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Chess Rush is a free-to-play strategy video game developed and published by Tencent Games. Based on the original Dota Auto Chess mod, it is part of the Auto Battler genre of video games. Chess Rush released worldwide on iOS and Android in July 2019.

Gameplay The core gameplay of Chess Rush revolves around an 8x8 chess board-style battlefield with automated battles occurring after a short preparation phase. Between each battle, players spend resources on units (known as Heroes) with unique costs and attributes and strategically place these onto the board. The number of units each player can have on the board at any one time is determined by their level in the match. This level increases as players earn experience by winning rounds or by spending resources typically used to purchase units, allowing for strategic flexibility in how each player decides to grow their force. Units that share parameters (like race or class) can unlock specific bonuses in battle, allowing players to work toward a specific strategy or synergy based on personal preference or to counter another player's strategy. Identical units can also merge to create a stronger, single entity. Chess Rush debuted with over 50 individual units across 12 different races and 9 classes. Some units can also by hybrids, falling under multiple different races and class combinations at the same time. Each unit race can grant bonuses (like additional mana regeneration) to matching units on the battlefield. They also grant unique “specialty” bonuses by themselves. Classes also activate unique bonuses when multiple matching units are deployed onto the battlefield, and even include class-specific specialty bonuses on top of racial perks.

Modes Classic and Turbo Chess Rush maintains the core Auto Chess experience through a “Classic” mode. This mirrors the gameplay style and rules of most other Auto Chess games, providing a familiar point of entry for veterans of the genre. Matches typically last 40+ minutes across dozens of rounds in a last-man-standing format. The Turbo mode found in Chess Rush cuts down the length of a Classic match by lowering player health and increasing resource generation between rounds.

Co-op and Squad Clash Co-op mode sees four teams of two players do battle in a similar experience to Classic Mode, allowing players to choose two units to reinforce their partner. Squad Clash puts two teams of four against each other in a head-to-head competition with a shared health pool between each team. At the end of each round, any surviving units reinforce a friendly player's board. Resources are distributed based on health lost and the number of supplied reinforcements.

Treasure Raiders The Treasure Raiders mode was introduced in September 2019. In it, players also face off against neutral computer-controlled opponents throughout the course of a match. After winning one of these rounds, players choose one of over 30 items unique to this mode to use in subsequent rounds against other players.

Development and Release Chess Rush was announced in early July 2019 for the iOS and Android platforms, with a full release taking place just days later in an attempt to compete against rivals like Valve, Drodo, and Riot Games, which all were planning to, or already had, released standalone titles based on the original Dota Auto Chess mod. Shortly after the game's release, Tencent announced a global tournament for the title. The Chess Rush Global Star Challenge gave players across eight countries the opportunity to compete for a share of a $16,000 prize pool. Development of the game has continued over time. Its first major update, simply titled “Update 1” arrived in August, adding the 4v4 Squad Class mode, skins, and the official start of Competitive Season 1. Update 2 arrived in early September 2019 and included the Headreaper hero, guilds, and the Treasure Raider game mode. Update 3 arrived in mid-October 2019, adding features like Guilds, Treasure Raiders mode, and reworking the visuals for units like Lilith and Wolf Cavalier. A “Bot Mode” was also introduced around this time as a way for players to test prototype strategies and learn the game's rules. Entirely new units have also been introduced over time.

Reception Chess Rush received generally positive reviews, with GuruGamer rating it 8.8 out of 10 and BlueMoonGame rating it 4 out of 5. DroidGamers’s Ash Mayhew regards the turbo mode as making all the difference and citing the feature as the reason “Chess Rush may well take the throne” of Auto Chess games on mobile. However, the familiar gameplay was criticized: "doesn't do anything differently from any other Auto Chess-likes”. Asen Aleksandrov of Daily Esport also found the game feels extremely familiar. However, he praised Chess Rush's overall art direction and especially the unit design, saying it's where “Chess Rush shines”. Chess Rush has received a positive response from its players, with an average score of 4.8 out of 5 on the Apple App Store and an average score of 4.1 out of 5 on the Google Play Store.