Chess.com in VR!!!

Hi everyone,

As a passionate chess player, I believe that integrating virtual reality (VR) technology can take the game to the next level. I strongly urge Chess.com to develop a cross-platform VR app for chess, which could provide a highly immersive and engaging experience to the players.

One of the biggest advantages of using VR in chess is the ability to see the board in 3D. This would be a significant improvement over the 2D boards on the screen, allowing players to see the spatial relationship between the pieces more clearly.

Another great benefit of a Chess.com VR app would be the tactics trainer, which would be incredibly beneficial for pattern recognition. By using VR, players can train their pattern recognition skills in a more realistic environment, making the transition from tactics trainer to over the board play smoother. This would result in better performance in real chess games.

Playing chess in a beautiful and immersive environment can create an amazing experience for players. Chess.com VR app could offer various settings, such as playing in a medieval castle or on a beach, making the game more fun and engaging. Additionally, with cross-platform support, players can play with anyone, anywhere, and on any device.

Playing chess on an electric board connected to chess.com still isn't as good as VR, you still have to move your opponents pieces and if you want to do tactics trainer you still have to set up the board each and every time, not to mention the fact I don't have the desk space for something like that. People who haven't tried VR think it's just a gimmick, it's not, it genuinely looks and feels 3D as if you're actually right there in that environment.

The ability to see the board in 3D, use the tactics trainer in VR, and play in an immersive environment would be an amazing experience for chess enthusiasts. It is time to take the next step in the evolution of chess and embrace this new technology.

For players like me who don't always have enough time to go down to the chess club, who don't have the desk space for electric chess boards in VR - it's not just an alternative to electric boards connected to chess.com, it's actually better!

I know it's a long read so if one took the time, thank you!

Good idea 👍🏻

For anyone who would love VR in chess I found a piece of information today I didn't know before, a game called "Chessality" is coming to VR and will have lichess integration! Amazing stuff, would like to see chess.com do the same.

Hi!
This post was made a while ago but I just stumbled upon it now and I'd like to let you know that these days there is a pretty big chess community in VRChat which is a VR social game.
Please check out our club page for more info!
https://www.chess.com/club/vrchessclub?ref_id=12116766

A lot of the reason people think VR is a "gimmick" is because people suggest doing things with it that it is not good for (like playing chess).

The room and chess board set up in the club Mui_0 is talking about is excellent though. The main problem I'm having with it is that because the vast majority of the active members are in the USA, it's busy at the wrong time of day for us in the UK to take part in live games.

I'm going to try recruiting some players in (or near) the GMT time zone and the organise a meet up soon. Assuming enough people are interested it would be easy enough to fix a room up for us to use.

If you enjoy it then more power to you. Anything that gets people into VR (successfully) is a good thing. I just don't think having a headset on for the length of time it takes to play a proper chess game is a good experience.

An e-board is much better. Having to move the opponent's pieces is not that much of an issue. And the OP's argument that an e-board takes up more space is of course ridiculous. A VR setup requires a large playing area (maybe not for chess specifically--but most anyone that uses VR is going to need a full play area).

@Pokervane it sounds like you use VR yourself. Maybe have a look into the room for yourself and have a go? You never know what it's really like until you try it!

That's just wrong. Plenty of people play in VR for hours at a time without a problem, me included.

Oh boy if this were actually true I'd be so screwed lmao

you guys should try chess ultra on steam

but in the longrun it may cause injury

Just thought I'd mention that we've come a long way since this post was made, take a look at one of our recent VR Chess Tournaments!

damn ur tryna tell me its 2025 and we still don't have a way to play chess.com in vr?

I'm "tryna" tell "u" we don't need a way to play chess.com in VR.

ahahahaa nah I think its a cool idea, mainly as a cheaper way to get experience playing with a 3d board instead of 2d. my 3d board vision is horrible compared to my 2d, so when I play people irl, I kind of suck. hence why vr could be helpful

corssoant man XDD

Looking forward to Chess.Com linking to Meta Quest platform.