Play a complete game of chess with every rule handled for you: castling, en passant, promotion, check, checkmate, stalemate and draws by repetition or the 50-move rule. Choose a friendly, medium or harder computer opponent, play as White or Black, undo moves while you learn, and copy the game in standard notation when you finish.
loading toolHow to play chess online
- Choose vs computer or 2 players; for the computer pick a level and your colour.
- Tap a piece to see its legal moves, then tap a highlighted square.
- When a pawn reaches the last row, choose the piece it becomes.
- Use Undo to take back a move, Flip board to turn it round, Copy moves to save the game.
Good to know
- The king square turns red when it is in check.
- Keyboard: arrows move around the board, Enter selects.
- New to chess? Play Easy and use Undo freely to try ideas.
Questions
Which library runs the rules?
The open-source chess.js library (version 0.10.3, BSD licence), loaded from a public CDN, checks every move. The computer player is our own small search that looks one to three moves ahead.
Is the computer very strong?
No, and that is on purpose: it is aimed at beginners and casual players. Easy makes frequent mistakes, Medium punishes loose pieces, and Hard sees short tactics such as forks and simple checkmates.
Can I save or analyse my game?
The current game is kept in this browser. Copy moves gives you the game in PGN, the standard format that any chess program or website can open for analysis.
Does it need the internet?
Only once, to load the rules library. After that the game runs completely on your device.
Is my data private?
Yes. Everything happens inside your own browser: nothing you type or choose is uploaded to us or anyone else.
Is it free?
Completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many times you use it. Light ads keep the site running.
