About Chesspresso

Chess, served short and strong. Chesspresso is our own chess variant, called Half Chess: a board half as wide as usual, and a starting position that each player builds in secret.

Why we made it

Standard chess is wonderful, but the first moves of a game have been studied for centuries. Whoever has memorised more opening theory often has the advantage before the game has really begun. We wanted a chess game where that knowledge doesn't help: because both players arrange their own pieces and reveal them at the same moment, every game starts from a position no one has prepared for. You still need to know how the pieces move - but the rest is your own judgement.

The smaller board keeps games quick. Most games take a few minutes, which is what the name is about: a short, strong cup of chess.

What you can do here

• Play against the computer on 8 levels. The opponent is our own: it learned which setups win by playing against itself, and its levels were measured against each other so that each step is a real step.
• Play a friend with a link, or two players on the same screen.
• Play online against other players, with ratings and a leaderboard.
• Choose your boards, piece sets and colours.
• Play in English, Croatian, German, Spanish, French or Italian.

New here? Start with how to play, then read our strategy tips for building a strong setup.

Free to play

Chesspresso is free in your browser, with no download and no account needed. An optional one-time Premium purchase unlocks extra styles; the game itself is the same for everyone.

Your privacy

We keep data to what the game needs. Fonts, pictures and sounds come from our own server, and guest players don't need to give us any personal details. The full details are in our privacy policy.

Who we are

Chesspresso is made by Dimitri Studios, a small independent game studio from Zagreb, Croatia. Ideas, questions and bug reports are very welcome - write to us at contact@chesspresso.space or use the contact page.