Correspondence chess

Correspondence chess

Correspondence chess is chess played by various forms of long-distance correspondence, usually through a correspondence chess server, through email or by the postal system; less common methods which have been employed include fax and homing pigeon. It is in contrast to over-the-board (OTB) chess, where the players sit at a chessboard at the same time (or perhaps play at the same time remotely).
Correspondence chess allows people or clubs who are geographically distant to play one another without meeting in person. These distant relationships are just one of the many distinct appeals of correspondence chess.[1] The length of a game played by correspondence can vary depending on the method used to transmit the moves: a game played via server or by email might last no more than a few days, weeks, or months, but a game played by post between players in different countries might last several years.

Structure of correspondence chess

Correspondence chess differs from over-the-board play in several respects. While players in OTB chess generally play one at a time (an exception being a simultaneous exhibition), correspondence players often have several games going at once. Tournament games are played concurrently, and some players may have more than one hundred games continuing at the same time.
Time limits in correspondence play are usually between 30 and 60 days for every 10 moves (plus transmission time in postal chess). This time allows for far deeper calculation, meaning that blunders can be less frequent. Certain forms of assistance, including books, chess databases and sometimes chess programs, are often allowed. Books and databases are almost universally acceptable, but organizations vary as to whether chess engine use is permitted. Hobby players new to the distinctive appeal of correspondence chess sometimes shun all assistance

Computer Assistance

The new phenomenon of computer assistance has altered the essence of correspondence chess and in addition to profound chess knowledge and analytical discipline, the ability to interpret and guide computer analysis has become important. Given that even players with poor chess knowledge can use the strongest computer programs to analyse their games, the gap between the beginner and master player has narrowed in recent years. However, the influence of computer assistance remains controversial in both official and casual play, and consensus on the issue of whether to allow computer aid is still lacking.
Also at stake is human supremacy over computer chess programs; some argue that a chess program — if left alone — is no match for a top-level correspondence player. An interesting parallel match between correspondence chess grandmaster Arno Nickel and six computer programs on the now defunct Chessfriend server ended +1=3-2. Nickel also played a two-game match against Hydra, currently the strongest chess machine, winning 2-0. In the rematch, the first game was drawn. The second game has been postponed because of the parties' schedules and server problems. Arno Nickel played in the final of the second CSS/PAL Freestyle (see Advanced Chess) on Playchess, becoming the only player to obtain a winning position against the tournament winner Hydra Syclla, reaffirming his "anti-Hydra" status. He eventually lost the game because of time trouble in the revised shorter time-control

Regulatory bodies of correspondence chess

Correspondence chess tournaments are usually played under the auspices of an official regulatory body, most importantly International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF), which is affiliated with FIDE, the international chess organization. However, the ICCF, which organizes postal and email events, is not the only organization involved in correspondence chess. There are numerous national and regional bodies for postal chess, as well as a number of organisations devoted to organize email play[2]. However it should be noted that groups other than the ICCF are not sanctioned by FIDE.
The ICCF awards the titles International Master, Senior International Master and International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster — these are equivalent to similar titles awarded by FIDE for over-the-board chess. The ICCF also runs the World Correspondence Chess Championships. Because these events can last a long time, they may overlap: for instance, in February 2005 Joop van Oosterom was declared winner of the eighteenth Championship (which began in June 2003), though the winner of the seventeenth Championship (which began in March 2002) had not yet been determined.
Up until 2004, ICCF correspondence chess was played only via email and postal mail. For playing by these two forms of transmission, the ICCF developed their own game notation, known as the ICCF Numeric notation, especially for the purpose of ICCF correspondence chess.
In recent years, the use of increasingly powerful chess programs have brought forth new challenges for organizations like the ICCF and the U.S. Chess Federation, necessitating sometimes controversial decisions on the admissibility of such programs in official correspondence play.[3]
Moreover, the emergence of the Internet has brought new opportunities for correspondence chess, not all of which are organized by official bodies. Casual correspondence chess includes correspondence play initiated through correspondence chess servers and games played between individuals who meet and play on their own. Casual correspondence play does not lead to official ratings, though some chess servers will calculate ratings for the players based on results on that server

Types of correspondence chess

There are three main types of correspondence chess, with server based correspondence chess becoming the most popular form in the world today, with major correspondence servers becoming as large and popular as the online blitz chess servers

Server-based Correspondence Chess

Correspondence chess servers are usually database-driven and carry with them a web-based interface for submitting moves to the database. But they do create the possibility of facilitating any method of transmission, as long as the transmitted moves are audited within the server's database.
Server fees vary. Most casual servers use a yearly charging model, whereby players can play as many tournaments or games as they want all year round. Also more casual servers allow the use of nicknames, and have a real-time rating system which often adjusts a player's rating after each rated game. Casual servers also tend to have a wide range of facilities, such as online games databases, social and chess improvement forums, teams, and player homepages. More traditionally based correspondence chess servers often charge per tournament and still force the use of real names, which is arguably a very controversial thing to do in the modern world of online hackers.
The International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) closely cooperates with the world chess organization FIDE. All ICCF titles, championships and ratings are recognised by FIDE

Email based correspondence chess

There are organisations devoted to organising email play. But email play is gradually declining in popularity due to issues such as email viruses, the possibility of opponents claiming they have not received moves, and similar impediments. Many email players are abandoning it in favor of server based chess

Postal (Snail Mail) correspondence chess

There are organisations who use traditional "snail mail" to facilitate moves between players. This form of correspondence chess was arguably superseded by email-based correspondence chess, which offers much cheaper play per game — each move usually delivered free by email and also instantaneously. But email-based chess itself has arguably been superseded by server based correspondence chess, where usually the interface to a chess server is a web-based interface. Traditional postal correspondence organizations, such as the International Correspondence Chess Association and the United States Chess Federation , have added email and server-based options to their correspondence play.[4]
It should be noted that correspondence chess servers can have any interface to submit moves to it — they are like a virtual "bank", and the method of transmission is less important, as long as the move transactions are audited into the "bank". For example, if carrier pigeons carried moves to a place where their moves were scanned in, those moves could be entered into the correspondence chess server

Over-the-board players who also play correspondence chess

Although nowadays the strongest correspondence players are specialists, a number of notable players in over-the-board (OTB) chess have in the past played postal games during their chess career. Olga Rubtsova won both the world OTB and correspondence championships for women. Former world correspondence champions Yakov Estrin, Alberic O'Kelly de Galway and Viacheslav Ragozin were all OTB Grandmasters, and C.J.S. Purdy and Mikhail Umansky were OTB International Masters. Players who have received the GM title in both fields include Ulf Andersson, Igor Bondarevsky, Aivars Gipslis, Curt Hansen, Jonny Hector, Jānis Klovāns, Olita Rause(WGM), Lothar Schmid and Duncan Suttles. Correspondence GMs Janos Balogh, Olaf Barda, Jean Hebert, Jonathan Penrose and Richard Polaczek are also OTB International Masters, and OTB GM Alexander Tolush was a correspondence IM. Correspondence GM Martin Kreuzer is an FM in OTB. Paul Keres, an Estonian sometimes regarded as the strongest player never to become world champion, played many games of correspondence chess, apparently because he had difficulty finding players in his native country anywhere near strong enough to give him a decent game. OTB world champions Alexander Alekhine and Max Euwe also played. Ulf Andersson also achieved very high ratings in both ICCF and FIDE, remaining in the FIDE Top 100 unto June 2002 and consistently ranked second on ICCF. Andrei Sokolov is another OTB GM who has recently taken up email chess.