Press kit
CheckMates™
Two phones. One board. Everything you need to write about CheckMates is on this page; anything missing, just ask.
Fact sheet
| Name | CheckMates™ (App Store name: “CheckMates Duo”) |
|---|---|
| What it is | Face-to-face chess for two people and two phones: put the phones edge to edge and they become one chessboard. |
| Platform | iPhone. Android planned later. |
| Price | Free |
| Status | Beta on TestFlight, by invitation. App Store launch: to be announced. |
| Accounts and data | No account. No personal data collected. |
| Age rating | 4+ (expected) |
| Developer | Sid Prasad, independent developer, Japan |
| Website | letitsid.com/checkmates |
| Press contact | hello@letitsid.com |
Short description (≈ 40 words)
CheckMates™ turns two phones into one chessboard. Put them edge to edge and the board runs across both screens, with squares the same real size on each, even on different phones. Tap a piece, tap a square, on either phone. Free for iPhone.
Long description (≈ 190 words)
Everyone carries half a chessboard. CheckMates™ puts the two halves together.
Two people open the app on their own phones, tap Play, and lay the phones flat with their long edges touching. The phones find each other nearby and the board appears across both screens, as one board. Each player has their half in front of them, the way a real board sits between two people at a table.
The details are what make it feel real. The squares are drawn the same physical size, in millimetres, on both phones, even when the phones are different models. The thin gap where the phones meet is counted as part of the board, so the grid lines up across it. Pieces leave one phone and arrive on the other as if the glass were one piece. The look is a chess box: green baize, walnut, brass and an original Staunton-style set drawn for the app.
There is no account and nothing to sign up for, and the app collects no personal data. Moves travel straight between the two phones. Standard chess rules apply, from castling to stalemate.
CheckMates is in beta for iPhone, by invitation.
Things that are true (and worth a sentence)
- The board is one board across two phones, not two boards: each phone shows half.
- Squares match in real size across different phone models.
- The gap between the phones counts as part of the board.
- No account, no chat, no personal data: it is a game for the person in front of you.
Please don't describe features we haven't shipped (Android, iPhone-to-Android play). We'll update this page when they're real.
Logo and icon
Use the files as they are: please don't recolour, stretch or redraw the knights or the wordmark. The lower word, MATES, is upside down on purpose: it reads the right way up for the player sitting across the table.
The SVG wordmarks set their letters in Cormorant Garamond (free, SIL Open Font License); if you don't have it installed, use the PNGs.
Brand colours and type
| Baize | #1F3B2C |
|---|---|
| Walnut | #4A2C19 |
| Brass | #D6B06A on baize · #93682A on cream |
| Ivory / cream | #F3E8CF · #F3EAD6 |
| Type | Cormorant Garamond (wordmark, headings) and Alegreya Sans (text) |
Screenshots and film
Two real phones edge to edge, one board across both (photo)
Home: the CheckMates wordmark and the two knights
Pairing: the phones find each other
A piece crossing from one phone to the other
Same square size on two different phones (photo with a ruler)
Checkmate
A short film is on its way. Need something else, like a high-resolution photo, a beta invite for two phones, or an interview? hello@letitsid.com.