// connect
use the command below to start playing chess
// prerequisites
you need an account. create one here if you haven't already.
any terminal with ssh works — macOS Terminal, iTerm2, Alacritty, Kitty, Windows Terminal, PuTTY.
// step by step
create your account
go to /register and pick a username and password
open your terminal
any ssh client will do
run ssh chessssh.com
you'll be connected to the chessssh server
enter your username and password
the same credentials you used to register
play
matchmaking, puzzles, leaderboard — everything is in the TUI
// controls
most things are also usable with the mouse.
// chess pieces cut off on windows?
if your chess pieces look broken or only half visible, your terminal font doesn't fully support unicode chess symbols. here's how to fix it:
use Windows Terminal
the old cmd.exe and PowerShell 5 have bad unicode support. download Windows Terminal from the Microsoft Store (free).
change your font
open Windows Terminal settings (Ctrl+,) → Profiles → Defaults → Appearance → Font face. use one of these:
still broken? try PuTTY
in PuTTY: Window → Translation → set "Remote character set" to UTF-8. under Window → Appearance, pick a font like Consolas or a Nerd Font.
paste this into your terminal: echo ♔ ♕ ♖ ♗ ♘ ♙
if the pieces look correct, you're good to go.
// troubleshooting
getting a "REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED" warning? our host key normally doesn't change between updates — see our host key guide for what to do.