The Chess Board easter egg in the Zombies mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is particularly complicated, as it requires you to collect all four chessboard pieces. Our guide will provide you with tips on how to complete the Chess Board puzzle.
How to Complete the Chess Board Easter Egg in CoD MWZ
Bishop Transmission Location
The first chess piece you’ll need to find is the Bishop, which is located at the railway tunnel in Talanov Outpost, Popov Power. I discovered its exact location in the northwestern part of the Zombies map and marked it with the red pin on the map above.
You’ll need to fight and defeat the Bishop boss. The encounter begins as soon as the mercenaries start shooting and throwing smoke bombs. Here’s how you can quickly defeat this boss:
- Equip at least two plates in your armor slots.
- Upgrade your weapons at the Pack-a-Punch machine.
- Bring at least one Sentry Gun to help you deal with the mercs.
- Although the Bishop is a boss, he’s still just a merc, so a couple of headshots will put him down.
Once defeated, he’ll drop the Bishop chess piece for your transmission to H7 on the chess board in the vault and the .50 GS handgun.
Knight Transmission Location
Enjoying this article? Don’t forget to check out our MW3 Zombies Big Bounty Locations Guide
The Knight boss is constantly moving in an armored truck along the railroad in the eastern half of the Medium Threat Zone. The route begins at the spot I marked on the map above, and goes all along the railroad that you can follow on your tac-map.
The best way to identify the Knight is to look out for a vehicle that’s not marked as Red (mercs) or Blue (players), but has a neutral color on the tac-map. Once you spot him, here’s how you can defeat him:
- Team up to quickly destroy his vehicle.
- Use a machine-gun or Molotov Cocktail to burn him.
- Once again, be sure to upgrade your weapons at Pack-a-Punch.
The Knight will drop a Knight chess piece for another transmission and a 556 Icarus Light Machine Gun.
Rook Transmission Location
The next boss will be a bit harder than the previous two, although he’s located in the easiest Threat Zone. You can find him inside the Ghalia Seaside Hotel to the south of the Seaport District. The boss sits on the fourth floor, but be careful going up, as the building is packed with traps.
There’s an effective strategy on how to deal with this boss, and here’s how I’d do it:
- Approach the building from the southern lobby.
- Go to the fourth floor and turn right from the staircase.
- The Rook should be sitting in the very first room.
- Be aware of the landmines and a turret on your way there.
- Drop to the ground as soon as you detect him.
- Use an upgraded assault rifle to defeat him.
This particular boss will drop the Rook chess piece and a very rare Longbow sniper rifle.
Pawn Transmission Location
The last chess piece is the easiest one, as there’s no boss spawning once you get to the bank of the river in Zlatyev Array. You’ll see an abandoned shack there, with a Pawn chess piece standing on top of an old white TV-set in the corner. But I must warn you that as soon as you pick it up, a few zombies will spawn, so do be careful.
Locked Vault Location
Once you have all four chess pieces, you can finally get to the Locked Vault and open it using the Chess Board puzzle. You can find the vault at Shahin Manor, which is located in the southeastern part of the map. Follow these steps to unlock it:
- Enter the left room on the ground floor of the Shahin Manor.
- Enter the elevator shaft, leading into a passage.
- If you collected all four chess pieces, the vault should be unlocked.
The vault will have a number of caches that contain the following loot:
- 1 RPK
- 1 Pulemyot 762
- 2 Self Revival Kit
- 2 Gold Bar
- 2 Cymbal Monkey
- 1 Deadshot Daiquiri Can
- 1 Quick Revive Can
- 1 Death Perception Can
How to Beat the Chess Board Easter Egg Red Mimic Boss
Once you open the caches in the vault and collect all the loot, something unexpected will happen. A new boss will spawn, known as the Red Mimic or The King. This monster hits really hard, but at least he has no firearms, so here’s how you can take him out:
- Red Mimic is similar to Blue Mimic enemies, so stay as far away as you can, or he’ll grab and drag you.
- If the Red Mimic gets hold of you and starts eating you, the only way out is for your teammate to shoot at the mimic to set you free.
- Use an upgraded AMR9 SMG to deal a deadly amount of damage to kill Red Mimic.
That’s everything you need to know on how to complete the Chess Board easter egg in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Stay tuned for more CoD MW3 tips and tricks articles right here.
