ChessHelper review: features, prices, strengths and limits
ChessHelper (chesshelper.ai) is a Chrome extension and website that shows engine suggestions, an evaluation bar and alternative lines on Chess.com and Lichess, with the engine's strength adjustable from 800 to 3200 Elo. It is our own product, so this review sticks to what the product's site publishes and spells out the limits as clearly as the strengths.
ChessHelper is the best chess helper for players who play on Chess.com or Lichess and want to review games quickly at a level they can learn from. It is not the right tool if you use Safari or Firefox, play mainly in mobile apps, want moves explained in sentences, or want unlimited analysis for free.
What ChessHelper is
ChessHelper has two parts. The browser extension runs in Chrome and adds analysis to the Chess.com and Lichess boards. The website at chesshelper.ai holds your account, plan and dashboard. ChessHelper states that it is not affiliated with Chess.com or Lichess, and that it is working on support for more platforms. An account is required to use the move suggestions; the site says the account is used to track usage limits and save game progress.
Features
Move suggestions, evaluation bar and alternative lines
The core feature is real-time board analysis. The suggested move appears as an arrow on the board, an evaluation bar shows which side is better, and alternative lines are listed so you can compare options. On a finished game, this turns a review into a quick walk through the key moments rather than a separate session on another site.
Engine strength from 800 to 3200 Elo
You can set the engine anywhere from 800 to 3200 Elo. This is the feature that matters most for learning. At full strength, suggestions are often precise but hard to follow. Set closer to your rating, they look more like moves you could find yourself, so the lesson carries over into your next game. A practical approach is to review at a level a few hundred points above your rating, then raise it as you improve.
Game history and analytics
The dashboard stores your game history with move-by-move analysis and charts your rating progress. Over weeks, this shows whether your results and accuracy are moving and which games to revisit.
Opening guides
The site has opening guides for six openings: the Sicilian Defense, Italian Game, London System, French Defense, Ruy Lopez and Caro-Kann Defense. They are a starting point for a repertoire rather than a full opening course.
Autoplay and human-like mode
ChessHelper also lists an autoplay setting, which makes moves with a configurable delay, and a human-like mode that varies suggestion strength. Neither adds anything to learning. Using them in a game against another person on Chess.com or Lichess breaks those sites' fair-play rules, whether the game is rated or not. Our advice is to leave them off and keep the extension for finished games and analysis.
Plans and prices
ChessHelper has one free plan and two ways to pay for Pro. The introductory prices apply once per user, and the site says you can cancel at any time and keep access until the end of the billing period.
| Plan | Price | Usage | Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Listed as 3 games per day and 10 per week | Chess.com and Lichess support, real-time suggestions |
| Pro Monthly | $2.99 first month, then $9.99/month | No daily or weekly limits | Everything in Free, priority analysis, priority support |
| Pro Yearly | $39.99 first year, then $99.99/year | No daily or weekly limits | Same as Pro Monthly |
One point to check before you rely on the free plan: in November 2026 the pricing page lists both the 3-games-per-day limit and "Unlimited games" under Free. We read the daily and weekly cap as the real limit and suggest confirming it in your account. If you review more than a few games a day, Pro is the plan that fits; the first year at $39.99 works out to about $3.33 a month.
Strengths
It works where you play. Review happens on the same Chess.com or Lichess page, with no export or copy-paste. That lowers the effort of reviewing every game, which is where most improvement comes from.
Advice at your level. The 800 to 3200 Elo range lets a 900-rated player and a 2000-rated player get suggestions that suit them. Most analysis boards show only full-strength output.
Two sites, one tool. Players who use both Chess.com and Lichess get the same view, settings and history on both.
A record of progress. The dashboard keeps games and rating charts in one place, so you can see trends instead of judging by your last result.
Clear fair-play position. ChessHelper's own FAQ says external help in rated games breaks the terms of most chess sites and recommends it for learning and analysis rather than rated play.
Limits
Chrome only. The site lists only Chrome. If you use Safari or Firefox, it is not an option, and because it is a desktop browser extension it does not run inside the Chess.com or Lichess phone apps.
Two platforms. It supports Chess.com and Lichess. Games from other sites or over-the-board games are better reviewed on an analysis board that accepts PGN, such as Lichess's.
No written explanations. ChessHelper shows arrows, numbers and lines. It does not tell you in sentences why a move is good. DecodeChess is stronger there.
A capped free plan. Lichess's analysis is free without game limits, and Chess.com's free plan includes one full Game Review a day. ChessHelper's free tier is fine for trying it, but regular users will want Pro.
Account required. You need to sign up before the suggestions work.
Features you should ignore. Autoplay and human-like mode exist, and they have no place in games against other people.
Who should not use ChessHelper
Skip ChessHelper if any of these describe you. Anyone who intends to use outside help in rated games or tournaments should not use it, or any other helper, for that purpose: it breaks the rules and gets accounts closed. If you play mostly on a phone, use the analysis built into your chess app instead. If you are still learning how the pieces move, start with lessons and puzzles; a helper is more useful once you have games to review. If your budget is zero and you play on Lichess, Lichess's own analysis board does most of the job for free. And if you want an explanation in words for every move, try DecodeChess first.
How to get the most from it
Play your game without any help. When it ends, open the extension and step through the moves, looking for the first place the evaluation bar swings sharply. Compare the move you played with the arrow and the alternative lines, then ask yourself what you missed: a capture, a check, a threat. Write one sentence about it. Our beginner guide turns this into a routine with a worked example, and the fair-play guide covers what each platform allows.
The bottom line
ChessHelper earns first place on this site for one reason: it makes reviewing your own games fast and pitched at your level, on the two sites where most people play online. Its limits are real and easy to check before you sign up: Chrome only, two platforms, visual rather than written analysis and a small free tier. If those do not rule it out, it is the chess helper we would start with. For other needs, see our alternatives guide or the full comparison.