How to play email chess

First you have to enter an email tournament. When there are enough players to start a new tournament, you will receive the names and the addresses of your opponents from the Tournament Office. Most tournaments have an odd number of participants. You play simultaniously against all your opponents. For instance, if there are 11 players in a tournament, you will play 10 games: 5 with the White pieces and 5 with the Black pieces.

Together with the names of your opponents, you will be informed against whom you have to play with which colours. The tournament has an official starting date, but you are allowed to start your games earlier. The games must be played according to the ICCF Playing Rules, which also can be found on this site. The tournament is conducted by a Tournament Director. He keeps record of the results of the games and helps to solve eventual problems. For instance when the moves don't arrive in the right way.

The fun of email chess (1)

Many people love to play chess, many people would like to play regularly, but don't have the opportunity or the wish to play in a chess club. Because the playing evening of the club doesn't fit. And you can only play one game per evening. And imagine that you loose that game by a blunder after four hours play.

Email chess is different. It is more flexible. You can think about your moves wherever you are and whenever you want. During the week or in the weekend. When you are shaving or cooking, driving to your work, at the loo, it doesn't matter. The reflection time is not measured in minutes but in days. If you have not found your move today, you can continue thinking tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow. And at the same time you can play as many games as you wish.

Moreover you can immediately play international tournaments. In which kind of sport is that possible? For many players this is one of charming points of email chess: having contact with opponents all over the world. Besides your moves you can exchange all kind of messages: about the moves, about the game, about the tournament. But also about yourself. Almost always a new opponent starts the game with something like this: "Nice to meet you. My name is XYZ, 32 years old, math teacher, married, 2 children, hobbies ice skating and reading." Very often you can make contact then by asking questions about the profession, the country, the city, the hobbies, etcetera.

During the periods of the cold war email chess did not exist yet. But postal chess was a nice opportunity for people in Eastern Europe to keep in contact with the Western countries. Mutual family visits have been the results of many postal or email chess game.

Reasons for playing email chess

• I want to play chess although there is no chess club in the neighbourhood
• I want to play with opponents of my own playing strength
• I'm not able to play on the chess club's evening
• I want to play whenever it fits me
• I'm not able to leave my house
• Being disabled I want to keep contact with the world
• I don't like the blunders of the OTB games
• I want to play without time pressure
• I can no longer stand the tension at the chess board
• I want to have enough time for reflection
• I want to deepen my insight in the openings
• I like international contacts

But there are also people who don't like email chess. People who love speed and tension. Korchnoj ever declared: "I much more like to be carried on a stretcher into the playing hall, tha ever playing one more correspondence chess game." And the former Dutch woman champion for many years, Cory Vreeken, said: "I don't like adjourned games, but when I would play correspondece chess, I would only have adjourned games."

The fun of email chess (2)

The fun of email chess is driving home and thinking of opening your mail box. Will there be an answer from so-and-so? Will he have seen what your threaths were? Oh goodness? What is he doing now? Haven't I seen that? Putting quickly the pieces on the board, and have a look. These moments belong to the joy of an email player

And above all it is game of patience. The deceased Dutch Grandmaster Dick Smit once said: "Especially the Russians are patience specialists. Slavian rest, always finishing the last, playing on very long, not drawing too soon, winning plus games with an iron discipline, without giving away any chance, no if-move, time efficiency, never real time pressure."

By Nol van't Riet