Lichess (URL or ID)
• fetch-lichess-games - User's 20 most recent games
• get-chessboardmagic-games - User's Chessboard Magic games
• get-chessboardmagic-game-details - Detailed single game
• parse-pgn-into-fens - Convert PGN to FEN list
• get-fen-map-lookup - Map moves to FENs (before or after)
• get-chessboardmagic-tcec-games - TCEC games reaching a position
• get-chessboardmagic-corr-games - Correspondence games reaching a position

Visualization (MCP v0.6.3 Tools)

• render_chess_board - Display single position from FEN
• render_pgn_viewer - Interactive game viewer with move navigation

Move Validation

• is-legal-move - Check move legality (SAN or UCI). Supports is960.
• get-boardstate-for-move - Get resulting position after move. Supports is960.
• get-boardstate-for-fen - Describe current position. Supports is960.

Learning & Training

• fetch-chess-puzzle - Random puzzle (filterable by theme + rating 1000-2500)
• get-puzzle-themes - Available puzzle themes list

Repertoire

• get-chessboardmagic-repertoires - User's repertoire list
• get-chessboardmagic-repertoire-details - Detailed repertoire lines
• fetch-lichess-studies - User's Lichess studies
• fetch-lichess-study-pgn - Specific study in PGN

User Info

• get-lichess-username - Current user's Lichess username

Common Request Patterns

Advanced Features

For detailed guidance on:

• Workflow patterns: See references/workflow_patterns.md
• Tool selection: See references/tool_selection.md
• API parameters: See references/api_reference.md
• Chess knowledge: See references/chess_knowledgebase.md

Best Practices

Performance Optimization

• Use generate-game-review for fast comprehensive game analysis (replaces manual parse → batch analyze)
• Use find-critical-moments to identify key positions before deep diving
• Use batch analysis for 10+ positions
• Start with opening book (fastest) before databases
• Use get-chessdb-pv for quick best line before committing to deep Stockfish search

User Experience

• Always visualize positions using MCP rendering tools
• Explain evaluations in chess terms (not just numbers)
• Match analysis depth to user expertise
• For theme scores: positive = White better, negative = Black better, zero = equal

Error Handling

• Retry Logic: If any tool call returns an error, automatically retry up to 2 times before informing the user
• On third failure: Clearly inform user that the tool encountered an error, specify which tool failed, and suggest alternatives when available
• Validate FEN format before tool calls
• Check move legality with is-legal-move before analysis
• Graceful fallbacks: book → ChessDB → Lichess → TCEC
• Handle missing user accounts gracefully
• For Chess 960: skip opening book and master game lookups (databases are standard chess only)

Key Reminders

• MCP version: All tool calls use prefix chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3: (not v0.6.0)
• Chess 960: Pass is960: true on all supporting tools for Fischer Random positions
• New theme tools: Use generate-game-review for fast game analysis; get-theme-scores / compare-variations for strategic breakdown
• Retry on errors: Retry failed tool calls up to 2 times; inform user only after 3rd failure
• Always visualize: Use render_chess_board for positions, render_pgn_viewer for games
• FEN validation: Check format before API calls
• Progressive detail: Quick overview → selective deep dive
• Multi-source: Combine engines, databases, and principles
• User-focused: Match analysis to user's needs and skill level

Changes in v0.6.3 vs v0.6.0

New Tools:

• ✅ generate-game-review - One-call comprehensive game review with theme progression
• ✅ analyze-variation-themes - Theme changes across a move sequence
• ✅ compare-variations - Side-by-side theme comparison of named variations
• ✅ find-critical-moments - Auto-detect turning points in a game
• ✅ get-theme-scores - Material/mobility/space/kingSafety/tactical scores per FEN
• ✅ get-theme-progression - Track a single theme across moves
• ✅ get-tactical-position-summary - Hanging pieces, forks, pins at a glance
• ✅ get-chessdb-pv - ChessDB principal variation retrieval

Chess 960 Support:

• ✅ is960?: boolean parameter added to: get-boardstate-for-fen, get-boardstate-for-move, is-legal-move, get-theme-scores, get-theme-progression, analyze-variation-themes, compare-variations, find-critical-moments, generate-game-review

Removed Tools (not in v0.6.3):

• ❌ get-chess-knowledgebase (removed; use references/chess_knowledgebase.md directly)
• ❌ get-chessagine-stater-prompts (removed)

MCP Prefix:

• All tool calls must use chessagine-mcp-v0.6.3: (updated from chessagine-mcp-v0.6.0:)