Hollow Chess: Puzzles & Mate

Hollow Chess is chess on small boards with squares cut out of them. No 8x8, no opening theory, no
forty-move grind. Every board is one sharp problem you can solve in about two minutes, on a shape
you have never seen before.

WHY THE BOARDS LOOK BROKEN
They are meant to. The boards are smaller than a full one and some squares are simply missing, and
that is exactly what turns a position into a puzzle. A knight with two escape squares instead of
eight is a different piece. Memorised openings will not help you here — you have to actually look.
It is pure tactics: no theory to revise, no endgame tables, just the position in front of you.

FOUR RATED LADDERS
• Attack — hunt the marked piece and capture it before your moves run out.
• Mate — classic checkmate puzzles. Find the forced sequence.
• Defend — hold your position under pressure and keep the gold relic alive.
• Maneuver — untangle a jammed position and get the right piece to the right square.

Each ladder keeps its own rating. Every puzzle is matched to yours and your rating moves with each
solve, so the difficulty climbs as you do. Puzzles need no account and work offline — open the app
and play.

THE GAUNTLET
Five duels a day against an opponent you choose. Your rating sets the opening suggestion; take a
harder one and the prize grows. Before you commit, the card states your exact chance and what a win
or a loss is worth — no hidden maths. Win in a row and momentum pays more. Reach a tier and you can
never fall out of it. Seasons close monthly and leave a badge behind.

THE DAILY CHALLENGE
Four boards, one clock, one ranked run a day. No hints, no undo, and a failed board resets and costs
you ten seconds. You race in a division that matches your level, against everyone else on that rung,
so the table is a real comparison instead of a wall of strangers a thousand points above you.

PLAY OTHER PEOPLE
• Defend Duel — both players secretly bid how many moves they can hold. The higher bid defends, the
lower bid attacks, ten seconds a move. Bluff, play safe, or call theirs.
• Blitz — ordinary chess on a randomly generated, engine-fair board. 3+2, with its own rating.

Online play needs a free account. Practice opponents are always available and are labelled as bots,
so you are never stuck waiting for a lobby to fill.

ALSO IN HERE
Match history with full replays, post-game analysis, daily streaks, light and dark themes, two piece
sets, and sound and haptics you can switch off. The puzzle ladders play offline — only the online
modes need a connection.

No ads and no in-app purchases. Analytics and crash reporting stay off until you allow them, and you can switch them back off in Settings. Playing online means your name, rating and results are stored on our server and shown to opponents — that is what the data notice below is about, and there is nothing in it being sold to anyone.