You don't need an app, an account or a subscription to play chess with a friend who lives somewhere else. On Suvi you open one page, send a link, and the game starts on both screens. Here is how it works, what to expect during a game, and how to make it a regular thing.
By Brasslight Games ·
The quick way, in three steps
Open the page. Go to chess with a friend. A game is made for you straight away, with a link and a short code.
Send the link. Paste it into a text message or an email, or read your friend the code over the phone. Codes use no vowels and no look-alike characters, so they are easy to read out.
Play. When your friend opens the link, the board appears on both screens with your own pieces at the bottom of each. White moves first.
That's all. Neither of you signs up, gives an email address or downloads anything, and it is free.
Above: chess with a friend, ready to go. Copy the link it gives you and send it to the person you want to play; the game starts when they open it. Open Chess with a friend on its own page →
What you both need
Each of you needs a device with an up-to-date web browser and an internet connection. It doesn't matter what kind: one of you can be on a phone and the other on a laptop, a tablet or a desktop computer. The board fits a phone screen without zooming, and on a computer you can play with the mouse or the keyboard.
If one of you finds a phone screen small, the Bigger text switch at the top of the page makes the words larger, and a tablet gives the board more room. You don't need to be on the same Wi-Fi, in the same town or even in the same country.
During the game
Tap a piece to see the squares it can move to, then tap one, or drag the piece there. Every move appears on both screens, the last move is marked, and the moves are listed as you go, so you can always see what just happened. Captured pieces sit under the board.
There is no typed chat in the game, only a few ready-made messages such as hello, nice one and good game. Most people play with a phone call or a video call going at the same time, which is the nicest way to do it anyway. Online games have no clock yet, so take as long as you like over a move. Between two people every move stands, as it would over a real board: there is no undo.
If one of you loses the connection, the game waits five minutes. Open the same link again, or reload the page, and you carry on from the same position. When a game ends, a rematch keeps a running score.
Making it a regular game
A weekly game is a lovely way to keep in touch with a friend who has moved away, a parent in another town or a grandchild at college. A few things help it stick:
Pick a time. Sunday evening after dinner, or a lunch break on Wednesdays. A fixed slot is easier than arranging each game.
Save the page. Add Suvi to your home screen (in your browser's share or menu button) so it opens like an app.
Keep the score. The running score after rematches gives the evening a point. Best of three works well when games are quick.
Mix it up. If one of you is much stronger, swap to a game where luck evens things out, such as backgammon, now and then.
If you're rusty: the rules in a minute
The aim is to trap the other king so it is attacked and has no way out: that is checkmate, and it wins the game. Each piece moves in its own way. The king moves one square in any direction. The queen moves any distance along a row, a column or a diagonal. Rooks move along rows and columns, bishops along diagonals, and knights jump in an L shape: two squares one way and one square to the side, over anything in between. Pawns move forward one square, or two from their starting square, and capture one square diagonally forward.
A few special moves catch people out. Castling moves the king two squares towards a rook and puts the rook on the other side of it, once per game, if neither has moved, nothing stands between them, and the king isn't in check or passing through an attacked square. En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just moved two squares past it. A pawn that reaches the far side is promoted, usually to a queen. The game is drawn by stalemate (the player to move has no legal move but isn't in check), by the same position coming up three times, after fifty moves each without a capture or a pawn move, or when neither side has enough pieces left to mate.
You don't have to police any of this: Suvi only allows legal moves, and it spots checkmate and every kind of draw for you.
Practice between games
If you'd like to win a few more of your weekly games, practice against the computer. Chess against the computer has three levels: Easy looks one move ahead and makes beginner's mistakes, Medium looks two moves ahead for each side, and Hard is a real test. You can take a move back and ask for a hint there, which you can't do against a friend.
The daily Chess Puzzle is a short way to sharpen your eye: one position a day, find the checkmate. And when you're both in the same room, two-player chess works on one device, with the board turning round after each move, and speed chess adds a clock.
Other games to play a friend online
Everything above works the same way for the other board games on Suvi. Checkers is quicker to learn and just as good for a long rivalry. Reversi takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master. Backgammon mixes skill with dice. There are sports games too, from darts to mini golf, and a drawing game for up to four. They are all on one page: games to play online with friends.
Is it safe?
Every online game on Suvi is played in a private room that only people with your link or code can join, and once your friend is in, the room is full. There is no lobby of strangers, no typed chat and no photos. Names are letters only and are checked, and the person who opened a room can remove a player. There's more on our safety page.
Questions
Is it really free to play chess with a friend online?
Yes. There is no charge, no subscription and no account. Open the page, send the link, and play as many games as you like.
Does my friend need the app or an account?
No. There is no app to download. Your friend opens the link you send in their web browser, or types the short code, and the game starts.
Can we play with a clock?
Not online yet: online games have no clock, so take your time. A clock of 10, 5 or 3 minutes each works against the computer and with two players on one device.
What if one of us loses the connection?
The game waits five minutes. Open the same link again or reload the page and you carry on from the same position.
Play on Suvi
Chess — Full chess for two: play the computer, a friend on one screen or online, with or without a clock.
Chess Puzzle — One tactic a day. Find the winning move.
Checkers — Jump, capture, crown a king. Play the computer or a friend on the same screen.
Backgammon — Race your checkers home, hit the blots. Play the computer or a friend on the same screen.
Reversi — Trap discs between yours and flip them. Play the computer or a friend on the same screen.