Chess
You are White and move first. Tap a piece, then one of its green dots; a ring marks a capture. Castling, en passant and promotion all work (a pawn on the far row picks its new piece). Arrow keys and Enter work too, and H or Hint shows a good move. Checkmate the king to win; Resign ends the game.
Chess — a free online arcade game on TotType
Chess is the real game with every rule: castling, en passant, promotion, check and checkmate, and draws by stalemate, threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule or too few pieces to mate. Play the computer on easy, medium or hard, or a friend on the same screen. Tap a piece and green dots show where it can go; a pawn that reaches the far row picks its new piece, and Hint draws an arrow for a good move. The computer thinks ahead with a real chess search: easy makes mistakes, medium looks a few moves ahead and hard much further. Against the computer, captures, promotions and the result score points. It's free in any browser with no download — anyone can try a demo run with no account, and a free parent account with a verified email unlocks unlimited play.
- Ages
- 8 and up
- Players
- 1 or 2 on one screen, or up to 4 online
- Online
- With everyone playing it now, or in a private room with a 4-character code; bots (marked 🤖) fill empty seats
- Controls
- Keyboard, mouse or touch
- Scored in
- pts · posts to the arcade leaderboard
- Shelf
- Card & board games
- Cost
- Free — try a demo run with no account (one run, up to 90 seconds, twice a day; not saved); a free parent account with a verified email unlocks unlimited play and saved scores
- En español
- Chess en español
How to play Chess
You are White and move first. Tap a piece, then one of its green dots; a ring marks a capture. Castling, en passant and promotion all work (a pawn on the far row picks its new piece). Arrow keys and Enter work too, and H or Hint shows a good move. Checkmate the king to win; Resign ends the game.
Tips & tricks
- Get your knights and bishops out early and castle: a king in the corner behind its pawns is hard to attack.
- Before every move, check what the other side's last move attacks: most games are lost to a piece left hanging.
- Trade pieces when you are ahead in material; with an extra queen or rook, push your pawns to promote.
Frequently asked questions
How do you play Chess?
You are White and move first. Tap a piece, then one of its green dots (a ring marks a capture). Put the other king in check so it cannot escape (checkmate) to win. Arrow keys and Enter work too, and Hint shows a good move.
What are castling, en passant and promotion?
Castling moves the king two squares toward a rook and the rook jumps over it, once per game, if neither has moved and the king is not in check. En passant lets a pawn take an enemy pawn that just moved two squares past it. A pawn that reaches the far row becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight: you pick.
How is Chess scored?
Against the computer, each capture scores ten times the piece's value (pawn 10, knight or bishop 30, rook 50, queen 90) and a promotion 40. Checkmating the computer adds 200 on easy, 400 on medium or 600 on hard, plus a bonus for a quick win; a draw adds 40, 80 or 120. Two-player games are not scored.
Can I play Chess online with friends?
Yes. Open Chess and choose Play online to join everyone playing it right now: up to 4 players a round, all starting together, and the highest score wins. When nobody else is on, computer players marked as bots hold the empty seats, and a real player always takes a bot's place. To play only with friends, make a private room and share its 4-character code. Online play needs a free parent account with a verified email, and players see only each other's nicknames and scores: there is no chat.