The Blitzmate chess app

Blitzmate is a free chess app for iPhone and Android where every game is bullet, blitz or rapid against a real opponent.

Free account · iPhone, Android and browser · 13+ · Coins have no cash value

Download Blitzmate

Blitzmate is a free chess download on both stores: the App Store if you want the chess app on iPhone, and Google Play if you want to download chess for Android. Tap the badge for your phone and the store opens the official listing.

On a PC or laptop there is no chess game download at all. Open Blitzmate in any modern browser and play there, with nothing to install. It is one account everywhere, so your coins and ratings are the same on your phone and on your computer.

Before you install

Three things are worth knowing first. You need a free account, and an email address is all it takes to sign up. Blitzmate is for players aged 13 and over, or the minimum age in your country if that is higher. And the game interface is in English only, in the apps and in the browser.

Is this the chess app you want?

Blitzmate does one thing: timed games between two people. Every opponent is a real person playing live, and that is the only kind of game there is. Blitzmate has no computer or bot opponent, no puzzles, no lessons and no tournaments.

If you are looking for any of those, this is not the app for you. If you want a quick game against someone on the other side of the board who is also trying to win, it is.

Pick a clock

There are twelve clocks in three bands, two without increment and two with it in each:

• Bullet: 1+0, 2+0, 1+1 or 2+1.
• Blitz: 3+0, 5+0, 3+2 or 5+2.
• Rapid: 10+0, 15+0, 10+5 or 15+5.

The first number is the minutes each player starts with, and the second is the increment. So 3+2 means three minutes each, plus two seconds added to your clock after every move you make. Zero means no increment. Pick a clock and Blitzmate looks for someone who wants the same game at about your strength.

A rating for each speed

Your rating is kept separately for bullet, blitz and rapid. A fast evening of bullet does not touch your rapid rating, so each number tells you how you play that kind of game.

Coins in short

Most people searching for chess apps free to play want to know the catch. Signing up costs nothing, and you get free coins straight away. A daily bonus adds more, starting the day after you sign up, and buying coins is never required.

Every game is a coin match of at least 10 coins, and both players put in the same number of coins, so nobody can buy an edge. The winner gets the match reward, and a draw returns each player's coins. Your balance does not refill automatically when you run out.

The full explanation of how a coin match is paired and settled is on play chess online. Out of coins? The support page explains where new ones come from.

Play a friend

You can challenge any player by their username, with no friend request needed first. A friend without an account can be invited by email instead: the invite stays valid for seven days, and the game starts once they sign up. See play chess with a friend online for how it works.

Fair play

Every move, both clocks and every coin movement are checked on our servers, not on your device. A game ends by checkmate, resignation, an agreed draw, a draw the rules define, or a clock reaching zero, and both players see the result at the same moment.

Get the app

Download the chess app for iPhone or Android, or start a game in your browser right now.