How to play LinkChess: entering your moves
Your private link
Each player gets a private link. Open it to see the board and the move list.
All Pieces
The easy way is to click on the piece you want to move, and then click on the space where you want to move. The chess notation is automatically entered for your move, and you just submit when ready.
Typing a move
When it is your turn, enter a move and press Submit.
- Pawn: e4, d5, exd5
- Piece: Nf3, Bb5, Qh4
Clicking to move
You may also click two squares to fill the move box, then Submit.
Castling
Castle with O-O (king side) or O-O-O (queen side). You may also click the king, then the rook.
Promotion
A pawn that reaches the last rank becomes a queen (e8=Q).
En passant
On the turn after a pawn jumps two squares, capture through the skipped square (exd6).
Messages
On the game page, write a note and post it. The message is text only. The other player gets an email with what you wrote and a link back to that game.
Country
Country is purely optional. You can pick one when you create a game, or later with Your country on the game page. If you set one, it is shown next to your name, for example You are White--Your Name--USA, so the other player can see where you play from. Your opponent's country is shown the same way when they have set one. Leaving it blank does not change how you move, invite a friend, or join a public game. You can change it or clear it at any time.
Draws
Either player can offer a draw from the game page. Only one offer can be waiting at a time. You cannot send another until that offer is answered, cleared, or the 7 days run out.
- Accept ends the game as a draw immediately.
- Decline lets play continue. The 60-day timeout stays the same.
- If there is no answer within 7 days, the game becomes a draw on its own.
- If either player submits a move while an offer is waiting, that move clears the offer and play goes on.
When you offer a draw, LinkChess emails the other player. The note includes a link to their board, where they can accept or decline.
Resign
When it is your turn, the game page shows a Resign button. Pressing it opens a confirmation that asks "Resign?". Cancel leaves the game as it is. Confirm ends the game immediately. Your opponent wins: White resigning is 0-1, and Black resigning is 1-0.
Ratings update at that moment. Resigning is a loss for you and a win for your opponent, so your rating goes down and theirs goes up. LinkChess emails your opponent. The note says you resigned and they won, and it includes the result, their new rating, and a link to their board.
The button is not shown while you are waiting for the other player to move. A public game that is still waiting for someone to join cannot be resigned.
Ratings
Elo ratings starting at 1200. The rating changes when a game finishes. If the 60 days run out while it is your turn, that timeout counts as a loss for you, the player who did not move. Game lists show the rating and the lifetime game count together, for example 1200 · 3 games.
60-day game deletion
Games and mail are deleted after 60 days. The lifetime game count and Elo rating for each email are kept. A game that is still unfinished at that point counts as a loss for the player whose turn it was.
Signed-in players can also post a game for anyone on the list to join. How public games work.