New Features: Lock Chess Engines, See Material Difference, & Add Evaluation Bar

Since its early days, the Chessify Discord community has been crucial in providing feedback and inspiration for new features and improvements. Today, after gathering the most requested features from the past few months, we’re excited to introduce them to all Chessify users. Special thanks go to our Discord community for their invaluable input.

The three new features in this release are:

• - Chess engine lock: Allows you to lock your active engine on a specific position and have it continue analyzing, even when you change the position on the board or navigate through the PGN file.
• - Material difference: Displays the piece difference, highlighting what each side has managed to capture: for example, a Bishop versus a Knight, or a Rook versus three Pawns. If both sides have exchanged identical pieces, nothing will be displayed.
• - Evaluation bar: Shows the approximate advantage of each side through a black-and-white indicator. The bar darkens for Black's advantage and lightens for White's advantage. If it turns fully into one color, that side is winning. This feature can be enabled or disabled in the settings.

Let’s explore each of these features in more detail, including their use cases and how they can enhance your chess training experience on the Chessify Analysis Dashboard.

Chess Engine Lock

We all want our moves to be analyzed thoroughly by a chess engine, and that takes time. But why not use that time to study other parts of your game or analysis file? With our new engine lock feature, you can now continue navigating other moves in your game while one of your engines is analyzing a specific position of your choice. Even better, you can have different engines analyze different positions simultaneously, while you’re busy studying something else entirely. Imagine Stockfish 17 analyzing your most important move while Lc0 searches for interesting ideas elsewhere—all while you’re freely navigating the PGN file and reviewing various variations.

Does it sound too complicated? Wondering how you’ll keep track of the locked positions of different engines in a large PGN file? Don’t worry. Every locked move will be clearly indicated in the notation, with a lock icon above it. Hover over the icon to see which engine is analyzing that position.

To lock an engine on a move, simply click the lock button next to the active engine. Once clicked, the lock will close, indicating the engine is locked on the current move. To unlock it, click the same button again, as shown in the screenshot below. Once unlocked, the engine will resume analyzing the position shown on your chessboard, so be sure to save your analysis by clicking on the move to which you want to add the variation in your PGN.

Material Difference

The material difference display has been one of the most requested features. It allows you to quickly see the material balance on the board. If both sides have exchanged the same pieces, nothing will be shown. However, if there’s a material imbalance—such as one side having two Pawns while the other has a Bishop—or even an equal exchange, like a Bishop for a Knight, the material difference will be displayed right below your notation.

Evaluation Bar

The evaluation bar has been added a bit earlier than the other features, but now it also comes with an option to disable it. This bar provides a quick visual representation of which side is ahead, using a thermometer-like design. It darkens for Black's advantage and lightens for White's. If the bar is completely in one color, that side is winning.

By default, this feature is turned on and will begin working as soon as you start any of our chess engines. To disable it, click your profile icon on the top panel and toggle off the evaluation bar option, as shown in the screenshot below.

Chessify's analysis platform is designed to be your go-to destination for all essential chess features aside from playing. That's why our team has been continually working to improve it and introduce new features. Although we have successfully integrated all the core features needed for a comprehensive chess training experience, we know that each player has their own preferences. Our users often share their favorite feature ideas via email or our Discord server, and we make it a point to gather and implement the most requested features for everyone to use.

If you have suggestions for new features or want to join discussions with other Chessify users, be sure to join our Discord server. All you need is a Discord account, and once you join, you’ll also receive a bonus from us.