How to: Play Fast (Play vs Kid), Slow, Bots and Tournaments

There are many ways that kids can play a single game or an organized series of games on ChessKid! Below you'll see how to play a fast game ("Play vs Kid"), slow game, games against the computer, and how to organize a Club Tournament.

Fast Chess ("Play vs Kid"):

This is "live chess" - games are played live in real time. The time controls are 5, 10 or 15 minutes per player.

For kids, the quickest way to find a game is by clicking the "Play vs Kid" button at the top of your Home screen.
You can also click the "Play" tab & select "Play vs Kid."

Kid vs Kid on homepage

To send a challenge as a kid, choose a time control from the "New Game" button in the center of the screen.

Fast Game for Kids

You can choose from 3 time controls: 5, 10, or 15 minutes.
Be patient as our system finds another kid with a close rating who is also waiting. The game will automatically start once our system makes a match.

*Coach's Note*: Please help us by explaining to your kids that they should not abort the game just because they don't like their color or their opponent's rating. This is considered unsportsmanlike behavior and it hurts everyone's experience on the site. Here's a video about Fair Play on ChessKid from PoppaBear (IM Danny Rensch) & FunMasterMike (FM Mike Klein).

To challenge a specific friend or clubmate:

Find them in the "Friend & Clubmates" tab on the right side of the Fast Chess page & challenge them to a game by clicking the "Play" icon next to their username.
Remember, both players must be logged in to Fast Chess (the "Play vs Kid" page) to appear.
Adults on the site may only direct challenge their own kids or friends.

Challenge Friend to Fast Game

To observe a game in progress:

Click on the Games tab of the Fast Chess ("Play vs Kid") page,
Click the binoculars next to the game you want to watch.

Slow Chess:

"Slow chess" is essentially "correspondence chess" or "Daily Chess" as it is called on Chess.com - games played over days or weeks, with moves submitted on the ChessKid.com site.

Players have several days per move and you can have multiple games going at the same time.

Click "Play" & select "Play Slow."

Kid Play Slow

There are several ways to challenge a specific friend or clubmate: from the "Club Members" page, from the "Friends" page, or from the "Play" page:

As long as Kids are grouped together in the same Club, they'll appear on the Clubmates tab to challenge:
Click "Play" and select "Play Slow."
Select the Clubmates tab & click "Play" to send them a challenge.

If you or your Kids received any Slow Chess challenges, they will show up on the Play page.

Play Slow Challenge

Play Against the Computer:

See if you can beat our bots! ChessKid.com has 10 levels of computer chess - starting at a rating of 400 & going up to 2200.

From the Home screen, click "Play vs Bot."
Choose your level & click "Play."

Fast Chess Tournaments:

Fast Chess Tournaments are one of the most requested features on ChessKid! This is a way that your class or club can all play together as a group in a live event.

Here's a full article on how to set up Fast Tournaments for your Club!

To join a Fast Tournament as a Kid, look for the "Upcoming Tournaments" link on the left side of the home page.
Check out this page with tips on How to Join a Fast Tournament.

Upcoming Tournaments link