Chess
Chess is the classic strategy game for two players on a board of 64 squares. Each side has sixteen pieces, and the goal is to checkmate the other king: attack it so that it cannot escape. Play the computer from Easy to Expert, play a friend on the same screen, or sit back and watch the computer play itself. Click a piece and then a highlighted square, or drag it there. Play the computer, a friend on the same screen, or watch the computer play itself. Undo takes back a move and Flip board turns the board round.
How it works
- Choose a mode: play the computer as White or Black, play a friend on the same screen, or let the computer play both sides.
- Click a piece and then a highlighted square, or drag the piece there. Only legal moves are allowed.
- Checkmate the other king to win. Undo takes back a move, Flip board turns the board round, and the move list keeps the score.
How to play
White moves first, then the players take turns. A king moves one square, a queen any distance along a row, column or diagonal, a rook along rows and columns, a bishop along diagonals, and a knight jumps in an L. Pawns move straight ahead and capture diagonally. You may not leave your own king in check. When the side to move is in check and has no legal move, it is checkmate; with no legal move and no check, it is stalemate and a draw.
The special moves
Castling moves the king two squares towards a rook, and the rook jumps over it; neither may have moved, and the king may not be in, pass through or land in check. A pawn that has just moved two squares can be taken en passant by an enemy pawn beside it, as if it had moved only one. A pawn that reaches the far side is promoted, to a queen unless you choose another piece.
Draws
Besides stalemate, the game is drawn when neither side has enough pieces left to checkmate, when the same position appears for the third time, or when fifty moves by each side pass without a capture or a pawn move.
Frequently asked questions
How strong is the computer?
Easy looks one move ahead and Medium two, so beginners can beat them. Hard and Expert use a much stronger engine with a small opening book and a search many moves deep: Hard thinks for up to a second a move, Expert for up to two and a half seconds. Both are a real challenge for club players.
Does it know all the rules?
Yes. It knows castling, en passant, promotion, check, checkmate and stalemate, and it draws the game by the fifty-move rule, threefold repetition and insufficient material.
Can I play against a friend?
Yes. Choose Two players and take turns on the same screen. Flip board turns the board round so the side to move can sit at the bottom.
Can I watch the computer play itself?
Yes. Choose Computer against computer. The Speed slider sets how fast it moves, and Pause stops the game so you can look at the position.
Is it free?
Yes. It is free, runs in your browser and needs no sign-up. You can also save the board as a PNG.
Related tools
About Chess - History, Rules and How the Computer Plays
A short guide to chess: where it came from, how the pieces move, the special moves and draws, and how a simple chess computer chooses its moves with minimax and alpha-beta search.
Knight's Tour
Jump a chess knight to every square of the board exactly once. Play it yourself with Warnsdorff hints, or watch Solve finish an open or closed tour. Save the path as a PNG.
Eight Queens
Place eight queens on a chessboard so that none attacks another. Try it yourself, watch the backtracking search find a solution step by step, and go through all 92 solutions.
Connect Four
Play Connect Four in your browser: drop red and yellow discs and get four in a row to win. Play a friend on the same screen, or the computer from Easy to Hard. Or watch the computer play itself.
Five in a row
Play five in a row, also known as Gomoku, in your browser: with a friend on the same screen, or against the computer from Easy to Hard. Get five stones in an unbroken line to win. Or watch the computer play itself.
Tic-tac-toe
Play tic-tac-toe against the computer in your browser. Pick who starts and how well it plays, from Easy to Unbeatable, ask for a hint, or watch it play itself.
Checkers
Play checkers in your browser: English checkers on 8×8 or International draughts on 10×10, with compulsory captures, multi-jumps and kings. Play the computer from Easy to Hard, a friend, or watch the computer play itself.
Ready to try it?
Open PictorX in your browser — no install, no credit card required to start.
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