Chess
Play Chess against an AI opponent with three difficulty levels. Full standard rules, no download needed.
About Chess
Chess is the most studied and most played strategy game in human history, with a documented lineage stretching back roughly 1,500 years to a game called chaturanga in India, evolving through Persia and the Islamic world before arriving in Europe with essentially its modern rules by the late 15th century. In that time it has produced more written strategic theory than any other game ever invented, and it remains the standard by which artificial intelligence researchers measure computer decision-making, from IBM's Deep Blue defeating world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997 to today's engines that now vastly outplay any human.
This version implements the complete standard rule set — castling both kingside and queenside, en passant pawn captures, pawn promotion, and full checkmate and stalemate detection — so every legal chess position and every legal move works exactly as it should. You play as White against an AI opponent that searches multiple moves ahead using the same minimax approach that's been foundational to chess-playing software since the 1950s, weighing material and piece positioning to decide its best response. Three difficulty levels change how many moves ahead the AI thinks: Easy plays a shallow, occasionally imperfect game suited to players still learning piece values and basic tactics, while Hard searches deeper and punishes weak moves far more reliably. Every game starts from the standard opening position — there's no clock pressure, so you can take the time each position actually deserves.
How to Play
- 1Tap a piece to select it — legal destination squares are highlighted
- 2Tap a highlighted square to move your piece there
- 3Tap the same piece again to deselect it, or tap a different piece of yours to switch selection
- 4Capture the AI's pieces by moving onto their square; special moves (castling, en passant) happen automatically when legal
- 5Checkmate the AI's king to win — if you're checkmated or the game reaches stalemate, the round ends
Tips & Strategy
- Develop your knights and bishops before your queen — an early queen sortie is easy for an opponent to attack and chase around the board.
- Castle early, ideally within your first 10 moves, to get your king to safety before the center of the board opens up.
- Control the center four squares (d4, d5, e4, e5) — pieces posted there influence more of the board than pieces on the edge.
- Before moving, check whether your move hangs a piece — leaves it capturable for nothing in return — which is the single most common way casual games are lost.
- On Hard, the AI reliably punishes undefended pieces and free material, so play as if every capture opportunity you leave open will be taken.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you always play as White?
Yes — in this version you always play White and move first, with the AI playing Black.
Does this include castling and en passant?
Yes, the full standard rule set is implemented, including both kingside and queenside castling, en passant pawn captures, and pawn promotion (pawns that reach the last rank automatically promote to a queen).
How strong is the Hard difficulty?
Hard searches several moves ahead using minimax search and reliably punishes hanging pieces and weak tactics, making it a solid challenge for improving players, though it isn't tournament-engine strength.
What happens in a draw?
The game detects stalemate (no legal moves but the king isn't in check) and draws from insufficient material (like a lone king versus a king and bishop), ending the round as a draw in either case.
