Games / Chess
Chess
The world's favourite strategy game. Learn each piece with stars, then trap the other king.
- 1–2 players
- Computer at 4 levels
- 14 star lessons
- Ages 6+, free, no betting
What it is
Chess grew out of chaturanga, played in India some 1,500 years ago, and shatranj, its Persian form. Two players each command sixteen pieces: a king, a queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. The goal is checkmate: attack the other king so it has no way to escape.
On Khel ON you can start with Learn chess: fourteen short lessons where you collect stars with each piece, then practise castling, promotion, en passant, getting out of check and finding checkmate. Play the computer at Beginner (made for young kids), Easy, Normal or Hard, or pass one phone between two players. A Helper shows where pieces can go and warns when one of yours can be captured, and Hint suggests a good move. Earn stars and badges, saved on your own device. There are no coins, chips or betting.
Screenshots
How to play
Set up and take turns
White sits on the side with the light square in the right-hand corner and always moves first. Players take turns, one move each.
Move the pieces
The king moves one square any way. The queen moves any distance in straight lines and diagonals, the rook in straight lines and the bishop on diagonals. The knight jumps in an L. Pawns move one square forward, two on their first move, and capture one square diagonally forward.
Capture and special moves
Move onto an enemy piece to capture it. Castling moves the king two squares towards a rook, which hops over to its other side. A pawn that reaches the far row is promoted, usually to a queen. En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just jumped two squares past it.
Check, checkmate and draws
A king under attack is in check and must escape at once. No escape is checkmate, and the game is won. With no legal move but no check, it is stalemate: a draw. The same position three times, 50 moves each with no capture or pawn move, or too few pieces to checkmate are draws too.
Ways to play
Learn chess
Fourteen lessons with up to three stars each. Do a lesson in the fewest moves for all three.
Against the computer
Beginner is made for young kids and leaves pieces hanging. Easy makes friendly mistakes. Normal takes what you give it. Hard looks many moves ahead.
With a friend
Two players share one phone and take turns. Turn on the board flip so each player sees their own side at the bottom.
Ready to play?
Chess opens right here in your browser. No account, no download.