About Chess
Play a full game of chess in your browser with every official rule: castling, en passant, pawn promotion, check, checkmate, stalemate, threefold repetition and the fifty-move rule. Legal moves are shown when you pick up a piece, so it is easy for beginners to learn.
Choose an opponent that suits you. The easy computer plays loosely, the medium one looks two moves ahead, and the hard one searches deeper and punishes mistakes. Or play a friend on the same device.
How to play
- You play White. Tap a piece to see its legal moves, then tap a highlighted square, or drag the piece.
- Checkmate the enemy king to win. Captured pieces and the material balance appear below the board.
- Your score depends on the difficulty, the material you won and how quickly you won.
Chess rules in brief
Chess is played on an 8×8 board. Each side has a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. White moves first, and the goal is checkmate: attacking the enemy king so that it has no legal escape. This game follows the full rules, including castling, en passant captures, pawn promotion (you choose the piece), stalemate, threefold repetition and the 50-move rule.
How the pieces move
- King: one square in any direction.
- Queen: any distance in a straight line or diagonal.
- Rook: any distance along a rank or file.
- Bishop: any distance diagonally, always on one colour.
- Knight: an L-shape (two squares, then one sideways); it can jump over pieces.
- Pawn: forward one square (two on its first move), captures diagonally.
A common guide to piece value: pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9. Use it to judge whether a trade is good for you.
Five opening principles for beginners
- Control the centre with your e- and d-pawns.
- Develop knights and bishops before moving the same piece twice.
- Castle early to keep your king safe.
- Do not bring your queen out too soon, where it can be chased.
- Connect your rooks, then look for a plan.
See these principles in action in our guide to the Opera Game: 7 chess lessons from Morphy's 17-move masterpiece.
Choosing a level
Easy AI is a friendly opponent for learning the moves. Medium AI looks two moves ahead and punishes loose pieces. Hard AI searches deeper, so check every capture before you play. 2 Players lets two people play on one device.
Chess FAQ
What is the difference between checkmate and stalemate?
Checkmate means the king is attacked and cannot escape: the game is won. Stalemate means the player to move has no legal move but is not in check: the game is a draw.
Can I undo moves?
Against the computer the game is played out like a real match, so think before you move. Use the Restart button to begin a new game.
Love strategy? Try Checkers, Reversi or all our board games.
