Play Sega Chess Online

Sega Chess was released for the Sega Master System, a console from the late 80s that competed directly with the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was published by Sega itself, a company better known for fast paced arcade games, which made this thoughtful strategy title a bit of an outlier in their library at the time. While other games on the system focused on action and platforming, this one offered a more methodical, almost solitary experience.

You control the white or black chess pieces, moving them across the standard 64 square board according to traditional rules. The main objective is to checkmate your opponent's king. The game featured a few notable mechanics for its era; you could save a game in progress to return to later, and it offered a handful of selectable difficulty levels for its computer opponent. The pacing is entirely up to you, as there are no time limits, but the computer can provide a stiff challenge on the higher settings, forcing you to think several moves ahead. Playing it feels like having a quiet, patient, and sometimes brutally efficient chess tutor built directly into your television.