In 2026 you can play chess by voice in three main ways: on a chess website (chess.com or Lichess) in your browser, with Apple's Chess app on a Mac, or with an iPhone app. The websites suit you if you want to play people online. An iPhone app suits you if you want to play the computer by voice anywhere, and some apps are built for blindfold training.
Checked on October 14, 2026, against each product's own page. Features change, so check the linked page before you rely on one.
At a glance
| Option | Where | Opponent | Price | Account and internet | How you speak moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| chess.com voice control | Web browser | People online | Free account; paid memberships available | Account and internet | Hold the space bar and say the move |
| Lichess voice input | Web browser | Lichess game and puzzle pages | Free | Internet | Click the voice button and say the move |
| Lichess blind mode | Web browser, with a screen reader | People online, or the computer | Free | Internet | Typed, not spoken |
| Apple Chess | Mac | The computer or another person; Game Center matches online | Comes with macOS | Keyboard dictation must be on | Press the dictation shortcut and say the move |
| Verbal Chess | iPhone and iPad | The computer, or people on Lichess | Free to download; subscriptions or a one-time purchase | Lichess account for online play | Say the move in notation, such as "play Nf3" |
| DarkSquares | iPhone and iPad | The computer, or people on Lichess | Free to start; Pro, with a lifetime-access option | No account; works offline | Speak or type moves |
| Chess-wise 3 | iPhone and iPad, with VoiceOver | Online play on FICS | Free; Pro is an in-app purchase | Not stated | Not listed as a feature |
| VocalChess | iPhone | The computer | Free, no purchases | No account; works offline | Say the move, such as "knight f3" |
chess.com voice control
chess.com supports voice moves on its website for Live and Daily games. You turn on voice control in the board's settings (the Board tab) or on the Accessibility settings page, allow the microphone, then hold the space bar and say your move; the microphone icon turns green while it listens. Besides moves, you can resign, offer or answer a draw, handle rematches and challenges, and start a new game. Castling is "castle kingside" or "castle queenside". It works in English only. A basic chess.com account is free, with paid memberships for extra features. Source: How do I make moves using my voice? and Does it cost anything?
Lichess: voice input and blind mode
Lichess is free and has two separate features that help here.
Voice input. Lichess's preferences include "Input moves with your voice". With it on, a voice button appears by the board on game and puzzle pages. Lichess's in-app help says it shows arrows when it isn't sure which move you meant, and you pick one by saying its colour or number. It also suggests the phonetic alphabet for the files, and has an option to hold Shift while speaking in noisy surroundings. Lichess says your voice is processed as you speak and never uploaded. Sources: Lichess voice recognition announcement and the voice help text and preference name in Lichess's source code (voiceCommands.xml, preferences.xml).
Blind mode. Blind mode makes Lichess work with a screen reader: NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver and Orca. You type moves such as "e4" or "Nf3" into a command field rather than speaking them, and short commands read the clocks or the last move. Turn it on with the "Accessibility - Enable blind mode" button at the top of the page. Source: Lichess blind mode tutorial
Speak to Lichess is a separate, open-source Chrome extension by another developer. It plays the moves you say on Lichess, fully by voice in Rapid, Classical and Correspondence games; faster games need some typing. Last updated: January 2022. Source: Speak to Lichess on the Chrome Web Store
Apple's Chess app on a Mac
The Chess app that comes with macOS can take spoken moves. Apple's guide for macOS Sequoia says to turn on keyboard dictation, choose Chess > Settings and select Allow Player to Speak Moves, then press your dictation shortcut and say a move, such as "Pawn e2 to e4". It can also read moves aloud in voices you choose. Opponents are the computer or another person, and you can play Game Center matches online; the guide doesn't say whether spoken moves work in Game Center matches. Source: Chess User Guide for Mac
iPhone apps
Verbal Chess by Conceptual Software lets you control the whole app by voice and plays against the computer or against people through Lichess. You say moves in notation, such as "play Nf3" or "play g1 f3", and it reads your opponent's moves aloud. It's free to download, with monthly, annual or one-time purchases, and runs on iPhone and iPad. Source: Verbal Chess on the App Store
DarkSquares ("Blindfold Chess - DarkSquares") teaches blindfold chess step by step, with visualization drills and blindfold games against the computer. You can type moves or speak them, with on-device speech recognition in English, French, Spanish, German, Hindi and Portuguese, and its release notes describe online play on Lichess. It needs no account to start and works offline. It's free to start, with a Pro tier that includes a lifetime-access option. Source: DarkSquares on the App Store
Chess-wise 3 is a chess app for iPhone and iPad whose release notes mention improved VoiceOver support. It has online play through the FICS chess server. Its App Store listing doesn't mention spoken moves. Last updated: October 2018 (version 3.5.0). Source: Chess-wise 3 on the App Store
VocalChess is a free iPhone app by Studio Marabel for playing chess against the computer by voice. Tap the microphone once and it keeps listening; say each move, such as "knight f3", and the computer's reply is read aloud. When it isn't sure what it heard, it asks "Did you say …?" before playing. Tap the eye to hide the pieces and play blindfold. It needs no account and, after iOS downloads its English speech model once, plays offline. It doesn't play people online and runs only on iPhone. It isn't the "VocalChess: Voice Control for Chess.com" Chrome extension, which is a separate product. The guide to chess voice control lists every command.
Which should you use?
- To play people online by voice: chess.com voice control or Lichess voice input, in a browser.
- If you're blind and use a screen reader: Lichess blind mode on a computer, or Chess-wise 3 with VoiceOver on iPhone.
- To practise against the computer by voice on iPhone, offline: VocalChess or DarkSquares.
- To play whole blindfold games by voice: VocalChess.
- For structured blindfold drills, step by step: DarkSquares.
- On a Mac, without installing anything: Apple's Chess app.
If you're new to speaking moves, the guide to saying chess moves out loud covers the words, and how to play blindfold chess shows how to build up to whole games without the board.