Chess Sites
Chess Links
The following are sites to play chess on or sites for chess news.
Play sites are rated 1 to 5 pawns. 5 being the best.
If you have a chess page and wish to be added to this list, please send me an e-mail.
Play Chess Online
Gaming wise I give it a 4 pawns out of 5
This is another correspondence site with much slower time controls. You can play with faster time controls but most games seem to be 10 days per move or more. You can join one tournement every week or two as a non paying member and join a team as well. I give it 3/5 pawns.
4.5/5 pawns
Yet another correspondence chess site. This one won't get you much without paying. You can play a few rated games but to join a clan (team) or play tournaments you'll need to pay. The forums seem to be less restricted and see a lot of use, so if you are looking to talk about chess and many other topics between moves then this site is worth taking a look at.
3.5/5 pawns
Looking for real time chess then here you go. This is the site to join if you are looking for online chess. They have grandmaster simuls, learning aids, lectures on how to improve and you can talk to just about anyone online. But to get the most out of this site you are going to have to pay. Sure they have a guest option but to be able to do just about anything on this site you need to have to pay . I have joined this site when I had a little extra spending money and I'd recommend it to anyone who has money to spend on games. The prices aren't unbearable and you get your money's worth if you are going to be playing online more than once a month. If you don't have money to spend then see the next link below.
if you pay to play 4.5/5pawns
non-paying experience 3/5 pawns
By far the best place I have been to to play real time chess online for free. You can join as a guest or play as a registered member. The guest option isn't worthwhile. Become registered and then you can play rated games, tournaments and even view lectures on how to improve. All you need to register is an email address and you won't need to pay anything. Only drawback is you'll need to Download and interface (same with ICC), but once you do that you'll be ready to play. The site tends to lean towards bullet and blitz games with 5 minute time controls or less, but I have no problems finding opponents for slow games. There is even a group to join for slow time controls.
Overall this is just a great site and has most of what ICC offers for free.
5/5 pawns
Chess Articles
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Chess articles, interviews with chess players, chess book reviews.
Title says it all. Get a membership to play in tournaments and get a rating, subscribe to Chess Life magazine and read Chess Life articles online, and shop .
All things for serious chess players in the U.S.
World Chess Federation. Like the USCF for the rest of the world. Information, articles, forums, all things chess related.