Some evenings call for a careful chess plan. On others, you might prefer following the opportunities in a dice roll or sharing a move with a friend who has a different job on your team. The five games we have chosen for this guide offer different ways to enjoy that same love of chess.
Meet Classic Chess, Fischer 960, Dice Chess, Crown Hold and Hand & Brain. For each one, we will explain the goal, how a turn works and an idea to take into your first game.
1. Classic Chess: make a plan and read your opponent’s
Two players, 64 squares and 16 pieces on each side. The goal is checkmate: the opposing king is under attack and there is no legal way to remove that threat. You do not capture the king; you leave it with no escape.
Players take turns making one move. You open space with pawns, develop knights and bishops and protect your king while watching what your opponent is preparing. Not every capture is a good move. Sometimes coordinating your pieces matters more than winning a pawn.
Suppose you have moved a central pawn and developed a knight. Before looking for your next attack, check which of your pieces the opponent’s last move threatens. Asking “What does my opponent want?” on every turn is a useful habit from your very first game.
Start here if you want familiar rules, sharper tactics and increasingly solid plans. Rovian’s classic matchmaking looks for another player who is available at that moment, and your rating isn’t used to pick them; rated results do affect your rating. Open the lobby for Classic Chess.
2. Fischer 960: read the board before relying on memory
Fischer 960, also called Chess960, changes the starting arrangement rather than the way pieces move. Back-rank pieces occupy one of 960 legal arrangements, mirrored by both sides. Bishops start on opposite-coloured squares, with the king between the rooks. Pawns remain in front and the goal is still checkmate.
You cannot simply play your favourite opening from memory. A knight’s development square, the pawn that frees a bishop or the structure that shelters your king may be different. Each starting position becomes a small puzzle to solve from move one.
Castling still exists, but you need to inspect the route because the starting squares differ. After castling, your king occupies the c- or g-file and your rook the d- or f-file on your back rank. Consider which pieces must clear the way and whether the king’s route is safe.
Before pushing a pawn in your first game, ask: Which piece can develop easily? Where will my king be safest? If you want to create your own ideas beyond memorised openings, explore Fischer 960.
3. Dice Chess: think about the whole turn
At the start of each turn, three dice show piece types: pawn, knight, bishop, rook, queen or king. Each move uses a matching dice allowance, so you can make several moves in one turn. The rules require you to use the greatest possible number of allowances.
Imagine rolling two knights and a pawn. If the position allows it, you could move the same knight twice or move two different knights, with your pawn move somewhere in the sequence. Order matters: an early move can open or block a later piece’s path. Not every die is guaranteed to be playable; the board determines your options.
The biggest difference from Classic is the winning condition. There is no check or checkmate: you win by capturing the opposing king directly. Do not assume your king is safe just because it would not be in check in ordinary chess. Consider the consecutive moves your opponent might make in a single turn.
On your first attempt, compare possible sequences before moving as soon as the dice land. A tempting capture may be less useful than a stronger continuation. If changing opportunities and surprising turns appeal to you, open the Dice Chess option.
4. Crown Hold: claiming the crown is only the beginning
In Crown Hold, you have a second queen instead of a king, with no check or checkmate. The board appears as eight columns and nine rows. Your goal is to move a piece onto the crown square, E5, and protect it to earn points. You cannot claim the crown on your first move.
The crown holder cannot move. If your opponent completes a turn without capturing that piece, you earn a point. For example, you claim the crown and your opponent moves elsewhere: if your holder is still there, you score. If the opponent captures it, the crown passes to their capturing piece. Captured pieces do not return to the board.
The first player to 10 points wins. When five minutes are up, the higher score wins; a tie is decided by the next point. You have 10 seconds per move, and running out of move time passes the turn to your opponent. Defending the objective also means making timely decisions.
Instead of sending an unsupported piece onto the crown in your first game, think about which pieces will protect it. Blocking an approach may matter more than taking a distant piece. If quick decisions, space control and defending an objective sound appealing, open the Crown Hold option.
5. Hand & Brain: one move, two decision-makers
Hand & Brain puts four players into two teams on one board. Each team has a brain and a hand. The goal is checkmate, as in Classic Chess; the difference is that two people share the decision behind each move.
The brain names only a piece type, such as knight, bishop or pawn, without specifying the piece or its destination. The hand chooses a piece of that type and makes a legal move. One player sets the direction while the other makes the concrete decision on the board.
For example, the brain might say “knight” with a fork in mind. The hand might instead choose a defensive move with another knight. Both players see the same board, but they do not necessarily see the same idea. Finding a good plan and choosing a plan your partner can recognise become two different challenges.
Keep your first game simple: the brain should stick to the piece type without extra clues that reveal the move, and the hand should make their own assessment. It is a way for friends at different levels to think together and discover each other’s perspective. Gather four players and open Hand & Brain.
Choose today’s game
Pick Classic Chess for a patient plan and familiar rules. Choose Fischer 960 for a fresh puzzle at the start, Dice Chess for consecutive moves and shifting opportunities, Crown Hold for quick decisions around an objective, or Hand & Brain to think alongside friends.
The web quick-match lobby lets you select the first four games independently. Keep at least one selected to start a search. Reach Hand & Brain through its own page. Time controls and rating rules can differ between rooms and matchmaking, so check the information on the game screen you enter.
Head to the game lobby and choose the game you are curious about today. You do not need to understand everything on your first attempt; discovering different rules is part of the fun.
See you in the next story.
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