Chess MCP server

This MCP server extends Claude AI's capabilities with chess functionality, allowing you to visualize chess boards, get move recommendations, and validate chess moves during your conversations with Claude.

Installation

Download the Binary

1. Download the appropriate binary for your operating system from the Releases page:
   • Windows: mcp-chess-windows.exe
   • macOS: mcp-chess-darwin
   • Linux: mcp-chess-linux

Make the File Executable (macOS/Linux Only)

chmod +x mcp-chess-darwin   # for macOS
chmod +x mcp-chess-linux    # for Linux

For macOS Users - Bypass Security Warnings

When first running the application, you may encounter security warnings. To bypass:

• Right-click (or Control-click) on the mcp-chess-darwin file
• Select "Open" from the context menu
• Click "Open" in the dialog box

Alternatively, use Terminal:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/mcp-chess-darwin

This only needs to be done once.

Configure Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop
2. Select "Settings", then click the "Developer" tab
3. Click "Edit Config"
4. Add the MCP server configuration:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "mcp-chess": {
         "command": "/path/to/mcp-chess-binary"
       }
     }
   }
   

5. Save the file
6. Restart Claude Desktop

Usage

Once configured, you can ask Claude to perform various chess-related tasks:

View a Chess Board

Ask Claude to show the starting position:

Show me the starting position of a chess game.

Play a Chess Game

Start a chess game with Claude:

Let's play a chess game. Check that each move is legal. Suggest the best move to play.

Validate Moves

Check if a specific move is legal:

Is Nf3 a legal move from the starting position?

Get Move Recommendations

Ask for move suggestions in specific positions:

What's a good move for white in this position: "rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 2"?

The MCP server will automatically handle FEN notation (a standard way to represent chess positions) and integrate seamlessly with your Claude conversations.

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.