How it works

What is ChessPlaza?

ChessPlaza is chess for money between verified players. We pair you with an opponent for one game at a fixed stake, hold both stakes until it ends and publish a receipt for every game played to the end.

This site is a test build of it, with test credits instead of money.

Is this real money?

No. In the test build you play with test credits, not real money. You cannot pay money in, and test credits cannot be paid out.

What is switched off in the test build?

Email sign-in, passkeys, identity checks and registered devices are switched off in the test build.

Fair-play checks do not run yet, so receipts carry no fair-play labels.

Deposits and withdrawals are not part of the test build.

Pairing has no rating range and no limit on how often you play the same person.

How do I sign in?

On the home page, press "Sign in". The first time, choose "First time here": enter your invite code, then choose a username and a password.

Your invite code works only once. After that, sign in with your username and password.

Other players see your username once a game has started, and on receipts.

What password can I choose?

At least 8 characters. Any characters work, and you do not need symbols or digits. We refuse very common passwords.

Adding spaces or capital letters to a very common password does not make it safe, so we refuse that too.

Use one you do not use anywhere else. A password manager can make one and remember it for you.

Can I sign in on another device?

Yes. Your username and password sign you in on any device. Signing in on one device signs you out of none of the others.

I signed up before passwords came in. What now?

Sign in once more with your invite code: choose "First time here", enter your code and your username, and choose a password.

From then on, sign in with your username and password. Your invite code then stops working, and we sign you out on your other devices.

I forgot my password. What now?

Ask the person who invited you for a reset code. On the sign-in page, press "Forgot your password?" and enter your username, the code and a new password.

A reset code works once, for 24 hours. Your invite code cannot reset your password.

You keep your balance and your games. A reset signs you out on your other devices.

How do I change my password?

Open Account, enter your current password and a new one, and press "Change password". We sign you out on your other devices.

I lost my invite code. What now?

Once you have signed up, you do not need it: you sign in with your username and password.

If you have not signed up yet, or you signed up before passwords and have not chosen one, ask the person who invited you for a new code.

How many test credits do I get?

You get $20 in test credits the first time you sign in. They are not real money.

How do I get more test credits?

When your balance is under $5, open Wallet and press "Add $20 in test credits".

You can do this at most once an hour, and at most 6 times in any 24 hours. When you cannot add credits yet, Wallet says when you can.

How do I start a game?

In the lobby, choose a stake and a time control, then press "Play". We pair you with an opponent automatically. You cannot choose who you play.

3+2 means 3 minutes each, plus 2 seconds for each move you make after your first. 5+0 means 5 minutes each, with no time added per move.

How do I play a friend?

Agree on a stake and a time control. Both of you choose them and press "Play" at about the same time.

If someone else is looking for the same game at that moment, one of you may be paired with them instead. Then try again.

In the test build you can play the same person again straight away.

Who can I be paired with?

In the test build, anyone looking for a game at the same stake and time control, whatever their rating.

Before the game starts, the opponent card says "Test build: open to any rating".

Which stakes can I play?

The test build has $1 and $5 games. The stake is per player: in a $5 game you each put in $5.

Everyone starts at level 0, Provisional, with stakes up to $1.

$10, $20 and $50 games are not open in the test build.

How do I unlock a higher stake?

Level 1, Establishing, unlocks $5. It needs 20 rated games and a rating that has settled.

Rated games are games played to a result: aborted games do not count. Your rating settles as you play more games. The lobby shows what you still need.

Is there a limit on how much I can win?

Yes, at the first levels: $20 a week at level 0 and $100 a week at level 1. Higher levels have no weekly limit.

It counts what you won minus what you lost over the past week. Once that reaches your limit, your stakes lock until older wins drop out of the week. The game that reaches it still pays in full.

What does the winner get?

Both players put in the same stake. The winner gets both stakes, less our 5% rake on the pot.

Stake $1. Winner gets $1.90. Draw: both stakes back.

Stake $5. Winner gets $9.50. Draw: both stakes back.

The lobby shows this line for the stake you choose, before you press "Play".

What happens to the stakes in a draw?

Both stakes come back in full, and we take no rake. The same goes for an aborted game, and for a game our server fails to finish.

Who decides who plays White?

Nobody. Colours are drawn from three seeds: one from our server and one from each player's device. Your device sends its seed by itself.

We commit to our seed when you are paired, before we see yours, so we cannot steer the draw.

Against the computer, the computer's seed is made from our seed, so it is fixed when you are paired too, before we see yours.

How can I check the colour draw?

Open the game's receipt and press "Check this draw". Your browser checks that our seed matches its commitment, then redoes the draw from the three seeds and compares the colours.

If you open it in the tab you played the game in, it also checks your own seed and the commitment you were shown when you were paired.

For a game against the computer, it also checks that the computer's seed is the one our seed fixed.

How long do I have for my first move?

You have 30 seconds. White has 30 seconds once the colours are drawn, then Black has 30 seconds after White's first move. The clocks start after Black's first move.

If you miss your first move, the game is aborted. Both stakes come back, but it counts as one of your aborts.

When do I see who my opponent is?

The game starts with Black's first move. You see their username, rating, level and games played once you have both made your first move.

Until then nobody knows who they are playing, so nobody can abort because of who the opponent is.

Can I abort a game?

Yes, until the game starts with Black's first move. Press "Abort", then press it again to confirm.

An abort is free. Both stakes come back in full. An abort does not count as a loss.

Once the game has started you cannot abort. You can resign or offer a draw.

Is there a limit on aborts?

Yes. If you abort 3 or more of your last 10 games, you wait 5 minutes before your next game. Another abort while you are still at that count starts the wait again.

A missed first move and a resign before the game starts count as your aborts too. When your opponent aborts, it never counts against you.

What if I resign before the game starts?

It counts as an abort: free and never a loss, but it counts toward the abort limit.

That is why you see "Abort", not "Resign", until the game starts.

Can I offer a draw before the game starts?

No. Draw offers open with Black's first move, when the game starts. Nothing can be won or lost before then.

How do I resign?

Press "Resign". We ask you to confirm first, because resigning loses your stake.

How do draw offers work?

Press "Offer draw". Your opponent can accept or decline. If they make a move instead, the offer lapses.

After you offer a draw, you can offer again after 10 more moves, yours and your opponent's together.

Which draws happen by themselves?

Stalemate, threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule and positions with not enough pieces left to checkmate end the game as a draw at once. Nobody needs to claim them.

What if I run out of time?

You lose the game, unless your opponent has only their king left. Then it is a draw, because a lone king cannot checkmate.

What if I lose connection?

If you lose connection, you have 60 seconds to come back. After that the game ends: you lose, or it is a draw if your opponent has only a king left. Your clock keeps running while you are away. The page reconnects by itself.

Before the game starts there is no extra time: the first-move deadline still applies.

Is it safe to reload the page?

Yes. After a reload you are back in your game, where it was. Your clock keeps running meanwhile.

You can also carry on from another device: sign in there with your username and password.

Where are my past games?

Open Games. It lists your games, newest first, with the result and what you won or lost.

Wallet shows your balance and every line in and out: credits, stakes and winnings.

Where is a game's receipt?

After a game, press "See the receipt". In Games, every finished game has the same link.

A receipt is public: anyone with its link can open it. It shows usernames only. An aborted game has no receipt.

What is the fair-play guarantee?

If we close an account for cheating, every stake you lost to it is back in your balance, in full. If the cheater's money is gone, we pay.

Not active in the test build: credits are not real money and fair-play checks are not running yet.

Something went wrong, or I have an idea. Who do I tell?

Tell the person who invited you. We do not have a support mailbox yet.

Say what you did, what you saw and when. For a game, send the link to its receipt if it has one.