Building My Online Chess Game with React and Firebase

In this blog post, you'll learn a extended functionality of my local chess game by adding online play with friends. Initially, I developed a React-based chess app that allowed for local gameplay, but now, I’ve added multiplayer features to let you play chess online with friends in real-time.

Setting Up User Authentication for Online Play

Here’s what I’ve built so far: When users open the app, they’re prompted to sign in by entering their name. After signing in, they can choose between playing locally, as before, or selecting the new online chess mode. In online mode, there are options like starting a game with random pieces. If I want to play with a friend, I simply copy the unique game URL, share it, and they can join by pasting it in their browser. This makes it incredibly easy to play chess together online.

Real-Time Gameplay with Firebase

Now for the real-time aspect of the game—this is where Firebase comes in. I use Firebase to make sure both players get real-time updates. For instance, if Player A (White) makes a move, Player B (Black) sees it instantly. This happens through Firebase's real-time database, which keeps the game board synchronized in real-time for both players. It’s pretty smooth and makes multiplayer chess a seamless experience.

Setting Up Firebase for My Chess App

Setting up Firebase was the next step. I chose Firebase because it’s free, simple to configure, and perfect for real-time functionality and user authentication. I started by signing into Firebase with my Google account and creating a new project. Since this was just a tutorial, I didn’t enable Google Analytics.

Once the project was ready, I configured Firebase for web use and saved those configuration details for later. With Firebase set up, I moved on to using React Router for easy navigation between different pages in the app.

Adding CSS with Bulma for Faster UI Development

To style my app quickly, I decided to use Bulma CSS, which is a lightweight CSS framework. This saved me from writing custom CSS from scratch and sped up the development process. I integrated Bulma into my React project by adding the appropriate link in the index.html file. Bulma has handy pre-built components like buttons and forms, which helped me design the UI efficiently.

Configuring Firebase for Real-Time Database and Authentication

In my chess app, I created a firebase.js file where I configured Firebase. I imported Firebase, Firestore, and Firebase Authentication to handle everything. For authentication, I set up anonymous sign-in as a simple solution, though it’s possible to add options like email and password sign-ins.

To ensure real-time game synchronization, I configured Firestore as the database to store and sync game data between players. This guarantees both players are looking at the same game board in real-time.

Implementing React Firebase Hooks for Authentication

To make Firebase integration even easier, I used React Firebase Hooks. These hooks allowed me to interact with Firebase’s authentication system without much hassle. I installed the necessary packages and configured Firebase authentication so that users could log in either anonymously or through email. With these hooks in place, I could focus more on building out the actual chess game functionality.

Finalizing the Chess Game UI and Enhancements

With Firebase and React Router working smoothly, it was time to polish the game’s UI. I noticed that the chessboard container looked a bit cramped, so I used Bulma’s container class to improve the layout and styling. I also built a simple form using Bulma’s form components for users to enter their name when starting a game. The form includes a “Start” button, which triggers the game once a name is entered.

To make sure the form looked great across different devices, I added some custom CSS rules to center it and control the width, ensuring it’s responsive and visually appealing.

Wrapping Up

By the end of this process, you'll have fully functional React Chess App that supports real-time online play with user authentication and smooth game synchronization using Firebase. The app also features a modern and responsive UI, thanks to Bulma CSS, which ensures a great experience across devices. Whether you're playing locally or challenging a friend online, the app now provides a smooth, enjoyable chess-playing experience.