Velocity chess
A blitz chess gaming platform offering live games and tournaments.
- Unique gamification
- Hundreds of thousands of users
- Global reach

Challange
What did the client expect?
Handle high traffic
Blitz chess means many people playing multiple, fast-paced games.
Manage low bandwidth
Manage low bandwidth
Mobile ready
Many people play chess on the go, thus the app had to be ready for smartphones.
Approach
How did we work on the chess gaming platform?
Velocity Chess approached us with a goal of creating a platform that would allow playing blitz chess games between players from all around the world. Our solution had to support large traffic and be accessible from countries with poor internet bandwidth. It had to be compatible with mobile devices.
The application’s goal was to be a chess hub with social networking capability, tutoring tools and gamification mechanics.
We chose node5 as the technology to implement chess games. Along with MongoDB and Redis NoSql databases, as well as Knockout and JavaScript on the frontend, it allowed us to create a solution that can support hundreds of games at once.
We avoided using technologies which would prevent the platform from running on mobile devices and require users to download applets. We decided to go with a much nicer JavaScript solution.
For chess logic, we used Stockfish script and we adapted it to our needs. We created a set of chess bots with different skill levels, with which players can train before challenging live users.
Results
What did we achieve?
We built an application with a unique approach to playing chess in lightning rounds. The platform was adopted by chess enthusiasts globally and allowed playing of hundreds of simultaneous games.
Unique gamification
Challenging other users meant more engagement
Hundreds of thousands of users
Adopted by the chess community
Global reach
Active players from multiple countries
Functionality
Key features
- supporting 600 000 registered users, 2 000 online, playing 400 games at once
- unique blitz chess gaming system
- chess tournaments
- custom Global and Private Live Chats
- subscriptions supporting Credit card payments and PayPal, allowing for cash games
- gamification mechanism
- shop for virtual goods
- social features - forum, wall, befriending