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FastCheckmate.com gives you a clean drag-and-drop chessboard, instant AI opponent, 2-player mode on the same device, beginner lessons, quick checkmate guides and a rotating daily puzzle.
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GAME STATUS
Beginner Chess Lessons
New to chess? Start here. Learn how each piece moves, how to set up the board, and the special rules that beginners often miss.
1. How the Pieces Move
- Pawns: Move forward 1 square (2 squares on their first move), capture diagonally.
- Rooks: Move any number of squares horizontally or vertically.
- Bishops: Move any number of squares diagonally.
- Knights: Move in an L-shape (2 + 1). They can jump over pieces.
- Queens: Rook + Bishop combined – any number of squares in any direction.
- Kings: Move 1 square in any direction. Lose the king, lose the game.
2. Basic Rules You Must Know
- Check: Your king is under direct attack. You must get out of check.
- Checkmate: Your king is in check and has no legal move – game over.
- Stalemate: No legal moves but not in check – the game is a draw.
- Touch-move (informal online): Try to move with intent – not random dragging.
3. Special Moves
- Castling: A one-time move where the king and rook move together to get the king safe.
- En Passant: A special pawn capture when an enemy pawn moves 2 squares from its starting rank.
- Promotion: When a pawn reaches the last rank, it becomes a queen (or another piece, usually a queen).
4. Opening Principles
- Control the center with your pawns and pieces (e4, d4, e5, d5).
- Develop your knights and bishops before moving your queen.
- Castle early to keep your king safe.
- Don't move the same piece over and over in the opening for no reason.
Quick Checkmate Guides
Fast checkmates teach you how to attack quickly – and also how to avoid falling for traps. These classic patterns appear in real games all the time.
Scholar’s Mate (4-Move Checkmate)
Scholar’s Mate targets the weak f7 (for Black) or f2 (for White) square – only guarded by the king at the start of the game.
- Idea: Aim your queen and bishop at f7.
- Typical moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6?? 4.Qxf7#
- How to avoid: Don't move the knight to f6 blindly, and defend f7 with ...Qe7 or ...g6.
Fool’s Mate (Fastest Checkmate)
Fool’s Mate is the fastest possible checkmate in chess – it punishes a completely careless opening.
- Moves: 1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4#
- Lesson: Don't push random pawns in front of your king.
- Tip: Develop pieces instead of weakening the king.
Smothered Mate (Knight Checkmate)
A smothered mate happens when the king is trapped by its own pieces and gets checkmated by a knight.
- Idea: Box in the king with its own pieces.
- Famous pattern: Queen sacrifice on h7 or h8 followed by Nf7# or Ne7#.
- Skill: Learn to see knight forks and checks near the king.
Back Rank Mate
The king is trapped behind its own pawns on the back rank (1st or 8th) and gets checkmated by a rook or queen.
- Clue: Look for a king with no escape squares.
- Typical idea: Rook or queen slides to the back rank with checkmate.
- How to avoid: Give your king a "luft" (escape square) by moving a pawn (like h3 or g6).
Contact FastCheckmate
Have feedback, feature ideas, bug reports or collaboration requests? Send a message using the form below.
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About This Project
FastCheckmate.com is a simple, focused chess site built to make online chess:
- Fast to load and play
- Easy for beginners to understand
- Clean and distraction-free
The roadmap includes stronger AI, more guided lessons, opening explorer ideas, and possibly online real-time multiplayer.
If you're interested in:
- Adding new training modules
- Collaborating on design or development
- Translating the site into more languages
Terms, Privacy & Disclaimer
FastCheckmate is a simple, hobby-style chess site built for learning and fun. Please read these notes to understand how your data and usage are handled.
Terms of Use
By using FastCheckmate.com, you agree to use the site only for lawful, fair play and personal, non-commercial purposes. You should not attempt to hack, overload, reverse-engineer or misuse any part of this website.
Use of the Service
- FastCheckmate is provided “as is” without any warranties of any kind.
- Features may change, improve or be removed at any time without prior notice.
- You are responsible for your own internet connection, device security and usage habits.
Intellectual Property
The FastCheckmate name, logo, design, text and layout may not be copied, cloned or misused without permission. Chess rules and positions are public domain, but the site’s presentation and branding belong to the owner.
Limitation of Liability
FastCheckmate.com and its owner are not responsible for any losses, issues or damages arising from the use or inability to use this site. Use this site at your own risk.
Privacy Policy
FastCheckmate is designed to respect your privacy. The site does not require you to create an account or provide personal information to play chess.
Information You Actively Provide
If you use the contact form, your name, email and message are sent via a third-party form service to the site owner’s email. This information is used only to reply to you and is not sold or shared for marketing.
Basic Analytics (Optional)
In the future, simple privacy-friendly analytics may be added to understand how many people use the site (page views, country, device type). These will be used only to improve the site, not to personally identify you.
Cookies & Local Storage
The core chessboard does not require cookies. However, your browser may use local storage or caching to keep files loaded for faster performance. Third-party services (for example, analytics or form processing) may set their own cookies or logs under their own policies.
Third-Party Links
Links from FastCheckmate.com to external websites are provided for reference only. Those sites have their own privacy policies and practices.
Disclaimer
General Disclaimer
FastCheckmate.com is an informal online chess tool for entertainment and basic learning purposes. While the content aims to be accurate and helpful, no guarantee is made that all information, puzzles or explanations are free of errors.
AI & Fair Play
Any future computer opponents or hints are for practice, not for cheating in official tournaments or real-money games. Always follow fair play rules and the rules of any platform or event you participate in.
No Professional Advice
Any tips given on this site are general chess and learning advice only. They are not professional training, coaching or legal advice of any kind.
Changes to This Page
These Terms, Privacy and Disclaimer sections may be updated from time to time. Continued use of the site after changes means you accept the updated terms.