Crossboard Chess Servers

Where to Play Chess Online
Web-based resources let you play online at any time of the day against opponents anywhere in the world. It is no exaggeration to say that they have revolutionized chess play. Registration is required for most online play resources, but some offer limited play without registration.

Yahoo Chess
44% of online players • Free? Yes, ID required • Guests? No • Java? Yes • Windows client? No • Initial rating: 1200 • Seek? No • Save game? Email (not PGN) • Good starter site.

Pogo.com
14% of online players • Free? Yes, ID required • Guests? No • Java? Yes • Windows client? No • Initial rating: 1500 • Seek? No • Save game? Email • The best of the general game sites.

Internet Chess Club (ICC)
12% of online players • Free? 1 week free trial • Guests? Yes • Java? Yes • Windows client? Yes • Initial rating: Given by player • Seek? Matrix • Save game? File • The best of the pay sites.

MSN Game Zone
8% of online players • Free? Yes • Guests? Yes • Java? Yes • Windows client? No • Initial rating: 1600 • Seek? No • Save game? No • Limited functionality.

Email (Correspondence) Servers @

Playchess.com (ChessBase)
7% of online players • Free? Full access for 30 days • Guests? Yes • Java? No • Windows client? Yes • Initial rating: Provisional • Seek? List • Save game? File • The ICC's top competitor.

World Chess21 Network
5% of online players • Free? Yes • Guests? No • Java? Yes • Windows client? VIP only? • Initial rating: 1800 • Seek? Matrix • Save game? Window • The best of the free sites.

Instant Chess Club
3% of online players • Free? First 64 games • Guests? Yes • Java? Yes • Windows client? No • Initial rating: ? • Good casual play site.

Free Internet Chess Server (FICS)
3% of online players • Free? Yes • Guests? Yes • Java? Yes • Windows client? Yes • Initial rating: Provisional • Seek? Matrix • Save game? Email • Good site for hobbyists.

World Chess Network
2% of online players • Free? 15 day free trial • Guests? No • Java? No • Windows client? Yes • Initial rating: 1500 • Seek? Yes

U.S. Chess Live
1% of online players • Free? Yes, but no rated games • Guests? No • Java? Yes • Windows client? Yes • Initial rating: Provisional • Seek? Matrix • Save game? File • Why isn't it more popular?

Chess.net
1% of online players • Free? 2 weeks free trial • Guests? Yes • Java? Yes • Windows client? Yes • Initial rating: Provisional • Seek? List • Save game? File

Other Online Chess Play Sites
Here we list a few sites which we failed to look at on our first round of reviews. Most of these sites are free; some of them have play for cash programs.