two-player · full rules · no backend

chess, in relation

Every position has pressure, protection and silence. Move a piece and hear the relationships change. Colored outlines reveal what the music responds to: attacked pieces add tension, protected pieces sustain, and crowded pieces become quieter. Full chess rules apply; piece type sets the instrument, color sets its register, and the sound palette is yours to choose.

Sound needs a tap to start (browser rule, not ours).

skin

opponent

thinking

turn

white to move

sound

tempo 104 bpm

Choose how the position plays in Listening.

how it sounds

instrument — (paired with its visual world)

rank picks pitch · color picks register (white lower, black higher octave) · piece type picks the instrument, defined by the current palette.

♟ pawnlight, quick ♞ knightshort, percussive ♝ bishopgliding, sustained ♜ rooksolid, blocky ♛ queenrich, elaborate ♚ kingdeep, resonant

Existing synths use pentatonic base pitches; Resonant Table uses tuned material resonances. Listening switches control protection and threat responses. Crowded sliding pieces are damped.