What is it?
Chess here is a complete game with every rule handled for you: castling, en passant, promotion, check, checkmate, stalemate and draws by repetition, insufficient material or the 50-move rule. Play the computer (Easy, Medium or Hard) as White or Black, or a friend on one device, undo moves while learning, and copy the game in standard PGN notation.
Who is it for?
Beginners and casual players, children learning chess, parents teaching them, and anyone who wants a friendly game without an account.
How to use it
- Choose vs computer (pick Easy, Medium or Hard, and I play White or I play Black) or 2 players.
- Tap a piece to see its legal moves, then tap a highlighted square. To castle, move the king two squares.
- When a pawn reaches the last row, choose the piece under Promote to:.
- Use Undo to take back a move, Flip board to turn it round, New game to restart.
- Press Copy moves to copy the game as PGN for any chess program or website.
Tips for beginners
- Develop knights and bishops early, castle, and don’t move the queen out too soon.
- Before every move ask: what does my opponent’s last move threaten?
- The computer is meant for learners: Easy makes frequent mistakes, Medium punishes loose pieces, Hard sees short tactics like forks. Use Undo freely to try ideas.
- Keyboard: arrows move around the board, Enter selects.
Errors and how to fix them
- The board does not appear: the rules library (chess.js) loads once from the internet. Check your connection and reload; after that it runs offline.
- A piece will not move there: that move is illegal, often because your king would be in check. The king’s square turns red when in check.
- “Stalemate: it’s a draw.”, “Draw by repetition.”, “Draw: not enough pieces left to checkmate.” or “Draw (50-move rule).”: the game is drawn by the rules.
- “Checkmate: the computer wins.”: press Undo to go back and try a different defence.
- My game, best time or score has gone: it is kept only in this browser on this device. Private windows, clearing site data, or another browser or phone start fresh.
Open the tool: Chess
Still stuck?
Contact support. Tell us which tool or page you were using, what you tapped, what you saw, and your phone or computer and browser (for example: Android phone, Chrome). We reply by email.
Questions, or an error not listed here?
Tell us in the comments: what you were doing, the exact message you saw, and your device and browser. We read every comment and add new fixes to this article.