diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index bd5ec4b..2783720 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -49,6 +49,17 @@ The system's most distinctive property: highlighting in blind mode reveals **zer
 - **Health:** `curl https://chess.sethpc.xyz/api/health`
 - **Deploy update:** `pnpm -r build` → `pnpm --filter @blind-chess/server deploy --prod --legacy .deploy-server` → rsync server bundle to `/opt/blind-chess/server/` and client `dist/` to `/opt/blind-chess/client/dist/` → `chown -R blindchess:blindchess /opt/blind-chess` → `systemctl restart blind-chess`. Server restart drops in-memory games (acceptable for MVP).
 
+### Local instance — `chess.local` on VDJ-RIG
+
+A second, **LAN-only** deploy on VDJ-RIG (192.168.0.143), fully independent of the CT 690 / chess.sethpc.xyz instance (separate in-memory state). Serves on **port 80**, reached at `http://chess.local` via an mDNS alias — no Caddy, no TLS.
+
+- **Artifacts** (`deploy/`): `blind-chess-local.service` (server unit; binds port 80 as the non-root `blindchess` user via `CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE`), `chess-mdns-alias` + `chess-mdns-alias.service` (publishes the `chess.local` mDNS name with `avahi-publish -a -R` — `-R` avoids a reverse-PTR collision with the host's own `.local` name), `install-local.sh` (root-side installer).
+- **On the rig:** tree at `/opt/blind-chess/{server,client/dist}`, units `blind-chess.service` + `chess-mdns-alias.service`, Node 22 via NodeSource.
+- **Logs:** `ssh vdj-rig 'journalctl -u blind-chess -f'`
+- **Restart:** `ssh vdj-rig 'sudo systemctl restart blind-chess'`
+- **Health:** `curl http://chess.local/api/health`
+- **Redeploy:** on steel141 `pnpm -r build` + `pnpm --filter @blind-chess/server deploy --prod --legacy .deploy-server`; rsync `.deploy-server/` → rig `~/blind-chess-stage/server/`, `packages/client/dist/` → `~/blind-chess-stage/client-dist/`, and the `deploy/` files → `~/blind-chess-stage/`; then `sudo bash ~/blind-chess-stage/install-local.sh`.
+
 ## Conventions
 
 - Inherits global homelab conventions from `~/bin/CLAUDE.md` (gitea CLI, conventional commits, `.claude/handoffs/` for session state).
diff --git a/deploy/blind-chess-local.service b/deploy/blind-chess-local.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59d0a8d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/blind-chess-local.service
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=blind_chess server — local LAN instance (chess.local)
+Documentation=https://git.sethpc.xyz/Seth/blind_chess
+After=network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+User=blindchess
+Group=blindchess
+WorkingDirectory=/opt/blind-chess/server
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /opt/blind-chess/server/dist/server.js
+Environment=NODE_ENV=production
+Environment=PORT=80
+Environment=HOST=0.0.0.0
+Environment=STATIC_DIR=/opt/blind-chess/client/dist
+Environment=PUBLIC_BASE=http://chess.local
+Environment=LOG_LEVEL=info
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=2s
+StandardOutput=journal
+StandardError=journal
+
+# Bind privileged port 80 as a non-root user
+AmbientCapabilities=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
+CapabilityBoundingSet=CAP_NET_BIND_SERVICE
+
+# Hardening
+NoNewPrivileges=true
+PrivateTmp=true
+ProtectSystem=strict
+ProtectHome=true
+ReadWritePaths=/opt/blind-chess
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/deploy/chess-mdns-alias b/deploy/chess-mdns-alias
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4a05e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/chess-mdns-alias
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# Publish "chess.local" as an mDNS alias for this host's primary IPv4 address.
+# Invoked by chess-mdns-alias.service (blind_chess local deploy).
+#
+# avahi-daemon already advertises the host's own <hostname>.local; this adds
+# the friendly "chess.local" name pointing at the same machine. Runs in the
+# foreground holding the registration until the service is stopped.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+IP="$(hostname -I | awk '{print $1}')"
+if [ -z "$IP" ]; then
+  echo "chess-mdns-alias: no IPv4 address found" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "chess-mdns-alias: publishing chess.local -> $IP"
+# -R/--no-reverse: skip the reverse (PTR) record. avahi-daemon already owns the
+# PTR for this IP via the host's own <hostname>.local, so publishing chess.local
+# for the same address *with* a reverse entry collides ("Local name collision").
+# Clients only need the forward A record, which -a still publishes.
+exec avahi-publish -a -R chess.local "$IP"
diff --git a/deploy/chess-mdns-alias.service b/deploy/chess-mdns-alias.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e3deeb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/chess-mdns-alias.service
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Publish chess.local mDNS alias for the blind_chess local deploy
+Requires=avahi-daemon.service
+After=avahi-daemon.service network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=simple
+ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/chess-mdns-alias
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=5s
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
diff --git a/deploy/install-local.sh b/deploy/install-local.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1181772
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/install-local.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# blind_chess — local (chess.local) deploy installer.
+#
+# Run as root ON THE TARGET HOST. Expects a staging directory containing:
+#   server/                     pnpm-deploy bundle (dist/ + node_modules/)
+#   client-dist/                vite build output
+#   chess-mdns-alias            mDNS alias helper script
+#   blind-chess-local.service   systemd unit for the server
+#   chess-mdns-alias.service    systemd unit for the mDNS alias
+#
+# Usage:  sudo bash install-local.sh [STAGE_DIR]
+#         (STAGE_DIR defaults to the directory containing this script)
+set -euo pipefail
+
+STAGE="${1:-$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)}"
+echo "=== blind_chess local install (staging: $STAGE) ==="
+
+# --- Node.js 22 (Debian trixie ships only 20; blind_chess needs >=22) ---
+need_node=1
+if command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  major="$(node -e 'process.stdout.write(String(process.versions.node.split(".")[0]))' 2>/dev/null || echo 0)"
+  if [ "${major:-0}" -ge 22 ] 2>/dev/null; then need_node=0; fi
+fi
+if [ "$need_node" -eq 1 ]; then
+  echo "--- installing Node.js 22 via NodeSource ---"
+  curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
+  apt-get install -y -o DPkg::Lock::Timeout=600 nodejs
+fi
+echo "node: $(node --version)"
+
+# --- avahi-utils provides avahi-publish ---
+command -v avahi-publish >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
+  apt-get install -y -o DPkg::Lock::Timeout=600 avahi-utils
+
+# --- dedicated unprivileged service user ---
+getent passwd blindchess >/dev/null 2>&1 || \
+  useradd --system --user-group --no-create-home --shell /usr/sbin/nologin blindchess
+
+# --- deploy tree under /opt/blind-chess ---
+install -d /opt/blind-chess
+rm -rf /opt/blind-chess/server /opt/blind-chess/client
+cp -a "$STAGE/server"      /opt/blind-chess/server
+install -d /opt/blind-chess/client
+cp -a "$STAGE/client-dist" /opt/blind-chess/client/dist
+chown -R blindchess:blindchess /opt/blind-chess
+
+# --- mDNS alias helper ---
+install -m 0755 "$STAGE/chess-mdns-alias" /usr/local/bin/chess-mdns-alias
+
+# --- systemd units (the server unit installs under the canonical name) ---
+install -m 0644 "$STAGE/blind-chess-local.service" /etc/systemd/system/blind-chess.service
+install -m 0644 "$STAGE/chess-mdns-alias.service"  /etc/systemd/system/chess-mdns-alias.service
+systemctl daemon-reload
+systemctl enable --now chess-mdns-alias.service
+systemctl enable --now blind-chess.service
+
+echo "=== install complete ==="
+systemctl --no-pager --lines=0 status blind-chess.service chess-mdns-alias.service || true