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How can I play against the Chess.com bots?
How can I play against the Chess.com bots?

Learn how to play against the bots on Chess.com and earn crowns—all without affecting your rating!

Updated over a week ago

Play bots on Chess.com

Games against bot personalities or the engine are always unrated, meaning your rating will not be affected, regardless of the outcome or whether you played with or without assistance.

Follow the steps below to play against any of the bots!

Web

  • Click on the 'Play Bots' buttons on your home screen:

    • Alternatively, you can hover over 'Play' on the left menu and click 'Play Bots.'

Chess.com homescreen > Play Bots

  • From here, you will be able to select from over 100 different bot personalities to play against, all powered by Komodo!

Available bot personalities on Chess.com

Mobile

  • Tap 'Play a bot' from your homescreen.

  • From here, you will be able to select from 67 different bot personalities to play against!

Path to play against a bot on the Chess.com mobile app - GIF
  • If you prefer not to play against the new personalities, you can still challenge the familiar engine. Simply scroll to the bottom of the bots list, tap on 'Engine', and use the scroll bar to select a strength from 250 to 3200:

Play vs. Engine Level 11 options

What types of bot personalities are there?

The first personality in each row is accessible with Basic accounts. To unlock all other personalities, a premium membership is required.

  • Adaptive: These personalities adjust their strength during the game. They'll challenge you more if you're doing well and ease off if you make mistakes, aiming for a balanced match.

  • Streamers, Top Players, or personalities: Play against bots modeled after MrBeast, IM Danny Rensch, GM Hikaru Nakamura, and more! Look out for special seasonal bots added on occasion!

  • Engine: Prefer playing against a traditional engine? Scroll to the bottom of the bots list, select 'Engine,' and adjust the strength from 250 to 3200 using the scroll bar:

Adjusting engine strenght on Play bots screen
  • The remaining bots each have their own distinct personalities, quirks, and playing styles, striving to win every game.

Level

Rating range

Beginner

15 bots ranging from 250 to 850 in strength.

Intermediate

15 bots ranging from 1000 to 1400 in strength.

Advanced

20 bots ranging from 1500 to 2100 in strength.

Master

10 bots ranging from 2200 to 2450 in strength.


Customized settings

Once you've selected your opponent, you can customize your game by clicking the down arrow next to 'Challenge,' located above the 'Play' button:

Play Bots settings

  • I play as: You can choose to play as white, random, or black - The default is for the player to be white every time, if you do not change this setting, you will be white in all your games against the bots!

  • Mode: Choose challenge, friendly, assisted, or custom to decide how much help you want to use!

  • Custom options: If you choose custom, you'll be able to decide what assistance to enable or disable:

Settings

Details

Time Control

Games against bots are not timed by default, but you can add a timer to practice playing against the clock by selecting an option from the drop-down menu:

Play Bots time control options

Type

Choose from standard or Chess960!

Bot Chat

Enable this option if you would like to receive fun and friendly messages during the game

Analysis

Shows you how each move compares to the best move available.

Hints

Enable this if you want to receive hints during your game.

Threats

Indicates when your piece is in danger by highlighting the square in red.

Evaluation

Enables the evaluation bar so you can see the game's progress.

Engine

Lets you view the bot's thought process.

Suggestions

Green arrows on the board suggest moves to consider.

Takebacks

Allows you to take back your last move and try something different.


Earn crowns for beating the bots!

Defeat each bot personality without any assistance to earn 3 crowns! If you use help, you'll receive 1 or 2 crowns, depending on the level of assistance:

One crown would be earned if the Maria bot is beaten using assistance

Check out this article to learn how to reset the bot crowns: How can I reset my bot crowns?

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