Hard Included

How to Play Chess

The game of kings — on eight boards, in 2D or 3D.

👥 2 players

Chess is the two-player game of the sixty-four squares: sixteen pieces a side, six kinds of move between them, and one object — trap the other king. Play it offline against an engine with three levels, or online against another player on a clock, on any of eight boards in 2D or tilted into 3D.

Ways to play Chess

Against the computer

Pick your side and a level — Easy, Medium or Hard — and play Chess offline. The game is kept in your browser, exactly where you left it.

Online, on a clock

Create a board, choose your color, set a clock from one minute to sixty — or none at all — and share the code. Only the side to move has their clock running.

In 2D or 3D

Lay the board flat or stand it up. Every piece rises onto its square, and you can flip between them mid-game.

Seven boards, seven sets

Classic felt, Renaissance marble, Stone Age sandstone, Ice Age glacier, Jurassic amber, a Crustacean tide pool and a medieval chamber — changed while you play.

🎯 Objective

Checkmate your opponent’s king — attack it so that it cannot get out of check by any legal move. A game that cannot be won can still be drawn, and on a timed board a flag that falls loses.

🎲 Chess setup

The board is eight squares by eight, turned so that each player has a light square in the right-hand corner.
The back rank, from the left: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, rook — the queen on her own color.
Eight pawns fill the rank in front of them.
Choose your side and the engine’s level — Easy, Medium or Hard — or create an online board and set the clock. White moves first.

▶ How to play Chess

Pawns move one square straight forward, or two from their starting rank, and capture one square diagonally forward.
Knights move in an L — two squares one way and one across — and are the only piece that jumps over whatever stands between.
Bishops slide any distance along a diagonal; rooks along a rank or a file; the queen does both.
The king moves one square in any direction, and may never move onto a square that is attacked.
Castling, once a game: an unmoved king steps two squares towards an unmoved rook, and the rook hops over to the far side of it. Not out of check, through check, or into check, and not with anything in between.
En passant: a pawn that has just advanced two squares past one of yours may be captured as though it had moved only one — on that next move alone.
A pawn that reaches the far rank promotes, to a queen unless you choose a rook, bishop or knight instead.
A king in check must get out of it at once — by moving, by capturing the attacker, or by blocking the line.

🎬 Watch: How to Play Chess

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📖 Detailed guide

The six pieces, at a glance

Pawn — one square forward, two on its first move, captures diagonally. It never moves backwards, which is why a pawn move can never be undone.
Knight — the L-shaped jump. It is the piece that gets into a crowded position, and the piece beginners lose most often.
Bishop — a diagonal, for the whole game the color it started on. A pair of bishops covering both colors is worth keeping.
Rook — ranks and files. Rooks want open lines, and they want to be behind passed pawns.
Queen — rook and bishop in one. Strong, and easily chased around by lesser pieces if she comes out too early.
King — one square in any direction, and the piece the whole game is about.

The three moves that surprise people

Castling is a king move, not a rook move: pick up the king and move it two squares, and the rook follows on its own.
You may castle on either side — short, towards the nearer rook, or long, towards the far one.
En passant only ever happens immediately. Play another move first and the chance is gone.
Promotion is not limited to a queen you have already lost: a board with two, three or nine queens on it is legal.

How a game ends

Checkmate — the king is in check and nothing gets it out.
Stalemate — the side to move has no legal move at all and is not in check. It is a draw, and it is how a lost game is often saved.
Threefold repetition — the same position, with the same side to move and the same rights, for a third time.
The fifty-move rule — fifty moves by each side with no capture and no pawn move.
Bare kings — king against king is a draw at once. Any other thin ending plays on to the fifty-move rule or a repetition; there is no “insufficient material” draw.

Offline, online and the clock

Offline you pick your color and the engine’s level, and the game is kept in your browser: close the tab and come back to the same position.
Undo takes back your move and the engine’s reply.
Online you create a board, choose White, Black or a random draw, set a clock from one to sixty minutes — or no clock — and share the code or an invite link.
Only the clock of the side to move runs. A clock that runs out loses the game.
A finished online board is gone when it ends; an old link will not reopen it.

Boards and pieces

Eight boards: the classic felt, Renaissance marble, Stone Age sandstone, Ice Age glacier, Jurassic amber, a Crustacean tide pool, a medieval stone chamber, and a Traditional Indian court of red sandstone and white marble, with pieces turned after the old ivory sets — the raja under his parasol, the elephant with its howdah.
Each board brings a piece set of its own, and any set will play on any board.
The 2D/3D switch tilts the board away from you and stands every piece up on its square.
All three — board, pieces and 2D/3D — can be changed in the middle of a game, and the position stays exactly as it was.

🏁 How Chess is won

Checkmate wins the game. It is a draw by stalemate (no legal move while not in check), by the same position arising three times, by fifty moves with no capture and no pawn move, or when both sides are down to a bare king. On a timed board, a player whose clock runs out loses — only the side to move has their clock running.

❓ Chess — frequently asked questions

How many players do you need for Chess?

Chess is played by 2. Seats you do not fill are taken by the computer, so a game always starts.

Where can I play Chess?

In your browser at play.vanikar.games, on a computer, a tablet or a phone. Sign in with the same Vanikar™ account you use for the card games.

Is Chess included in my subscription?

Yes. One Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription covers the card games, Chess & Checkers and the board games, and every game released after them.

Does Chess have ads?

No. No Vanikar™ game has ever carried advertising, and none ever will.

Is chess free to play?

Chess is part of Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™, which is included in a Card Games by Vanikar™ subscription — there is nothing separate to buy. Play in your browser at play.vanikar.games with the same account you use for the card games.

How strong is the computer?

Three levels. Easy is for learning the moves, Medium plays a sound game, and Hard will punish a careless middlegame. Every level plays the full rules, castling, en passant and promotion included.

Can I change the board in the middle of a game?

Yes. The board picker, the piece picker and the 2D/3D switch all work during a game, and the position is untouched.

Can I play chess on my phone?

Chess plays in any phone browser today, and Chess & Checkers by Vanikar™ is on the App Store and Google Play with the same account. The store app can trail the browser: today it has 4 games — Chess, English Draughts, International Checkers and Chinese Checkers — and the newer games reach it with its next update.

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♝ Chaturanga → ⛃ English draughts → ⛁ International draughts → ✵ Chinese checkers →

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History, strategy and your next good move

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History · 3 min