Download HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro for Mac

The ultimage chess database, analysis and playing program for Mac
Suitable for all players: Beginners to the World Chess Champion with human-like play
Playing Ability: Beginner (750 Elo) to World Chess Championship strength and beyond (3400+ Elo)
GUI Languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish
Platform: Runs on Intel & M1/M2/M3 based Apple Mac OS 10.14 or later - including latest macOS Sonoma and Retina Graphics
March 2024 release update supports macOS 14 Sonoma

Customer login details to access the downloads is contained in your original delivery email sent on purchase. Please ensure you have exited HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro before installing the update. There is no need to uninstall before running the installer, it will automatically update your installation to the latest version.

HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro v1.3.3 for Mac - (Free update for customers - 1st March 2024)

A new version of HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro is now available for customers to download and install.

Key improvements include:

• New stronger HIARCS 15.3.1 chess engine
• Much deeper game analysis from H15.3.1
• Game analysis includes opening book annotations
• Enhanced position analysis views and variation depth with H15.3.1
• Improved position learning
• Improved handicap levels in game play
• Bulk game analysis improvements
• New stronger engine opening book
• Improved resignation handling
• Enhanced tablebase explorer dialog
• Automatically backup database before compaction
• eBoard sync during replay game
• Improved live game support
• Improved database search including variations
• Enhanced database import for cyrillic
• Improved PGN handling for invalid formats
• Engine match fix for play from database
• Other minor enhancements

HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro v1.2.1 for Mac - (Free update for customers - 5th August 2023)

A new version of HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro is now available for customers to download and install. v1.2 is a major update with new features, high quality data and new even stronger engines

Key improvements include:

• extra improvements in v1.2.1
• Improved engine book
• Improved annotations during game analysis
• Enhanced database compaction checks
• Remove index when asked to forget database
• Support localized piece names and letters based on HCE Pro language setting
• Improved Database->Find position
• Other minor enhancements


• New HIARCS 15.2 engines with about 50 Elo strength improvement
• Improved positional play, book and position learning
• Improved handicap weaker levels with Set Elo, improved Elo simulation accuracy
• Optional Fortress detection in analysis for Premium customers
• New 2023 Local and engine opening books


• New 2023 MasterBase23 database with over 575,000 high quality games


• New support for Millennium eBoards
• Analyse on a physical electronic chess board
• Play games against the computer using the eBoard
• Supports natural piece movement, sliding pieces, adjusting moves, exchanging pieces


• Improved search functions
• Improved quick search expressions
• Faster searching and extra parameters
• New negated quick search using !


• Improved database, import and export capabilities
• Import multiple databases at once
• Detect more ChessBase symbols on CBH/CBV import
• Improved support for ChessBase CTG books
• Export improvements for PGN/EPUB/CSV/HTML/PDF
• Improved support for ISO-8859-1 databases
• Auto recovery of databases


• Improved user interface features
• Faster start up with many tabs open
• Improved Player Explorer and opening reports
• New evaluation and best move shortcut icons
• Improved evaluation graph strength and quick click navigation
• Extra book and tree views, view mulitple books and databases at once
• Improved Analysis, caching and highlighting important lines
• Improved Annotation of book lines and missed blunders
• Click source and destination squares to move
• Improved browsing of trees and games
• Improved Game List sorting
• Improved Live Game viewing
• Optional store clock usage in engine match
• Restore Play game opening and store clocks
• Improved Puzzle mode, hides result and variations
• Configurable diagram size for HTML/PDF
• Show figurines in Endgame Tablebase navigation
• Improved Print fonts and diagram sizes


• Numerous other fixes and enhancements

HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro v1.1.2 for Mac - (Free update for customers - 20th May 2022)

A new version of HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro is now available for customers to download and install. v1.1.2 is a minor bug fix update of v1.1

Key improvements include:

• New HIARCS 15.1 engines with improved strength and multi-core support
• Updated 2022 opening books
• Updated 2022 MasterBase database
• Improved Annotation display
• Improved support for ChessBase CTG books
• Improved support for Unicode and figurines in ChessBase CBH databases
• Improved copy and paste functions
• Improved export to EPUB
• Engine match enhancements
• New language translations
• Auto recovery of databases after restart
• Skip duplicates with different names or results
• Show existing comments in Puzzle mode
• Numerous other fixes and enhancements

HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro v1.0 for Mac - (5th January 2022)

HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro for Mac is a new highly advanced chess database, analysis and playing program for Apple Mac computers. It offers a powerful user interface with the strongest ever HIARCS chess engine. This unique combination offers easy to use to use features managing chess databases, chess preparation, analysis and training for players of all abilities from beginner to Grandmasters and beyond.

Key features include:

• Advanced Database Support
• New HCE database format offers huge databases only limited by memory. 1GB per 8 million games
• Fastest searching and filtering by players, openings, event, material, pawn structure and positions
• Comprehensive game database support (PGN, HCE, reads Chessbase CBH, CBV and EPD)
• Extensive game notation with variations, comments, symbols, diagrams and named openings
• Export and publish your work, games and preparation to PGN, PDF, EPUB e-book and HTML
• Reference databases, manage databases with duplicate search and clean up, watch live games

• HIARCS 15 Chess Engine - over 200 Elo stronger
• Full range of realistic set Elo levels with human like playing style, or have your strength matched
• Very strong analysis and play, over 200 Elo stronger than the World Chess Software Champion HIARCS 14 which was the highest ever rated single core chess program on the Official SSDF Rating List
• Supports up to 32 threads/cores, can be used in any UCI Chess User Interface (Chessbase/Fritz)

• Player Explorer
• View reports on players, their games, performances and favourite openings and statistics
• Build tree of games and openings of players instantly into a player report with a single click
• Automated repertoire summaries for databases and players. Merge misspelled players

• Game, Opening and Tree Explorers
• Revolutionary multi-source chess tree with moves, statistics from games and recommendations
• Build an opening repertoire tree automatically from database games to learn and prepare openings
• Access huge online opening books, view multiple books & Chessbase CTG books simultaneously

• Analysis and Evaluation Explorers
• Analyse positions and games with multiple engines even simultaneously with load management
• Multiple lines of analysis with statistics, move selection and integrate analysis with game notation
• Check games for blunders and improvements with post game analysis

• Custom Playing modes
• Play against the computer with human-like play and full range of handicap Elo levels
• Choose rating, time controls, start positions and even chess openings for practice
• Train with the guess the move feature, learn and improve your tactical and positional play
• Integrated coach to point out mistakes, show move quality and hints. Rates your play in Elo points
• Engine matches – set up and watch them play or have them play out test or analysis positions

• Packaged Databases
• Includes top quality database with 300,000+ Master games, IM/GM annotated games, tactical exercises
• Online access to up to 1,000 GB of endgame tablebases and opening book databases
• Local book with latest GM Theory and access to much larger online books

Check for Update

The most up to date version of HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro is HIARCS Chess Explorer v1.3.3