Free 2 player chess on one phone or tablet

How to start

1. Open bigboard.games on one phone or tablet and tap Start a table.
2. Pick the game; the players at this device are set before the match.
3. Lay the device flat between you and play.

One board, two players

Start a table on one phone or tablet with two people on it and pick Chess: the whole 8 × 8 board fills the screen. It faces the first player and stays that way all game, with no flip after each move and no card to hand over.

Sit across from each other with the device flat between you, or side by side. On every turn the screen's edges glow in the mover's colour, and a ring round their badge says the same, so a glance tells you whose move it is. Checkers and the dots game share a screen the same way, with the other 2 player games on one phone.

Turns without handing the phone round

Because the board never turns, nobody has to pick the device up. When a pawn promotes, the picker turns to face the player who is moving, at their own edge of the screen.

Resign always acts for the player whose move it is, and it hides while the other one is thinking, so a stray tap can't end someone else's game. A tablet lying flat gives you the most room; a phone works fine for two people sitting close together. Got a second phone? Chess on two phones gives each of you a half of the board.

Clocks on a shared screen

Clocks work as they do on two devices. A move timer of 15, 30 or 60 seconds plays a random legal move for you when it runs out. A chess clock gives each of you 5, 10 or 15 minutes, and whoever runs out loses. Turn on one, both or neither before the game.

Rather play chess vs the computer? With one person on the device, the second seat can be a bot instead: same board, same clocks, and it answers after a short pause.

Pass and play: questions and answers