Chess Viewer Help

This pulldown menu, on every single game page, will tell you what chess viewer you are currently using.
Although we offer several chess viewers, the main choices are "pgn4web" and "Chess Viewer Deluxe".
To change your chess viewer, simply use the pulldown menu and click "Set".

Note that your chess viewer choice is only permanently set if you have a registered Chessgames account. If you don't already have one, sign-up now--it's quick, anonymous, and free!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS / TROUBLESHOOTING

AFTER THE LATEST JAVA INSTALLATION, THE VIEWER REFUSES TO WORK ON CHESSGAMES

In January 2014, Oracle released a Java update which necessitates "whitelisting" trusted sites in order to operate. This requires a small degree of technical expertise. Fortunately, we have made this job easier by preparing the illustrative tutorial below.

In order to permit Chessgames to run Chess Viewer Deluxe, the first thing you'll have to do is locate your Java Control Panel. This is found in different places on different computing platforms:

Mac OSX
1. Click on Apple icon on upper left of screen.
2. Go to "System Preferences..."
3. Click on the Java icon (at the bottom, under "Other") to open the Java Control Panel.
Windows 8
1. Drag the Mouse pointer to the bottom-right corner of the screen, then click on the Search icon.
2. In the search box type "Java Control Panel".
3. Click on Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
Windows 7 or Windows Vista
1. Click on the Start button and then click on the Control Panel option.
2. In the Control Panel Search type "Java Control Panel".
3. Click on the Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.
Windows XP
1. Click on the Start button and then click on the Control Panel option.
2. Double click on the Java icon to open the Java Control Panel.

Once you have located your Java Control Panel, the following illustration should allow you to whitelist (permit) Chessgames to run Chess Viewer Deluxe:

Java Control Panel Whitelist

Once you perform the above operations, Chess Viewer Deluxe should function on Chessgames. (It may still present you with a "yes/cancel" window, but it will work.)

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO VIEWERS?

Chess Viewer Deluxe is the most powerful chess viewer, hands down. It is the unanimous favorite among chess aficionados. It offers many features which pgn4web does not, including the ability to manipulate pieces on the board to explore variations, exporting/importing FEN and PGN, and much more. However, in spite of these advantages, it requires a browser plug-in known as Java. For some users, this may present technical challenges to properly and safely configure your computer to make it work. (More on that below.)

pgn4web is very "lightweight"--it loads and operates quickly--and it's universally compatible across a variety of computers including tablets and mobile phones. Its diagram is large and easy to read. You will not have to download any additional software to get pgn4web to work on your computer. It's also the only viewer that allows you to easily shrink/enlarge the size of the board and pieces.

THE PIECES ON PGN4WEB ARE TOO BIG/SMALL FOR MY SCREEN

No problem: pgn4web has a way to increase/decrease the size of the board and pieces. The trick is to change the font size of your page, for example in Firefox you can press the <ctrl> key along with either "-" (shrink text) or "+" (enlarge text).

HOW DO YOU FLIP THE BOARD (SO BLACK IS ON THE BOTTOM?)

pgn4web: Either press the "f" key, or click the d7 square. Pgn4web has many other cool features too--for more information on how to use pgn4web, see our pgn4web Quickstart Guide.

Chess Viewer Deluxe: Click on the little black and white triangles in the lower-left corner. Chess Viewer Deluxe has many other cool features too--for more information on how to use Chess Viewer Deluxe, see our Chess Viewer Deluxe Quickstart Guide.

I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION ABOUT PGN4WEB / CHESS VIEWER DELUXE

Both viewers have "Quickstart Guides" to teach you the basic commands on how to use them: things like flipping the board, or jumping to the end of the game. They are:

pgn4web Quickstart Guide
Chess Viewer Deluxe Quickstart Guide

I NEED ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL HELP

This page is intended to be a very brief overview. Here are some more detailed documents that might come in handy: