Here is a list of chess engines that run under Mac OS X or Darwin. Some of these engines cannot be downloaded as Mac executables and, instead, must be compiled by you. It is possible to run Linux binaries and Windows executables with proper configuration and/or emulation software. The Sigma Chess website maintains a list of downloadable UCI engines which have been tested to work in the Sigma Chess interface. Stockfish also provides a nice Cocoa interface for UCI engines.

• Apfelwiki - German Website for Mac OS X - MacMost Forum (general information)
• Chess Insight for Mac
• Installing applications on a Mac - Procedure concerning dmg-files - TechApple
• Julien Marcel´s great engine collection - in brackets remarked with the abreviation JM
• Les Diodes du Roi - Logiciels Mac Freeware - Mac UCI
• Michael Byrne´s (MB) compiles that are formerly hosted on DropBox
• SDChess

• Ajedrez - Vraiment

• Alf

• AliBaba (JM)

• Amoeba (MB)

• Amundsen (JM)

• Andscacs

• APIL Chess (JM)

• Arasan

• Arabian Knight

• Aristides

• Asymptote

• BACE (JM)

• Battle vs. Chess

• BDI Chess

• Belofte (JM)

• BeoWulf (JM)-(MB)

• Betsabé (JM)

• Big Bang Chess

• BikJump

• BlackMamba Chess

• Brutal Chess

• Bullucks

• Butterfly Chess

• Buzz (JM)

• Capa

• Cassandre (JM)

• CFish (MB)

• Cheese

• Chenard (JM)-(MB)

• Cheng3 (JM) - (MB)

• Cheoss

• Chesley the Chess Engine (JM)

• Chess, Apple's built-in chess application uses the last open-source version of Sjeng 11.2 as an engine

• chess0

• Chess 3 (Python Chess)

• Chess Applet - Homeostatic Chess Player

• Chess-at-nite (JM)

• Chessmaster

• ChessNovice

• Chess One (JM)

• Chess Plus + - Procypher Corporation

• ChessX

• Cinnamon

• ColChess (JM)

• CookieCat (JM)

• Counter

• CPP1

• Crab (JM)

• Crafty (JM)- MB)

• Critter

• Cyclone

• Cyrano (JM)

• Dabbaba (JM)

• DanaSah (JM)

• Dancing Dragon (JM)

• Daydreamer (JM)

• ddlchess

• Deepov MB)

• (Deep)Smash (JM)

• Delocto

• Dendron (JM)

• Diablo (JM)

• Dinosaur Chess - Learn To Play for Mac OS X - Universis Technology Ltd

• Disco Check (JM) - Edition Jeremy Bernstein

• Donna

• Dorpsgek Cosmopolitan

• Double Check (JM)

• Dragontooth

• Dreamer

• Dumb - Dariusz Domagala

• Eden

• Eia (JM)

• Electronic Grand Master (MB)

• El Turco (JM)

• Embla

• Ethereal (SDChess)

• EvilKnight

• Exacto (JM)

• ExCE (JM)

• EXchess (JM)

• Faile (JM)

• FairyMax (JM)

• Fianchetto (POSIX-compliant binaries)

• Fimbulwinter (JM)

• Firenzina (JM)-(MB)

• Fire xTreme (JM)

• Fischer Chess (JM)

• Flux

• Floyd

• Fruit Reloaded (MB))

• Gaïa

• Galjoen (MB)

• Gambit - Aqueous Software - SourceForge

• Gambit Fruit (JM)

• Garbochess (JM)

• Gaviota (JM)

• GES (JM)

• GFC (JM)

• Gikou USI

• Giraffe (MB)

• Giuchess (JM)

• Gk (JM)

• Glaurung (JM)

• Glyph Chess

• GNU Cheese (MB)

• GNU Chess (JM) -(MB) - Tim Mann´s Chess Pages

* GopherCheck

• Grapefruit

• Gray Matter (JM)

• GreKo (JM) - (MB) - SDChess)

• Gridlock - a collection of board games e.g. Chess / Checkers / Reversi etc.

• GTChess Lite

• Gull (JM)

• Gullydeckel (JM)

• Gunborg (MB)

• Hakkapeliitta (MB)

• Hamsters

• HanzoTheRazor (JM)

• Hawkeye - Basil Falcinelli / Michael Byrne / Vadim Demichev

• HIARCS

• Homer

• Houdini - Chess King - Convekta Ltd

• iChess

• Ifrit (JM)

• Igel

• Igorrit (JM)

• Ippolit (JM)

• Ivanhoe (JM)

• j2chess

• Jabba

• JavaChess

• Javalin

• Jazz (JM)

• JChecs

• Jchess

• Jellyfish

• Jester (JM)

• JFresh

• Joanna (JM)

• Junior

• K2 (JM)

• Kace

• Kasparov Chessmate

• Kenny (JM)

• KingsOut

• Kitteneitor (JM)

• Kiwi (JM)

• KMTChess (JM)

• Kohai Chess

• Komodo

• Kurt (JM)

• Laser (MB) - (SDChess)

• LCZero

• Leonidas (JM)

• Lime (JM)

• Mango Paola Ajedrez (JM)

• Markovian (JM)

• Marvin

• McCain - Michael Byrne

• Mediocre

• MicroMax (JM) - (MB)

• Minace (JM) - Minic - Dariusz Domagala - Jase de Lace a.k.a. Spill The Tea

• Minimardi (JM)

• Minko (JM)

• Monik (JM)

• Morphy Chess (JM)

• Myopic (JM)

• Myrddin (JM)

• Mizar (JM)

• MSKCP (JM) - MSCP (JM)

• Myopic (JM)

• NapoleonPP (JM)

• Natwarlal (JM)

• NGPlay (JM)

• OBender (JM)

• Octochess (JM)

• Olithink (JM)

• OliveChess (JM)

• Parrot (JM)

• Pawny (JM)

• peaBrain - pchess - Download

• Pepito (JM)

• Phalanx (JM)

• Philemon (JM)

• PicoChess

• PicoLisp Chess

• Pierre (JM)

• Plisk

• POS

• Postduif

• Prédateur (JM)

• [Prophet

• Protector (JM) - (MB)

• Pulchess (JM)

• Pulsar

• Purple Haze (JM)

• QueenBee

• Rainbow Serpent (JM)

• RattateChess Nosferatu (JM)

• Red Queen (JM) - (MB)

• Resp (JM)

• RobboLito (JM) - Edition 0.085g3 with some patches:
  • Makefile, add a darwin target:
    • gcc -fast -Dx86_64 -o $(OUTPUTFILE) *.c
  • uci.c:
    • /* #include <sys/sysctl.h> */
    • static int get_nprocs_conf() { return 2; } /* for a core 2 duo */
  • utils.c:
    • /* #include <bits/time.h> */

• ROCE

• Rocinante (JM)

• Rodent (JM) - (MB)

• Rofchade

• Roque Chess Engine

• Rotor

• Ruffian

• RuyDos

• Sabertooth

• Sabrina

• Sapeli - Jase de Lace a.k.a. Spill The Tea

• Satana

• Sayuri (MB - SDChess) - Edition Jeremy Bernstein

• Scidlet (JM)

• Scorpio (JM) - /MB) - SDChess)

• Senpai (SDChess)

• ShashChess

• Shredder

• ShouldntExist by Justin Blanchard, see for details CCC Forum

• Sigma Chess

• Simon (JM)

• Simplex (JM)

• Sissa (JM)

• Sjaak (JM)

• Sjeng (JM)

• Sloppy (JM)

• Smaug (JM)

• Soldat (JM)

• Spark (JM)

• Spartan

• Speedy (MB)

• Squared Chess

• Sting (JM) - (MB) - Dariusz Domagala

• Stockfish (JM)

• Suff (JM)

• Sungorus (JM)

• Sugar

• Super Speedy (MB)

• Texel (JM)

• The Lightning (JM)

• Tiffanys

• Tiny Chess

• Toga (JM)

• Toga Returns (JM)

• Toga Toy (JM)

• Toledo Nanochess (JM)

• TSCP (JM)

• Tucano (JM)

• Tunguska

• Typhoon (JM)

• Tyrannus

• Umko (JM)

• Vajolet (MB) - (SDChess)

• VanillaChess (JM)

• Vektor Chess

• Vice (JM)

• Viper (JM)

• Winter

• Witz (JM)

• Xadreco (JM)

• Xiphos

• Xpdnt(JM)

• Yacht! - Yet Another Chess 3D

• ZCT (JM)

• Zeta Dva (JM)

• Zevra (SDChess)

• ZZZZZZ (JM)

This list of Mac engines was tested on a Core 2 Duo at blitz time controls up to October 2011.

• 1= Stockfish 2.1.1
• 1= Critter 1.2
• 3. Komodo 3
• 4. Ivanhoe 999963-beta
• 5. RobboLito 0.085g3 (Linux sources with patches)
• 6. HIARCS 13.2
• 7. Spark 1.0
• 8. Gull 1.2 (with patches for linux/mac)
• 9. Junior 12.5
• 10. (Rybka 2.2n2 + microwine)
• 11. Umko 1.2
• 12. Protector 1.4
• 13. Glaurung 2.2
• 14. Scorpio 2.7
• 15. Crafty 23.4
• 16= Toga II 1.4beta5c
• 16= Fruit 2.3.1
• 18. Hamsters 0.7

Commercial engines Shredder, Deep Sjeng, Chessmaster, and Ruffian are untested. Other engines in the list are weaker.

Thanks to Norbert Raimund Leisner for creating this list! Thanks to Kenny Dail for adding more engines. Ian Osgood provided the strength ranking and UCI links.