DreamChess is a simple open-source chess game.

Playing is easy, as there's really nothing to think about beyond the game: click Start, choose a difficulty level and you're off.

The visuals are basic. The website talks about "3D OpenGL graphics" and "various chess board sets", but the 3D-ness is kept to a minimum and there are only four sets in the download (although we do quite like the hand-drawn-type "Sketch" theme).

Chess novices should find the standard "dreamer" engine is playable enough, but experts can replace it with any other XBoard-compatible engine.

There are a few other extras - sounds, music, a few move options (retract, move previous etc) - but essentially that's it. If you're looking for more to do than sit down and play, DreamChess will leave you disappointed.