Play chess against Stockfish on ComCom Games: how Easy, Medium and Hard play, and how to beat them

Chess on ComCom Games used to mean waiting for a tournament. Now it is a friendly too: open Friendlies, pick Chess and play straight away against ComCom, our computer player, or send a friend a link. In chess, ComCom is Stockfish, one of the strongest chess engines in the world, and you choose how hard it plays. This guide covers how each level plays, how to beat the first two, and the rules of a chess friendly.

How do I play chess against the computer on ComCom Games?

What is Stockfish?

Stockfish is a free, open-source chess engine, and for years it has been one of the strongest chess programs in the world, stronger than any human player. On ComCom Games it runs on your own phone or computer, inside your browser, so it answers quickly and never waits on our server. It is the unmodified Stockfish 19, and its licence and source are linked from the engine's own folder on the site.

How strong is each level?

• Easy: Stockfish at its lowest skill setting, looking only a few moves ahead for a fifth of a second. It makes real mistakes and leaves pieces to be taken, so it is the place to learn, try openings and practise finishing a game.
• Medium: a middle skill setting with a deeper search, about the strength of a solid club player. It punishes loose pieces and simple blunders, so you need a plan and you need to check every capture.
• Hard: full strength, searching much deeper for up to about a second and a half a move. Even strong players lose to it, so treat a draw as a great result and use Hard to see how a top engine handles your favourite openings.

How do I beat Easy and Medium?

• Control the centre early with your e and d pawns, and bring your knights and bishops out before moving the same piece twice.
• Castle in the first ten moves so your king is safe and your rooks are connected.
• Before every move, look for the other side's checks, captures and threats. Most games against Easy and Medium are won by taking a piece it left undefended, and lost by leaving one yourself.
• Once you are a piece ahead, trade pieces off. Fewer pieces means fewer chances for ComCom to come back.
• Watch your clock: you have 10 minutes for the whole game, and ComCom's thinking never takes any of it.

What are the rules of a chess friendly?

• Each side has 10 minutes for the whole game, the same as a tournament game, with no extra time per move. Running out of time loses.
• You play white against ComCom. Against a friend, whoever starts the game plays white.
• There are no draw offers in a friendly. A game is drawn only by stalemate, by the same position coming up five times, by the 75-move rule, or when neither side has enough pieces left to checkmate.
• You can resign at any time with the Resign button.
• Every win earns ComCom Coins, up to a daily limit, like any friendly. Friendlies never change your stats, badges or Leaderboard spot. See how to win ComCom Coins.

Why does ComCom's clock never move?

ComCom thinks on your own device, and how fast that is depends on your phone or computer, not on chess. So its clock stands still while it thinks, and it can never lose on time. If you close the tab mid-game, ComCom simply waits for you to come back, while your own clock keeps running.

When you are ready to play people, chess tournaments use the same board and the same 10-minute clock unless the tournament sets its own. Read how in-platform Chess works and the full Chess rules, then find a cup on the Tournaments page.