ONLINE CHESS

ONLINE CHESS ON THE ACADEMIC CHESS SERVER

www.chess.ac

Click here for more information on other online chess servers...especially for speed chess.

Playing online is a great way to get practice and get better at chess. Now there is a place where kids can play free chess and even get free coaching!

 

This is not live chess. This is a verson of correspondence chess where your opponent moves, and you log in later to see what the moves is. This is a wonderful new way of playing because it is not necessary for you and your opponent to be online at the same time!

 

1.      Before playing chess online, get permission from your parents and give them this sheet to read and go through so they can help you set up!

2.      Go the Academic Chess Online Chess Server at www.chess.ac . Alternatively, go to the main website www.academicchess.org  and click the link to online chess.

  1. Click on the link entitled “click here to create a new user”
  2. The next screen input your information.  We recommend that you fill out the email notification box so that when your opponent makes a move you  are notified with an email. Also you must put a valid email to be emailed your password.  In the first box you place your PLAYER NAME. This is the name that you will be known by. We ask our students to put SC in front of whatever user name they choose.  This way Academic Chess Coaches can quickly identify you as an Academic Chess student and will give you extra attention. The USER NAME which is the second box is just the name you log on with. We recommend you keep the USER NAME the same as the PLAYER NAME for simplicity sakes. Be sure to put your Country down so other users will know that you are an American!
  3. You will receive an email from Academic Chess. Click on the link to activate your account. You are now ready to log on. Go back to the initial screen and log on! Now we are ready to play some chess!
  4. On the main screen look for the challenges button.   You will see a list of players sorted by ranking, the highest rated people up top. Anyone who is not rated 1500 is a good person to challenge because you know they are active players. Also you can challenge an Academic Chess Coach, the players with AC in front of their names.


HOT PICKS FOR CHALLENGES THIS SUMMER:

 

AC Eric Hicks ---------------------Academic Chess founder and coach.

AC Liina Vark------------------Master level woman chess player and Academic Chess Coach

AC Jesse--------------------------Chess coach Jesse D

AC Vern Young-------------------Chess Coach Vern

Also look for AC Egg, AC Snake, AC Lizard, AC Gator, AC Chessmonster

 

  1. After you have challenged some players, hit the MAIN button to go to main menu. When someone accepts your challenge, the game will appear in this main screen, and you can go to the playing interface by pressing PLAY and you will see the chess board.
  2. Challenge many players because you will only make several moves per game per day.
  3. Remember this is not live chess unless you and your opponent happen to be on at the same time. You make a move, and then log on later to see what your opponent moves.
  4. You start out with a 1500 rating. This goes up and down depending on if you win and lose.
  5.  Be careful  with people your know or players with AC in front of their name. Remember, not all players on CHESS.AC are kids!
  6. Invite all your friends to play a game with you online!
  7. This is kind of a tricky  interface to learn, but one you get a hang of things it becomes simple and fun!
  8. Remember these are slow games. Take your time with each move.  If you are playing an AC Coach you may even get advice. Remember you learn the most from the games that you lose so do not feel bad if you lose a game.

 

SUGGESTED THINGS TO DO FOR NEW MEMBERS

 

Change your chessboard

Go to the button marked “Preferences”. Change your pieces to “plain” and your theme to “wooden”. This will give you a better looking and easier to use chess board! Try other pieces and themes and see what you like!

 

Joining the Academic Chess Summer Camp Team

Find the teams button and join our team! During the school year we will challenge some schools to  some matches! Also, think about who you want on your 4 person team, because starting in August we are going to start doing 4 person team vs team challenges! If you create your own team, you will be team captain. Get three more kids from your school to be on your team and you can be the team captain of your school’s chess team!

 

Join the Academic Chess Kids Challenge

Win this tournament and receive AC Chessmonster’s favorite chess book in the mail. Prizes will be given to the top 3 finishers of this tournament and you will receive your prize in the mail! Click the “join tournament” link to play in this tournament.

 

Add a picture of yourself

You can add a picture of yourself by going to the button marked “preferences”. Find a picture that is small! The maximum image size is  100kb and 300x400 pixels. Have your parents help you resize a picture of yourself if you do not have this one small. Also you can use a funny thumbnail picture of a cartoon character if you want!

 

Get Bunches of Games Started

Remember these games are super slow. So get atleast 10 games going so that when you log on you always have moves to make! Remember if you do not play slow you do not grow!

 

Write down any completed games and bring them to class

If you complete a game on CHESS.AC, bring it in and show it to your coach. Even if you lost the game bring it in so that we can go through it and show you what mistakes you made.