Chess online
Checkmate the enemy king. The game follows the official rules of chess, with castling, en passant, promotion and every kind of draw. Play against the computer or with another person on the same screen.
How do you play chess online for free against the computer?
Open the page and tap a blue piece to see where it can go. Then tap the square you want. The computer answers with the pink pieces. The game follows the official rules, with castling, en passant and promotion. It has two levels and runs in your browser, with no sign-up and nothing to install. Checkmate wins.
How to play
- The board has 64 squares. Each player starts with 16 pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. Blue plays the white side, sits at the bottom and moves first. Pink plays the black side.
- The king moves one square in any direction.
- The queen moves any number of empty squares in a straight line or diagonally.
- The rook moves any number of empty squares in a straight line. The bishop moves any number of empty squares diagonally.
- The knight moves in an L shape: two squares one way and one square to the side. It is the only piece that jumps over others.
- The pawn moves one square forward. On its first move it may go two. The pawn captures only diagonally, one square ahead.
- To capture, a piece lands on the square of an enemy piece and removes it from the board. Capturing is never mandatory.
- Check means the king is under attack. A player in check must get out of it: move the king, capture the attacking piece or block the line. No move may leave your own king in check.
- Checkmate is a check with no way out. The player who gives checkmate wins the game.
- Castling: the king moves two squares toward a rook, and the rook jumps to the other side of the king. It is allowed only if the king and that rook have not moved yet, the squares between them are empty, the king is not in check, and the king does not pass through or land on an attacked square.
- En passant: when an enemy pawn moves two squares and lands next to your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved only one. This capture is allowed only on the very next move.
- Promotion: a pawn that reaches the far row becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight. You choose.
- Stalemate: if the player to move is not in check and has no legal move, the game is a draw.
- The game is also a draw when the same position appears three times, after 50 moves in a row by each player with no capture and no pawn move, or when neither side has enough pieces to give checkmate, such as king against king, or king and one bishop or one knight against king. Here the game declares these draws by itself.
How to use the board on screen
- Tap the piece you want to move. Only pieces that have a move respond.
- Dots show the empty squares the piece can reach. A green ring marks a piece that can be captured.
- Tap the square you want to play. To switch pieces, tap another one.
- To castle, tap the king and then the square two squares away from it.
- When a pawn reaches the far row, four pieces appear on the board. Tap the one you want.
- Yellow squares show the last move. A pink square shows a king in check.
Tips to play better
- Start by pushing a center pawn. It opens a path for the queen and a bishop.
- Bring out your knights and bishops before you move the same piece twice.
- Castle early. The king gets safer and the rook joins the game.
- Before every move, check what your opponent's last move attacks.
- Do not bring the queen out too early. It becomes a target and you lose moves running away.
- Count the value of trades: a pawn is worth 1, a knight or bishop 3, a rook 5 and a queen 9.
- In the endgame, walk your king to the center and push your pawns to promote.
Frequently asked questions
When is castling allowed?
When the king and the chosen rook have not moved yet, the squares between them are empty, the king is not in check, and the king does not pass through or land on an attacked square.
What is en passant?
It is a special pawn capture. If an enemy pawn moves two squares and lands next to your pawn, you may capture it as if it had moved only one. It is allowed only on the very next move.
What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?
In checkmate, the king is in check and has no way out: the player who gave mate wins. In stalemate, the king is not in check, but the player has no legal move: the game is a draw.
Can a pawn become any piece?
When it reaches the far row, a pawn becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight, as the player chooses. It cannot become a king or stay a pawn.
How can a chess game end in a draw?
By stalemate, by the same position repeated three times, by 50 moves in a row by each player with no capture and no pawn move, or when neither side has enough pieces to give checkmate.
