Sunday, September 29, 2024

What happened to Infinity Chess?

 The downfall of Infinity Chess seems to have occurred due to a combination of issues such as lack of updates, technical problems, and domain management. Originally, Infinity Chess was a popular online platform for playing chess, supporting human, engine, and centaur modes. However, users began experiencing compatibility problems when the platform stopped updating to support newer engines and operating systems. There are also suggestions that their domain may have expired or not been renewed, contributing to the website's unavailability​(GoDaddy).

photo of Infinity Chess


During its peak, Infinity Chess offered competitive tournaments and a unique experience with live broadcasts, but technical and compatibility issues led to its decline, and eventually, many users moved to other platforms like Lichess and Chess.com.


Infinity Chess ran into issues when the platform stopped updating and the software became incompatible. This is something many users experience when online platforms, especially older ones, no longer maintain or upgrade their programs to keep up with evolving operating systems or engines.

From what I’ve gathered, Infinity Chess has faced similar issues for other users, particularly with updates and engine compatibility. According to discussions in various forums, including GitHub, some users have reported bugs and difficulties when running modern engines like Stockfish or Lc0 on the platform due to outdated UCI engine support or software glitches​(GitHub).

It's unfortunate when a beloved platform stops updating, but if you’re still interested in playing engine games or participating in tournaments, there are several alternative platforms to consider:

Alternative Chess Platforms to Consider:

  1. Lichess:

    • Free, open-source platform.
    • Supports online games, puzzles, and analysis, and integrates UCI engines like Stockfish for analysis.
  2. Chess.com:

    • Offers engine support and a robust tournament structure.
    • Active community, including engine tournaments and player challenges.
  3. Playchess (by ChessBase):

    • Popular among engine enthusiasts.
    • Great for playing engine matches and accessing premium features like advanced analysis tools.
  4. Arena Chess GUI:

    • One of the best GUIs for playing engine games.
    • Works well with modern UCI engines and offers flexibility in playing engine vs engine games.

If you still want to try Infinity Chess but are concerned about compatibility, you might want to try using compatibility mode or running the software on a virtual machine with an older version of Windows.


It seems that Infinity Chess might not be functioning as smoothly as before, or their primary website could be undergoing changes, which is why you're having trouble finding it. Based on the information I found, Infinity Chess still appears to be available for download through alternative platforms like Software Informer, where you can download version 4.0 of the Infinity Chess software. This version allows you to play chess in various modes, including human, engine, and centaur modes, and supports UCI engines​(Software Informer).

Additionally, the Infinity Chess community is active on Chess.com, where they organize chess activities and matches​(Chess.com). However, there might be some issues related to engine tournaments and certain glitches within the Infinity Chess software, which were discussed in forums like GitHub​(GitHub).

If you're looking to download the software, you can try it from Software Informer, or explore related communities on Chess.com.

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