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Pawn Appétit is a modern, cross-platform chess GUI application built with Tauri/Rust and web technologies. It combines powerful analysis tools, repertoire training with spaced repetition, and database management in one application. It's designed for chess coaches, competitive players, and enthusiasts who want professional-grade tools without complexity.
Yes, Pawn Appétit is completely free and open source under the GPL-3.0 license. There are no subscription fees, premium features, or hidden costs. You can download, use, and even modify the source code freely.
Pawn Appétit runs on Windows 10+, macOS 10.15+, and modern Linux distributions. We provide native installers for each platform (.msi for Windows, .dmg for macOS, .deb/.rpm/.AppImage for Linux).
Pawn Appétit offers many similar features to ChessBase but is free, open source, and runs on all platforms. While ChessBase has more advanced features for professional analysis, Pawn Appétit provides excellent tools for most chess players at no cost, with a modern interface and active development.
Yes, Pawn Appétit supports standard PGN format files, which can contain single games or entire databases. You can import from most chess software, including ChessBase (export to PGN), Chess.com, Lichess, and other UCI-compatible programs.
First, ensure your system meets the minimum requirements. On Windows, try running as administrator. On macOS, right-click and select "Open" the first time to bypass Gatekeeper. On Linux, make sure the AppImage is executable (chmod +x). Check our troubleshooting guide for platform-specific solutions.
The application itself is around 50MB. However, you'll need additional space for chess engines (50-200MB each), databases (varies by size), and your game files. We recommend having at least 1GB free space for a comfortable experience.
Yes, Pawn Appétit can coexist with ChessBase, Arena, SCID, and other chess software. It uses its own data directory and won't interfere with other applications. You can even share engines between applications.
Pawn Appétit includes automatic update checking. When a new version is available, you'll see a notification in the app. You can also manually check for updates in Help → Check for Updates, or download the latest version from our GitHub releases page.
Minimum: 4GB RAM, modern CPU (last 5 years), 1GB disk space. Recommended: 8GB+ RAM for large databases, multi-core CPU for engine analysis, SSD for better performance. More RAM allows for stronger engine analysis with larger hash tables.
Increase the Hash size in engine settings (25-50% of your RAM), set Threads to match your CPU cores, close other resource-intensive applications, and ensure you're using a compatible engine version (check BMI2 support for your CPU).
Verify the engine path is correct, check file permissions (especially on Linux/macOS), ensure the engine file exists and is executable, try reducing Hash size if you're low on memory, and check if antivirus software is blocking the engine.
Go to Engines page and click "Add Engine". You can either download engines automatically (recommended for Stockfish), install via package manager (brew on macOS, apt on Linux), or manually download and browse to the engine executable.
Stockfish 17+ is recommended for most users due to its strength and reliability. Leela Chess Zero (LC0) offers unique positional insights with neural network evaluation. For learning, you might prefer engines with adjustable strength levels.
Yes, Pawn Appétit supports multiple engine analysis. Add several engines and enable them all for comparison. This is useful for getting different perspectives on positions, especially comparing traditional engines with neural network engines.
Check that your PGN file is valid (some online converters create malformed files), try importing a smaller subset first, ensure the file encoding is UTF-8, and check for special characters or annotations that might cause parsing issues.
Chess.com has API rate limits, so large collections take time. Try importing smaller date ranges, check your internet connection, ensure your username is correct, and be patient with large archives (they can take hours).
Use the Files section to create folders for different purposes (tournaments, openings, training games). Add metadata tags to games, use the star rating system for important games, and consider creating separate databases for different time controls or formats.
Ensure you're searching in the correct database, check spelling of player names, use partial searches (e.g., "Carlsen" instead of "Magnus Carlsen"), rebuild search indexes if needed (Database → Maintenance), and try position-based search for tactical motifs.
Yes, Pawn Appétit supports exporting to standard PGN format, which is compatible with most chess software. You can export individual games, filtered collections, or entire databases. Analysis annotations are preserved in the export.
Close other applications to free up memory, reduce engine Hash size if using too much RAM, use an SSD if possible for better I/O performance, update to the latest version, and consider reducing the number of simultaneous engine analyses.
This is normal for large databases. Consider splitting databases into smaller collections, close unused databases, reduce engine Hash size to free up memory, and ensure you have sufficient RAM for your database sizes.
Go to Settings → Interface → Font Size and adjust to your preference. You can also use Ctrl+Plus/Minus (Cmd+Plus/Minus on Mac) to zoom the interface temporarily.
Try running as administrator, temporarily disable antivirus, check Windows updates, ensure you have Visual C++ Redistributables installed, and try compatibility mode if using an older Windows version.
Right-click the app and select "Open" instead of double-clicking. Confirm you want to open it. This bypasses Gatekeeper for apps not notarized by Apple. You only need to do this once.
The system schedules repertoire practice based on your performance. New lines appear daily, well-known lines appear weekly or monthly. The interval increases each time you get it right and decreases when you make mistakes. This optimizes learning efficiency.
Yes, go to Settings → Board to choose from various piece sets, board colors, and themes. You can also adjust board size, coordinates display, and move highlighting. The theme system allows for extensive customization.
Go to Practice → Create New Repertoire, choose your color, add moves by playing them on the board or import from games. You can add variations, comments, and training notes. The system will schedule practice sessions automatically.
Pawn Appétit primarily uses PGN (Portable Game Notation) for games and databases. FEN (Forsyth-Edwards Notation) is supported for positions. UCI engines are supported for analysis. Custom file formats include repertoire files and theme files.
Yes, import your correspondence games as PGN files and use engine analysis to find improvements. You can add your own comments and variations, save multiple analysis sessions, and export the analyzed games for further study.
Our community and developers are here to help. Don't hesitate to reach out!