Online PGN viewer
Paste a PGN and step through the game on a real board - with an engine alongside, if you want to know what actually happened.
Open a sample PGN → Seventeen moves of Morphy, loaded straight from the link — no pasting required.
What is a PGN file?
PGN stands for Portable Game Notation. It is the standard plain-text format for recording a chess game: a header block with the players, event, date and result, followed by the moves in algebraic notation.
Because it is just text, a PGN can be copied out of an email, a forum post or a database and pasted anywhere that understands it. A minimal one looks like this: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 1-0 - headers optional.
How to open a PGN
- Copy the PGN text - from a
.pgnfile opened in any text editor, from a game page, or from a chat message. - Open the import screen and paste it in.
- Step through the game with the arrow keys, or click any move in the list to jump to that position.
- Turn on the engine to see the evaluation and the best moves at any point in the game.
A PGN with variations, comments and NAG annotations (!?, $2) loads fine - annotated games from books and databases replay with their branches intact.
Viewing versus analysing
Most PGN viewers stop at replay. Because this one is the analysis board with a PGN pasted into it, you get the whole toolset on the same screen: engine evaluation, best-move arrows, the opening explorer showing what is usually played from each position, and a full game report if you want the mistakes marked automatically.
That makes it useful for the thing people actually do with a PGN - not just watching the moves go by, but working out why they were played.
Keep going
Game analyzer
Get every inaccuracy, mistake and blunder marked automatically.
Analysis board
The full board with engine, arrows and the opening explorer.
Opening guides
Learn the ideas behind the openings you keep meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How do I open a PGN file online?
Open the file in any text editor, copy its contents, and paste them into the import screen. There is nothing to install and no account needed.
Can I view a PGN with variations and comments?
Yes. Variations, comments and annotation glyphs in the PGN are preserved, so annotated games from books and databases replay as intended.
Can I analyse the game after loading the PGN?
Yes - the PGN loads directly onto the full analysis board, so Stockfish evaluation, best-move arrows, the opening explorer and the game report are all available immediately.
Is there a limit on game length?
No practical limit for normal games. Very large multi-game PGN databases are better split before pasting.