Icc Internet Chess Club: A Pioneering Platform

When the concept of internet cafés was in its early stages, Daniel Sleator, Michael Moore, and Richard Nash came up with ICC. Most individuals still use dial-up Internet, and the concept of playing games online remains in its developmental stages. Despite these drawbacks, ICC quickly became popular. It ignited a thriving online chess community by providing a fresh venue for players to connect and play the game.

Initially, ICC was successful because it offered a complete and easy-to-use platform. Contests, challenges, and live broadcasts of professional games were all available to players. In online communities like chat rooms and message boards, players might meet new people, trade chess strategies, and maybe even develop lasting friendships.

A Legacy of Innovation

In order to maintain its position as an industry leader, ICC has innovated continuously over the years. Thanks to online chess programs like BlitzIn, which are optimized for rapid play, the game became a breeze. Players looking for a change of pace from standard chess can choose from several variations, including Crazyhouse and Bughouse.

Beyond that, ICC was an ardent supporter of schooling. There were free chess instructional videos on the site that featured world-renowned grandmasters. Competitions offering monetary rewards drew serious players, while tools like “TrainingBot” and “ProblemBot” allowed players of varied abilities to refine their abilities.

A Look at the Modern ICC

Even if ICC isn’t as popular as it once, it’s still a great place for serious chess players to play online. There are a lot of active gamers that a subscription gives access to, including people with titles and a lot of experience. Then everyone has a fair chance to compete against good individuals and prove themselves.

Now that the ICC mobile app is official, players have even easier access to the platform no matter where they are. Everybody can find something to do and enter because there are always going to be events and contests. Anyone interested in learning chess can still watch live broadcasts of tournaments featuring top players.

Beyond the Games: A Community Endures

One of ICC’s lasting characteristics is the robust and supportive community it has built. Many chess fans are still active on the forums, discussing everything from serious strategy to lighthearted chitchat. Users can gain knowledge from each other, share their achievements and setbacks, and get advice from the platform, all of which encourage teamwork.

Read More:- Cheating in Chess Tournaments?

The Future of ICC

Online chess is an ever-changing environment, and freemium strategies are becoming popular. But all things considered, the ICC stands alone. Dedicated to serious chess, this site has a long history of community involvement, and premium features attract the type of players that use it.

The company’s longevity depends on its ability to respond to customers’ evolving tastes. Using features that are common on other platforms, such as live annotations while playing games or puzzle training parts, could expand your audience reach. Furthermore, the ICC may maintain its investment in app development and concentrate on establishing a strong social media presence to attract younger chess players.

The Future of ICC

When it comes to chess-related internet communities, none compare to The Internet Chess Club. It was groundbreaking for its time because it gave gamers a location to congregate and compete even though the web was just taking shape. As the online chess market continues to grow, ICC’s premium service and extensive network of dedicated players allow it to thrive. Despite the constant evolution of internet chess, ICC will remain a great resource for players thanks to its dedication to serious chess and long history of brilliance. I hope you like reading “Icc Internet Chess Club”.

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The Olimpbase.org homepage.

Wojciech Bartelski has compiled the definitive reference on team chess. As the name hints, it contains extensive info about Chess Olympiads played through 2016. it has not been updated for 2018, and the 2020 event has been moved to 2021.

For each Olympiad (Open and Women), Bartelski includes a summary of the event and the results. These include the standings of the teams, player results, and medal winners. Also, most of the games can be viewed in a popup window, or downloaded as a zip file!

More than Olympiads

In addition to the chess Olympiads, Olimpbase.org has compiled information about all kinds of team chess events, including:

• World Team Championships
• Continental Team Championships (African, Asian, European, Pan-American)
• European Club Cup and various National Leauges
• Student and Youth Team Championships
• USSR Team Championships
• Others: USSR vs. World, Mitropa Cup, Asian Cities Championship, Pan Arab Games, etc.

More than team events, too!

Olimpbase now includes many individual events as well. Examples:

• The World Championship cycles (from 1886-2000)
• The World Junior Championships (Open and Girls)
• Continental Championships and Continental Junior Championships
• National Championships of the Soviet Union and Poland

Olimpbase has another important resource…

The site contains all FIDE rating lists since the first list in January 1971 up to October 2001! You can find everything since 2001 on the FIDE website. Ratings are a big part of our game, and full rating lists provide historical context. Some interesting tidbits:

• Only Fischer (1971), Karpov (1974), Tal (1980), and Kasparov (1984) achieved FIDE ratings of 2700 or above before Boris Gelfand joined them in January 1991.
• As late as July 1987, Artur Yusupov and Andrei Sokolov were ranked =3rd/4th in the world at just 2635! A player rated 2635 today wouldn’t make the Top 100!
• Judit Polgar was rated 2555 and =55th in the world in January 1989…as a 12-year-old!
• 16-year-old Gata Kamsky was ranked #8 in July 1990 with a rating of 2650…as a FIDE Master!
• Only 16 players reached 2700 before the year 2000.
• Did you know: Michal Krasenkow (July 2000) and Loek Van Wely (January 2001) were not only 2700 players, both were ranked #10 in the World?

Conclusion

Olimpbase.org contains a treasure trove of historical chess information. If you love chess history, the Olimpbase is not to be missed!

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The Chronos chess clock is the most popular timer in U.S. tournaments, and has been for years. I say that as a longtime tournament director who has walked through countless playing halls. These clocks can accomodate time delay and increment, so they can be used in USCF and FIDE-rated events.

The Chronos is extremely durable and reliable. I’ve owned mine since January 1998, only having to replace the batteries a few times. The $120 I paid is worth $191.18 in 2020 dollars. You probably won’t pay $120 for a Chronos even today!

The Chronos Chess Clock has options galore

In the 1990s, the Chronos only came in one style: long with buttons (as pictured above), in an off-white color. You can activate the lights signalling the player to move, and turn its beep on or off. You can even change the pitch of the beep!

Later, Chronos introduced a “touch” version, with silver disk-like buttons in place of the push-buttons. Many players preferred this as it was “cooler” and the push buttons can come off accidentally.

Nowadays, it’s hard to find “long” Chronoses. The newer versions are about 3/4 the size of the originals: easier to fit into chess bags, but less available digits on the LED. In addition, you can now buy the Chronos in a variety of colors.

Years ago, the downside of the Chronos was learning to set it. In an age where games are almost exclusively timed with digital clocks, they all have their quirks with settings. On the plus side, adjusting the times (for example, in case of an illegal move) is easier and more intuitive with the Chronos than other timers.

I said in a previous review that I now prefer DGT clocks aesthetically, but the Chronos chess clock is still the go-to for a lot of players, and I don’t blame them! The Chronos has unmatched sturdiness; I wouldn’t expect my DGT North American to last 20+ years.

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When I reviewed the Chronos, I noted that a big factor in its favor early on was its large display in comparison to other digital timers. Not only can other chess clocks now claim this as well, new Chronos clocks are more compact and therefore have a smaller display. I wouldn’t buy one for 110 USD today, but that’s just me.

The DGT 3000 costs roughly 80 USD. Earlier, I reviewed the DGT North American, which can be had for about half this amount.

Who needs to buy the DGT 3000? Anyone who uses DGT electronic boards and broadcasts games online! I was a DGT board operator at the Greater New York Scholastics this past February and became more familiar with this clock.

Features and Benefits of the DGT 3000

The DGT 3000: officially endorsed by FIDE, and required if you want to broadcast games on DGT boards.

• The display is huge and easy to see from a distance; much larger than the Chronos or DGT North American.
• The plungers are large, easy to press, and not noisy.
• The DGT 3000 seems sturdier than the DGT NA, and I would expect it to last longer.
• Easier-than-expected to set. The big display provides more scope for the clock to make clear what a player or arbiter is setting. It is very easy to make a mistake setting the DGT NA, and trying to set a Chronos is downright confusing if you’ve never done it before.
• It can accommodate U.S. time delay rules which its predecessor, the DGT 2010, cannot.
• FIDE approved. This is important for official FIDE competitions such as World and Continental Championships.

This is all great, but is it worth twice as much as the DGT NA? As DGT itself says:

This is a subtlety I missed in my review of the DGT NA. My bad!

Verdict

A player only competing in USCF tournaments where delay timing is prevalent can stick with the DGT North American — it is the best clock for the money. However, I believe the additional one-time investment for the DGT 3000 is justified.

If I were buying a chess clock today, I would choose the DGT 3000.

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• No need to use a board and pieces, resetting again and again to play through variations.
• No need to enter games or entire books into ChessBase.
• No need to add more “stuff” to your physical chess library which, if you’re like me, could have hundreds of books in it already!

ForwardChess app. Image: play.google.com

Try Before You Buy

If you walked into a real bookstore, you could peruse the books you were thinking of buying. Forward chess allows you to read samples, often including a chapter or two to see if the title is what you expect.

Better Prices

The 670+ books currently available on ForwardChess are usually cheaper than their print alternatives, and comparable to Amazon prices. And whether you get a physical book or a Kindle version, you can’t play through the moves without a board …

The ForwardChess libary include classics by Jose Capablanca, Fred Reinfeld, and Rudolf Spielmann among others, as well as a plethora of contemporary titles. There are no Chernev or Mednis books, however — please fix this, ForwardChess!

Most major publishers are represented, including Chess Stars, Everyman Chess, Quality Chess, and New in Chess. The notable exception is Gambit Publications.

Conclusion

Chessable has a lot of fans; I’ve used it some and I think it’s ok … but it doesn’t let me study the way I grew up doing with “regular” books. At least, I don’t know how to use it in this way.

ForwardChess books are intended to be read like physical books. It is a blessing for chess players. If you’re lazy, like me, and don’t want to take out a board and pieces any longer, there is no longer any excuse to not study!

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And it comes at a great price — around $40!

The DGT North American chess clock

Why DGT North American?

The North American is different from other DGT clocks because it has settings for time delay, common in US Chess Federation (USCF) tournaments, but not elsewhere. Digital Game Technologies actually worked with the USCF to develop the clock.

I love the buttons on DGT clocks, and their displays are excellent. The DGT NA in particular is very easy to set and, in my experience, durable.

Verdict

I recommend the DGT NA over the iconic Chronos, even if the Chronos did not cost three times as much. It comes down to personal preference: I just find DGTs sleeker and less clunky.

If you’re using DGT boards and broadcasting games, or want to connect to the internet, you’ll need the DGT 3000. Otherwise, there’s no need.

At an international round robin I was Deputy Arbiter for, we used the DGT NA. The tournament was played under FIDE rules: Brandon Jacobson earned a GM norm and Abhimanyu Mishra became the youngest International Master in history.

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What is ChessBase?

ChessBase: makers of ChessBase and MegaBase

ChessBase GmbH is a chess publishing company founded in 1985 and based in Hamburg, Germany. The company’s flagship product is also called ChessBase: a database program that can organize chess information in myriad ways. The current version is ChessBase 15.

The primary information ChessBase manages is chess games, which we’ll discuss below. The program can also play chess videos, organize opening “books,” and utilize endgame knowledge contained in “tablebases.”

What is the MegaBase?

MegaBase is a collection of annotated chess games played from the year 1475 to the given year. Pulished annually, the current MegaBase 2020 contains more than eight million games! You will find plenty of games with commentary by grandmasters and world champions including Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, etc.

The information available to you with ChessBase and its databases is staggering.

A cheaper alternative is the Big Database, which contains the same eight million games as MegaBase, but few have commentary. It’s much better than nothing, but I highly recommend MegaBase.

For working seriously on chess, ChessBase will save you a huge amount of time and effort. Search games in a database and study them on your screen without combing through books or using a chess set.

You can search databases for opening positions, distributions of endgame material, brilliancy prize games, games with commentary by a certain player — the possibilities are extensive. In addition, you can also create your own database files that contain games in a certain opening, or study material for a particular student. Which brings me to my next point.

ChessBase and MegaBase: the most important resources for coaches

I would cry if I couldn’t use ChessBase to prepare lessons and manage my students’ material.

I make a new database file for every student I teach privately. This allows me to keep a running track of what we have worked on together; I just keep adding to their database. I can import games from MegaBase and the internet, recreate instructive positions from physical books, enter my own commentary, and much more.

Preparing for lessons can be a very time-consuming process, but ChessBase cuts that time down tremendously. When I’ve finished preparing my lesson, I print out the material and go to my student’s home to teach the material.

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I’ve talked in the past about becoming a USCF Tournament Director. At first you’ll be running small club or classroom tournaments, or assisting more experienced TDs at larger events.

If you decide to get into the TD game long-term, you’ll need the tools of the professional: laptop, laser printer, and SwissSys!

What Does SwissSys Do?

SwissSys is tournament management software created by Thad Suits that, as the name suggests, helps tournament directors run Swiss-System events smoothly. Often … very large events with multiple sections and hundreds of players! The computer TDs at the World Open, for example, use SwissSys.

Not only can it make pairings, it prints them neatly for posting as well as other items like standings, wallcharts, and so on.

[A brief rant: Experienced TDs hate the term “pairing software,” as it suggests we are not responsible for the pairings the computer spits out. On the contrary, we are responsible for understanding the pairings, being able to explain them, and overriding them if we think an error has been made.]

SwissSys can also handle round robins, such as quads, and team events.

Learning Curve?

Very small. The menus are intuitive and if you tinker with SwissSys for half an hour, you’ll get the hang of it. It’s very user-friendly and non-tech-savvy friendly.

The toughest part? Learning the process for downloading and installing new rating supplements. This is important in order to quickly enter players without having to go to the USCF website to look up every player individually.

It’s also possible to import tournament entries from an excel spreadsheet or other database.

You can use SwissSys for FIDE-rated events, too (remember to turn on FIDE pairings, and you cannot alter pairings once made in norm events!).

Don’t Go Without

Yep, this used to all be done by hand! Image: Kansas Scholastic Chess Association

In the past, way before I began TDing in 2002, directors paired by hand using pairing cards and needed to handwrite pairings, standings, and so on! I can only imagine how time-consuming this would be.

Merely having a laptop, printer, and SwissSys can earn you directing gigs. Many organizers run small, almost-informal events in schools and just need someone to pair and print the charts. These tournaments aren’t always USCF-rated, either.

If you’re efficient, friendly and, most of all, reliable … you’ll keep getting invited back. Also, a good reputation spreads quickly in the TD World.

Cost

A new version of SwissSys 10 is $99.00. Best money you’ll ever spend as a TD … but don’t forget that laser printer! I care for my old HP 1020 like a newborn baby, even though it’s now well into adolescence …

You’re not a professional TD until you have your own software. So what are you waiting for?

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