Author: John Smith
Date: 20:31:48 12/10/02
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On December 10, 2002 at 23:11:04, Sasha Dittli wrote: >Playing Zone > >My Dear Chess friends: > >As I am aware of from my dad Dr. L. Dittli www.kasparovchess.com is bankrupt. >They had to close the site and the playing zone. >It is a pity. It shows again that Jews cannot run a business properly. What does being jewish have anything to do with this ??? > >I will probably play at www.playchess.com or >www.chessclub.com/ > >I will keep you posted in this matter. > >WHERE TO PLAY CHESS ONLINE >A flood of mail and a quick check show that the KasparovChess.com website and >Playing Zone are currently unavailable. The website had been inert for a while >anyway, but there are a few thousand people who are suddenly without a free >place to play. The vultures are circling! >In a few days ChessBase will release a version of the Playchess.com software >that you can download and install without having to mail-order the software. I'm >lobbying them to include both a free play option with a few limitations (e.g. no >lectures, no simuls, no erotic chess variants) and a trial period so people can >see all the content before parting with their cash. >Actually there are over 100 virtual chess clubs out there, but I'll stick with >the best ones I know of. Everyone has their favorite and this is far from a >comprehensive review. People tend to be loyal to the place where they play, >often the first place they find. This is one of the reasons Yahoo! is by far the >largest chess playing site by numbers even though it is simply horrible. >All hail FICS! The Free Internet Chess Server is where it all started. Just >about every major chess server used the FICS kernel as its code base. (ChessBase >is an exception, I believe.) You can open an account or play as a guest. FICS >works with various downloadable interfaces or you can play using their Java >interface. Most FICS activity is based on ye olde command line. (Remember DOS?) >Most of the interfaces make things fairly easy. The old girl isn't too pretty, >but where would we be without her? >The Internet Chess Club is the most famous place to play chess online, mostly >due to its seniority and the fact that it's where you'll find dozens of GMs >playing all the time. (Not that they'll play YOU, buddy.) They have guest and >trial memberships, but it's pretty much pay to play at the ICC. Their software, >Blitzin, used to be the cutting edge but is showing its age compared to US Chess >Live and Playchess.com. There are many menu controls, but you still need to >learn text commands to get the most from the place. Regular event broadcasts are >a highlight. >US Chess Live by Games Parlor has found its feet after a rocky start. Version 4 >of their software is very attractive and playability is good. They offer a free >play with most features and a limited number of rated games per day, plus ad >banners. You have to play a rather steep monthly fee for unlimited play and all >activities (even if you're a USCF member). They have regular events and >lectures. The biggest problem is that they haven't reached a critical mass of >players so you can sit around waiting a long time for a game depending on the >hour. And those sound effects have to go. I don't need a lobotomized voice >telling me when I'm in check! >The World Chess Network started around the same time as KasparovChess, but >without much in the way of a website. Their downloadable client is average; like >some of the others it seems like a Java applet that has grown too big for its >pants. (This was the case at KC as well.) There are daily events with GMs >playing and giving lectures. They offer a trial period of 10 days and after that >you can only play as an anonymous guest without a rating. The interface is a bit >awkward, the seek/challenge process is particularly quirky. >Chess.net has been around for a while and hasn't done well against increased >competition. They are switching to an all-pay format in February, 2003. It's >still worth checking out if you're going to shop around. You can find hundreds >of people there most of the time, although those numbers will likely drop >sharply when it's pay to play. >Sasha Dittli recently started hosting his academy's online chess activities at >Playchess.com, and that's not a bad recommendation. The Playchess interface is >beautiful, by far the best in the field, and playability is very good. (Except >that the clock placement drives me crazy in lightning chess. I never know which >clock is mine!) There are constant tournaments and more training events every >day. I'll be giving lectures and hosting chats and contests there as well. >Playchess has built up a large base of players and I expect that number to >explode when the downloadable client comes out this month. Don't be hasty. Look >around and don't put up any money anywhere until you've tried at least two >sites. > >Let us try to stay friends. I will inform you as soon as possible which is the >best internet chess site and where I am playing at. > >Lots of regards, Sasha Dittli
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