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What chat commands can I use in game chat?

Learn how to use commands, shortcuts, and console tools on Chess.com and get things done faster without needing to click through menus.

Updated over a week ago

Commands

Commands are quick shortcuts you can type into the console or in-game chat on Chess.com to perform certain actions, like sending a friend request, checking your connection speed, observing a game, or challenging another player.

You can see a list of all the commands by typing '/help' in the console. Here's how to do it:

  1. Go to the Play page.

  2. Click the chat bubble icon with three stacked lines ('Console') to open the console.

    An image showing the Play page on Chess.com with an arrow pointing to the console icon

  3. Type '/help' into the text box and press Enter to get a list of all commands.

    An image of the console pop=up window on Chess.com displaying all the available commands

General commands

These commands are used from the console in the Play lobby.

In the examples below, we’ll use 'member' as a placeholder for the username of the member you want to interact with.

Command

Details

/follow

To follow a member's games, type /follow followed by the member's username.

Example: /follow member

If you simply type /follow without a username, it will display a list of members you are currently following.

/unfollow

Stops following a member/stops following all.

Example: /unfollow member or /unfollow

/friend

Sends a friend request.

Example: /friend member

/observe

Observes a member's ongoing games.

Example: /observe member

/top

Observes top games of the type bullet, blitz, standard, or friend.

Example: /top friend, /top blitz

/play or /challenge

Challenge a member to a game with specific time settings.

Example: /play member 2 12 (2 minutes with a 12-second increment).

To make the game unrated, add 'u' at the end

Example: /play member 2 12 u.

/partner or /+partner

Request a Bughouse partnership.

Example: /partner member

/nopartner or /-partner

Leave a Bughouse partnership.

Example: /nopartner

Game commands

These commands work when entered in the in-game chat:

Command

Details

/abort

Aborts the current game.

/ping

Shows your ping to the specific server you're currently playing on.


Keyboard and mouse shortcuts

You can also use some handy shortcuts during your games:

  • Press X — Flip the board.

  • Press Z — Enter focus mode.

  • Press the Right Arrow — Go to the next move.

  • Press Left Arrow — Go to the previous move.

  • Press Up Arrow — Jump to the first move.

  • Press the Down Arrow — Jump to the last move.

  • Press Ctrl/Shift + Right Click — Highlight the selected square green.

  • Press Alt + Right Click — Highlights the selected square blue.

  • Right Click — Highlights the selected square red.

  • Hold Right Click and drag — Draw an arrow between squares.

  • Hold the Alt key while promoting — Temporarily disable auto-queen.

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