Chess

Q: Can I play chess against the computer for free?

Yes — choose Computer, pick a level from Beginner to Master, and play as White, Black or a random colour. There’s no sign-up and nothing to download.

Q: Can two people play on one device?

Yes — choose A friend and take turns. Use Flip to turn the board.

Play a full game of chess against a computer that ranges from beginner to master, or with a friend on the same screen — with hints, undo and every rule built in.

Runs in your browser Free · no sign-up Works on any device

You

Draws

Computer (Casual)

Your move

Moves

No moves yet.

Play against

Level

Sees simple tactics but makes mistakes. Changes apply from the computer’s next move.

You play

Takes effect in your next game.

Show legal movesShow coordinatesAlways promote to a queenSound

Board

Set up a position (FEN)

← → step through the moves · F flip the board · U undo

Results are kept for each level, on this device.

At a glance

Every rule is built in: castling, en passant and promotion, check and checkmate, stalemate, and draws by threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule and too little material to mate.
Play the computer at five levels — Beginner, Casual, Club, Strong and Master. It thinks in a background thread with alpha-beta search, so the page never freezes; at Master it looks around ten moves ahead.
Play a friend on one device, take moves back with undo, ask for a hint, and step back through the game in the move list.
Legal moves are shown as dots when you pick up a piece; drag pieces or tap the start and end squares. Choose your piece on promotion, or always queen.
Copy the game as PGN or the position as FEN, and start from any position you paste in. Your game in progress is saved on this device.
Claude Shannon wrote the first paper on computer chess in 1950; in 1997 IBM’s Deep Blue beat world champion Garry Kasparov 3½–2½. Free, no download, no sign-up.

Step by step

How to play chess here

1
Choose your opponent
Play the Computer — pick a level and your colour — or A friend on the same device.
2
Make a move
Drag a piece, or tap it and then tap a highlighted square. White moves first.
3
Use the help
Press Hint for a suggestion, Undo to take a move back, or step through the moves with the arrow keys.
4
Finish the game
Checkmate the king to win. Stalemate, repetition, the fifty-move rule and bare kings are draws — or resign when it’s hopeless.
5
Save it
Copy the PGN to keep the game or study it in another program.

Features

Everything you need, nothing you don’t

A level for everyone

Beginner looks one move ahead and leaves pieces hanging; Master thinks up to four seconds a move and is hard to beat.

Learn as you play

Legal-move dots, hints from the engine, and undo as often as you like.

Two players, one board

Play a friend on a phone, tablet or computer and flip the board when you need to.

Review your game

Step back and forward through every move with the arrows or the move list.

PGN and FEN

Copy your game to analyse elsewhere, or paste a FEN to practise any position.

Never freezes

The computer thinks in the background, so the board stays smooth even at the strongest level.

How the pieces move

Piece	Moves	Value
King	One square any way; castling with a rook	—
Queen	Any distance along ranks, files and diagonals	9
Rook	Any distance along ranks and files	5
Bishop	Any distance along diagonals	3
Knight	An L: two squares one way, one square to the side; jumps over pieces	3
Pawn	One square forward (two from its first square); captures diagonally; promotes on the last rank	1

Special rules

Castling: the king moves two squares toward a rook, and the rook jumps to the other side. Not allowed if either has moved, if a square between them is occupied, or if the king is in check, passes through check or ends in check.
En passant: when a pawn moves two squares and lands beside an enemy pawn, that pawn may capture it as if it had moved one square — but only on the very next move.
Promotion: a pawn reaching the far rank becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
Draws: stalemate (no legal move but not in check), the same position three times, fifty moves each without a capture or pawn move, or not enough material left to checkmate.

Credits

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can I play chess against the computer for free?

Yes — choose Computer, pick a level from Beginner to Master, and play as White, Black or a random colour. There’s no sign-up and nothing to download.

How strong is the computer?

Beginner looks one move ahead with deliberate mistakes, Casual sees simple tactics, Club plays solid chess, Strong thinks about a second and a half a move, and Master thinks up to four seconds and looks around ten moves ahead.

Can two people play on one device?

Yes — choose A friend and take turns. Use Flip to turn the board.

How do I castle or promote a pawn?

To castle, move the king two squares toward the rook; the rook follows automatically. When a pawn reaches the last rank you choose its new piece (or switch on “Always promote to a queen”).

What is PGN and FEN?

PGN records a whole game move by move; FEN describes a single position. Copy either to use in other chess software, or paste a FEN under “Set up a position” to play from it.

Is my game saved?

Yes, your game in progress, settings and results are saved in this browser.

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