Intro
Welcome to the Grounded Wren Chess Page!
This tool allows you to play correspondance-style
chess with a friend, or against a simple automated opponent.
Correspondance Chess
To play correspondance chess, you and your opponent send moves in chess notation back and forth via a messaging service. Plugging
those moves into this page (with the Apply Move
form) will update your board. When you make a move, it can either be automatically
copied to your clipboard (via the Auto copy moves
setting), or manually copied via the History
form.
At any time, you can copy the entire board state as a link with the Share
button atop the board.
Automated Opponent
At any time, you may use the Do Auto Move
button to have the page calculate and make the next move in the game. Its algorithm is
quite simple, so it's unlikely to present a challenge to advanced players.
Saving Games
You can operate multiple games at once via this page's save functionality (the Games
section in the header). It allows you to
save and load game states using your browser's
local storage, or download them as
simple JSON files.
Controls
This tool is designed to be operable with a keyboard, mouse, or mobile device.
To make a move, first select the square with the piece you are moving, then activate the square you're moving it to. The game
has validation to only allow legal moves, and a list of all legal moves (as well as other information) for selected squares
is available in the Selection
article.
Using a keyboard, the chess board behaves
as a Data Grid. All keyboard shortcuts
are available to review by pressing Alt+S when the board is focused.