About 4chess

4chess is a free online platform dedicated to 4-player team chess — a social variant where two teams of two share a single board and battle for one shared victory.

Our mission

Chess has been a two-player game for over a thousand years. We love it — but we also believe some of the best moments in games come from playing with someone, not just against them. 4chess exists to bring that cooperative spirit to the royal game: a format where you and a friend think together, plan together, and win together.

Our goal is simple: make team chess accessible to everyone, everywhere, for free, with no downloads and no friction. Open the site, find three other players or invite your friends, and start playing in seconds.

What makes 4chess different

Standard chess is a test of individual skill. Team chess is a test of partnership. On 4chess you share an army, a King, and a clock with your teammate, which means every decision is a negotiation and every game is a conversation. It rewards communication and empathy as much as calculation.

• Play instantly — runs in any modern browser, on desktop or mobile.
• Free forever — the core game is completely free to play.
• Skill-based matchmaking — Quick Match finds balanced opponents so games are fair.
• Private rooms — create a room and invite three friends with a single link.
• Ratings — track your progress across multiple time controls.
• Multilingual — available in nine languages.

Built for the community

4chess is an independent project, built and maintained by a small team of chess enthusiasts. We're constantly improving the platform based on player feedback — adding features, polishing the experience, and hosting tournaments with real prizes for the community.

The technology

Games are played in real time directly between players using peer-to-peer connections, which keeps matches fast and responsive. Accounts, ratings, and statistics are stored securely, and all communication is encrypted over HTTPS.

Get in touch

Have a question, a bug report, or an idea to make 4chess better? We'd love to hear from you — visit our Contact page. You can also read the FAQ for quick answers to common questions.