A full game of chess against a computer opponent, on a normal eight by eight board with all the usual rules.
Eight levels, from one that plays almost at random to one that will punish a loose move, so there is something to play whatever your rating.
You play white and move first. Click a piece to see where it can go, then click a square, or drag the piece straight there.
All the standard rules are in: castling, en passant, and pawns promoting when they reach the far rank.
The difficulty dropdown sets how deeply the computer looks ahead and how often it plays something careless. Club Kid is the default and is beatable without much thought.
Undo takes back your move and the reply, which is the quickest way to learn why a move was bad.
It ranges from roughly 100 to 2000 in rating terms. The lower levels throw away pieces on purpose, the top level searches five moves deep and does not.
Yes. Undo rewinds your move and the computer's answer together, so the position is yours again.
Yes, both sides play full rules. Pawns promote to a queen automatically when they reach the end.
Yes, a new level deals a fresh board, since a game is a conversation with one opponent rather than several.
Chess needs no introduction, but a chess opponent does. This one searches a few moves ahead, values material and king safety, and at the lower levels deliberately plays a percentage of random moves.
That randomness is what makes the easy levels useful. A beginner playing a perfect engine learns nothing, while an opponent that blunders occasionally gives you something to punish.
If a full board is more than you want, Mini Chess uses the same opponent on a five by five board, and Takes and Chess Solitaire are puzzles built from the same pieces.