Play Chess on ICC
If you have never heard of the Internet Chess Club before and you like to play chess then you are in for a treat! ICC is the world's most active chess club and the best place to play chess on the Internet. Just look at these features:
 | Play chess anytime of day |
| Watch broadcasts of major chess events. |
| Learn from Grandmasters |
| Meet and chat to people from all over the world. |
| Study ICC's huge library and database |
| Take part in tournaments |
| Attend lectures every hour on the hour |
| Play all types of chess variants |
| Play against Masters |
| Have your games e-mailed to you to study at your leisure |
| Build up your own online library of favourite games |
| And more! |
Interested? Wondering how to get started? First you need to go to The ICC home page where you can download a free interface for your computer. I use Blitzin for the PC but there is also an interface for other platforms. These interfaces allow you to log on to ICC and start playing right away. With Blitzin, after dialling into your ISP, run your copy of Blitzin, select CONNECTION / NEW. A box will appear, click on the CONNECT AS GUEST button.
You will then be connected to ICC! You will see a chessboard,
a chat window,
and a graph showing those people seeking a game. As a guest you can only play unrated games. The best way to get full benefit is to take advantage of the free 7 day trial membership. You are then able to participate in all activities like a full member. To register type register in the chat window and answer the questions. Then a password will be emailed to you. You will need to know your email address to register. Once you have registered and received your password log on to ICC again using your handle and password.
Select MATCH / SEEK to request a game or click on the little circles on the "matches sought" graph to accept someone's challenge. The blue circles are computer opponents, the green circles are human opponents and red circles are "wild games". The grey circles are players seeking games with people above or below your rating. Filled in circles mean the game will be rated. The outlined circles are unrated games.
For an introduction to the commands type help quick or help introduction in the lower part of the chat window. To talk to someone type, tell <name of player> hello (or whatever your message is), to ask for help in the help channel type tell 1 <your question>.
ICC Commands |
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| Here is a quick explanation of the most useful ICC commands. | ||||||||||||||||||
Commands used before a game
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Commands to use while playing
a game
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Commands used while examining
a game
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Commands used to communicate
with others
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Commands to get information
about other players
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Other useful commands
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ICC have produced a newsletter. You can read it and find out more about their activities by clicking here.
There are many other places to play chess on the Internet but I have found that ICC has the largest number of players playing at any one time (so it is never difficult to find an opponent at any time of day or night) and the standard of play is higher than anywhere else on the Internet. Give it a try. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I do!
