Computer Chess Club Archives


Search

Terms

Messages

Subject: Re: Best Place to Play Chess on Internet (Reasoned Answers Only Please)?

Author: Adrien Regimbald

Date: 03:32:06 06/13/00

Go up one level in this thread


Hello,

>     I know this has been discussed before at CCC, but I've found the answers
>more based on personal tast than reasoned logic.  I love over the board chess,
>but I live in a location that has little OTB activity.  Assuming cost is not a
>factor, where is the best place to play serious chess on the internet and why?


I suppose that my opinion on this is a bit biased as a FICS admin .. but I'd
like to give my point of view on the matter of FICS vs. ICC.

A lot of people have been complaining that FICS doesn't have a decent GUI.  I
think that this is unfair and not based on the truth.  FICS has a multitude of
interfaces for any platform.  They range from the clean and simple, yet well
featured to the more heavily button/graphic oriented type.  It astounds me that
members of the CCC would criticize all FICS interfaces as being horrible or that
there aren't any - I am almost willing to bet that every single one of you has
at least tried WinBoard, which I think is an extremely nice interface, which can
be used as an interface to FICS.

I truly don't understand the people who like Blitzin - the last time I tried it
out, I thought it was absolutely putrid.  I'd never willingly choose to use it
as a GUI!

As to the issue of features - both servers are full of features.   Perhaps ICC
has more of them, but FICS is always developing, and is not lacking any of the
"major features" while at the same time having various features that ICC doesn't
have.

I don't think that ICC has any significant edge over FICS in terms of features -
and considering the fact that there is an equivalent free service, paying any
ammount of money for ICC seems like an incredible waste to me.

Would you pay fifty something dollars a year for a service when you can get a
comprable service for free?  I can assure you that I wouldn't, even if I had
money to burn!

Well, that's just my $0.02


Regards,
Adrien.



This page took 0 seconds to execute

Last modified: Thu, 15 Apr 21 08:11:13 -0700

Current Computer Chess Club Forums at Talkchess. This site by Sean Mintz.