ChessWorld - Features FAQ's

Forums

*** Guest Members have limited access to Forums. ***

You can use the Forum testing area to experiment with any of the posting techniques mentioned below. It will not be visible to other people except if they go completely out of their way!

To represent a chess position in a forum posting, you need to simply enter position[first part of FEN string]

The first part of a 'FEN' string is the representation of pieces on the chessboard, whilst the latter part identifies color to move, records Castling availability among other information. As 'FEN' strings are a representation of a chess board which strip out spaces, and work from top left to bottom right of a chess board, then if you have a White King on a8, and a Black King on h1, the board would be described as:

     K7/8/8/8/8/8/8/7k

i.e. White King followed by 7 spaces then new line, then 8 spaces, and so on.

Note that the White pieces are shown with a capital letter, (KQBNRP), and the Black pieces with a lowercase letter, (kqbnrp). The Knight is represented by N or n and the '/' character separates each row on the chessboard.

Example 1: The start position of chess can be shown on a forum post with:-
      position[rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR]

Example 2: The Sicilian defence after 1.e4 c5 can be shown on a forum post with:-
      position[rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/4P3/8/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKBNR]

If you download the current version of ChessBase Light, you can obtain the first part of the FEN string required by doing the following:- Game ... Set up position ... Copy FEN then Printing ... Insert diagram in list, then paste - it will paste the full FEN String. You just need the first part of this string.

Say your replayable game is 1.e4 c5, you just need to enclose the moves with [[ and ]] so to show these moves, just put:-

Example 1
[[1.e4 c5]]

Example 2
A longer game example:-

Speelman,J (2583) - Cooper,J (2318) [A06] 4NCL/Div1/SWD1-WG1 Rd01-West Bromwich (1.2), 23.11.2002 [[1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 c5 3.e3 Nc6 4.Bb5 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.Ba3 e6 7.c4 Bd6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.Nc3 Nf6 11.Rc1 0-0 12.Na4 c4 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.bxc4 d4 15.g4 Nxg4 16.hxg4 Bxg4 17.Rg1 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Qa3 19.Qd1 Rab8 20.Rg3 Rfe8 21.Kf1 dxe3 22.Rxe3 Qd6 23.Nc3 1-0]]

Note that, example 2 above, the [[ and ]] go around the move score only - do not put the [[ before the game information. To get a game score from ChessBase Light, use Printing ... Notation to clipboard. Then you can paste the game into a forum post, and add the [[ and ]] around the moves

In later versions of ChessBase you can achieve the same result by File ... New ... Position ...

You can insert a hint which, when clicked on, reveals the hint. This can be done with [hint]This is the Hint[/hint] where   This is the Hint   is your hint message

Example 1
    [hint]Check out Qxh7+[/hint]

Example 2
    [hint]His name begins with B![/hint]

You should be aware that you cannot directly use certain characters, in particular, a single quote, (apostrophe), or a double quote. It is only possible to use these characters if you precede them with the 'escape' character.

You can quote from a posting by clicking the Quote link. In your reply the text of the original message will be enclosed by a frame, and will include identifying tags.

For example
    [Quote="their name"] What was in the message. [/Quote]

To avoid the resulting message becoming too long, and less easily readable, we recommend that you consider editing the content of the quote, where appropriate. If you want to edit the quoted text, make sure that you do not delete the two tags: [Quote="their name"] and [/Quote] - other than that you may delete as much or as little as you wish.

As a courtesy to the reader, we suggest that you use the ellipsis, (...), to indicate where the message has been edited. You could also include a word or two, not in the original post, in square brackets, to make the meaning clearer. For example, you could edit this FAQ so that the resulting quote looked like this:

   [Quote="their name"] You can quote ... the original ... [but] ... we suggest that you ... indicate where the message has been edited...[/quote]

It is possible that your quotation may contain several previous quotes, which would each be contained in their own frame. However, too many nested quotes tend to make the resulting message difficult to read and may well detract from your particular response. Choose your quotation material wisely!

You can put shortcuts to Games and Tournaments by using the shortcut code followed by the ' = ' sign, followed by the identifying number.
For example, to put a link to game 100000, you would use:   gm=100000

The following shortcuts are available:

        gm  -  Game
        tm  -  Team
        ll* -  League
        po  -  Poll
        pl  -  Player
        st  -  Specialised Tournament
        dt  -  Default Tournament
        xat -  Annotated game
        pu  -  Puzzle
        ko  -  Knockout Tournament
        lx  -  League Division CrossTable
        gp  -  game (play through)

After entering a shortcut and submitting your post, a link will be automatically created to the item of interest.

ChessWorld makes every effort to respect our Members, regardless of age or gender. We do not allow any Forum postings which may contain any words or expressions that could be interpreted, either explicitly or implicitly, as offensive.

It is also our policy to protect our Members from any unwanted messages that could be interpreted as spam. To help us maintain our standards we discourage references to specific websites.

Our list of excluded words, expressions and website names, which is regularly updated, is confidential, and, as such, is not available for publication. The content, and revision, of this list is entirely at our discretion and is not negotiable. Whilst we may offer brief guidance in specific cases we do not enter into detailed discussion, and, in the event of any dispute, our decision is final.

No! ChessWorld always welcomes contributions to any of the many Forums available to Members but intending contributors should always be aware that our Terms and Conditions apply. As a general rule the content of the posting should be appropriate to the particular Forum. In the special case of the ChessWorld Cafe postings should be non-controversial in nature, although mature discussions and posters are encouraged.

Members should be aware that postings, to any Forum, which contravene our Terms and Conditions, or are inappropriate to the particular Forum may result in the loss of Forum posting privileges.

Full access to all Forums is one of the many benefits available to Full Members. ChessWorld allows Guest Members access to a limited range of Forums where they can read Chess-related articles and other items of interest. The HelpDesk is available to all Members regardless of status.

ChessWorld offers a Google™ powered search of Forum content which may be accessed in several ways.

You can access the search box direct from the Chess Forum Index page or the Suggestions Forum      You can also access the search box via Play ... Latest Posts, Forums ... Index or Forums ... Latest Posts. In these cases select Keyword Search which will take you to the Chess Forum Index.

Enter the appropriate keyword(s) and / or Author and then press the  Submit  button. By default the search will check only ChessWorld content, but you can also use this option to initiate a web-wide Google™ search.

You should be aware that complex search patterns can be server-intensive and could, in some circumstances, cause the page to time-out. In such cases re-define your search pattern in simpler terms.

To subscribe to a Forum, visit the relevant Forum and click on the Subscribe to this Forum link.

To unsubscribe from a Forum, you may visit the relevant Forum and click on the link embedded within the You are subscribed ... line at the top of the page. This will take you direct to the Forums ... My Forums page. On the resulting page look for the relevant Forum and then simply click on the Unsubscribe link, and then click on the  Store ...  button.

When a Member responds to a message that you posted in a Forum you will always receive an Email notification. This is a feature of the ChessWorld Forums and is invoked independently of any Subscribe or Unsubscribe preferences that you may have made.

This feature is provided as a courtesy to all Members and cannot be turned off. If you find that such Email deliveries are causing a problem you should refrain from posting to Forums without first carefully considering the implications.

Whenever you open a thread, or discussion page, in any of the ChessWorld Forums, you will see a link at the top of the page requesting that If you see anything that you find offensive, please report it to the Helpdesk forum.

If you click on that link the resulting message page will contain details to identify the page in question. Below that you are asked to ... specify ... what in particular you find offensive. By including all relevant information you will help us to resolve the issue more efficiently.

This message goes directly to the HelpDesk where it is given urgent attention. Like all contacts with the HelpDesk the contents are totally confidential between you and the Site Admins.

ChessWorld values the cooperation of all Members in maintaining our Forums as pleasant and enjoyable places to visit where anyone may feel free to contribute without fear of abusive, derogatory or offensive comment.

No! We advise you never to publish such details on any ChessWorld or any other Internet Forum, unless you are aware of, and accept the risk that you may become a victim of, malicious or multiple 'spamming'. If you feel that your opponent is trustworthy you may feel confident in passing on that information via a direct message to him or her. You should never reveal your Email details via the message pad available on every game board, as these pages are freely accessible by all Members.

In the exceptional case where you may need to communicate those details to the HelpDesk, you may be assured that anything posted to that Forum is not visible to any other Members except the Admins.  All such messages are treated as totally confidential and are never revealed to third parties.

Many common questions regarding problems or specific Site features are answered in our detailed and authoritative FAQ pages, which you can access from the Help ... menu. You may also find that your problem(s) can often be answered by posting into one of the Site Related Forums: many of our Members are more than willing to share their expertise! However, at times you may have a problem or query that is more appropriately dealt with by our unique HelpDesk. All posts to the HelpDesk are confidential between you and the Site Admins.

When you contact the Helpdesk keep the subject line brief and relevant. The body of your message should always include the appropriate number if your query is Game- or Tournament-related and always explain the problem as clearly as possible.

Help us to help you!

If your message does not contain sufficient detail it is difficult for us to offer help. We cannot, in fairness to our other Members, spend inordinate time searching for particular games or tournaments without you providing details. In such cases we then have to contact you for the information, thus incurring unnecessary delays.

To enable us to provide a high quality support service we limit the number of new threads that a Member may post to the HelpDesk over a 24 hour period. This restriction reduces those instances where a Member, rather than responding on the same thread, repeatedly opens a separate thread for each message. There is, of course, no restriction on the number of responses a Member may post on the same thread.

Although the HelpDesk is manned for extended periods of time, it is possible that a query may be handled by several different Admin and without continuity within the thread it is possible that any response will be considerably delayed.

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Annotations

*** This feature is only available to Full Members. ***

You can only request annotations for completed games! A convenient way to find your chosen game is via Play ... Completed Games. By the side of those games there is a Request annotation link.

To allow time to prepare detailed annotations no Member may submit more than 5 requests in any 30-day period. We suggest that you will get the maximum benefit from annotations if you restrict your choice to games that you have either drawn, or lost.

Before you do submit a request always consider carefully the perspective you are looking for. The perspective you describe will motivate potential Annotators, who spend considerable time and effort in preparation.

The Visual Annotation feature allows you to place, or paint, markers over a game board so that points of interest can be highlighted or emphasised. It is intended primarily for use by chess coaches or in discussions of games. There are a few simple rules to be observed: changes and additions can be easily made and errors rectified with no knowledge of programming techniques. Above all, any changes you make will not cause your computer to crash!

Starting.

Before using this feature you need to view the board showing the intended position. Where an existing board is displayed in a forum post, you can edit the display as required. Alternatively you may wish to set up a board using a FEN string input. (For help on using FEN strings see  Q. How can I represent a chess position? above.)

If you go to the Forum testing area, you could put in the following to set up the start position of a chess game:

     position[1r2r1k1/p4ppp/2pq4/8/2P5/2N1R3/P2P1P2/2RQ1K2]

You will then be able to experiment with the visual annotation facilities documented below. There are several tools available to allow you to mark or color the board, as follows.

Markers.

    - Arrow:   to point from the starting square to the finishing square.
    - Line:   to provide a link between starting and finishing square
    - Circle:   to outline a square, or piece, that is considered important.
    - Square:   an alternative marker to the circle.
    - Filled Square:   a further alternative, which paints, rather than outlines, the chosen square.

Colors.

Eight predefined colors are allowed:
    - Red, Green, Blue,
    - Yellow, Magenta, Cyan
    - Grey, White.

Identifying the board.

Each square on the board is identified by a pair of numbers, (coordinates), each number being separated by a comma.

Square a1 is identified as 1,1. Square g8 is identified as 8,8. Every row is numbered, (for the mathematically inclined, y-coordinates), as in the chess convention, 1 through 8. Each file is also numbered, (x-coordinates), 1 through 8. For example, square e4 becomes 5,4 and c6 becomes 3,6.

The coordinates should normally be entered as whole numbers, (integers), between 1 and 8. These values are defined so that the start and finish of a line, for example, is located at the centre of the chosen squares. If, for some reasons of clarity, it is preferred to locate the lines or arrows off-centre then fractional values can be used. As an approximate guide, values such as, for example, 6.5,4.5, will place the point of origin at the intersection between squares f4,g4,f5,g5. This type of input is discouraged for either squares or filled squares.

If a value less than 1, or greater than 8, is entered it will be interpreted as an error on your part and the marker will not appear in the expected location. For example any x- or y-coordinate less than 1 or greater than 8 will assume that you meant to write the number 1. In effect, an incorrectly entered coordinate will 'push' your marker to the left hand or bottom edge of the board.

Commands.

To insert any of the commands a simple convention is used.

Every instruction is written in the following format:

    [command] co-ordinates [/command]

Note the use of the square brackets, [ and ] and the forward slash /. These are important and any error here will mean that your intended marker will not appear. You should write each command on a separate line. (Although they can be written on the same line, this format is discouraged so as to avoid possible confusion and errors if you need to make changes or additions.) Each command should be entered in the following format, for example, to select a color:
    [color]enter your choice[/color]

Coordinate values should be entered as shown, with commas between each number, for example: 1,1,5,5 or 3,2 For lines and arrows, the start square is identified as x1,y1 and the finish square as x2,y2 For the other markers the square is simply shown as x,y

Examples using Markers

    Arrow
        [arrow]x1,y1,x2,y2[/arrow]

    Line
        [line]x1,y1,x2,y2[/line]

    Circle
        [circle]x,y[/circle]

    Square
        [square]x,y[/square]

    Filled Square
        [fillsquare]x,y[/fillsquare]

The following examples show how to achieve particular effects.

    To select the color red:
        [color]red[/color]

    To show a castling move, (e1-g1):
        [arrow]5,1,8,1[/arrow]
        [arrow]8,1,5,1[/arrow]

    To show an open file, (d8-d1):
        [line]4,8,4,1[/line]

    To show a Knight move, (b1-c3), method 1
        [line]2,1,2,3[/line]
        [arrow]2,3,3,3[/arrow]

    To show a Knight move, (b1-c3), method 2
        [arrow]2,1,3,3[/arrow]

    To show an en-passant position, (g5xf6):
        [line]7,5,7,5.5[/line]
        [arrow]7,5.5,6,6[/arrow]

    To show a pin, (a4 pinning c6 against e8):
        [line]1,4,5,8[/line]
        [circle]1,4[/circle]
        [circle]3,6[/circle]
        [square]5,8[/square]

With a little practice the whole procedure becomes very easy!

ChessWorld always welcomes suggestions for games worthy of inclusion in the Masters Collection. Members should note that game scores in PGN format are considered as being in the Public Domain and, as such, are generally acceptable. However, any post-game analysis or annotation is considered as being the intellectual property of the original Author.

ChessWorld always recognises the rights of such Authors and therefore cannot accept any such analyses or annotation unless: (i) it is fully and correctly attributed, and (ii) it has been formally released for re-publication by the original Author, Publisher or Web Site.

If any such analysis or annotation is submitted it will only be accepted on the clear understanding that the submitting Member accepts full and total responsibility for any failure to obtain necessary permission(s) for publishing such material on ChessWorld.

Any PGN based submissions should be carefully checked for the correct, and generally accepted, spellings of player names and, where relevant, Tournament and location names.

The ChessWorld Masters Collection features quality games that are recorded in, and follow the generally accepted conventions of, the PGN format.

There are a number of commonly used shorthand codes that make the work of the Annotator easier, and inform the reader. Although it is possible to use specific symbols these are dependent upon the fonts available to the end user. For maximum compatibility we recommend the following selection, using common keyboard characters, as being appropriate.

    1-0      Black resigns
    0-1      White resigns
    1/2-1/2  Draw agreed
     +       Check
     ++      Mate (# is also used)

    +-       White is winning
    +=       White is slightly better
    +/-      White is clearly better
    -+       Black is winning
    =+       Black is slightly better
    -/+      Black is clearly better

     You can use the  Please select move quality  button to insert the following:

     !       Good move
    !!       Superb, or very good, move
     ?       Bad move
    !?       Controversial, or interesting, move
    ?!       Dubious move
    ??       Poor move, or blunder

For a comprehensive list of symbols refer to this page.

Perhaps the simplest advice is to read a number of annotations by other players before starting on your own.

Ideally, an annotation should be instructive without being over-complex. It should explain the reasons for specific positions, and how they may be exploited, or improved. If any variations are introduced then they should be presented in such a way that they retain a clear meaning. One common weakness is where an Annotator uses an engine to assist in his/her analysis and then includes lengthy sequences of computer generated moves with no explanation. This type of annotation is not helpful to the vast majority of Members.

The following annotated fragment from the game Maroczy vs. Pillsbury 1896 illustrates a typical approach that is both illustrative and informative.

12. ... Bf6 Attacking White's unprotected c3-pawn, and, beyond it, White's Queen's Rook, an attack that White ...

13.d6! ... completely ignores!

c6 Black can't play [13. ... Bxc3 because of 14.dxc7 Qf6 15.cxb8=Q Rxb8 16.Bxb8 Bxa1 17.Qxa1] and Black has lost two pieces. Better than the text might be [13. ... cxd6, when play might continue 14.Bb3 as in the game, and if 14. ... Bxc3 15.Ng5 Qf6 [15. ... Bxa1? 16.Bxf7+ Kh8 17.Qh5 h6 18.Qg6 and Black is lost] 16.Bxf7+ Kh8 17.Qd3 g6 18.Qh3 h5 19.Bxg6 Qxg6 20.Qxc3+ Kg8 21.Rad1] and White has what is probably a winning advantage. So, back to move 13, Black must instead play, after [13. ... cxd6 14.Bb3 Be5, and after, say, 15.Bg5 Bf6 16.Re1 Rf8] Black has a playable game.

14.Bb3 This Bishop was doing little on a4, so Maroczy points it at f7, the perennial weak spot for Black.

Yes. Although ChessWorld does not allow the use of an engine during actual play there is no objection if an engine is used to aid post-game analysis. The use of an engine to explore possible variations can be most instructive, but the Annotator should be aware that the inclusion of complex computer generated moves without any accompanying explanation or clarification is of little value to the reader.

As a courtesy it would be helpful, after the annotation has been completed, to include a brief final comment acknowledging the use of the relevant engine.

To protect your unfinished 'work in progress'  include the words    Annotation in progress   in the text, preferably at, or near, the beginning of the Game Introduction box. This will have two effects. Most important, of course, it will prevent your work being removed in our regular checks, and secondly, and perhaps equally important, it will prevent your initial efforts being accessed by other Members. You may consider it prudent to keep a separate copy of your material for reference until such time as the finished annotation is published.

You should remember that you can, at any time, revisit your annotations and amend or make additions. Annotations that are submitted with minimal, or irrelevant, comments may be removed at our discretion

Yes. Many players find it helpful to prepare annotations while the game is still in progress. This initial preparation can be recorded by pressing the  Annotate this Game  button on the game page. There is a link on this page to the Planning Notepad area if you wish to refer to any notes that you may have made.

This area is designed to assist in the preparation of a more formal game annotation, and, as such, there are various options to add comments.

The Game Introduction input box contains the embedded comment:   Annotation in progress   to ensure that your work remains invisible to other Members. After the game has been finished, and you are satisfied with the quality of your annotation, enter a suitable 'Introduction' to your annotation, remove that embedded comment and submit your material. It is not possible to make any entries into this box until the game has been completed. The embedded comment will remain until you remove it prior to publishing your annotation.

The Comment input box below the board display should be used for adding comments, or to enter possible variations, linked to the relevant move.

To ensure that your notes are not lost the Automatically store option should be checked.

As noted in our Terms and Conditions the use of an engine, for any purpose, while a game is still in progress is not allowed under any circumstances!

While you are preparing and writing content for your annotation, you should make copies of your work from time to time. Whilst you can always use the normal 'copy and paste' process available on all computers we suggest that you make use of the facilities built in to the Annotation Notepad.

The  Submit and preview all annotations!  button makes a copy of your work, up to the time you click the button, and keeps it on the ChessWorld server, so that it is both secure and readily available when you return to your current annotation.

The  Store  button makes a copy in a similar manner but the copy is stored on your own computer and may be lost when you close your browser window

Yes. Use the Comment input box below the Annotation Notepad board to enter variations in as much detail as you wish. Once you are satisfied with the content, press the  Submit and preview all annotations!  button.

To avoid going through the 'submit' process unnecessarily you may, if you wish, make use of the  Record Variation  button below the Comment area. To do this, press the  Record Variation  button, (which will then change name!), before entering a comment or variation, related to the chosen move. When you are satisfied with your entry, click on the (renamed)  Add recorded moves  button and continue with further comments or variations for other moves in the game. When you have completed all of your input, or have completed your current session, then press the  Submit and preview all annotations!  button to review your work.

When you press the  Submit and preview all annotations!  button the screen will change and show you the gameboard with the current annotation notes embedded within the moves. After you have checked the content you may wish to edit, or add to, the material. To do this, simply click on the edit and improve these annotations link to return to the original page, where you can freely edit, or add to, the content.


If you wish to discuss some possible alternative moves within an ordinary comment, then that is simple to achieve. For example, you may wish to enter something like:
      Perhaps the better move would be d2d4 rather than a1a2.
This would appear in your annotation in the same format.

However, you may wish to make such variations clickable to assist the reader in visualising your comments more easily. In that case, you need to enclose the same sentence in brackets, thus:
     (Perhaps the better move would be d2d4 rather than a1a2.)
In the annotation the actual move, d2d4, would appear in the same color as a normal link and by clicking on it the board would refresh and show that particular position.

There are no fixed rules, as the ChessWorld Annotation feature is designed to be easy to use for all Members, and is therefore quite tolerant of minor user errors.

In the interests of clarity for the reader we recommend the following guidelines.

The standard abbreviations for the names of the pieces may be used but they must always be in uppercase, otherwise the entry will be invalid. If a proposed move involves the taking of a piece, then, conventionally, the move would be written Nxf3, however, the shorter version Nf3 or even f3f5 is also acceptable, but, perhaps a little less helpful to the reader.

You could consider inserting a quite complex sequence, such as
     11. ...Nxe7 12.Ne5 Qf6 13.Bxf7+ Kf8
If you entered that text in that format, without any enclosing brackets, it would appear as a comment. If this were not your intention then you should enclose the whole sequence in brackets, thus:
     (11. ...Nxe7 12.Ne5 Qf6 13.Bxf7+ Kf8)
Then, each ply would be clickable and, after clicking, the board will refresh to show the new position.

It is possible to use either normal parentheses, (  ), or square brackets, [  ], as you wish as long as each opening bracket is matched by a closing bracket. Although it would be quite unlikely, you could even mix the brackets and still show a clickable variation, although we do not recommend such a strategy!

If you wish to show a move for White, the conventional syntax is, for example, 12.Ne5, with a point after the move number. The point, ' . ' is essential, otherwise the entry will be treated as a comment and will not be clickable. You may, if you wish, insert one or more spaces between the point and the move, but we do not recommend this.

For a move by Black, you would write, for example, 12. ... Qf6, inserting a space after the initial point and also after the ellipsis. Alternatively, you could simply write 12....Qf6, or even 12...Qf6. You may feel that these latter examples lack in clarity and readability.

We recommend that, in all cases, you follow convention and make use of appropriate spaces to add clarity to your efforts.

Yes. The guidelines above also apply, but, in addition, you can selectively number your different variations, as follows.

     1: (15.Qa3+ c5 16.Nxc5 Kg8 17.Nxd3)
     2: (15.Qa3+ d6 16.exd6 Kg8 17.dxc7 )
     3: (15.Qa3+ Kg8?? 16.Qe7 Bxf2+ 17.Kxf2 h6 18.Qxd8+ Kh7 19.Qxc7)
     4: (15.Qa3+ Bc5?? 16.Qxc5+)

Note the use of the colon,' : ', after the variation number. You should not use a parenthesis otherwise the variations will not be clickable! The space between the variation number and the actual variation is optional, but is recommended to improve clarity and readability.

If you want your sequence of variations to appear on separate lines, you should enter them on separate lines when preparing your annotation. If you do not want the sequence to start on the same line as the relevant initial move, then insert a 'Return' as the first character before your initial variation.

No. Although the appearance of, and access to, some of the screens may vary, the underlying software is identical and all of the guidelines discussed within this section are fully applicable.

No. At the present time there is no facility for a Member to delete an annotation that has been started. However, to achieve the same effect, if you include the words    Annotation in progress   in the text, preferably at, or near, the beginning of the Game Introduction box your content will not be visible to any other Member.

It is possible to copy many ChessWorld pages by using the built in features of your computer and browser. However, you should be aware that the ChessWorld annotation feature is designed to usable for Members and, as such, is not fully compatible with the normal PGN standard. You should be aware that any copies that you make may not function as you expect when attempting to access them with your own software.

ChessWorld cannot offer any advice regarding either conversion to, or compatibility with, your own software.

This Icon will appear on your play page once you have completed at least one full annotation. Your Opponent(s), or other Members, can click on the Icon and be taken to your annotation(s). You should be aware that if, at the absolute discretion of ChessWorld, your submission is regarded as trivial, or lacking in thoughtful comment, it may be removed without prior notice. In this case, and if you have only completed the one annotation, then the Icon would automatically be removed from your play page.

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Puzzles

*** Guest Members have limited access to this feature. ***

Go to the Improve ... menu and select the Puzzles option. The ChessWorld Puzzles page offers two options at the top of the page.

Rated Puzzle system.           If you choose this you will be taken the Rated Puzzles page. For full information on this feature please refer to the relevant entries below.
Master Collection Games as interactive puzzles.           If you choose this option you will be taken to the Play like the Masters feature which is discussed in detail in the separate Masters Collection section below.

If you wish to attempt a puzzle without using the Puzzle filter section simply scroll down and you will see the first of many pages listing ChessWorld puzzles.

In the right hand column you have up to three choices, as follows.

Rated Interactive.           This option may not be available for all puzzles. If it is available, clicking on it will take you directly to the Rated Puzzle page where you can then attempt to find the solution. For further information on attempting rated puzzles please refer to Q. How can I attempt to solve a rated puzzle? below.

Unrated Interactive.           Selecting this option will take you to a new window where you can attempt to find the solution. There may be a short theme shown as well, for example, Mating attack. Below the board further information may be provided, and, in particular, a guide to the difficulty of the puzzle, ranging from 0 - easy, to 10 - hard.
Move the pieces by click and click, as on the main ChessWorld playing page.   If you make an incorrect move you will see a message Sorry, this is not the correct move. If this appears, click  OK  and retry, or, if you are unsure of the solution, click on the  I give up!  button. When you are successful you will see a message Congratulations, you solved the problem. Number of wrong moves: n where the number of incorrect moves, n, will vary, depending upon your success!

Normal.           Selecting this option will take you to a new window. This option is not interactive so you will need to visualise all of the moves necessary to solve the puzzle. Although you may feel that this approach is a little more difficult you should bear in mind that this option does give you experience in mentally assessing moves, which could be invaluable in OTB games.
     You will see an indication of the color to move, and a guide to the expected result, for example Black to play and win. There may be a short theme shown as well, for example, Mating attack. Below the board further information may be provided, and, in particular a guide to the difficulty of the puzzle, ranging from 0 - easy, to 10 - hard. There is a click-down option to show the solution if you cannot solve the puzzle! You may also use this as a Hint so that you could look at the first move and then return to your study of the board.

Go to the Improve ... menu and select the Puzzles option. On the ChessWorld Puzzles page select the Rated Puzzle system link and you will then be ready to attempt rated puzzles.

To move pieces on the board use the drag and drop method.

Once you select a puzzle, you will see a pop up appear asking you to Click OK when ready to start. To start the puzzle click on the  OK  button and the clock will begin counting down. You should be aware that even if you choose to close this pop-up by clicking on the  X  in the top right, the clock will still start counting!

You will see a brief note indicating the color to play below the list of puzzle numbers in the right hand pane. If you need some assistance in obtaining the solution you can press the  Hint  button, which will become available once the clock has started counting down. If you cannot find the solution you should press the  I give up!  button.

If you press the  Skip  button you will see the message Are you sure, you will lose rating points. You may wish to preserve your record and so avoid pressing this button.

Go to the Community ... Annotated Games page.

To play one of the puzzles specially created for this feature click on the Annotated Puzzle-like Game Fragments link. Select a game and click on the Interactive Version link. .

If you want to use this feature to play through a Masters game, find a suitable game from the default list, or select your own games using the various options at the top of the page. Select a game and click on the Interactive Version link.

When you make the correct move a  Click to Continue  button will appear at the top of the comment area. Once this has been clicked you will see a note to confirm that the Opponents move has been made for you and you can then continue in the normal manner.

In some cases, when you make a wrong move there may be a helpful Hint, provided by the Annotator, to offer guidance for the next move.

If you make a wrong move two further buttons will appear below the board  Show next move  and  Show solution  You may use these if you wish! If you feel that you have been beaten by the puzzle click the  I give up!  button, which will display the solution and, in addition, provide navigation buttons below the board so that you can play through the game at your own pace.

Select the game which you wish to use and click the Annotate this game link.

If you intend to use only a fragment of the game, move to the relevant move or half move of the game and begin your annotation. If you wish to include any hints, write them at the beginning of the relevant move or half move in your annotation making sure that you precede them with the word Hint and conclude with a double colon ( :: ). For example Hint these are the hint comments here ::   

When you choose a game fragment it is important that you also complete the Optionally for interactive version to create puzzles ... box so that the viewer is taken direct to the appropriate point in the game. It is also possible to use several different fragments of the same game to generate more than one puzzle; if you wish to do this enter the relevant starting half move for each puzzle. This information is used to provide guidance to Members before they start the puzzle, for example

The annotated puzzle can be run from the start to the finish of the game or it can be started from:

Start of the Game
Half move number: 42 - Black to play
Half move number: 61 - White to play

Remember that White to play is always indicated by an odd number.

Yes. If you arrive at a position on the board where it is possible to promote a pawn, you will see a pop-up which will offer, in sequence, the following choices:           Queen, Q   Rook, R   Bishop, B   Knight, N

When you see the choice that you wish to accept, click the  OK  button, otherwise click the  Cancel  button. In this case the next choice in the sequence will be displayed. Until you accept one of the choices offered you cannot proceed with the puzzle; the pop-up options will be repeated until that choice is made.

After completing the puzzle, or running out of time, you may wish to have another chance to solve the puzzle, although the subsequent result will not change your performance rating.

Depending upon your success, you should click one of the links available at the top of the screen:
     Most recent puzzles attempted | 1st attempt solved | Timed out Puzzles | My weaknesses

For example, if you had succeeded in solving the puzzle, you could click on the Most recent puzzles attempted or the 1st attempt solved link. On either of those pages look for the Puzzle ID above the mini-board and then, in the Statistics column, click on View which will display an enlarged view of the puzzle at the top of the page. On the right hand side of the display you will see a link that will allow you to Retry Puzzle.

If you did not succeed in completing the puzzle, click on the Timed out Puzzles link which will show you a list of all of the puzzles which you may have attempted but failed to solve. Adjacent to each mini-board you will be able to click on the Retry Puzzle #nnnn link and have another attempt.

When you see the pop-up advising that You have already tried this puzzle before. click on  OK  and you can restart your attempt. You should be aware that even if you complete the puzzle successfully, the win will not be recorded in your statistics - this is because, at this stage, you will have been able to see the solution!

No. Only you can access the various statistics pages available from your own Puzzles page.

Other Members can see your results only after they have been aggregated with all other results. The aggregated figures are provided as a guide to Members and it is not possible for these to be broken down into separate Member-identifiable figures. Your puzzle performance and your relative success or failure is visible only to you. However, if you wish to publicise your own performance in some way you may choose to post to friends or to a Forum.

ChessWorld does not publish, or provide, any identifiable information - we respect your privacy.

On the Rated puzzles page, click on the My weaknesses link at the top of the page. This will take you to the unique ChessWorld Puzzle Weakness Analysis page.

On the left hand side you will see a list of the Tactical Methods where you have shown some weakness in your attempts to solve puzzles. Alongside these topics you will see details of the number of related puzzles that you have attempted and a list of the relevant Puzzle ID numbers. You may click on any of those identifiers and retry the puzzle.

Yes. Simply by attempting to solve a puzzle you are gaining invaluable insights, of course. Even when you successfully solve a puzzle, whilst that is always satisfying, you may still feel a little unsure of some elements of the game fragment.

You might find it both helpful and interesting to click on the Improve your tactics link at the top of the page. This gives you access to a suite of papers written and collated by a FIDE rated player, the content of which you should find helpful and instructive.

Hopefully, this will never happen! However, we appreciate that mistakes can occasionally be made by the Puzzle Compiler. If you feel that you have identified an error, or an alternative solution, click on the Report errors / make suggestions link at the top of the page and post your remarks in the Forum.

Please make sure that you clearly identify the Puzzle number, otherwise it is almost impossible for us to identify the issue and there may be a delay until you give us the correct information.

Yes. Go to the Improve ... menu, select the Puzzles option and select Rated Puzzle system at the top of the main ChessWorld Puzzles page. Finally, click on the Create new puzzle link at the top of the page. You will be taken to a new page showing a mini-board with the pieces in the start position.

Normally, you will probably wish to start with a clear board before setting up the position: if so, click the  Clear Board  button. At the side of the board a full set of pieces is available. Click on the piece(s) which you wish to place on the board and then click on the appropriate square. If you decide that you have placed a piece on the board in error, simply click on it and then click on the waste bin. The program will check that you have placed both Kings on the board, otherwise there are no limitations.

Finally, when you feel that you have set up the pieces correctly, press the  Ready  button. A pop-up prompting you to confirm that it is White to move? will appear. If this is your intention then press  OK  otherwise click  Cancel  when the pop-up will change to ask Black to move?. Click  OK . You must respond to this question before you can proceed to the puzzle information page and enter further relevant details!

When you have completed the necessary steps you will be taken to the ChessWorld Puzzle Add form which will show the position that you have constructed. This page invites you to check, carefully, that all of the details you have entered so far are correct, otherwise you will need to use the browser Back button and make the necessary corrections. The board will, initially, appear as a new game, but you can easily reinstate the position that you had previously set up by pressing the  Apply FEN  button and edit the board, or, if you prefer, you can start over.

Make sure that you complete the Puzzle objective box appropriately, by selecting from the range available on the drop down list.

In the event that your puzzle makes use of the Castling feature make sure that the entry in the Castling availability box is correct. By default it is assumed that either side can castle.

Enter the number of half moves if you have checked your solution using a computer, otherwise leave the box empty.

The Puzzle Name and Puzzle Hint boxes are self explanatory but you should take care to be brief and helpful, especially when composing your hint.

To give other Members an indication of the difficulty of your puzzle enter a numerical assessment of the difficulty, from 0 - easy, to 10 - hard. This value is quite subjective and so you should consider carefully which level you assign. Too easy and Members may not wish to attempt, and, equally, too hard and you may find few who are willing to devote time. After you have set a few puzzles you will be more conversant with making useful assessments and, equally important, fellow Members will begin to recognise your prowess in setting interesting and challenging puzzles.

After completing these boxes, you should then enter the solution into the mini-board.

Below the mini-board enter any other relevant details, as requested.

Finally, after checking all of your input once more, press the  Submit Puzzle  button, Your submission will be checked by a member of the ChessWorld Admin team, and if approved will then appear on the puzzles database.

If your ChessWorld rating is below 1600 the Create new puzzle link is not available.

These icons are awarded after a Member has successfully completed at least 5 rated puzzles. Once that level has been achieved the icon will remain in place next to your name on the playing page. If another Member chooses to 'mouseover' the icon they will see a message such as This player has successfully solved more than 5 rated puzzles - xx rated puzzles. The value of 'xx' will be updated to show when more puzzles have been attempted, but we do not update the number of successful attempts, as the Icon is intended to represent an achievement rather than to act in some way as a 'puzzle' rating.

Only Rated Interactive puzzles count towards your total. Successful attempts to solve Unrated Interactive puzzles, Normal puzzles or the unique ChessWorld Puzzle of the Day do not count for an Icon award.

Yes! ChessWorld offers various extra sound effects to provide an entertaining environment. However, we do realise that many Members may wish to attempt the puzzles in a quiet environment, whether at home or in the workplace.

To turn these extra sound effects off, or on, simply click the Sound effects ... link at the top of the page. The basic sound made by the computer, the 'default beep', cannot be turned off except by changing the configuration of the your own computer. For guidance on this procedure refer to the Help files provided by your supplier.

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Masters Collection

*** This feature is only available to Full Members. ***

The ChessWorld Masters Collection comprises some two million carefully selected quality games by Chess Masters, past and present. As such it forms the basis of a number of unique ChessWorld features that are discussed in detail below.

This feature is constructed in such a way that it offers Members information, instruction and incentive to play better, whether by trying to emulate a favourite Grand Master or by studying particular tactical themes.

Both of these features use the Masters Collection database but offer different approaches.

In Learn from the Masters you can make detailed searches, or you can access specialist lists and databases, according to your particular interest. One of the main attractions is the ability to select a Master Game, as a result, perhaps of the search process, and then play through it, move by move. This gives a unique insight into the tactics and strategy employed by the great players and, with careful study, can help to improve your own game. Further guidance on the many possibilities appears below.

In Play like the Masters, there is a different emphasis and, rather than stepping through a given game move by move, you take on the role of your chosen Master and then try to play as they would have played. The Opponents moves are made automatically in response to each correct move that you make. Further guidance appears below.

The comprehensive search box on the Masters Collection page may used in any way that you wish, using any appropriate combination of filters defined in the various boxes.

A number of the boxes are provided with drop down lists to make your selections easier to enter, but, if a suitable option is not provided you can simply type the requisite details directly into the box.

On the right of the screen you can define the search limits for a number of criteria, either by selecting a range, such as From ... and To... or be more precise and enter a specific Equal ... value. You may also choose to enter values in the From ... and Equal ... boxes or in the Equal ... and To... boxes. Always make sure that the value in the leftmost entry is logically smaller than the rightmost entry, otherwise the search will simply return a message No games found!

In the case of ECO codes, A is always considered lower than B and so on. Within an alphabetic grouping the codes should be correctly ordered, for example A55 is lower than A88.

If you enter values in all three boxes, the search will default to the Equal ... value.

When you are satisfied that you have entered the correct data click the  Find Chess Games  button. If you wish to re-enter your data click the  Reset  button.

Although there are a number of powerful ways in which to search the Masters Collection, you may sometimes find the Rapid Game Search option, at the top of the Masters Collection homepage, more convenient.

You can select from a number of different search options, according to your current interest:
Game  -  Tag  -  Move Pattern  -  Tournament  -  Game  -  Number  -  Surname,Firstname  -  ECO Code  -  PGN Game Score
Make sure that you select the appropriate option before you enter a search pattern!

Game (Default setting)

To carry out a Game Search by Player, you may, within limits, enter as much, or as little, detail as you wish. The basic format for entering your search criteria, separated by commas, is as follows:
          White surname, Black surname, Year, Number of moves.

The surname(s) may be entered in part, in upper, lower or mixed case as you prefer. If the entry is insufficient to identify a specific player you will be presented with a list of near matches, from which you can then make your choice.      The year must be entered in the conventional yyyy format, and the number of moves may be any suitable numeric entry.

You may enter all, or some, of the search criteria but any intermediate missing field must be marked by a comma, as the following examples illustrate.

          Adams as White, no player as Black, no Year and no Number of moves,
               enter ada
          Adams as White, Polgar as Black, no Year and no Number of moves,
               enter ada,polg
          Adams as White, no player as Black, Year as 2001 and no Number of moves,
               enter ada,,2001
          Adams as White, Polgar as Black, no Year and 43 as Number of moves,
               enter ada,polg,,43
               Note that if no player as Black is entered, the search result based upon the number of moves is irrelevant.

To make the search, make sure that you have checked the  Game  option and then click the  Search  button.

Tag

To carry out a Tag Search enter the required descriptor in the box. If you are unsure of the currently available Tag descriptors simply click on the Tag Game Collections link at the top of the Masters Collection page.

Example:
          Blockade
will present a new page, listing all of the games that have been tagged with this descriptor.

To make the search, make sure that you have checked the  Tag  option and then click the  Search  button.

Move Pattern Search

This is a particularly useful search that enables you to examine various manoeuvres on the board by searching for patterns, within the first 20 moves of a game, based upon a sequence which may, or may not, be continuous.

Pieces should be identified using the conventional KQNBR and kqnbr notation for White and Black respectively. To avoid displaying possibly ambiguous results, you should also identify the pawn by P or p respectively. Although the pawn identifier may be omitted we recommend that you use the correct search syntax, as shown in the examples below.

If you were searching for the opening moves of the Sicilian, e4 c5, you could enter Pe4pc5 with no spaces and the search will find games where those two moves happened consecutively in the game.

On the other hand, if you wished to find games with the same two moves, whether or not they were consecutive, you would enter Pe4-pc5, using the dash, or hyphen, to separate the moves. In this case you would find not only consecutive occurrences, of course, but also any occurrences where those two moves appeared, in that order, during the initial 20 moves.

To make the search, make sure that you have checked the  Move Pattern  option and then click the  Search  button.

Tournament Search

This is an easy option to use. All you need do is enter the name of the location of the Tournament in the box.

Examples:
     southend
     Nottingham
     North American Open
Note that the correct capitalization is not essential.

To make the search, make sure that you have checked the  Tournament  option and then click the  Search  button.

Game Number

This is a convenient way to retrieve a previously viewed game from the Masters Collection. When looking at a game of interest you can easily determine the game number in one of two ways. If you are looking at the actual gameboard the game number, (GameID), will appear at the end of the URL, in the address bar of your browser. If you are simply scrolling down a list of Masters games, then, as you roll the mouse over the Game Options box on the left of the table, the game number, (GameID), will appear in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

For example, if you were interested in the game Kasparov vs. Karpov, World Championship - Round 42, Moscow 1984, you could use the main filter options at the top of the Masters Collection page, or you could enter the player names and details in the default Game search box, as described above. However, if you had checked for the game number you would have found that the GameID=90600. So, in this case, simply enter 90600 as the search pattern and you will be taken directly to the game without any delay.

You can search the Masters Collection to find any game if you know the GameID. However, you need to be aware that with a constantly growing database these numbers are difficult to 'guess'. As the database is consolidated and anomalies and duplicates removed it is inevitable that gaps will appear between numbers and games may not necessarily appear in numerical order.

To make the search, make sure that you have checked the  Gane Number  option and then click the  Search  button.

Surname,Firstname

This is a convenient way to search for a specific player. Enter the names in the correct order, separated by a single comma (,). The names may be entered in either upper, lower or mixed case; any spaces entered before or after the comma (,) will be ignored.

The first name may be abbreviated if preferred but this will not give the most accurate results. For example, if you wished to find Michael Adams you could enter Adams,M but you will find Adams,Mark A, Adams Mark, Adams Mi, Adams Michael and most of these you would probably wish to omit. Better is to search for Adams,Michael which gives a direct result.

To make the search, make sure that you have checked the  Surname,Firstname  option and then click the  Search  button.

ECO Code

This is always of the form xnn where x is a letter between A and E and nn is a two digit number between 00 and 99. The letter may be entered as upper or lower case.

To make the search, make sure that you have checked the  ECO Code  option and then click the  Search  button.

PGN Game Score

This option allows you to paste a partial or full PGN score from a game for further analysis.

Copy the PGN score from an appropriate source and paste it into the box. If there are any line breaks in the code the search may, in some cases, be truncated; to ensure a good result, remove these before pasting.

This feature checks back through the game towards the starting point and can accurately recognise valid ECO positions, including transpositions.

For an illustrative example, copy and paste the following PGN score into the search box.

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Be2 b5 9. a3 Bb7 10. O-O Qb6 11. Kh1 O-O-O 12. a4 b4 13. a5 Qc7 14. Na4 c4 15. c3 b3 16. Nc5 Nxc5 17. dxc5 h6 18. f5 Be7 19. fxe6 fxe6 20. Nd4 Nxd4 21. cxd4 Bg5 22. Qd2 Qe7 23. Bg4 Bxe3 24. Qxe3 Rdf8 25. Qh3 Kd7 26. Rf3 Rxf3 27. Qxf3 Rf8 28. Qg3 g5 29. Bf3 Rf4 30. Ra4 Qf7 31. Rb4 Bc6 32. h3 Qf5 33. Rb6 Qb1+ 34. Kh2 Qxb2 35. Rxa6 Qxd4 36. Ra7+ Kc8 37. Ra6 Kb7 38. Rb6+ Kc7 39. a6 Qxc5 40. Rxc6+ Kxc6 41. Bg4 b2 42. Qe1 Rxg4 43. hxg4 Qb6 44. Qb1 c3 45. Qc2 d4 46. Qa4+ Kd5 47. a7 Qxa7 48. Qxa7 b1=Q 49. Qa5+ Ke4 50. Qa8+ Kd3 51. Qf8 Qe1 52. Qc5 Qe4 53. Qb5+ Kd2 54. Qa5 Qf4+ 55. Kh3 Qe3+ 56. g3 d3 57. Qa2+ c2 58. Qa5+ Kd1 59. Qe1+ Kxe1 60. Kg2 Qf2+ 61. Kh3 Qf1+ 62. Kh2 Qe2+

This will show how the Opening position evolved from B00, King's pawn at move 1 through to C11, French - Steinitz, Boleslavsky variation at move 7.

By clicking on the Opening name you will see the ChessWorld Position Search Statistics page with around 16 illustrations of the next move, described in terms of results for each colour. From this stage you can make detailed study of how the game can develop.

To make the search, make sure that you have checked the  PGN Game Score Code  option and then click the  Search  button.



This unique ChessWorld feature allows you to enter as many initial moves as you wish, by simply clicking on the appropriate piece and then clicking on the destination square. As the position on the board changes the informative comments in the right hand pane change to reflect the position. When you are satisfied that the position is correct, simply click the  Find Chess Games  button.

If the moves have been incorrectly entered you can click either the  Clear Last Move  or the  Clear Moves  button, whichever is more appropriate.

If you know the FEN position for the particular position that you are researching you can enter that directly in to the FEN position box; the board will be automatically configured after you click the  Apply FEN  button

Look for the row entitled Results style and tick the Hide Filter Header box, then click the  Find Chess Games  button just above that row. The screen will refresh and the search filter box will be hidden.

Simply click on the Show filters link at the top of the Game table.

To maintain an optimum service for all Members ChessWorld imposes this generous limit on all searches. It is extremely unlikely that any specific search would require more than 1000 results. If you find that this is an issue you should make greater use of the powerful search filter to specify your request more precisely.

Sometimes, when the criteria are not sufficiently detailed, the search process may time-out. This is not an fault with the site. A typical cause for such behaviour may be the fact that you attempted a search with insufficient depth.

For example, searches such as    1.e4 e5     ,    1.e4 c5     or    1.d4 f5,     may fail because of the overwhelming number of games that share these initial moves. If you add a little more depth to your search you will be able to avoid future problems.

When you click on this option you will be given a number of Quick pick links, which will direct you to some selected games. If you are willing to accept one of these, simply click on the link. Otherwise you can use the search box below and look for a Master of your own choice.

When you have made your selection you will be directed to the ChessWorld - Play like the Master page. The number of moves for the complete game is noted for your convenience at the top left of the screen.

There are a three links which you may use to position yourself in the game, either from the start, or by making a 'jump' forward 10 moves at a time. If you do choose to jump forward you can also use the option to jump back by 10 moves. The choice is yours to use at any time.

By default it is assumed that you will be playing as White; if you wish to change to Black you can do this by clicking the Switch sides link at the top of the page.

Depending upon your preference you can show the next move after 1, 2 or 3 attempts by selecting your choice at the lower right of the page. Once your limit has been reached two extra buttons will appear offering the choice between  Show next move  and  Show solution . Moves may be entered using the default setting of 'drag and drop' or you may prefer to use the normal ChessWorld method of clicking on the piece and then on the destination square.

To compare your performance with that of other Members who have attempted the same game click on the Statistics link at the top of the page. If you would prefer to keep your performance private then you can click the Remove from public view link at any time. If you do this you will be asked to confirm your action, which, once taken, cannot be reversed.

Use the Video annotated | Annotated link to visit the Chess Videos Forum. On that page you will see a list of all of the ChessWorld videos, from which you can select and view as many videos as you wish.

You may use either the Google™ option or the YouTube widget, at the top of the page, to make an instant choice, or you may prefer to use the simple search box to find a video of interest.

If you feel that you could make a contribution to ChessWorld videos for display on YouTube there are several helpful links provided.

Yes. Use the Great Game Kibitzing link. This page provides links to of all of the games that are being, or have been, kibitzed. You can judge the current activity by checking the number of posts, or you may wish to study and comment on a chosen game in your own time.

Many of the games on the list have been the subject of a ChessWorld video, indicated by a video Icon. If you wish to view the video, click on the game title - the video link will appear on the relevant page.

Use the World Champions link to view a list of World Champions since 1886. There is a separate list for Women World Champions since 1927.

For each of the Champions there is a link to all of their games in the Masters Collection and, in many cases, by clicking on a player name you will find biographical details or selected interesting games.

The ECO Navigator link provides a convenient way for you to explore Openings in various ways. For example, you can explore the most popular openings, on a year-by-year basis, for the past 100 years, or you can, if you so wish, explore Openings as far back as the 15th century. In those early years, of course, the information is limited, but as the years advance, so you will find more interesting information.

However you choose to navigate, you can click on an ECO code, say, for example B20, Sicilian Defence, and be taken to a refreshed version of the Masters Collection page which displays, at the top, a clickable list of some of the most popular exponents, and, further down the page, links to many similar games for your inspection.

The Player Directory gives a link to the Top 100 Most Active Masters page which can be searched in several ways. At the simplest level, just click on a chosen Master to be taken to a dedicated page. On that page you have the opportunity to explore the information for that Master in various ways. You could choose to see only the games played during a specific year, only games with White, or, of course, only with Black.

For an in-depth assessment of the Master, there are a number of extra links provided:

Overview Analysis | ECO Analysis | Recent Wins | Forums | Opponent Analysis | Tournament Analysis | Rating graph | Puzzles | Bookmarked Games | Annotated Games | Books | Bio

The Overview Analysis link appears on all of the pages and is a convenient way to return to the dedicated Master page. Most of the other links are self-explanatory but of particular interest are the following.

Recent wins provides a convenient way to explore the Masters recent performance by using the ChessWorld play through feature.

Forums provides a convenient way to find and explore any related posts to any of the ChessWorld Chess Forums.

Opponent Analysis provides a convenient way to find games against a specific opponent. If you click on the number of games played the games are listed on a refreshed Masters Collection page; if you click on the View link you will find a list of recent wins, by color, against the chosen opponent.

Bookmarked games shows details when a Member has bookmarked one or more games of the chosen Master.

Whilst all of these links appear on every page selected, it is possible that not all of the pages may contain information, depending upon both the activity of the chosen Master and the content of the Master Collection. If you find any omissions that you are able to rectify, please contact the HelpDesk with relevant details.

Click on the FIDE Players A-Z link. The initial display provides an easy way to select any player group, alphabetically, by clicking the appropriate letter. If you wish to speed the search and you know the first two letters of the name simply click the appropriate letter combination.

The display always defaults to show FIDE Title holders but you can select all current FIDE players by clicking the All players link at the top of the page. If you need to find a different group of players you may either click on the appropriate letter in the links above the table, or use the Back to A-Z link to access the easy navigator.

When you have located a player you can access all of their games in the Masters Collection by clicking on their name. This will show a refreshed Masters Collection page with all of their games, both as White and as Black. If you wish to know more about their current, or latest, FIDE performance click the FIDE card link.

Yes. Click on the Recent FIDE list link and you will see a list of the FIDE Top 100 players. This list is updated from time to time and includes Ranking, Country and Rating.

Yes. If you want to select a specific year click on the Year Navigator link and find the year that you wish to explore. When you visit the page you will see that each year has a note of the number of games currently available in the Masters Collection. In the earlier years there are often only a few games available. The fact they have survived for so long may be a good indication that the quality is high!

In the nineteenth century you will find references to various important, sometimes unofficial, Tournaments where there are a number of high quality games available.

From the twentieth century onwards, of course, there are hundreds of games available for every year.

After you click on a year you will be presented with a list of all Tournaments, listed by date and location. If the list is too long you can narrow it down by using the selector at the top of the screen to specify your preferred minimum number of games.

After you choose a Tournament you will see a refreshed version of the Masters Collection screen showing all available games. At the top of the screen there will be some useful statistical information, ordering contestants by ranking, or by score and so on. The various choices are self explanatory and provide you with a detailed insight into the chosen event.

Yes. The Masters A - Z link provides an alphabetically based list which allows you to easily look up FIDE Rating history, based upon the data stored in the Masters Collection, or check information from the official FIDE page.

You can change the display to show different minimum game numbers and rearrange the information in different orders, depending upon the particular information you wish to adjust. To change the display order simply click on the up, or down, arrow at the head of the appropriate column.

Yes. The Masters Collection holds extensive records and from the Tournaments link you can easily choose a particular Master and then choose the Tournament that you wish to study.

You can specify the minimum number of games played in a Tournament to simplify your search; the default is 20, but you may choose from 1 to 1000! If you choose the lowest value you will see all of the Tournaments but you may find that this list is too long.

To find a Tournament, use the simple alphabetic selector at the top of the page by clicking on the appropriate initial letter. If you wish to rapidly narrow down your search you can use the more detailed, multi-letter search bar which, successively, offers two, three and four letter focus. You should be aware that some of the letter combinations will not return a result.

After you click on a year you will be presented with a list of all Tournaments, listed by date and location. If the list is too long you can narrow it down by using the selector at the top of the screen to specify your preferred minimum number of games.

After you choose a Tournament you will see a refreshed version of the Masters Collection screen showing all available games. At the top of the screen there will be some useful statistical information, ordering contestants by ranking, or by score and so on. The various choices are self explanatory and provide you with a detailed insight into the chosen event.

If you just want to see a list of Tournaments for the current year, click on the Latest Tournaments link for a list of all relevant Tournaments. You may find this a more convenient way to locate details of current Tournaments, rather than navigating via the Year link, but, whatever method you use, you will find the same information.

Simply click on the Brilliancies link and you will see a refreshed Masters Collection page showing all of the games within the Collection that were awarded Brilliancy Prizes over the past century. These games are particularly instructive and you may wish to simply study them or attempt to play through them in style of one of the Masters.

You should be aware that if you make use of the search filter at the top of the page, after opening this page, you will lose the initial list of games; to return to the list of Brilliancy games click on the Masters Collection link and then the Brilliancies link.

Yes, if you feel that you would be able to provide a helpful and instructive insight into one of these games we would welcome your contribution. Rather than simply choose a game to annotate you may prefer to click the Annotation request link and choose a game from the list provided. All of these games have been viewed by Members who felt that their understanding would be improved by a suitable annotation.

To create your annotation, simply click the Annotate link next to the game of your choice. You will see the board displayed on a new screen showing the ChessWorld annotation area. The use of the annotation feature is discussed in the Annotations section of this FAQ, above.

If your ChessWorld rating is below 1900 the Annotate link is not available.

Simply click the Latest Annotated Positions link, which will direct you to a list of games identified by the Opening name, where appropriate, and by the opening moves. In many cases, several variations have been annotated. You can access any of these games by clicking on the PGN link, when you will be directed to a refreshed Master Collection page with the relevant games listed.

These selections are provided for your convenience, so that you can easily select from high level games or from some of the classic Masters. Whichever you choose, you can either play through the games or you can take the challenge of trying to play like the chosen Master.

Once you have completed a game, that game will no longer appear on your Quick list so you may feel that this is convenient way to work your way through a succession of games over a period of time without the inconvenience of keeping a separate note of games attempted.

For convenience there are two links provided which will direct you to one of two pages.

The Custom Collection link directs you to a page listing various categories of Master Game collections that have been constructed by Members. You may find that these games have been selected to illustrate a particular theme; as such, they may provide you with a useful starting point in your own studies.

The Tag Game Collections link directs you to a page listing games identified by 'tags' chosen by Members to illustrate particular themes. This is a convenient means to quickly select a theme of interest so that you can study related games without the need to carry out a detailed, and sometimes time consuming, search of the Masters Collection.

This link provides you with an convenient means to select, and study, games with specific combinations of pieces.

You may enter the designated pieces manually, in descending order of value - Q R B N P, in the White pieces and Black pieces boxes. Enter the pieces for White in uppercase, (for example, 2R+1B) and lowercase for Black, (for example, 2r+1b). There is no need to enter either K or k as the correct symbol is added automatically to your input.

Alternatively, you may prefer to use the pre-selected choices available in the Select from below boxes, where you will find almost 70 combinations, together with their relative frequency.

Whichever method you choose for inputting the pieces, remember that you must specify pieces for both White and Black.

If you prefer to study how a particular Master played with a specific combination of pieces you can choose from the Select White or Select Black drop down list. It is possible that your chosen Master may not have played a game with your chosen pieces, so that no results will be returned. In such cases you should chose another combination of pieces and/or another Master.

Learning is never easy, but to gain some helpful insights, ChessWorld has produced a series of Instructional videos, based on some of the best games in the Masters Collection. In addition, a number of games in the Masters Collection have been annotated.

To access any of these games, click the Most Instructive Masters link. This takes you direct to a page listing selected Masters chosen on the basis of their playing style and insight. These games, we believe, can be most instructive in helping you to improve your Chess.

Each list is ordered based upon the number of instructive game videos, or annotations, that are currently available; the list may, therefore, change from time to time.

To view any of the videos, select your chosen Master to show the relevant Homepage, which will display up to three video clips. If there are more than three videos available the extra ones can be accessed by clicking one of the links immediately below the display area. Any one of these videos will be helpful to you: all have been produced with the clear intention to provide helpful and constructive comments. This page also provides an overview of games ordered by year, and by colour played.

To view any of the annotations, select your chosen Master to show the relevant Homepage, which will display up to three video clips and, below, a listing of any annotated game(s). Each of these may be selected and, as an aid to selection a brief introduction by the Annotator is shown.

Simply select your chosen Player from the Masters Collection, using any of the available methods, and then visit their Homepage. On that page you will be able to choose between two links: White vs Champions, and Black vs Champions.

Whichever you choose will display any relevant games, in descending date order, highlighting any games where your chosen player beat the World Champion. You may click on any of the listed games and play through them move by move.

Yes. Go to any players Homepage and you will find two relevant links: White Upsets and Black Upsets

Click on either of these and, if the chosen player achieved an outstanding result, you will see a detailed list ordered in descending rating difference. Typically, the selection is based upon a difference of 50 FIDE rating points or more.

This link is provided for your convenience. Whenever you click this link you are returned to the default Masters Collection page. This is particularly useful if you have visited one of the specialised, pre-filtered, pages, such as Brilliancies and so on.

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PGN files

To export a game in PGN format from ChessWorld simply use the  Export Game PGN  button on the appropriate game page. This will then present the complete PGN version of the game, including the relevant player and game details, on a separate screen.

You can then copy and paste this complete text into any word-processor. For simplicity, however, we recommend a simple text processor such as Notepad or one of the many similar utilities that are freely available on the Internet. Once the game details have been pasted, save them in the basic text format. Make sure that the name you choose is suitable for your purposes and includes the PGN extension. Once you have done that, enclose that name in double quotation marks, and, to ensure the correct format, add the usual .txt extension. For example,    "My best game.pgn".txt    Save the file to your chosen location, where the filename will appear as    'My best game.pgn'.

If you wish to export the PGN score from completed games there are alternative methods available.

Visit your current game board and enter the number of the relevant game in the Goto Game box. When the chosen game is displayed follow the procedure outlined above.

Visit the Play ... Completed Games page and locate the game there. When you have located the game simply click on the PGN link at the right of the display and follow the procedures outlined above. Be aware that you may have many pages of games so it may take a little time to locate the specific game in which you are interested.

Visit the My Stuff ... My Games page and locate the games from the appropriate results page.  Be aware that your display may show many games!

** Visit the My Stuff ... My Games page and click on the Export link displayed by the appropriate choice from one of the various sections.

** Visit the  My Stuff ... My Games page and click on the Export games as PGN link displayed at the top of the page.

** Be aware that if you have played a large number of games these options may make significant demands on our server and, in exceptional cases, may fail. In such cases you should consider an alternative course of action.

Once you have successfully saved an exported PGN game you can freely import the file into any popular Chess application. For example, if you are using ChessBase, in any of its versions, simply locate the file and double click on it. The program will open and the game will be imported, ready for you to analyse or play through.

To import a game in PGN format into another chess program, for example Fritz *, the following procedure is recommended. Locate the game and 'copy' the full text to temporarily store the details on the clipboard. In Fritz, go to Edit / Paste and then click on Paste Game. The game will appear on the Fritz screen and the full range of Fritz facilities will be available.

* You should be aware that the use of any Chess Engine to assist in evaluating, or analysing, a game in progress is in contravention of the site rules. For a full statement on external assistance when playing games on ChessWorld, please refer to our Terms and Conditions.

Yes. Using ChessBase, for example, select the game and then, via Edit ... Copy, click on either Copy Game or Copy Position. This will place the data on the clipboard. It is then a simple matter to paste this into your message post.

In some software you may find an equivalent link such as Copy notation to clipboard or similar.

To prepare a game for use as a 'playable' game make sure that it is in PGN format and is shorter than approximately 1950 characters in length and enclosed with [[ and ]]. For example, the following posted into the forum would be a replayable game:
    [[1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4]]

Provided that this minor restriction is observed, any playable game can contain annotations and comments as long as they are presented in the universal PGN format, that is, enclosed within { and }. If the posting is too long, although it will appear to have been successfully published, the game will either fail to be accessible, or will be truncated when viewed. As an approximate guide a game of some 200 plies, 100 lines, with no comments, would be equivalent to around 300 words, (approximately 1700 characters), overall.

This is a means to start a discussion thread in a forum and invite comments. This function is only available as the first post in a thread. It is not possible to insert further requests within an existing thread.

Select, or provide, a game in standard PGN format. Highlight and copy the game component only, that is, no header information, and then paste into your post, enclosing the details in [[[ ]]]. For example,
    [[[1. e2-e4 c7-c5 2. Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6 3. d2-d4 cxd4 4. Nf3xd4 0-1]]]

This procedure will present the game on screen with an empty 'comment box' immediately above your initial post. Any further comments, after being entered in the 'comment box' and submitted, will be added below, with the latest comment always appearing first.

When posting a game for comment, the preferred style of message header is, for ChessWorld games, Game # - Comments Welcome or, for published games, Kasparov-Weinstein - Comments Welcome.

A concise definition of PGN notation can be viewed at Wiki PGN Notation explained If you wish to explore the subject further, more detailed, information is available at this page

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BookFinder

When you use the BookFinder you can search the Amazon.com site for the particular text, or author. When you have located the required book click on it and you will be taken to a page offering you a Private Notepad for any personal notes that you may wish to make. In addition, when you select your location by clicking on the relevant country flag a new window will open at the relevant Amazon site showing availability and price in your local currency.

To search for a specific author or title enter a suitable 'keyword' in the search box at the top of the page and then press the  Find Books  button.

If you want to carry out a more refined search the procedure is quite simple. For example, to find books on 'openings' that are authored by either Schiller independently or by Schiller in cooperation with Keene, you could proceed as follows. This could be carried out as one operation, (see below), or in three stages.

Using the separate stages approach, first enter the word 'openings' in the search box and click on  Find Books . You will presented with the range of books from Amazon that match that criteria.

To narrow it down to the name 'schiller', return to the search box, and, before entering the name, make sure that you either leave a space after your first keyword, or use a + sign, with no spaces. Enter schiller and a shorter list of books authored by Schiller will appear. To narrow the search down even further, leave the content of the search box intact, leave a space, or type a +, then enter keene.

This time the list will be even shorter and will only contain books that meet your specific criteria.

It is easy to build up any combination of search criteria as long as every keyword is separated by either a single space or by a single '+' sign. For example, you could enter openings schiller keene or openings+schiller+keene. This is the conventional manner in which many popular search engines function. The use of correct capitalization is not essential unless you wish to make a more precisely defined and specific search.

You should be aware that, by default, BookFinder always opens at the Amazon.com site. The availability of books may vary on different Amazon sites, reflecting the different priorities on each of their sites.
     ***     Amazon functionality and features are used by permission and are not controlled by ChessWorld     ***

To write a book review, search for, and select, the book from the BookFinder list, and click the  Review this book  button, when you will be directed to the Chess Book Reviewers Forum. This forum is provided for you to prepare your posting; as the process may be time consuming, there is no limit on the number of times you can make additions or correct errors. It is possible for other Members to view your 'work in progress' but they cannot post to this forum.

When you are satisfied with your comments, remove the initial information that appeared at the top of the page, that is, everything above, and including, the row of '  ====== ...  ' signs. Once you have done that, press  Post message  and your review will appear in the Chess Books Forum, where Members may more easily access it and, if they so wish, post comments.

Be aware that there is a limit on the length of an individual posting to a forum. Please refer to Q. What length restrictions are there on Message and Forum posts? in the General - Miscellaneous FAQ for further information.

To request a review, select the book, either from the list of books that you own on your homepage, or from the list displayed by pressing the Member books owned link. In either case click on the  Request  button

Use the BookFinder feature to list books from the Amazon site. Search the list for your chosen book and then click on the Click HERE link below the Buy options, (International sites), selector. If you add a book that you later wish to remove, go to your Homepage and find the chosen book on the list of books. Click on the Remove link in the right hand column and the entry will be removed.

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Spreadsheets

This section is intended to provide specific guidance on the use and manipulation of spreadsheets and separated variable text files provided by ChessWorld. If you require a more general introduction to the use of spreadsheets you should refer to information that may be provided by your supplier or computer manufacturer.

ChessWorld offers this advice in good faith and can take no responsibility for any errors or mistakes that you may make!

So that we can provide a reliable process for all Members we recommend the use of Google Docs. This is a powerful tool available at no cost to the user. Members holding a Google account, for example Gmail, have instant access; other Members should visit the Google Docs home page to open a free account.

ChessWorld preconfigured spreadsheets are exported in Google Docs format. ChessWorld also provides exports of selected separated variable text files, which may be imported into any current spreadsheet software. However, to be assured that full functionality is maintained we suggest that you also use Google Docs spreadsheets for handling ChessWorld data.

ChessWorld cannot provide support or technical guidance for handling ChessWorld data using any other spreadsheet software.

Yes. Preconfigured Google Docs spreadsheets are available for certain data, for example, information relevant to annotated ChessWorld and Master Games as well as a global index to our unique series of YouTube videos.

It is also possible to export personal game records in a separated variable text file format so that Members may import data into their own spreadsheets for further manipulation.

When you first download a preconfigured spreadsheet it is still 'owned' by ChessWorld; you can view the content but you cannot manipulate it in any way.

Before you can work with the spreadsheet you have to 'own' it. You can do this making your own copy; click File and then click Make a copy.

If you find that the Make a copy command is greyed out you will need to sign in, using the link at the top right of the spreadsheet screen, or open an account, as described above.

When the Copy Document screen appears enter an appropriate filename. We do not recommend using the default filename which will appear as something similar to Copy of ... as this may lead to confusion in the future as you continue to use this ChessWorld feature. Once you have entered an appropriate filename press OK when the screen will refresh. All of the menu items will then be available to you. Your copy will be saved automatically by Google and remain available when you next log in to Google Docs.

You can check a list of all Google documents owned, or viewed, by you by clicking on  Documents  in the toolbar at the top of the spreadsheet window. The page will show a list of all spreadsheets, and other Google documents, created or viewed by you with details of the date or time when the document was last edited by you. To delete any file simply check the box at the left hand end of the row and then click the 'bin' icon at the top of the page.

You can rearrange the sheet in any way that you wish by sorting the data in any individual column. Mouse over the column header and click on the arrow icon that appears to the right of the header box. Select and click on whichever sorting option you wish; depending upon the size of the spreadsheet, (number of rows). the sorting process may take a few moments. When complete the page will be arranged in your preferred order.

In ChessWorld preconfigured spreadsheets the first two rows are fixed, frozen, so that they do not scroll off screen and, to improve readability, the cells in those rows have been merged. Before you can rearrange the spreadsheet these two settings need to be temporarily changed as follows.

To unmerge the cells. Select the first row to be unmerged and then select Edit ... Merge cells; click on this link and select the Unmerge option. Repeat the operation for any other merged row.

To unfreeze rows. Select the first row to unfreeze and then select View ... Freeze rows; click on this link and select the No frozen rows option. This process will unfreeze any other frozen rows.

You can then rearrange the columns as you wish. If you later wish to restore the frozen and merged cells simply follow the above steps and choose the relevant options.

To move a column left or right, select the column by clicking on the column header and then select Edit ... Move column left, or Edit ... Move column right. This will move the column by one place in the chosen direction. For greater movement repeat this process. A more convenient method would be to place the mouse over the header and, holding the left key depressed, drag the column to the required position.

Yes. Select the required column and then select Edit ... Delete column 'x', where 'x' is the label of the chosen column. Alternatively, click on the column header and then click on the arrow icon that appears on the right, and select Delete.

Full Members are able to use all hyperlinks, but limitations apply to Guest Members.

Hyperlinks in our preconfigured and separated variable text files are prefixed with with a specific domain name. To activate these links you must be logged in to www.ChessWorld.net; they will not work if you are currently logged into www.letsplaychess.com or any of our other domains.

Be aware that if you choose to use any of our our data which includes hyperlinks in other spreadsheets you may need to use specific formatting techniques to achieve full functionality. For example, in Excel, this can be achieved by the use of macros; however a discussion of this topic is beyond the scope of this article.

This is explained fully in the entry below.

Our specially configured separated variable text files are in a format that can be read by any standard spreadsheet. The content consists of the relevant column headers, usually reflecting the equivalent header on the ChessWorld page, with the rows of data appended below.

All spreadsheet import files need to be provided with a suitable means to separate each item of data in any given row. Conventionally, such separators are either commas, (*.csv files), a tab, a space or a user-defined 'custom' character. As many items of data within ChessWorld make use of these conventional characters we use the 'pipe' character as a separator. This is infrequently used in practice and does not affect the integrity of our data.

The 'pipe' character, |, usually appears on the same key as the backslash, \ , on UK and US keyboards. Take care not to confuse the 'pipe' character with the 'half-pipe' or 'broken bar' character, ¦ , which usually appears on a combined key next to the '1', (one), key, which can be produced by holding down the  Alt Gr  key

Click on the Export ... link to see a copy of the separated variable text file. Depending upon the amount of data involved in the particular transaction this may take a few moments. When the separated variable text file has been completed use the normal 'copy and paste' process to make and keep a copy on your own computer. (If you are unsure of the process please refer to Q. How can I Copy and Paste? in the Computer section of our General FAQ's.)

We suggest that you use a meaningful name for the file, for example, mydata.text.

Open a new Google Docs spreadsheet and click on File ... Import. You will then be presented with an Import file page. Use the  Browse  button to locate your saved file and open that; you should see the filename details appear in the Upload file box. At this stage you should also see an initial view of the file displayed in the first column of the preview spreadsheet.

You then need to define the appropriate Import action. In this example you are creating a new spreadsheet so the correct button, Create new spreadsheet, should already be checked. Next, go to the Separator character section and check the Custom option. Enter the 'pipe', | , symbol in the box below. Before you proceed check the appearance of the new spreadsheet in the Preview window; if this is correct, with the data separated into the appropriate columns, press Import. If the appearance seems incorrect check your selections and try again.

Depending upon the amount of data, this may take a little time; when the import has been completed click on the Open now link, which appears below the  Browse  button.

You may now use your new spreadsheet!

Rather than completely reloading your original data plus any newer material you may prefer to simply add the new material your existing spreadsheet. This process is quite straightforward but will require you to proceed in stages.

Step 1. Use the Export ... process to obtain the data, as described above. If the resulting separated variable file contains content that you do not wish to add to your spreadsheet, you can easily removes the relevant material from your local copy of the separated variable file before you continue to the next step.

Step 2. Import the new content using the process, as described above, making sure that you change the Import file action from Create new spreadsheet to Append rows to current sheet. Once the import process has been completed you should see the new rows added, appended, to the bottom of your existing spreadsheet. You may prefer to keep them in that position but it is more likely that you will wish to move them to the top of the spreadsheet.

Step 3. Insert extra rows at the top of the spreadsheet; make sure that you insert enough rows to cater for the number of new rows that you have imported. We suggest that you also add two or three extra rows as a safeguard against errors at this stage.

Step 4. Select the new rows at the bottom of your spreadsheet and 'cut' them. Move up to the top of the spreadsheet and then, after positioning the cursor in the first cell of the top row, simply 'paste' them. The new rows should now be where you required them and no longer appear at the bottom of the sheet. Be aware that if you inadvertently created too few rows the 'paste' process will overwrite as many rows as are needed, meaning that you will lose some of your original data. However, if you followed the advice above you should see several blank rows separating the new content from the original content; once you are satisfied with the result, delete the empty rows.

You may now manipulate your revised spreadsheet as you wish!

Much of the information that is exported from ChessWorld, either as a preconfigured spreadsheet or as a separated variable text file, contains numerical data that is easy to convert to a graphical representation. This process can help make numerical content much easier to understand and may be particularly helpful in the case of dealing with a personal rating history.

Once you have opened your spreadsheet select the first column that you wish to show graphically by clicking on the column header. Then select Insert ... Chart. A new screen will be displayed showing the graphical representation of your chosen column. Click on the graph icon at the end of the Data - selected ranges box. If you wish to add another column click on Add another range, return to your spreadsheet and click on the appropriate column, otherwise simply click on  OK .

You can choose which particular graph style you wish but for, say, personal rating, we recommend using a line chart. When you visit the  Charts  tab you can try any of the styles available and click on the thumbnail display which best matches your requirements. The preview screen will refresh automatically.

The  Customise  tab will allow you to choose a suitable combination of line and background colors to provide a pleasing display. We suggest that you also give your chart a suitable title, otherwise the default label of Chart 'n', where 'n' will be a number, will be applied, leading to possible confusion in the future.

When you are satisifed with your layout press  Insert 

The chart will initially be displayed as an overlay on your spreadsheet which may not be the effect you require. We suggest that charts generally look better, and can be displayed to a larger size, by placing them in their own window. To do this, click on the chart and then click on the chart name at the top left of the chart area. Finally, select Move to own sheet.

Once you have mastered the basics of chart creation and presentation you should be able to refine your skills quite easily as the Google Docs spreadsheets are quite intuitive in use.

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Miscellaneous

On ChessWorld a tag is intended as a convenient way to identify various components of a game or games. Typically they may be considered as keywords, or, if you are familiar with Gmail, (Googlemail), labels which help you to make the process of finding similar games much easier.

ChessWorld encourages Members to tag games, drawn from the Masters Collection, which are of interest to them, and potentially to other Members.

Yes. Although you are free to create your own tag names, in the interests of all Members we do ask you to check if a suitable tag name has already been created. To do this, visit the Masters Collection and click on the Tag Games Collections link.

The display will default to show the Recommended Tags list, but you may wish to try some of the other options. Check the lists carefully and you will probably see one or more tags that are suitable for you to use. In this case, of course, all you need do is enter the same tag name into the input box on the game that you are studying. If you cannot find a suitable, existing, tag name then you may create one that is appropriate for your purpose. You should be careful to use the recognised spelling in all cases, otherwise it is likely that no one else will ever see, or appreciate, your efforts.

ChessWorld expects you to respect other Members and refrain from entering irrelevant or frivolous tag names. In the event that you should fail to observe this convention we reserve the right to take any appropriate action, at our absolute discretion and without prior notice.

The process is quite simple. Locate a suitable game, say from the Masters Collection, and click on the Play through link. At the top of the play page click on the Show tags link: this will show an extra dialog in the upper left of the screen, allowing you to makes several selections.

List own tags     simply shows you lists of Tags applied to this game so far from yourself  and  All tags you have applied in the past not used in this game yet.  The content of these lists will be dependent upon your previous activity.

List all Member tags     adds a further list of Tags applied to this game so far from all members. The content of this list will be dependent upon the activity of other Members for the specific game that you have chosen.

You can either reuse one of your existing tags or create a new tag in the input box, and then clicking the Add tag link. After adding the tag the input box will clear and your tag will appear on the Tags applied to this game so far from yourself list.

If you want to remove the tag, or any other tags applied to the game, click on the tag name in your list. When it appears in the input box simply click on the Remove tag link.

This unique ChessWorld Icon is normally awarded to Members who have made several significant suggestions, which have been later incorporated in the ChessWorld page(s).

We also award the Icon to those Members who have made helpful and potentially useful suggestions even though they may not be incorporated in any ChessWorld page(s) at the present time.

The game page Icon can only be awarded by the WebMaster after due and careful consideration, which may also include consultation with members of the Admin team.

ChessWorld welcomes contributions to the Site Suggestions Forum at any time. Suggestions should be relevant, or intended to improve or add features to ChessWorld. Every suggestion is carefully considered and we welcome constructive discussion in all threads. In many cases either the WebMaster or a member of the Admin team will add comments to guide or inform the discussion.

The Icon may also be awarded by Members to one another using the ChessWorld goodie page, but in this case the goodie is not intended to recognise suggestions nor is it visible to the general membership.

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