Chess for one buy-in each against another player. Join an open game from the lobby, or create one: pick the time control and the side you want, and leave it open for anyone or make it private and send a friend the link or the six character code.
Standard rules, decided by the server: checkmate, resignation and running out of time win the pot after the house cut. Stalemate, threefold repetition, the fifty-move rule, insufficient material and an agreed draw split it between you. Flag with nothing left that could ever mate you and it is a draw, not a loss.
Neither clock runs until both sides have made a first move, and each side gets a short window to make it. Miss that window, or press Abort before both of you have moved, and the game is called off with both buy-ins refunded in full.
Drag a piece or click it and then its square. The legal squares light up, a premove can be queued while your opponent thinks, and after the game a rematch with the colours swapped is one key away.
Chess has no luck in it, so there is no draw to check: the moves decide the game and the server checks every one of them against the rules. When the creator picks random, the server picks the sides at random as the second player sits down.
Can I play chess against a friend on DonutSurge?
Yes. Turn on Private game when you create it, then send your friend the link or the code. A private game never shows in the lobby, so only someone you invited can take the seat.
What happens if my chess opponent never moves?
Each side has a short window for its first move. Miss it and the game is aborted with both buy-ins refunded. Once both sides have moved the clocks run, and a player who walks away loses on time.
How does a draw pay out in chess?
A draw by agreement, stalemate, repetition, the fifty-move rule or insufficient material splits the pot between both players after the house cut.