ChessWorld - Chess FAQ's

There are lots of advantages of web-based correspondence chess, which are illustrated in our introduction to this type of chess.

Go to the Join Games menu, and select one of the options available. The two main options available to all Members are: Suggest Opponent and Suggest Variety.

Full Members may also send out individual invitations to other Members by using any of the 'Invitation' links that appear on every Homepage. If the other Member has opted to turn off any, or all, of these by visiting My Stuff ... My Email, they will show Invitation off and you will not be able to send an invite.

Guest Members may invite their Welcomer for further games but they cannot send invites to other Members.

All Members may send unlimited invites by Email, via Join Games ... Invite your Friends, to any family, friends or colleagues who have not already been registered as Members of ChessWorld.

Your opponent may not be online at the same time as you. This is the beauty of web-based correspondence chess – you can play people from all around the world, at any time of day. They are notified by Email when you play a move against them and they can respond whenever they next log in.

You can easily play several games at the same time, or, if you only want to play one game, then you can just logout after moving and we will Email you when your opponent replies.

However, if you want to enjoy the pleasures of regular challenges, we suggest that you start up a few games to make sure of having committed opponents!

If you only choose one opponent who is not very committed to the game, you may have to wait a long time for them to respond – and some may lose interest altogether.

Therefore it is best to choose a variety of opponents to make sure that you get some active games.

Web-based correspondence chess makes it very easy to play multiple games at the same time.

You need to make sure you are logging in to the site via www.letsplaychess.com or www.chessworld.net without any extra URL information attached.

It is likely that you have bookmarked a page or are using a URL like:
http://www.letsplaychess.com/chessclubs/asplogin.asp?chessgame_number_cam=nnnnnnn
where nnnnnnn is the game number. To avoid the old game coming back, use either www.letsplaychess.com or www.chessworld.net as your bookmark.

If all of your current games are awaiting moves by your opponents, the last game board you visited will be displayed on screen.

You need to clear your Temporary Internet Files regularly — for example, on a weekly basis. See Q. How do I clear my Temporary Internet Files? in the Computer section of the General FAQs for full details.

In exceptional circumstances, Admin may reinstate your game(s). In such cases, contact the HelpDesk with the game number(s) and any relevant details. You must also ask your opponent to confirm to us that they agree with your request.

A game cannot be reinstated without your opponent's explicit agreement.

To avoid disappointment, take care! Always observe time limits and check your move before clicking the Confirm button.

If you haven't configured your screen to show the Confirm button, take extra care! For help with this, see the Preferences FAQ.

No, not in a normal game. However, in the special case of Coaching Games, the Coach has the ability to take back a move — solely at their discretion.

This special feature applies only to Coaching Games. In all other cases, ChessWorld follows the rules of conventional chess.

The board will automatically recognize checkmate. The Claim Win button will appear if your opponent has not moved within the time limit. This button will not appear while your opponent is on holiday, even though the clock continues to count. As soon as the holiday ends, the Claim Win button will appear if the time limit has been exceeded.

If your opponent does not move and you do not claim the game, it will eventually be marked as T-T, which means Game Abandoned. See What are Fixed Time Limits and how do they work? for more info.

If you want to monitor your opponent’s response time, note that as soon as you make a move, their clock starts and expires in whole days from that time. For example, a move at 18:00 will expire at 18:00 one or more days later, depending on the time limit. Logging in at the same time daily can make it easy to track progress.

Once a game exceeds the time limit, it’s your choice whether to claim immediately or give more time. The decision is entirely yours. Just remember: if the game is classed as T-T, you lose rating points and game points you might otherwise gain.

Some players hesitate to claim wins on time, feeling it’s unfair. But winning on time is fully valid — just like checkmating or winning by resignation.

Depending on the game state, you may offer a draw or claim one on your move. Use the Draw button on the right side of the game board. For details, refer to Q. What does the 'Draw' button do? in the Game Board section of the General FAQs.

For authoritative rules, see the FIDE Official Rules. ChessWorld applies these rules where applicable to online play.

If your opponent offers a draw, you’ll receive an email if you've enabled the setting under My Stuff ... My Email. You will also see a pop-up on the game board.

Draw offer message (in pop-up):
Your opponent has offered you a draw. If you play a move on this board, it will be treated as declining the draw. To accept, use the Accept Draw button after closing this pop-up window.

You may also decline the draw by clicking the Decline Draw button.

When your opponent offers a draw, you’ll receive an email notification if you've enabled it in your settings: My Stuff ... My Email. You will also see a pop-up on the game board that says:

Your opponent has offered you a draw. If you play a move on this board, it will be treated as declining the draw. To accept the draw, please use the Accept Draw button after closing this pop-up window.

After closing the pop-up, there is no record of the offer on the game page. However, you will see two new buttons on the right side: Accept Draw Offer and Decline Draw Offer.

Consider carefully: once you make a move, the offer is withdrawn.

If you continue the game, you may wish to note the move number for reference. It may also be courteous to message your opponent if declining.

ChessWorld offers several Analysis Board options via My Stuff ... My Interface. These boards provide different features and visual styles to suit personal preferences.

We recommend using:

• Browser neutral – click and click pieces with move history
• Browser neutral – click and click pieces with move history. Captured pieces not displayed by default

These options offer the best performance across modern browsers.

Please note: The older Internet Explorer-only analysis boards are not compatible with current versions of Internet Explorer.

Yes, with our browser-neutral board options, there are many configuration possibilities:

• Hide or show rank and file coordinates by clicking the small square at the bottom-right of the board.
• Flip the board using the Flip button (if available) or by double-clicking the rank numbers on the left.
• Toggle move animation by clicking the file letters below the board or using the "drag and drop" checkbox.
• Select move playback speed (Fast, Medium, Slow) when using the Play option.
• Choose between "drag and drop" and "click and click" by toggling the checkbox or clicking the file letters.
• Navigate using arrow keys or the control buttons below the board.
• Copy the displayed FEN string for the current position for external use.
• Use Stem New Analysis Board to explore variations in multiple windows.

To save variations for later study:

1. Ensure you're on the current position.
2. Click the ... button in the Store variation notes section to open a popup.
3. Play alternative moves; the last move will be shown below the board.
4. Click OK to finalize, then return to the main board.
5. Click Make Note to save the line with a date and time stamp.
6. Click a saved variation to revisit its starting position; use navigation buttons to reach its final state.

For printing:

• Use the Printer friendly Page option for a plain background.
• If printing with color, ensure your browser allows printing of background colors and images.
• See Q. How can I print the board to show the pieces and the playing area? for more help.

If you are using the Browser neutral – click and click pieces with move history board, the Flip button is always available.

For other board types, use the Stem New Analysis Board option to access the Flip feature.

No! Full Members may play an unlimited number of games.

Guest Members can play as many unrated games as they like. However, there may be limits—subject to change—on the number of rated games allowed (excluding Welcoming Tournament games).

Important: Players taking on large numbers of games must still respect time limits. If you fail to move within the limit, your opponents may claim the game(s).

Refer to the Play ... My Current Games page. The Summary view gives a clear indication of the time of the last move. The Detailed view provides additional game information.

This could happen when you join a new Tournament and you are playing White. We do not send email messages to advise that All-play-All Tournaments have started.

We suggest that you check the Tournament cross-table via My Stuff ... My Tournaments to review current enrolment. When enrolment is complete, you will see details of every game that you are playing in that Tournament.

Other ways to check your game load include:

• Visit Play ... My Current Games and set Order current games by to Your turn and least time left.
• On your game page, if moves are awaited, you will see: 'n' Boards await your move (where 'n' is the number of games), above the PrevListNext buttons on the right-hand side.

First, try to complete as many games as you can!

Then, we suggest you resign remaining games rather than letting them time out. If resigning more than 20 games, please do so in stages to minimize impact on the ratings system for others.

Allowing games to time out is your choice, but we monitor game results routinely. Large sequences of timeouts may cause your account to be flagged as a sandbagger. See Why have I been marked as a sandbagger? below.

If there are exceptional circumstances, please contact the HelpDesk. However, managing your game load is your responsibility.

A sandbagger is someone who deliberately loses games to reduce their rating for unfair advantage in lower-rated Tournaments.

This can happen through:

• Resigning multiple games, regardless of position.
• Allowing multiple games to time out, in batches or slowly over time.
• Taking on too many games and failing to manage the load, leading to many timeouts.

We monitor all results with software to detect these patterns. If identified, you may be flagged as a sandbagger, which restricts Tournament and Simul participation.

We also display a special icon on your homepage. To lift restrictions, we expect you to complete around 50–80 games without timeouts and possibly reduce your game load.

Further restrictions may include limiting the number of games you can create or pushing open invitations to the bottom of join lists.

If you believe you've been unfairly flagged, check your Rating Graph via your homepage or My Stuff ... My Rating. Timed-out games are shown with blue bars.

If, after reviewing, you feel unfairly flagged, contact the HelpDesk with relevant information or mitigating circumstances.

No! You are solely responsible for your game load. Resetting your record would unfairly impact opponents’ records, which would be unacceptable.

ChessWorld always acts in the best interests of all of its Members.

If you have too many games to play, it's possible you inadvertently created too many when visiting the Join Games ... Create New Games page.

Visit the Join Games ... Search by Quick List page. If you have any pending games, a Check Own Games link will appear at the top. Click this link to view all currently waiting games. For any of them, you may click the Cancel this pending game link to remove it.

You cannot remove a game once it has started.

The number of games you are committed to is always a result of your own actions. Creating games or accepting tournament invites commits you to that game load.

ChessWorld does not, and indeed cannot, impose games on any Member.

When you use Create New Games or the Create Games link on the Search by Quick List page, you can specify game settings in detail.

Once you've confirmed all values, click the  Start New Games  button. You'll be shown an informative page with a link: Check own games - and cancel if you wish before they get paired.

Clicking that lets you verify all details. You’ll see the message: You have 'n' waiting games (where 'n' is the number). If needed, scroll to each game and use Cancel this pending game to remove any.

You cannot cancel a game once it has been paired.

Sometimes, when a Tournament fills up, remaining accepted invitations are added to a waitlist. Periodically, we check this list and, when appropriate, place Members into Welcoming Tournaments.

If you accepted an invite recently, we assume you have no objection to being added to a similar Tournament. This process is always monitored. We check both playing and site history and try to avoid overloading any Member.

ChessWorld does not, and indeed, cannot, arbitrarily enter any Member into a Tournament without their prior acceptance of an invitation.

Occasionally a Member may find that they have a sudden influx of games and are unsure why.

In every case (except Tournament games – see Q. Why have I got games in a Tournament even though I never saw an invite?), this is because the Member previously used one of the Join Games ... options to create open games for others to join.

These games may take some time to be matched with opponents, and it's possible to forget how many were initiated.

ChessWorld does not, and indeed cannot, arbitrarily place any Member into a Game without their prior agreement.

Limit the number of concurrent games. Many ChessWorld Members maintain a game load between 10 and 40. Choose a number that allows regular play without creating time pressure.

Before joining tournaments—especially large All-Play-All formats—be mindful that you’ll commit to many simultaneous games.

Be selective when responding to opponents. Use the Goto Game box to jump directly to a specific game, or go to the Play ... My Current Games page to select from a list.

You can configure how this page displays games. Refer to the Preferences FAQ for more.

Sometimes, due to work commitments, illness, or hospitalization, you may need to stop or delay play.

Your opponents will appreciate a brief explanatory message. If you need to leave games unfinished, consider resigning rather than letting them time out.

If you must resign many games (more than 20), do so in stages if possible. This helps reduce impacts on the rating system.

You may also choose to let games time out naturally. However, we routinely monitor game results. Large numbers of losses on time may trigger a sandbagger flag. See Why have I been marked as a sandbagger? for more info.

You may wish to use the ChessWorld holiday booking system instead.

If you were flagged as a sandbagger and could not formally resign games, contact the HelpDesk with details. We will review your case based on your history before making a decision.

You can set up any position quite easily! Go to the My Stuff ... My Other Stuff page and click on the My Opening Positions link for full details.

You can either reconstruct a position manually or extract one from an existing ChessWorld game by entering the Game number. A simple board is provided to help you build positions and extract the correct FEN string.

Positions from the Opening, Middlegame, or Endgame can be entered, but only Opening positions are allowed in Rated games.

Once you’ve entered and checked your position, click the  Submit  button. Subject to Admin approval, your position will normally be added to the ChessWorld database within 24 hours.

Yes. ChessWorld offers a private Planning Notepad feature—anything entered is visible only to you. Click the  Planning Notepad  button on the play page to open it.

The window shows the current board and move log on the left, with a large text input area on the right.

You can optionally display these notes beside the board for quick reference—toggle this with the Add/Remove mini-notepad from side of board link.

To annotate a game based on your notes, click the Annotate this game link at the top. A return link will take you back to the notepad.

If you're using the Tabbed Style display, a  Note  tab will appear. Use the Add a Note here! box to make entries. Clicking  Note  saves the note, adds the move number, and adds an asterisk to the tab:  * Note .

Only notes entered via the tabbed version get move-number prefixes. This display is styled differently from the  Chat  tab to prevent confusion.

To edit or delete notes in the tabbed version, click  Edit  to return to the full notepad. To clear notes, replace content with a single space or dash ( - ) and click  Store Notes .

Go to the My Stuff ... My Other Stuff page and click the My Opening Statistics link.

This page shows all your past games by ECO code and commonly recognized name. If N/A appears instead of a name, the opening is likely unconventional or unclassified.

To try and classify unlabelled games, use the Try and Classify your Unclassified Games by Opening link.

While this process works well, some games may still be skipped. Any corrections made here also apply to the My Stuff ... My Rating page.

Yes. Visit Improve ... Coaching Resources and click the Generic analysis board link. This board has full Analyse Board functionality and starts in the standard opening position. You can move pieces via "click and click" or enable "drag and drop" using the checkbox below the board.

To set up a mid-game position, use the Set up a Position First before entering moves into it option. You can move pieces freely or remove them by dragging to the waste bin. For advanced positions, use  Clear Board  and place pieces from the stock (note: drag-and-drop is not available here). You can place multiple instances of a piece, which is useful for studying compositions.

To save a game, click the  Make Gamelink  button. This generates a pop-up with a code link. Use Store to My Stuff ... My Notes to save it, and it will confirm storage by opening your My Notepads file.

To revisit saved games, go to the Generic analysis board and click  My Notepads  in the bottom right. Select your note and click  View HTML (read only)  to access a Clickable Game link.

Click the link to return to your saved position!

Tip: You can also use this board to generate a FEN string for forum posts, as described in Q. How can I represent a chess position? in the Forums section of Features FAQ's.

No. ChessWorld does not support Blitz Chess due to the global nature of our player base and time zone differences. However, you can use the 1-day per move time limit for a fast-paced experience.

You might also enjoy Play like the Masters under the Improve ... menu. Choose a side and replay games from our Masters Collection interactively. The Master’s move will be played automatically after each correct response, allowing you to test your skills in real time.

Other Chess or Game-related sites may support Blitz Chess. As a courtesy, we suggest visiting ChessCube.

* ChessWorld cannot recommend or guarantee the suitability or functionality of external sites.

Yes. ChessWorld supports a limited set of Fischer Random (Chess960) games with reduced functionality. This service is available to Members.

External sites may offer more robust support for Chess Variants, though ChessWorld does not endorse or advise on their suitability or features.

Almost certainly the answer is no!

However, we do caution our Members against:

• Making repeated draw offers
• Delaying moves until the time limit nearly expires
• Continuing in clearly lost positions without cause