Sixty-four squares, and nowhere to hide. White moves first, then you take turns, one move each. Trap the other king — checkmate — and the game is yours.
Free, no sign-up — play the house’s regulars or invite a friend.
Your move
Tap a piece and tap where it goes, or drag it there. With Show legal moves on (Settings), dots show where the piece you pick up can go; a ring marks a capture. The last move stays tinted so you can see what just happened. Keys: Esc puts a piece back down.
How the pieces move
The king one square any way. The queen any distance in a straight line or diagonal; the rook straight; the bishop diagonally. The knight jumps in an L, over anything in the way. A pawn moves one square forward (two from its starting square) and takes one square diagonally forward.
Check and checkmate
A king under attack is in check — the square glows — and the next move must get it out: move it, block, or take the attacker. No way out is checkmate, and the game is over. No legal move but not in check is stalemate: a draw.
Castling
Once a game, the king may step two squares toward a rook, and the rook hops over to its other side — move the king and the rook follows. Only if neither has moved, nothing stands between them, and the king isn’t in check, passing through it, or landing in it.
En passant
A pawn that steps two squares and lands beside one of yours can be taken as if it had moved only one: your pawn goes diagonally behind it. Only on the very next move — the dots will show it.
Promotion
A pawn reaching the far side becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight — you pick. Turn on Always promote to a queen in Settings and it becomes a queen without asking.
Draws
A game is drawn by stalemate, the same position three times, fifty moves without a capture or a pawn move, or not enough left on the board to mate. Or ask: Draw? offers one — a regular takes it only when it suits them (the Count, only when he’s losing), and a friend can accept or play on. Resign (tap twice) ends it.
Who’s at the board
Four regulars, easiest first: Bea (beginner, ~700), Wilbur (casual, ~1150), Ingrid (club player, ~1550), The Count (expert, ~1850). Against the first three, Take back (U) undoes your last move and Hint (H) draws an arrow for a good one. The Count allows neither — a win there is all yours. Or play a friend: send a link from the room, and every game goes on your record against them.
Tips
Control the middle early: pawns and knights toward the centre, then castle.
Before every move, look at what the last one attacks.
Pace (Settings) changes how long the regulars think — never how well they play.