Free Internet Chess Server
The Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) is a volunteer-run Internet chess server. It was organized as a free alternative to the Internet Chess Club (ICC), after that site began charging for membership.[1]
History[edit]
In 1992, Michael Moore of the University of Utah and Richard Nash started the first Internet chess server, named the American Internet Chess Server (AICS), but generally known as simply the Internet Chess Server (ICS). The initial release was hosted at the Colorado School of Mines, but it was moved to Carnegie Mellon University later the same year.[2]
The software was coded, supported, and operated by volunteers until 1995, when administrators began charging players for membership and changed the name to the ICC.[1]
Several former ICS programmers saw the commercialization of ICS as an exploitation of their work. This group, led by Chris Petroff and Henrik Gram, developed FICS as an alternative to the paid model, giving users free, unrestricted access. The server debuted on March 3, 1995, just two days after the ICC announcement.[3][2]
In 1998, the Free Internet Chess Organization (FICS) was organized as a nonprofit organization.[4]
In 2007, the legal entity was involuntarily dissolved. The server is still maintained and administered by volunteers.[4]
Usage[edit]
Connecting[edit]
Playing chess on FICS requires connecting to the server either through a web-based applet on the FICS website or by using a client program. Users can log in either as an anonymous guest or by registering for a free account. Each user is permitted only one account. The server maintains rating and game statistics for registered users. FICS uses the Glicko rating system.[5]
Gameplay[edit]
Players can watch for game requests by other users or create their own seeks and wait for someone to respond. Users can challenge specific players to a game by using the match command. Moves are made with a mouse on an image of a chess board or users can type in moves in algebraic chess notation. All games played by registered users are recorded by a computer and made publicly available.[4]
Time controls[edit]
FICS offers various time controls, including lightning (under 3 minutes), blitz (usually 5 or 10 minutes), and standard (over 15 minutes). Irregular variants, such as Fischer Random, are grouped together into formats like Wild.[4]
Fischer delay is popular: the time control is specified by two numbers, the minutes each player is allotted at the start of the game, and the seconds added to a player's clock after making a move. The timeseal utility allows the server to adjust for the effects of internet lag.[4]
Interfaces[edit]
FICS is designed to be accessed by a chess interface designed to connect to Internet chess servers. Popular interfaces for Windows include BabasChess, Jin, XBoard, Thief, and Raptor. Mobialia Chess is common for mobile operating systems Android and iOS.[4]
In 2017, the Free Chess Club open-source project released a web-based client targeted towards modern web browsers using JavaScript, HTML5, and WebSockets.[6]
Channels[edit]
FICS has conservatively censored chat channels numbered 0 through 255. Some popular channels include:
- channel 1 – general help
- channel 4 – helping guests
- channel 50 – general chat
- channel 53 – guest chat
Registration is required for all channels except channels 1, 4, and 53.[4]
Variants[edit]
Currently, the following chess variants are available on FICS, besides regular chess:
- Suicide
- Loser's chess
- Atomic
- Wild
- Bughouse
- Crazyhouse
Tournaments on FICS[edit]
Tournaments are regularly organized or relayed on FICS. The popular Lichess platform obtains its tournament relays via FICS.
Mamer tournaments[edit]
Most tournaments are organized by "Mamer," an automated tournament director. Mamer announces tournaments through channel 49 and through tells and "tshouts." Tournaments range in time controls and include variants.[4]
Other tournaments[edit]
Other regular tournaments on FICS include tournaments featuring slow time controls (STC) of typically more than 45 minutes. Two of the most popular are FICS Teamleague and the Online Chess League (OCL).[4]
Relay[edit]
FICS relays major chess events. A bot takes the moves in ongoing games and relays them to special demo accounts on FICS. Users and guests on FICS can watch the games in progress and chat about the games with each other. The relay has covered every single World Chess Championship since its inception.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs named:1 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 "FICS 10th Anniversary Celebrations". Retrieved 2010-05-10.
- ↑ Petroff, Chris (2009-03-05). "History of the Internet Chess Server – Part I". Archived from the original on 2010-03-13. Retrieved 2010-05-10. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 "Free Internet Chess Server". gambiter.com. Retrieved 2017-09-28.
- ↑ vek/glickman. "Vek-splanation of the Glicko Ratings System". Retrieved 2010-05-10.
- ↑ "Home". freechess.club.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Scheduled tournaments
- FICS Game Database
- FICS Mac OS app
- FICS Bughouse Database
- FICS interface comparison
- FICS TeamLeague
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