From: Daniel Sleator Sent: Monday, April 01, 1996 10:14 PM To: L. Mitchell Wein Subject: ICC help file: Manual1 (from guest125) ******************************* Manual1 ********************************* (first half of "info" files) Copyright (C) 1995 Internet Chess Club This Manual file contains all the text of the files in the first half of the "info" list. The files have been combined into a single file so that you can email it to yourself easily with the "mailhelp" command. Be advised that this file is over 1100 lines! Prior to mailing it to yourself, PLEASE check the email address in your finger and make sure it is correct! We don't want to get bounced mail with a file this long. Thanks, and enjoy! If you have any questions or comments, send a message to arcsin or POTZY. _________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS OF Manual1: absent, abuse, addresses, adjudicate, admin-new, admins, agreement, alias, atmosphere, books-begin, books-interm, bughouse, channels, commands, computers, definitions, event, fees, FIDErating, FMs, formula, ftp-hints, Glicko, GM-bio, GMs, handle, IMs, incentive, index, interfaces, intro, intro1, intro2, intro3, intro4, intro5, intro6, intro7, intro8. _________________________________________________________________________ ***** ABSENT POLICY ***** Some people, such as students who are gone for the summer, don't have access to their ICC account for long periods of time. In order to help out these people, we have the following policy: If you do not log in to ICC for TWO MONTHS or longer, AND your account has not expired on the day you come back, you may request an extension of your account. We will extend your account by the length of the period you were gone. The record of your logins will be checked to verify. Send a message to arcsin, POTZY, or BossLady on the day that you come back, to receive a membership extension for your absence. See also: extend, incentive, fees ***** ABUSE ***** The following actions are considered cheating or abuse and may result in warnings, addition to the "abusers" list, or the loss of your account: 1. Disconnecting in a lost position and failing to return to finish the game. Disconnecting in order to analyze the position. 2. Refusing to resume an adjourned game when the opponent asks. If you are a victim of this, read "help adjudicate". 3. Intentionally losing games by resigning when you are not lost. Accepting multiple wins from a player who is intentionally losing is also abuse. 4. Playing the same player repeatedly during your provisional period in order to get an artificially high rating. Don't play the same player more than 4 rated games during your provisional period (first 20 rated games). Playing most of your games against provisional players during your provisional period is another form of abuse. 5. Using a computer without telling the administrators or without putting a note in your finger, or without getting your account added to the computer list. People have the right to know whether they are playing a human or a computer. 6. Allowing another person besides you to play rated games with your account. Using another player's account to play rated games. 7. Receiving help from another player or computer while playing a rated game. Players placed on the "abusers" list will automatically lose if they disconnect while playing a game. Repeated violations of the above may result in the loss of your account. Please note that lag-flagging, while unsportsmanlike, is not considered "abuse", meaning that admins will take no action to discipline a lag-flagger. Please read "help lagflag". See also: server, computers, atmosphere, agreement ***** ADDRESSES ***** The Internet Chess Club is reached by using the "telnet" command. You connect to the club with the command: telnet CHESS.LM.COM or telnet 192.231.221.16 We also now have a neat WWW page! Try http://www.hydra.com/icc/ The ICC ftp site contains all the latest interfaces for use on ICC, the timestamp program for handling lag, and many utility programs. To get to it, type ftp CHESS.LM.COM and type "anonymous" as the username and your email address as the password (NOT your ICC password). To see a sample ftp session, do "help ftp" on ICC. The ICC email address is: ICC@CHESS.LM.COM The ICC phone number is: (412) 362-6334 USA The ICC mailing address is: ICC, 840 College St, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 The Internet Chess Library contains all kinds of chess data and programs: ftp ics.onenet.net (164.58.253.10) The Chess Assistant ftp site, with lots of database games, is: ftp ldis.cs.msu.su And... for a change of pace: chinese chess: coolidge.math.harvard.edu 5555 (128.103.28.15 5555) backgammon: fraggel65.mdstud.chalmers.se 4321 (129.16.235.90 4321) othello: faust.uni-paderborn.de 5000 (131.234.28.29 5000) go: igs.nuri.net 6969 (203.255.112.3 6969) go ftp: bsdserver.ucsf.edu (128.218.80.68) scrabble: seabass.st.usm.edu 7777 or next7.cas.muohio.edu 8888 ***** ADJUDICATE ***** Unfinished games can be adjudicated as wins, loses, draws, or aborts by admins logging into the "Adjudicate" account. Players are STRONGLY encouraged to make EVERY effort to finish their games in the normal manner. Just match your opponent when he is logged in to complete a stored game. Refusing to complete an adjourned game is considered abuse, and may result in administrative action. If, after several days, a game has not been completed, send an adjudication request to the adjudicate account with a brief description of the situation and the requested outcome. Adjudications may take several days, as we get many requests. Please be patient. Examples: mess adjudicate I haven't see Darooha for 3 weeks. Please abort our game. mess adjudicate I am up a queen against indigo, I would like a win. ________________________________________________________________________ Games will only be adjudicated under one of three circumstances: 1. An absolutely clear and undisputable win/draw. Such as: Obvious forced mates. A decisive material advantage, or impending advantage, without compensation. Decisive means an average club player could defeat a master without difficulty. Typically, this is at least a queen advantage, but can vary with position. A dead, lifeless draw, where progress for either side is virtually impossible. Endings with locked pawns, bishops of opposite color, or no pawns and even material for example. An opponent who is out of time. 2. A game that has been adjourned very early. If material is even, the position is still balanced with no complications, and the game has not reached move 10, it may be adjudicated as an abort. 3. A game that for some reason cannot be completed. Games against an opponent inactive for over a month may be adjudicated as a win/draw/abort at the discretion of the adjudicator. Games against an uncooperative opponent should be submitted for adjudication. The opponent will be instructed to finish the game, and if he/she still refuses, the game will be forfeited as a loss. ________________________________________________________________________ Please do not send frivolous adjudication requests, such as asking for a win in a dead lost position. Players who repeatedly request frivolous adjudications may have their games adjudicated against them. Unfortunately, lag cannot be cannot be considered when evaluating an adjudication request. See also: stored, sposition, abuse ***** ADMINS ***** This file lists all of the current administrators. As this list changes frequently, the names are not listed in this manual. Do "help admins" to see the list. ***** ADMIN-NEW ***** ICC players often ask what is required to become an admin. Here is a brief summary of the MINIMUM requirements. Satisfying all these requirements does not mean you will be made an admin. 1) There MUST be a need for more admins. Currently we do not need any. 2) Admins must be able to deal fairly and politely with players. They must be able to handle player disputes diplomatically. Many times players are VERY angry, and the admin must be able to calm them down, and make both sides happy. 3) Admins are often criticized or insulted by players who do not like certain policies, or feel they have been treated unfairly. Admins must be able to take this criticism without getting angry. 4) Admins must understand ALL the commands on ICC, and know what is in the help files. These are listed by "help" and "info". Admins must be able to explain these commands to users. 5) Admins must know the ICC policies very well, and be able to apply them to specific cases. Some of the policies are written in "atmosphere", "abuse", "agreement", and "sshout". 6) Admins need to be fairly computer-literate. They must understand the basics of Unix, telnet, ftp. They should have experience with at least two of the ICC interfaces. They should know how to download and install interfaces. 7) Admins must be willing to spend several hours every week answering questions, handling disputes, helping with interfaces, adjudicating games, etc. These several hours do not include time spent playing games or talking with friends. 8) Due to a waiting list, we are requiring that new admins be 25 years old or older. ***** AGREEMENT ***** INTERNET CHESS CLUB USER AGREEMENT By becoming a registered member of the Internet Chess Club and using its services, I am agreeing to the following: 1) If at anytime I am not satisfied with the service ICC is providing, I may request a refund as explained in "help refund". 2) I will not give my account password to anyone. I am the only person who can play games using my account, except I can allow a friend to play an unrated game for purposes of demonstrating ICC. 3) I will not use a computer to make moves or help me decide on moves. If I wish to have my computer play on ICC, I need to purchase another account for that purpose, and inform an admin that it is a computer account. 4) I will not abuse the system, as defined in "help abuse". 5) I will behave decently towards other ICC members, as described in "help atmosphere". Specifically, I understand that obscenities and verbal abuse will not be tolerated. 6) I will not copy, or in any way transmit to other servers or forums, the commentary or content of special events on IC without written permission from the ICC. These events are for the private use of ICC members only. I understand that a violation of any of points 2-6 may result in the loss of my membership without a refund. 7) The ICC will do its best to maintain a server that is up and running the maximum amount of time possible. I understand that from time to time, routine maintainence and installation of new features may be necessary, and will result in short periods of down-time. 8) If the amount of cumulative down-time in any calendar year exceeds 4 days (96 hours), the ICC will provide all current members with a free extension of their membership equal to double the amount of down-time. This will only include down-time resulting from the ICC program, the ICC computers, and the ICC internet site. The ICC cannot be responsible for general failure of the internet, routers, or member's computer systems. 9) The ICC will not be held responsible for any damage to computer hardware or software resulting from the use of ICC. The ICC will not be responsible for any consequences of spending too much time on ICC. ***** ALIAS ***** An alias is a way to save typing for a command you often use. For example, if you type: +alias blitz shout Does anyone want to play 5 0 blitz with me? then the alias "blitz" will be added to your alias list. The first word after the "+alias" is the name of your alias. Now, anytime you type "blitz" you will automatically shout: "Does anyone want to play 5 0 blitz with me?" You can see a list of your aliases by typing "=al". Aliases can be removed from your list. For example, "-alias blitz*" will remove the blitz alias. You MUST include the *. The symbol "@" can be put into an alias, and is used as a text substitution. For example, if you make the alias: +alias greet tell @ Hello!! How are you today? then typing "greet Jan" would be exactly the same as typing: "tell Jan Hello!! How are you today?" You can put more than one "@" in your alias, and each of them will be substituted. See also: list, vars ***** ATMOSPHERE ***** It is the goal of the administrators on ICC to maintain an environment in which people can have fun playing chess and conversing with friends. This is a very unique and exciting opportunity to play chess and talk to people from all over the world! Many features have been provided to have fun communicating with fellow chess players: shout, sshout, tell, kibitz, whisper, channels, and messages. The ICC will NOT tolerate any obscenities, verbal harrassment, or remarks that would prove offensive based on race, religion, or sexual orientation of ICC members. If you cannot agree to this, then please go elsewhere for your chess playing! PLEASE keep in mind that there are many children who play chess here! Judgements as to whether behavior is "offensive" are made by the admins, and are final. Offenders may or may not be given warnings before they are banned from ICC. We have found that 99% of ICC members have no problem with this policy. The SHOUT command is especially important, because it sends what you say to all people who have their shout turned on. It is very useful and fun, for doing things like greeting friends, giving information on chess events, asking for a certain type of match, or asking for help when you are not sure who to ask. SSHOUT is provided for serious chess-related shouts. Do "help sshout" for more information. Sometimes there is inappropriate use of shouting, which causes many people to turn their shout off. This is unfortunate because those people then cannot participate in the club-like atmosphere. Please do your part to avoid unecessary or inappropriate use of the shout feature: - Please don't shout things that are better communicated using other means. For example, something directed at only one person does not need to be shouted, you can use "tell". Long political discussions should be held in the Politics Channel (97). There are also channels for many other topics unrelated to chess, and for conversing in several languages other than English. Please check "help channel" for a list, and join the ones that interest you. - Shouting a few silly remarks or jokes is fine, but constant shouting of silly things just bothers people who are trying to play chess or talk to friends. We are happy that most people on ICC are very friendly and never have any problem contributing to the fun and exciting atmosphere on ICC! See also: shout, channels, server, suggestions, sshout ***** BOOKS-BEGIN ***** A nice review of some good chess books for beginners, written by Tim MacGrew. Not included in this manual, because it is rather long. You can read it on line or e-mail it to yourself using mailhelp. See also: books-interm ***** BOOKS-INTERM ***** A nice review of some good chess books for intermediates, written by Tim MacGrew. Not included in this manual, because it is rather long. You can read it on line or e-mail it to yourself using mailhelp. See also: books-begin ***** BUGHOUSE ***** Play with a partner, and use the pieces he captures on your own baord by "dropping" them any where you want! Bughouse (Siamese chess or double speed chess) is chess variant for four players and two chess sets. When your partner captures pieces on her board, she passes them to you. On your turn you may either make an ordinary chess move, OR place a piece your partner has given you on any empty square (except no pawns on the first or eighth rank). Ending the game on one board ends the game for the other board too. Bughouse on ICC is wild variant 24. Use channel 24 to call for prospective partners and opponents. Use the "partner" command to form a team (see the example below). To place a piece, type @, e.g. N@h5 (case is not important). Some of the newer clients allow you to place a piece with the right button. Pieces available to each player are usually listed within square brackets. Example of how to play bughouse on ICC: suppose Alice and Bob want to be partners. Alice should type "partner Bob", and likewise Bob should type "partner Alice". Suppose Carol and David are a team too. Alice can then issue match Carol 2 12 w24 and if Carol accepts, that will create a bughouse game with Alice playing Carol on one board, and Bob playing David on the other. Notes: - Bughouse matches can be rated if all participants are registered. - Piece-drops with check (or even checkmate) are allowed. - It's not checkmate when there's the possibility of interposition. - Repetition draws are disabled; you can draw only by agreement. - Takeback and adjourn are disabled. - If you disconnect during a bughouse game, your team forfeits. - "ptell" can be used to talk to your partner. - "prefresh" displays your partner's board. - "say" will go to the other 3 players involved. - "kib" will go to all 4 players, plus anyone observing either board. - "bugwho" lists teams and games - Promoted pawns revert to pawns upon being captured. - Bughouse half-games can be examined, with piece holdings not shown. - Bughouse ratings are in fingers, and in "best w"! - Bughouse ratings are adjusted based on all four players' records. Basically it compares the average rating of each team. - "wildrank" shows your rank on the wild and bughouse rating lists. - Some clients handle bughouse better than others. xboard 3.4, slics 2.2f, ziics 1.30, and fixation each have some bughouse support. Don't use prefresh with older xboard versions. - If your client can display two boards at once, you might want to "follow" your partner, and set unobserve=0. - There may still be problems with the bughouse code, use at own risk. See also: bug-pointers, Kriegspiel, wild ***** CHANNELS ***** Channels on ICC are used for group discussion. Anybody who is in a channel can hear what is being told to the channel. Registered and unregistered players can talk in channels. Channels can also be used for team games. Use "+channel 99" to join channel 99 and hear what's said on it. Use "tell 99 blah blah" to say "blah blah" on channel 99. Use ", howdy" to say "howdy" to the last channel you talked in. Use "-channel 99" to leave channel 99. Use "=channel" to see what channels you are in. Use "inchannel 99" to see who is in channel 99. Use "inchannel" to get a list of who is in all channels. In all of the above, "channel" can be abbreviated to "ch". Requests for new channels in the list are being made only if chess- related and a large number of people request them. Special channels include: 0 - Admins only. 1 - Help Channel. Ask for any ICC-related help or info. Please keep non-ICC chatter to a minimum, so newbies can get help. 3 - Simul Channel: for people playing or watching a simul. 4 - GM Smirin Office hours (Fridays at 3pm) 5 - Mac users channel. 7 - Wild 7 Channel 10 - Team Game Channel: For setting up team games. 11 - Where "seeking" ads are automatically sent. 15 - ICC Youth Bunch! 21 and under, meet here! 16 - ICC Senior Channel! Socialize with friends over 50! 17 - Women's channel -- female ICC members only. 24 - BUGHOUSE Channel-partnering and general 'bug' topics. 34 - Sports 43 - Chess theory -- openings, endgames, etc. 44 - Computer chess-playing programs and chess databases. 45 - Chess books and magazines. Tell your favorites, ask advice! 46 - If you are playing in or signing up for an ICC Tournament. 47 - Tomato managers channel. Managers only, please. 50 - General unlimited gab. 55 - Non-chess Software and Hardware discussions. 64 - Programming and algorithms for chess-playing. Language channels: 71 - Spanish channel 72 - French channel 73 - German channel 74 - Dutch channel 75 - Russian channel 76 - Italian Channel 77 - Japanese channel 78 - Nordic channel (Denmark,Norway,Sweden,) 79 - Iceland channel 80 - Finnish Channel 89 - The WILD Bunch! - people who like the chess variants. 90 - The STC Bunch - people who like 30 to 120 minute time controls. 97 - POLITICS! (please discuss here, not in shouts!) 98 - The Zippy channel. 99 - The Street Corner Where Nothing Happens. See also: list, tell, inchannel, team-games ***** COMMANDS ***** Here is a quick explanation of all ICC commands. For more detailed information on any of the commands please refer to the appropriate help file. In addition administrators are available to provide online help. You may also join the "help channel" channel 1 by typing +ch 1 and then telling any questions you may have to channel 1. abort -- Sends a request to abort the current game. accept -- Accepts a challenge from another user. adjourn -- Sends a request to adjourn the current game. allobservers -- Shows a list of all games being observered and observers. assess -- Shows predicted rating changes for specified opponent. backward -- Moves backward in examine mode. bell -- Toggles the bell(beep) on or off. best -- List of best active ICC players in each classification. clearmessages-- Clears your message list. Maybe be used selectively. cls -- Typing "help cls" clears your screen. date -- Shows current time and date. Like UNIX date command. decline -- Declines request from opponent for match. draw -- Sends a request for a draw to current opponent. eco -- Gives opening classifications for a specified game. examine -- Enters examine mode of specified game. exit -- Leaves ICC server. expunge -- Removes specified stored game (if it's deleted). extend -- Extend your ICC membership. finger -- Shows finger file of specified user. flag -- Calls opponents time flag in current game. flip -- Flips the current board-may not work with all interfaces. forward -- Moves forward in examine mode. games -- Shows a list of games currently in progress. help -- Shows a list of all ICC commands. history -- Shows a list of past games of specified player. i -- Broadcast message echoed to yourself and all listeners. inchannel -- List of channel users. May be specified. info -- Shows a list of all ICC info files. kibitz -- A message sent to all observers and players of observed game. limits -- A listing of "hardcoded" ICC limits. lists -- Allows viewing or editing of specified list. llogons -- Shows last 20 players to log on or off. logons -- Displays a list of specified player's logons. mailhelp -- Mails to you the specified helpfile. mailoldmoves -- Mails to you the moves of previous game of specified player. mailstored -- Mails to you moves and info of specified game. match -- Challenges a player to a match at specified parameters. messages -- Send a message or view your messages. mexamine -- Allows specified player to participate in examing game. minus -- Removes specified item from specified list. moretime -- Adds moretime in seconds to your opponents clock. moves -- Displays a listing of the moves in specified game. news -- Displays specified news message. observe -- Allows observation of specified game. oldmoves -- Displays move list of specified players last completed game. open -- Toggles whether you are open for challenges. password -- Password oldpass newpass changes your password to newpass. pending -- Lists current challenges pending. players -- Shows a list of users currently open for matches. plus -- Adds specified item to specified list. promote -- Promotes specified pawn to user defined choice of piece. quit -- Exits ICC server. quota -- Shows time specified player logged in in last 24 hours. rank -- Displays specified player's rank among all active players. rated -- Defines that challenges you issue will be rated. refresh -- Redraws board. resign -- Resigns current game to your opponent. revert -- In examine mode reverts to original game position. say -- Sends a message to your current or last opponent . set -- Sets the specified variable to specified value. shout -- Broadcasts a message to all users listening to shouts. smoves -- Displays a list of moves of specified stored game. sposition -- Displays position of specified stored game. sshout -- Broadcasts chess related shout to all users with sshout open. statistics -- Shows a histogram of current ICC player data. stored -- Displays a list of stored games of specified player. style -- Sets the specified board display option. takeback -- Sends a request for takeback to your opponent. tell -- Sends a message to specified player or channel. time -- Displays amount of time left in specified game. unexamine -- Exits examine mode. upstatistics -- Displays a list of current server usage. vars -- Displays variables for specified player. whisper -- Sends message to other observers of game you are observing. who -- Configurable list of all users currently logged in to ICC. xtell -- Tells a channel or person without changing current recipient. znotl -- To list people on your notify list currently logged in. ***** COMPUTERS ***** Many players on ICC are computer chess programs. Type "=computer" for a list of known computers. Type "finger crafty" to get more information about a computer named "crafty". If you want to use a computer to play games on ICC, you have to get another account, in addition to your "human" account. Just register using "r" at the ICC login prompt. Then tell an admin that the new account is a computer, so it can be listed on the computer list. If your computer is fully automated, and the account will not be used by a human to play or observe ICC events, then the account will be free. Otherwise you must pay the usual membership fee. "Free" accounts MUST have the following information listed in their finger: - ICC handle of the human owner/operator. - Name and version number of the chess program used. - What kind of machine it runs on. We encourage non-free computer accounts to list the info also. ALL computers must be listed on the computer list, whether free or not. You cannot play as a human and a computer on the same ICC account. See also: list, finger, abuse, programmers ***** DEFINITIONS ***** registered/unregistered names A collection of data is stored for each registered name. To login with a registered name requires knowing the appropriate password. Do "help registration" to find out how to get a registered name. ADMINS Marked with "(ADM)" or "(*)" in "who", these people can help you register, set your email address, and do other useful things. But since they are often busy, be patient, and read the help files first. rated/unrated games A rated game is affects the ratings of the players. A game will be rated if (at the time the challenge is issued) both player's "rated" variables are 1, and both players are registered. Time controls: Time controls are specified in the match command when you challenge someone to a game. The time controls determine if a game is bullet, blitz, or standard. "etime" -- The initial time plus 2/3 the increment. A 2 12 game has an "etime" of 10. A 5 0 game has an etime of 5. "bullet" -- Games with etime less than 3. "blitz" -- Games with etime less than 15 and greater than or equal to 3. "standard" -- Games with etime greater than or equal to 15. Wild Variations on normal chess, including re-arranged pieces, and material odds. Do "help wild" for more info. Bughouse: do "help bughouse". "help Kriegspiel" for info on Kriegspiel. bullet/blitz/standard/wild,bughouse ratings The ICC maintains these five ratings for each registered player. The blitz rating is determined by the outcome of blitz games, the standard rating is for standard games, etc. The algorithm for updating them is identical. provisional/established ratings Each rating is either provisional or established. The rating is provisional if it is based on fewer than 20 games, and is established otherwise. active/inactive ratings Each rating is either active or inactive. A player's blitz rating is active if that player has played 8 rated blitz games in the last 31 days. For standard and wild games, the requirement is 6 games per month. The [need] number of a players finger tells how many games a player needs to become active in each rating. ***** EVENT ***** "help event" will show you the list of exciting events coming up in the next week on the Internet Chess Club. This list is also shown every time you log into ICC. "help event-all" lists all the events held on ICC since March 1995. The list is very long! POTZY handles ICC events. ***** FEES ***** Internet Chess Club Membership Fees: 6 months: Regular - $29 Student/Youth - $14.50 one year: Regular - $49 Student/Youth - $24.50 All memberships provide unlimited login time, games, etc. They also entitle you to use the lag-compensating program ("help timestamp"). The student/youth discount is given to anyone who is under age 22, or is a full-time student. You can mail or FAX proof of status to ICC. We'll extend your account for only one month of membership until the proof is received. We are required to charge a 7% sales tax to residents of Pennsylvania. Free Memberships: 1) Grandmasters and International Masters with non-anonymous accounts. 2) Automated computer programs with direct interface to ICC, like crafty (not to be used by a human to play or watch events) Extend your membership for free! Get a free month for each new member you sign up. Read "help incentive". Use the "extend" command to extend your membership. Credit card payment is accepted by on-line payment, e-mail, telephone, FAX, or mail. US checks and international postal money orders in US$ are also accepted. Personal checks from Canada are accepted (CAN $40 and $68 for regular 6-month and one year). email: ICC@CHESS.LM.COM mail: ICC phone: (412) 362-6334 USA 840 College St. FAX: (412) 362-8675 Pittsburgh, PA 15232 USA See also: absent, agreement, extend, incentive, package, refund, registration, timestamp, value ***** FIDErating ***** This file shows you the top 100 FIDE rated players in the world! The FIDE rating list comes out every January 1 and July 1. We try to update this file as soon as possible after the official list comes out. ***** FMs ***** This is the list of FIDE Masters who have accounts on ICC. You can "finger" them to get more information, and look at their games with the history and examine commands. The list is constantly being updated as more FIDE Masters join, so is not printed here. To see it, do "help FMs" or "=FM" on ICC. See also: IMs, GMs ***** FORMULA ***** "formula" is a variable that can be set with the "set" command, to screen match challenges you receive from other players. Use the variables and operators below. If your formula evalutes to "true" when someone challenges you with the match command, then the challenge will get through to you. If it evaluates as "false", then the challenge is rejected, and you receive notification that it is rejected. 0 is "false" and 1 is "true". You may view your current formula with "vars". Some basic logic rules: 1 | 0 evaluates to 1 (true) 1 & 0 evaluates to 0 (false) Operators: = - equal to. < - less than. > - greater than. <= - less or equal to. >= - greater or equal to. != - not equal to. + - used with "myrating myinc mytime ..." variables. - - used with "myrating myinc mytime ..." variables. * - used with "myrating myinc mytime ..." variables. & - and. | - or. Variables: bullet - is the time control that of a bullet game? blitz - is the time control that of a blitz game? standard - is the time control that of a standard game? (=1-blitz) wild - the wild type of the match. time - match time. inc - match increment. etime - "equivalent time". identical to time+2*inc/3. rated - is the challenge for a rated game? rating - your challenger's rating in the type of challenge. provisional - 1 or 0, depending on whether your challenger is provisional. established - 1 or 0, depending on whether your challenger is established. timeodds - is this a time-odds game? ropen - 1 or 0, depending on what your challenger's ropen flag is. wopen - 1 or 0, depending on what your challenger's wopen flag is. mywild - your wild variable. myrated - your rated variable. myinc - your inc variable. mood - your mood variable. myrating - your rating in the rating type of the challenge registered - 1 or 0, depending whether your challenger is registered. color - 0 if challenger demands black. 1 if challenger demands white. autocolor - 0 if challenger demanded a certain color. 1 if he didn't. Can be used to screen out challenges that specify a color. Examples: "set formula blitz" - Interested in blitz matches only. "set formula standard" - Standard matches only. "set formula inc<=4 & inc>1" - matches with increment less than or equal to 4 and greater than 1. "set formula rating > 2200" - Only against opponents rated above 2200. "set formula (rating > myrating-200) & blitz" - Less than 200 points below me, and blitz. See also: vars, mood ***** FTP-HINTS ***** "ftp" stands for file transfer protocal. It is a program used to transfer files from one computer to another on the Internet. Various computers have "ftp sites" that contain files you can download to your own computer. The basic procedure is for you to login to the ftp site, change to the correct directory, and "get" the file of your choice. The Internet Chess Club FTP server contains all kinds of chess information and programs that you can access free. Most important are the ICC interfaces and the timestamp program. This help file explains how to get graphical interfaces for playing chess on ICC. The only things you need to know to use ftp are 1) how to login, and 2) the commands "cd", "ls", "binary", and "get". These are all explained below: To get to the ICC ftp server, use the ftp command: ftp ftp.lm.com or ftp 192.231.221.9 Do this on your internet provider, not on ICC. If this won't work for you, you will need to find out how to use the ftp software on your local system. Once you connect via ftp, login with username: anonymous and password: your email address. Ex: ftp ftp.lm.com Connected to ftp.LM.com. 220 ivory.lm.com FTP server (Version wu-2.1c(1) Tue Feb 1 1994) ready. Name (ftp.lm.com:sleator): anonymous 331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password. Password: me@where If you are interested in a Graphical interface for your PC, you might want to do the following to get ziics: go to the DOS directory by typing: cd /pub/icc/interface/DOS or just: cd DOS (delphi users may have to type: cd "DOS") If you want to get SLICS instead of ziics, do: cd /pub/icc/interface/WIN3 "help interfaces" will tell you the correct directory for each interface. Now you can type "ls" to see a list of all files in this directory. Type 'binary' and then 'get ziics130.exe': binary get ziics130.exe "ls" will give you a list of all files in the directory you are in. You should always type "ls" so you can get the latest version of the interface. For example, ziics130 may not be the latest version. If you want xics for unix, go to the /pub/icc/interface/X directory: "cd X", and find its name with "ls". The reason for the binary command is that this file is binary data, rather than text like a .ps or .txt file. Now you will need to get it to your PC by kermit or whatever means available, unpackit with unzip, follow directions in the contained docs to configure it for your machine, and hopefully have fun playing chess! If you have gotten ziics130.exe to your PC, you just type "ziics130" to unzip the files. If you have any problems with this, do a tell to channel 1, the help channel. Note that "pwd" will show you what directory you are in. See also: interfaces, zmodem, kermit, addresses ***** GLICKO ***** Glicko is a rating system proposed (and modestly named) by Mark Glickman. The Glicko rating is based on different formulas than ELO, USCF, or the usual ICC ratings. A Glicko rating is based on the concept that every rating has an uncertainty associated with it. The Glicko system has several advantages, including a smooth transition from "provisional" to "established" status. In your finger, you can see your Glicko rating and the uncertainty (in rating points) of your rating. Only your blitz games are used to calculate the rating. Glicko ratings for established ICC members were initialized on April 17, 1995 to your regular ICC blitz rating, and you were assigned an uncertainty of 100. The uncertainty is a measure of how many games you've played recently. More recent activity produces a lower uncertainty. The "K factor" is a number that determines how much your rating moves as the result of a game. In the regular ICC rating system, the K factor is constant: it doesn't change with time and is the same for both players in a game. In the Glicko system, the K factor depends on the uncertainty of the two players' ratings, and it can be different for the two players. A player's K-factor for a game increases with the player's uncertainty, and decreases with the opponent's uncertainty. See also: ratings, finger ***** GM-bio ***** Here is some information about Grandmasters who have played on the ICC recently. Information is not listed for GMs who wish to remain anonymous, or who have not played in the past year. Alterman GM Boris Alterman, Israel. Former Ukraine Champion, qualified for next Interzonal, member of Israeli National Team Andersson GM Ulf Andersson, Sweden. Formerly #4 in world. Numerous first places in International Tournaments. Known as toughest GM to beat. Buzzcut GM Joel Benjamin, USA. DGurevich GM Dmitry Gurevich, USA. DirtyHarry GM Harry Schussler, Sweden. Winner Gausdal Open 1983. Dlugy GM Maxim Dlugy, USA. World Junior Champion 1985. Former USCF president, #4 on WBCA rating list. FlamingSkull GM Alexander Shabalov, USA US Champion 1993. Winner US Open 1993. Gulko GM Boris Gulko, USA. USSR Champion 1977. US Champion 1994. World Championship Candidate 1994. HarZvi GM Ronen Har-Zvi, Israel. Helgi GM Helgi Olafsson, Iceland. Iceland Champion 1978 and 1981. Hellers GM Ferdinand Hellers, Sweden. JuditPolgar GM Judit Polgar, Hungary. GM title at age 15. Hungary Champion 1991. Winner: Hastings Premier 1993. #30 on Jan 1, 1995 FIDE rating list. junior GM Ilya Gurevich, USA World Junior Champion 1990. Kaidanov GM Gregory Kaidanov, USA kc GM Michael Rohde, USA. KingLoek GM Loek VanWely, Netherlands. kudrin GM Sergey Kudrin, USA leop GM Yehuda Gruenfeld, Israel. Israel Champion 1982 and 1990. Winner: Biel 1980, New York 1981, Dortmund 1984, Munich 1987. Lombardy GM William Lombardy, USA. World Junior Champion 1957. US Open Winner 1963 and 1965. Fischer's second in 1972 match with Spassky. Psakhis GM Lev Psakhis, Israel. 2-time USSR co-champion, Israeli Blitz Champion. Winner: Dortmund 1982, Sarajevo 1981. #35 on Jan 1, 1995 FIDE rating list. Roman GM Roman Dzindzichashvili, USA. Holds record for highest ICC rating. Israel Champion 1977, US Champion 1983. Sagalchik GM Gennady Sagalchik, USA. Stefansson GM Hannes Stefansson, Iceland. Iceland Rapid Champion 1995. ***** GMs ***** This is the list of International Grandmasters who have accounts on ICC. You can "finger" them to get more information, and look at their games with the history and examine commands. The list is constantly being updated as more Grandmasters join, so is not printed here. To see it, do "help GMs" or "=GM" on ICC. See also: FMs, IMs ***** HANDLE ***** ICC handles (or nicknames) start with a letter, and can be any combination of UPPER case and lower case letters, and numbers. You can also have one "-" in a handle. They are limited to 15 characters. Examples: BigPawn, ROOKIE, NxQch, Catch-22 When you register, please choose a handle that you will be happy with. You can do a "who" to see the handles of people logged in, to get some ideas for your own handle. HANDLE CHANGES: You may NOT change your ICC handle after you register. The ONLY exception is if you picked a very bad handle, such as an obscene or offensive name. If you want another handle, you can buy another account. You may have as many accounts as you wish, if you pay for each one. ***** IMs ***** This is the list of International Masters who have accounts on ICC. You can "finger" them to get more information, and look at their games with the history and examine commands. The list is constantly being updated as more International Masters join, so is not printed here. To see it, do "help IMs" or "=IM" on ICC. See also: FMs, GMs **************** ICC MEMBERSHIP INCENTIVE PROGRAM **************** FOR EACH NEW MEMBER THAT YOU BRING TO THE INTERNET CHESS CLUB AFTER MARCH 1, 1995 YOU WILL RECEIVE ONE EXTRA MONTH OF MEMBERSHIP FREE. ******************************************************************** *** How to do it: To claim your free month, send a message to the Incentive account the name of the person you got to sign up (real name and handle). For example: "message Incentive I got Fred Smith (Pawngrubber) to join the ICC." Ask the new person to mention your name when he registers. As soon the new member pays his membership fee, we will add one month to your expiration date! *** Some suggestions: We will assist you in recruiting new members! We will mail you flyers advertising the ICC. Message Incentive with your real name, postal address, and how many flyers you need. If you can xerox the flyers yourself, it would be greatly appreciated. In that case, just request one copy. We will reimburse you for reasonable reproduction costs. Especially effective is to hand out flyers at chess tournaments. We will be glad to send a large packet of flyers to the first couple requests from people going to major chess tournaments. You can also hand out flyers at your local chess club, at chess camps, at chess classes in schools, at work, etc. Colleges and universities are good places to post flyers, since most students have free internet access. Write your name on each flyer, so you will get credit for registering them. If you would like to give a demo of ICC at a club, tournament, or your own home, do "help demo"! If you have any questions about the Membership Incentive Program, just send a message to the Incentive account or to POTZY. Thanks! See also: agreement, demo, fees, registration ***** INDEX ***** This is the index of what you can find in the intro files. Type "help intro1" for example, to read one of these files. intro1 : general information intro2 : getting information about what's happenning: who, games, finger, upstatistics, commands, list intro3 : communicating with other players: tell, shout, i, say, kibitz, whisper, messages intro4 : Important properties of players and matches intro5 : Initiating a match: match, accept, decline, examine, unexamine intro6 : Moving intro7 : Terminating a match: draw, adjourn, abort, resign, flag, moretime, pending intro8 : Observing games: observe, allobservers, moves, oldmoves intro9 : Other Help Files: definitions, ratings, interfaces, event, vars, computers, abuse, rules, examine, people, atmosphere, list See also: quick, flyer, commands, intro1, intro2, intro3, intro4, intro5,intro6, intro7, intro8, intro9 ***** INTERFACES ***** GRAPHICAL INTERFACES FOR ICC allow you to see a chess board on your screen and make moves with a mouse. Steps to follow to get one: 1) Choose an interface from the list below according to your computer setup. 2) Get the interface software in one of 3 ways: a) Using "ftp" to FTP.LM.COM (username: anonymous, password: your email). Do "cd pub/icc/interface", then "cd" to the directory listed below for the interface you want to get. If you are on a PC or Mac, transfer it using zmodem or kermit. "help ftp" for more info. b) use a web browser (like mosaic or netscape): URL: http://www.hydra.com/icc/ --or-- ftp://ftp.lm.com/pub/icc/interface/ c) If you can't get (a) or (b) to work, and you have a Mac or PC, we can mail you a disk with the software. Just send a message to Zek on ICC, or send an email request to amcfarl@wko.com For help with interfaces, ask in channel 1. Or contact Zek at (502) 691-9363 or email to amcfarl@wko.com. "arcsin" can also help. For info on installing specific interfaces, see the help files: ziics, winboard, slics, and xboard. pub/icc/interface NAME Computer Setup Author Directory help file: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZIICS ** DOS + modem Zek DOS help ziics GIICS DOS + modem LLama DOS Monarch DOS + modem Pawnstorm DOS JIICS DOS + modem (VGA/mouse) Peluri DOS NGIICS DOS + TCP/IP LLama DOS SLICS ** MS Windows + TCP/IP-slip/ppp dfong WIN3 help slics Raja MS Windows + modem fischer WIN3 BLUDRAKE MS Windows + modem Bloodrake WIN3 Toolkit MS Windows + TCP/IP MaDHaTteR WIN3 WinBoard MS Windows NT or Windows 95 + TCP/IP or modem mann WIN3 help winboard PMICS OS/2 PM + modem or TCP/IP woof DOS XBoard ** Unix + X11 + TCP/IP or modem mann X help xboard xics Unix + X11 + TCP/IP observer X cics Unix + terminal (vt100) observer UNIX NeXTICS NeXT + modem or TCP/IP red MISC Fixation ** Mac + TCP/IP adum MAC timestampified! E-ICS Mac + Modem douglas MAC Aics Amiga fischer MISC ** = most popular interface for this computer setup. Most interfaces come with documentation files. Please read them, before asking for help on using the interface. See also: ziics, winboard, slics, xboard, ftp-hints, programmers, kermit, zmodem, xboard, netcruiser, OS2 ***** INTRO1 ***** Welcome to the Internet Chess Club (ICC)! You can play games, watch games, study games, and talk to people from all over the world. Here are some of the things the server does for you: * Checking the legality of moves * Maintaining a clock * Determining the outcome of the game (checkmate, stalemate, draws by repetition, 50 move rule, lack of mating material, etc.) * Computing and maintaining a player's rating * Allowing users to observe and analyze games * A variety of styles for displaying the board * Compatibility with other software which allows the board to be displayed graphically, and the moves to be entered with a mouse (under X11, PC, Macintosh, NeXT, or Amiga ) * Communication facilities among users You control all of this by means of a set of commands. There is a help file for every command, and the command "help" gives a list of all the help files. For example: typing "help match" will display the help file called match. If the help file doesn't fit onto your screen, try typing "more". The files intro1, intro2, ..., contain a description of the basic features of the system. This will be enough to get you started. Do "help index" to see a summary of what's in all the intro files. See also: index, intro2 ***** INTRO2 ***** Getting information about what's happening. The basic commands for finding out what's going on on the ICC are: who, games, and finger "who" shows a list of all the players who are currently logged onto the ICC. It takes a number of optional parameters, which are described in great detail in the help file called "who". "games" lists all the games that are currently in progress, along with useful information about the game. "finger player" shows information about the specified player. A useful feature is that all commands can be abbreviated by removing characters from the end. The system does its best to figure out what you mean. For example, "w" and "wh" are abbreviations for "who", "fi" is an abbreviation for "finger", etc. Names of players can be similarly abbreviated. Other commands displaying current activities include: inchannel, allobserving, upstatistics, and players. Help is of course available on all of these. See also: index, intro3 ***** INTRO3 ***** Communicating with other players There is a set of commands that allow players to communicate. These are: tell, shout, i, say, kibitz, whisper, messages "tell Doggie Hello!" sends the message "Hello!" to the player named Doggie. If "." is used for the player's name, the recipient is the same as the one in the previous tell. "tell", like any command, can be abbreviated. In this case "t" suffices. Since this is so common, there is an even shorter way to express it. ".hello" is the same as "t . hello". "shout Hello!" sends the message to all players (except those whose "shout" variable is set to zero.) It echos the number of players who received it. Only registered players are allowed to shout. "!" abbreviates shout. The "i" command provides another way of shouting; "help i" for more information. "say Hello!" sends the message to your opponent (if you're playing) or to your previous opponent (if you're not playing). "kibitz Hello!" sends the message to all players and observers in the game you're playing or observing, and "whisper" does the same, but doesn't include the players. You can leave messages for other players, even if they are not currently logged on. See also: tell, shout, I, say, kibitz, whisper, messages, list, index, intro4 ***** INTRO4 ***** Important properties of players and matches There are two types of players on the ICC: registered and unregistered. A permanent (we hope) file is kept for each registered player. This file contains the values of a number of variables (try "vars"). Among these variables is the player's chosen name ("handle" or pseudonym), the player's password, and the blitz and standard chess ratings of the player. For instructions on how to register, see "help registration". A game (sometimes called a match) on the ICC is characterized by several parameters: rated/unrated, blitz/standard/wild, initial time, and time increment. Only registered players may play rated games. Among the differences between rated and unrated games are: The outcome of a rated game will affect the ratings of the players involved. An unrated game will not. Any game can be adjourned for continuation later. The initial time of a match is the number of minutes with which each player's clock starts. The increment is the number of seconds added a player's clock after that player moves. A match is blitz if the initial time (in minutes) plus 2/3 of the increment (in seconds) is less than 15. Otherwise the match is standard. See also: index, intro5 ***** INTRO5 ***** Initiating a match The following commands control the initiation of a match: match, accept, decline "match Doggie 2 8 r" proposes a rated match with Doggie with an initial time of 2 minutes, and an increment of 8 seconds (a blitz match). The "r" indicates rated, "u" would indicate unrated. (If both time parameters are omitted, the default is taken from your "time" and "inc" variables. If the increment is omitted, the default is 0. If the "r" is omitted, your "rated" variable is used.) This command gives Doggie the message that a challenge has been issued. Doggie may now accept this match with "accept Fischer" (assuming your name is Fischer) or with "accept" if Doggie has only one pending challenge. Doggie may also decline the match with "decline" or "decline Fischer". If you already have a stored (adjourned) game with the player you are challenging, the match command asks him to resume that game, not to start a new one. There is a sophisticated system for filtering match requests from others. You can set your "formula", to restrict the kinds of matches you're interested in. Your "wopen" and "ropen" also help. "pending" shows you all pending match offers. See also: formula, vars, pending, index, intro6 ***** INTRO6 ***** Moving To make a move, simply type the name of the move. ICC uses an extended form of algebraic notation. Case is usually ignored. Examples: e5 a pawn move or capture to e5 f8=n move a pawn to f8 and promote to a knight d3-e4 a move or capture from d3 to e4 (always works) Nh2 move a knight to h2 ngh2 move a knight on the g file to h2 n4h2 move a knight on the 4th rank to h2 ng4h2 move the knight on g4 to h2 nxp take a pawn with a knight xp take a pawn nx take something with a knight x take something You will be told if your move is ambiguous, and also if making that move would leave your king in check. Castling short is "o-o" and long is "o-o-o". Promotion is to a queen, unless a different piece is specified (e.g. "f8=n", described above). A variety of graphic interfaces were made for use with ICC. These interfaces allow you to use a mouse to make your moves. For further information do "help interfaces". The "takeback" feature allows you to takeback moves (with our opponent's permission). See also: index, interfaces, takeback, intro7 ***** INTRO7 ***** Terminating a match A match may be ended in several ways. One player may be checkmated or stalemated, either player may disconnect (not recommended), or the game can be ended by one of the following commands: resign, flag, draw, adjourn, abort "resign" resigns the game to the opponent. "flag" awards the game to the unique player who still has time. (If both have time, nothing happens. If neither has time, the game is a draw.) [Note that because of the increment, a player's time may go negative, then positive again. The only thing relevant to the "flag" command is the amount of time currently left -- if positive, the player is in good time standing. Note also that you can call your own flag.] The "draw" command ends the game in a draw if any one of the following conditions hold: there is a pending draw offer (the opponent issued a "draw" command at most one move ago), the current position has occured twice before, or there have been 50 consecutive reversible moves leading to the current position. "adjourn" has an effect if both players issue the command within one move. In which case, the game is saved in a file, and may be restarted in the future with the "match" command. The "abort" command proposes to the opponent that the game be terminated with no ratings adjustment. Like "draw" and "adjourn", if both players issue the "abort" command within one move, the game is aborted. If your opponent is out of time and you are not, you can adjourn or abort the game without his issuing a command. "moretime" lets you give your opponent more time if you want. The "pending" command notifies you of all pending offers or draw possibilities (such as repetition or 50 move rule,). See also: draw, moretime, pending, adjourn, abort, resign, flag, match, index, intro8 ***** INTRO8 ***** Observing games Each game has a game number. This number is shown at the left end of each line printed by "games", and is also displayed whenever any information about a game is presented. If a player is in a game, the game number is shown to the left of the player's name in the "who v" display. It is possible to watch the progress of one or more games. This is called observing. If you're observing a game, each time anything happens in that game, your display is updated. The commands that govern this are: observe, allobservers, moves, oldmoves "observe 2" turns on observing game 2. Alternatively "observe Doggie" turns on observing of the game played by Doggie. "observe" with no arguments turns off observing of all games, and trying to observe a game you're already observing turns off observing for that game. Note that in this command (and almost all other commands that accept a player's name) the name can be abbreviated, as long as there is no ambiguity. So, "o d" is the same as "observe Doggie" if there is only one player whose name begins with "D" or "d". All such commands are also case insensitive. You can tell if a player is observing by looking for the "o" to the left of the name in the "who v" display, or by doing "finger" for that player. The command "allobservers", or "all" for short, lists all the observers of all games being observed. If a game is specified, it lists the observers for the specified game. "moves" lists the moves so far for the specified game. "oldmoves" lists the moves of the game previously completed by the specified player. If no parameter is given, your own current, or previous moves are shown. You can tell if a player is observing by looking for the "o" to the left of the name in the "who v" display, or by doing "finger" for that player. The command "allobservers", or "all" for short, lists all the observers of all games being observed. If a game is specified, it lists the observers for the specified game. "moves" lists the moves so far for the specified game. "oldmoves" lists the moves of the game previously completed by the specified player. If no parameter is given, your own current, or previous moves are shown. See also: index, observe, allobservers, moves, oldmoves, examine, intro9 ***** INTRO9 ***** Other Help Files: There are many other features that have not been described in these introductory files. Here are a few important topics. definitions: Defines a number of terms used in the ICC. ratings: Describes the rating system. interfaces: Lists the available graphical interface programs for use with the ICC, and tells how to get them. ftp-hints: Shows how to use the ftp site to get interfaces. event: List of exciting events in the next week, which you also see when you login. vars: Lists all the user-settable variables. These control such things as whether you get notified at the end or each game, the board display style, whether you hear shouts, etc. computers: Lists the names of many of the computers that play regularly on the ICC. (also available with "=comp") abuse: Gives several commonly used unethical techniques players use to inflate their ratings. rules: The specific game-ending rules used on ICC. examine: How to play over (post-mortem) games on ICC. atmosphere: Official policy of ICC. list: A variety of different lists The complete list of information files can be seen with "info". The complete list of command help files can be seen with "help". See also: list ***** END OF MANUAL1 *****