Objective
Checkmate your opponent's King — put it under attack with no escape.
Pieces & Movement
- ♔ King (K) — moves one square in any direction. Must never move into check.
- ♕ Queen (Q) — moves any number of squares horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.
- ♖ Rook (R) — moves any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
- ♗ Bishop (B) — moves any number of squares diagonally.
- ♘ Knight (N) — moves in an "L" shape (2+1 squares). Can jump over pieces.
- ♙ Pawn (P) — moves forward one square (two on first move). Captures diagonally forward.
Special Moves
- Castling — King moves two squares toward a Rook; Rook jumps over King. Requires: neither has moved, no pieces between, King not in/through/into check.
- En Passant — If a pawn advances two squares from its starting position and lands beside an enemy pawn, the enemy may capture it as if it moved one square. Must be done immediately.
- Pawn Promotion — When a pawn reaches the last rank, it must be promoted to a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight.
Game End
- Checkmate — King is in check with no legal move. The attacking player wins.
- Stalemate — Player has no legal move but King is not in check. Draw.
- Draw — By agreement, insufficient material, or threefold repetition.
Controls
- Click a piece to select it, then click a highlighted square to move.
- Undo — take back the last move (or last two vs AI).
- New Game — start fresh.
- Flip Board — rotate the view 180°.