From: shauck@adobe.com (Bill Shauck)
Subject: rec.games.chess Answers to Frequently Asked Questions 09/01/92
Followup-To: poster
Keywords: chess FAQ semimonthly answers
Supersedes: <chess-faq_713870112@adobe.com>
Reply-To: shauck@adobe.com
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 09:17:33 GMT
Expires: Fri, 18 Sep 1992 09:15:10 GMT

Archive-name: chess-faq/part1

Prologue
--------

This twice-monthly posting (1st and 15th) is intended to address some of the
frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the rec.games.chess newsgroup.  Because
the answers may not be complete, please feel free to ask questions.  This is
only intended to address first-level concerns, and not to stifle discussions.

Last Revision
-------------

The FAQ list was last revised on 9/1/92.  A section for the Chess Federation
of Canada was added, and the Fidonet contact for e-mail chess games was added
to the E-mail section (thanks David Jones!).  A short section (thanks to Louis
Blair!) on chess variants was added.  A slight addition was made to the
Transcendental Chess description (thanks Randy Pals!).  The address for
ChessBase USA was updated, and the description of Churchill's Chess Recorder
was updated (thanks Don Roberts!).  Please address suggestions for the FAQ
list to shauck@adobe.com.

The United States Chess Federation (USCF)
-----------------------------------------

The USCF is the national chess organization of the United States.  It does
several things: (1) computes ratings for players who play in USCF-rated
tournaments, (2) publishes a monthly magazine called _Chess Life_, (3)
sponsors national over-the-board tournaments such as the National Open and the
U.S. Open, and a variety of correspondence ("postal") tournaments, and (4)
officially represents the interests of chess in the U.S. to international
chess organizations.  Most over-the-board tournaments held in the U.S. are
USCF-rated.  This means that to play in them, you must join the USCF (this can
normally be done at the tournament site if you prefer).

_Chess Life_ magazine includes listings of the USCF-rated tournaments to be
held in the next few months.  The listing is sorted by state.  It periodically
publishes the addresses of all the state chess organizations.  It also has
chess news, games from the U.S. and around the world, instructional and
enjoyment articles, and embedded catalogs from which you can purchase books
and equipment.

Regular memberships are $30/year.  Youth memberships (same benefits) for age
19 & under are $15/year.  Scholastic memberships for age 19 and under
(provides a bimonthly publication called _School Mates_ instead of _Chess
Life_) are $7/year.  Senior memberships (age 65 and over) are $20/year.  Life
memberships are $600 or can be had for paying double the regular membership
rate for 10 years running.  _Chess Life_ subscription (without membership):
$33/year.

Call 800-388-5464 (or 914-562-8350), or write to: U.S. Chess Federation, 186
Route 9W, New Windsor, NY 12553-7698.

Chess Federation of Canada (CFC)
--------------------------------

The CFC maintains ratings of all players in good standing, runs tournaments,
attempts to promote chess in Canada, and sells equipment to both members and
non-members.  Members get a subscription to _En Passant_, a bi-monthly
magazine.  The rating system used by the CFC is the Elo system, also used by
the USCF and FIDE.  Local variations make CFC ratings from 25-200 points lower
than USCF ratings for players of similar ability.  Dues range from $25-$45
(Cdn.), depending on province of residence.  Junior memberships range from
$15-$25.  Life memberships are also available, depending on age.  Write to:
Chess Federation of Canada, 2212 Gladwin Cres., E-1(b), Ottawa, Ontario, K1B
5N1, Canada.  Phone 613-733-2844; Fax 613-733-5209.

American Chess Foundation (ACF)
-------------------------------

The American Chess Foundation promotes chess in the U.S.  It sponsors some
promising young players and contributes money toward large tournaments (e.g.,
the U.S. Championship).

American Chess Foundation (President Fan Adams, Exec. Dir. Allan Kaufman),
P.O. Box 302, Flushing, NY 11358. 718-353-1456.

Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE)
-------------------------------------------

FIDE (pronounced "fee-day") is an international chess organization that
organizes tournaments (e.g., Olympiad), grants titles, and controls the World
Championship Cycle (well, at least for now--see below).  Address:

Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE)
Abendweg 1, P.O. Box 2841, CH-6002 Lucerne Switzerland
041 41 513378,9 (voice) 041 41 515846 (fax)

FIDE grants three over-the-board titles: FIDE Master (FM), International
Master (IM), and Grandmaster (GM).  FM can be obtained by keeping your FIDE
rating over 2300 for 25 games.  IM and GM require performances at certain
levels for 25-30 games (2450 for IM and 2600 for GM).  This is usually
achieved by obtaining several "norms."  A "norm" is obtained when a player
makes at least a given score in a FIDE tournament.  The required score is a
function of the number of rounds and the strength of the opposition.  There
are about 35 GMs, 60 IMs, and 100 FMs living in the U.S., not all of whom are
active players.

FIDE also grants two women's titles--Woman International Master (WIM) and
Woman Grandmaster (WGM).  Women are also eligible for the other titles.

There is another international organization that sometimes competes with and
sometimes cooperates with FIDE: the Grandmasters Association (GMA).  It has
been involved in disputes with FIDE, and is sort of jointly controlling the
world championship cycle.  The situation will probably change in the future.
For its address see Chess Publications section.

Chess Ratings
-------------

Different countries have different rating systems.  The most common system in
use is called the Elo system, named after its inventor, Arpad Elo.  FIDE and
the USCF use the Elo system, although in the USCF there have been some
adjustments and additions in the past which have distorted USCF ratings
vis-a-vis systems that have been "pure Elo" forever.

The 10 players rated highest by FIDE as of July 1992 (Helsingin Sanomat):

 1. Garri Kasparov (Russia)             2790
 2. Vasili Ivantschuk (Ukraine)         2720
 3. Anatoli Karpov (Russia)             2715
 4. Aleksey Shirov (Latvia)             2710
 5. Viswanathan Anand (India)           2690
 6. Boris Gelfand (Byelorussia)         2685
 7. Nigel Short (England)               2680
 8. Yevgeni Bareev (Russia)             2670
 9. Jan Timman (Holland)                2665
10. Valeri Salov (Spain/Russia)         2655

FIDE maintains a separate women's rating list; its top 10 players (ibid):

 1. Judit Polgar (Hungary)              2575
 2. Zsuzsa Polgar (Hungary)             2540
 3. Pia Cramling (Sweden)               2530
 4. Maya Tshiburdanidze (Georgia)       2505
 5. Jun Xie (China)                     2480
 6. Zsofia Polgar (Hungary)             2445
 7. Nana Ioseliani (Georgia)            2445
 8. Ketevan Arakhamia (Georgia)         2435
 9. Nona Gaprindashvili (Georgia)       2435
10. Svetlana Matveyeva (Russia)         2435

USCF has rating classes as follows (with number in class as of Oct. 1991):

Senior Master   2400 and above       211 players 
Master          2200 - 2399          842 players
Expert          2000 - 2199        2,475 players
Class A         1800 - 1999        3,938 players
Class B         1600 - 1799        4,910 players
Class C         1400 - 1599        5,274 players
Class D         1200 - 1399        4,793 players
Class E         below 1200         5,968 players

There are more USCF members than the total 28,411 listed here.  These are just
those who have been active in tournaments recently.  The average rating on this
list is 1566.  Your rating is determined by your results and the ratings of
the players you play against.

There is no hard and fast relationship between the various rating scales.  For
Grandmasters, their USCF rating *averages around* 100 points higher than their
FIDE rating.  This difference seems to increase with weaker players.  Some
attempts are being made by USCF to remedy this.

One question which often arises is: Do Elo historical ratings of famous
players of the past enable us to predict how well they would do against
present day players?

Some discussion of this issue occurred in (the now discontinued) _Chess Notes_
in 1988.  Edward Winter wrote, "Elo's retrospective rankings look less and
less convincing the more one studies them.  For example, George Walker is
attributed 2360, the same as George Botterill in January 1988 (who has thus
had the benefit of insight into a century and a half of chess development
since Walker's time)."  Ken Whyld responded that this "shows a
misunderstanding of ELO.  The ratings do not reflect how a player from a past
age would fare against a present-day player. ... Elo's figures measure
competitive ability, NOT the quality of play. ... In chess we can only know
the standing of players within the pool of which they are a part.  It is idle
speculation to make comparisons between discrete periods."  Arpad Elo himself
then got into the discussion, saying, "The historical ratings have generated
controversy partly because people misunderstand what they represent ... Mr.
Ken Whyld ... correctly points out how ratings should be viewed, i. e.  as a
measure of competitive ability, and that proper comparisons can be made only
between players of the same milieu. ... There is also a fundamental point that
should not be overlooked: the rating scale itself is an arbitrary scale, open
ended, ... with no reproducible fixed points."

How Ratings are Calculated: USCF Rating, Simplified
---------------------------------------------------

**For first 20 games (provisional rating), use the following system:**

Take the rating of the opponent +400 if the player wins.
Take the rating of the opponent -400 if the player loses.
Take the rating of the opponent if the game is a draw.

Average these numbers.  (If unrateds play other unrateds, this requires
several iterations of the above.)

**After 20 games (established rating), use the following system:**

Players rated under 2100 can win/lose a maximum of 32 points per game
Players rated 2100-2399 can win/lose a maximum of 24 points per game
Players rated 2400 and up can win/lose a maximum of 16 points per game

(This maximum is called the K factor.  In a 1/4 K tournament, divide the above
numbers by 4.)

If players of equal rating play, the loser loses half of the maximum, the
winner gains the same amount.  No change for a draw.

If players of unequal rating play, the higher-rated player gains fewer points
for a win, but loses more points for a loss.  (The lower-rated player does the
opposite, of course.)  A higher-rated player loses points for a draw, a
lower-rated player gains points.  For players rated 400 or so points apart,
the maximum rating change is used for an upset, and the minimum gain/loss is 1
point if the much higher-rated player wins.

The true formula for the number of points won/lost versus the ratings
difference is a curve, but a straight line approximation for players with a K
factor of 32 points can be used, where every 25 points of ratings difference
is one additional rating point gained/lost starting from a beginning of 16
points for a win/loss, and from zero for a draw.  (I.e., for a 100 point
difference, the higher-rated player gains 16 - 4 = 12 points for a win, but
loses 16 + 4 = 20 points for a loss.  If a draw, the higher-rated player loses
4 points, the lower-rated player gains 4.)

The actual formula is as follows:  

K = K_Factor
delta_R = Opponents_Rating - Players_Rating
Expected_Wins = 1/(10^(delta_R / 400) + 1)
New_Rating = Current_Rating + K (Actual_Wins - Expected_Wins)

An established player's rating cannot drop below (his rating - 100) truncated
to the next lowest hundred (i.e., a 1571 player cannot drop below 1400).  This
is called the rating's floor.

Chess Tournaments
-----------------

Chess tournaments can be large (1000 players) or small (10 players or even
less); long (1 round per day for 2 weeks) or short (a few rounds in one day).
There are tournaments only for Masters and tournaments only for beginners,
although most tournaments are open to anyone.  A typical _Chess Life_ will
list about 350 tournaments coming up in the U.S. in the next couple of months,
and there will be about the same number that are not listed in _Chess Life_.
If you want to participate in a tournament but are intimidated because you
don't know the procedures, by all means go and ask the director and/or other
players questions before things begin.  They should be glad to help.

A typical tournament announcement will contain the following: (1) Date(s) and
name of the tournament.  (2) What kind of tournament it is, e.g., 4-SS or
3-RR.  The number given denotes how many rounds will be played.  "SS" stands
for "Swiss System," which is a method of pairing the contestants (see separate
section on Swiss pairings).  "RR" stands for round-robin, a format in which
the players are divided into groups of similar ratings before the tournament
begins, and then each member of a group plays every other member of that
group.  Thus, in a "3-RR," the group size will be four.  The "Swiss System" is
by far the most popular in the U.S.

(3) The time controls, e.g., "30/60, SD/60" or "G/60" or "20/1, 30/1."  The
number left of the "/" is the number of moves, and the number right of the "/"
is the time in minutes, or if that number is 1 or 2, in hours.  "SD" stands
for "sudden death," and "G" stands for "game."  Where more than one time
control is listed, they are the controls that will take effect as the game
progresses.  So, the three examples given above can be explained as follows.
In the first example, the players would each get 60 minutes on their clocks,
and would have to have made their 30th moves before the 60 minutes expires
(your clock only runs when it is "your turn" to move).  Then, they each have
another 60 minutes to finish the game completely.  Time left over from the
first time control carries over to subsequent time controls.  In the second
example, each player would begin with 60 minutes on his clock, and would have
to finish the game within that time.  In the third example, the players would
each get 1 hour for the first 20 moves, 1 hour for the next 30 moves, and
another hour for every subsequent group of 30 moves.

(4) The location of the tournament.  (5) The entry fee, sometimes by section
(see item 7).  (6) The total prize fund (if any), either "guaranteed" (G) or
based on a certain number of entries (e.g., b/30).  The difference is that
guaranteed prizes must be paid, and "based on" prizes need only be paid in
full if the stated number of players enter.  If the stated number of players
do not enter, the prize fund is reduced proportionally, but only down to a
minimum of 50%.

(7) Sections, if any.  If none are listed, the tournament is an "open."
"Open" sections are always open to *any* player.  Other sections may be
restricted to players below a certain rating, and/or occasionally above a
certain rating.  Sometimes sections (or whole tournaments) are restricted to
certain age groups, school grades, etc.  "Class" tournaments separate players
by USCF rating classes.  Sometimes different sections carry different entry
fees.  (8) Prize fund breakdown (if any).  If the tournament is in sections,
each section shows its own prize fund.  In an small "open," a typical prize
fund might look like this: $140-100-70, A 50, B 45, C 40, D/E/Unr. 35, Jrs.
20.  This means that first prize is $140, second is $100, and third is $70.
The top Class A player gets $50, etc.  The top player in the combined classes
of D, E, and unrated players gets $35, and the top Junior (under age 21) gets
$20.  (9) The registration time and time that the rounds will begin.  (10)
Where to send an advance entry fee, and/or who to contact for more
information.

The Swiss Tournament Pairing System
-----------------------------------

The best way to get the rules for a Swiss System is to buy a copy of the USCF
rulebook, available for about $7.95.  (The FIDE rulebook also has rules for a
Swiss, which vary from USCF's rules.)

However, a VERY simplified summary of the USCF rules is:

1.  Arrange players in order by rating, highest to lowest, unrated either at
    the bottom or by estimated rating.

2.  For round 1, divide into two stacks.  The top players in EACH stack play
    each other, then the second players in each stack play each other, etc.
    This results in the highest rated player playing the middle-rated player.

3.  After round one, divide up by score groups.  Win=1, Draw=1/2, Loss=0.
 
4.  Pair up each score group as in step 2.  If an odd number, the bottom
    person in higher point group plays top person in next score group.  If odd
    number in lowest score group, lowest rated player gets a full point bye.
    (Limit players to one bye each.)

5.  Where possible, players should alternate color, or at least equalize.  (By
    round 4, players ideally should have had two Whites, two Blacks.)

6.  Players NEVER play the same opponent more than once.  If necessary, pair
    players with someone in next lower score group.  (Treat as if odd number.)

7.  To improve on color allocation as per step 5, if two players in the bottom
    half of a score group are rated within 100 points, they can be
    interchanged.  (If rated over 2100, 50 points is a better cutoff.)

Recommended Books for Novices/Intermediates
-------------------------------------------

You don't need to buy all these--pick and choose as you please.  For example,
buy #1 and see what you might want to supplement it with later.  Or, buy one
or two general works (numbers 4, 5, 9, and 10), a tactics book, and an endgame
book.

1.  _Comprehensive Chess Course_ 2nd edition (ISBN 0-9617-207-0-5) by GM Lev
    Alburt and Roman Pelts.  (Avail. as 2 separate vols. from Chess Digest.)
    Expensive.  Chess neophytes (i.e., NOT most rec.games.chess readers) will
    find vol. I useful; otherwise, try volume II.  Good teaching material for
    an intro-to-chess class.

2.  _Square One_ by Bruce Pandolfini.  For the earliest of novices and
    children.

3.  _Your Move_ by Yakov Neishtadt.  A good tactics book with 350 positions
    for you to try with solutions and explanations.

4.  _My System_ by Aron Nimzovich (ISBN 0-679-14025-5).  Excellent instruction
    for intermediates.

5.  _The Game of Chess_ by Tarrasch.  As per _My System_ above.

6.  _Essential Chess Endings Explained Move by Move_ by Silman (ISBN
    0-87568-172-7).  Very clear explanations of basic endings.  For novices
    and intermediates.

7.  _Pandolfini's Endgame Course_ (ISBN 0-671-65688-0).  Another good endgame
    book for novices and intermediates.

8.  _1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations_ by Fred Reinfeld (ISBN
    0-87980-111-5).  A cheap book of 1001 tactical "quizzes," most from actual
    games.  Some easy, some hard.  Great for improving tactical ability.

9.  _How to Reassess Your Chess_ by Jeremy Silman (ISBN 0-938650-53-X).
    Explains how to formulate a plan.  An excellent improvement program for
    the intermediate player.

10. _Logical Chess Move by Move_ by Chernev (ISBN 0-671-21135-8).  Looks at 30
    or so games, and comments on the thought behind *every* move.  Bridges the
    gap between novice and intermediate books.

11. _Simple Chess Tactics_ by Gillam (ISBN 0-7134-6513-1).  A first tactics
    book for novices.

I'm a Novice (or Intermediate).  How Do I Improve?
--------------------------------------------------

There are lots of variations to the methods, but the things most good teachers
agree on is to emphasize (1) tactics, (2) endings, and (3) playing with a
plan.  Most people spend too much time studying openings.  Just learn enough
about openings to get to a playable middlegame.  The books listed above should
give you a great start on (1), (2), and (3).  Of course, playing experience is
important.  Review your games (with a much stronger player if possible) to
find out what you did right and wrong.  Seek out games against stronger
players, and learn from them.

Recommended Openings and Opening Books for Novices and Early Intermediates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember that your goal is to reach a playable middlegame.  Don't worry about
what is popular, or what the Masters play.  As GM Lombardy once said, all
openings offer good winning chances in amateur play.

As you become stronger, you can shop around for an opening yourself.  But, the
openings recommended here are hardly inferior, and will serve you well
throughout your chess career if you so choose.

Besides what is recommended here, you may want a general manual to browse in
(not study from!).  _Modern Chess Openings_ 13th edition (MCO-13) or _Batsford
Chess Openings_ edition 2 (BCO-2) are good choices.

                         White Pieces

Opening 1.e4 is a really good idea, as it will get you into tactics fast.
Yes, you may last a few moves longer against a Master by cowering around with
1.Nf3 2.g3 3.Bg2 4.O-O etc., but you won't learn as much or improve as fast.
Add a gambit or two to your system if you open 1.e4.

Another good idea is the Colle System, where White opens 1.d4 and sets up with
Nf3, e3, Bd3, c3, Nbd2, O-O, and plays to open up the position with e4 and
attack on the Kingside.  The great thing about the Colle is that White has a
clear plan (and will encounter some tactics, too).

Recommended books for White Opening (pick one).

_Winning with 1.e4_ (ISBN 0-87568-174-5) by GM Andy Soltis.  Covers all
(reasonable) Black responses with good lines that tend to avoid the
well-trodden paths.

_Winning with the Colle System_ (2nd ed.; ISBN 0-87568-169-7) by Ken Smith and
John Hall.  Comprehensive coverage of this opening.

_Colle System_ by IM George Koltanowski, a real pioneer of this system.
Cheaper than the book above, but a bit less comprehensive.

                         Black Pieces

As a response to 1.e4, establish pawn control in the center by either 1. ...
e5 or 1. ... c5 (Sicilian), or make a "strong-point" at d5 by either 1. ... e6
(French) or 1. ... c6 (Caro-Kann), followed by 2. ... d5.  Playing 1. ... e5
will subject you to some hairy attacks, but again, you will learn tactics
thereby.  To help avoid reams of theory, use the Petroff defense (1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nf6) if you choose 1. ... e5.

1. ... c5 (the Sicilian) has rather a lot of White possibilities to play
against, but is sound and aggressive at the same time.  The French and the
Caro-Kann are a bit easier to play, but don't run into as many early tactics
(usually).

As a response to 1.d4, play 1. ... d5 and then follow 2.c4 (the most typical
2nd move) with either 2. ... dxc4 (Queen's Gambit Accepted), 2.  ... e6
(Queen's Gambit Declined), or 2. ... c6 (Slav Defense).  The first promotes
early tactics, and the other two have the advantage that they can produce
similar pawn structures to the French Defense and Caro-Kann, respectively.  If
you play French and QGD or Caro-Kann and Slav, you are less likely to be
confused by transpositions if White varies his move order in the early stages,
e.g., by opening 1.Nf3.

Recommended books for Black Opening:

Pick either I, II, or III

I. Choose one from A. and one from B.
  
 A.
  _A Complete Black Defense to 1.P-K4_ by Cafferty and Hooper.  The main 
   line is the Petroff Defense, but the authors also show how to handle the 
   other possibilities, e.g., the King's Gambit. 

  _How to Play the Sicilian Defense Against all White Possibilities_ (ISBN
   0-87568-168-9) by GM Andy Soltis and Ken Smith.

B.
  _A Complete Black Defense to 1.P-Q4_ by Cafferty and Hooper.  The main 
   line is the Queen's Gambit Accepted, but the authors also show how to  
   handle the other possibilities, e.g., the Richter-Veresov Attack.  The
   disadvantage is that you aren't shown how to handle other closed openings
   such as 1.Nf3, 1.c4, etc. although these can frequently be transposed
   into the Q.G.A.

   Or, as your B. choice, use the "closed" opening defenses from either 
   II or III.

II. _A Complete Black Repertoire_ (ISBN 0-87568-163-8) by IM Jeremy Silman.
     Based around the French and Queen's Gambit Declined.

III. _A Black Defensive System for the Rest of Your Chess Career_ by GM
      Andy Soltis.  Based around the Caro-Kann and Slav. 

Chess Publications
------------------

_Chess Life_ magazine and/or _School Mates_ magazine--see USCF section

_Ajedrez Universal_, Luis Hoyos-Millan, P.O. Box 10020, Staten Island, NY
10301.

_APCT News Bulletin_, c/o Helen Warren, P.O. Box 70, Western Springs, IL
60558.  Correspondence chess.

_BDG World_, P.O. Box 7363, Warner Robins, GA 31095.

_Blitz Chess_, WBCA, 8 Parnassus Rd., Berkeley, CA, 94708.  Edited by GM
Walter Browne, who also founded the World Blitz Chess Association.  The WBCA
runs "blitz" (5 minutes per game) tournaments and has a separate rating
system.

_Caissa's Chess News_, P.O. Box 09091, Cleveland, OH, 44109.

_Chess_ magazine from Pergamon in the U.K.  Pergamon Chess, London Road,
Wheatley, Oxford, England OX9 1YR.  $44.95/year in U.S.

_Chess Chow_, Chess Chow Publications, c/o Joel Benjamin, Apt. 2-B, 115 West
75th St., New York, NY 10023.  Edited by GM Joel Benjamin.  6 issues/year;
$21/yr, $39/2 yrs; $25/yr, $45/2 yrs (Canada/Mexico); $45/yr, $85/2 yrs (air
mail Europe).  48 pp., many guest GM and IM contributors, emphasis on
instruction and entertainment.

_Chess Horizons_ by the Massachusetts Chess Association, c/o George
Mirijanian, 46 Beacon St., Fitchburg, MA 01420 is published bimonthly and
contains about 64 games/issue, many of them from outside the U.S.  $10/year;
$18 Canada; $19 Europe; $20 Australia.

_The Computer Chess Gazette_, Box 2841, Laguna Hills, CA 92654.  714-770-8532.
Focuses on computer chess.

_Computer Chess Reports Quarterly_ published quarterly by I.C.D. Corp., 21
Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station, NY 11746.  Phone 800-645-4710.
Subscriptions are $10/year.  Focuses on computer chess, and rates dedicated
chess-playing computers and software.  The main contributor is IM Larry
Kaufman.

_GMA News_, 2 Avenue de la Tanche, 1160 Brussels, Belgium.

_Inside Chess_ magazine published bi-weekly by International Chess
Enterprises, Inc.  Subscriptions in the U.S. are $45/year, $80/two years.
Subscription address: I.C.E., Inc., P.O. Box 19457, Seattle, WA, 98109.  Phone
800-677-8052 (or 206-325-1952).  _Inside Chess_ describes itself as THE
magazine for the serious player.  Edited by GM Yasser Seirawan.

_International Computer Chess Association (ICCA) Journal_ published quarterly.
Membership/subscription is $30/year.  Follows computer chess worldwide.  ICCA,
c/o Jonathan Schaeffer,	Department of Computing Science, University of
Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2H1.  European address: ICCA Europe,
c/o Prof. Dr. H. J. van den Herik, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastrict, The
Netherlands (Membership/subscription is Hfl. 50).

_New In Chess_ published by Interchess BV, P.O. Box 393, 1800 AJ Alkmaar, The
Netherlands.  U.S. distribution: Chess Combination Inc., P.O. Box 2423 Noble
Station, Bridgeport, CT 06608-0423.  203-367-1555.  FAX 203-380-1703.
Internet: 70244.1532@compuserve.com (Albert Henderson).  8 issues, $68 by air
mail, $58 by surface; intro subscription: 6 issues, $34 by air.  Sample issue
$5 (free for Internet or CompuServe users).

Where to Get Chess Books and Equipment
--------------------------------------

USCF - books, boards, pieces, clocks, computers, software 
       see USCF section

Chess Digest, Inc., P.O. Box 59029, Dallas, TX 75229.  800-462-3548.  FAX
214-869-9305.  Massive selection of books; also boards, pieces, and clocks.
Limited computers and software.  Large (!) catalog available.

Chess House, P.O. Box 12424, Kansas City, KS 66112.  800-348-4749.
913-299-3976.  FAX 913-788-9860.  Books, boards, pieces, clocks, computers.
Catalog available.

Chessco, P.O. Box 8, Davenport, IA 52805-0008.  319-323-7117.  Associated with
Thinker's Press publishers.  Books, boards, clocks.  Catalog available.

I.C.D. Corp., 21 Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station, NY 11746.
800-645-4710 (outside U.S. 516-424-3300).  Chess computers and software.
Associated with Computer Chess Reports Quarterly.

Computer Chess Gazette, Box 2841, Laguna Hills, CA 92654.  714-770-8532.
Chess computers and software.

Electronic Games, 1678 Mayfield Road, Lapeer, Michigan 48446.  800-227-5603
(within Michigan 313-664-2133).  Computers, software, and clocks.

PBM International Corp. Inc., 11 Church Street, Montclair, NJ, 07042.
800-726-4685.  FAX 201-783-0580.  Computers, software, and clocks.  Catalog
available.

American Chess Equipment (DeWayne Barber), 524 S. Avenida Faro, Anaheim, CA
92807.  714-998-5508.  Good source for sets and boards in quantity.

Metro Game Center (Jeff Prentiss), 4744 Chicago Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN
55407.  612-874-9555.  Distributor for Swis-Sys, a $49.95 Swiss System pairing
program.

Fred Wilson, 80 E 11th St, Suite 334, New York, NY 10003.  212-533-6381
Specializes in out of print and rare chess books, also fine chess sets.

Lindsay Chess Supplies, Box 2381, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 313-995-8738 Books,
sets, clocks.  Possibly cheapest source for Informants.  Catalog available.

State and Local Chess Organizations (USA)
-----------------------------------------

Every state has its own chess organization affiliated with USCF, and most also
have a bimonthly or quarterly publication.  The state organizations are listed
in the annual _Chess Life_ yearbook issue (April).  From these state
organizations, information can be obtained on local chess clubs.  Another very
good way to find a local club is to look at the tournament listings in the
back of every _Chess Life_.

Correspondence Chess Organizations
----------------------------------

International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF), c/o Max Zavanelli,
ICCF-US Secretary, 729 South Prospect Park Ridge, IL 60068.  Non-US residents
may contact ICCF directly to obtain information about their respective
affiliated national correspondence chess federation, by writing to the ICCF
Tournament Director, address: ICCF Tournament Director, c/o Ragnar Wikman, Box
36, 20111 Abo, Finland.  E-mail Internet: rwikman@abo.fi

American Postal Chess Tournaments, c/o Helen Warren, P.O. Box 305, Western
Springs, IL 60558.  Also runs electronic "postal" chess on the USA Today
Sports Network (see BBS section).

Correspondence Chess League of America, c/o Dick Vandenburg, 2316 Regan Ave.,
Boise, ID 83702.

Transcendental Chess, c/o Maxwell Lawrence, 1655A Flatbush Ave., No. 1502,
Brooklyn, NY 11210.  Postal chess (PRE-chess!--first 8 moves is setting up
the pieces behind the pawns) organization.

Chess Bulletin Board Systems (BBS's)
------------------------------------

CANADA
  Alberta: Chess Hackers.  403-456-5808.

USA
  Compuserve: 800-848-8990.
  Sierra Network: 800-SIERRA-1 (800-743-7721).
  USA Today Sports Network: 800-826-9688.  Provides both on-line and "postal"
type chess games, some of which are associated with American Postal Chess
Tournaments.  Address: USA Today Sports Center, Four Seasons Executive Center,
Building 9, Terrace Way, Greensboro, NC 27403.
  CA: Charles Rostedt's chess BBS: 213-634-8549 (data), 634-8477 (voice).
  CA: Strategies and Tactics: 714-458-0818.
  Berkeley, CA: Berkeley BBS: 510-486-0795.
  Modesto, CA: Flightline of Dbase: 209-551-2227.
  CO: Colorado Chess BBS: 303-444-4301.
  Waterbury, CT: Chess Horizons BBS: 203-596-1443. 755-9749 (voice).  Rob Roy,
54 Calumet, Waterbury, CT 06710-1201.  Free software catalog.
  Plant City, FL: The ChessBoard: 813-754-6043.
  Chicago, IL: ChessBoard: 312-784-3019.
  Louisville, KY: The Chess Board: 502-271-5233.
  Metairie, LA: High Tech BBS: 504-837-7941.
  New Orleans, LA: Woodpusher BBS: 504-271-5233.
  Chevy Chase, MD: The Mystery Board BBS: 301-588-9465, 588-8142.
  MD: Interstate Express: 301-674-6835.
  Brooklyn, NY: The Round Table BBS: 718-951-6652.
  Columbus, OH: The Endgame BBS: 614-476-3351.
  Mansfield, OH: DK Jet-Works: 419-524-3959.
  Mansfield, OH: Procyon: 419-524-7825.
  Portland, OR: PDX Chess BBS: 503-232-2282.
  TX: Let's Play Chess: 512-244-3349.
  Austin, TX: Austin Chess Studio: 512-448-4861.

E-Mail Games, ICS, Mailing Lists, Usenet reader
-----------------------------------------------

Rod Buchner (rainbow@cbnewsc.cb.att.com) organizes e-mail games on "ladders."
If you would like to be included on the ladder, simply send him a message.
Contacting potential opponents and setting up matches is your initiative.
Just let him know whenever a match starts or ends.  Also, after a game has
been completed, include the following information:
 white   score   black   completed       moves   opening
 *****   *****   *****   *********       *****   *******
 name     ?:?    name    date            number  type
Ladder updates are posted to rec.games.chess about once a month.

The Internet Chess Server (ICS) was originally developed by Michael Moore
(mmoore@lark.utah.edu).  ICS allows interactive chess games for those with
Internet telnet capability.  Use telnet (e.g., "telnet eve.assumption.edu
5000") to connect.  All may log on and play chess, but if you wish to have
your games recorded and develop a rating, register by sending mail to the
contact person listed below with the name & password you'd like.
	Available servers:
eve.assumption.edu (192.80.61.5) 5000 shaheen@eve.assumption.edu
valkyries.andrew.cmu.edu (128.2.232.4) 5000 chess@valkyries.andrew.cmu.edu
	Features of ICS include:
o  Game score recording, with the time taken for each move.
o  "Automail" sends you your game's moves upon completion.  You can
   also use "mail" to send the list of moves for any game.
o  Elo rating system.
o  Save/Load games.
o  Observe up to 8 on-going games.
o  Settable time clocks.
o  Standard communication package of "say," "tell," and "shout."
xics, an X Window System client for ICS, is available from export.lcs.mit.edu
(18.24.0.12) via FTP in /contrib/xics.epi.small.tar.Z.

Michael Nolan has set up a mailing list for rec.games.chess which is gatewayed
to Usenet.  Messages sent to the list will be posted in rec.games.chess, and
all posts to rec.games.chess will be sent to the mailing list.  (And vice
versa.)
The address to send messages to be posted to rec.games.chess is:
                  chessnews@tssi.com
The mailing list administration address is:
                  chessnews-request@tssi.com
tssi.com is a registered domain, but just in case the UUCP addresses are:
           tssi!chessnews  and tssi!chessnews-request
Requests to be added to the mailing list should include a clear indication of
the e-mail address to be used, and will be verified before being accepted.
(This is to avoid megaproblems with bounced mail.)

There is a mailing list which is not associated with rec.games.chess called
"chess-l."  It averages about 4 posts/day, which are sent to subscribers via
e-mail.  To subscribe to the chess-l newsgroup, send the message "subscribe
chess-l <your real name>" to "listserv@grearn.bitnet."

For those on Internet whose sites do not receive rec.games.chess, it can be
read (along with all other Usenet groups) from an experimental bulletin board
system (EBBS) run by the University of North Carolina.  The Internet address
for EBBS is "samba.acs.unc.edu" or "128.109.157.30."  A news reader
(read-only) is available to all users, but posting is limited to those who
have been verified by land mail.  Internet mail privileges are also available
to verified users.  All access to this system is free at this time.

There is a Fidonet conference for chess which offers games by e-mail.  Contact
the moderator of the CHESS conference: Tim Eichman @ 1:273/603.5.


Chess-Playing Computers and Software
------------------------------------

There are numerous dedicated chess-playing computers available commercially,
as well as chess-playing software for various personal computers.  Prices vary
from perhaps $10,000 for the most expensive dedicated computer to perhaps $30
for the cheapest software.  The differences are basically how strong the
machine (or software) plays, and the other features that it has to offer
(e.g., for dedicated machines: size of board, wood/plastic, autosensory or
"push the pieces," etc.).

If purchasing a chess computer or software, it is best to buy something that
plays at least 300 points above your rating.  Here are the estimated USCF
ratings for some of the more popular dedicated chess computers.

Some explanations of abbreviated headings:  "CSS"+ means Computer Schach
und Spiele (based on nearly 30,000 games [most at 40 moves in 2 hours]
plus nearly 5,000 computer-human tournament games) with 150 points added
to adjust for the average difference between C.R.A. ratings and the German
list.  Numbers in parentheses are calculated from the same program's
performance at another speed (i.e., by dividing by Mhz factors, a rating
achieved at a higher (or even lower) Mhz can be adjusted to what its strength
would be at a different speed).  (This is the top portion of the list from
_Computer Chess Reports Quarterly_, 2nd Quarter, 1992.)

                                       Approx. USCF rating
Computer                         Mhz    "CSS"+   CCR30'

Mephisto Vancouver 68030          36     2504    (2449)
Mephisto Lyon 68030               36     2456    (2473)
Mephisto Portorose 68030          36     2437    (2400)
Fidelity Elite 10 68040           25     2415    (2421)
Mephisto Vancouver 32 bit (68020) 12     2406    (2340)
Fidelity Elite 9 68030            32     2395    (2371)
Mephisto Lyon 32 bit (68020)      12     2354     2364
Mephisto Portorose 32 bit (68020) 12     2344     2291
Fidelity Premiere 68000           16    (2335)    2290
Mephisto Vancouver 16 bit (68000) 12     2325     2277
Mephisto Lyon 16 bit (68000)      12     2278     2303
Fidelity Designer 2325 68020      20     2324     2314
Mephisto Almeria 32 bit (68020)   12     2295     2289
Fidelity Elite 5 (2 68000's)      16     2273     ****
Mephisto Portorose 16 bit (68000) 12     2248     2235
Mephisto Polgar 10 (6502)         10     ****     2252
Novag Diablo/Scorpio (68000)      16     2227     2225
Fidelity Elite 2 (68000)          16     2258    (2210)
Mephisto Almeria 16 bit (68000)   12     2212     2219
Fidelity Mach 3, Designer 2265    16     2223     2204
Mephisto Milano (6502)             5     2175     2123
Mephisto Mondial 68000xl (68000)  12    (2176)    2195
Mephisto Polgar 5 (6502)           5     2165     2193
Mephisto MM5                       5     2161     2149
Novag Super Expert/Forte C (6502)  6     2168    (2184) (discontinued)
Mephisto Roma 68000               12     2170     2161
Novag Super Export/Forte B (6502)  6     2116    (2201)
Mephisto Academy (6502)            5     2131     2146
Fidelity Mach II L.A.  (68000)    12     2143     2160

The following were listed in _Computer Chess Reports Quarterly_, 3rd Quarter,
1990.

Fidelity Elite 6/Mach 4           20              2285
Fidelity Elite 5                  16              2239
Saitek Galileo Maestro D          10              2118
Fidelity Des. Display 2100         6              2071
Fidelity Chesster                  5              2055
Saitek Stratos                     5.6            2031
Novag Super VIP (handheld)        10              1945
Mephisto Marco Polo "              8              1880

Some recommendations: If you want a dedicated computer > 2200 and are willing
to live with a small plastic board and pieces, buy a Fidelity Mach III for
just over $300.  For a larger wood board w/autosensory, buy a Novag Super
Expert C (now discontinued) for nearly $600.  For something in the 2100 range,
either the Fidelity Designer Display 2100 (about $150 with small plastic board
and pieces) or the Saitek Galileo Maestro D ($? more expensive and nicer).
Handhelds: either the Super VIP ($119) or the Mephisto Marco Polo (about the
same price).
 
The strength of chess-playing software will be highly dependent on the
hardware that it runs on.  Here is a method to approximate the strength
differences for the same software running on different hardware (source:
_Computer Chess Reports Quarterly_).

Processor                        Chess MIPs 

8088                      Speed in MHz divided by 19 
80286, 1 wait state       Speed in MHz divided by 8 
80286, 0 wait states      Speed in MHz divided by 6 
80386, no Cache memory    Speed in MHz divided by 6 
80386 with Cache          Speed in MHz divided by 4.7
80486                     Speed in MHz divided by 2.3 

Now, if a program has a given rating on a "1 Chess MIP" machine, this
is how to adjust the rating for other MIPs (interpolate between points):

MIP:  0.25 0.5 1 1.5  2  3   4   6   8  12  16  24  32  48  64 
Adj.: -180 -87 0  47 80 124 154 195 223 261 287 323 347 379 402 

For example, a program running on a 10 MHz 8088 (0.5 "Chess MIP" and -87
points) will be about 272 USCF rating points weaker than the same program
running on a 33 MHz 80386 (no Cache - 5.5 "Chess MIPs" and +185 points).

The strongest commercially available chess software is generally agreed to be
MChess (price around $100), with RexChess and Zarkov next (for around $70).
All these programs will play in the USCF master range on a 33 MHz 80386, with
MChess approaching the senior master threshold.  Zarkov interfaces to the
"Bookup" database--see below.

In descending order of strength, here is the next "tier" of commercial
software: Colossus Chess X, Chessmaster 2100, and Sargon IV.  These programs
would generally perform in the USCF Expert range on a 33 MHz 80386 machine.
"Battlechess" is a weaker program, although it has by far the most
entertaining graphics.  Chessmaster and Sargon are available for the
Macintosh.

Recommendation on chess-playing software: Buy one of the top three programs,
especially if you have something less than a 33MHz 80386.  Only consider
Colossus Chess or Chessmaster 2100 if you are bone poor or you have a
superfast PC and don't ever intend to play above 1800 USCF.  Note that all the
above programs are for IBM-compatibles and won't run on Macintoshes.

Gnuchess is a freely available chess-playing software program.  Its strength
varies widely based on the machine for which it's compiled.  See the section
below on chess utilities available through FTP.

There are also a number of non-commercial chess-playing machines, the
strongest and most famous of which is Deep Thought.  Deep Thought was built
and programmed by graduate students Feng-Hsiung Hsu, Thomas Anantharaman,
Murray Campbell, Peter Jansen, Mike Browne, and Andreas Nowatzyk at Carnegie
Mellon University who are now working (some of them, anyway) for IBM.  The
current version of Deep Thought has beaten several Grandmasters and many
International Masters.  It has a USCF rating of about 2520.  Another Carnegie
Mellon product, Hitech, was developed by former World Correspondence Champion
Dr. Hans Berliner and sports a USCF rating just over 2400.

Chess Database Software
-----------------------

Chess databases store games and information about games, and can manipulate
and recall that information in a variety of ways.  The "big three" of chess
databases are NICBase, ChessBase, and Bookup.  You can purchase data disks for
each of these databases.  NICBase and ChessBase are game-oriented, while
Bookup is opening-oriented.  Each has its strengths and weaknesses.  A good
review of these programs was written by Eric Schiller and appeared in the
September 1990 issue of _Chess Life_.  Bookup interfaces with the Zarkov
chess-playing software.

NICBase 3.0 ($175; MS-DOS & Atari) & NICTools ($125) from Chess Combination,
Inc., P.O. Box 2423 Noble Station, Bridgeport, CT 06608-0423.  203-367-1555.
FAX 203-380-1703.  Internet 70244.1532@compuserve.com (Albert Henderson).
Free catalog.  $10 demo disk (free for Internet or CompuServe users).

ChessBase 3.0 (MS-DOS only); basic $295, deluxe $395, upgrade from 2.2 $75.
ChessBase ACCESS $39.95.  ChessBase USA, P.O. Box 133, Hagerstown, MD 21741.
301-733-7541.  Fax: 301-797-6269.  For orders only (still) 800-524-3527
USCF prices: 3.0 $279, ACCESS $37.95.  ChessBase 4.0 is out; upgrade from
3.0 is $60-70, depending on manual.  (I don't have current prices on 4.0).

Bookup from Chess Laboratories, P.O. Box 3541, S. Pasadena, CA 91031.
818-799-7567.  Version 7 for IBM costs $99 and version 1.3 for the Macintosh
costs $59.

Chess Utility Software
----------------------

                    ** Chess Recorder **

Eric Churchill's Chess Recorder, a (PC) Windows program that records chess
moves, suitable for keeping track of postal games, will be uploaded to GEnie
and submitted to comp.binaries.ibm.pc.  (It even keeps a log of when the moves
were entered, which could be used to keep track of postal time limits.)  You
can enter annotations and other comments and they appear in a separate window
when the corresponding move is displayed.  The program will print out the
moves of the game (with annotations).  $15 shareware fee.  Graphics are quite
good--looks OK even on monochrome systems.  The colors of the pieces on color
systems are 'interesting.'  It can now flip colors to put Black on bottom.

The following utilities are available via FTP:

                    ** GNU chess **

Gnuchess is a freely available chess-playing software program.  Gnuchess 4.0
(patchlevel 44) can be FTP'ed from prep.ai.mit.edu, export.lcs.mit.edu, and
probably other sites.  It can be compiled for X Windows (with xboard, below),
SunView, curses, IBM PC character set, or ASCII interfaces.  Included in the
package are the utilities gnuan (analysis program), game (PostScript
printout), postprint (prints hashfile), checkgame (checks a game listing for
illegal moves), and checkbook (checks the opening book for illegal moves).  It
has been posted to gnu.chess, and will be posted to a standard Usenet sources
group.

                    ** XBoard **

XBoard 2.0 (patchlevel 17) can be FTP'ed from prep.ai.mit.edu,
export.lcs.mit.edu, and probably other sites.  It has been posted to
gnu.chess, and will be posted to a standard Usenet sources group.  Here are
some paragraphs from the README file:

XBoard is an X11/R4-based user interface for GNU Chess.  It uses the R4 Athena
widgets and Xt Intrinsics to provide an interactive referee for managing a
chess game between a user and a computer opponent or between two computers.
You can also use XBoard without a chess program to play through games in files
or to play through games manually (force mode); in this case, moves aren't
validated by XBoard.  XBoard manages a digital chess clock for each player and
resets the clocks if the proper number of moves are played within the time
control period.  A game can be started with the initial chess position, with a
series of moves from a game file or with a position from a position file.  The
"match" shell script runs a series of games between two machines, alternating
sides.  The man page xboard.man describes the features of XBoard.

XBoard was originally written by Dan Sears and Chris Sears.  XBoard borrows its
colors, icons and piece bitmaps from XChess, which was written and copyrighted
by Wayne Christopher.  We thank him for his work on XChess.  Beginning with
version 2.0, Tim Mann <mann@src.dec.com> has taken over development of XBoard.

                    ** (La)TeX and other chess fonts **

Question: How can I write chess texts using international figurine notation?
And how can I include diagrams in my text?

There are basically three ways of composing chess texts in figurine notation
and that include diagrams:

a) using a wordprocessor and a chess font.  For instance, for the Apple
Macintosh there are at least 3 different sets of fonts usable in connection
with standard wordprocessors like Microsoft Word, MacWrite, Nisus or WriteNow.
Most of these fonts are proprietary so they can be obtained only buying them.
The fonts are used for both the figurines and the diagrams.  A PostScript
font, including a variety of figurines, diagrams and Informant symbols, has
been posted to the Net by Andy Walker, anw@maths.nott.ac.uk.

b) using a chess-specific writing application.  For instance, on the Apple
Macintosh the program ChessWriter offers an interface including a chessboard
and a text window.  Moves made on the chessboard are automatically transformed
in characters in the text window.  ChessWriter is proprietary.

c) using TeX/LaTeX with the chess macros and fonts by Piet Tutelaers.  TeX is
an advanced public-domain system for text formatting available on mainframes,
workstations and personal computers.  LaTeX is a set of text- formatting macros
for TeX.  Metafont is a font generator program for TeX.

To use the chess LaTeX package you must:

c0) get the chess LaTeX package (version 1.2) by rcpt@rwc.urc.tue.nl (Piet
Tutelaers).  It is accessible by ftp on the ftp-server `sol.cs.ruu.nl'
(131.211.80.5) of the Department of Computer Science of the Utrecht
University, the Netherlands.  Such a server can also answer E-mail requests
(both methods are explained below under "getting chess files").

c1) be able to use Metafont to generate chess fonts starting from the programs
contained in the package;

c2) be able to install the LaTeX macros in your TeX system;

c3) learn the macro language to format chess texts.

Activities c0, c2 and c3 are very easy; activity c1 can become tiresome if you
do not have any help from a TeX wizard.  Using LaTeX to write chess text is
not very simple, but also not as difficult as some people say.  The results
are worth the effort.

            * getting chess files *

NOTE: In the following I have assumed your mail address is john@highbrow.edu.
      *** SUBSTITUTE YOUR OWN ADDRESS FOR john@highbrow.edu.  PLEASE USE ***
      *** VALID INTERNET ADDRESSES.  DO NOT USE ADDRESSES WITH ! and @   *** 
      *** MIXED.  USE USER@HOST.BITNET FOR BITNET.                       ***

by FTP: (please restrict access to weekends or evening/night (i.e., between
about 20.00 and 0900 UTC).

    ftp archive.cs.ruu.nl [131.211.80.5]
    user name: anonymous or ftp
    password: your own e-mail address (e.g., john@highbrow.edu)
      Don't forget to set binary mode if the file is a tar/arc/zoo archive,
      compressed or in any other way contains binary data.
    get TEX/chess12.README
    get TEX/chess12.tar.Z  (or TEX/chess12.zoo)

by mail-server:

send the following message to mail-server@cs.ruu.nl (or
uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!ruuinf!mail-server):

    begin
    path john@highbrow.edu (PLEASE SUBSTITUTE *YOUR* ADDRESS)
    send TEX/chess12.README
    send TEX/chess12.tar.Z  (or TEX/chess12.zoo)
    end

The path command can be deleted if we receive a valid from address in your
message.  If this is the first time you use our mail server, we suggest you
first issue the request:
    send HELP

                            ** Notation **

"Notation" is a program written by Henry Thomas (Henry.Thomas@irisa.fr).  Here
is an abstract:

** DESCRIPTION

"Notation" is a chess preprocessor.  It reads chess games, either in full
algebraic or shortened notation (i.e., Nf1-g3 or f1g3 or Ng3) and is able to
output the games and/or the board at any move, in ASCII, PostScript, TeX, or
nroff.  It also can generate output for the gnuan and xboard programs.  It is
multi-lingual (European) for piece identification.  The program understands
French, English, German, Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Polish, etc.  The program
also handles variations and symbolized comments.

** COMPATIBILITY

This program is ok on UNIX (Sun SPARCstation and Sun-3).  It uses standard C,
and functions declarations are done in both K&R-C and ANSI-C.  It won't be
difficult to compile on a IBM-PC with MSC.

** SOURCES

They are posted to comp.sources.misc.  You can also get them from
hthomas@irisa.fr by mail.  They are available via anonymous ftp on
wuarchive.wustl.edu, (user:anonymous, password:<your address>)
"pub/Notation.tar.Z" is the path (one person has reported problems retrieving
this file).  European users try garbo.uwasa.fi.

Trivia
------

How long is the longest possible chess game?

The basic idea is that a player can claim a draw if fifty moves elapse without
a capture or a pawn advance.  Ignoring the special cases where more than 50
moves are allowed by the rules, the answer is after Black's 5948th move, White
is able to claim a draw.

Variants
--------

Over the centuries, many variations of chess have appeared and more have been
invented recently by gaming enthusiasts.  Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc.  (28
South Main Street, Rutland, VT 05701) has published a general book on the
subject, Chess Variations: Ancient, Regional, and Modern by John Gollon.  Two
of the most popular alternatives to our version of chess are known as Chinese
Chess (or shiang-chi or xiangqi) and Shogi (or Japanese Chess).  Ishi Press
International (76 Bonaventura Drive, San Jose, CA 95134) sells good books on
both of these games.  (Chinese Chess for Beginners by Sam Sloan and Shogi for
Beginners by John Fairbairn.  Warning: Sam Sloan's eccentric views about chess
history are far from universally accepted.)  One relatively recent variation
of chess is called Ultima and described in detail in the book Abbott's New
Card Games by Robert Abbott.

Disclaimer
----------

Some answers given above may reflect personal biases of the author and the FAQ
listing's contributors.  In cases where the answers name specific products and
their respective manufacturers, these are not to be taken as endorsements, nor
commercials for the manufacturer.  Where cost information is stated this is
based on "street" information, and is in no way binding on the seller.  Unless
otherwise stated, prices, addresses, and telephone numbers are in United
States' terms.  The answers contained in this series pertain to discussions on
the rec.games.chess newsgroup, and are by no means exhaustive.

Copyright
---------

The FAQ list owes its existence to the contributors on the net, and as such it
belongs to the readers of rec.games.chess.  Copies can be made freely, as long
as it is distributed at no charge, and the disclaimer and the copyright notice
are included.
-- 
William R. Shauck                       Internet: shauck@adobe.com
Adobe Systems, Inc.            uucp: ...!{decwrl|sun}!adobe!shauck
Newsgroups: rec.games.chess