HOW TO PLAY CHESS ONLINE WITH FRIENDS (FREE)
No apps, no downloads and no fees: challenge a friend to chess in your browser, play at your own pace, and settle who is really the best on a live results board.
What you need (spoiler: just a browser)
Our Multiplayer Chess runs entirely in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer. There is nothing to install and nothing to pay. Create a free account so your games, results and rating survive between sessions, and you are ready.
Challenging a friend
Open the game and choose to challenge a friend. You get a shareable challenge link: send it on WhatsApp, paste it in a group chat, or hand your phone over for a scan. The first friend to open the link joins your match, and the board is live for both of you.
Play at your own pace
Real life does not always allow a full sitting of chess, so matches are turn-based: make your move, get on with your day, and come back when your friend has replied. Your My Games inbox shows every match you have running and whose turn it is, so a dozen slow-burn rivalries can run side by side. Nothing is lost if you close the browser.
Wins go on the record
Every completed match is recorded on the head-to-head results board, with winners, losers and the score. Bragging rights are permanent and public, which is exactly how bragging rights should be. Playing also earns XP, the platform's progress currency, which feeds streaks, quests and the overall leaderboards.
A few tips for friendly matches
- Agree on pace. A move a day keeps a correspondence game alive without pressure; some friends prefer rapid-fire evenings.
- Rematch immediately. The loser always deserves one, and the series is where the fun lives.
- Review your losses. The fastest improvement comes from spotting the one move where it went wrong.
- Recruit a third player. Round-robin rivalries with three or four friends turn a game into a season.
New to the game?
If you or your friend need the rules, start with our complete beginner's guide to chess: board setup, every piece, castling and checkmate, all in one page. Curious where this 1,500-year-old game came from? Read the history of chess. Then start your first match: the board is ready when you are.