So, Hiarcs has my recommendation as worth looking into, … and I am NOT paid to say this. I should add that the developer has been quite responsive to my questions, queries and comments.

Features implemented in current (pre-alpha) version: - Playing and observing chess games on FICS - Observing multiple games - Chat with. (FICS) running natively under Mac OS X / Cocoa. That said, JIn its my favorite chess client (on windows AND linux) petri-p Posted 2014-04. The game can be set, limiting the depth of analysis of the motor or the time used to think, or by. This list of engines is not closed and you can add other ones with the only limitation that they use the UCI protocol. When I just want to play, any of the three are fine and comparably capable. Also, the Documentation link has been down for a very long time. The program has 61 engines prepared to play from the start, and with very different levels, from 0 to 3300 elo. While I also have Stockfish and Shredder, I spend 95%+ of my computer chess time with Hiarcs. I also use the iPAD OS version similarly. I use Hiarcs on my Mac to play against (~1600), but mostly to play through games in books, to play through games in PGN files, to create my own PGN collections, including adding annotations and variations. The program says it can offer play levels from 750-3200 ELO for the computer version, so enough breadth to accommodate pretty much anyone. The only “tinkering” involves learning how to use the many features. Chess by Mastersoft Chess is a free app for iOS whose engine got a 4th place in the Microcomputer Chess Championship. (latest iPadOS versions if Nov 2020, last macOS version is Oct 2020). Hiarcs is alive and well, and does not need tinkering. HIARCS has been abandoned years ago, AFAIK.

Best chess games for mac