Google Labs, the experimental wing of the tech behemoth, has unveiled a new internet project that brings a playfully different version of chess to the web.

Titled GenChess, as suggested by the name, this online experiment uses Gemini Imagen 3, Google's model for generating images, for players to customize their very own chess pieces through a text prompt.

Users need to log in with a Gmail account to try the game. Then, they can use the "Generate" button to enter their theme choice in the text box, like a sushi or pizza-themed chess set.

There are two styles: classic and creative. The classic looks like a traditional chess set while the creative is more abstract. Upon completion of the model with a full set, individuals can edit individual pieces on their own. For example, if the king isn't desired to be as it is then users can give the additional text prompts to refine that.

Once players are happy with their custom chess set, they can generate an opponent to play against. During our testing, Google matched our sushi-themed set with a bot's taco-inspired chess set. Players can choose between three difficulty settings (easy, medium, and hard) and two timer options (5/3 or 10/0).

The latest web experiment from Google is simple but practical. A spokesperson said to us it's primarily "to show the collaboration between AI, design, and chess, making it possible for anyone to play with image generation," they said.

As part of the GenChess announcement, Google also unveiled four other chess-related initiatives coinciding with the kickoff of the World Chess Championship, which started on Monday. Among them is Google's partnership with the International Chess Federation, FIDE, which encourages people to take part in a coding challenge to create AI chess engines on Kaggle, a platform owned by Google for data scientists and machine learning engineers.

In addition, the Chess Gem game for Gemini will be released next month. This new conversational offering allows players to play chess games within the Gemini app, where they can test their skills against a language model and even engage in light-hearted banter. However, this feature will only be available to Gemini Advanced subscribers.