Play Chess vs Stockfish
Free chess against Stockfish 19, from beginner to full strength.
Promote to
Stockfish level
Takes effect from the engine's next move.
Resign this game?
Stockfish takes the win. The moves stay on the board, so you can still review them or send the game to the analyser.
Roast Mode
Stockfish roast needs to be at level 10 or better to operate effectively.
Members Only
Stockfish speaks after you move - a short summary on the current position, out loud. The tone is yours: Informative explains the position, Roast has fun at your expense - on a slider from lenient to brutal.
Stockfish Talks is available with a PlayStockfish account, and creating one takes under a minute.
Members Only
Create a free account to use this feature - it takes under a minute.
Save this game
It stays in this browser, ready to pick up again on this device.
Saved games
Pick a game to put back on the board. Loading it takes it off this list.
Checkmate
White wins.
Stockfish will provide informative commentary on game
Previous games
The Rules of Chess
Read the Chess Rules guide Every rule explained in plain English, each with its own diagram and an interactive board to practise the move on.Play Chess Online Against the Computer
This page is a free online chess game against Stockfish 19, the strongest chess engine ever built, compiled to WebAssembly so it runs entirely in your browser. There is nothing to download, no account to create and no limit on games. Pick your colour, pick a time control from one-minute bullet to classical, set the engine anywhere from a gentle sparring partner to full strength, and play.
Playing chess against a computer is the fastest way to get real games in at exactly the level you need. Unlike a human opponent, Stockfish is available at any hour, never tires of beginners, and never cancels — and unlike most chess sites, everything here works without signing up, on your phone as well as your desktop.
What do the skill levels mean?
The skill slider maps to Stockfish’s own Skill Level setting, from 1 to 20. The figures below are rough playing strengths in Elo terms, so you can pick an opponent near your own rating — if you do not know it, play a few games and estimate your Elo.
Every level, 1 to 20, with its approximate Elo
Each row is a shortcut: press Play and Stockfish switches to that level right away, ready for your next move — no need to open the level picker yourself. Levels 1–4 also get a shallow, fixed-depth search of their own (level 1 sees one move ahead); from level 5 up, Stockfish searches as deep as its time budget allows and the Skill Level setting itself is what holds the strength back.
| Level | Approx. Elo | What to expect | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ~800 | One-ply search — hangs pieces and misses mate in one | |
| 2 | ~950 | Two-ply search — still misses simple one-move threats | |
| 3 | ~1100 | Three-ply search — the top of genuinely beatable | |
| 4 | ~1200 | Four-ply search, its last fixed depth — club-beginner strength | |
| 5 | ~1300 | Full search depth starts here — the default level on this page | |
| 6 | ~1400 | Punishes clear blunders, still shaky in sharp middlegames | |
| 7 | ~1500 | Comfortable club strength — needs real opening knowledge to beat | |
| 8 | ~1600 | Strong club player — loose tactics get taken | |
| 9 | ~1700 | Strong club player | |
| 10 | ~1800 | Solid club strength — few free tactics on offer | |
| 11 | ~1900 | Upper club strength — positional slips get punished | |
| 12 | ~2000 | Expert strength — openings and endgames both matter | |
| 13 | ~2100 | Expert strength | |
| 14 | ~2200 | Near-master strength | |
| 15 | ~2300 | Master strength — very few club players win here | |
| 16 | ~2400 | Grandmaster territory begins | |
| 17 | ~2575 | Grandmaster strength | |
| 18 | ~2750 | Elite grandmaster strength | |
| 19 | ~2900 | Just under full strength | |
| 20 | Full strength | Stockfish 19 with nothing held back — beyond any human player |
Elo figures are the site’s own approximation of Stockfish’s Skill Level setting against human ratings, not a published Stockfish benchmark — treat them as a guide to which level suits you, not a precise score.
Tips for beating the computer
Engines punish loose tactics instantly, but at lower levels they have no plan. Keep the position closed, trade pieces when you are ahead, and never leave a piece where it can be taken for free — most games against the computer are lost to one-move blunders, not deep strategy. Use the Hint button when you are stuck and Takeback while you learn; both are there to teach.
When the game is over, press Analyze game and the whole game goes straight to the chess game analyzer, which grades every move and lets you practise the mistakes you made.
More on the site: sharpen your tactics with chess puzzles, get AI chess coaching while you play, review any finished game with the chess game analyzer, or take a Stockfish Elo estimate.