Chess with a computer

Chess with a computer - Play Online

This is chess. Plain, straightforward, no-frills chess. You've got the classic board, the classic pieces, and the option to either challenge an AI opponent across five difficulty levels or pass the screen to a friend for local multiplayer. The goal is simple: checkmate your opponent's king using standard international chess rules. It's a brain-training game that works for kids learning the basics or teens who want to sharpen their strategy without any distractions.

Key Features

• Five AI Difficulty Levels: From "Easy" for beginners all the way up to "Grandmaster" for players who actually know their openings.
• Local Multiplayer Mode: Pass-and-play with a friend on the same device—no internet required.
• Performance Statistics: Track your wins, losses, and ties across each difficulty level.
• Minimalist Customization: Toggle sound effects on or off, and switch between black or white background colors.

How to Play Chess with a computer

Getting started is dead simple, but beating Grandmaster mode? That's another story.

Choose Your Battle: AI or Human

You pick between playing against the computer or setting up a local two-player match. If you're going solo, select one of the five difficulty levels. Easy mode is forgiving—perfect for learning how knights move without getting punished. Grandmaster mode will destroy you if you hang a piece or miss a tactic.

Make Your Moves

Click or tap a piece to see its legal moves, then click the destination square. The game follows classical chess rules—no shortcuts, no weird variants. Castling, en passant, pawn promotion—it's all here and works exactly as it should. You and your opponent take turns until someone delivers checkmate, forces a stalemate, or one side resigns.

Track Your Progress

After each game, your result gets logged in the statistics screen. You can see how many games you've won, lost, or drawn at each difficulty tier. It's a basic motivator—watching that win counter tick up feels good, especially when you finally crack the higher difficulty settings.

Who is Chess with a computer for?

This is for players who want chess and nothing but chess. No animations, no story mode, no cosmetics. If you're a kid learning the game, the Easy and Beginner levels give you room to experiment without getting steamrolled. If you're a casual player looking to kill ten minutes, the Medium difficulty offers a decent challenge. And if you're already decent at chess, Grandmaster mode will test whether you actually know your tactics or just think you do. It's also great for older adults or anyone on a low-end device—this runs on basically anything with a browser.

The Gameplay Vibe

This game feels like playing chess on a board you pulled out of a drawer in 2008. The visuals are bare-bones—low-resolution 2D pieces on a flat board with glossy menu buttons that look dated. There's no polish, no ambient music to set the mood, just optional sound effects for piece movement. It's not ugly, but it's not trying to impress anyone either. The upside? Zero distractions. You focus purely on the board. The downside? It lacks personality. If you're used to modern chess apps with tutorials, puzzles, and sleek animations, this will feel spartan.

Technical Check: Saves & Performance

The game saves your statistics automatically in your browser's local storage, so your win/loss record persists between sessions—just don't clear your browser data or you'll lose it. Performance is flawless because there's almost nothing to render. I tested it on an old laptop, and it ran without a hitch. If your device can load a webpage, it can run this game. No lag, no loading screens, no downloads.

Quick Verdict: Pros & Cons

A functional chess game that does exactly what it says on the tin—nothing more, nothing less.

• ✅ Pro: Runs instantly in the browser with zero bloat or distractions.
• ✅ Pro: Five difficulty levels give you a clear progression path from beginner to advanced.
• ❌ Con: The visuals are painfully basic, even for a minimalist app—it looks like a school project from 2008.

Controls

The controls are responsive and simple—no issues with piece selection or move confirmation.

• Desktop: Click to select a piece, click again to move it to a highlighted square.
• Mobile: Tap to select, tap to move. Works fine on touchscreens.

Release Date & Developer

Developed by sb-games and released on January 1, 2023. It's a straightforward project with no updates or expansions since launch.