GameKnot: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

^top^ Q2: I just won a game, but my rating and stats don't reflect the win. Why?

A: If a rated game ends with less than 3 moves, it will not be counted as a win. The reason is, it's hardly possible to show that someone was winning after only two moves. All lost games are always counted as losses for the timed out player regardless of how many moves were made, unless the game was unrated. Also, please note: in chess, moves are counted in pairs -- i.e. 3 moves means both players made 3 moves each. More about the rating system.

^top^ Q3: I just won a game, but my rating went down. Why?

A: Because of the way the GameKnot's rating system works, it is possible, but only if you haven't finished your first 20 rated games. During your first 20 games on GameKnot, we try to quickly approximate your rating based on the ratings of your opponents and how you fair against them (so if you are a strong player, it doesn't take several years to reach your true rating). To avoid losing rating points when you win during the first 20 games, try to avoid playing against opponents rated more than 200 points below your expected rating. More about GameKnot's rating system.

^top^ Q4: It seems extra time was added to a game and my opponent hasn't moved yet. Why?

A: 24 hours are automatically added to all non-postponed games (but not to exceed the original time control) every Saturday between 5-6pm local GK time (PST) to prevent timeouts over the weekend for people who play from work and don't have computers at home. It is designed to ensure that if you make your move on Friday, you should have until the same time on Monday to make your next move. Please note that it is not guaranteed and should only be used as a safety net. Also, extra time is added to all games during major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) or disasters affecting the majority of players on GameKnot. Please don't rely on the extra time being added for you and always postpone your games using the link located directly below your active games list, if you need more time to make your next moves.

^top^ Q6: I'm unable to make any moves in any of my games, what do I do?

A: There are several possible reasons for not being able to make a move:
• First of all, make sure that you are logged in to GameKnot from the front page.
• Please double-check that you are not trying to make an illegal move and that your King will not be in check when your move is submitted.
• If you have any anti-virus or firewall software installed on your computer, please make sure that it is not set to disable all active scripts (JavaScript in particular) for all sites.
• Make sure that your Security level in Internet Options (Internet Explorer only) is set to Medium (recommended) or lower. If you have your Security level set to High and you do not want to lower it to Medium, you will need to disable "Move confirmation / submit button" in your profile to be able to make your moves.
• Some computer viruses might prevent your browser from functioning correctly (W32.Blast.Worm, for example). Make sure that your anti-virus software is up-to-date.
• Sometimes, clearing temporary Internet files (i.e. the browser's cache) helps -- select "Tools | Internet Options..." menu, click "Delete Files..." button, hit OK.
• If you are using Microsoft Windows operating system, make sure to download and install all the latest patches from Microsoft Windows Update.
• If everything else fails, try updating your web browser software to the latest version, or using a different web browser altogether.

^top^ Q8: How do I reinstate a timed-out game?

A: Go to your past game history page, locate the game you'd like to reinstate and click on the (R) symbol next to it. If there's no (R) symbol present, that means the game cannot be reinstated. After you request to reinstate the game, a brand new regular (i.e. non-team, non-tournament, non-league, etc.) rated (i.e. it will also affect your rating and stats) game will be created with the same time control as the old one and starting with the current position on the board. Your opponent will be given an option to decline the reinstatement. The old timed-out game will still be counted towards your rating and stats (including team rating, tournament standing, league stats, etc. etc.). In other words, reinstating a game doesn't restore your previous rating nor stats. Please note that only the timed-out player can request the game reinstatement, and that each game can only be reinstated once.

^top^ Q13: I have trouble accessing the site, please help?

A: If you are using Internet Explorer, make sure you have HTTP 1.1 enabled. Here's how you can do it: Open Options dialog box in your browser -- Tools | Internet Options... -- then select Advanced tab, and then make sure that both "Use HTTP 1.1" and "Use HTTP 1.1 through proxy connections" boxes are checked (it's in the HTTP 1.1 settings category).

^top^ Q15: My opponent postponed a game, what can I do about it?

A: Generally, players can postpone their games for any reason (when they need more time to make the moves due to holidays, illness, work, etc.). However, if your opponent continues to make moves in any of his/her games, you will be able to cancel the postponement and restore the original time control for the game. The corresponding option will appear on the game page (above the chess board) that would allow you to cancel the postponement after your opponent makes at least 5 moves (in any of their games) during the postponement period. It is intended to prevent postponement abuse (e.g. stalling a hopelessly lost game, while continuing to play other games, etc. etc.). Please refer to the game postponement page for the complete rules.

^top^ Q16: I'm unable to start new games because there are other users listed as playing from the same computer. What can I do?

A: Please subscribe to a premium membership. As you probably already noticed, free memberships are limited in many ways -- such as the number of games you can play at the same time and very limited access to many advanced features. Not being able to share the same computer with other players is one of such limitations (due to frequent abuse of our free accounts, unfortunately). By subscribing to a premium membership you will instantly gain full access to all features on GameKnot.

^top^ Q17: There's a problem with one (or more) of the pages, please help?

A: Sometimes a corrupted file gets "stuck" in the browser's cache, causing problems. The solution is to clear the browser's cache. In Internet Explorer, you can go to "Tools | Internet Options" and then click on "Delete Files..." in the "Temporary Internet files" section. Or you can try holding "Control" and "Shift" keys and pressing "Reload" button simultaneously to force your browser to re-download the page. You might need to do it couple of times if it doesn't work the first time.

Also, please make sure you are using the latest version of your web browser software (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera). If you are using Mozilla Firefox, try temporarily disabling all third-party plug-ins and extensions, to make sure they are not interfering in any way.

If you are using Microsoft Windows (XP/Vista/etc.), please make sure to download and install all the latest patches from Microsoft Windows Update. Also, sometimes simply restarting your computer might help clear the problem.

^top^ Q19: One of the pages on your website appears to be wrong or displays incorrect information, can you help?

A: Try hitting "Refresh" button from your web browser's toolbar, or if you use Internet Explorer, hold down "Control" and "Shift" keys together and hit "Refresh" button all at the same time to force the browser to completely reload the page. It is possible that some of the pages could get "stuck" in your browser's cache, and would need to be refreshed to appear correctly. Deleting your temporary Internet files (i.e. clearing your web browser's cache) might also help with the problem.

^top^ Q20: What is Fischer/incremental time control and how does it work?

A: When using regular time control (NN days per move) each player has predefined number of days to make each move and the clock is restarted each move. With Fischer/incremental time control each player has a time bank that is never restarted, but instead extra time is added to it after each move. This way it is much closer to the way how real chess clock works when playing over the board. For example, if you are playing a game with "5d + 1d < 10d" time control, that means you have 5 days to make your initial move, and then 1 day is added to your clock on top of whatever time you have left after you made your first move, so you'll have that many days (and hours and minutes) to make your second move, and so on and so forth. Returning to our example, say, you made your first move 12 hours after the game was started, so you will have 5 days - 12 hours + 1 day = 5 days 12 hours to make your next move (after your opponent makes theirs). To avoid huge amounts of time accumulated by players, there's a limit on how many days you can have maximum (denoted by the "<" symbol). If your accumulated time exceeds this number, it will be reset to the maximum (10 days in our example).

^top^ Q21: What is considered cheating? How to report cheaters?

A: It's quite simple -- you can not use anything besides your own brain, and you can not consult anyone besides yourself. That includes chess programs, chess engines or chess computers, your friends, colleagues etc. etc.. Chess books and game/move databases are allowed (as they are permitted in correspondence chess too). Nalimov endgame tablebases, or any other books/programs/tools that show the exact moves to make for a guaranteed win/draw from a given position on the board, are not permitted. Feel free to analyze your games with chess engines or discuss them with your friends after the game is over, but not while the game is still in progress. If you have a concrete evidence that someone is cheating, please submit a formal complaint. Please make sure it is not a mere "I suspect my opponent is using a chess program", or "his/her moves feel too computer-like".

^top^ Q22: Is it possible to play faster games, i.e. 1 day per move?

A: Yes, it is possible to play faster games and many players on GameKnot make their moves several times per day (see "average time per move" stat on the player's profile page). The reason why the very short time controls are not officially supported by GameKnot -- there are players from all over the world on GameKnot and the time difference can put one of the players in a significant disadvantage; also, not all players have access to a computer every day (playing from work or school). Nevertheless, participating in mini-tournaments gives access to games with Fischer/incremental time controls with as little as +1 day added to the clock after each move. Also it is possible to select it when challenging other players to a game. Please refer to question #20 for more information about Fischer/incremental time controls.

^top^ Q23: Which rating is used when calculating the rating adjustment after the game is ended?

A: The higher of the two ratings -- when the first move was made and when the last move was made in the game -- is used when calculating the rating difference for the Elo formula. For example, if player A plays against player B and their ratings are 1300 for player A and 1400 for player B when the game is started, but just before the game ends their ratings are 1250 (player A) and 1450 (player B). The following ratings will be used: 1300 for player A (1300>1250) and 1450 for player B (1400<1450), when calculating the rating adjustment for this game. The only exception to this rule is if the player hadn't completed the first 5 rated games yet when the game was started, in which case the rating at the end of the game will be used for that player (everyone has a provisional rating of 1200 during the first 5 rated games).

^top^ Q25: One of my opponents is refusing to resign a lost game, what can be done about it?

A: Unless any of the chess rules or any of GameKnot rules have been violated, there is nothing that can be done about the game. If you find someone's behavior annoying, simply add that person to your ignore list. You'll still have to finish your current game though, so the best solution is to remain calm, always make your best moves and crush your opponent on the board.

^top^ Q26: One of my opponents is stalling a lost game, what can be done about it?

A: Your opponent has the right to make his or her move at any time as long as it is within the time control set for the game. So unless any of the chess rules or any of GameKnot rules have been violated, there is nothing that can be done about the game. If you find someone's behavior annoying, please simply add that person to your ignore list. You'll still have to finish your current game though, so the best solution is to remain calm, always make your best moves and crush your opponent on the board.

^top^ Q27: I'm seeing excessive and/or inappropriate/adult ads on your site, why?

A: We do not allow inappropriate or adult ads on GameKnot. What you are seeing is most likely produced by so called "adware" or "spyware" programs -- a free program or software package that you have downloaded and installed on your computer, that contains a hidden module that shows excessive ads (pup-ups, banner ads, text links, etc.) on the websites you visit without their authorization. Also, certain unscrupulous websites (hacking/cracking, pirating music/software, adult, etc.) can sometimes exploit newly discovered security flaws in Internet Explorer that allow them to install hidden software on your computer without your consent. Same as with the computer viruses, your computer can get infected with "spyware"/"adware" via downloading and installing of untrusted programs, by opening dangerous e-mail attachments, by visiting shady websites, etc. etc.

You can read more about "adware"/"spyware" programs here: Spyware Info.
There are excellent free spyware detection and removal tools, for example: Ad-Aware, SpyBot Search and Destroy.

^top^ Q28: I'm unable to use "wait for your turn", "analyze the board" and "make a note" features of your site, why?

A: Most likely, this is due to a pop-up window blocking software installed on your computer. All the aforementioned features work in a pop-up window, so if you have it blocked or disabled on your computer, you will not be able to use it. Also, please make sure that your browser software is updated to the latest version and that JavaScript is enabled in your browser. Please see question #6 for related issues and possible solutions.

^top^ Q30: I am a premium subscriber, but I'm still seeing ads on GameKnot, why?

A: Unless you are using "remember my login info" when logging in to GameKnot, you will see the ads on the front page before you log in. Simply because the server doesn't yet know that it is you. As soon as you log in to GameKnot, all advertising will disappear from the site. If you are still getting pop-up ads while logged in to GameKnot under your user name, your computer is likely to be infected with adware/spyware. Please refer to question #27 for more information.

^top^ Q31: My anti-virus software is detecting viruses on your site. Why?

A: First of all, let us assure you that GameKnot is absolutely clean and free from any viruses of any kind. There are multiple possible reasons why your anti-virus software might be triggered when visiting our site:

• Your computer might be infected by spyware that is interfering with your web browsing; please use the following free tools to detect and remove spyware from your computer: Microsoft AntiSpyware, Ad-Aware, SpyBot Search and Destroy.
• Your computer might already be infected by a virus; please make sure that you have the latest version of an anti-virus software and that your virus definition files have been updated recently and then do a full scan of your computer;
• Anti-virus software sometimes mistakenly identifies regular code as a virus;

If you are using Windows, please always install all the latest security updates using Windows Update.

^top^ Q32: One of my games timed out, even though I thought I still had time. Can it be reinstated?

A: The system time on all GameKnot servers is automatically synchronized with several independent atomic clock servers on the Internet (the full list can be found here). We also have several automated checks in place to make sure that the time control of each game is working correctly (i.e. the system has several automated "judges" that all have to agree before the game is declared as timed out). Ever since the system was implemented in the year 2000, we haven't had a single problem with any of the games, so it is probably safe to say that there are no hidden "bugs" in the system and it is working 100% as designed. Please refer to question #8 for more information on reinstating timed out games.

^top^ Q33: I lost several games by time out due to circumstances beyond my control. Can my old rating be restored?

A: Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done about the games that had ended -- they are already recorded in the past game histories and factored into the ratings and stats of both you and your opponents. You should be able to simply win more games to earn back the lost rating points. Also, please refer to question #8 for more information on how to request game reinstatements.

^top^ Q35: Your website seems to be very slow and it takes a long time for any of the pages to load. Please help?

A: Most often the slow page loading is caused by a temporary Internet traffic congestion on the way from your computer to GameKnot servers. Try accessing the website during a different time of day or using a different Internet connection. Also, it has been reported previously that some of the Internet security software packages can cause the slow loading of the pages on some systems. If you have any of the antivirus or firewall programs installed on your computer (McAfee, Norton, etc.), try temporarily disabling them to see if it helps. Make sure to do a complete scan of your computer for viruses and trojan programs, as they might be overloading your system. Also, make sure that you are using the latest version of your web browser, or try a different web browser (for example, Firefox) to see if it makes a difference. Also, please make sure to download and install all the latest patches from Microsoft Windows Update. If none of this helps, and you are absolutely sure it has nothing to do with your computer or your Internet connection, and the problem persists for more than a couple of days, please contact your ISP and they should be able to run some tests to see if there are any issues in the network segment between your computer and GameKnot servers.

^top^ Q36: The online status ("green dot") seems to never be on for my own user name, why?

A: The "green dot" is never shown for your own user name as it will be always on -- you need to be online to be able to check it. Besides, you can probably already tell whether you are online or not. So it has been decided to conserve the screen space and bandwidth and never show it for the player's own user name.

^top^ Q37: What is a "stalemate"?

A: Stalemate is a situation on the chess board, when the player whose turn it is to move has no legal moves available but is not currently in check. The game is automatically declared a draw in such situation. Most often this happens when one of the players has only a King remaining on the board and all squares around it is under attack, but not the square the King is occupying at the time.

^top^ Q38: When viewing a game, how can I tell who is playing white and who is playing black?

A: The player playing white is always listed first (i.e. on the left side of "vs."). For example, if you see "opponent_A vs. opponent_B" in the description of a game, opponent_A is playing white and opponent_B is playing black.

^top^ Q39: What is a "threefold repetition" rule?

A: As per the chess rules, if the exact same position appears on the chess board 3 or more times, the game can be ended in a draw by either of the opponents. Please note that simply repeating the same move is not enough, the entire position on the board has to be repeated. Although it is not required that the same position occurs three times during consecutive moves, but it usually happens this way in practice, typically with one of the Kings being subjected to a perpetual check. When GameKnot detects that the same position was repeated three times, an option is presented to both opponents to end the game in a draw (located directly above the game board). This option can be exercised only while the repeated position is still on the board. It is not required for the other opponent to agree to it, and the game is ended immediately and recorded as a draw for both players.

^top^ Q40: I'm advancing to the second round in a tournament even though I didn't have the top score in my group, why?

A: As per GK tournament rules, if the winner of the tournament group had exceeded the rating limits for the section, he/she is automatically moved to the next higher section and the player with the next higher score who has the rating within the limits will advance to the next round instead.

^top^ Q41: I'm playing a game in which the opponent made an impossible move, why?

A: The GameKnot server automatically checks all submitted moves for being valid and in accordance with the chess rules. In other words, if a move was submitted and accepted by the server, that means it is perfectly valid and within the rules of chess. Most often it is the pawn's "capture en passant" that is being mistaken for an illegal move.

^top^ Q43: No new games are being started for me in a mini-tournament, why?

A: The mini-tournament games are started automatically based on the player availability (up to 4 games per player in each mini-tournament). So if no games are being started for you in a mini-tournament, that means there are no players available to play against you at this time. Please simply wait and the games will be started for you as soon as other players either finish some of their current games in the mini-tournament or return from their vacations, etc..

^top^ Q44: Does GameKnot support the 50-move draw rule?

A: Yes, of course, but not automatically. Usually players agree to draw the game well before the 50-move threshold is reached, but if you do find yourself in a situation when this rule can be invoked, please contact us requesting to draw the game. Please refer to the paragraph 4.5 in the chess rules for more information about the 50-move rule.

^top^ Q45: I have removed the vacation flag from my account, but some of my games are still postponed, why?

A: Removing the vacation flag from your account does not automatically cancel the postponement for all your games. It is actually not recommended to cancel the postponements for your own games as your opponents might already be counting on using the extra time. Please simply continue making your moves normally and the original time control will be restored for all your games once the original postponement period is over.

^top^ Q46: I'm unable to select a particular chess piece on the board and I want to move it, why?

A: If you are unable to select a particular chess piece on the board, that means it has no valid moves available. Most often it happens when the piece is "pinned" -- i.e. it is in the way of an attacking piece of the opposite color, so you cannot move your piece without placing your King in check.