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A chess game on FICS using an interface named Jin
The Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) is a volunteer-run Internet chess server. It was organised as a free alternative to the Internet Chess Club (ICC), after that site began charging for membership.[1]
- Chess is #1 popular game in the world. According to FIDE, about 600 million people play chess and it is the most widespread game on the planet. 'The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement; several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired.
- Raptor Chess Interface. Raptor is a cross platform chess interface and pgn viewer for the free internet chess server: FICS. It has the following features: Games tab with a settings and table. Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux.
- Aug 14, 2011 Raptor is great for advanced users. If you’re on Mac and haven’t ever tried playing on FICS, or maybe you’re not playing too often, there’s an alternative – LightFICS is very simple to use and it doesn’t need Java on Mac.
- It does have some Mac-specific functionality, such as support for 5K iMac displays, mixed retina, and non-retina configurations. Fusion includes Unity Mode, which hides the Windows desktop interface and lets you launch Windows applications from the Dock as if the apps are native to macOS.
History[edit]
Raptor is an open source, multi-platform chess interface for the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS). FICS is one of the oldest and largest internet chess servers, a volunteer-run Internet chess server. The software is written in Java.
FICS Banner.
The first Internet chess server, named the Internet Chess Server (ICS), started in January 1992. The software was coded, supported, and operated by volunteers until 1995, when administrators began charging players for membership and changed the name to ICC.[1]
Several former ICS programmers saw the commercialisation of ICS as an exploitation of their work. This group, led by Chris Petroff and Henrik Gram, developed FICS as an alternative to the paid model, giving users free, unrestricted access. The server debuted on 3 March 1995 (25 years ago).[2][3]
In 1998, the Free Internet Chess Organization (FICS) was organized as a nonprofit organization.[4]
In 2007, the legal entity was involuntarily dissolved. The server is still maintained and administered by volunteers. In 2016, 50,000 active players played a total of 23 million games.[4][5]
As of August 2014, FICS had over 650,000 registered accounts.[4]
Usage[edit]
Connecting[edit]
FICS using BabasChess interface
Playing chess on FICS requires connecting to the server either through a web-based applet on the FICS website or else by using a client program, which could be as simple as a telnet client, but is usually an interface designed specifically for playing Internet chess.[6] Users can log in either as an anonymous guest or else by registering for a free account. Each user is permitted only one account. The server maintains rating and game statistics for registered users. FICS uses the Glicko rating system.[7]
Gameplay[edit]
Players can watch for game requests by other users broadcast or create their own seeks and wait for someone to respond. Seeks include time controls and frequently an optional ratings limit. Seeks can be programmed to be require manual acceptance by the user, or they can automatically be accepted by the player. Users can challenge specific players to a game by using the match command. Moves are made with a mouse on an image of a chess board or users can type in moves in algebraic chess notation. All games played by registered users are recorded by a computer and made publicly available.[4]
Time controls[edit]
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Since the mechanics of play are simplified, chess games played online tend to use faster time controls than in over-the-board (OTB) play. Longer games (i.e., usually 15 or more minutes per player) are called standard and are also common on the server. Separate ratings are maintained for lightning (under 3 minutes), blitz (usually 5 or 10 minutes), and standard (over 15 minutes). Irregular variants, such as Fischer Random, are grouped together into a handful of formats like Wild, and these are not further classified by time controls.[4] 18 wheels of steel american long haul serial keygen and crack.
Fischer delay is popular: the time control is specified by two numbers, the minutes each player is allotted at the start of the game, and the seconds added to a player's clock after making a move (the increment). For example, in the popular 2–12 time controls, each player receives 2 minutes at the beginning of the game, and 12 seconds are added to a player's clock after they make a move. Since all games are assumed to last 40 moves for format classification purposes, 2–12 is grouped with 10-minutes-per-player (10=2+12*40/60).[citation needed]
The timeseal is a utility which allows the server to adjust for the effects of internet lag. Each move is time-stamped locally and the time is takes for each command to travel to the server is not deducted from the player's clock. This method of time stamping each move is helpful for players with slow internet connections. FICS does not track lag centrally and does not permit users to exclude persistent laggers.[4]
Format | Popular Controls (minutes and optional increment) |
---|---|
lightning (x<3) | 1 |
blitz (3<=x<15) | 3, 5, 2-12 |
standard (15<=x) | 15, 45-45 |
Interfaces[edit]
Mobile Interface
FICS is designed to be accessed by a chess interface designed to connect to Internet chess servers. Interfaces are created independently. FICS does not have an official interface and does not endorse any interface. The most popular interfaces for Windows are BabasChess, Jin, XBoard, Thief, and Raptor.[4] Mobialia Chess is the most common platform for mobile operating systems Android and IOS.
On other operating systems (mainly Unix-type boxes based on Linux or macOS), eboard, XBoard, PyChess, Jin, JavaBoard, and Raptor are popular choices. JavaBoard, JinApplet, and QXBoard are web interfaces that run in a web browser and have fewer features than other clients.[4][clarification needed] https://bestvfil768.weebly.com/yamaha-xs-850-repair-manual.html.
In 2017, the Free Chess Club open-source project released a web-based client targeted towards modern web browsers using JavaScript, HTML5 and WebSockets.[8] In addition to a web interface, Free Chess Club provides a cross-platform desktop application that runs on Linux, macOS and Windows.
Channels[edit]
Kinamax high power wireless g usb adapter driver download. FICS has a number of very conservatively censored chat channels numbered 0 through 255. Many of the channels are reserved for administrators and bots.[4]
Some of the more popular channels include:
- channel 1 - general help; questions asked in channel 1 are usually answered by FICS admins or Service Representatives (SRs)
- channel 4 - helping guests
- channel 50 - general chat
- channel 53 - guest chat
Registration is required for all channels except channels 1,4 and 53.
Some channels are used for FICS staff and cannot be seen by regular users:
- channel 0 - the admin channel
- channel 5 - the service representatives channel
- channel 48 - the mamer manager channel
- channel 63 - the chess advisor channel
A user can listen and send tells to up to thirty channels simultaneously. Another form of mass communication available to registered users is 'shouts' which can be seen by all connected users who haven't turned shouts off.[4]
Variants[edit]
Realtek hd audio manager reverse stereo. Currently, the following chess variants are available on FICS, besides regular chess:
- Suicide – capturing is compulsory, a player wins by losing all his pieces; the king has no special significance
- Loser's chess – like suicide, but with additional rules pertaining to the king and check
- Atomic – pieces 'explode' when captured, removing all adjacent pieces except pawns
- Wild – Nine different variants similar to regular chess but with different types of starting positions, including Chess960
- Bughouse – fast-paced, four player game, in which two teams of two players face each other on two boards
- Crazyhouse – two player version (like in regular chess) of bughouse, where captured pieces reenter the game
Tournaments on FICS[edit]
Tournaments are regularly organised or relayed on FICS.
Mamer tournaments[edit]
Most tournaments are organised by 'Mamer,' an automated tournament director. Mamer is run by tourney managers who organize and supervise tournaments. Mamer announces tournaments through channel 49 and through tells and 'tshouts.' Tournaments organised by Mamer range in time controls and include variants.[4]
Other tournaments[edit]
Other regular conducted tournaments on FICS include tournaments featuring slow time controls (STC) of typically more than 45 minutes. Two of the most popular of these are FICS Teamleague, which uses 45 45 controls, and the Online Chess League (OCL), which uses 60 15 time controls. Both are team events with teams of 4 competing against each other, and each player typically plays one game per week. In addition, the STC Bunch, or the Slow Time Control Bunch, organised several tournaments with slow time controls.[4]
Relay[edit]
FICS relays major chess events. A bot takes the moves in ongoing games and relays them to special demo accounts on FICS. These demo accounts bear the names of the grandmasters playing in the event. Users and guests on FICS can watch the games in progress and chat about the games with each other. The relay has covered every single World Chess Championship since its inception. Other major relays include the yearly relay of Wijk aan Zee, Morelia-Linares and Amber Melody.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abBrad Stone. 'Pawns Call King a Rook'. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^Chris Petroff (5 March 2009). 'History of the Internet Chess Server – Part I'. Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^'FICS 10th Anniversary Celebrations'. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^ abcdefghijklm'Free Internet Chess Server'. gambiter.com. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ^'FICS Games Database – Statistics for 2013'. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^'FICS QuickGuide : Graphical Interfaces'. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^vek/glickman. 'Vek-splanation of the Glicko Ratings System'. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
- ^https://www.freechess.club
External links[edit]
- FICS Game Database - database of all games played
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Free_Internet_Chess_Server&oldid=972906905#Interfaces'
Introduction
Raptor Chess was developed from the game Birds and Ninjas, to which it is identical except that the Raptor, the exact diagonal equivalent to the Bird, replaces the Ninja Guard.The nature of the game is completely changed, and play can be fast and furious.
One can compare the gameplay to having 4 bishops and 4 rooks on a board, but even that is not accurate enough. The fly-over capture abilities, plus the short range leaping possessed by both new pieces adds an entirely new dimension to the game.
Both the Bird and the Raptor are Flying Bombers and interestingly enough, a fighter plane is often referred to as a Bird, and there is also a plane called the Raptor. In the animal kingdom, a Raptor is considered a bird of prey, and certain dinosaurs are often referred to as raptors. One can compare the gameplay to having 4 bishops and 4 rooks on a board, but even that is not accurate enough. The fly-over capture abilities, plus the short range leaping possessed by both new pieces adds an entirely new dimension to the game.
Setup
Raptor Chess Main Start position Coordinates for white. (black mirrors white) Rooks on a1, j1 Knights on b1,i1 Bishops on c1,h1 Raptors on d1, g1 Queen on e1 King on f1 Birds on e0,f0. |
Pieces
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The Bird (or Flying Bomber)
The Bird, when not capturing, moves exactly like the Rook. When capturing it flies over its prey orthogonally and lands on the square immediately after it. It can also make a special move by jumping over an adjacent friendly piece. It can also capture by landing on the same square as an enemy piece exactly two square away orthogonally. And, as the diagram shows, it can also capture two pieces by combining both capture mechanisms.
The 2 square range helicopter move/capture is identical to the Dabbabah except for the double capture. It is easier to remember the Bird's movement as a combination of the standard move with the move of the Dabbabah.
diag 1 (sideways rook rep. the Bird) | Diag. 1: The Bird on f4 is posing multiple threats to black's pieces. It is threatening to destroy the black bishop on f7 by leaping f4-f8. It is threatening the black rook on d4 by moving f4-d4. It cannot land on any squares beyond d4. This same short-range prowess gives it the ability to threaten f4-h4, flying over and bombing pawn on g4 and landing/bombing rook on h4. The Bird cannot move to g4 by capturing the pawn, it must eliminate both the pawn and the rook. If there was no rook on h4 then the Bird can just capture the pawn by leaping f4-h4. The Bird IS giving check to the king because it is exactly 2 squares away, and the bird can land on f2. The Bird is not threatening the knight on f1 since it is more than 2 squares away and there is no empty square beyond it. If the king moves, the knight will not be under attack either. |
diag 2 (sideways rook rep. flying bomber) | Diag 2: Here the Bird is hampered by Black’s Pieces. It is not checking the king at d7 because there is no empty square behind it (and not exactly 2 squares away from it). The rook on d8 is pinned, because moving it would enable the king to be captured. However, the king can simply move away and the rook on d8 is not threatened because there is no empty square beyond it. The rook on e4 is adjacent to the flying bomber and threatening it. But the Bird cannot do anything because the white pawn occupies f4 and the Bird needs an empty square after its target. If f4 was an empty square, the Bird could capture the rook, and if there was another enemy piece on f4 instead of the white pawn, then the bird could have captured both pieces. The Bird does attack the pawn on d2. It can fly d4-d1 OR even d4-d2 to eliminate the pawn. Because it is 2 squares away, the bird can land on the same square as its target. |
diag 3 (sideways rook rep. flying bomber) | Diag 3: Here the black bird is threatening white’s pawns at d4 and a7. However, the white bishop is defending both pawns (colored squares). To make matters worse the bishop is also attacking the bird! |
The Raptor
The Raptor, when not capturing, moves exactly like the bishop. When capturing it flies over its prey along the diagonal and lands on the square immediately after it. Additionally, like the Bird, it can also make a special move by jumping over a diagonally adjacent friendly piece. Similarly, it can also capture by landing on the same square as an enemy piece exactly two square away diagonally. And, as the diagram shows, it can also capture two pieces by combining both capture mechanisms. Simply put the Raptor is a diagonal version of the Bird.
It can also be described as a two step diagonal jumper (the Alfil) combined with the non capturing bishop move, and the diagonal fly over capture mechanism.
It can also be described as a two step diagonal jumper (the Alfil) combined with the non capturing bishop move, and the diagonal fly over capture mechanism.
The Raptor on d4 can capture pawn on b6 by flying over to a7 or by flying to b6 (2 square helicopter landing) It can capture the knight by flying over to h8. It can capture both the pawn and rook by flying over to f2. It cannot fly beyond f2 and it must capture both since it cannot move to e3. The Raptor cannot capture the pawn at c3 since it is blocked by the white pawn at b2. Note that the ninja guard could have captured on c3, as well as on e3, f2, or b6 but it could not have captured the knight at g7. Diag shows smaller board than that used for game. |
Rules
The rules in Raptor Chess are the same as in chess except for using the new pieces and for the following modifications :- Castling: The usual castling criteria apply: No piece must be in between the spaces travelled by the king and castling rook, cannot castle out of check, King cannot pass over or land on squares attacked by enemy, but rook can.
Castling is flexible with the king able to travel 1,2, 3, or 4 squares towards the rook. There are 7 possible castling positions: The choice of castling positions will depend on whether it is immediately necessary for the king to be nearer the wing or for the rook to be centralized. Note that the rook must always be next to the king after castling.- 1 space transposition - King Side Castling
White moves King one space from f1-g1 and rook from j1-f1
Black moves King one space from f10-g10 and rook from j10-f10 - 1 space transposition - Queen Side Castling
White moves King one space from f1-e1 and rook from a1-f1
Black moves King one space from f10-e10 and rook from a10-f10 - 2 space transposition - King Side Castling
White moves King two spaces from f1-h1 and rook from j1-g1
Black moves King two spaces from f10-h10 and rook from j10-g10 - 2 space transposition - Queen Side Castling
White moves King two spaces from f1-d1 and rook from a1-e1
Black moves King two spaces from f10-d10 and rook from a10-e10 - 3 space transposition - King Side Castling White moves King three spaces from f1-i1 and rook from j1-h1
Black moves King three spaces from f10-i10 and rook from j10-h10 - 3 space transposition - Queen Side Castling White moves King three spaces from f1-c1 and rook from a1-d1
Black moves King three spaces from f10-c10 and rook from a10-d10 - 4 space transposition - Queen Side Castling White moves King four spaces from f1-b1 and rook from a1-c1
Black moves King four spaces from f10-b10 and rook from a10-c10
- 1 space transposition - King Side Castling
- Pawn moves: A pawn situated on the lower half of the board can at any time move forward 1-3 vacant squares to reach the center of the board (rank 5 for white, rank 6 for black). Once the pawn reaches the center row, it can move forward only one square at a time.
Some examples: The white pawn at f2 can start f2-f5 or it can move f2-f4 then f4-f5, or f2-f3 followed by f3-f5, or move f2-g3 to capture enemy piece at g3 followed by g3-g5 next time it moves. - En Passant: If a Pawn moves two or three squares initially and passes an opposing Pawn on the fourth or fifth rank, the Pawn may be captured en passant. E.g. White pawn on a2 black pawn on b4. If the white pawn moves from a2 to a4 or a5, the black pawn on b4 can capture it as if it had moved to a3. Similarly, if the black pawn is on b5 instead and the white pawn moves to a5 from a2 then the black pawn can capture the white pawn as if it moved to a4. Note in this case the white pawn can still avoid the black pawn by moving to a3 instead.
If a pawn slides forward 2 squares on its second move, it can also be captured en passant by an opposing pawn on the fifth rank. E.g. white pawn on a3 and black pawn on b5. White plays a3-a5, black pawn on b5 can capture the pawn en passant by moving to a4.
Capturing en passant is optional unless it is the only legal move available. The capture must be made on the next move. - Pawn promotion: Pawns can now promote to: Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, Raptor or Bird on the 10th rank only.
Notes
- Relative Values: It is sometimes hard to gauge the relative values of the pieces. Here is a rough guideline:
Knight=3 pawns
Bishop=4 pawns
Raptor ~ 3-4 pawns
Bird ~ 4 - 5.5 pawns
Rook=6 pawns
Queen=11 pawns. - Ability to Checkmate: The raptor alone cannot mate a lone king with the aid of a king, but two opposite colored raptors can. They must utilize the two square attack mode quite often.
The flying bomber with the aid of the king can checkmate a lone king, but it is very tricky since the king, when at the edge of the board, can often escape. By utilizing the two square attack it is possible to checkmate. - Knight vs Bishop: Because of the larger board, exchanging a bishop for a knight is definitely losing the exchange, though there are cases where the knight is at least as powerful as the bishop.
- King Protection: It may not always be desirable to castle, sometimes the king can have adequate protection in the rear of the palace.
Raptor Chess is the third game from the Birds and Ninjas family.
- Birds and Ninjas is the first game utilizing this board shape.
- Birds and Leaping Ninjas is the second game and was released as a subvariant.
You can play it using board position 2 from this preset page. Click here to play.
Coming soon: 3 more games using the same board!
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