Human2Human Chess Duell
Two people play chess online against each other - just share a link. No AI, full chess rules, server-side move validation.
Solid choice
Human2Human Chess Duell is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. Was last updated 1 month ago, and scores 64/100 on our health check.
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (<10 active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Human2Human Chess Duell stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| board-game | #19 |
| chess | #11 |
| game | >100 |
| multiplayer | #6 |
| two-player | >100 |
About Human2Human Chess Duell
From the official readme · v1.12.0Description
Human2Human Chess Duell provides a complete online chess game for two human players.
There is no AI – only the full chess rules.
Features:
- Human vs human via a shared link (hash in the URL: ?chess_game=…)
- Whoever creates the game plays White; the second visitor automatically becomes Black.
Further visitors watch the game as spectators. - Players can choose their own name. For logged-in WordPress users the display
name is pre-filled (and can be overridden). - Logged-in WordPress users (any role) may bypass the limit of simultaneous games.
- Full chess rules: castling, en passant, pawn promotion,
check/checkmate/stalemate, fifty-move rule, insufficient material. - Server-side rule validation: every move is validated on the server
(custom PHP engine). Cheating via a manipulated browser is not possible. - Configurable in the backend: number of simultaneous games and the lifetime
until automatic end (Settings > Human2Human Chess Duell). - A game ends only by checkmate, resignation or draw – or expires after the
configured period of inactivity (default 14 days). - Optional chess clock when creating the game. Only the online time of the
player to move is counted – if someone is offline, their clock pauses (no time
spent overnight). On timeout the player loses. - Optional e-mail notification when it is your turn (pre-filled for logged-in
users with a stored address). The address is used only for the notification
and automatically deleted when the game ends – not stored permanently
(technically visible in the server log). - Updates do not interrupt running games (backward-compatible data).
- Synchronization via the WordPress REST API (polling, every 2 seconds).
- No external dependencies (no CDN, no images) – Unicode chess pieces.
- In-game private chat between the two players, a move list, an optional
“show piece names” tooltip helper, and a personal “continue on another
device” link (e.g. move from desktop to phone).
The plugin interface is in English and fully translatable. A complete German
translation (de_DE, incl. de_DE_formal) is bundled with the plugin.
Installation
- Upload the plugin ZIP under “Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin” and activate it.
-
Insert the shortcode on a page or in a post:
[chess_duell]
-
Open the page, click “Start new game” and send the displayed link to your opponent.
Frequently asked questions
Is an account required to play?
No. Guests can play without logging in. The link you share identifies the game.
Can I continue a game on another device?
Yes. Each player can generate a personal “continue on another device” link and send it to themselves (for example from desktop to phone) to keep playing as the same color.
Is cheating possible?
No. Every move is validated server-side by a custom PHP chess engine; the server computes the position (FEN), notation (SAN) and game end itself and is the single source of truth. A manipulated client cannot force an illegal move.
Changelog
1.12.0
- New: “your turn” e-mail notifications can now be turned off entirely in the settings.
- New: optional limit on how many notification e-mails are sent per 30 minutes (default 40, 0 = no limit) to stay within a hosting provider’s outgoing-mail limit. When the limit is reached, further notifications are skipped; players still see the move when they open the game.
1.11.1
- Security: turn-notification e-mails now always link to your own site. The optional per-game return URL is restricted to the site’s own host, so a crafted game can no longer point the notification link at an external (phishing) domain. Already-stored games are covered too.
1.11.0
- Internationalization: source strings are now English; a complete German translation (de_DE and de_DE_formal) is bundled.
- All user-facing strings are now translatable, including the admin settings page, REST error messages and the e-mail notification (previously hard-coded in German).
1.10.0
- New: “Continue on another device” – each player can create a personal link and send it to themselves (e.g. from desktop to phone) to keep playing as the same color. The token is adopted on opening and immediately removed from the URL.
1.9.1
- Fix: the board became too small in the new layout and the bottom row was cut off. The board now sits large at the top, with the move list and chat side by side below it; the board always stays perfectly square.
- Fix: in the narrow chat column the “Send” button wrapped and the input field was squeezed – input row corrected.
1.9.0
- The chat now sits directly to the right of the move list (instead of below it) for better visibility. On narrow screens they remain stacked.
- New option on the game page: “Show piece names” – hovering a piece with the mouse shows its name (e.g. “Queen (White)”, “King (Black)”). The setting is remembered per browser.
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
FAQ
Human2Human Chess Duell: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 19, 2026
Is Human2Human Chess Duell free?
Yes. Human2Human Chess Duell is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Human2Human Chess Duell safe to use in 2026?
Human2Human Chess Duell is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. Was last updated 1 month ago, and scores 64/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Human2Human Chess Duell?
Human2Human Chess Duell is active on <10 WordPress websites and has been downloaded 434 times since it launched in June 2026. It was downloaded 82 times in the last 30 days.
Does Human2Human Chess Duell work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested Human2Human Chess Duell up to WordPress 7.1.3, the latest release. It requires WordPress 5.6 or newer.
What PHP version does Human2Human Chess Duell need?
Human2Human Chess Duell requires PHP 7.2 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Human2Human Chess Duell last updated?
The latest version, 1.12.0, was released on September 11, 2026 (1 month ago).
Who makes Human2Human Chess Duell?
Human2Human Chess Duell is developed and maintained by strychni0x.
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