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Playing Chess On the Internet.

To play chess on the internet you need a Graphical User Interface like one of those listed here.   They are ordered from the easiest to install/set-up to the most complicated to install.

Interface Name
Operating System(s)
File name(s)
Ease of Install
Approximate Quality of Interface
Comments
Coffee House
Java Web Browser
Web Page
*****
8
Great if you don't want to download any software. Blitzn like inerface, so why not use Blitzn?
Play Site
Java Web Browser
Web Page
*****
7
Easy to learn interface with many features. No software to load. Slow interface. Pales compared to ICC. Many weak opponents.
Yahoo Games
Java Web Browser
Web Page
*****
7
Ditto to Play Site. Interface is now faster and easier to learn, but is graphically appaling compared to Blitzn/Winboard.
Internet Gaming Zone
Internet Explorer
Microsoft
*****
8
Free service.   Mostly weak opponents.   Good for beginners.   Severely lacking in features but the interface is simple and easy to understand.   The chess board graphics could be larger. The new beta interface looks much nicer.
Ten network (Go or Excite)
Java Web Browser
Web Page
*****
5
Easy to learn interface. No software to load. Very Slow interface.
Java Chess
Java Web Browser
Java Chess
****
6
No decent help for beginners.   Best if you already know how to play on a chess server.   Good if you don't want to download any software.   Harder to play with only 640x480 resolution.
Blitzen
Windows 95 and others
Internet Chess Club
****
10
Membership fee required after a trial period.   Very nice interface.   The most opponents and the best range of skill (from beginner to professional.)
Winboard 4
Windows 95/NT
Winboard 4.exe
****
8
The latest version is nice.   Allows to connect to free servers.
CClient
Windows 95
CClient141.exe
****
9
Many useful buttons but may take a little while to learn. The new interface is really quite nice. This is the best interface for playing on the free servers. I think that the author should simplify the interface somewhat. I like the option to have the board in a seperate window, although the seek window could use more color, and I wish that the clocks were larger and more colorful.
Chess.net
Windows 95
Chess.Net
****
7
Free chess club but they want $ for the interface.  One week free trial.   Required registration is cumbersome.   The board is very small but turning off "snap to best size" gives a larger and fuzzier board.   For purchasing the interface they offer a million game opening database as a bonus.
They have new JAVA interface in beta but I think it needs a little work.
Slics or CHESSBD
Windows 95 and Windows 3.1
Web Page
**
5
Very popular.   Board is too small for my myopic eyes and interface is overly complicated.   No install program.
PMICS
OS/2
Web Page
????
????
Only OS/2 interface that I know of.

Criteria

  1. The most important factor is that the board be pleasant to look at.  I found that most interfaces were lacking as far as graphics and the size of the board.  There is no reason for a board to take only a third of the screen as it makes it much harder to see.  I found it really unpleasant to play on interfaces with small boards.


  2. How easy is it to move the pieces?  Most interfaces require that the pieces be dragged.  Most require that your opponent finish his move before you can grab a piece.  (This is bad for lightning or bullet chess.) But it is easier with some interfaces if you can click the starting and ending squares to move the pieces.  It is faster too.


  3. How easy is it to see messages while playing?  Most interfaces are quite cumbersome with switching between the text and board screens.  But if your opponent tries to say something to you then you will probably want to see it.


  4. How easy is it to use the standard features?  Every interface has a slightly different method for doing different things.  (i.e. challenge an opponent.) Some interfaces make the process more complicated than necessary.  Sometimes I prefer to just type text commands once I know what they are.  Drop down menus are a big help too.  Some interfaces have lots of icons which are helpful but they can also be confusing to the new user.


  5. How much work do I have to do to set up the interface to make it usuable?  With many interfaces I have to resize the window every time I play a new game and some of the interfaces don't remember the positions of the windows.


Summary

Blitzn has replaced ZIICS as my favorite interface. The only feature that I feel that it lacks is a log file but most people would just use the "log my games" feature instead.

I feel quite comfortable with Winboard.  I think that Chess.Net and CClient are good but a little cumbersome.  With all the other interfaces I feel like I am doing too much work to just play chess.


Notes

  1. This is a partial list of chess interfaces and is probably very out of date.   Please let me know if there is a problem.  My email address is john2001plus@yahoo.com.

  2. I am not sure about Windows NT and Windows 3.1 compatibility of some of the windows interfaces.

  3. For a list of chess servers, click here.   Some interfaces give an option of which chess server to connect to and some do not.

  4. Once you have an interface up and running, then you still have the task of learning how to use the chess servers.

  5. With some services you will have to log in as a guest until you can become a registered member.

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