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| Feb-06-06 | | EmperorAtahualpa: <sneaky> <hitman84> I'm considering to join a community to play chess games online. I have a few short questions to you if you don't mind: 1: Are paid chess websites really better than the free ones? 2: Which free chess website do you recommend?
3: Which paid chess website do you recommend?
Thanks. :) |
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Feb-06-06
 | | Sneaky: <1: Are paid chess websites really better than the free ones?> There are lots of free ones, from horrible to great, and the same can be said for pay ones. So I guess it depends on which ones you compare. <2: Which free chess website do you recommend?> Only one: FICS (freechess.org). They use the same software as ICC, so it's pretty much the same thing. The biggest difference is that more GM's hang out on ICC than on FICS. While that is kind of neat, it certainly doesn't justify the ICC price tag all by itself. <3: Which paid chess website do you recommend?> I got an ICC account for Christmas. It's OK. I hear that Playchess is nice but never have seen it. In summary I would advise anybody who wants to play chess online to go to FICS and get a free account. The only drawback is that you'll have to download a chess client to use and install it. (So what?) Then, if you really love it and have money to burn on a couple of extra features, try ICC. In my opinion ICC's success depends largely upon people not being aware of FICS. It's a harsh reality for the ICC folks, but there you have it. I've even heard that on the ICC forums if you post something that mentions FICS they will delete your message or even ban you for talking about them. There's real animosity between these two servers, and I fall on the side of being a FICS supporter even though I'm playing on ICC lately. |
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| Feb-07-06 | | EmperorAtahualpa: <Sneaky> Thanks a lot for recommendations! After your recommendation, I have had a look at FICS. First, I tried FICS with the Jin Java-applet interface, but it worked rather slow (also because I have an old computer). Then I tried logging on to FICS using Winboard, but the interface is really chaotic and I didn't like it at all. Finally, I tried logging on to FICS using a new program I downloaded called "Babaschess" (www.babaschess.net). This program is great! Much better than Jin and Winboard. I can really recommend it in case you don't have it yet. My name on FICS is the same as here, "EmperorAtahualpa". Who knows, perhaps we will run into each other over there some time! Your name over there is Sneaky as well, right? I searched and found one user registered with the handle "Sneaky", I guess it must be you. Thanks again mate for your help, and take care. |
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| Feb-07-06 | | mymt: <Sneaky> do you know what "bughouse" is? [noticed a reference to bughouse games on FICS] |
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| Feb-07-06 | | Joshka: <Sneaky> Since your using a Mac, like myself now, what are you using for your browser? I'm having terrible connection problems when I go to chessgames and try to do study in the explorer ect. I get frozen and my mouse turns into a "beachball"..and I have to reboot and shut down and start up again! I'm using aol for Mac version 9 for Mac OsX....is the Internet Exporer Browser free to use?...maybe I'd have better luck with that system? Thanks in advance:-) Bruce |
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Feb-07-06
 | | WannaBe: <mymt> I realize you were asking <sneaky>, but since I know the answer also... Here are the general rules...
http://www.chessvariants.org/multip... You can try it out here...
http://www.pathguy.com/chess/Bughou...
The computer on that web site isn't very good. I beat it about 100% (3 gms played) The rules of bughouse is the same as chess, with these variation/changes: 1. Two teams, 2 players per team. One player plays white, other plays black. Examp. Team1 -- <sneaky> <mymt>
Team 2 -- <DrDum> <WannaBe> If <sneaky> plays white, then you're black. If <DrDum> plays black, then I'm white. And it would <DrDum> vs <sneaky> and <mymt> vs <WannaBe>. 2. on the first move, both white pieces must make the same move. Then the games goes off on their own. 3. captured pieces are passed to your teammate.
4. instead of moving a piece, you have the option of placing a captured piece on a square. There are specials rules on pawns on the 8th. (no instant queen) 5. first team to mate wins. |
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Feb-07-06
| | Sneaky: <mymt> Sure I know what "bughouse" is. It's a team chess where if you capture a piece you give it to your team mate who is allowed to plop it down on the board anywhere he wants. I really hate it, especially the way it works with the clock. Example. I am playing a bughouse and I tell my opponent "A knight mates this guy." He says "Stop! Don't move, I'll get you a knight." His opponent realizes this so he starts to bring his knights back to the first rank, protecting them as if they were kings. Meanwhile my clock is ticking down... 30 seconds... 20 seconds... hurry!!! My partner's opponent looks at his clock: he has 40 seconds! Woo hoo, he just sits there and doesn't make a move. Now I'm forced to move lest I get flagged. A one-second advantage in the clock in Bughouse can be like being up a queen. |
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Feb-07-06
| | Sneaky: <<Joshka>> Here is some $100 Macintosh advice. I'm serious, this advice is worth $100 to most Mac users, and most Mac users don't know this. It's yours for free, read on: I bet you first got your OSX installed and it was great. And you tried Safari, and it worked great. But as time went on, Safari started to do this trick where it shows you the 'beachball' on various pages, longer and longer, until finally it drove you so nuts you started looking at Opera and Firefox and (gasp!) MSIE. That smooth quick-working Safari seems to be a distant memory now, maybe you even tried reinstalling it, but that doesn't help either. Stop right there. Safari is the best web browser in the world, but alas, it has a critical bug. I can show you how to disable its bug so that your Safari can once again become your best friend. Very simple. Go to Safari > Preferences. Click on "Autofill." Decheck all three selections, "Using info from my Address Book card", "User names and passwords", "other forms." Just turn all that crap off. Beachball be gone!! |
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Feb-07-06
 | | TheAlchemist: I've played bughouse a lot with my friends and I know that if played with the right people, it can be really fun. Back then, we didn't know any "theory" etc. (e.g. a popular variation is 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 d5, where after 3.exf6 exf6 Black's King is much safer when he castles). Later, one of my friends who played it online a lot got much bettr than the rest of us, so that took away much of the fun. |
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Feb-07-06
| | Sneaky: <EmperorAtahualpa> Your story is typical of FICS. The prototype that FICS is built around is like the world wide web: it's a client/server set up. There are lots of different clients, just like there are lots of different web browsers. You probably know all this but there are some people who blur this line, so I thought I'd describe it. I hear people say things like "I like ICC better than FICS because ICC has nicer looking pieces." That's just dumb. The pieces are not transmitted to your computer from the server, your client draws those pieces for you. If the pieces look crappy on FICS it can only be because your client displays crappy pieces. Like most complex pieces of software it can takes years for a really really good one to be developed. Out of the 60+ possible chess clients only around 6 or 7 of them even deserve serious attention. I can only speak for the Mac, but if I can find a very good one out of the 3 or 4 possible Mac clients surely other people can find a good one out of the 50 something PC clients! Have fun on FICS and look me up sometime. |
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| Feb-07-06 | | hitman84: <FICS>one problem i experienced that of laggers u just dunno the time left but in playchess if u have a long lag u can never play(lag status message is displayed)blitz |
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Feb-07-06
| | Sneaky: FICS has support for timestamp/timeseal but usually it has to be enabled in the client. This is just a way to give back the lag-time to people who are lagging, but it doesn't stop lag. I don't lag myself and rarely run into people who do, so I don't really worry about it. But then I don't play 2 or 3 minute chess either, where it would really matter. |
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| Feb-07-06 | | Joshka: <Sneaky> Okay i'll try it when i get home...didn't even know what safari was!!LOL:-) |
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Feb-07-06
| | Sneaky: How could you not know what Safari is? Didn't your Mac OSX disk install that sucker for you? |
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| Feb-08-06 | | Joshka: <Sneaky> Okay I believe I am using Safari right now for the first time. You have to understand, as an AOL subscriber for years using it on my old Mac performer, I always signed on to AoL, then just went straight to internet sites that I wanted, right from AOL. For years i never used Windows or any other computer besides a Mac. I realize now, I think, that one has to use Safari in the same way I have to use my AOLaccount when I'm at work and sign on thru the Internet Exporer. This is now another step which I NEVER had to use thru all my years on AOL thru the 90's. Hope you can follow my process here? Thanks Bruce |
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Feb-08-06
| | Sneaky: <AOL> Ohhhh... say no more. One of AOL's big selling points is that they hide all of the dirty work of setting up browsers, email clients, etc. in their one giant package. It's a great idea really. I'm not one of these anti-AOL people (I'm sure you know the type) but at the same time I've heard that their software can be very limited. AOL are no dopes: their subscribers can use 3rd party software if they want to. So yes, it sounds like you're on the right track. By the way... what's with the new Intel Apples? Can you believe it? All these years their spiel has been "Get a g3, it's faster than Intel! Get a g4, it's faster than Intel! Get a g5, it's faster then Intel!" Now they are saying "Get an Intel, it's faster than the g-series!" In my opinion Apple is trying to finally get their revenge on Microsoft by forming a relationship with Microsoft's #1 ally. Those new iMacs look cool. When I first saw one I said "OK, the flat screen looks good, now where's the computer?" Holy bejeezus, it's in the flatscreen?! |
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| Feb-08-06 | | mymt: thanks guys for the info on bughouse,
I might save it for a "..what else is there.." day. |
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| Feb-08-06 | | hitman84: <Sneaky>hi there i play as <deepzero> on fics whatz ur handle. i'd love to play a game with u. |
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| Feb-08-06 | | EmperorAtahualpa: <all> I think it would be great to create a list of all kibitzers active on this website who also play on FICS (or other servers) and keep a record of their handles on these servers. I imagine this list would be on someone's profile page, so everyone can look it up easily. Does anyone volunteer? :) |
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| Feb-08-06 | | percyblakeney: <EmperorAtahualpa> Some chessgames.com people registered on GameKnot, I’ve probably missed a few: agentrgent, annie-jade (AnnieK.), arielbekarov, arifattar, aw1988, azaris, batgirl (SBC), bdevelopment (Backward Development), che55 (Rocafella), cu8sfan, goldenphi (Phi), holierthanthou, homedepotov (Anatooly Homedepotov), hoozits, ketchuplover, keypusher, lethe (Where is my mind), moonlitknight, pawn52, pawntificator, percyblakeney, schnarre, shamsthegreat (Shams), sleepkid, tpstar and tsj2000. |
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Feb-08-06
 | | tpstar: Add Catfriend, paulkeres and alfredkwak (mack). =)
Note the_alchemist from GameKnot is not the same player as our TheAlchemist. |
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Feb-08-06
| | Sneaky: I didn't even mention GameKnot because that's not a live-chess server (at least not the last time I was there). GameKnot is excellent for correspondence chess. |
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| Feb-08-06 | | percyblakeney: ...and another GameKnot user I forgot: sethxoma (Phoenix). |
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| Feb-08-06 | | percyblakeney: After some research I came up with more names and will put a corrected and longer list at my own forum, if anyone wants to out himself or complete it it's just to post there... |
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| Feb-08-06 | | EmperorAtahualpa: <percyblakeney> So am I right that most of the kibitzers over here go to GameKnot than anywhere else? If so, I should check that place out sometimes! |
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