About Chess
Chess is the classic game of strategy for two players, and here a full game is a tap away. Choose a robot opponent at Easy, Normal or Hard, play White, Black or a random side, or set the robot aside and play a friend on the same phone or computer. Every rule is built in, including castling, en passant, promotion to any piece and every way a game can be drawn, and the move list keeps the score in standard notation.
How to play Chess
- Each side has sixteen pieces and White moves first. Win by checkmate: attack the enemy king so that it has no way out.
- Tap a piece to see its legal moves as dots, then tap where it should go. You can also drag the piece, or use the arrow keys and Enter.
- Castling, en passant and promotion follow the official rules; a pawn that reaches the far side asks which piece it becomes.
- Stalemate, the same position three times, fifty moves each without a capture or pawn move, or too few pieces to mate is a draw. Results are saved on this device.
Tips & strategy
- Control the centre early with your pawns and knights, and develop your bishops and knights before bringing out the queen.
- Castle in the first ten moves or so: it tucks the king away and brings a rook towards the middle.
- Before every move, ask what the robot’s last move attacks. Easy misses tactics, but Hard punishes a loose piece at once.
- Ahead in material? Trade pieces rather than pawns: a simpler position is easier to win.
Chess: questions and answers
How strong is the robot?
Easy looks one move ahead and makes deliberate slips, so beginners can win. Normal searches a few moves deep and rarely gives pieces away. Hard thinks for about a second per move and plays a solid club-level game.
Can I take a move back?
Yes. Against the robot, Undo takes back your last move and the robot’s reply while the game is still going. In a two-player game it takes back one move at a time.
When is a game drawn?
Stalemate, the same position three times, fifty moves each without a capture or pawn move, and positions where neither side can checkmate all end the game as a draw straight away.
Where are my results kept?
Your wins, losses, draws and winning streaks are saved in this browser only. The game runs entirely on your device and nothing is sent to our server.