Chess Games

Our selection of chess games provides a digital way to enjoy one of the oldest and most popular tabletop games ever devised. Some of them allow you to play against a computer opponent; others allow you to challenge a friend to one-on-one combat. Whoever you choose to play against, one thing’s for certain: the thrill of chess hasn’t gone anywhere! The precursors to the modern game can be traced back more than a thousand years. They stem from India, from where they migrated into neighboring Persia, and then into the Islamic world, gradually evolving as they went. While many variants of the game came to be over the years, only one stood the test of time: the game we know today. The rules of chess are simple, and once you understand them you’ll be able to play any of the games listed here. There are 64 squares on every board, with each player starting with 16 pieces, each of which is capable of moving differently. Bishops can move diagonally; rooks can move vertically and horizontally; queens can move in any direction they like. It gets a little more complicated than that, but you only need to figure it out once and you're set for life. The object of the game is to put your opponent in checkmate. This means that you’ll be able to take the enemy king on the next turn, and that nothing your opponent can do will stop it from happening. There are 2D versions of chess here and 3D versions, too. Since they’re all available in HTML5, you’ll be able to play them digitally on any platform with a web browser. And you won’t need to worry about setting up a board or tidying away the pieces when you’re done. Give it a try!