How to Play Chess Solitaire
Chess Solitaire is a puzzle played with chess pieces and no opponent. The board starts with a handful of pieces scattered on it, and every move you make has to be a capture.
Clear the board down to a single piece and the puzzle is solved. Knowing how the pieces move is enough to start, but the order of captures is what makes it a puzzle.
Play Chess SolitaireHow to play
- Pieces move exactly as they do in chess.
- Every move must capture something. You cannot move to an empty square.
- Keep capturing until one piece is left standing.
- If pieces are stranded with nothing to take, undo and try a different order.
How to think about it
Work backwards from the piece you want to survive. The last piece standing is usually the one with the most reach, so a queen or a rook is a sensible choice.
Watch for pieces in corners and on the edges. They have the fewest ways to be taken, so plan how you will reach them before the board thins out.
A knight is the awkward one. It cannot take anything on the squares beside it, so capturing it often has to happen while there is still a piece a knight's move away.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know chess to play?
Only how the pieces move. There is no opponent, no check and no castling.
Can I move without capturing?
No. Every single move has to take a piece, which is what makes the order matter.
When is the puzzle solved?
When exactly one piece is left on the board.