A: Absolutely, it's right here.

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.

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 fare 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.

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/school 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 not be relied on other than as a safety net. Also, extra time can be added to all games during the major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years) or any other extraordinary events (such as natural disasters, etc.) affecting the majority of players on GameKnot. Please don't rely on the extra time being added for you and always postpone your games manually using the link located directly below your active games list, if you need more time to make your next moves.

A: Unfortunately not. Please always use "analyze the board" feature to try different moves, and make sure to enable "move confirmation / submit button" in your settings to help avoid any mistakes.

A: There are several possible reasons for not being able to make a move:
• Make sure that you are logged in to GameKnot from the front page;
• Please make sure that you are clicking on the piece you want to move and then clicking on the destination square (GameKnot does not support "dragging" of the chess pieces with your mouse as it makes it easier to make mistakes);
• 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;
• Your web browser might be the cause. Please visit the following page for more information;

A: Unfortunately, it is not possible to change your user name due to technical reasons (because of the way GameKnot stores and references user data on its servers) -- your user name is permanent and cannot be changed.

A: The link to request to reinstate a timed-out game is included in the e-mail and the private message you receive after the game is over. 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 last 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.

A: Please click the settings button in the menu on the left side of any of GameKnot pages.

A: Please click the settings button in the menu on the left side of any of GameKnot pages.

A: Please click the settings button in the menu on the left side of any of GameKnot pages.

A: You can disable various e-mail notifications by clicking the settings button in the menu on the left side of any of GameKnot pages.

A: Please see here.

A: Please see here.

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.

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.

A: Please see here.

A: Unfortunately it's not possible, for multiple reasons. Please continue playing using your current account.

A: If you are referring to some of your or other player's stats, please note that not all of the information shown on the website is updated in real-time. Some stats are updated hourly and some are updated daily/nightly. Please wait at least 24 hours and everything should be updated. If more than a day passed since you checked the last time, please visit the following page for more information.

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).

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".

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.

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).

» More information about GameKnot's rating system.

A: Please see here for more information.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A: Please click here for the detailed description of GameKnot's rating system.

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.

A: Please rest assured that GameKnot is completely free from any viruses and other malicious content. We have several security measures in place to prevent it, both on the servers and remote inspection and detection. A few reasons why your anti-virus software might be erroneously triggered when visiting our website:

• Your computer is infected by spyware that is interfering with your web browsing. Please check your computer using one of the latest anti-spyware products, for example: Windows Defender, Ad-Aware, SpyBot Search and Destroy.
• Your computer is infected by a hidden virus that was not detected by your anti-virus software. Please make sure that you have the latest version of your anti-virus software, that your virus definition files are up to date, and that you have done a recent full scan of your computer. You might want to try an alternative anti-virus software package to ensure your computer is not infected.
• Anti-virus software can sometimes mistakenly identify innocent code as a virus. Please report the problem directly to the company that made the anti-virus software package installed on your computer.
• If you are using Microsoft Windows, please always promptly install all the latest security updates using Windows Update.

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.

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.

A: Depending on how busy the GameKnot server is at the time, it can take up to 30 minutes for a timed-out game to be processed by the system and reflected in your rating and stats.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A: Please visit the following page for more information about the emergency postponement.

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..

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.

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.

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.

A: We do not specifically support any particular PDAs or smartphones, but if your handheld device provides full support for HTML 4.01 and JavaScript 1.5, you should have no problems using GameKnot on it. Also, we've had reports that in order to be able to make moves in a game some of the PDAs/smartphones require disabling of the "move confirmation / submit button" in your preferences, which can be done by clicking on the settings button in the menu on the left side of any of GameKnot pages.

A: Players can be moved to a higher tournament section if they exceed the rating limit of their section after the 1st round (and only after the 1st round), so all games in all lower sections in the same tournament have to be completed first. The reason for it is so that not only the winner in each tournament group is established, but in case they are moved to the higher section, the runner-ups are determined as well to advance to the 2nd round in the same section instead of the winner. Please be patient and a separate announcement will be made once the 2nd round can be started.

A: The word winner is shown next to the player(s) name if they will advance to the next round regardless of the results of the remaining games. If someone else in the same tournament group ends up with the top score as well later on, they will also be declared a winner and will advance to the next round as well.

A: Contact GameKnot.