Internet chess has expanded the horizons for chess players in many ways. They are no longer limited to their long-term pals, important as they may be. They can now play at their convenient time, with a player across the globe who probably has his feet in the air as well at that time. And with the development of correspondence chess in the net from the simple emails to server-based sites, this manner of playing chess has become as prominent as its real-time game counterpart.
If you are not familiar with correspondence chess, it is a way of playing chess that usually takes a considerable amount of time, usually days or weeks, since the players are not usually present at the same time. Usual time controls involves making a number of moves within a number of days or weeks. The earliest versions of correspondence chess involves mailing the moves to the other player via the post, or snail mail. With the increased usage of e-mails, moves are now transmitted to the other player as email messages. Now, there are dedicated websites that would store a player's move to their servers, waiting for the other player to make a reply when he logs in. In each case, the basic characteristic that the other player need not be present for the game to progress is retained. Many players who play correspondence chess do so because the extended amount of time per move allow for more analysis and reflection, which can then be utilized in on-the-board games.
Schemingmind is a site dedicated to correspondence chess. In addition to hosting standard chess games, it also features chess variants, all using correspondence chess time controls. It has become a sort of hub for enthusiasts of chess variants. Some of the features of the site include:
- Free lifetime membership, with restrictions
- A significant number of chess variants, with a considerable number of player-enthusiasts
- Use of the "Fischer clock", wherein time increments are added to a player's time everytime he makes a move, replenishing his clock and ensuring a more even time consumption and prevents the "mindless rushing" in the last few minutes in normal game controls
- Variable time control lengths, as short as less than a week to as long as a month of time bank, with variable increments as well
- Access to game database and annotated games
- Option to join teams organized by country or genre
- Active, educational forum
Surely this article will not be able to cover the dynamics of correspondence chess as well as expound on all the features of Schemingmind. But I hope it sparked your interest to find out more about correspondence chess. Do check out Schemingmind as well (click the pic at the top).
