Originally posted by LordOfTheChessboardWhen did instantchess change? They had been a site that requires a credit card to set up a free trial account, according to several reviews on the internet (including the notoriously unreliable about.com review).
I just found this one: www.instantchess.com
its very nice. like the name suggests you get instant chess and you dont have to register, pay or download!
According to the Magic City Morning Star, the site offers free membership to scholastic clubs.
For live chess, get registered on a chess server as opposed to a site like yahoo or gameknot. They are dedicated solely to chess, you have a one-time download of a full featured interface rather than having to load a java utility every time you play and they lend themselves better to post game analysis if you hope to improve your game. Check out this article about the difference: http://www.edcollins.com/chess/yahoo-vs-servers.htm . It focuses on Yahoo! but applies to similar sites as well. ICC is the best known chess server, but if you want free FICS offers almost everything ICC does without the $49/yr fee. To set yourself up go to http://www.freechess.org/ to register and download one of the interface programs.
Originally posted by WulebgrI have no idee about that but it was free and instant when i got there🙂
When did instantchess change? They had been a site that requires a credit card to set up a free trial account, according to several reviews on the internet (including the notoriously unreliable about.com review).
According to the Magic City Morning Star, the site offers free membership to scholastic clubs.
Instantchess is free as a guest, like most chess sites. My big problem with Instantchess is the size of the chessboard. ICC has a biggie, Playchess has a biggie, but Instantchess is too wee for my eyesight. I do like all the stats that Instantchess gives you as a paying member, but I can't get over that wee chessboard. I like 'em huge or I can't see 'em.
Originally posted by buddy2I watched a game there; the board was as large as RHP, and had a more pleasing balance of colors. ChessWorld has the largest board that I've found.
Instantchess is free as a guest, like most chess sites. My big problem with Instantchess is the size of the chessboard. ICC has a biggie, Playchess has a biggie, but Instantchess is too wee for my eyesight. I do like all the stats that Instantchess gives you as a paying member, but I can't get over that wee chessboard. I like 'em huge or I can't see 'em.
Originally posted by WulebgrEven though ChessWorld is a complicated site I don't like it. When RHP goes down i put thta half hour reading a chessbookor analizing my games that gives me time to make good moves , It is not annoying to me.
Yes, in terms of free play, ChessWorld is terribly limited. If you want to play for free, try Chessmaniac or Net-Chess. Neither charges a fee, although both accept donations. Net-Chess also lacks the ads that are a constant irritant at RHP and GameKnot.
I'm still a free/guest here at RHP, as well as at GameKnot because ChessWorld offers far more for the ...[text shortened]... ng tirades. Now, the downtime appears to have moved later. ChessWorld hasn't done that to me.
I use FICS for blitz with a Babaschess interface--all for free. I also use ICC, but FICS is pretty close, except for numbers of players. Gameknot is close to RHP in chessplaying, but their forums are awful, due to overzealous censorship. I quit there because i was banned for being "off-topic" in one of my messages, which is a code phrase for "I don't like what you're saying." Never tried Chessworld, but if Wulbgr vouches for it, it's got to be pretty good, since he's the specialist in rating these sites.