How to play chess online
- Choose New game to pick your opponent: the computer at one of six levels, or a friend on the same device. With the computer you can play White, Black or a random color. White always moves first.
- Drag a piece to its new square, or tap it and then tap the target square. Dots show every legal move; a ring marks a piece you can capture.
- Put the enemy king in check so that it cannot escape: that is checkmate and you win. The king in check glows red, and the last move stays highlighted so you never miss what your opponent did.
- Stuck? Hint draws an arrow for a strong move. Undo takes back your last move (and the computer’s reply), and Flip turns the board around.
- Tap any move in the list, or use the arrows below it, to replay the game. Copy PGN copies the whole game so you can paste it into any chess program.
Play chess against the computer, free
This is a complete chess game that runs right in your browser. The computer opponent is a chess engine written for uTooler: it searches thousands of positions per move with alpha-beta search and judges them with piece and square values used by strong engines. It thinks in a background thread, so the page never freezes, and nothing is sent to a server.
Six levels, from first game to club player
Beginner and Easy look only one or two moves ahead and often miss tactics, which makes them a friendly first opponent. Medium punishes loose pieces but still makes mistakes. Hard calculates further and rarely blunders. Expert and Master play at full strength and are a real challenge even for experienced players. The engine also varies its first moves using a small opening book, so no two games start the same way.
All the rules, handled for you
Every rule of chess is built in. Castling is allowed only if the king and rook have not moved, the squares between them are empty and the king does not pass through check; drag the king two squares to castle. En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just jumped two squares past it. A pawn that reaches the last rank is promoted: you choose a queen, rook, bishop or knight. The game ends in a draw by stalemate (no legal move but not in check), threefold repetition, the 50-move rule or when neither side has enough material to checkmate.
Tips for beginners
Control the center with your pawns and pieces, develop your knights and bishops early, and castle to keep your king safe. Before every move, check what your opponent is threatening and whether any of your pieces are left unprotected. Count the value of trades: a pawn is worth about 1, a knight or bishop 3, a rook 5 and a queen 9.
Play with a friend
In two-player mode you take turns on the same phone, tablet or computer. Turn on turn the board after each move in Settings if you sit opposite each other. Your unfinished game is saved on this device, so you can close the page and continue later.
Frequently asked questions
Is this chess game free?
Yes. You can play as many games as you like against the computer or a friend, with no sign-up and nothing to install. It works on phones, tablets and computers.
How strong is the computer?
Levels 1 to 3 are meant for beginners and casual players and make human-like mistakes. Level 4 rarely blunders, and levels 5 and 6 play at full strength, which is a challenge even for experienced club players.
How do I castle?
Move the king two squares toward the rook, by dragging or tapping. The rook jumps over automatically. Castling is only possible if neither piece has moved, the squares between them are empty and the king is not in check and does not cross an attacked square.
Can I take back a move?
Yes. Undo takes back your last move together with the computer’s reply, as often as you like. In two-player mode it takes back one move at a time.
Is my game saved?
Yes. The game in progress, your settings and your win, draw and loss statistics are kept in this browser on this device. Nothing is sent to a server.