About BBS Chess BBS Chess is a online Chess door that if it is available on the bbs, provides many options, and modes, and this is an attempt to share all of them with you. First of all there are 5 different MODES. They are STD, BLITZ, SPEED, FUN, & TIMED. When you are in STD (Standard) mode, you will be rated based upon your win/loss ratio in relationship to the other players. This rating system uses the exact same algorithms that the USCF (United States Chess Federation) uses in establishing their ratings for the players that are members of the USCF, and have chess ratings. So, in STD mode, you are in effect playing tournament type games, and can and will establish a rating. Everyone starts out at 1400 as a rating. What are the other modes? They are for fun! They are almost all timed games, and any win/loss in the other four modes (BLITZ, FUN, SPEED & TIMED) do NOT affect your rating. Here are the modes, and basically what they mean, and their purpose: [You actually key in the whole word to execute the commands here] BLITZ - You get 30 seconds for a move, and if you take longer than that, then you lose the game! So, be ready to make your move, and make it quickly. :) But, by using this methodology of play, you can and do improve your abilities to see positions quickly, and make good decisions. It is just for fun. (In all timed games, you can NOT view a game that you are involved in!) SPEED - Here you get 5 minutes for an entire game! So whoever runs out of time (the 5 minutes) first loses. Again, like BLITZ, the idea is to make your move quickly. Again, in all timed games, you can NOT view a game that you are involved in! (Makes it harder that way, you can't go back and look at the position when it isn't your move, thus seeing it without being timed) TIMED - Here you get 60 minutes for an entire game. So again, whoever uses up his/her 60 minutes first will lose the game regardless of the position (unless someone resigns, offers a draw, or checkmates)! The idea is to have fun, and hone up your decision making skills. (Again, you can't view a game that you are playing in, in a timed game) FUN - This is the Four Knights game. Black has a King, 1 pawn, and 4 Knights. White has a King, and 8 pawns. Who will win?!? This mode is strictly for fun, and again to help you hone your skills in playing Chess. Particularly end-game type situations. There is NO TIME restrictions in this mode. STD - This is the Standard mode of playing BBS Chess. There are no time restrictions within the game, and all of your games will be rated by your win/loss against other players. If you beat a player with a much higher rating than yourself, then your rating will go up dramatically, but the reverse is also true. If you LOSE to a player who is much lower than you in rating points, then you LOSE a lot of rating points. Of course you can view any and all STD games, whether you are a player in the game or not, as the STD mode of games are not timed. Here are the main menu options: [Here you just key in the number to execute the command] (1) Play on of YOUR existing games - By pressing 1, you can select any of your existing games to play. After you hit 1, you will be given a choice to list out your games (hit the L key), or just key in the actual NUMBER of your game. You will then be taken to the game that number corresponds to. (2) New Games, Available to JOIN - Here you can join any existing games that need a player. Just depress the number 2, and again you can List (hit the L key) out the games that need a player, or if you know the number already, then depress the NUMBER of the actual game. After you do that, you will be set up in the game, and BBS Chess will tell you the # of the game, and you can then use option (1) to go in there and make a move (if it is your turn to move). (3) Start a NEW game as WHITE - Here you can start a new game as white. You will be given the # of the game that is set up for you, and then you depress the #1 (for play your existing games), and select the number for the game that you just started. In choosing white, you would have the first move, and can make your move immediately. You would then wait for someone else to log in and join the game with you. (4) Start a NEW game as BLACK - Here you can start a new game as black! You will be given the # of the game that is set up for you, and you can depress the #1 key (for playing your existing games), and select the number for the game you just started. However as black you will not be able to move right away. You will have to wait for someone to join this game with you, and then as white he/she will make the 1st move. (5) View any "In-Progress" game - This option is fairly self-explanatory. You use this option to actually view, or SEE any of the other games that are IN progress. You will be given the option of listing them out (hit the L key), and then depress the number that corresponds with the game you want to view. Remember you can't view any TIMED games that YOU are playing! (6) Games Won - Here you can see a list of the games that have been won, and the respective players. (7) Ratings - Here you will see a list of the players with their respective ratings. (8) Win/Loss - Here you will see a list of the players and all their wins and losses. This list can get to be quite long after awhile! :) (9) CHALLENGE - Here you have the opportunity to specifically Challenge another user. BUT it is only available in the STD mode, and you can ONLY challenge a player that is 100 points higher than yourself (as a maximum), or 25 points lower than yourself (again as a maximum the other way). The 100/25 point ratio is set up by the Sysop and could vary from system to system. When you do make a challenge to another user, that user had to have LOGGED into the door at least ONCE. Otherwise the door will not recognize the user's name. Also, if you challenge another user, then you will automatically be given Black. You can NOT Challenge and get the WHITE pieces! Also, when you Challenge, the game is automatically set up for you, with the person to whom you issued the challenge to. This is a very exciting option. Note: The challenge option is not available in FUN, BLITZ, SPEED, or TIMED modes. You only get options 1-6, which are almost identical to the main menu options, with the exception of the 6th option. #6 for all other modes is "Completed Game Results," and just shows you all completed games in whatever mode you are currently in. Here are some of the "OR" options: [Here again for most of these commands you need to key in the whole command to execute it] WHO - This command gives you a look at who is on what node. So you can see every user that may be in the door. OTHER - This command gives you the ability to see what games another user is in. After you type "other," the door will ask you to type in the full name of a user. You do so, and you will see a list of all of the games that user is involved in, and you can view them as well (just like using the view command). STATS - This command will let you see what the STATS are for yourself, just like you saw when you logged in. Showing you the games you have, what modes you have moves in, and any games that are ready to be joined in the 5 different modes. It will also show you your games won, lost, and drawn. You also get to see your total games finished. HELP - This will give you a 1 screen help file to give you a basic understanding of all the commands. QUIT - Use this command to quit the game and go back to the BBS. COLOR - Use this command to use, or not use color. It is just a toggle, so if you are in color, and type color, then you will toggle the color off. Additional Information for while you are at the Main Menu: If you depress the #1 key, and select one of your games to play, you then have more options within the game itself. First you can do a list of your games, and all games that need a move from you will have a "-->" in front of it. You depress the corresponding number, and you will be whisked to that game. While you are in a Game there are many options that are at your disposal, and here they are, with brief explanations for each one: (F) Re-fresh your screen (T) Take back a move (L) Leave a message or clear a message (R) Remove/Cancel Game (D) Offer a Draw (C) Toggle the color on/off (N) Go to the next game you have a move in (M) See your list of moves, or Messages (R) Resign your game...Ugh! :) (F) Refresh your screen - Just what it says, the screen will just re-display itself. (T) Take back a move - With this command you can take back moves, but ONLY WHILE you are in the game. Once you go to your next game, or quit out of the current game, you will not be able to take back a move, even if you are still in BBS Chess, and hadn't gone back to the bbs. In other words, once you make your move, and leave the game (for any reason) your move is carved in stone. (L) Leave/Clear Messages - Here you can leave a message for your opponent, or clear a message that is no longer needed. (R) Remove/Cancel Game - If you have just started the game, and there are no other players that have joined, then you can Remove or cancel the game. In other words, if you change your mind before anyone joins you, then you will have this option. Otherwise you will only be able to offer a draw (after 8 moves), or resign (after 5 moves). (D) Offer Draw - With this command you can after 8 moves have consumated themselves (as a minimum), offer a draw to your opponent. If your opponent accepts your offer, then the game will be called a draw, with nobody being the winner. (C) Color OFF (or ON) - This is a toggle switch that you can use to turn your color on or off. Just hit the letter C, and your color will turn on or off, depending on where it is to beging with. :) (N) Next Game - This is probably one of the best little commands that is available. With this command you can go right to your NEXT GAME that you have a move in. You will be given the option of inputting a number (for a specific game you want to go to), or inputting the letter N again, and you will be taken to the next game that you have a move in. If you have no other moves in any other games, then you will be informed of that, and will stay in the game you are currently in. (M) Moves/Messages - With this command you can see a list of all the moves that have been made for the current game you are in. You can also see any and all messages that are still available. You will be given a choice after hitting the M key, as to whether or not you want to see moves, or messages. (R) Resign (Lose) - With this dreaded command, you can resign a game that you think is absolutely lost. There is no shame in resigning a game, as very few games of chess actually end up with checkmate, as most players when they see they are lost, they resign. Well, I hope that this has helped you to better understand the commands that are available within BBS Chess.