We’ve been hard at work making some exciting changes to ChessCube – take a look and see:
ChessCube - spot anything new?
And, there is more on its way. Keep watching this space for announcements over the next few days.
In July 2009, ChessCube and CHESSA announced the first FIDE rated online matches. These were matches were played in the 2009 SA Open between players based in Melbourne, Australia and players based in Cape Town, South Africa. GM Amon Simutowe won the tournament.
ChessCube has recently released a report on the event for FIDE. The report summarises the key challenges and lessons from this chess world first, with the aim of encouraging increased online participation in chess tournaments. FIDE’s support for this venture, and in particular in rating these matches, demonstrates exciting possibilities in the world of chess.
This report and the player agreement are available for download. Click on the following links to download pdf versions of the report and player agreement. ChessCube SA Open 2009 Report (pdf). ChessCube SA Open 2009 Player Agreement for online matches (pdf).
Welcoming back tournament winners is a good way to start the week at ChessCube.
It was a great weekend for ChessCube employees Lefu Ntho and John Jurgens, who finished the 2009 Swellendam Open in joint 1st place overall. Both players scored 4.5 out of a possible 6. However, it was John who won with a higher tiebreak.
Bennie, Lefu and John
The highest rated player in the Swellendam Open, Dr A. Southey, scored 4.5 overall as well. Many expected Dr Southey to blow the competition away. However, with a drawn match against Benjamin Bosch, another ChessCube employee, and a loss to Lefu, Dr Southey was no longer in the running to win. The path was clear for John to take top honours.
ChessCube congratulates both Lefu and John on their achievement at the 2009 Swellendam Open, and Benjamin on a great tournament as well!
Releasing a new version of ChessCube is no small task. We’ve had some great feedback on ChessCube v4 already (thanks!). In case you were wondering what goes into launching a new version of ChessCube, I managed to squeeze in some time with Tracy to ask her a few questions. Tracy is the lead developer working on the ChessCube that you see and love, and below are her thoughts on the new version.
Sarah: ChessCube v4 has quite a few changes from the previous version. What are the major changes?
Tracy: The major change was the new skin itself. We tried to keep functional changes to a minimum to make the transition easier.
Functionality that did change was:
Overall, we tried to clean up the interface to make space for all the new exciting things that we’re going to be adding.
ChessCube Chat v4
Can you talk a little bit about why it was time for an update?
Our previous version was great for its time, but started to get a bit cluttered as we added on new functionality. We also found that some older features were not being used optimally. We had new features that we wanted to implement plus we wanted to make the interface more fun.
So it was high time for a reshape and reconfiguration, to make way for the next era of the interface.
What’s involved with releasing a new version of ChessCube?
A lot of testing, sneak previews and a demo version running in parallel. Enthusiastic players enjoyed hunting for the secret preview URL, and also provided us with some good feedback.
What is your favourite part of the new ChessCube chat?
The player card – which has got lots more coming to it. Also, the fact that the simplified interface makes it easier to view and play on smaller screen resolutions.
There are some new features on the horizon that I have seen in the designs that I absolutely love. I cannot let the cat out the bag yet, but they are going to spice up the interface quite nicely.
Thanks Tracy! We’re looking forward to being able to show off the new features that are on the way!
“A man that will take back a move at chess will pick a pocket.”
- Richard Fenton (1837 – 1916)
CTRL Z Threadless Tee
So, when ChessCube Version 4 launched this week, it launched without the “take back” option. It’s back (some of you may be pleased to know), but we’ve certainly seen lots of debate around whether it shouldn’t even be an available option!
I asked for some opinions around ChessCube HQ, and John‘s thoughts are worth sharing:
“When you take back a move in chess you have had a glimpse of the future and your opponent has not had the same advantage. Except in beginners’ games, it ought not to be allowed in my opinion.
Ultimately it can only harm the chess development of the player who takes back the move. Takebacks can also quite easily bedevil relationships.
The player who is asked for a takeback is placed in an invideous position. If she refuses then she risks being thought of as an ungracious person. And if she accedes then she has set a precedent which will be difficult to repudiate. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Much simpler to simply not allow the possibility at all.
Mouse slips? I have had a few and smarted most mightily for it. I’m much more careful with my mouse these days. ”
When playing games online, most players wouldn’t want to be at the mercy of their own mouse slips. It’s something we had to consider with the online games in the SA Open. For those games, even though the game was played online, each player also had a physical board to show their moves to the arbiter. That way, a request to take back a move based on a slip of the mouse could be verified against the board.
What do I think? Well, I’m quite the beginner myself, so I were to want to take a move back it would more likely be because I’d made the wrong one, rather than that my mouse had slipped. It would be better for me to learn to play the game without that “ctrl + z” option. For better players, I can understand the frustration of a mistaken move because of a sticky mouse. Take back remains for now.
What do you think?
[Image is detail of the "CTRL + Z" Tee by Ben Devens at Threadless.]
The latest version of ChessCube has just gone live. The interface has changed quite a bit to make it easier to use. We’re loving the new look, and we hope you are too.
If you haven’t yet, login at www.chesscube.com/play to try out the new version. If you’d like to let us know what you think, head on over to our forum to send us comments, bugs and feedback.
We’ll have a little more for you from the lead developer on the new version of ChessCube later on this week.
If you’re following us on Twitter (and if you’re not, you should! www.twitter.com/chesscube), you’ll have seen some mention of something very exciting: version four of ChessCube Play is on its way! If you manage to find it, you can even take a peek on a secret URL. For those who can’t find the secret URL, here are some screenshots to whet your appetite:
ChessCube Chat v4
Chess game in ChessCube V4
Looking good! We can’t wait for you all to try it out.
We’re turning into a film studio for the next few days. We’ll post more photos soon – here is just a teaser:
ChessCube Studio - Take One
Can you spy who is visiting us? And if you look closely, you can even spot the photographer (me!).
Well, we finished off July with over 640,000 registered users. Almost at the 1 million mark! Almost 
We also keep on improving ChessCube. We’re now on version 3.96 (beta) – and we hope you’ve noticed the improved platform. Fewer disconnects (we hate those too) and faster games. And, it’s gonna keep getting better!
We also launched two new article sections on our blog: Andrew Martin’s regular puzzles (a great way to improve your game), and updates from the WCC.
In July, we were also involved in a chess world-first – FIDE rated online matches in a real world tournament!
So, as we settle into a wintry Cape Town, keep an eye on what is happening on ChessCube in August.
SeanW - Our fearless community manager
If you were asked the question, “How passionate are you about your passions?”, would your answer be, “It’s close to an obsession”? The way I see it, this is what ChessCube is all about. A worldwide community coming together to share a common passion, the love for playing Chess.
ChessCube shares this obsession with its users, by providing an outstanding interface for newcomers to this great game of skill and strategy, as well as for seasoned veterans to perfect their skills. And once the timer has run out or the King has been dropped or pinned, players can engage with each other in one of our many chat rooms. And that’s where ChessCube hits the ball out of the park.
In my view, the social service we offer to our community is second to none. We all have friends in the real world, and so too on the ‘Cube. When we’re online as players, we make friends, and every time a user logs on, the time and opportunity is there to bond as friends. And when the community has fun, we have great fun! Users can socialise in a room dedicated to their own country, or say what’s on their mind in our theme based rooms such as the Music room, Sports room, and our Chess Analysis room, or even engage in our 1000+ user strong Cube Café. It’s so great that we can play against and chat to our neighbours, colleagues and and friends on the Cube, and 5 minutes later be challenging and engaging with someone on the other side of the globe.
The community is lead by a diverse group of Moderators from all over the world. They’ve put a lot into place with regards to helping everyone and leading the community forward as a whole, and are completely uncompromising about the leadership they offer. These Moderators all share a common goal, and that is to make ChessCube’s community a second home to its users.
The growth in the community has been fantastic. This definitely says that we’re doing something right. And although the basic principle of ChessCube will always remain the same, we are constantly moving forward with new advancements and funtionality. With a user base consisting of over 600 000 users from around the world, we have definitely stepped up to the plate by adapting quickly and reacting to this change quite positively.
Managing ChessCube’s community at this size is challenging, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
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