Chess with the board on the television and the moves on your phone
Chess on CastPlayTV is the game you already know, arranged so two people can sit on a couch and still see the whole position. One screen, usually the television, holds the board. Each player moves from a phone. Spectators look at the TV instead of crowding a handset. If you want a game before anyone else is in the room, Quick play on this page starts a full match against the computer, or lets two people pass one device back and forth. In a hosted room, Add computer in the lobby seats the same kind of opponent at Easy, Normal, or Hard, so you can play the television board against the computer.
2 players
Try it now
Play a full game right here — no TV, phone, or room code. The computer looks a few moves ahead (a casual opponent, not a master engine). You can also pass one device back and forth.
How to play
1Two players, white first
Exactly two people sit down. Colors are shuffled when the game starts.
White moves first.
Everyone else in the room is watching.
2Pawns and knights
A pawn moves one square forward, or two from its starting square, and captures one square diagonally.
A knight jumps in an L, two squares and then one, and it can hop over pieces.
You may not leave your own king in check.
3Rooks, bishops, the queen, the king
Rooks run along ranks and files. Bishops run on diagonals. The queen does both.
The king moves one square in any direction.
A piece stops at the first piece it meets, and captures by landing on an opponent.
4Castle, en passant, a new queen
Castling slides the king two squares toward a rook and jumps that rook across, when neither has moved and the squares between are empty and safe.
En passant captures a pawn that just stepped two squares beside yours.
A pawn that reaches the far rank becomes a queen.
5How a game ends
Checkmate wins.
Stalemate is a draw, and so are threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule, and not enough material to mate.
There is no separate draw offer. The game ends when the position is a draw.
6Moves come from the phone
Tap a piece, then a square. An illegal tap does not change the board, and you cannot move on the other color’s turn.
Resign ends the game and names the other player the winner.
The room does not undo a move once the server has accepted it.
7An optional clock, and a computer if you want one
The clock is off until the lobby picks 3+2, 5+0, 10+0, or 15+10. Off leaves the room up for 48 hours between moves.
Running out of time loses, unless the other side cannot possibly checkmate — then it is a draw.
The lobby can add a computer at Easy, Normal, or Hard. A computer uses the clock too.
Who it is actually for
This is the quiet title in the catalog. It wants two people who will take turns, not a party shouting over a timer. It works for teaching the moves after dinner, for a rematch between people who already know the rules, and for a slow game across two cities. A room stays alive for 48 hours between moves, so a match can survive a commute or a night’s sleep. There is no chess clock. Everyone else in the room is a spectator. The server seats exactly two players.
Setting the television
Open the site on the screen the room will look at and choose Main screen. Create a Chess room and leave the QR code up until both players have a nickname. The server shuffles the seats, so the person who created the room is not automatically White.
The television shows the full board and can turn itself to face the side to move. That auto-rotate switch lives on the Main screen. Leave it on when a beginner is playing Black and the board would otherwise stay in White’s orientation for the whole evening. Turn it off if the rotation makes someone dizzy. Moves are tapped on the phone: pick a piece, pick a square. If a pawn reaches the last rank, the phone asks which piece to promote to. Queen, rook, bishop, and knight are all legal. The server rejects anything else.
A friend in another city can open the same room on one phone, tablet, or computer so the board and the moves live on that device. Send the room code as text. A voice call is optional.
What the rules engine accepts
Moves are checked by chess.js, the same ruleset used for over-the-board chess: castling, en passant, promotion, check, and the usual piece moves. White moves first. An illegal tap does not change the board. You cannot move your opponent’s piece, and you cannot move on their turn.
The game ends in one of four ways the server records. Checkmate names a winner. Stalemate is a draw. A resignation names the other player as the winner, and only a seated player can resign. Draws also cover the cases chess.js treats as drawn: threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule, and insufficient material. There is no “offer a draw” button that the opponent must accept. If the position is a draw under those rules, the game simply ends when the move that caused it is played.
Nothing here adds house rules. No points for captured pieces, and no timer that flags you. The room does not undo a move once the server has accepted it. Agree takebacks out loud before you start, or use Quick play on this page, which has an Undo button because that board is local.
Quick play, before you host
The button on this page does not create a room and does not need a second phone. You play a full game in the browser against a small search program, or you pass the device. The computer looks ahead about three moves, with a simple piece-value and square table underneath. It will take a hanging queen and it will not fall for a one-move blunder every time, but it is not a master engine and it is not Stockfish. Treat it as a patient sparring partner for openings and for teaching, not as a rating.
You can play White or Black, start over, undo, or resign. Pass-and-play is two humans and no computer. Host a room when you want the television and a second phone. The rules do not change.
Five things that make the evening better
- Sit the learner facing the TV. The phone is for tapping. The position is easier at television size.
- Name the goal if one person is new. “Practice castling” is a kinder first game than a silent match.
- Agree on takebacks before move one. The room will not rewind.
- If the TV browser stutters, host Main screen from a laptop on HDMI. The phones only send taps.
- For a long think, leave the room open. It survives a gap of many hours. Say so, so nobody assumes a sleeping TV deleted the game.
FAQ
Can a third person play?
- No. Exactly two seats move pieces. Anyone else can watch the Main screen without joining. If a third person scans the code, they are not given a color.
Who plays White?
- The server shuffles the two joined players when the game starts. Creating the room does not reserve White. Check the board after both nicknames are seated.
Is there a clock?
- No chess clock. A room stays available for 48 hours between moves so a slow game can pause. If you want blitz, use a phone timer outside the game and agree what happens when it runs out. The server will not flag anyone.
What happens if I promote a pawn?
- The phone asks you to pick a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. The server only accepts those four. Underpromotion is legal if you choose it. The television updates once the move is accepted.
Can I try a game on this page without a friend?
- Yes. Quick play starts a full game here against the computer, or pass-and-play on one screen. It does not need a TV, a second phone, or a room code. Host a room when you want the shared screen.