Release notes – ChessRoller

ChessRoller 27.1.1

Oct 13, 2026

Importing or opening a very large PGN file no longer fails on computers with limited memory.
PGN files saved in Windows-1252 or Latin-1 keep player names and comments that contain accented letters.

Oct 10, 2026

Inline move list. Read a game as running text instead of the default column layout. Switch using the Layout button above the move list.
Openings tree. The Openings tab now shows the same statistics for each opening as the Moves tab shows for each move.
Opening books. Add Polyglot (.bin) and CTG (.ctg) books in Settings > Opening Books, and give each engine its own book in a game.
Keyboard shortcuts. New shortcuts for annotating, engine analysis, and browsing a database. The Menus and Shortcuts help article lists them all.
Show Threat. Press X for a red arrow showing what the opponent would play if it were their move again.
Paste PGN/FEN. Edit > Paste PGN/FEN opens games or a position from the clipboard.
Tactics in game review. Review names the tactic behind a move, such as a fork, skewer, or discovered attack, and adds it to the move as a keyword.
Faster databases. General improvements to database query speed.

A welcome window on first launch, and under Help > Welcome afterwards, with a guided tour.
More annotation symbols, including initiative, attack, counterplay, zugzwang, and novelty.
A new 2D piece set, Leipzig.

Sep 29, 2026

Faster annotating: type !, ?, +, -, = or ~ to add symbols, and Alt+click or Alt+drag to mark squares and draw arrows.
Variations in the move list start collapsed, with buttons to expand or collapse them all.
Reworked tactical searches for pins, skewers, forks, deflections, discovered attacks, hanging pieces and sacrifices match more precisely.
Search for similar positions from a move's right-click menu. The existing search is now called "Search for exact position".
Use any player's repertoire straight from their Report. Repertoires show how often each move was played.
MCP server improvements: new tools to find games, page through the results, open a game, read the current filter and switch databases or modes. Moves, comments and deletions made over MCP can be undone.

Sep 27, 2026

Sep 26, 2026

Sep 23, 2026

Import ChessBase .2cbh databases and .2cbv archives, with annotations, guiding texts and pictures.
Guiding texts keep their formatting, and their links open games, players, tournaments, searches and other texts.
Improved PGN handling of comments before moves, null moves, annotation symbols, square and arrow colours, and ECO codes assigned by position.
Fixes for the game list's sort order, deleting databases, and importing into an existing database.

Re-import any ChessBase database you imported with an earlier version to pick up these changes.

Sep 18, 2026

Try ChessRoller free for 7 days. Start the trial from the license window with one click, no account or email needed. Each device gets one trial.

Sep 17, 2026

First public release.

Import PGN, ChessBase, and SCID files, keeping your annotations. Export to PGN.
Analyze with the engine you prefer: add and configure your own UCI engines for analysis and play.
Sync games automatically from your Lichess and Chess.com accounts.
Turn your game review into practice: find mistakes and missed mates, generate an opening repertoire from your games, and practice both with spaced repetition.
Search what happened, not just who played: filter by position, material, pawn structure, move sequences, and tactical motifs.
Scout your next opponent with player reports: openings, results by color, and past opponents.

Available for macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows (x64 and ARM64).