Playing chess online offers an alternative to traditional methods of play, such as over-the-board(OTB) play where players sit down together at a board, or correspondence chess(CC), where games are completed by mailing moves back and forth using 'snail mail'. (Using the regular postal delivery services.)

Online chess enhances the game by making the world wide community of chess players accessible for play, regardless of geographic location or time zone. Correspondence play is facilitated by the provision of web browser based boards and near instant delivery of email notifications, avoiding the prolonged delays and expense caused by posting moves. Over-the-board play is offered using real-time environments where bullet chess, blitz chess and rapid chess games can be played and time controls enforced for both players.

Online correspondence chess remains the main focus of this site, featuring ratings, managed tournaments, and team play, but over-the-board play is also offered via a blitz microsite. This is somewhere to visit to play a quick game of blitz with other members between correspondence moves.

Click here to go Online chess games

Chess Opening
A group of moves, made in the beginning of a game of chess, is called a chess opening. This typically involves the first ten to fifteen moves. Chess opening moves have been exhaustively analyzed in chess literature. Each combination of opening moves is given a specific name.
Chess opening guidelines
A good chess player uses this information to select the best possible opening for a game. He also follows specific guidelines to gain maximum advantage in the opening moves. These guidelines include:

Game development
Favorable game development is achieved through good chess opening. When a chess piece is moved from its position, its mobility generally increases. The move also increases the mobility of pieces blocked by the moved piece, thus developing the game. Typically, in the starting position, only the pawns and the knights can be moved. All other pieces are blocked. If you advance your pawn by one of two squares, mobility of bishop increases.
Control over centre

The centre portion of the chess board is where the major action happens. The player who acquires better control over the centre through his chess opening game plan, is at an advantage. He controls more squares on the board and thus can restrict the development of the opponent?s game.

King safety
Castling is a typical chess opening move to safely position the king on the board. Castling also results in rook development as castling unlocks the rook. Many good players decide on the time of castling in their chess opening game to get greater advantage.

Basic guideless for learners of the game
Learners of chess may keep the following points in mind during their chess opening moves
Never move the same piece twice, either in same direction or back and forth Moving a piece twice only signifies that you have wasted one move. The wasted move could have been used for achieving a better position on the board.. Typically, in the starting position, only the pawns and the knights can be moved. All other pieces are blocked. If you advance your pawn by one of two squares, mobility of bishop increases. Move pawn first and follow it up with knight
Pawn movement unlocks the pieces at the back. Knight gives good positional power, if planned carefully. Choose between open, semi open or closed game The option you choose in chess opening moves should depend on the risk you are prepared to take in the game. Open games that expose more diagonals can be risky as the opponent can attack easily, unless you are careful. Closed games with fewer diagonal openings developed, are less risky. This results in more moves to develop the game. Semi-open is the intermediate between the two and new players generally prefer this option during their chess opening moves. Develop rook and bishop pieces Bishop and rook in combination can help to control horizontal, vertical and diagonal squares on the board. Do not expose queen too early in the game Avoid exposing your queen during chess opening as your opponent may threaten your queen though his own moves.
In such a situation, your concentration turns to protecting your queen rather than making chess opening more effective.

Mastering chess opening
Learners of the game should read the literature on chess opening and analyze the moves to accumulate basic knowledge. Playing many games with effective game plan will help in gaining experience and in mastering the art of chess opening.

Click here to go Online chess games

Middle Game
In the game of chess, middle game is where many games are won or lost. Typically the middle game accounts for 30 to 40 moves on the chess board after the chess opening stage.

Your tactics play a crucial role
The expertise of a player can be recognized in the middle game. Many pieces are threatened and exchanged during the middle game. Chess tactics such as double threat using forking, pinning, discovered attack and skewer are put to maximum use to capture opponent pieces.

Effective use of pawn
Pawns can be effectively used in the middle game to create double threats. By this process, pawns will help in capturing high value powers to get a distinctive advantage in the game. A passed pawn can be very useful to regain a stronger piece.

Some threats created by using pawns in the middle game are:

Majority attack
If you have more number of pawns on one side of the board than your opponent, you possess a distinctive advantage. Any attack created in the middle game using this pawn majority is called a majority attack. The advantage is more pronounced if the majority is on the queen?s side as the queen can actively protect advancing pawns. The advantage weakens if the majority is on the king?s side. Advancing pawns on the king?s side may result in exposing the king to the opponent?s attack. Relative strength of majority also depends on the availability of other stronger pieces and their locations on the chess board. Majority attack can produce effective double threats. Majority can also be used to create a passed pawn.

Minority attack
A minority attack in a middle game refers to an attack by a player who has less number of pawns when compared to that of his opponent. In that sense, minority attack is the opposite of a majority attack. Here, the player having a minority of pawns mounts an attack to exploit a weakness in the opponent?s pawn majority to gain an advantage. Minority attack can be exploited if the majority pawn holder?s pawns are immobile or locked in one column.
Pawn structure Pawn structure is the position of pawns on the board. As pawns can advance only by a single square, pawn structure develops slowly on the board. Good pawn structure will ensure a continuous threat to the opponent and will give better mobility to stronger pieces.

Some important pawn structures are:
Passed pawn
Has no opponent pawn in front for blocking Threat of passed pawn to the opponent is its ability for promotion to a higher power on reaching the eighth row Pawn chains Is a pawn structure where pawns are in adjacent diagonal squares Pawn chain protects each other Only weak pawn in pawn chain is the one at the bottom of the chain If a pawn chain is broken, more pawns will become vulnerable Isolated pawn Are pawns that are not having another pawn in the next column as protection Isolated pawns are vulnerable and have no value for the player unless it has passed

Middle game normally accounts for more than 50 % of the moves in a chess game. This is a crucial phase of the game that calls for tactical moves to gain positional and power advantage. A good chess player evaluates the relative position of all the powers on the board before deciding on a move during the middle game.
Endgame
An endgame in chess refers to the final moves before concluding the game when only a very few pieces are left on the board. The transition between middle game and end game is often camouflaged.
Main characteristics of endgame
The endgame strategies are different from those of the other two stages of a chess game. Some basic characteristics of endgame are:
King becomes active in the end game
Only very few pieces, apart from the king are left on the board
Each of the leftover pieces will be highly valued and seldom sacrificed
Player having even a single piece advantage has better chance of wining the game
Attacking opponent king is the main objective of the end game
Concludes the game with either a win, loss or draw
Role of pawn in endgame
If you possess a passed pawn in the endgame this should be protected at all cost. Passed pawn promotion often wins the game.
Power of pieces
Endgame is signified by very few powers on the board. This gives more range of attack to pieces left on the board.
Typically a rook can effectively cover one complete column and row, if there are no pieces on the path. A bishop in the middle can block the diagonals in both directions.
Positioning of pieces in critical locations can thus restrict the movement of opposition pieces.
Role of the king
Until you reach the end game, main focus is to protect the king by using other pieces. In endgame, the king gets exposed due to limited number of pieces on the board. King thus becomes main target of attack and may have to be frequently moved. In combination with other powers, king can also directly attack the opponent king in the endgame.
Winning combinations
Possession of king with certain specific powers is a wining combination on the board. Some famous situations are:
King, queen Vs king
Easy win by cornering the king
King and rook Vs king
Easy win by pushing opponent king to one side
King , two bishop Vs king
Winnable situation in endgame by pushing king to one side and then to a corner
King, bishop, knight Vs king
Winnable but slightly tricky
Opponent king can move to a square not covered by bishop when pushed to a corner
Non-winnable combinations
King and a lone bishop Vs opponent king and king and a lone knight Vs king cannot win a game even though you have one power extra.
Sticky situations
Sticky situations are one that may or may not produce a winning outcome in the endgame. Typical example is pawn, king and king.
If pawn is located in such a way that opponent king cannot reach it before the pawn gets promoted, it is a winning position. Otherwise the king can consume the pawn resulting in a no-win situation.
Clear understanding of endgame winnable and non-winnable combinations is crucial for a good player. Aim towards the end of middle game should be to achieve a winning combination. If this is not feasible, immediate objective should be to avoid giving a winning combination to the opponent and forcing draw as the result.
2nd article

Let's Play Chess
Click here to go Online chess games

Chess is a game for two players, one with the "White" pieces and one with the "Black" pieces. At the beginning of the game, the pieces are set up as pictured at right. (See diagrams below to identify pieces.) These hints will help you to remember the proper board setup:
Opposing Kings and Queens go directly opposite each other.
The square in the lower right hand corner is a light one ("light on right").
The White Queen goes on a light square, the Black Queen on a dark square ("Queen on color").
White always moves first, and then the players take turns moving. Only one piece may be moved at each turn (except for "castling," a special move that is explained later). The Knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. All other pieces move only along unblocked lines. You may not move a piece to a square already occupied by one of your own pieces. But you can capture an enemy piece that stands on a square where one of your pieces can move. Simply remove the enemy piece from the board and put your own piece in its place.
The Pieces and How They Move
The Queen
The Queen is the most powerful piece. She can move any number of squares in any direction — horizontal, vertical, or diagonal — if her path is not blocked. She can reach any of the squares with dots in this diagram.
The Rook
The Rook is the next most powerful piece. The Rook can move any number of squares vertically or horizontally if its path is not blocked.
The Bishop
The Bishop can move any number of squares diagonally if its path is not blocked. Note that this Bishop starts on a light square and can reach only other light squares. At the beginning of the game, you have one "dark-square" Bishop and one "light-square" Bishop.
The Knight
The Knight's move is special. It hops directly from its old square to its new square. The Knight can jump over other pieces between its old and new squares. Think of the Knight's move as an "L." It moves two squares horizontally or vertically and then makes a right-angle turn for one more square. The Knight always lands on a square opposite in color from its old square.
The King
The King is the most important piece. When he is trapped, his whole army loses. The King can move one square in any direction — for example, to any of the squares with dots in this diagram. (An exception is castling, which is explained later.) The King may never move into check — that is, onto a square attacked by an opponent's piece.
The Pawn
The pawn moves straight ahead (never backward), but it captures diagonally. It moves one square at a time, but on its first move it has the option of moving forward one or two squares. In the diagram, the squares with dots indicate possible destinations for the pawns. The White pawn is on its original square, so it may move ahead either one or two squares. The Black pawn has already moved, so it may move ahead only one square at a time. The squares on which these pawns may capture are indicated by an X.
If a pawn advances all the way to the opposite end of the board, it is immediately "promoted" to another piece, usually a Queen. It may not remain a pawn or become a King. Therefore, it is possible for each player to have more than one Queen or more than two Rooks, Bishops, or Knights on the board at the same time.
Special Moves
Castling
Each player may "castle" only once during a game and when conditions are met. Castling is a special move that lets a player move two pieces at once — the King and one Rook. In castling, the player moves his King two squares to its left or right toward one of his Rooks. At the same time, the Rook involved goes to the square beside the King and toward the center of the board (see illustrations below). In order to castle, neither the King nor the Rook involved may have moved before. Also, the King may not castle out of check, into check, or through check. Further, there may not be pieces of either color between the King and the Rook involved in castling.
Castling is often a very important move because it allows you to place your King in a safe location and also allows the Rook to become more active.
En Passant
This French phrase is used for a special pawn capture. It means "in passing," and it occurs when one player moves a pawn two squares forward to try to avoid capture by the opponent's pawn. The capture is made exactly as if the player had moved the pawn only one square forward.

In the diagram, the Black pawn moves up two squares to the square with the dot. On its turn the White pawn may capture the Black one on the square marked with the X. If the White player does not exercise this option immediately — before playing some other move — the Black pawn is safe from "en passant" capture for the rest of the game. But new opportunities may arise for each pawn in similar circumstances.
About Check and Checkmate
The main goal of chess is to checkmate your opponent's King. The King is not actually captured and removed from the board like other pieces. But if the King is attacked ("checked") and threatened with capture, it must get out of check immediately. If there is no way to get out of check, the position is a "checkmate," and the side that is checkmated loses.


Click here to go Online chess games