🔒 Python-chess refuses to download for me | Python | Page 1

full mesaBOT Feb 2, 2026, 4:07 AM

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@tall oak

Python help channel opened

Remember to:

Ask your Python question, not if you can ask or if there's an expert who can help.
Show a code sample as text (rather than a screenshot) and the error message, if you've got one.
Explain what you expect to happen and what actually happens.

:warning: Do not pip install anything that isn't related to your question, especially if asked to over DMs.

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:09 AM

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!pypi chess

full mesaBOT Feb 2, 2026, 4:09 AM

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chess v1.11.2

A chess library with move generation and validation, Polyglot opening book probing, PGN reading and writing, Gaviota tablebase probing, Syzygy tablebase probing, and XBoard/UCI engine communication.

Released on <t:1740510627:D>.

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:09 AM

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Is this the library you're trying to install? @tall oak

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:10 AM

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lost burrow Is this the library you're trying to install? <@774738381199769600>

yes

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:10 AM

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When you run pip install chess what happens

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:11 AM

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here's the exact code: Requirement already satisfied: chess in c:\users(my_name)\appdata\local\programs\python\python313\lib\site-packages (1.11.2)

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:11 AM

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So you've already installed it?

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:11 AM

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apparently

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:12 AM

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Does it work when you run your code

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:12 AM

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when I type "import chess" in VScode, it fails

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other imports work fine

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:13 AM

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tall oak when I type "import chess" in VScode, it fails

Do you get an error when you run your code or is it just a warning from vsc of unused import

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:14 AM

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this is the error I get when running the code:

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ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'chess'

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:14 AM

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Ah okay

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You most likely have multiple python versions installed. You must've installed the package to one python version and you're running your code in another version

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The recommended way to use virtual environments to fix this

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!venv

full mesaBOT Feb 2, 2026, 4:15 AM

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Virtual environments

Virtual environments are isolated Python environments, which make it easier to keep your system clean and manage dependencies. By default, when activated, only libraries and scripts installed in the virtual environment are accessible, preventing cross-project dependency conflicts, and allowing easy isolation of requirements.

To create a new virtual environment, you can use the standard library venv module: python3 -m venv .venv (replace python3 with python or py on Windows)

Then, to activate the new virtual environment:

Windows (PowerShell): .venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
or (Command Prompt): .venv\Scripts\activate.bat
MacOS / Linux (Bash): source .venv/bin/activate

Packages can then be installed to the virtual environment using pip, as normal.

For more information, take a read of the documentation. If you run code through your editor, check its documentation on how to make it use your virtual environment. For example, see the VSCode or PyCharm docs.

Tools such as poetry and pipenv can manage the creation of virtual environments as well as project dependencies, making packaging and installing your project easier.

Note: When using PowerShell in Windows, you may need to change the execution policy first. This is only required once per user:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:15 AM

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I installed it in the VScode control terminal

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:15 AM

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Yes

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:15 AM

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lost burrow You most likely have multiple python versions installed. You must've installed t...

This what happened when you installed it

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And why it's not working

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:16 AM

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alright

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give me a minute to read what you sent me

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so, do you want me to do the pip install inside the venv? @lost burrow

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:21 AM

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Yeah, first activate the venv and then run the pip install commands

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You'll have to re install your other dependancies too

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:24 AM

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so I'm pretty much working in a blank python file rn. I wrote import venv, ran the code, which (for lack of understanding of this command) made the terminal look slightly different, then I did the pip install inside of the slightly different terminal, and got the exact same result: Requirement already satisfied

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:26 AM

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Can you show a screenshot of your entire vsc with the terminal open

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:26 AM

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lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:27 AM

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full mesa

Have you ran these commands in the terminal?

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:27 AM

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tall oak

Also I need to see the bar right below the terminal too

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:28 AM

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tall oak

See that when vscode runs your script it's invoking 3.12? And that pip installs to 3.13?

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:28 AM

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somber heron See that when vscode runs your script it's invoking 3.12? And that pip installs ...

I see that now. I should only have 3.12 on my machine though

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:29 AM

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You want to run ⁨pip⁩ for the python you're using to run your code.

We normally suggest:
⁨```sh
python -m pip install chess

replacing ⁨`python`⁩ with the python running your script. So maybe, 
⁨```sh
py -3.12 -m pip install chess
```⁩

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i.e. ⁨py -3.12⁩ to get the python launcher to use 3.12.

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Or copy/paste the executable vscode is using:
⁨```sh
C:......312...\python.exe -m pip install chess

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:30 AM

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like this?

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:30 AM

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I'd suggest using venv and making vsc select that venv for the project. It makes things much easier in the long run as they wouldn't need to type out that entire thing next time they try to install

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:31 AM

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If you make a venv you can (a) tell vscode to use it and (b) run the activate script in the terminal window, which should make things use that python.

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:31 AM

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tall oak like this?

Sorry, no.

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⁨py -3.12 -m pip install chess⁩

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Note the ⁨-m⁩ before ⁨pip⁩

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:31 AM

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got it

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I think'

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:31 AM

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So we're replacing ⁨python⁩ with ⁨py -3.12⁩ to specify the python.

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Then using the ⁨pip⁩ module from that specific python.

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Thus installing for that specific python.

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:32 AM

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got this error

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py : The term 'py' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify
that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1

py -3.12 -m pip install chess
~~
- CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (py:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
- FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

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I believe I'm not in the right file location

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:32 AM

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No ⁨py⁩ command? I presume ⁨py -0⁩ doesn't do anything useful either?

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:32 AM

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tall oak I believe I'm not in the right file location

Shouldn't really matter.

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:33 AM

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You might have not set python to path

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:33 AM

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this would be a lot easier if I could share my screen with you two

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:33 AM

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What about copying vscodes long path-to-the-python.exe ? That should work.

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:34 AM

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tall oak this would be a lot easier if I could share my screen with you two

I gotta head out for my uni soon

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:34 AM

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And I'm supposed to be working 🙁

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:34 AM

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:(

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:34 AM

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somber heron What about copying vscodes long path-to-the-python.exe ? That should work.

what do you mean?

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:35 AM

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vscode is invoking the 3.12 python. Which is fine.

Just copy/paste its long C:....python.exe path as the python command.
⁨```sh
C:......312....\python.exe -m pip install chess

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I can't copy paste tfrom a screenshot, so the above is merely a sketch of the path.

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:35 AM

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You should probably just set python to path manually

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:35 AM

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This path

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somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:36 AM

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lost burrow You should probably just set python to path manually

If you can describe what that means, go ahead.

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:37 AM

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If you open the environments app on windows and add the python exe path to the registry there, you will be able to invoke python normally

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Wait

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@tall oak did you install python from ms store?

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:38 AM

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no

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:38 AM

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oh okay

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See if using python -0 works

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:38 AM

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Unknown option: -0
usage: C:\Users\zgawi\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python312\python.exe [option] ... [-c cmd | -m mod | file | -] [arg] ...
Try `python -h' for more information.

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:39 AM

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Okay..

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:39 AM

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wait, - capitol o worked

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Python 3.12.8 (tags/v3.12.8:2dc476b, Dec 3 2024, 19:30:04) [MSC v.1942 64 bit (AMD64)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
Ctrl click to launch VS Code Native REPL

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:40 AM

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Well that's not what I wanted but it's okay

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Well it's wierd that you use python instead of py by default

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:40 AM

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lost burrow See if using `python -0` works

⁨-0⁩ is for the ⁨py⁩ python launcher

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which they don't seem to have

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:40 AM

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Unless youve installed from Ms store

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:40 AM

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⁨```sh
C:\Users\zgawi\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python312\python.exe -m pip install chess

lost burrow Feb 2, 2026, 4:41 AM

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I gotta head out now

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:42 AM

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cya

somber heron Feb 2, 2026, 4:42 AM

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me too

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see if the above does the install.

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It's long and tedious, but matches the python vscode is invoking.

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You only need it for the pip install.

tall oak Feb 2, 2026, 4:43 AM

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somber heron see if the above does the install.

I do not think it did

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wait, I reloaded vscode and am no longer getting an error

full mesaBOT Feb 2, 2026, 4:51 AM

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:warning: The owner of this post is no longer in the server.

full mesaBOT Feb 2, 2026, 5:51 AM

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Python help channel closed for inactivity

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#🔒 Python-chess refuses to download for me