How to play

Start a game against the computer, or use both sides of the board to work through a position. You can change the view while keeping the same game.

Make your first move

  1. White moves first. Click or tap one of White's pieces to select it. Green squares show its legal destinations.
  2. Click or tap a green square to move there. You can also drag a piece to a legal destination.
  3. With Engine: ON, Stockfish replies as Black. Wait for its move before playing again.

A move that leaves your king in check is not legal. The board also handles castling, en passant, and pawn promotion. When a pawn reaches its final rank, choose a queen, rook, bishop, or knight from the promotion dialog.

Choose how to play

Engine: OFF lets you move White and Black alternately. Use this to play with someone beside you or examine both sides of an idea. Turning the engine off does not remove the normal rules of chess.

Engine ms sets the time requested for each computer search, in milliseconds. The default is 150. A larger value gives the engine more thinking time and makes replies slower. It is not a difficulty rating, and the same setting can behave differently across devices.

Take back and review

Take back undoes your last move and the computer's reply when playing against the engine. If the reply has not arrived yet, it cancels the search and undoes your move. With the engine off, it undoes one move.

Once moves have been played, open the move-list button in the top bar. Select an entry to inspect that position. Return to the latest entry to continue playing. Viewing an earlier position does not erase the later moves.

New game clears the current game and returns the pieces to their starting squares. Your current view and display settings stay in place.

Mark candidate moves

On a mouse or trackpad with a right-button action, right-click a square to mark it red. Hold the right button and drag between two squares to draw a red arrow. Repeat the same gesture to remove that mark.

The marks are shared between 2D and 3D. Press Escape or left-click the board to clear them. Moving a piece, taking back, starting a new game, or changing the position shown in move history also clears the marks. Green legal-move hints and red annotations serve different purposes: the red marks record your ideas, even when an arrow is not a legal move.

Adjust the board

Use the 2D and 3D buttons in the top bar to switch views. Open Settings to adjust the 3D camera and lighting. Use 2D if the 3D board feels slow or is difficult to read on a smaller screen.

A short practice routine

  1. Before moving, check whether your king is threatened and whether any of your pieces can be captured.
  2. Choose two possible moves. Draw an arrow for each, and consider the opponent's checks and captures after each move.
  3. Play one candidate and examine the reply. Use Take back to compare the other idea from the same position.
  4. Review the move list after the game and pick one position where you would make a different decision.

Games are not saved after the page is reloaded or closed. The board's help links open in a separate tab so you can read them without leaving your game.