ChessBit is open. If you're reading this, you can create an account, deposit, and play chess for real money against another human being — no invite code, no queue.
This is early access, not a finished product, and we'd rather tell you exactly where the edges are than let you find them mid-game.
What works today
- Real-money games. Pick a stake, pick a time control, play. Both stakes sit in escrow from the moment a game starts, so nobody is chasing an opponent for payment afterwards.
- Eight currencies. BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC, SOL, LTC, BNB and TRX, on their native networks. Deposits are credited automatically; withdrawals are signed from our own wallets.
- Private challenges. Send a direct challenge to any player by username. They get an invite, nobody else can take the game.
- Anti-cheat. Every game is scored by Argus, our engine-correlation system. This is not decoration — it is the reason a skill game can carry stakes at all.
- Loyalty and rewards. Weekly cashback on the platform fee, scaling with your tier.
What's deliberately limited
The lobby can be quiet, and we may close open games for stretches. When there aren't enough players online to answer an open challenge, an open game just sits there and expires — which feels worse than no lobby at all. During those periods we switch the app to private challenges only: you can still play anyone, you just name them directly. Nothing else is affected.
Card and web3 deposits are not switched on yet. Deposit addresses are, and they're the only funding route for now.
The first 40 accounts get $5 in BTC
Everyone who creates an account during the first session gets $5 in Bitcoin credited to their balance, up to the first 40 accounts. No deposit required, no code to enter.
There is exactly one condition: stake $5 across games before withdrawing it. That's a 1× playthrough — play one $5 game, or five $1 games, and it's cleared. We're not going to pretend a bonus with no conditions is sustainable, and we're not going to bury the condition either. The platform minimum withdrawal is $10, as it is for everyone.
If you deposit your own money at any point, normal account rules apply from then on.
Everyone from the waitlist starts on Pawn
If you signed up to the early-access waitlist and register with that same email, your account is placed on the Pawn loyalty tier immediately, instead of having to wager your way there. That's 2% weekly cashback on the fee from every game you play, from your first one.
What we're watching
We will be reading everything: which games get taken, where people get stuck, what breaks. If something goes wrong, tell us — Discord is the fastest route, and it's where we'll post status during the session.
Thanks for being early. It genuinely matters.