Choosing an Online Chess Site: PlayChess and Yahoo
October 6, 2010
Tags: Learning Chess Articles, Teaching Chess Articles
Written by guest author Jason Repa for Wholesale Chess
A continuation of Jason’s reviews of online chess sites. Be sure to check out Jason’s review of ICC.
Second on my list is www.playchess.com.
This server was created by the Chessbase Company which sells popular chess software. Their annual fees are comparable to ICC and you also have the option of getting a year membership with the purchase of any of their new chess playing software, such as Fritz, Rybka, Shredder, or the formidably expensive Chessbase database management utility. A free trial membership is possible as well.
They are based out of Germany, but have a fully functional English interface, as well as providing interfaces in a plethora of other languages. Playchess.com has by far the highest resolution interface and smoothest action for game-play of any chess server on the internet, which is why they began stealing many of ICC’s members when they first arrived on the scene about a decade ago. They were also the first to introduce the wonderful premove feature which allows you to set up your moves in advance, and is a boon for bullet players, although ICC has since created their own version of premove. Playchess.com also has many paid VIP members, including some well-known super-grandmasters who regularly play speed games for all to watch and enjoy, and, for the right price, may even play a game with you. Like ICC, Playchess.com also offers broadcasts of major tournaments and training lectures, but they are still rather disorganized in this area and often charge pay-per-view fees for such events, even for their already paid up members. There are other problems with the server, such as intermittent high latency (lag) issues, and their newer software clients feel very ‘heavy’ and place very high demands on system resources. Those with older computers, a marginal amount of ram, or a less than blazing internet speed many end up having a frustrating experience at playchess.com. On top of this, many people have reported bad experiences with some rogue sysops who like to ban first, and ask questions later.
For those who don’t want to spend any money for their online chess participation, my pick for the best free site is yahoo. The chess room can be found at: http://games.yahoo.com/ and navigating to board games, then to chess. The exact URL that appears will vary depending on your country and choice of client. Yahoo built a new flash-based server a few years back, which is still being dubbed The all-new Yahoo chess, but also provides access to their original chess room, which they now refer to as Standard Chess. On either of the flash or standard clients, the interface is very intuitive and easy to use. They also provide live chat in the lobby of each game room. The drawback of Yahoo chess is the preponderance of marginal or beginner level players. This is ok if you fit into that group, but for competitive tournament players, you might find yourself waiting some time for an equally skilled opponent. The interface quality and functionality is also nowhere near what either of ICC or Playchess.com offers. You can’t, for example, run an analysis engine while watching games, or easily obtain the .pgn game files for your personal perusal afterwards. In addition, there are no lectures, broadcasts, or training offerings. But, as free sites that are truly free, in contrast to sites which advertise free access but constantly pester you to pay, lest you be inundated with distracting advertisements and reminders of the limited functionality that free members are entitled to, Yahoo chess gets my top vote. Yahoo continues to be one of the most recognizable names in cyber space for good reason.
Jason Repa is a CFC rated national chess expert and part-time chess coach from Winnipeg, Canada. He has been a tournament chess player since 1995 and has been teaching chess since 2002. He can be reached at jasonrepa @ hotmail.com
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of Wholesale Chess. We welcome open discussion on all aspects of chess on the Wholesale Chess Blog. If you would like to be a guest author on our blog, please contact us at marketing@wholesalechess.com.
October 12th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Excellent articles!! Thank you!!
So far I’ve been playing just at the free sites and didn’t know what I was missing. I really appreciate your highly descriptive reviews.
October 17th, 2010 at 8:52 pm
nice article jason when you got such high clarity in your writing and good chess skills why waste time fighting idiots on the internet? i think if you concentrate on your game and work with a few GMs you could get to 2400-2500 rating
October 18th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Gary & ducksauce –Thanks for the kind words!
ducksauce — I stopped fighting with idiots on the internet some time ago but sometimes message board postings last for many years.
October 18th, 2010 at 10:09 am
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February 28th, 2011 at 1:14 am
very difficult to use. help file non-existent. sysops rude. a lot of abuse. i could not find out how to report the abuse. had to go else where to find out. only to discover that if i didnt report it at the very moment then no use.
the gm games i am suppose to be able to watch are few and far between. the lessons are given by untitled players and the gms that are there dont really get to it. just a complete disappointment. i wish i could get a refund for the time i havent used. i really dont like anything about the site and feel embarrassed to admitt i join there.