Chess Demo

Although it has been played for hundreds of years, chess still holds its fair share of mysteries, thanks to the fact that there are so many possible strategies one can apply in a match. Grandmasters have come and gone over the centuries, each one of which left his mark on the game. Nowadays, we have computers that can calculate billions of possible moves in a fraction of a second, so we definitely have a worthy match.

Chess does not try to revolutionize anything about the actual game, since it’s the same it has always been. However, simplicity is a strength as well in some cases, especially if your purpose is to enjoy a match without bothering to learn intricate gameplay mechanics. In this case, everything is as straightforward as possible, with nothing but a board and a drag-and-drop interface.

To begin with, the game’s greatest attraction is the CPU opponent, because it allows you to play chess at any given moment without having to wait for someone else. On top of that, it is also possible to customize the difficulty level, so that the challenge is always in tune with your mood and your experience. Granted, the algorithm is not as flexible as in other simulations, but it should be good enough for most purposes.

Obviously, even if the machines have come a long way in the last few years, it’s still not as pleasant to beat a computer as it is to beat a human opponent. Hence, the game features an online component as well, which comes in handy when you feel like taking on someone with built-in logic flaws. The online games play exactly the same as the ones against the CPU, so it should come naturally to everyone.

Speaking of which, the graphics engine is nothing out of the ordinary, but the visuals are pleasing, and you have a lot of freedom when it comes to the camera. In essence, you can rotate the view and zoom in or out whenever you feel like it, using nothing but intuitive mouse movements. This way, you can truly take advantage of the 3D perspective.

While there are certainly a lot better chess engines out there, Chess is just simple enough for virtually anyone to get acquainted with in a short period of time. Thus, if you feel like playing a match but you have no one to challenge, this may very well be the answer.