Chess

Chess on OnlinePlayZone is a full game of chess that runs in your browser on a phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to download and no account. Play against one of four computer opponents, each with its own character, or pass the device between two players. The rules are complete: castling on both sides, en passant, promotion to any piece, check, checkmate, stalemate and every draw rule.

How to play

• Move a piece: tap it to see its legal moves (dots for empty squares, rings for captures), then tap where it should go. You can also drag the piece. On a computer you can use the arrow keys to pick a square and Enter to select it.
• Promotion: when a pawn reaches the last row, choose a queen, rook, bishop or knight.
• The computer's hand: when your opponent is the computer, a hand reaches over the board, picks up its piece and puts it down on the new square. If it captures one of your pieces, it first lifts your piece off the board and places it in its tray. You can make the hand faster, or switch it off, with the ✋ button.
• Buttons: Undo takes back your last move (against the computer it takes back the computer's reply too), Hint shows a good move (three hints per game), 🏳️ resigns, 🔊 switches sound, and ☰ opens the menu, where you can also change the board colours (wood, green, marble or night).

Four opponents

Bachha is a beginner who plays loose, friendly moves, which makes him a good partner for learning how the pieces move. Saadhu looks two moves ahead and rarely leaves pieces hanging. Hoshiyaar also follows every capture to the end before deciding, so simple tricks no longer work. Ustad thinks three moves deep and plays solid, patient chess. Each one shows how it feels: it thinks with a little bubble, smiles when it wins material, says "Aree!" when it loses a big piece and smirks when it gives check.

What you see on the screen

Each player sits on their own side of the board, with a picture, a name and a tray of the pieces they have captured. The number next to the tray is the material balance, counted as 1 for a pawn, 3 for a knight or bishop, 5 for a rook and 9 for a queen. The last move is highlighted in yellow, a king in check glows red, and the move list along the bottom uses standard chess notation such as 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3. The board has coordinates on its edges, so you can learn the names of the squares as you play.

Saving, rematches and results

Your game is saved on your own device after every move, so if you close the page you can choose "Continue your game" from the menu. A game ends in checkmate, resignation, stalemate, threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule or a draw by insufficient material, and the result screen tells you which. Rematch starts a new game against the same opponent with the colours swapped.

Tips for beginners

• Control the centre early with your central pawns and knights.
• Castle in the first ten moves to keep your king safe.
• Before every move, check what your opponent's last move attacks.
• Trade pieces when you are ahead in material, and avoid trades when you are behind.
• Use a hint when you are stuck, then try to work out why the move is good.

The game uses the open-source chess.js library for the rules. Pieces, players, sounds and the computer opponents are our own. It is free, has no pop-ups inside the game, and saves nothing but your own progress, on your own device.