Chess lessons and practice, free
Waddle has a chess section built around learning by doing. You can start without an account: work through the first chapter, The pieces, which teaches how the king, queen, rook, bishop, knight and pawn move and capture, then play practice games against the computer.
Free without an account
- The pieces: interactive lessons on how each piece moves and captures, with the squares marked on the board.
- Practice mode: play the computer at a strength you choose, take moves back, and nothing is rated.
With a free account
- The full course, from the special moves and check through checkmate, openings and tactics.
- Rated games against the computer, with a chess rating that moves as you win and lose.
- Puzzles, game review, and a coach you can ask about any position.
- Challenge friends and watch their games live.
The free lessons
- How the rook moves in chess
- Why a rook can't jump over other pieces
- How the bishop moves in chess
- Why a bishop stays on one colour
- How the queen moves in chess
- How the knight moves in chess
- How to name the squares in chess
- How the king moves in chess
- How pawns move in chess
- How pawns capture in chess
Play it with friends
Chess lives next to Waddle's shared rooms, so you can learn together, then take a break for a video or another game in the same place.
Not sure how something works? The chess guide explains playing, rated games, challenging a friend, puzzles from your own games and game analysis.
How chess works on Waddle · Start learning chess · Create a free account