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by Edwards Deckert
The Game of Chess
Chess is a board game and mental-skill game for
two players. It is played on a square board of eight
rows (called ranks) and eight columns (called files),
giving 64 squares of alternating colour, light and
dark, with each player having a light square at the
near right corner when facing the board. Each player
begins the game with 16 pieces which can move in defined
directions (and in some instances, limited range)
and can remove other pieces from the board: each player's
pieces comprise eight pawns, two knights, two bishops,
two rooks, one queen and one king. One player controls
the white pieces; the other player controls the black
pieces, The player that controls white is always the
first player to move.
In chess, when a player's king is directly threatened
by one or more of the opponent's pieces, the player
is said to be in 'check'. When in check, only moves
that can evade check, block check or take the offending
piece are permitted. The object of the game is to
checkmate the opponent; this occurs when the opponent's
king is in check, and no move can be made that would
escape from check.
Chess is not a game of chance; it is based solely
on tactics and strategy. Nevertheless, the game is
so complex that not even the best players can consider
all contingencies: although only 64 squares and 32
pieces are on the board, the number of possible games
that can be played far exceeds the number of atoms
in the universe.
Chess is one of the world's most popular games; it
has been described not only as a game but also as
an art and a science. Chess is sometimes seen as an
abstract wargame; as a "mental martial art", and teaching
chess has been advocated as a way of enhancing mental
prowess. Chess is played both recreationally and competitively
in clubs, tournaments, online, and by mail (correspondence
chess).
Correspondence chess
Correspondence chess is chess played by various
forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through
a correspondence ches server, through e-mail or by
the postal system; less common methods which have
been employed include fax and homing pigeon. It is
in contrast to over-the-board (OTB) chess, where the
players sit at a chessboard at the same time (or perhaps
play at the same time remotely).
Correspondence chess allows people or clubs who geographically
distant to play one another without meeting in person.
The length of a game played by correspondence can
vary depending on the method used to transmit the
moves: a game played via server or by e-mail might
last no more than a few weeks or months, but a game
played by post between players in different countries
might last several years.
Structure of correspondence chess
Correspondence chess differs from over-the-board
play in several respects. While in OTB chess only
one game is played at a time (the exception being
in a simultaneous exhibition), in correspondence chess
sever all games are usually played at once. All games
in a tournament are played concurrently, and some
players may have more than a hundred games continuing
at the same time. This kind of chess is also called
online chess and e-mail chess. The time limits in
correspondence play are usually between 30 and 60
days for every 10 moves. This allows for far deeper
calculation, meaning that blunders are very rare.
The use of some assistance, including books and chess
databases, is often allowed.
Correspondence Chess Server
A correspondence chess server is arguably the
most convenient form of correspondence chess. Instead
of players directly emailing moves to each other,
the game is played on a clickable board on a web page,
which keeps track of all the moves. The web server
emails each player when it is his or her turn. This
helps ensure email privacy, and avoids the potential
pitfalls of using email clients, such as viruses.
It also eliminates the need for players to maintain
their own chessboards.
Most correspondence servers have move validation
and check for stalemate and checkmate. This eliminates
the sending of illegal moves, which would then have
to be corrected.
One of the drawbacks of a corresondence server is
downtime. If the server is unavailable for any reason,
the games it is serving cannot be played.
Correspondence chess servers offers many features
like tournaments, thematic tournaments, teams, and
other social facilities and features. We recommend
www.chesshere.com
a good correspondence chess server to play chess
About the Author
Correspondence chess fan!
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