Play chess online with a friend or a random opponent

How it works

1. 1

   Pick a time control

   10 minutes, 5 | 3, 3 | 2, or no clock at all.

2. 2

   Choose how to play

   Create a link for a friend, or let us pair you with the next person waiting.

3. 3

   Play

   The game starts as soon as both players are in. Rematch with one tap when it ends.

Playing a friend

Pick a time control and choose "Create a game link". You get a link and a six-character code, so send whichever is easier. The code leaves out characters that are easy to mix up, such as 0 and O, so it still works if you read it out. Keep your page open while you wait. As soon as your friend opens the link, or types the code into the "Got a code?" box, the game starts on your time control and each of you is given a colour at random.

When the game ends, either of you can ask for a rematch. If you both ask, a new game starts with the colours swapped. A game has room for two players, so anyone else who opens the link is told it is full. If you leave before your friend arrives, the link stops working after about 10 minutes.

Getting paired with a random opponent

"Find an opponent" puts you in a shared waiting room. The page shows how many people are waiting for each time control, so you can choose one where someone is already there. You are paired with the first other person waiting for the same time control, and the game starts by itself in the same tab, with colours drawn at random.

There is no skill matching, because players have no ratings here, so your opponent could be a complete beginner or a strong player. A matched opponent is a person: there are no bots in the waiting room. ChessDays is a small site, so if nobody else is waiting you stay first in line until someone picks the same time control, which can take a while. Keep the tab open, and cancel whenever you like.

If your connection drops

Your browser tries to reconnect by itself. Your seat is remembered in that tab, so reloading the page also puts you back in your game. While you are away your opponent sees a countdown, and a player who stays away for 60 seconds loses the game. The clock keeps running in the meantime, so on a fast time control you could run out of time first.

Your seat belongs to the tab you started in. If you close it, a new tab or another device cannot get it back, so reload rather than close when something looks stuck.

What the server keeps

Online games pass through our game server, which runs on Cloudflare and checks every move against the rules. While you play, it holds your moves and game actions, your random nickname and a random seat code that lets you rejoin. There are no accounts or profiles, and nothing you could type to another player.

A game is normally deleted about 10 minutes after it ends or after both players have left. No room lasts longer than 24 hours, so a very long game with no clock would end there. We keep no history of online games, which also means there is no record of your past results. To stop abuse, the server briefly counts requests per IP address for about a minute. Our privacy policy has the full details, including what our host Cloudflare processes.

Questions

Do I need an account to play chess online here?

No. You get a random nickname like "Clever Otter" for this visit, and you can play straight away. Nothing to sign up for, nothing to install.

How do I play chess with a friend?

Choose "Play a friend" to get a link and a six-character code. Send either one to your friend; the game starts when they open it.

Can people send me messages?

No. There is no chat. Players can only send a few preset reactions such as "Good luck" or "Good game", and names are picked from a fixed list, so nobody can type anything to another player.

What happens if my connection drops?

Reload or come back to the page in the same tab and you get your seat back. If a player stays away for 60 seconds, they lose the game.

Is it free?

Yes, it is free, with no limit on games and no ads on the game screen.

Prefer to practise first? Play the bots, they never mind a rematch.