Review · Ranked #1 of 7
ChessHelper review: AI move help tuned to your level
A Chrome extension and website that puts engine suggestions on the Chess.com and Lichess boards, with a strength setting from 800 to 3200 Elo.
ChessHelper (chesshelper.ai) is the helper we rank first in our 2026 ranking of chess AI helpers. It is also our own product, so this review sticks to what the product's pages state, a worked example we verified with Stockfish, and a plain list of the things it does not do well.
What ChessHelper is
ChessHelper is a browser extension for Google Chrome with a companion website. Once installed and connected to a free account, it reads the position on a Chess.com or Lichess board and draws the engine's suggested move as an arrow. Next to the board it shows an evaluation bar, so you can see at a glance which side is better and by how much, and a short list of alternative lines with their evaluations.
The product's own description is “the chess helper Chrome extension that finds the next best move at any ELO level.” That last part is the key difference from most analysis tools. Chess.com Game Review and the Lichess analysis board show you what a full-strength engine thinks. ChessHelper lets you choose how strong the engine should be, from 800 to 3200 Elo.
The extension installs from the Chrome Web Store. Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi are supported through a manual install that ChessHelper documents on its download page. There is no Firefox or Safari version listed.
The features that matter
ChessHelper lists a long set of features. These are the ones that shape how useful it is for study.
| Feature | What it does | Why it matters for learning |
|---|---|---|
| Move arrows | Draws the suggested move on the board | You see the idea in place, without reading notation |
| Evaluation bar | Shows which side is better and by how much | Lets you spot the exact move where a game turned |
| Alternative lines | Top candidate moves with evaluations (three on the move analyzer) | Shows that several moves can be fine, not just one |
| Strength from 800 to 3200 Elo | Sets how strong the engine's suggestions are | Keeps advice within reach of your current level |
| Game analytics dashboard | Game history, rating progression, accuracy trends | Shows whether your study is working over weeks |
| Opening guides | Guides to the Sicilian, Italian, London, French, Ruy Lopez and Caro-Kann | Gives the plans behind the first moves the engine shows you |
The move analyzer also labels moves from brilliant to blunder and warns about the opponent's best replies, similar to the classification Chess.com uses. ChessHelper says it is “not affiliated with Chess.com or Lichess.”
A worked example: reviewing a finished game
Here is the kind of position where a helper earns its keep. After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nd4, Black's knight jump looks like a free pawn for White: the e5 pawn is unprotected. Many players take it with 4.Nxe5. This is the opening of a well-known trap.
We checked the position with Stockfish at depth 20. Its three best moves for White were 4.Nxd4 (about +1.9 for White), 4.O-O (about +1.3) and 4.Nc3 (about +0.9). The tempting 4.Nxe5 drops White's edge: after 4...Qg5 the engine rates the position roughly level, and if White then grabs a second pawn with 5.Nxf7, Black wins with 5...Qxg2, after which the evaluation swings to about −8 for White. One known finish is 6.Rf1 Qxe4+ 7.Be2 Nf3 checkmate.
This is where the strength setting helps. At full strength, an engine simply prints 4.Nxd4 and a string of moves. At a lower setting the suggestion stays simple and you can ask the useful question yourself: why is taking the pawn on e5 wrong when it looks free? The answer, the queen on g5 attacking both the knight and the g2 pawn, is a pattern you can remember. Reviewing your finished games this way, one turning point at a time, is the most valuable use of any helper.
Pricing as listed in November 2026
ChessHelper has a free plan and one paid tier, Pro, billed monthly or yearly. The introductory prices apply once per user, and the pricing page says you can cancel anytime from your dashboard.
| Plan | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 3 games a day, 10 games a week |
| Pro monthly | $2.99 for the first month, then $9.99/month | Unlimited games, priority support |
| Pro yearly | $39.99 for the first year, then $99.99/year | Unlimited games, priority support |
Compared with the alternatives, Pro monthly sits a little above DecodeChess Unlimited ($8.25 a month) and Aimchess Premium ($7.99 a month), and the first-year price is lower than either annual plan.
Official video
ChessHelper's own 30-second overview shows the arrows on the board, the Lichess and Chess.com support, and the strength setting.
Video: “ChessHelper.ai: Your AI Chess Coach, Right on the Board”, ChessHelper AI (official channel). Watch on YouTube. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.
Pros and cons
The strengths and weaknesses below come from the published features and from how the tool compares with the six others in our ranking.
Pros
- Suggestions can be matched to your level, 800 to 3200 Elo
- Works on both Chess.com and Lichess with one extension
- Arrows and an evaluation bar are quick to read
- Dashboard tracks rating progress and accuracy over time
- Free plan to try it; low introductory Pro prices
Cons
- Chrome and Chromium browsers only, no Firefox, Safari or mobile app listed
- Free plan limited to 3 games a day and 10 a week
- Explanations are brief next to DecodeChess
- You must switch it off yourself before any game against a person
Who should use ChessHelper
ChessHelper suits players between roughly beginner and strong club level who play on Chess.com or Lichess and want to study on those same sites. If you play bots to practice openings, go through your finished games every evening, or want to see what a 1400-level move looks like in a position where a full engine would show something incomprehensible, it is the most direct tool on our list.
It is a weaker fit if you need long written explanations (choose DecodeChess), if you want everything free with no daily cap (choose Lichess), or if you only use a phone. For a step-by-step setup, see our getting started guide.
Fair play: what ChessHelper itself says
ChessHelper's FAQ states that “using external assistance during rated games violates the terms of service of most chess websites” and asks users to “always play fair in competitive matches.” We draw the line more tightly. Chess.com's fair-play policy says it does not apply to games against the Chess.com computer, but it covers games against other people whether they are rated or not, and Lichess prohibits external assistance in any game you are playing. So use ChessHelper against bots, on the analysis board and on finished games, and keep it switched off in every game against a person. The extension's own settings include play-related options beyond the analysis overlay; leave those off in any game against a person too.
Fair-play note. Chess.com, Lichess, FIDE and US Chess all forbid outside help during a game, and that includes engines, browser extensions and analysis tools. Use any helper on this page for study, reviewing finished games and practice against bots or in analysis mode, never in a game against another person, rated or unrated. What the rules say.
ChessHelper is the best chess AI helper for learning at your own level on Chess.com and Lichess. It is not the deepest explainer or the cheapest tool, but no other helper on our list lets you set the engine to the level you are actually trying to reach.