ChessPigeonTroubleshooting
The engine or review won't run
- Review is slow. Stockfish runs on your own device. Long games, the Deep or Max depth presets and older phones take longer. Try Fast or Balanced under Settings → Analysis depth.
- Review pauses when you switch tabs. Browsers slow down background tabs to save power. Keep ChessPigeon in front until the review finishes.
- The engine shows an error. Select Restart engine in the Stockfish card. If it keeps failing, reload the page; your current game is restored in the same tab.
- Nothing loads at all. ChessPigeon needs a current browser with JavaScript and WebAssembly enabled. Try disabling extensions that block scripts for this site.
An import fails
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| “Please choose a file smaller than 5 MB.” | Split the collection into several smaller files. |
| “Import is limited to 500 games at a time.” | Import the collection in parts of 500 games or fewer. |
| “Paste a PGN game or FEN position first.” | The text box is empty. Paste a game or choose a file. |
| “Illegal move “…” at move N. The game was not imported.” | The PGN has a move that isn't legal there. Correct or remove it around that move number. |
| “Invalid FEN. Enter a complete, valid chess position.” | Make sure the FEN has all six fields. |
| “Illegal position: check the kings, pawns, and side to move.” | The position can't occur in a game, for example two white kings or a pawn on the first rank. |
| “The PGN has an unclosed comment or malformed header.” | Look for a missing } or ] in the file. |
| “The PGN has an unmatched variation parenthesis.” | A ( or ) is missing in a variation. |
| “This game has too many moves or variations (maximum 10,000 positions).” | Remove some variations, or split them into separate games. |
| “The variant “…” is not supported yet. Import a standard chess game.” | Only standard chess can be imported. |
| “No chess moves or valid position were found.” | The text doesn't look like PGN or FEN. Copy the game again from its source. |
Chess.com search problems
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| “Enter a Chess.com username using 2–25 letters, numbers, hyphens, or underscores.” | Check the username for spaces or other characters. |
| “This Chess.com profile or archive could not be found.” | Check the spelling. The account must exist and have public games. |
| “Chess.com is limiting requests. Please try again in a minute.” | Wait a minute and search again. |
| “Chess.com took too long to respond. Please try again.” | Chess.com was slow. Try again shortly. |
| “This Chess.com archive is too large. Please import its PGN file instead.” | Download the games as PGN from Chess.com and use the File or text tab. |
| “No completed standard games found.” | Only finished standard chess games are listed. Games in progress and variants are skipped. |
Saved games are missing
Saved games are stored in the browser where you saved them. If My games is empty:
- Check that you're using the same browser and device as before. Each browser keeps its own library.
- Private or incognito windows delete their data when closed.
- Clearing this site's data, cookies or history in your browser removes saved games.
Games removed this way can't be recovered, so keep PGN backups of games that matter.
If an account or sync action fails, retry once your connection is restored. Keep this browser's saved games and export a PGN backup before clearing site data. Follow any message asking you to sign in again or free storage space.
Share links
- “This analysis is too large for a link. Download the PGN instead.” Very long games with many variations don't fit in a link. Send the PGN file instead.
- “This shared analysis is invalid or damaged. Ask for a new link.” Part of the link was lost when it was copied. Ask for the link again.
- “This browser cannot create sharing links. Download the PGN instead.” Update your browser, or share the PGN.
Classroom lessons
Classroom is temporarily unavailable. Wait briefly and try again in the same tab. Keep the lesson open and save or download any games you can access.
Coach is editing means moves are paused. Students can pick up pieces, but attempted moves snap back and briefly blink the message coral (steady coral with reduced motion). The coach should close the piece drawer after arranging the position. If a connection failure interrupted closing, reconnect in the original coach tab and retry; narrow layouts offer Finish editing. An Illegal position label slowly pulses red (or stays red with reduced motion). Correct the position with the drawer before play can resume.
- “This classroom has expired.” Lessons expire after six hours. If the board is still open, save or download its games before leaving. A room that disappears earlier says it is no longer available. Opening a missing or expired classroom link takes you directly to the new-classroom page.
- “This classroom is full.” A lesson can have 50 active participants.
- “Too many requests. Please try again shortly.” Many people joining from the same network at once can hit a safety limit. Join a few at a time.
- A participant shows as offline. They have been out of contact for about 30 seconds. They reappear once their connection recovers; reloading their tab keeps their seat.
- I rejoined and lost my role. Opening the link in a new tab, browser or device creates a new participant who starts as Watching. The coach can give the role back. A coach seat can't be moved to another tab or device.
Online games
- “Game is no longer available” The invitation expired (after ten minutes unopened) or the game has finished and been removed. Select Create a new game.
- My opponent seems stuck. If their connection drops, they get a short time to reconnect before the game is decided. With status eyes on, their pigeon's eye blinks yellow, then red, while they are away.
Still not working?
Tell us what you were doing, what you expected and what happened instead. The support page explains what to include. Please don't send invitation links or private student information.