Chess

How to play

Checkmate the other king: attack it so it has no way to escape.

White moves first, then you take turns, one move each. Whoever opens the round plays White, and the colours swap each round.

1. Tap a piece to see where it can go, then tap a marked square. Or drag it there. Moving onto an enemy piece captures it.
2. How the pieces move: the king one square any way; the queen any distance straight or diagonal; the rook straight; the bishop diagonal; the knight in an L shape, jumping over pieces; the pawn one square forward, or two on its first move, and it captures one square diagonally forward.
3. Check means your king is under attack. You must get out of check at once, and you can never make a move that leaves your own king in check.
4. Special moves: castling, where the king and a rook move together; en passant, a special pawn capture; and promotion. A pawn that reaches the far end becomes a queen, rook, bishop or knight, your choice. The board marks these moves when they are allowed.
5. It's a draw if the player to move has no legal move and isn't in check (stalemate), neither side has enough pieces left to checkmate, the same position comes up three times, or each side makes fifty moves without a capture or pawn move.
6. On your turn, you can resign or offer a draw. Tap Offer draw, then make your move to send the offer. The other player can tap Accept draw or make a move to say no.
7. The game starts with a chess clock: 10 min each for the whole game. Change it under Clock in the lobby. Some times give seconds back after every move, like 3 min +2 sec. If you run out of time, you lose, but it's a draw if the other side has no way to checkmate, for example if they only have a king left. The robot is on the clock too.
8. Clock can also be No clock or Per move. With Per move, if your turn runs out of time, the game makes a sensible move for you.
9. Beside each player are the pieces they have taken. Their card at the top adds up the points: a pawn is 1, a knight or bishop 3, a rook 5, a queen 9. The side ahead in pieces on the board also shows how far ahead it is, like +3. These points are not rounds won. Tap the pieces to see the count.

Play with a friend

1. Open Recess and choose Chess.
2. Tap With a friend. Your table gets a code.
3. Send your friend the code or the link. They join from a browser or the app.

Questions

More games

• Chinese Chess
• Go
• Mandarin Squares
• Five in a Row
• Rock Paper Scissors
• Plane Battle
• Tic-Tac-Toe
• Number Hunt
• Dominoes
• Dice
• Sudoku
• Number Match
• Battleship