Win
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King captured
Take the opponent's king and the game is yours.
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Resignation
A player concedes victory to the opponent.
Mechanics
It's chess — until you realize there are no turns. Move whenever you want — and so can your opponent.
It starts as ordinary chess
- Starting position
- Piece movement
- Castling
- Pawn promotion
What's different
Three things set Real-Time Chess apart from regular chess.
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No turn order
Make any legal move at any moment — both players move at the same time.
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Pieces have speed
Moves aren't instant — pieces travel across squares at a fixed speed.
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Cooldown
After moving, a piece must cool down for a moment before it can move again.
Collisions
When pieces collide
Opposing pieces collide when they get close enough — and one captures the other. The collision resolves instantly.
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One Piece Moving
The moving piece captures the one standing still.
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Both Pieces Moving
The piece that moved first captures the other.
These chess rules no longer apply
Promotion
A pawn promotes straight to a queen the moment it reaches the far rank.
How a game ends
Every game resolves as a win or a draw — unless it's canceled.
Draw
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Mutual agreement
Both players agree to a draw.
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Stalemate
No capture and no pawn move for the last minute and a half.
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Both kings at once
The game ends in a draw if both kings are captured at the same time — an extremely unlikely outcome.
Can't wait to play?
Test yourself against the computer, match with a human, or challenge a friend to a duel.