Want to play chess against someone maybe not quite so good as Garry Kasparov? The MSN Gaming Zone is home to thousands of online chess players who range in skill from rank amateur to ranked Grandmasters. You need to be a member of the MSN Gaming Zone and a Windows user in order to play chess online (see Step 1), but after you've signed up, you're just a few seconds away from a good, strategic game of chess.

Play Chess on the Zone!

Click the link above and you'll be asked to sign in under your Member ID and password for the MSN Gaming Zone. If you've already signed in, you'll be taken directly to the Zone's Chess game page.

Click on a game room name and you'll enter an area with tables. Click on a table to enter a game or chat with people in the game room area. You can get further help by clicking the Help option on the game page. The Zone's a great place to gather together with old friends or meet new ones, and you can do it over a chessboard!