Chess Pieces
by ARKK
Chess Pieces adds large chess and checkers pieces that players place in the world like blocks, and it is built for survival and multiplayer play.
What it does
Players right-click the ground to set a piece down. Crouching while right-clicking a checkers piece flips it between a regular piece and a king, and crouching on a chess piece rotates it in 90 degree steps so it can face another direction. The pieces are crafted and placed like blocks, so a board can be built in a base, a lobby or a shared hub.
The pack is intended for survival and multiplayer worlds, and it adds no separate minigame logic or rules enforcement. The mod is published for Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt, with builds for 1.21.5 – 1.21.8. The server must run it, while players may leave it out. It needs Fabric API on every loader it is installed with. Chess Pieces is released under All rights reserved, so it is not open source.
Key features
Large placeable pieces
Chess and checkers pieces in a larger size than a standard block, placed on the ground like other blocks.
King flip for checkers
Crouching and right-clicking a checkers piece toggles it between a regular piece and a king.
Piece rotation
Crouching and right-clicking a chess piece turns it 90 degrees, so pieces can be set facing either way.
Survival-friendly crafting
Pieces are craftable from ordinary materials, so a board can be assembled during normal survival play.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Requirements
Dependencies declared by the latest file for each loader.
Required 1
Use cases
Board in a shared base
A group on a multiplayer server can build a playable table of pieces in a common area.
Decorative game rooms
Players can arrange pieces in a game room or display case without needing any minigame rules.
Who it’s for: Players on survival and multiplayer servers who want board game pieces to build with, and server owners who want the pieces available to all their players.
How it compares
Ultimate Chess is open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 only and covers 1.19 – 1.20.1 on Fabric and Forge, with both sides needed. PolyChess is open source under the MIT License, targets Fabric and Quilt for 1.21.1 – 26.3 and is server-side only. Chess Pieces targets 1.21.5 – 1.21.8 on four loaders and is not open source.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chess Pieces | Fabric, Forge, NeoForge and Quilt | 1.21.5 – 1.21.8 | Server required, client optional | 2025-06-21 |
| Ultimate Chess | Fabric and Forge | 1.19 – 1.20.1 | Client and server | 2023-09-14 |
| PolyChess | Fabric and Quilt | 1.21.1 – 26.3 | Server-side only | 2026-09-17 |
Questions
Does Chess Pieces need Fabric API?
Does a player need the mod to see the pieces?
Which game versions does Chess Pieces support?
In the catalog
Chess Pieces is one of 2,135 Minigame mods on ModsFinder, and one of 1,454 Minigame mods for Fabric. 17,695 mods support Minecraft 1.21.8.
More from ARKK
Similar mods
What the author says
Adds large chess and checkers pieces that can be crafted and placed like blocks. The pack is completely survival and multiplayer friendly!
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/chess-pieces
- Owner
- ARKK
- Published
- 2025-06-18
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2025-06-21
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15