Strategy board game
Chess
Checkmate, or outlast the clock.
The classic game for two. Play a friend in the same room, or a Stockfish bot at the level you choose, while anyone else in the room watches.
What is chess?
Each player commands sixteen pieces. Take turns moving one piece at a time, capture what you can, and trap the opposing king.
Checkmate wins. Stalemates, repeated positions and bare kings end in a draw, and on a clock, running out of time loses.
How to play
Six steps from an empty room to a rematch.
01
Take a seat
One player sits as White, the other as Black. Anyone else in the room watches.
02
Pick a clock
The host picks untimed or a time per side, with an optional increment.
03
White moves first
Tap or drag a piece. Legal squares light up, and the server checks every move.
04
Take turns
Your clock runs only on your turn. An increment is added after each move.
05
Checkmate wins
Trap the opposing king so it can't escape check.
06
Rematch
Play again in the same room, with colours swapped if you like.
Rules
What the server accepts. The board shows only legal moves for your pieces.
Moves
- Standard chess rules. The server decides which moves are legal; the board only shows them.
- Castling on either side, when neither the king nor that rook has moved and the king doesn't pass through check.
- En passant, only on the move right after the pawn's two-square advance.
- A pawn reaching the last rank must promote. Choose a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
- A move sent for a position that has already changed is refused, so a slow connection can't play a stale move.
Draws
- Stalemate, insufficient material, fivefold repetition and the 75-move rule end the game as a draw automatically.
- Threefold repetition and the 50-move rule are draws you claim with the Claim draw button when they apply.
- You can offer a draw once per position. Your opponent can accept or decline, and the offer lapses once the next move is played.
Taking back moves
- Against the computer, Take back move undoes your last move and the computer's reply, so you move again from the position you chose from. You can use it as often as you like.
- It is not available between two people, and not once the game is over.
- Clocks are not given back: time already used stays spent, and a take-back doesn't reset your clock.
Clocks
- Untimed, or 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes per side.
- Increment: none, or 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 seconds after each move.
- The server keeps the time. A slow connection doesn't cost you clock time it can't see.
- Running out of time loses, unless your opponent has too little material to ever checkmate. Then it's a draw.
Leaving
- A dropped connection isn't a resignation. Come back within the grace period and the game carries on where it was.
- If your opponent leaves and doesn't come back, you can claim the win.
- A game against a bot ends with no result if you leave and don't come back.
- Resign ends the game at once.
Settings
The host sets these in the lobby before the game starts.
Time per side
Increment
Colours
Bot level
Bots
Stockfish, running on our server. The host can add one to the empty seat and change its level between moves.
Easy
Makes plenty of mistakes. Good for learning the moves.
Normal
Plays sensibly but leaves chances. The default.
Hard
Punishes loose pieces and simple blunders.
Expert
A strong club player.
Master
Very strong. Expect to work for every point.
Smartest
Stockfish at full strength within its time limit.
Games against a bot are kept in your history but don't count toward rankings, streaks or stats against people.
Watching
Everyone else in the room watches live: the board, both clocks and the move list. Spectators can flip the board but can't move, offer draws or change the bot.
Ready to play?
Start a room, invite a friend or add a bot, and make the first move.