Chess

Chess needs no introduction and gets none. Thirty-two pieces, sixty-four squares, and fifteen centuries of people finding out that the rules fit on a page and the game does not. What matters on this page is that every rule is here: castling on both sides with all of its conditions, capturing en passant, promotion to any of the four pieces, check, checkmate, stalemate, and the three ways a game ends in a draw without either side being mated.

You play white or black against a computer at one of three strengths, or open a table and send the code to a friend. The pieces that can move are lit, tapping one shows every square it may go to, and a pawn reaching the far row asks which piece it becomes before the move is made. A king in check is marked, and the game says why it ended when it does. India has more people learning this game than any other country, which is part of why it is here.

The weakest opponent looks one move ahead and plays with a wobble, which is about the strength of somebody who has just learned the moves. The middle one looks two moves ahead and the strongest three, both with a capture search on the end so that neither is fooled by a trade that only looks good for one exchange. The strongest is a decent club player, and it will not blunder a piece. Your colour, difficulty and record stay in this browser.