Play Video Chess Online

Game Overview

Video Chess on the Atari 2600 is exactly what it sounds like—chess, but on your TV. It’s bare-bones, but it works. You move pieces by positioning the cursor (a big X) over them, pressing the button, then moving the X to where you want them to go. If you try something illegal, the game just beeps at you and refuses.

It handles all the weird chess rules too—castling, en passant, the whole deal. The computer even moves the rook for you if you castle, which feels oddly polite. The AI’s thinking time depends on the skill level you pick, ranging from "barely thinking at all" (Level 8, 10 seconds) to "might as well go make a sandwich" (Level 7, 10 hours).

It’s not flashy, but if you’ve got an Atari and a sudden urge to play chess, this’ll do the job. Just don’t expect any fancy animations—it’s all squares and beeps.