Playing a game

The Play sidebar section offers New game against AI, Online → Lichess lobby, Online → FICS lobby, and Self-play. The online choices open their lobby directly; the local choices open a setup panel beside the icon rail. Local games run on your device; Self-play lets you make moves for both sides.

In New game against AI, choose Built-in Stockfish or an installed engine from a connected Companion using the Engine dropdown. The refresh icon reloads that list. For Stockfish, enable Limit to Elo rating and choose a target from 1320 to 3190 before starting; with limiting off, the current skill setting applies. Other engines show their advertised strength controls; engines without Elo controls use their Engine settings. For a profile with separate White and Black ratings and alternating colors, choose Train against AI.

Click a piece and then its destination, or hold the left mouse button on a piece and drag it to a legal square. A translucent piece follows the pointer while you drag. Release outside the board or on an illegal square to cancel; press Escape to cancel a drag. Promotion opens the usual piece chooser. You can also type moves with the keyboard, such as e4 or nc3, then press Enter.

On a 3D board, the dragged piece uses the current 3D model, camera angle, and appearance settings.

The starting-position choices include Standard (the usual chess setup), Chess960 (a legal shuffled back rank), and Custom FEN (a position you provide). If you have a board image or want to place the pieces yourself, choose Custom FEN and open the Position Editor. A FEN describes one position; it is not a full game record.

During an ordinary local game (outside AI training), Take back beneath the board undoes your last move. If Stockfish has already replied, it also undoes that reply. Resign… beneath the board gives up the current game after confirmation. Flip board above the board changes which color appears at the bottom; it does not change whose turn it is.

Active games show Resign… and draw controls beneath the board in both 2D and 3D. Local two-player games use Offer draw…, followed by the other player choosing Accept draw or Decline / keep playing. Engine opponents do not negotiate draw offers, so that button is disabled against an engine. Ordinary local games also show Take back; training games do not. Lichess includes draw, takeback, abort, and claim actions supported by its server; FICS includes Offer draw, Accept offer, and Decline offer. Finished games and replay boards hide these actions.

For an online game, choose Play → Online → Lichess lobby or Play → Online → FICS lobby. See Play on Lichess or Playing online with FICS. The bottom Lichess and FICS buttons open each service’s window directly. Lichess computer setup offers Standard, Chess960, and From Position, with Unlimited, Real time, or Correspondence timing. See the Lichess help page for its FEN input and strength settings. When a game ends, you can analyze it.

Navigation sidebar

The icon rail on the left replaces the top menus. Hover over it to expand navigation; move away to collapse it after a short delay. The selected section stays highlighted. Expanding navigation overlays the workspace without moving or resizing the board.

Use Pin to keep navigation expanded and Close or Escape to collapse it. On a touch screen, tap the navigation toggle or a section icon, then tap outside to dismiss it. Keyboard users can Tab through the rail and expanded controls. The shortcuts below the divider open New game, Saved games, Lichess puzzles, and Save current game directly. Hover an icon for its label. Settings expand into groups such as Settings → Board → Theme….

Focus on the board

Click the four-corner Focus on board icon immediately to the right of Flip board in the board toolbar. Focus mode hides the navigation sidebar, move list, analysis panels, status bar, observation tabs and floating windows. The board expands into the available space while player names, clocks, results, captured pieces, coordinates, and the board-view, flip, and focus controls remain visible. The study sidebar, including Tactical and Annotations, is hidden. This works in both 2D and 3D; moves, clocks, online connections, and engine play continue normally. Real-time position analysis pauses during focus mode and resumes after you leave if it was active or requested by a position change. Full-game analysis continues.

Press Shift+Enter to toggle focus mode when you are not editing a text field. Click the icon again or press Escape to restore the workspace. Opening the theme chooser exits focus mode to show that tool. Game-action buttons remain beneath an active board in Focus mode. Focus mode is temporary and is not saved with your games.

Adjust piece appearance

Open Settings → Board → Theme… to browse the available 2D piece sets and five 3D themes. Click a card’s Adjust button to select and adjust that theme, or use Settings → Board → Theme adjustments… for the current theme. Adjustments save separately for each theme on this device. See Board themes and appearance for board palettes, gradients, inner shading, outlines, materials, shadows, and lighting.

Local game setup

Play → New game against AI or the + shortcut opens Quick setup beside the sidebar. The + icon remains highlighted while the panel is open. Choose the engine and strength, your side, and a time preset (5 + 3, 10 + 5, 15 + 10, or Untimed), or expand Custom clock. Expand Starting position for Standard, Chess960, or Custom FEN. Invalid FEN disables Start game; the position editor remains available for arranging pieces or importing a screenshot.

The panel fits its contents, with the summary and Start game / Cancel buttons immediately below the settings. The settings scroll only when needed to fit a shorter screen. Side choices show chess symbols, and time presets use outlined buttons. Starting applies the choices and closes the panel. Cancel, Escape, or clicking outside dismisses setup without replacing the current game; engine choices are applied only when starting. The panel overlays the workspace without resizing the board and becomes a full-width sheet on phones. Self-play uses the same panel without opponent controls. Online play and training retain their separate entries.

Move times and navigation

The Time column in Game Moves shows White and Black’s time spent, stacked beside each move pair. Hover for the available elapsed and remaining clock values. A dash means timing is unavailable. Timings are retained in saved games and PGN exports.

Scroll down over the board, mini graph, expanded graph, or move list to advance; scroll up to go back when review is allowed. The move list keeps its viewport still while the selected row is visible. During an engine-preferred preview, Return to game moves restores played-game navigation.