Choose a piece.
Play chess against the computer with three difficulty settings, legal-move hints, undo, and a reversible board.
You play White against the computer. Select a piece, then select a highlighted destination. Choose Easy, Medium, or Hard below the board.
Use the move history to review the game. Undo lets you revisit a decision, and Flip Board changes your view without changing whose turn it is.
The goal is checkmate: the opposing king is attacked and has no legal escape. You may never make a move that leaves your own king in check.
Bishops move diagonally, rooks along ranks and files, queens combine both, knights jump in an L shape, and kings move one square. Pawns advance forward and capture diagonally. Castling, en passant, and pawn promotion are supported when legal.
A pawn may advance two squares from its starting square if both squares are empty. It captures one square diagonally forward. On the far rank, choose a queen, rook, bishop or knight; promotion is not restricted to pieces already captured.
Castling moves your king two squares toward its rook and places that rook beside it. Neither piece may have moved, the squares between them must be empty, and the king may not start in check or cross or finish on an attacked square. For White, kingside castling moves e1–g1 and h1–f1; clear f1 and g1 first.
En passant is available only immediately after an opposing pawn advances two squares beside your pawn. For example, with a white pawn on e5, a black move d7–d5 allows e5–d6, removing the pawn on d5. A different reply gives up that opportunity.
Stalemate is a draw: the player to move is not in check but has no legal move. This edition also automatically draws at three occurrences of the same position with the same player and move rights, or after 100 individual turns without a pawn move or capture (50 per player). These draws do not require a claim button. It detects bare kings, king and one bishop or knight against a bare king, and positions containing only kings and bishops all confined to the same square colour. Other material combinations are not automatically declared drawn merely because winning looks difficult.
A useful opening example: White moves the pawn from e2 to e4, Black replies e7 to e5, and White develops the knight from g1 to f3. The knight now attacks the pawn on e5. If Black plays a7 to a6 instead of defending it, the knight can capture on e5. Before every move, ask which of your pieces the opponent could take next.
This example is a practice sequence, not a prediction of the computer’s reply. Black could defend e5 with the knight from b8 to c6. Notice how developing a piece also protects a pawn; do not assume every attacked piece is free to capture.
Begin on Easy and use the move history to review an exchange. Undo normally takes back your move and the computer’s reply together, letting you try another plan. Flip Board changes only your view; you still play White.
Stalemate example: Black king h8, White king f7 and White queen g6, Black to move. The king on h8 is not attacked, but g8, g7 and h7 are all covered: it is a draw, despite White having a queen. When ahead, check the opponent has a legal move before making a quiet move.
Chess is a two-player strategy game with no dice or hidden cards. This edition provides a local computer opponent and a traditional board so you can practice whenever you like.