Checkmate: ‘Chess Club’ Brings Strategy to Life on the Oculus Quest Platform

Whether you’re a novice or a Grand Master, chess is a strategic game unlike any other. And now, you can play it on the Oculus Quest Platform—complete with hand tracking support—thanks to Chess Club from Odders Lab, the team that brought us OhShape.

With both casual and rated matches, Chess Club lets you match wits against a friend or its AI. You can track your moves history during a match, and a variety of different time rules help keep things interesting.

We sat down with OddersLab Marketing Manager Daniel Matas to learn more.

Daniel Matas: Over the last year, we’ve observed how the popularity of chess grew dramatically worldwide. The Queen’s Gambit made chess go back to the mainstream, and a new batch of streamers and Grand Masters made chess one of the most popular games on Twitch during their events. While there were already some chess games in VR, there were none on Quest and we saw a great opportunity here. We also think VR adds a lot of value, both in the immersion of the game and in making it more fun to learn and compete online.

DM: We wanted Chess Club to appeal to all types of players. Although anyone can enjoy both environments, Grand Palace is designed for those who want a more classic and pure chess experience, with the official Staunton pieces and a relaxing setting and sound effects. As a counterpart, Stonehenge is a medieval fantasy world in which we put a lot of effort. We’ve ventured into motion capture, and we believe the result is quite satisfactory.

DM: Developing for VR in general and for a mobile chipset in particular is always a challenge. One of the biggest hurdles we faced was having over 32 animated pieces in the same scene all framed from the player’s point of view (that, plus the performance cost of environment, avatars, etc.). We were especially cautious when using low-polygon models. We’ve dispensed with all real-time lighting, and we generated static shadows with bakes and the dynamic lights and shadows with shaders and other techniques—all this to achieve the maximum visual performance with the lowest cost of resources.

DM: My favorite part of Chess Club is being able to play using hand-tracking. The experience is really immersive, to the point that I forget I'm using a VR headset, and I really feel like I’m in front of a board moving real pieces with my hands. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for hand-tracking and playing around with the pieces in my hands.

DM: The animations in Stonehenge do get people surprised every time! We’ve also noticed that there are a lot of people who want to learn or retake the chess they played in their childhood. Nostalgia is also present in many players who fondly remember the classic Battle Chess from the ’80s. Our fantasy Stonehenge environment pays tribute to that mythical game, so we’re happy we went the extra mile with those models and detailed animations.

DM: Every day, we discover new initiatives and companies working on amazing VR and AR projects. With devices becoming more comfortable, powerful, and affordable, soon this technology will be as common as home video game consoles. At that point, the gaming ecosystem will change completely—I think we’ll see mixed and seamless experiences between VR/AR games and regular video games. Also experiences in venues such as escape rooms or laser tag action games will receive an impressive overhaul, offering the best of both worlds.

DM: We’re very happy with the current state of Chess Club, but we also have big plans for future updates. In addition to a spectator mode and the inclusion of the new Oculus Avatars, we’ll be adding our Chess School, a series of lessons designed by chess masters and covering all levels—beginners will learn the basic moves and advanced players will discover new techniques and tricks.

Chess Club is available now on the Quest Platform.