Chess and Go server help

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.

Please be sure to have read the FICGS general rules and particularly the Chess & Go playing rules.

F.A.Q.

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 :

ChessPosition=WPa2,WRa1,WKe1,BPa7,BRa8,BKe8.
or...
GoPosition=Wd16,Bd4,Bf3.

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.

See how this url to game 1 is made.

Parameters are :

- 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)

A basic example would be :

http://www.ficgs.com/display_game.php?game=1&align=1&pgn=1