How do I create an account?
Welcome to Chess.com! Before you can start playing some games, you’ll need to have an account. Here’s how to create one!
To see steps for the Android app click here, or for iOS app click here.
From the Chess.com home page click one of the sign up buttons on the left of the page: 
Or just click here! https://www.chess.com/register
Then, you’ll be taken to a sign up page: 
Pick your username! This is the name others will see when playing chess. It can be your real name, or anything you want, as long as it follows our community guidelines here. If someone else has already picked the name, you’ll see a notice to pick something else.
Next, put your email. This must be an email that you have access to, or you won’t be able to receive the activation email to activate your account! So be sure to pick a real email that you can log into! Your email is not publicly visible, and can only be seen by you!
Choose a strong password! Passwords must be at least six characters, and good passwords use letters and numbers. To be really secure, you can mix in some capital letters or even put in some special characters! If your password is too weak (such as 123456) it won’t be allowed.
Choose your skill level! How experienced are you at chess? This determines what your rating will start as. These are the options:
- New to chess: 400
- Beginner: 800
- Intermediate: 1200
- Advanced: 1600
When you’ve got everything ready, click ‘ create your free account’ and you’re ready to start playing chess! Just like that!
Remember to check your email! Even though your account is created, be sure to check your email for the activation email!
You won’t be able to chat or post in forums until you’ve activated your account!
If you can’t find this email, check your spam folder. If you STILL can’t find it, contact support and we’ll take care of it for you!
After activating your account, you will also need to play 10 games of any kind in order to fully unlock the account and be able to post and chat as normal.
Sign up using Facebook, Google or Apple
Alternatively, you can sign up using a social media account!
Choose sign up with Facebook, Google or Apple and you will be asked to sign into your social media account.
Once you’ve signed in to your social media account, the username and email fields for your Chess account will be filled with information from your social media account. You can change these if you want, before clicking the final ‘start playing’ button.
The account will be linked to your Chess.com account, and you won’t need to create a password for the account. You will sign in by logging into your chosen social media account!
If the information in this article is out of date, incorrect, or unclear, please let us know!