Chess.com Announces Massive Changes To Website: Gameplay, Interface, and More!

Edited on April 2, 2023: Happy April Fools' Day, everyone. Stay safe!

Chess.com is excited to announce a complete overhaul of the chess-playing experience, now especially crafted for the next generation of young talents. 

With a swipe-centered approach and multiple new features, playing chess is easier and more fun than ever before. Borrowing from popular apps like TikTok, Chess.com now packs an innovative and modern interface that is more in tune with the current times.

Tried and tested by some of the most prominent players in the world, the new Chess.com interface has proven to be a huge hit. 

"We understand clicking is cringe. Tapping lacks rizz. Swiping hits different, and we're ready for it," said IM Danny Rensch. "No cap," he added.

Tapping lacks rizz.
— Danny Rensch, CCO of Chess.com

Chess Playing Made Easier With New Swiped-Centered Gameplay 

Tapping is so 2023. We understand that swiping is a faster and more efficient way to do just about anything in life. With this in mind, our new interface makes playing chess much easier by applying a swipe-centered approach to moving your pieces.

How will it work? It’s all very simple: first, you’ll see one of your pieces appear on your screen. If that’s the piece you want to move, all you have to do is swipe right. If it isn’t, you should swipe left to see your next piece. You repeat this process until you get to the piece you’d like to move.

Next, you’ll see a square on your screen (ex: the a1-square). Swipe up or down to indicate if that’s the square you want your piece to land on. This revolutionary way of moving pieces will ensure that you never have to use the tip of your fingers again!

Never Be Bored Again With Our New Multigaming Feature

We’ve all played that one player who likes to think about their moves. In olden times, you’d have no choice but to sit there and actually think about your own moves—but who wants to do that? 

Now, with our new feature, you’ll never have to be bored again. With a simple swipe of the thumb, you can open other games like Subway Surfers as you wait for your opponent to contemplate their next move. Surf and tag train cars to your delight while swiping into chess victory at the same time!

Enjoy Other Members’ Reactions To Your Moves In Real Time

Now, when you’re playing on Chess.com, literally anyone in the world will be able to watch your games live and react to your every move. Watch in amazement as emojis pop up on your screen while you’re pre-moving in time scramble to deliver a complicated checkmate.

Engage With The Community To Get Rating Refunds

We understand losing is frustrating and that you deserve a better rating than what you currently have. When you lose a game, you can now share it with your network along with an inspiring caption going over your feelings and what you learned from the game. Other members will be able to engage with your post with nothing but supportive messages, as is common on the internet. If you get enough engagement from the community, we’ll refund all your lost rating points!

"Chess is all about community," said Erik Allebest, Chess.com's CEO. "We want to bring chess closer to the real world of social media, where engagement is all that matters." 

We want to bring chess closer to the real world of social media.
— Erik Allebest, CEO of Chess.com

Start sharing your games and prove why you are better than what your rating says. With this feature, even if your opponent wins, you can not lose.

The Future Of Chess

Chess.com believes this swipe-centered paradigm will shift the way people engage with the game online forever. This new release is set to make the game even more appealing to the masses, and the stats prove it:

"After 2023's chess craze, the chess-playing demographic has seen a major shift toward younger audiences. Gen Z players are now approximately 80.5% of Chess.com's active member base, while Utah-based Boomers account for 10.4%, and Millennials only 5%, with the rest of the members being Vegan," said Brenan Klain, Chess.com's Utah-based Head of Engagement. "We're excited to have a new and better way to serve this massive chunk of our community."

If you’ve not received the update yet, don’t worry! Within 24 hours, you’ll be able to join the younger generation of masters like Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Denis Lazavik, and Anish Giri, who are already having a blast with the new version of Chess.com.

What do you think of these updates? Let us know in the comment section below!