Looking for a revolutionary way to study chess? Forward Chess is an innovative chess book reader that lets you not only read chess books but also actively interact with them. It combines the power of a chessboard, a book, and one of the strongest chess engines on the planet—Stockfish—all in the palm of your hand. Play through the book’s lines, explore your own variations, and receive real-time analysis from Stockfish to gain a deeper understanding of the game.
Interactive Learning with Stockfish Integration
One of the standout features of Forward Chess is its integration with Stockfish, one of the world’s strongest chess engines. As you read through chess books and study moves, you can invoke Stockfish at any time to analyze the moves made in the book, as well as your own variations.
Ergonomic Design for Easy Navigation
The app features "Previous" and "Next" buttons that let you quickly scroll through moves, making it simple to revisit earlier positions or jump ahead to the next part of the game. The one-touch snap-to-position feature lets you touch any move and instantly jump to that position.
Resizable Diagrams for Better Viewing
Unlike traditional chess books, Forward Chess provides resizable chess diagrams that are easy on the eyes. This feature allows you to adjust the size of the board, ensuring you can comfortably study positions without straining your eyes—whether you’re on a small phone screen or a larger tablet.
Large-Scale Navigation and Seamless Chapter Flow
For those looking to study in-depth, Forward Chess offers easy navigation through long chapters and complex variations. You can jump directly to specific chapters, scroll seamlessly through a chapter, and easily navigate long trees of variations without losing your place. This makes studying multiple lines and complex positions straightforward.
Note-Taking and Bookmarks
Want to take notes or mark specific positions for future study? Forward Chess supports note-taking where you can create, edit, and delete notes as you go. You can also add multiple bookmarks for each book, allowing you to quickly revisit key positions, ideas, or questions as you continue your studies.
Wide Selection of Chess Books
Forward Chess is partnered with top publishers in the chess world, including Quality Chess, Chess Stars, Russell Enterprises, Chess Informant, New In Chess, and Mongoose Press. With a library of over 800 titles, you’ll find plenty of material to choose from, covering openings, endgames, strategy, tactics, and more.
Offline Reading Support
While you need an internet connection for the web app, the Forward Chess mobile app allows you to download books and read them offline, making it perfect for study sessions when you don’t have an internet connection available. Take your chess library with you wherever you go, whether you're on a plane, in a café, or traveling.
FAQs
1. Can I read books offline with Forward Chess?
Yes! Using the mobile apps, you can download books and read them offline. However, the web app requires an internet connection to access books.
2. How many books are available on Forward Chess?
There are currently over 800 chess books available in the Forward Chess library, with new titles being added regularly.
3. What is Stockfish, and how does it help me?
Stockfish is one of the world’s strongest chess engines. It’s integrated into Forward Chess, allowing you to analyze moves and variations in real time to deepen your understanding of the game.
4. Can I take notes or mark important positions in Forward Chess?
Yes! Forward Chess supports note-taking, and you can add multiple bookmarks to easily mark key positions or concepts you want to revisit later.
5. Can I sync my chess library across devices?
Yes! Forward Chess allows you to sync your chess library across all supported devices, including iOS, Android, and web, so you can access your books from anywhere.
Version History
v2.18.4—21 Nov, 2025
* Minor bug fix where text markups would not reliably show up.
v2.18.3—10 Oct, 2025
(New) The app now remembers the Text/Quiz toggle for each book, so you don't need to keep changing it every time you open a chapter!
v2.18.2—7 Oct, 2025
(New) The app now remembers the Text/Quiz toggle for each book, so you don't need to keep changing it every time you open a chapter!
