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And it works.

To start a game, log into messenger, either on your mobile device or on your laptop, find a friend who wants to take you on, and then type @fbchess play to start your game.

The person who initiates the game is on the white side, and gets the first move.

To move your pieces, type @fbchess then a space then a command like P (for pawn) e (for a column) and 4 (for a row). It would look like @fbchess Pe4.

Then you wait for your opponent to move.

If you make a mistake or illegal move, Facebook will warn you.

Don't worry if you're not a chess expert, there's a help function, just type @fbchess help.

Other handy commands: @fbchess resign to end a match, and if you don't want to go first just type @fbchess play black.