Welcome to XRP CHESS
One chess ecosystem, two front ends. The same Stockfish engine, the same ratings, the same tournaments — whether you're playing in Discord or here on the web. Nine quick chapters, then you're ready.
Chapter 01
What is XRP CHESS?
A free chess experience built around the 394-piece XRP CHESS NFT collection. It lives on Discord and the web, sharing one database and one set of ratings.
- Play on the web (you're here) or on Discord via the /playbot and /play commands.
- Eight Stockfish difficulty levels from Beginner (~400 Elo) to Maximum (~3500 Elo).
- 394 NFT piece skins, 15 default board themes, and hundreds more boards being added by the curator tool.
- Free to play everything — casual games, learning, the gallery, customization, and your profile. The only exception is tournaments, which need the Discord Pawn role (granted by owning an XRP CHESS NFT). See Chapter 5 for details.
Chapter 02
How do I play a game?
Pick a mode, pick a difficulty, pick an arena. Move pieces by clicking, dragging, typing notation, or using the Guided Move helper — whichever feels best.
- Open Play → Single Player → pick Beginner/Easy/Medium/Hard/Expert/Master/Maximum.
- Pick your side (White or Black) and your arena backdrop.
- Move a piece in four ways: click a piece then click a square, drag (landing soon), type the move with the Type Move button (e.g.
e4,Nf3,O-O), or use Guided Move for a dropdown flow. - Promotion never auto-picks — you always choose Queen / Rook / Bishop / Knight.
Chapter 03
Your profile, your teams, your stats
Every game updates your Glicko-2 rating, wins/losses/draws, streaks, and favorite opening. Build up to 3 teams of 6 NFT pieces each and swap between them before any match.
- Rating follows you between web and Discord once you link your Discord profile with a 6-digit code from the bot's
/link-website. - Build up to 3 named teams, each with one piece per role (King / Queen / Rook / Bishop / Knight / Pawn).
- Each team can have its own board theme, piece sounds, border text, and colorblind mode — so your "Fire" team and your "Ocean" team look totally different.
- Friend system lets you search, challenge, and track wins against specific players.
Chapter 04
XRP CHESS University
100 interactive lessons across 11 modules. Absolute beginner (how do pawns move?) through tournament-ready (endgame technique, opening library, positional strategy).
- Modules include The Board & Pieces, Tactical Weapons, Checkmate Patterns, Opening Library, Endgame Mastery, and the History of Chess.
- Every lesson is multi-step with real board positions, interactive move challenges, and explanations.
- Progress is saved to your profile so you can pick up where you left off.
- You can browse a module's card today; the full interactive lesson viewer is rolling out.
Chapter 05
Tournaments — shared with Discord
Single or double elimination, timezone-aware scheduling, and the same bracket you'd see in a Discord chess club. The only feature that requires the Pawn role in the XRP CHESS Discord server.
- Tournaments are cross-platform: Discord users and web users enter the same bracket.
- Scheduling uses a 7-field timezone-aware picker — no more "what time is 9pm UTC+7" confusion.
- Your tournament rating is the same rating as your casual rating (Glicko-2).
- Entry requires the Pawn role in the XRP CHESS Discord server. You get the Pawn role by owning any XRP CHESS NFT and linking your account. Casual games, learning, the gallery, and your profile are free for everyone.
- Admins have a gated Admin Hub for creating / scheduling / managing tournaments; regular users see an "Upcoming" list.
Chapter 06
The 394-piece NFT Gallery
Browse every piece in the XRP CHESS collection, click through to its individual XRP Cafe page, and equip any piece to any of your teams. All 394 are free to equip in the game — buying the actual NFTs is a separate step if you want the Pawn role for tournaments.
- 35 Kings · 40 Queens · 55 Rooks · 45 Bishops · 50 Knights · 160 Pawns (pawns include the collab sub-sets: Reaper, xToadz, Tree Faces, King 36, Azzerpardis Pizza).
- Every piece has a per-piece link to its page on xrp.cafe.
- Custom boards are coming — a curator tool is scanning 589 new themed boards right now and more will launch in batches.
- Link your Chess Bot to see which pieces the bot is rolling for you on your profile.
Chapter 07
Arcade Mode — Story Campaign
Pick one of 24 themed kings and fight 8 progressively harder Stockfish opponents in a cinematic story campaign with dialogue, voice, and per-level achievements.
- Choose from 24 themed kings — Candy, Lava, Ice, Cosmic, Western, and more. Each king has a unique voice, personality, and 80 dialogue lines.
- Fight 8 opponents from Beginner (~400 Elo) to Maximum (~3500 Elo). The final boss is Nebulos the Infinite.
- Cinematic intros: kings seated on the board, themed dialogue bubbles, pieces march onto the board one by one, then "FIGHT!" appears.
- Clear all 8 levels with all 24 kings to earn the "Legally Distinct Chess Assassin" grand achievement.
Chapter 08
Cross-Platform Multiplayer
Play other humans in real-time — web users vs web users, or web vs Discord. Same ratings, same games, same leaderboard.
- Pick a time control (Bullet 1m, Blitz 3/5m, Rapid 10/15m, Classical 30m) and click "Find opponent".
- The matchmaker pairs you with another player on the same time control. Ratings and history follow you across web and Discord.
- Resign any time with the flag button. Offer a draw if the position is equal.
- Create or join Game Rooms for custom matches with friends — set your own time control and invite by link.
- After the game: review it in the game replay viewer, download the PGN, or run a Stockfish analysis.
Chapter 09
Daily Puzzles & Game Analysis
Solve today's Lichess daily puzzle right on the site, or paste any PGN to get a Stockfish move-by-move analysis with Best/Good/Inaccuracy/Mistake/Blunder classifications.
- The Daily Puzzle is the same one the bot shows via
/puzzleon Discord. Click-to-solve with Hint and Reveal buttons. - The Analysis page runs Stockfish on every half-move of a game. Each move gets a verdict (Best → Blunder) with centipawn loss.
- 111+ achievements across University, Gameplay, Special, Web-only, Arcade, and Mystery categories. Some achievements are hidden — you won't know how to unlock them until you do.
- Your puzzle ELO, streak, and solve count sync between web and Discord when your accounts are linked.
Chapter 11
Global Leaderboard
See where you rank against every player across web and Discord — one unified Glicko-2 rating system.
- The Leaderboard shows all players with 5+ rated games, sorted by Glicko-2 rating.
- Top 3 get gold, silver, and bronze podium styling. Every row links to the player's public profile.
- Ratings sync across web and Discord — a win on either platform updates your global ranking.
- RD (rating deviation) shows how certain the system is about your rating. Play more games to lower it.
Chapter 12
Meet XRPawnsley
A 32-year-old AI-powered chess pawn who lives on this website. Click him to chat about chess, XRP, or life. He has moods, memories, and a butler personality.
- Click him anywhere on the site to open a chat. He knows chess, XRP, and every feature of this website.
- Try the entertainment buttons: Joke, Fact, Riddle, Quiz, Puzzle, Impression — all free, no limits.
- He has 8 moods that change with the time of day and which page you're on.
- He remembers returning visitors and unlocks deeper conversations over time.
- Hidden mystery achievements are tied to your interactions with him. We won't spoil them.
- Visit his Study during quiet hours for a chance to meet the Master XRPawnsley — a legendary encounter.
“Chess is the gymnasium of the mind.”
That's everything. Pick a spot and start.
Most people start with a quick vs-Stockfish game on Beginner, then jump into University to sharpen up. Your rating follows you between games, tournaments, and the Discord bot.
Chapter 10
Friends, Messages & Player Search
Add friends, send direct messages, and search for any player on the platform — no Discord linking required.