Setup
Base rules: chess, except where this guide says otherwise. Use the ordinary 8×8 chess starting position with empty reserves. White moves first.
Crazyhouse
Captured pieces join your reserve and can return to the board on your side.
No one is playing yet0 waiting rooms
Moves and captures
Make a normal chess move or drop one reserve piece on an empty square. Capturing an enemy piece changes its colour and adds it to your reserve. Every move or drop must keep your king safe.
Winning and draws
Checkmate wins. A legal reserve drop may block a check, so available drops count when deciding mate or stalemate. Stalemate is a draw, and lack of material never ends the game. A player may claim a draw after the same position occurs three times, or after 50 moves by each side without a capture or pawn move. Neither rule ends the game automatically.
Special rules
Pawns cannot be dropped on the first or last rank. A captured promoted piece returns to the reserve as a pawn. Kings are never reserve pieces. A legal drop may give check or checkmate.
Read the full guide
Board setup, special rules and winning conditions for Crazyhouse.
After capturing a knight, you may spend a later turn dropping that knight on an empty legal square.
A quick guide to Crazyhouse
Read the Crazyhouse rulesWhat is Crazyhouse?
Crazyhouse is a chess variant on the standard 8×8 board in which captured pieces change colour and join your reserve. On each turn you either make a normal move or drop a reserve piece onto an empty square. Pawns cannot be dropped on the first or last rank, and captured promoted pieces return as pawns. Checkmate wins, and drops can block or give check.
What happens to a captured promoted piece in Crazyhouse?
It goes into the capturer's reserve as a pawn, not as the piece it had become. A queen that was promoted from a pawn and then captured can only be dropped back as a pawn, and pawns may not be dropped on the first or last rank.
Can a drop give check or checkmate in Crazyhouse?
Yes. Any legal drop may give check or checkmate, including a pawn drop. Drops also count as defence: if a reserve piece can be dropped between your king and a checking piece, the position is not checkmate. A drop must never leave your own king in check.
How are Crazyhouse drops different from Shogi drops?
Crazyhouse has fewer drop limits. You may drop a pawn on a file that already holds your pawn, and a pawn drop may give checkmate; Shogi forbids both. The only Crazyhouse pawn limit is the first and last rank. Pieces never promote by being dropped, and captured promoted pieces return as pawns.
How can I play with a friend?
Share one device for a local game, or choose the friend option above to create an online room and send its invitation. Online games need an internet connection. Local games are saved in this browser.
Play Crazyhouse on one deviceWhich rules apply here?
Crazyhouse. Read the setup, legal moves, special rules and end conditions before starting. The guide describes the variant used on ChessPlayX, including differences from other versions where relevant.
Read the Crazyhouse rulesCan I play against AI?
Choose AI mode to practice at your own pace. Start with a lower difficulty while learning the moves, then increase it when you can spot threats and plan your replies.