Questions tagged [correspondence-chess]

Correspondence chess was traditionally played using postal mail, nowadays it's more common to use dedicated servers. Time limits are usually measured in days.

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Which websites have a ranking and/or a rating list for correspondence chess without engine help?

I am looking for websites that have a ranking and/or a rating list for correspondence chess without engine help. Which ones do exist? For example, lichess.org has correspondence chess without engine ...
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Can you use the copycat strategy in correspondence chess?

The copycat strategy is a rather silly one that guarantees a 50% score. Basically, you play White in one game and Black in the other game. You copy moves from one game to the other. So for example, if ...
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Rated Correspondence Chess for a French Federation Member

As a member of the French chess federation, I am somewhat disheartened to see that the only way to play for an official rating is on ICCF. I do not wish to play on ICCF as I dislike the use of engines ...
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Is there a Correspondence Chess ranking on Lichess.org on 2022?

A similar question was posted in the past (2020): Is there a way on lichess to see the Correspondence chess rankings? However, that solution is not working anymore. In my perspective, things have ...
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"Strong ICCF players" What is your input into the game? [duplicate]

This question is directed to the experienced ICCF players. My question is basically what is the input that the human player has into the game. I was just wondering because with the use opening books, ...
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What is the human influence in modern correspondence chess? [duplicate]

On most websites, such as chess.com and lichess.org, computers aren't allowed, but when playing under ICCF rules engines are allowed. With the increase in strength of engines especially from the ...
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Daily game -- Is my opponent playing honestly? [closed]

At chess.com, my daily rating is 1500+ (my puzzle rating: 2400+; my blitz rating: 1600+ and my rapid rating: 1700+) and I played two games with the same opponent whose daily rating is much lower than ...
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Is analysing moves on separate board in correspondence chess ethical?

In Lichess, any form of external help (e.g. engines) is forbidden, even in correspondence chess. However, there is an option to open a separate board where one can make unlimited scratch moves. I ...
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2 votes
2 answers
355 views

How to prepare opening for correspondence thematic tournament

I like to play correspondence thematic tournaments as a way to practice/learn new openings/variations. Since they are unrated, I sometimes try wild/unusual moves to see what happens. However, I was ...
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Soltis's best chess game of the 20th century

In Andrew Soltis's book The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked, his number 1 game is a correspondence game between Yakov Estrin and Hans Berliner, from the 1965–1968 World ...
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Pushing for Advantage with White in Correspondence chess

I was viewing a top-level Correspondence chess game on ICCF between an International Master and a Senior International Master. They both had over 100 days on their clocks and they were in the ...
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What happened to the CCLA?

I wonder what happened to the CCLA. Did the CCLA get folded into ICCF or USCF or just go out of business? Did it merge with yet some other chess group?
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328 views

ICCF rule for analyzing position with another human

I do know for certain that on ICCF engines are allowed, but the question is whether analyzing the position with a human is allowed? I know that on chess.com if you let someone play on your profile you ...
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6 votes
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Your time is up on an online correspondence game but your oponnent has only his king; is it a draw?

If your time is up on a timed game, but your opponent has only a king, the game is drawn. Does this rule apply to online correspondence games?
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3 votes
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In what ways is it the best to use a computer in correspondence chess?

I have only recently started correspondence chess and I have read that engines are allowed in correspondence chess. I definitely do know that the world champions of correspondence chess have said ...
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Is it ethical to refer to opening book for the first few moves of a correspondence game? [duplicate]

I am still learning chess (been playing ~6 months steadily now and am at ~1300) and have recently been enjoying correspondence chess with a 3 day time control. I find it gives me time to really ...
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Pros and cons of playing correspondence chess

I play correspondence daily. My reason to do it is I am weak in openings and I can survive to the middlegame because I have access to databases; and I want to learn how to survive the opening and to ...
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4 votes
3 answers
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Online Correspondence Chess Competition

What is a free and easy-to-use website for organizing an online correspondence chess competition for kids?
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1 answer
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ChessBase: how to efficiently use two reference database simultaneously

In ChessBase I use the Mega Database as my reference database when in a board. However, I recently downloaded a Correspondence database and would like to look up positions in it as well. Is there a ...
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1 answer
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Are today's top correspondence chess players stronger than those from 5 years ago?

On the one hand today's chess engines will stomp those from five years ago no problem, not to mention hardware improves; on the other hand, correspondence chess players emphasize that one can't just ...
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What's the benefit of using books during correspondence games?

I'm playing daily games on chess.com and read that it's officially allowed to use books or databases during the game. My question is: How does it help me getting better (if it's the purpose of this ...
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How would top grandmasters fare against engines in correspondence chess?

If Magnus Carlsen, for example, faced Stockfish with the time control 1move/day, how well would Magnus do against Stockfish? It seems with so much time per move, tactical oversight disappears.
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How to play against somebody using the book [closed]

I’ve not been playing chess that long, but I do not understand why chess.com and lichess have this thing called the book. This allows people to cheat in my ‘book”. I used it for a while on lichess ...
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D4 D5 C4 NF6 Continuation [duplicate]

I'm a quiet and positional player rated in the 1400's and play exclusively online correspondence chess. I always play D4 with white as first move and usually C4 after that. One opening I come into ...
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Recommended software for ICCF play?

I am interested in playing correspondence chess online through the ICCF. It is my understanding that using computers is not only allowed, but almost mandatory. My question is: What all kinds of ...
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5 answers
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Which is better for an improving amateur to play even better: correspondence chess or faster time controls[both online]?

Currently, I do the following in order to improve my chess: Play several (currently 9) correspondence chess games simultaneously on Chess.com. Do tactics and puzzles regularly on Lichess.com and ...
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How do correspondence players keep track of ideas during games?

I've taken up correspondence chess again, and planning has always been one of my biggest weaknesses. It's still something with which I struggle. Besides analyzing specific variations, how do ...
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Could I have improved my position in this pawn up exchange Slav?

This game was my first correspondence game on chess.com. I played as black. I felt my position was quite good. Then I grabbed a pawn and the game ended in a draw by threefold repetition. My ...
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What are the normal non-symmetric black responses to 1. d4 [closed]

I'm returning to chess. I used open as 1. d4 when white, but have switched to 1. e4 instead (I find it is more interesting). When I played 1. d4, I constantly found myself transposing into a ...
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Is it ethical to spar against an engine when playing correspondence?

I started playing correspondence on chess.com purely for the fun of it and to gain some deep learning (i.e. there's no prize involved). We are about 10 moves in and coming close to me being out of ...
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7 votes
3 answers
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Refutation of the Maróczy Bind, suitable for correspondence chess?

I've been meaning to develop my understanding of the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6) as Black, mainly by playing a few correspondence games and working through deep positional analyses. ...
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Are there any websites that allow standard correspondence chess time controls?

I noticed that most websites that allow correspondence chess have time controls that are per move. I believe that historically correspondence chess was played with x days per y moves, which allows one ...
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1 answer
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Cmail/XBoard won't allow move

I've recently started playing e-mail correspondence chess and I'm looking at Cmail/XBoard as a tool to play these games. Looking at the docs, I managed to get the right PGN tags for the game to be ...
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What is the status of correspondence chess?

Considering the rise of the Internet for playing games online and the increasing strength of computers / engines for evaluation of positions and finding best moves, what is the status of traditional ...
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1 vote
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495 views

Positional play: Slav the way to go?

I'm working on my positional play. Exclusively playing correspondence chess at the moment. For white I play D4 and try for C4 after that. For Black I play Caro Kann against E4 but am not sure what's ...
2 votes
2 answers
149 views

In online correspondence chess, are the ratings adjustments based on the pre- or post-game ratings?

When playing rated online correspondence chess, it's quite possible that the players' ratings change during the game. When the game is over, which rating will be used for rating adjustments? The ...
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1 answer
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Why would a correspondence chess player be accused of using a computer?

I play a good deal of online correspondence chess. On the website I use I sometimes see users being accused of using computers in correspondence chess, but without any evidence being presented. What ...
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Database of correspondence games?

Where can I find databases of correspondence games? I prefer freely available ones, but commercial products can also be suggested.
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What would approximately be the ICCF rating of a GM with no external help and of a computer with no human judgment?

I need some players who play at the ICCF (International Correspondence Chess Federation) to answer this question. What would approximately be the ICCF Elo rating of the two following players? Player ...
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3 votes
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Does anyone have the 1996 correspondence game between De Groot-Simmelink?

As far as I know, here are the first 12.5 moves are as below. Does anyone have the rest of the game? [FEN ""] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. d5 Ne7 5. h4 Neg8 6. a3 a6 7. Nf3 Ng4 8. Ng5 f5 9. Qc2 ...
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8 votes
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Mate Prevails - Chess Rule

Is "Mate Prevails" not an FIDE rule? I couldn't see it in the FIDE website but I heard about it from many players. UPDATE: "Mate Prevails" is a claim some players make that they win the game after '...
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Does playing correspondence chess improve your game?

My rating is around 1200 and I want to improve my chess. Will playing correspondence chess improve my game?
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How do I find people to play chess with me through correspondence?

I really would like to play chess, nevertheless, I do not have access to physical chess players. My question is, how do I find people to play chess with me by email? I have not been successful in ...
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Is studying computer games legal in correspondence chess?

I have recently umm downloaded the Dragon Cookbook from Chessbase. It is filled with human and computer games in the dragon. The thing is, are previously played computer games allowed to be seen in ...
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3 answers
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Correspondece chess on agreed openings

I would like to play correspondace chess, but in order to use it as training for my openning repertoire, I want to agree with the oponent which opening to use. For example, We bith give a list of ...
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Is it legal to use a chess database in correspondence chess?

Someone told me that you can use a chess database for correspondence chess, but this seems a little like cheating. Does anyone has some information on this subject.
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Is it possible to know if someone is cheating in correspondence chess?

Consider a mobile chess app which allows to play correspondence chess. Some apps, like this one, state that they'll punish someone (e.g., disable their account) if they discover that the person is ...
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In correspondence games, is it considered cheating to get an engine evaluation of the current position?

Is it considered cheating to simply get an engine score for the current position in an ongoing game without looking at any of the generated lines? I'm guessing the answer is yes, but just curious (and ...
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4 answers
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Are world-class correspondence games more likely to be drawn than world class OTB games?

A games of chess with perfect play from both sides may be a draw. And while we don't have any perfect chess players it does seem that a match between two equally strong grandmasters is more likely to ...
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Is it ethical to tell your opponent how you are going to checkmate them?

I play online chess at 3 days per move. I like to tell my opponents how I'm going to checkmate them if they will never win. That way, that I won't waste time continuing the game. I also like to be ...
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