Google’s new AI tool lets you make chess as weird as you want it to be – for free

To get started, visit the GenChess standalone website or click on it in Google Labs and log in. Once you’re there, you’ll be asked to fill in the blanks in a sample prompt and also indicate what you want your pieces to be inspired by. There is also a toggle option for “classic” or “creative” pieces, meaning the design is applied to the classic structure of the piece or changes the shape for more abstract pieces.

At my suggestion, I asked her to make a classic chess set inspired by the Yorkies. To my surprise, it was much cuter than expected and with much more detail, including fur texture.

When I then clicked “Generate Enemy,” the dog theme remained and the enemies became Great Danes.

Once both sets were created, I had the option to start playing and select the difficulty level and time. Like most online chess games, it highlights next moves for you, but this can also be turned off in the settings if you are an advanced player. Other customization options include tone, volume and board labeling.