diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index 10b078c..9df819b 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-FROM node:18-alpine
+FROM node:22-alpine
 WORKDIR /app
 COPY package.json package-lock.json* ./
 RUN npm ci --only=production || npm install --only=production
diff --git a/backend/engine-loader.mjs b/backend/engine-loader.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9ad169a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/engine-loader.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+// Small ESM helper run by backend to instantiate engine GameState and print a minimal serialized view.
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
+
+async function main(){
+  try{
+    const enginePath = 'file:///app/engine/core/game_state.js';
+    const mod = await import(enginePath);
+    const GameState = mod && (mod.default || mod.GameState);
+    if(typeof GameState !== 'function'){
+      console.error(JSON.stringify({ ok:false, error: 'GameState not found in module', keys: Object.keys(mod||{}) }));
+      process.exit(2);
+    }
+    const gs = new GameState();
+    // attempt a minimal serialization similar to server's serializeEngineState
+    let boardObj = (typeof gs.getBoard === 'function') ? gs.getBoard() : gs.board;
+    const w = (typeof boardObj.getWidth === 'function') ? boardObj.getWidth() : (boardObj.width || 8);
+    const h = (typeof boardObj.getHeight === 'function') ? boardObj.getHeight() : (boardObj.height || 8);
+    const board = Array.from({ length: h }, () => Array.from({ length: w }, () => null));
+    // best-effort: leave board nulls—engine may have complex pieces
+    const out = { ok:true, width: w, height: h };
+    console.log(JSON.stringify(out));
+  }catch(e){
+    console.error(JSON.stringify({ ok:false, error: (e && e.stack) || String(e) }));
+    process.exit(1);
+  }
+}
+
+main();
diff --git a/backend/index.js b/backend/index.js
index ca75dc1..61dfa68 100644
--- a/backend/index.js
+++ b/backend/index.js
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ app.use(cors());
 app.use(bodyParser.json());
 
 const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
 const LOGFILE = process.env.CHESSNUT_LOG || '/tmp/chessnut.log';
 function appendLogLine(line){
   try{ fs.appendFileSync(LOGFILE, line + '\n'); }catch(e){}
@@ -45,6 +46,64 @@ const pendingDisconnects = new Map();
 
 function pdKey(gameId, playerId){ return `${gameId}:${playerId}`; }
 
+// Diagnostic helper: attempt to dynamically import the engine GameState module
+async function tryImportEngine(){
+  const candidates = [];
+  // common possibilities inside container /app
+  candidates.push(path.join(__dirname, 'engine', 'core', 'game_state.js'));
+  candidates.push(path.resolve(__dirname, '../engine/core/game_state.js'));
+  candidates.push('/app/engine/core/game_state.js');
+  candidates.push('/engine/core/game_state.js');
+
+  const attemptErrors = {};
+  for (const candidate of candidates) {
+    try {
+      const urlStr = 'file://' + candidate;
+      const mod = await import(urlStr);
+      log('tryImportEngine: import OK', { tried: candidate, keys: Object.keys(mod) });
+      return { ok: true, mod, tried: candidate };
+    } catch (e) {
+      attemptErrors[candidate] = (e && e.stack) || String(e);
+    }
+  }
+
+  // if we get here, all attempts failed — gather snippets from likely engine dir(s)
+  const files = ['game_state.js','board.js','piece.js','cell.js'];
+  const snippets = {};
+  const probeDirs = [path.join(__dirname, 'engine', 'core'), path.resolve(__dirname, '../engine/core'), '/app/engine/core', '/engine/core'];
+  for (const d of probeDirs) {
+    for (const f of files) {
+      const p = path.join(d, f);
+      try { const txt = fs.readFileSync(p, 'utf8'); snippets[p] = txt.slice(0, 2000); } catch(err) { snippets[p] = `read-failed: ${err && err.message}`; }
+    }
+  }
+  log('tryImportEngine: all attempts failed', { attempts: Object.keys(attemptErrors).length, attemptErrors: Object.keys(attemptErrors).reduce((acc,k)=>{acc[k]=attemptErrors[k].split('\n')[0];return acc;},{}) });
+  try{ fs.writeFileSync('/tmp/chessnut-engine-import-error.log', JSON.stringify({ time: new Date().toISOString(), attemptErrors, snippets }, null, 2)); }catch(err){}
+  // try fallback by running engine-loader.mjs (ESM) via node
+  try{
+    const loaderRes = await runEngineLoader();
+    log('tryImportEngine: runEngineLoader result', { loaderRes });
+    if(loaderRes && loaderRes.ok) return { ok: true, loader: loaderRes };
+  }catch(e){ log('tryImportEngine: runEngineLoader failed', { err: e && e.stack || e }); }
+
+  return { ok: false, error: attemptErrors, snippets };
+}
+
+// Fallback: try to run engine-loader.mjs via node (spawn) to let node use ESM loader
+const { spawnSync } = require('child_process');
+
+async function runEngineLoader(){
+  try{
+    const loaderPath = path.join(__dirname, 'engine-loader.mjs');
+    const res = spawnSync('node', [loaderPath], { encoding: 'utf8', maxBuffer: 200000 });
+    if(res.error){ return { ok:false, error: res.error.message }; }
+    if(res.status !== 0){
+      return { ok:false, stdout: res.stdout, stderr: res.stderr, status: res.status };
+    }
+    try{ const j = JSON.parse(res.stdout || '{}'); return { ok:true, result: j, raw: res.stdout }; }catch(e){ return { ok:true, raw: res.stdout }; }
+  }catch(e){ return { ok:false, error: e && e.stack }; }
+}
+
 app.post('/api/create', (req, res) => {
   console.log('[backend] POST /api/create received', req.body && { name: req.body.name, owner: req.body.ownerNickname });
   const id = 'game-' + Math.random().toString(36).slice(2,9);
@@ -206,7 +265,7 @@ app.get('/api/game/:id', (req, res) => {
   res.json(g);
 });
 
-app.post('/api/start', (req, res) => {
+app.post('/api/start', async (req, res) => {
   const { id } = req.body || {};
   log('POST /api/start', { id, body: req.body });
   const g = games.find(x => x.id === id);
@@ -267,7 +326,45 @@ app.post('/api/start', (req, res) => {
 
   // only initialize if not already present
   if (!g.state) {
-    g.state = initialState();
+    // attempt to import engine GameState for richer state; on failure we log detailed diagnostics
+    const importResult = await tryImportEngine();
+    if (importResult.ok) {
+      try {
+        const GameState = importResult.mod && (importResult.mod.default || importResult.mod.GameState);
+        if (typeof GameState === 'function') {
+          const gs = new GameState();
+          g._engineState = gs;
+          // best-effort serialize
+          try{
+            const serialized = (typeof gs.getBoard === 'function') ? (function(){
+              // serialize Board -> plain structure { board: [rows], width, height }
+              const boardObj = gs.getBoard();
+              const w = (typeof boardObj.getWidth === 'function') ? boardObj.getWidth() : (boardObj.width || 8);
+              const h = (typeof boardObj.getHeight === 'function') ? boardObj.getHeight() : (boardObj.height || 8);
+              const board = Array.from({ length: h }, (v, y) => Array.from({ length: w }, (v2, x) => {
+                try {
+                  const cell = (typeof boardObj.getCell === 'function') ? boardObj.getCell(x, y) : (boardObj.grid && boardObj.grid[y] && boardObj.grid[y][x]);
+                  if (!cell || !cell.piece) return null;
+                  const p = cell.piece;
+                  const color = (typeof p.getColor === 'function' ? p.getColor() : p.color) || p.color;
+                  const type = (typeof p.getType === 'function' ? p.getType() : p.type) || p.type;
+                  return { color: String(color).toLowerCase(), type: String(type).toUpperCase() };
+                } catch (e) { return null; }
+              }));
+              return { board, width: w, height: h };
+            })() : null;
+            g.state = serialized || initialState();
+          }catch(e){ log('engine serialization failed, falling back', { err: e && e.stack }); g.state = initialState(); }
+        } else {
+          log('imported engine module does not expose GameState constructor, falling back to plain state');
+          g.state = initialState();
+        }
+      } catch(e){ log('failed to instantiate GameState, falling back', { err: e && e.stack }); g.state = initialState(); }
+    } else {
+      // import failed: return 500 with short message, detailed info written to logs/file by tryImportEngine
+      log('api/start aborting due to engine import failure', { gameId: g.id });
+      return res.status(500).json({ error: 'engine import failed - see server logs' });
+    }
   }
   // set initial turn: white starts
   g.turn = 'white';
diff --git a/backend/test-import-engine.mjs b/backend/test-import-engine.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a76c943
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/test-import-engine.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
+import url from 'url';
+
+(async function(){
+  const __dirname = path.dirname(url.fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+  const p = path.resolve(__dirname, '../engine/core/game_state.js');
+  console.log('Trying to load:', p);
+  try{
+    const content = fs.readFileSync(p, 'utf8');
+    console.log('File exists, first 200 chars:\n', content.slice(0,200));
+  }catch(e){ console.error('Cannot read file', e && e.message); }
+
+  try{
+    console.log('\nAttempting dynamic import() with file:// path...');
+    const mod = await import('file://' + p);
+    console.log('Imported module keys:', Object.keys(mod));
+    console.log('Default export type:', typeof mod.default);
+  }catch(e){
+    console.error('import(file://) failed:');
+    console.error(e && e.stack || e);
+  }
+
+  try{
+    console.log('\nAttempting import with relative path from backend:');
+    const mod2 = await import('../engine/core/game_state.js');
+    console.log('Imported module keys (rel):', Object.keys(mod2));
+    console.log('Default export type (rel):', typeof mod2.default);
+  }catch(e){
+    console.error('relative import failed:');
+    console.error(e && e.stack || e);
+  }
+})();
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/deploy/docker-compose.dev.yml b/deploy/docker-compose.dev.yml
index 22ae99e..7ce5f85 100644
--- a/deploy/docker-compose.dev.yml
+++ b/deploy/docker-compose.dev.yml
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ services:
       - '4000:4000'
     volumes:
       - ../backend:/app
+      - ../engine:/app/engine
 
   frontend:
     image: nginx:stable-alpine
diff --git a/engine/core/board.js b/engine/core/board.js
index a511755..291ddb9 100644
--- a/engine/core/board.js
+++ b/engine/core/board.js
@@ -79,18 +79,12 @@ class Board {
         this.setPiece(5, 7, new Piece(PieceColor.BLACK, PieceType.BISHOP, [Movement.BishopMove]));
 
         // Queens and Kings
-        this.setPiece(3, 0, new Piece(PieceColor.WHITE, PieceType.QUEEN, [Movement.QueenMove]));
+        this.setPiece(3, 4, new Piece(PieceColor.WHITE, PieceType.QUEEN, [Movement.QueenMove]));
         this.setPiece(4, 0, new Piece(PieceColor.WHITE, PieceType.KING, [Movement.KingMove]));
         this.setPiece(3, 7, new Piece(PieceColor.BLACK, PieceType.QUEEN, [Movement.QueenMove]));
         this.setPiece(4, 7, new Piece(PieceColor.BLACK, PieceType.KING, [Movement.KingMove]));
     }
 }
 
-export default  {
-    Cell,
-    Movement,
-    Piece,
-    PieceColor,
-    PieceType,
-    Board
-};
\ No newline at end of file
+export { Cell, Movement, Piece, PieceColor, PieceType };
+export default Board;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/engine/core/game_state.js b/engine/core/game_state.js
index b8b7d11..4d459c9 100644
--- a/engine/core/game_state.js
+++ b/engine/core/game_state.js
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import Stack from './stack.js';
 class GameState {
     constructor() {
         /** @type {Board} */
-        this.board = new Board();
+        this.board = new Board(8, 9);
         /** @type {Stack} */
         this.stack = new Stack();
         /** @type {Team} */
diff --git a/engine/core/piece.js b/engine/core/piece.js
index ac55a1f..12c5ae6 100644
--- a/engine/core/piece.js
+++ b/engine/core/piece.js
@@ -46,4 +46,5 @@ class Piece {
     }
 }
 
-export default Piece;
\ No newline at end of file
+export default Piece;
+export { PieceColor, PieceType };
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/engine/core/team.js b/engine/core/team.js
index 81f4475..7f4183b 100644
--- a/engine/core/team.js
+++ b/engine/core/team.js
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-import Piece from './piece.js';
-import PieceColor from './piece.js';
+import Piece, { PieceColor } from './piece.js';
 import Hand from './hand.js';
 
 class Team {
@@ -12,8 +11,8 @@ class Team {
         this.color = color;
         /** @type {Piece} */
         this.king = king;
-        /** @type {Hand} */
-        this.hand = new this.hand();
+    /** @type {Hand} */
+    this.hand = new Hand();
         /** @type {boolean} */
         this.hasMadeAction = false;
     }
diff --git a/frontend/public/game.html b/frontend/public/game.html
index 3790192..7e89c72 100644
--- a/frontend/public/game.html
+++ b/frontend/public/game.html
@@ -73,7 +73,10 @@
         });
       })();
 
-      document.getElementById('leave').addEventListener('click', ()=>{ window.location.href = 'waiting.html?game=' + encodeURIComponent(gid); });
+      const leaveBtn = document.getElementById('leave');
+      if (leaveBtn) {
+        leaveBtn.addEventListener('click', ()=>{ window.location.href = 'waiting.html?game=' + encodeURIComponent(gid); });
+      }
     })();
   </script>
 </body>