Chess
by jaxvanyang
Chess places a playable chessboard into Minecraft, with pieces that players grab, move, capture and replace by hand.
What it does
Players set up a board and play chess against each other using blocks. Pieces are picked up by right-clicking with an empty hand, a captured piece is removed by right-clicking it with a piece in hand, and a piece in the main hand replaces the piece already on a square. Low-poly piece models are included for the board, and chess pieces can be crafted from a stonecutter using quartz and blackstone blocks.
The mod is open source under the MIT License and is published for Fabric, Forge and NeoForge across 29 release versions, 1.19 – 26.3. Fabric API is required on Fabric builds. Chess runs on client and server, so the server and every player need it. Source code, an issue tracker and a wiki are linked from the project page.
Key features
Playable chess board
Blocks let players set up a chessboard and play a full game inside the world.
Grab and move pieces
Right-clicking with an empty hand picks up a piece so it can be placed on another square.
Capture by replacement
Right-clicking a piece with a piece in hand removes the captured piece from the board.
Low-poly piece models
The pieces use low-poly models, giving the board a simple, blocky look that suits the game's style.
Crafted pieces
Chess pieces are made at a stonecutter from quartz and blackstone blocks, so sets can be produced in survival.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
26.x5 of 5 versions with builds
1.21.x12 of 12 versions with builds
1.20.x7 of 7 versions with builds
1.19.x5 of 5 versions with builds
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
Multiplayer game nights
Players on a shared server can set up a board in a common room and play against each other.
Decorative boards
Builders can place finished boards in lobbies, libraries or game rooms as a visual feature.
Who it’s for: The mod suits players who want a board game inside Minecraft, and server owners who want a social activity on a shared world. Because it is client and server, the server and all players must run it.
Questions
Which loader does Chess need?
Does Chess need to be on the server?
Which game versions are supported?
In the catalog
Chess is one of 2,135 Minigame mods on ModsFinder, and one of 1,454 Minigame mods for Fabric. 8,071 mods support Minecraft 26.3.
More from jaxvanyang
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What the author says
This mod adds chess pieces into Minecraft. They are crafted in Stonecutter with Block of Quartz and Blackstone. And you can grab pieces by right clicking them with an empty hand, or capture a piece by right clicking one with a piece in the main hand (replace the piece block with the one in the main hand).
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/simple_chess
- Owner
- jaxvanyang
- Published
- 2026-08-03
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-09-27
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15