Welcome to LobbyChess

Start in seconds

No sign-up to look around. Open the lobby and it's all there: this week's chess, lessons, openings and the chat.

• One Play button. Play the computer, or play a person.
• Play as a guest. Chat or play with one click. You just confirm you're 16 or older.
• Keep your name any time. Add a password and your guest name becomes your account.

Post-game analysis

Every game ends with a full review, and it shows you what you should have played.

• Should have played. Every move that wasn't the best shows the move that was.
• Every move graded: Best, Excellent, Good, Inaccuracy, Mistake, Blunder. Best Excellent Good Inaccuracy Mistake Blunder
• Badges for the moves that matter: Great (!), Brilliant (!!), Legendary (★), and Miss (✗) when your opponent handed you a chance and you let it go. !Great !!Brilliant ★Legendary ✗Miss
• Accuracy for both players, with a count of every grade.
• Evaluation chart, so you can watch the game swing move by move.
• Critical moments flag the turning points.
• Download the PGN with the opening and the engine's evaluations built in.

Curious how the badges are decided? Read How Move Grades Work.

Play the computer

Stockfish at five strengths: Beginner (about 1320), Intermediate (about 1800), Advanced (about 2200), Expert (about 2600) and Full strength.

• Coach mode. Analysis after every move, the engine's top three suggestions, and two takebacks.
• Commentary Mode. After each of your moves, a short line tells you how good it was and where the game stands. Turn on the reveal to see what Stockfish preferred.
• Opening commentary. Your opening is named as you play. You'll see whether you're still in book, the move where you left it, and the master games that reached your position. With the reveal on, it shows what theory played instead.
• Play from any position. Find a line in the Opening Explorer and press Play From Here.

Play people

• Play a person. Press Play and you'll join someone who's waiting, or open a table for the next player. If nobody arrives within 30 seconds, you can play the computer instead.
• Invite a friend with a link by text or email.
• Elo ratings based on real games.
• Rematch in one click.
• Spectators. Share your game so friends can watch, and see who's watching.
• The Game Room shows every live game. Click one to watch.
• Replay any finished game move by move with the arrow keys.
• Tournaments are coming back.

Video Chess VIP

Currently for VIP members.

See and hear your opponent while you play. The video runs right inside the game, with mute controls built in. It's peer-to-peer, so no video passes through our servers.

Learn to play

• How to Play. A narrated five-minute introduction: how every piece moves, check and checkmate, castling, promotion, en passant, and your first opening moves. Tap the answer at the try-it moments, or just watch.
• Six hands-on courses. How the Pieces Move, Check and Safety, First Checkmates, Special Moves, Mate With Each Piece, and Forks. You make the moves on a live board, then prove it in a short challenge.
• Progress saves to your account, so you can pick up on any device.
• Mate-in-1 Trainer (as seen on YouTube). Rapid-fire mates to sharpen your pattern recognition.

The Weekly Column

A weekly chess newspaper built from the week's master games.

• Every move graded, with the same badges as your own games.
• A front page of the week's best moments, on boards you can step through.
• Listen to it. Audio narration reads the Column to you.

In the lobby, This Week plays the Column's moments.

Openings

• Hottest Openings. Each week, one featured line played out a dozen moves deep, with the points where players branched off.
• Opening Explorer. Every opening move from over 150,000 tournament master games played in 2026, updated every week, with the engine's evaluation already stored on each one, the rating of the players who chose it, the strongest player ever to play it, and the date it was last played. Browse over 550 openings by name and the board walks itself there, or press Play From Here to play the position against Stockfish. Full-strength Stockfish 19 runs in your own browser for any position you reach.
• Opening Universe. The whole opening tree as an interactive map.
• Top 100. Browse top games move by move, with commentary.
• Hot and cold. An opening whose last thirty days move far enough from its own baseline earns a flame, so you can see which lines are gaining ground and which side is enjoying them.

Puzzles and training

• Daily Puzzle Challenge. 20 puzzles against the clock. Miss one and it comes back until you've solved them all. Then post your time on the leaderboard.
• Miniatures of the Week. The shortest decisive games of the week, with the decisive moment marked. Step through with the arrow keys, or let it play.
• Guess the Move. Watch a miniature and predict each move, with your accuracy scored.
• Champions Lab. Magnus Carlsen's games five ways: browse the games with engine analysis, Guess the Move, Key Moments, Puzzles, and a filter to find exactly the games you want.

The lobby

• What's New and This Week. The front of the lobby carries the week's news and chess.
• Live chat, moderated so it stays friendly.
• Click any name to challenge that player, mention them, see their record, or block or report.
• Accolades. The Greats and Brilliants you earn in games against people show when someone clicks your name.
• After Hours. A quieter room with music, synchronized lyrics and its own tables.

Look and feel

• Our own pieces. LobbyChess has its own piece set, drawn for the site.
• Built for your phone. The lobby, the How to Play tour and the Play button all work on a phone.

Player profiles

Create an account for your own profile page:

• Stats at a glance: wins, losses, draws, win rate and games played.
• Rating trend chart.
• Recent games with your opponent, color, result, rating change, number of moves and how each game ended.
• Course progress for every course, with the date you finished.
• Account settings to change your email or password.

Safety and privacy

• Moderated chat, plus block and report on every player.
• Interactive features are for ages 16 and up.
• No ads, no trackers. No Google Analytics and no advertising pixels. Read our Privacy Policy and Terms.

Support

The Philosophy