Play Chess — Free

What is Chess?

Chess is the world's most famous strategy board game — a two-player duel fought on an eight-by-eight grid of sixty-four squares. Each side commands sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. The single goal that shapes every plan is to trap the enemy king in checkmate, a position where the king is under attack and has no way to escape. Everything else — grabbing material, controlling squares, launching an attack — is in service of that one aim. Because the rules are compact but the possibilities are almost limitless, chess rewards planning, calculation and imagination in equal measure.

The game as we know it took shape in Europe around five hundred years ago, evolving from older games played in India and Persia. Today it is enjoyed by hundreds of millions of players, from absolute beginners to grandmasters, and it has become a favourite testing ground for artificial intelligence. On vygam you play White against a built-in computer opponent that follows every official rule, including castling, en passant and pawn promotion. Pick a difficulty, click a piece to see its legal moves highlighted, and click again to move. There is nothing to install and nothing to sign up for — just open the board and play.

How to Play

Each type of piece moves in its own way. Learn these six patterns and you know how to play:

• The pawn moves straight forward one square, or two squares from its starting row, but it captures only diagonally one square ahead.
• The knight jumps in an L-shape — two squares one way and one square at a right angle — and is the only piece that can leap over others.
• The bishop slides any distance along diagonals, so each bishop stays on one colour for the whole game.
• The rook slides any distance in straight lines, along ranks (rows) and files (columns).
• The queen combines rook and bishop: it moves any distance in a straight line or a diagonal, making it the most powerful piece.
• The king moves one square in any direction, and must never move into check.

Three special rules complete the game, and vygam handles each of them automatically:

• Castling tucks your king to safety: it moves two squares toward a rook and the rook hops to the king's far side, provided neither piece has moved, the path is clear, and the king is not in or moving through check.
• En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just slipped past it with a two-square advance, taking it on the skipped square — but only on the immediate next move.
• Promotion turns a pawn that reaches the far rank into a queen, rook, bishop or knight of your choice, so a humble pawn can become your most powerful piece.

Chess Tips & Strategy

Chess can feel overwhelming at first, but a handful of guiding ideas will carry you a long way. These four principles are the foundation that strong players return to in almost every game.

1. Control the center

   The four central squares are the busiest crossroads on the board. Pieces placed near the middle reach more squares and switch between attack and defence faster than those stuck on the edge. Open with a central pawn, aim your knights and bishops toward the center, and you will almost always enjoy more space and easier moves than an opponent who neglects it.

2. Develop your pieces early

   In the opening, get your knights and bishops off the back rank and into active positions before you go hunting for material or launch an attack. Try not to move the same piece twice in the opening, and bring out minor pieces before the queen, which can be chased around and lose you time. An army that is fully developed simply has more firepower ready when the fight begins.

3. Keep your king safe

   A king caught in the center while the position opens up is a common way to lose quickly. Castle early — usually on the king's side — to move your king to the corner and connect your rooks. Keep the pawns in front of the castled king intact where you can, and think twice before pushing them, because every pawn move around your king creates a new hole for enemy pieces to use.

4. Don't hang your pieces

   A piece is "hanging" when it can be captured for free. Before every move, ask a simple question: is anything I own now under attack and undefended, and does my move leave a piece unguarded? Count the attackers and defenders on a square before trading on it. Avoiding these one-move blunders — and pouncing when your opponent makes one — decides more games than any brilliant combination.

Playing the Computer Opponent

vygam's chess opponent is a real engine, not a scripted set of replies. On every turn it looks ahead through the tree of possible moves, scoring positions by material and by how well each piece is placed, and then picks the line that leads to the best outcome it can see. It uses alpha-beta pruning to search efficiently, so it responds quickly without freezing your browser, and it will never make an illegal move, walk into a needless loss of material, or miss a checkmate that is right in front of it.

Three difficulty levels let you tune the challenge. Easy looks only a short distance ahead, so it plays reasonable moves but often lets tactics slip — perfect for learning the rules or building confidence. Medium searches deeper and punishes loose play, spotting most simple threats and free captures. Hard looks further still and defends its material stubbornly, so beating it takes genuine planning. Your running record of wins, losses and draws is saved in your browser, and you can start a new game, take back a move, or switch to playing the black pieces at any time.

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