Chess
Play chess with a friend on one device: every legal move shown, castling, en passant, promotion, check and draw rules, take back, and the game saved as PGN.
White has taken: nothing
Black has taken: nothing
Select a piece, then a square: a dot marks a move, a ring a capture. Arrow keys move around the board; Escape clears the selection.
How is this calculated?
Legal moves, check, mate and the draw rules come from chess.js, an open-source implementation of the FIDE Laws of Chess (BSD licence) that runs in your browser.Runs in your browser — nothing you enter leaves this device.
About this tool
What it does
A full chessboard for two people on one device, with the rules of chess enforced. Select a piece and every square it can legally reach is marked: a dot for a move, a ring for a capture. Moves that would leave your own king in check are never offered, so the board cannot be put into an illegal position. Castling on either side, en passant and pawn promotion all work — when a pawn reaches the last rank you choose a queen, rook, bishop or knight. The page says whose turn it is and announces check. A game ends in checkmate or, as a draw, in stalemate, insufficient material to mate, threefold repetition or the fifty-move rule, and the page says which. The pieces each side has captured are listed beside the board with the material balance, the moves are written out in standard algebraic notation, and you can download the game as a PGN file to open in any chess program. Take back undoes the last move. The board can be turned so Black sits at the bottom, or turned automatically after every move so each player sees it from their own side. There is no computer opponent in this version: it is for two players at the same screen.
How to use it
- White moves first: select one of your pieces.
- Select a marked square to move there. For a promotion, choose the new piece.
- Hand the device to the other player, or turn on turning the board after each move.
- Download the PGN when you want to keep or study the game.
Limits and your data
- No computer opponent: a strong engine is a large download and its licence needs a separate decision, so this page is for two people.
- No clock. Draw by agreement and resignation are not buttons; start a new game instead.
- The game is not saved between visits.
- The board and its rules run in your browser. The game is not sent or stored anywhere; it is gone when you leave unless you download the PGN.
Questions
Can I play against the computer?
Not on this page. It is a two-player board that checks every move; play a friend on the same device.
How do I castle?
Select your king. If castling is allowed, the square two steps towards the rook is marked; select it and the rook moves too. You cannot castle out of, through or into check, or after the king or that rook has moved.
What is en passant?
When a pawn moves two squares and lands beside an enemy pawn, that pawn may capture it as if it had moved one square — but only on the very next move. The square is marked when it is available.
Why did the game end in a draw?
The page names the rule: stalemate (the side to move has no legal move and is not in check), insufficient material, the same position three times, or fifty moves each without a capture or pawn move.
What is a PGN file?
Portable Game Notation, the standard text format for chess games. Any chess program or website can open it to replay and analyse the game.
Can I use the keyboard?
Yes. Tab to the board, move between squares with the arrow keys, and press Enter on a piece and then on its destination.