ChessGames.com
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
ChessGames.com is a web-based chess database and community. It contains over 400,000 searchable chess games and offers daily features, such as a "Game of the Day" and a "Puzzle of the Day", taken from games in the database. Among its members are several notable chess players as Susan Polgar, Yury Shulman, Lawrence Day, Eric Schiller, Raymond Keene, Arno Nickel and Yelena Dembo.
Registration is free and enables users to discuss games, openings, tournaments, etc. by leaving a comment in the "Kibitzer's Corner" found on almost every page of the site. Registered users can also create game collections and write a personal profile.
Posters can post a chess diagram by typing the position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation.
In early 2006, the site launched a multiplayer online game called "ChessBookie." This is a gambling simulation in which players compete by wagering playmoney (called "chessbucks") on real-world chess events.
Users can also pay for Premium Membership, which provides the following items, among others:
- Opening Explorer. From the initial position, a user can click on the moves that lead to openings of interest, in order to select and review games from that particular opening.
- Endgame Explorer. A user can select a given collection of material — for example, king and two pawns versus king and one pawn — and review games in which this endgame occurred.
- Sacrifice Explorer. A user can select games with sacrifices of a given piece, for example, a queen, or search for sacrifices of their favorite player or opening. Most chess enthusiasts consider sacrifices to be among the most interesting chess moves; learning the reason for a sacrifice also increases tactical skill.
According to ChessGames.com, more than 70,000 users have registered altogether, but only about 19% are currently active. A 2005 online survey indicated that of about 1,000 respondents, more than 97% were men. The median rating is in the 1600-1799 range, as measured by the ELO rating system.
Like many online chess game collections, ChessGames.com contains flaws in its database. In some rare cases the moves are incorrect, but the most common problem is that one player is listed under two different names, such as "Bernd Stein" and "Stein Bernd". Errors, when reported, are usually fixed promptly.
