Next with Me

Chess Game Using NEXT.js

Vimal Murugesan's photo
Vimal Murugesan
·

4 min read

Learn to build a functional chess game using Next.js, with features like :

  • valid moves.

  • turn-based play.

  • drag-and-drop interactions.

  • and Complex Rules Implementation.

After reviewing a task assigned by a professional web developer at Zoho, And Sharing my development experience:

Access to Git Repository: https://github.com/VIMALMURUGESANM/Chess-Game-Next ;Contributions Appreciated :) .

The Task:
Refer - The chess language: https://lnkd.in/gBXUsWVx

Create a simple, functional chessboard web application using Javascript, CSS and HTML with the following features:
• A chessboard canvas with pieces.
• Turn-based movement for players.
• Piece movements restricted to chess rules.
• Support for advanced moves like en passant and castling.

Step 1: Basic Chessboard Creation with HTML and CSS

The Goal:

Start by creating a visual representation of the chessboard with alternating black and white squares. This step introduces styling and layout fundamentals.

Key Concepts:

  • HTML Structure: Use an 8x8 grid of <div> elements to represent the chessboard.

  • CSS Styling: Style the board using flexbox or grid, and apply alternating square colors with nth-child selectors.

Challenges Addressed:

  1. Creating a responsive layout for the chessboard.

  2. Ensuring visual clarity with proper dimensions and alignment.

Step 2: Adding Simple Piece Movements with JavaScript

The Goal:

Introduce interactivity by allowing pieces to move on the board. At this stage, focus on moving pieces without enforcing chess rules.

Key Concepts:

  • Event Listeners: Use click events to select and move pieces.

  • State Management: Store the current board state in a 2D array to track the position of each piece.

  • Dynamic Updates: Update the DOM dynamically to reflect piece movement.

Challenges Addressed:

  1. Highlighting selected pieces and valid moves.

  2. Handling user interactions like selecting and placing pieces.

Step 3: Choosing Next.js and Why

Why Next.js Over Plain HTML/JavaScript?

While HTML, CSS, and JavaScript can create a basic chess game, Next.js offers significant advantages for scalability and maintainability:

  1. Component-Based Architecture: Reusable components like <Square> and <Piece> make the code modular and easy to manage.

  2. Modern Development Tools: Built-in support for TypeScript, hot module replacement (HMR), and linting improves the developer experience.

  3. Advanced Features: Server-side rendering (SSR) and API routes enable features like saving game progress, implementing leaderboards, or adding AI opponents.

Step 4: Implementing Valid Moves and Turn-Based Logic

The Goal:

Add logic to enforce valid chess moves and switch turns between players.

Key Concepts:

  • Move Validation: Use chess rules to determine valid moves for each piece (e.g., pawns move forward, knights move in an L-shape).

  • Turn-Based System: Alternate turns between "white" and "black" players after each valid move.

  • Error Handling: Prevent invalid moves and provide visual feedback.

Challenges Addressed:

  1. Translating chess rules into code for each piece.

  2. Updating the game state dynamically after every move.

Step 5: Enhancing the UI with Drag-and-Drop

The Goal:

Improve the user experience by allowing players to drag pieces instead of clicking to move them.

Key Concepts:

  • HTML Drag-and-Drop API: Implement drag-and-drop functionality for moving chess pieces.

  • Feedback and Highlights: Highlight valid moves when a piece is selected.

  • Event Handling: Use dragstart, dragover, and drop events to handle piece movement.

Challenges Addressed:

  1. Ensuring smooth drag-and-drop interactions across devices.

  2. Maintaining the state of the board during drag-and-drop operations.

Step 6: Detecting Check and Checkmate

The Goal:

Introduce logic to detect check and checkmate conditions to determine when the game ends.

Key Concepts:

  • Check Detection: Verify if the king is under threat after each move.

  • Checkmate Logic: Identify if the player in check has any valid moves left.

  • Game Over State: Display a message declaring the winner when checkmate occurs.

Challenges Addressed:

  1. Ensuring accurate detection of check and checkmate scenarios.

  2. Handling edge cases like stalemates or draws.

Step 7: The King gets killed Bug or the “Pin Rule”

The Goal:

Introduce logic to detect whether The King is Pinned by an Opponent piece.

Key Concepts:

  • Pin Detection: Disabling the moves of the piece between the King and the Opponent piece ensuring the piece cannot be moved.

  • Capture: Capturing the Attacking Piece.

Challenges Addressed:

  1. Ensuring the Piece between the King and the Opponent piece stays intact without any moves.

  2. The Logic behind the certain move(s) of a piece which unchecks the King.

Step 8: The “Castling“ Rule

The Goal:

Introduce logic which enables the King and the nearest Bishop if none of them moved(Castling).

Key Concepts:

  • Keep track whether the King or Bishop is moved using getKingMoves, getCastlingMoves.

  • Check whether the specific square is under attack using isSquareUnderAttack.

  • Check whether King is under check isCheck.

  • Check for reference: github.com/VIMALMURUGESANM/Chess-Game-Next/..

From this:

From this

to this:

Challenges Addressed:

  1. Castling even after King or Bishop is moved.

  2. Only Short Castling is implemented for now ; will update in this blog.

Thank you for following along! Stay tuned for more exciting updates and deep dives into web development projects.

"Good morning! And in case I don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!"😊