Quick Rules
Chess is played by two players on a board of 64 squares, 8 by 8. Each side starts with 16 pieces: a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. The goal is to trap the other king so it cannot escape. That is called checkmate.
- Who starts. White moves first, then the players take turns, one move each.
- The pieces. The king moves one square any way. The queen slides any distance in any straight line. Rooks slide along rows and columns, bishops along diagonals. Knights jump in an L shape. Pawns move straight forward and capture diagonally.
- Capturing. Move onto a square occupied by an opponent's piece and that piece is taken off the board.
- Check. When a king is attacked it is in check, and its player must get it out of check at once.
- Special moves. Castling, en passant and pawn promotion are explained in the full rules.
- Winning. Checkmate the other king, or win when the other player resigns.
- Draws. Stalemate, too few pieces to checkmate, the same position three times, 50 moves each with no capture or pawn move, or agreement.
How to Play on This Page
Tap one of your pieces. Every empty square it can move to gets a dot, and any piece it can capture gets a ring. Tap the square you want: it is marked, and you tap it again or press Move Here to confirm. That second tap protects you against slips of the finger. If you would rather move with a single tap, switch on One tap to move in Settings. To choose a different piece, tap the first one again or press Put Piece Down.
If you try a move that isn't allowed, the game tells you why in plain words, such as "Your king would be in check." The last move is shown with an outline and a color on its two squares. A king in check gets a red ring, and the status box says Check! The status box also describes every move in words, for example "The computer moved its knight from g8 to f6," with the short chess notation beside it. The Moves panel lists the whole game.
Tap Hint for a suggested move with a reason, Why? beside a computer move to see what it was thinking, and Undo My Move to take a move back. Offer a Draw and Resign end the game early. In Settings you can choose the computer's level, play White or Black (the board turns so your pieces are at the bottom), or, on a tablet or computer, play a friend on the same screen. Flip Board turns the board around at any time. White pieces have a thick dark outline and Black pieces are solid, so you can tell them apart without relying on color, and the letters a to h and numbers 1 to 8 run along the edges.
Tips for Winning
- Check every move for danger. Before you move, ask: can the piece be taken where it lands, and does moving it leave something else unguarded?
- Look for checks, captures and threats. Your opponent's first, then your own. This one habit wins more games than any opening.
- Develop and castle early. Bring out knights and bishops in the first few moves, then castle to tuck your king away.
- Count attackers and defenders. Before you capture, count how many pieces attack the square and how many defend it.
- Trade when ahead. If you are a piece up, even swaps make your extra piece count for more.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is chess free to play here?
Yes. Play as many games as you like for free, with no account, no download and no ads over the board.
Does the computer cheat?
No. Chess has no hidden cards or dice: you and the computer see exactly the same board, and the computer has to follow the same rules you do. It simply looks ahead at the moves it could make. Tap Why? beside any computer move to read its reason in plain words. Every game also has a number, and Replay This Game starts the same game again, so you can try a different idea against the same opponent.
Which level should I choose?
If you are new to chess or coming back after many years, start with Beginner. It looks only a move or two ahead and makes real mistakes, so you can practice winning pieces and finishing a game. Easy looks a little further and is sometimes careless. Normal plays carefully, like a steady club player. Hard looks much further ahead and answers within about a second. Move up a level when you win most of your games.
How do I castle on this page?
Tap your king, then tap the square two steps to the side, toward the rook you want to castle with, and confirm the move. The rook follows by itself and lands on the other side of the king. If castling is not allowed right now, the game tells you why, for example because your king is in check or has already moved.
What is en passant?
It is a special pawn capture. When a pawn moves two squares forward from its starting square and lands right beside one of your pawns, your pawn may capture it as if it had moved only one square, by stepping diagonally onto the square it skipped. You may only do this on your very next move. When it is possible, the game shows it among your pawn's choices, so you don't have to spot it yourself.
How do I promote a pawn?
Move a pawn to the far row and a box opens with big buttons for Queen, Rook, Bishop and Knight. Queen is offered first because it is nearly always the best choice. Your pawn is replaced by the piece you pick, even if you still have your original queen.
Why was my game a draw?
A game is drawn by stalemate, when the player to move is not in check but has no legal move; when too few pieces are left for anyone to checkmate, such as king against king; when the same position comes up three times; after 50 moves by each player with no capture and no pawn move; or when both players agree. In tournaments a player has to claim the repetition and 50-move draws, but on this page they happen automatically.
Can I take back a move?
Yes, unless you turn it off. Undo My Move takes back your last move, and against the computer it takes back the computer's reply too, so it is your turn again. You can switch Undo off in Settings if you prefer to play without it.
Can two people play on the same device?
Yes, on a tablet or computer. Open Settings, choose Two players on this device, and type a name for each side if you like. The status box shows whose turn it is in large letters, and Flip Board turns the board around. On a phone the screen is too small for two, so phones play against the computer.
Does the game save my progress?
Yes. Your game is saved in your browser after every move. When you come back on the same device, choose Continue Game to pick up where you left off, or New Game to start fresh.
More Free Games
- Checkers American checkers on a big board. Jump, get kinged and clear the other side.
- Backgammon Race your checkers home and bear them off before the computer does. Fair dice you can check.
- Reversi Trap the other color between your discs to flip them. Most discs at the end wins.
- Sea Battle Hide your fleet, call your shots and sink every ship before yours go down.
- Yacht Dice Roll five dice up to three times a turn and fill your score sheet. The classic dice game.
- Farkle Roll six dice, set aside the scoring ones and decide when to stop before you lose it all.
- Chicken Foot Match numbers, build a chicken foot from every double, and finish 10 rounds with the lowest score.
- Mexican Train Build your own train, ride the shared Mexican train, and keep your score low over 13 rounds.
- Dominoes The classic draw game with double-six tiles. Match the ends, draw when you are stuck, first to 100 wins.
- All Fives Dominoes Score whenever the open ends add up to a multiple of five. Also known as Muggins.
- Texas 42 The trick-taking domino game from Texas: bid, name trumps and win tricks with your partner.
- Hearts Avoid hearts and the queen of spades, or shoot the moon and stick everyone else with the points.
- Spades Bid your tricks with your partner, then make your bid. Spades are always trump.
- Hand and Foot The family canasta game: play your hand, then your foot, and build clean and dirty books with your partner.
- Canasta Meld sets of a kind, freeze the pile, and build canastas with your partner. Classic American scoring.
- Cribbage Count fifteens, pairs and runs, and peg your way around the board to 121.
- Gin Rummy Make sets and runs, knock when your leftover cards are low, and go for gin.
- Euchre The fast trick-taking game of the Midwest: call trump, use your bowers and take three tricks.
- Rummy Draw, meld sets and runs, lay off on the table and be first to go out.
- Rummy 500 Score points for every card you meld, take from deep in the discard pile and race to 500.
- Whist The classic partnership trick game with no bidding. Take seven tricks to score.
- Oh Hell! Say exactly how many tricks you will take, then take that many: no more, no fewer.
- Pinochle Bid, meld and take tricks with a 48-card deck. Partnership auction pinochle.
- Bridge Contract bridge with a computer partner: bid your contract, then make it.
- Crazy Eights Match the suit or the number, change the suit with an eight, and be first to play all your cards.
- Switch The British cousin of Crazy Eights, with cards that skip, reverse and make the next player draw.
- Go Fish Ask for the cards you need, collect sets of four and make the most books.
- Old Maid Pair up your cards and don't be the one left holding the odd queen.
- War Turn a card each; the higher card wins both. The simplest card game there is.
- Spit A race to play your cards up or down on two piles, with a slow pace option so nobody is rushed.
- Idiot Play equal or higher cards, pick up the pile when you can't, and don't be the last one holding cards.
- Thirteen Shed your cards in singles, pairs, triples and runs. Twos are high. Also called Tien Len.
- Escoba The Spanish fishing game: capture cards that add up to 15 and sweep the table.
- Briscola Italy's favorite trick game with a 40-card deck. Win the valuable cards and reach 61 points.
- Skat Germany's three-player classic: bid for the right to play alone against the other two.
- Manni A three-player trick-taking game from Iceland, played to ten points.
- Klondike Solitaire The classic solitaire. Draw one or three, with big cards, hints and unlimited undo.
- FreeCell Every card is face up and almost every deal can be won. Use the four free cells wisely.
- Spider Solitaire Build runs from King down to Ace. Play with one, two or four suits.
- Pyramid Solitaire Clear the pyramid by pairing cards that add up to 13. Kings go on their own.
- Tri Peaks Solitaire Clear three peaks by playing cards one higher or one lower than the last. Quick and relaxing.
- Golf Solitaire Play cards one up or one down from the pile and try to clear all seven columns.
- Yukon Solitaire Like Klondike with no stock: move any face-up group, even out of order, and dig out the hidden cards.
- Scorpion Solitaire Build four same-suit runs from King down to Ace by moving whole groups of cards.
- Canfield Solitaire A classic with a 13-card reserve. Build up by suit from whatever card starts the foundations.
- Clock Solitaire Deal the cards around a clock face and turn them up one by one. Finish before the fourth King appears.
- Crescent Solitaire Two decks in a crescent of sixteen piles. Build up from Aces and down from Kings.
- Addiction Solitaire Line up each suit from 2 to King in four rows by moving cards into the gaps. Three shuffles to help.
- Kings in the Corners Build down in alternating colors around the deck, put Kings in the corners, and be first to empty your hand.
- Mahjong Solitaire Match pairs of free tiles to clear the board. Large, high-contrast tiles and every deal can be solved.
- Jigsaw Puzzles Relaxing picture puzzles from 12 to 100 pieces, with big pieces that snap into place.
- Sudoku Fill the grid so every row, column and box has 1 to 9. Big numbers, notes and three levels.
- Word Search Find the hidden words in a grid of large letters. New puzzles by theme, as many as you like.
- Minesweeper Use the numbers to work out where the mines are. Big squares and a clear flag button.
- Triangles Take turns drawing lines between dots and claim every triangle you close.