The same chess match, sitting on a small table
Chess 3D is not a different game. The server is the flat Chess engine with a new coat of paint: pieces stand on a table, captured men stack beside the board, and the television is meant to be looked at from across a room. Two people still play. White still moves first. If the flat diagram on the Chess page feels like a poster from the sofa, this is the view that fixes that. The lobby can add a computer at Easy, Normal, or Hard, so the 3D table can be a match against the computer as well as against a friend.
2 players
Try it now
Same rules as Chess 3D. Play a full game on this page against the computer, or pass-and-play. The 3D table appears when you host a room; this board is here so you can start immediately.
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.
8The same moves, on a table
Chess 3D uses the same moves, mates, and draws as Chess.
The main screen shows the pieces on a 3D table, and it can turn toward the side to move.
Simple models swaps the detailed pieces for plain shapes if the TV is struggling.
What changes, and what does not
Rules, seats, and endings are identical to Chess. chess.js checks every move. Castling, en passant, and promotion work the same way. Checkmate, stalemate, resignation, threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule, and insufficient material end the game the same way. Colors are shuffled when the two players sit down. A third person cannot take a piece. A room still lasts 48 hours between moves, so a slow game can pause overnight.
What you gain is the table. Pieces are models you can read by shape, not only by a letter on a square. Captured pieces leave the board and stack in view, which helps a learner see what has already been traded. The Main screen can auto-rotate so the side to move faces the camera. There is also a “simple models” switch. Turn it on if the television browser struggles with the detailed pieces. The simple set is blockier and lighter. The moves do not change.
How a round in the living room goes
Host on the screen everyone will watch. A laptop on HDMI is the safer host if the TV’s own browser is old. Create a Chess 3D room and keep the QR code visible until both phones have a nickname. Each player taps moves on their phone. The table on the TV animates the piece. Promotion is chosen on the phone: queen, rook, bishop, or knight.
Someone who is not on the couch can join the same room on one device and see the table plus their own moves there. Send the code in a message. The 3D view is heavier than the flat board, so a phone that is fine for tapping moves may feel tight if it is also drawing the table. If it stutters, that person can stay on a phone controller and let a laptop be their “table.”
Quick play on this page
The button above does not open the 3D table. It starts the same rules on a flat board, against the computer or pass-and-play, so you can try a game without a room. The computer searches about three moves deep. It is a casual opponent: it values pieces and squares, it will take a free queen, and it will still miss long plans. Undo and resign are on this local board only. A hosted room does not rewind a move once the server has taken it.
Use Quick play to remember how a fork works, or to let two people share one laptop for ten minutes. Host the room when you want the table, the QR code, and a second phone.
Practical advice from hosting it
Pick the flat Chess page when you want a diagram you can photograph or when the TV is a small monitor on a desk. Pick this page when the set is the center of the room and you want the match to look like a set of pieces, not a website.
- Stand a few meters back before the first move and check that a knight still reads as a knight. If it does not, move the camera angle or switch on simple models.
- Leave auto-rotate on for a teaching game. A beginner playing Black should not have to read an upside-down board for an hour.
- Dim a lamp that reflects in the TV glass. The table has shadows. A glare wipes them out and the pieces flatten.
- Teach with the captured stacks. “You are down a rook” is easier when the rook is sitting beside the board, not only missing from a square.
- If the TV fans up or the frame rate drops during a capture animation, host from the laptop. The phones are only sending taps.
FAQ
Is Chess 3D a different ruleset?
- No. It is the Chess engine with a 3D table on the Main screen. Two players, standard moves, the same draw and checkmate rules.
What does simple models do?
- It swaps the detailed piece meshes for a lighter set on the Main screen. Use it when a TV browser drops frames. Moves, colors, and the result of the game stay the same.
Can people watch without playing?
- Yes. Only two seats move pieces. Everyone else looks at the table on the shared screen.
Does Quick play show the 3D table?
- No. Quick play on this page is a flat board with the same rules, so you can start immediately against the computer or pass-and-play. The 3D table appears when you host a room.
How long can we leave a game?
- A room stays up for 48 hours between moves. There is no chess clock. If the TV sleeps, reopen the Main screen in that room. The position is on the server, not in the television.