Chess is a two-player game of pure strategy: no dice, no cards and no hidden information, so every result comes from the decisions at the board. Each side has sixteen pieces with different moves, and the game is won by checkmating the opponent's king. Games are usually decided by material, piece activity and king safety rather than by a single brilliant move.
Duration
30-90 min
Players
2
Game type
Abstract strategy
Difficulty
Medium
Solo mode
No
Played 24 times, last on 3 Nov 2026
Today
- Total time
- 21h
- Average duration
- 53min
- Unique players
- 4
- Meetings
- 6
- Average score (all players)
- 0.5
Recent plays
Rules summary
- White moves first; each turn a player moves one piece, and castling is the only move of two pieces at once.
- Pieces capture by landing on an enemy piece; only the knight jumps over others, and a pawn moves straight but captures diagonally.
- Your own king may never be left in check: move it, capture the attacker or block – when none of these works, it is checkmate.
- Castling needs an unmoved king and rook, an empty path and no attack on the king's squares; the rook itself may be attacked.
- En passant is only possible on the move right after the enemy pawn's two-square step.
- Draws: stalemate, a position where mate is impossible, agreement, threefold repetition or fifty moves on claim, fivefold repetition or seventy-five moves automatically.
Tips for beginners
- Count material with the usual values: pawn 1, knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, queen 9; the king is beyond price.
- Follow the opening principles: occupy or attack the centre (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 is a classic start), develop knights before bishops, castle and connect the rooks.
- Do not bring the queen out too early: the opponent's minor pieces chase it and you lose time.
- Before every move, ask yourself three questions: what does the opponent's last move threaten, which of my pieces are undefended, and which checks and captures do I have?
- Learn the basic tactics: the fork (one piece attacks two), the pin (a piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable one) and the discovered attack.
- Practise the basic mates – king and queen, and king and rook, against a lone king – so you can convert a won position.
Strategies
- Pawn structure sets the plan: isolated and doubled pawns are lasting weaknesses, and a passed pawn – with no enemy pawn in front of it or on the neighbouring files – grows stronger with every trade.
- Put knights on outposts: squares in the opponent's half that no enemy pawn can attack.
- The bishop pair is an asset in open positions; in closed positions with locked pawns, knights are often better.
- Rooks belong on open files, and a rook on the seventh rank attacks pawns and hems in the enemy king.
- When ahead in material, trade pieces, not pawns; when behind, avoid trades and look for activity.
- In the endgame the king is a fighting piece: centralise it, and in king and pawn endings use the opposition – with the kings facing each other one square apart, the side not to move holds it.
Plays by month
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Dec 2025
Nov 2026
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