Chess Free online game

What is it?

Chess is the world-famous strategy game played with six kinds of pieces — king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn — where you win by checkmating the enemy king, leaving it no escape from attack. Chess on Hanpanmadang follows the full official rules, including castling, en passant and pawn promotion.

Chess is believed to have begun around the 6th century as chaturanga in India, reaching its modern rules by way of Persia and Europe, and today it's one of the most widely played board games in the world. Against the AI you can choose White (first) or Black (second), and you can also play other people online.

How to play

1. Tap a piece to see where it can go. Tap a square to move
2. Castling, en passant and promotion (queen, rook, bishop or knight) — all official rules
3. Checkmate the enemy king to win. Stalemate, threefold repetition, the 50-move rule and insufficient material are draws

Difficulty and rankings

There's a weekly ranking and an all-time ranking; the weekly one resets every Monday at midnight (Korea time). For details, see the Help.

Good to know on Hanpanmadang

• The game is drawn by stalemate, threefold repetition, 50 moves without a pawn move or capture, or when neither side has enough material to checkmate (e.g., king vs. king).
• A pawn that reaches the last rank promotes to a queen, rook, bishop or knight of your choice.
• If you play Black against the AI, the board flips so your pieces are always at the bottom. Online, each move must be made within 90 seconds or you lose.

Learn from examples

Common mistakes

Following your own plan without looking at your opponent's threats.

Before each move, ask: "What can my opponent capture now, and can they give check next?" Many games are decided by a single move, like Nf6 in the example above.

Drawing a game where you're far ahead in material.

Repeating checks or crowding the king with your queen easily leads to stalemate. Take away its escape squares one at a time.

Tips

• In the opening, take the four center squares with pawns and pieces. Whoever controls the center has an easier time moving their pieces.
• Develop your knights and bishops first, and avoid moving the same piece several times.
• Castle early to tuck your king into a safe corner.
• Remember the rough values of the pieces: a pawn is usually counted as 1, knights and bishops as 3, a rook as 5 and the queen as 9. Using these numbers to judge trades cuts down on mistakes.
• When pressing the enemy king, cut off its escape squares rather than just giving check after check.