Chess.com

[Narz]

I have to admit, I have switched my allegance pretty much from QueenAlice.com to chess.com.

Note : I still play on QA and will obviously finish all my tournaments there!

Advantages of C.C over QA

1. You can chat w/ your opponent even after the game ends
2. Better forums
3. Owner is a cool guy who will answer your questions personally
4. More accurate ratings
5. Tactics Trainer feature (this is very cool, they even give you a rating, 10 probs a day max unless you pay but this is still pretty good)
6. Has info about chess clubs in your local area, a video section, lots of stuff like that
7. When you're in analysis mode the program will not let you make illegal moves (as opposed to QueenAlice's "thinking")
8. Users can create double-round-robin tournaments (AFAIK)

Disadvantages

1. You can't join a user-created tournament until you've completed 5 games

I'm probably gonna host the '08-'09 CFC Throwdown here (unless everyone complains) so join now and complete some games now!

 

[Narz]

Was playing 32 games at once at one point. Now down to 28. I'm 9-1 so far.

 

[dwaxe]

More people need to know about chess.com, I'm addicted to chess a LOT more now!

 

[Narz]

I'll probably host the 2008-2009 CFC annual tourney on chess.com (as opposed to QueenAlice) so check it out!

 

[Mehmed100]

That would be nice. It's also faster to load than Queen Alice.

 

[Narz]

Yeah, I didn't think about that but it's true. It's also constantly improving whereas queenalice seems to be mostly staying the same. Plus the Live Chess feature & the Opening Book & Game Explorer + the tactics trainer (though I noticed they dropped it down to only 3 problems a day for regular members). My friend from real life said he would join this week or next (he's a pure beginner, probably around 1000 or so but very into the game).

 

[Mehmed100]

I'm probably going to buy a membership so I have access the the game explorer. Right now all I have in the way of resources is my books.

 

[Narz]

The game explorer totally kicks ass. I have to admit though I feel a little cheap using it.

 

[Mehmed100]

Are you using it against me??!!

 

[Narz]

Are you using it against me??!!

I didn't in our previous game.

In this one, I didn't use it until my last move (6. d4) because I already knew the opening pretty well up until that point. Technically d3 had ever-so-slightly better stats but I felt more comfortable with d4.

Against lance I used it extensively. When he takes the Bishop he'll be totally pwned with Qc3. It does feel a bit cheap but likely it will be ingrained into my brain & next time I won't need access to the theory.

 

[Narz]

Oh another cool thing about being a premium member is that you can't time out of games. They give you a few extra days of "auto-vacation" (unless you've already used up all your vaca days). Kind of cheap and I only had to use it once but comes in handy.

 

[LightFang]

All right, I'll see what all the hubaloo is about.

 

[Narz]

Woo-hoo, I'm the top promoter on the whole site thanks to you guys.

 

[WhiteEagle22]

I started my Chess.com blog tonight with my first dual-posting (means I posted it there & on my personal blog here). I will be doing that regularly to keep you guys posted on my real life.

So far my record is 1-3 for 25%. I am real rookie at Chess. I should really re-install Tournament Chess and play a few games!

 

[Godwynn]

I just joined Chess.com, you know where to find me!

 

[Godwynn]

For those of you that have premium membership, would you say it is worth the $29.88 yearly membership fee?

 

[WhiteEagle22]

I'd say the Diamond is worth the 12.99 a month!

 

[Godwynn]

I'd say the Diamond is worth the 12.99 a month!

Heh, I was thinking more along the lines of Gold ($2.49 / month).

I finished my first game, I like this site!

 

[WhiteEagle22]

I was Gold for a while, until I found out that it meant limited options for tournaments. I am the host of my company's annual tournament so more options is better.

 

[DaveShack]

I'm currently at gold level. No need yet to host tournaments and it seems to let me join more than one. It gives much better access to the game explorer opening database.

Diamond gives chess mentor access, right?