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CHESSGAMES CHALLENGE HELP PAGE The Chessgames Challenge is a system for large scale consultation chess games. It can be used for exhibition games where a large group of Chessgames members plays against a grandmaster, or for consultation games in which one team of members plays against another team. WHO CAN PLAY? Challenges that involve a GM (grandmaster) playing against the world are open to everybody. However, challenges that pit Chessgames members against other members require a premium membership. If you would like to participate in a game against a GM, just register a free account and you can be voting for moves immediately. Registration is quick, confidential, and free. HOW DO MEMBERS OF A TEAM DECIDE ON THEIR MOVE? The Chessgames members will decide on their move by the power of democracy: one member, one vote. You will have a specific amount of time (usually 48 hours) to select your move. When the Chessgames members are on the move, a voting window will appear under the game board. When the time for voting has expired, the move receiving the most votes will be played. You can discuss which move to make with other members of your team in the Kibitzer's Corner. The discussion area will not be visible to people who are not on your team. To place a vote, simply type in the move that you would like to vote for and click on the 'Submit Your Move' button. Note that you must enter perfectly accurate English algebraic notation. If you enter your move incorrectly, it won't be counted! Here are some hints:
If you are not familiar with algebraic chess notation, then you will be incapable of contributing effectively. It is outside the scope of this document to teach chess notation, but you can review the Wikipedia page on chess notation to learn more. WHAT IS OPEN/CLOSED VOTING?
Note that "candidate moves" are simply the moves which have received votes. As soon as one person votes for a move, it becomes a candidate. However, only nine candidate moves will be displayed, so if there are more than nine candidate moves then only the top nine are displayed. WHAT IF I WANT TO CHANGE MY VOTE? Just enter a new vote and click the button. Your old vote will be retracted and your new move will be counted instead. The system will report to you "Your vote has been recorded." If you want to retract your vote entirely and abstain from voting, you may enter a blank move. This will cancel your previous vote. The system will then indicate "Your vote has been retracted." Even if you retract your vote, you may vote again later. WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE IS A TIE VOTE FOR THE BEST MOVE? The system will pick one of the tied moves at random. HOW DO WE OFFER A DRAW, OR ACCEPT A DRAW OFFER?
If you are being offered a draw, you will see the "peace dove" symbol (see above) underneath the game board. This lets you know that you are currently being offered a draw, and if a majority of the members choose the draw option during this move, the game will be declared drawn. HOW CAN A TEAM RESIGN A GAME? Vote for the move "0-1" (or "1-0" if you are Black). Resignation will be treated like any other move: if it gets the most votes, then that team resigns. WHAT IF THE GRANDMASTER DOESN'T MAKE A MOVE IN TIME? Up to five times per game, the Grandmaster may use an extension. During an extension, the Grandmaster may take up to one additional week (7 days) to come up with a move. The GM may choose to move before the entire week has elapsed. If all five extensions have been used, and the Grandmaster still fails to move in time, the Grandmaster forfeits the game. NOTE: Older Chessgames Challenges used three extensions instead of five. In all cases, the number of extensions will be negotiated and announced prior to the start of the game. IS THERE AN ARBITER? The Chessgames administrators will perform the role of arbiter, if necessary. The rulings of the arbiters are final. The Chessgames administrators will sign-up to become team members, but only for the purpose of answering questions and ensuring that the game runs smoothly; the administrators will never vote for moves or participate in the analysis. ARE WE ALLOWED TO USE CHESS COMPUTERS TO HELP US?
ARE WE ALLOWED TO USE CHESS BOOKS OR DATABASES? Absolutely. If you need to research a certain opening, or brush up on your endgame technique, you may consult books or chess databases. The Opening Explorer may prove to be very helpful for the early part of the game. The Endgame Explorer may prove useful at the end. This is true whether the game you are playing allows or prohibits computers. You are also free to set up an analysis board and move the pieces. HOW CAN I REVIEW THE ENTIRE GAME? A link beneath the game says "Review Game." If you click on this, you will see the game in a normal game page, where you can go through the moves one at a time. HOW CAN I FLIP THE DIAGRAM? If you click the link below the diagram that says "flip board" you will rotate the position. Note that if you are on the black team, the default view places Black at the bottom. CAN THE GRANDMASTER READ THE DISCUSSION AREA? No. The only people who can read the game discussion area are people who have registered on the World Team. While it's always theoretically possible to spy, we trust the integrity of the grandmasters who participate in the Chessgames Challenge, and do not believe that they would even consider this. Unfounded accusations that question the grandmaster's honesty will be deleted, and repeat offenses may result in explusion from the team. WHEN A TEAM-VS-TEAM GAME ENDS, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE HIDDEN DISCUSSION AREAS? When a Team-vs-Team game ends, the hidden discussion areas will be combined chronologically and revealed for all to see. New messages may be posted to this thread by anybody. Messages that were posted while the game was in progress include a small graphic of a chess king. A white king indicates that the poster was a member of the White Team; a black king, the Black Team.
Each note/link on a Sticky is called a "Sticky entry." Ideas for Sticky entries include important chessgames.com searches, pages of the Opening Explorer, and chessforums that are hosting analysis workshops. A Sticky entry consists of one or more of the following fields: title, link, and description. Stickies should be treated with respect: do not use this feature for jokes or vanity. Similar to Wikipedia, every user is an editor, so you will be able to change or delete each other's work. All editing to the Stickies is logged for administrator review; in cases of abuse, a user's editing privileges may be revoked. CAN I DISCUSS GAMES OUTSIDE OF THE PRIVATE AREA? The short answer is "No" -- however, there are some exceptions. Here is a more detailed description:
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