# Chess Explosion

> A free chess game in the browser where every capture is a fight: the attacking piece strikes, the captured piece shatters into stone rubble that stays on the board, and later moves push it aside. No install or sign-up. Play at https://chessexplosion.com/play.

Chess Explosion is made by one developer, Michal Dobiezynski. It runs on WebGPU (with a WebGL2 fallback) using three.js and React Three Fiber, with Rapier physics for the rubble. The opponent is Stockfish 18, free software under the GPL-3.0. The pieces are original sculptures after the Lewis chessmen, carved in the twelfth century.

## Play

- [Play the game](https://chessexplosion.com/play): a full game against Stockfish, or two players on one screen, with step-back and step-forward through the moves (shattered pieces rebuild from their rubble).
- [Piece spotlight](https://chessexplosion.com/play?view=spotlight&piece=r&colour=w): one piece striking another, to watch each weapon and strike up close.

## The pieces

- Pawn: a small octagonal obelisk with knotwork; no weapon; rocks back and lunges its top edge into the enemy; breaks into 27 stones.
- Rook: a warder in an iron castle-top helm with a kite shield; sword; an overhead chop; breaks into 57 stones.
- Knight: a big-headed rider on a small pony under a long green caparison; lance with a pennon; a couched thrust; breaks into 71 stones.
- Bishop: a robed cleric in a tall twin-peaked mitre with a book; crozier; a chop; breaks into 50 stones.
- Queen: veiled and crowned on a low arched seat with a drinking horn; her throne; rises and sweeps the seat into the enemy; breaks into 40 stones.
- King: a robed figure on a low-backed seat, sword across his lap; sword; steps off the seat and cuts; breaks into 53 stones.

## Famous games, replayed

- [The Opera Game, Morphy, Paris 1858](https://chessexplosion.com/#games): 17 moves, 12 pieces taken.
- [The Immortal Game, Anderssen v Kieseritzky, London 1851](https://chessexplosion.com/#games): 23 moves, 9 pieces taken.
- [The Game of the Century, Byrne v Fischer, New York 1956](https://chessexplosion.com/#games): 41 moves, 17 pieces taken.

## Optional

- [Stockfish source (v18.0.8, GPL-3.0)](https://github.com/nmrugg/stockfish.js/tree/v18.0.8)