Feel free to visit FICGS, using the visitor account :
User : guest , Password : guest
Once you registered and received your username, you just have to enter a tournament
waiting list and wait for the tournament starts.
Please choose carefully the tournaments you want to play, as you can't remove
your name from waiting lists once you entered them (but advanced tournaments).
Also it is strongly recommended to play no more than 3 tournaments
at the same time.
Once games started, select a game in My messages or a game marked with an
exclamation mark in My games, click on the piece to move then on the destination
square (for chess only), or enter your move in the textfield. At last push send
button (fast interface - Javascript), or push move button,
finally confirm your move by pushing send (slow interface
- HTML). To accept a draw or to resign, just check the box without clicking
a piece then send the move. Please note that you have to play a move while
offering a draw.
It is strongly recommended to activate javascript in your browser - that is
generally the case - and to allow pop-ups for this site. Also you shouldn't use
the refresh function, please use text links and buttons only.
Question - I registered but I did not receive my username...
If you did not receive your username after a week, an email may have been lost in the
internet. Feel free to try to login with username : lastname_firstname.
You may also try to retrieve your informations
by entering your email here.
Question - I received my username, how do I begin to play ?
First you should enter a tournament waiting list. You may login, click 'Waiting
lists' in the menu, then click the tournament you would like to play. You have to
confirm your entry, now you should see your name appearing on the waiting list.
Question - I've lost my password, how to retrieve it ?
You may generate a new password by entering your email here,
then just follow the instructions.
Question - When will my tournament start ?
It will start as soon as the waiting list is filled. Usually 7 players are required
to start a new tournament, or 2 players for an advanced tournament.
Question - How do I promote a pawn during a chess game ?
By default, a pawn is promoted into a queen. If you want a rook (R), knight (N) or
bishop (B), please just add the letter after your move using PGN notation.
Question - How do I pass in a Go game ?
Please just enter 'pass' in the move text field, then send your move. It's up to the players
to discuss the score, then resign. Feel free to use the scoring function to estimate
the position.
Question - What is the clock between brackets ?
This is the time left for the next move, displayed only if this time is inferior to the time
left for the whole game, according to the
time limit per move rule.
Question - How do I challenge another player ?
To send a challenge for an advanced chess game (bullet, lightning or blitz),
you just have to choose a connected player in My games, the game & color you want to play,
then push the Challenge button. Ratings shown are advanced chess ratings. It is strongly
recommended not to hide the chat bar to check in the message box (above the chat bar)
if your game started or if you received a new challenge. If this window becomes empty,
there was a problem of connection, then you should load a new page until it works again.
Also it is recommended to remove challenges by clicking on the arrows just near it before
to leave or next to the challenge button in My games.
Question - What are bullet, lightning & blitz time controls ?
As correspondence "rapid" tournaments are played at time control 30 days + 1 day per move,
correspondence bullet, lightning and blitz games must be compared to standard time controls
in OTB (over the board) chess. See the advanced chess waiting lists to see details about
these time controls. In example a correspondence blitz is played at 2 hours + 2 hours /
40 moves time control.
Question - Why do I get an error message while using HTTPS forms ?
Most browsers support SSL encryption, this is the best secured way to send
and receive data through the internet. FICGS certificate is autosigned, you
have to accept and save it, then you won't get an error message anymore.
Question - My opponent is checkmated, why the game isn't finished
?
It's a more friendly way and your opponent can send a last message to you.
If he does not resign, he will lose on time anyway. (you can call referee
if it takes too much time)
Question - My opponent resigned, how can I leave him a message ?
You can use the public comment field. Your opponent will be warned by email
of any text modification.
Question - I've finished games and my rating doesn't change, why ?
Chess rating calculation occurs every 2 months, in order to avoid big fluctuations,
usually during first days of january, march, may, july, september and november.
Go rating is calculated after each game.
Question - How did a player rated 2100 enter a 2200-2400 waiting list ?
He was most probably rated at least 2200 when he entered the waiting list. Then he
lost some rating points.
Question - How to play the chess freestyle cup, what are E-Points
?
It is possible to buy tickets in E-Points for tournaments with entry fees
and money prizes like the freestyle cup. More details about E-Points are available
in My account page after you connect to the server, see also the terms and
conditions by following this link : E-Points
in terms and conditions
Question - Is it possible to cash out E-Points ?
When you win a tournament with a prize in E-Points, you may ask for a money prize, see
the complete terms & conditions about E-Points.
Question - How can I insert a Chess or Go diagram in the forum ?
Just enter in the message the position of each piece following this format
:
WP : White Pawn, BK : Black King, WN : White Knight and so on (chess), W :
White stone, B : Black stone (Go). Every position must be finished with a
point. Please note only one position will be displayed by message.
You will be notified by email when the games start. Please login, see your
messages and select a game, then you just have to play through the graphical
interface (please do not use several windows to play your moves) :
CHESS
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
CHESS 960
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
GO
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
BIG CHESS
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
You can also enter your moves in plain text format if you are used to english
algebraic notation using PGN
(Portable Game Notation) for chess & chess 960. Please note that promotions
other than Q = Queen must be written in plain text, by modifying the move generated.
For example : e8N will be a knight, e8B will be a bishop, e8R will be a rook.
You'll be notified by email of every move played in any of your games, but if
the checkbox 'notification' (in your preferences) is not filled. You should
login from time to time, as internet and particularly email isn't a completely
reliable way.
If you have any difficulties, feel free to read the F.A.Q. or search the forum
with a unique keyword (ie. 'checkmate')
Please speak english only in the forum. Note : Html tags but <br> are
not supported.
You can watch and store games with different formats & viewers :
Display CHESS game with a javascript viewer
http://www.ficgs.com/pgnviewer/display_game.php?game=[number]
Display GO game with a java viewer
http://www.ficgs.com/show_sgf.php?game=[number]
View CHESS game in PGN format
http://www.ficgs.com/format_viewer_pgn.php?game=[number]
View GO game in SGF format
http://www.ficgs.com/format_viewer_sgf.php?game=[number]
View CHESS & GO game in RSS 0.92 format
http://www.ficgs.com/format_viewer_rss.php?game=[number]
You can include your games in your own websites :
You can adapt the viewer page as you like in your frames, adding a <body> html tag or
simply with parameters in URL.
- game : the game you want to display
- board : red, blue, green or grey
- color : background color code
- text : text color code
- pgn : 1 if you want to display the game moves.
- align : 1 to align left (recommended)
Feel free to link to FICGS to get referer links or to see your Google PageRank on your website. You may also submit your website to get a backlink PageRank 4.
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