Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions people ask most. Something missing? Ask directly.
General
Is The Baronet really free?
Yes. The Baronet is 100% free, with no registration, no trial period, no in-app purchases and no advertising inside the program. Donations are welcome but never required.
Does it need an internet connection?
No. The opening book, the endgame tablebases and the neural network are all installed with the program, so it plays entirely offline. The internet is only needed to download it.
Do I need an account?
No. There is nothing to sign up for, and your games and preferences stay on your computer.
Is there a macOS version?
Yes. The Baronet runs natively on macOS 11 or later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, with the same features as the Windows version.
Is there a version for phones and tablets?
Not yet. An Android version is in testing and an iOS version will follow; both will be free. See the Mobile page for screenshots.
What languages is it available in?
English for now.
Playing
How strong is The Baronet?
Strength is adjustable, from a gentle sparring partner for beginners up to full strength: over 2700 Elo in blitz on Lichess (September 2026). The lower levels are deliberately held back so that beginners and club players get a fair game.
Can I play against a friend?
Yes. In File › New game, set both White and Black to Human and play on the same board. You can also let the computer play both sides and watch.
Which time controls are available?
Fixed time per move, all moves in 40 minutes, sudden death, a number of moves in a given time, Fischer increment and Bronstein delay, or no clock.
Can I play Chess960 or other variants?
Not at the moment. The Baronet plays standard chess only.
Review and learning
Can I review games played on Lichess, Chess.com or over the board?
Yes. Save the game as a PGN file and open it with File › Analyse a PGN or FEN file, or copy the PGN text and press Ctrl+V in the review window.
What do Brilliant and Great mean?
Brilliant is a sacrifice that works: the move gives up material, the opponent takes it, and the line still comes out ahead. Great is the only good move in the position. Both are rare on purpose.
How is accuracy calculated?
From how much each move lowers the expected result of the game (the chances of winning, drawing or losing), not from raw scores in pawns. A game without a single loss is 100 %.
Is The Baronet suitable for children?
Yes. The 46 lessons in Help › Learn to play chess start from the very beginning, use short sentences and let children practise on the board. The Legible piece set, the default, is especially clear.
Technical
What are the system requirements?
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, or macOS 11 or later (Apple Silicon or Intel), with less than 100 MB of disk space. See the Download page for details.
The program says it is playing below strength. What is wrong?
The neural network or the Syzygy345 tablebase folder was not found beside the program. Unzip the whole download into one folder and start The Baronet from there.
How do I uninstall it?
Delete the folder you unzipped (or the app on a Mac). Nothing else is installed on your system apart from a small preferences file.
Can I use The Baronet engine in another chess program?
The desktop program can play matches against other engines through cutechess-cli. A separate engine for other graphical interfaces is not distributed at the moment.
Is the source code available?
No. The Baronet is free to use but closed-source. The engine, the network and the program are original work; the tablebase probing uses the open-source Fathom library.