INTRODUCTION:

You are encouraged to participate in our chess discussions through the Kibitzer's Corner found on nearly every page. Simply type your message, preview it, and post it for other users to see.

HOW DO I MAKE A LINK TO A GAME?

If you want to refer to a game which is in the Chessgames.com database, you can make a clickable link to the game in question. This is done by simply pasting the Chessgames.com URL (web address) into your message. When others see your message they will not see the URL, but instead the link.

For example, if you type this:

I first fell in love with chess when I saw http://www.chessgames.com/ perl/chessgame?gid=1259996.

Others will see this:

I first fell in love with chess when I saw Morphy vs Paulsen, 1857.

You can use this technique for making links to players, also.

If you post any URL (with the 'http://' part) into your comments, it will appear as a clickable link.

For example, if you type this:

At http://games.yahoo.com/ you can play chess on the internet for free.

Others will see this:

At http://games.yahoo.com/ you can play chess on the internet for free.

If the URL is very long, it will be displayed truncated (with "..." at the end), however clicking on the link will take you to correct address.

If you enclose text between < and > symbols, it will appear in gold. This is usually done to quote other users before responding to a statement. For example, if you type this:

John, when you wrote <1.e4 is a more aggressive opening than 1.d4> I think you are overlooking many sharp 1.d4 systems.

Others will see this:

John, when you wrote <1.e4 is a more aggressive opening than 1.d4> I think you are overlooking many sharp 1.d4 systems.

HOW DO INCLUDE A CHESS POSITION IN MY MESSAGE?

To use this feature you need to be familiar with Forsyth-Edwards Notation ("FEN" for short). To learn about this notation, please see our FEN Help Page for a description and examples. It may look confusing at first, but with a little practice you will be able to write FEN code instantly for any position you see.

Once you understand how to express a chess position in FEN, simply insert the FEN code into your text. It will automatically appear as a small diagram, with a link to a larger diagram. For example, if you type this:

White to play and draw. (Richard Reti, 1921) 7K/8/k1P5/7p/8/8/8/8 w - -

Others will see this:

White to play and draw. (Richard Reti, 1921) click for larger view

Note that it is not necessary to express the full FEN code for the position, since information regarding whose move it is, castling rights, en passant, etc., do not change what the diagram looks like. For example, the string rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1 (which represents the starting position) may be abbreviated as simply rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR. However, if you do include the extra information, it won't hurt anything.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This feature should be used with discretion. Do not post too many diagrams in any single message, and do not use this feature to create decorative graphical elements in your posts. Thank you!

HOW DO I INSERT CHESS SYMBOLS IN MY TEXT?

If you have analysis in English Algebraic chess notation, you may enclose text between { and } symbols (braces), chess graphics will be inserted into your text.

For example, if you type this:

The complications resulting from {4...dxe4 5.Qg4} would give White attacking chances: e.g.: { 1) 5...Nf6 6.Qxg7 Rg8 7.Qh6 Qxd4 8.O-O-O +/= threatening 9.Bg5. 2) 5...Qxd4 6.Nf3 Qf6 7.Qxe4} followed by O-O-O with good attacking chances for White.

Others will see this:

The complications resulting from 4...dxe4 5.g4 would give White attacking chances: e.g.: 1) 5...f6 6.xg7 g8 7.h6 xd4 8.O-O-O 9.g5. 2) 5...xd4 6.f3 f6 7.xe4 followed by O-O-O with good attacking chances for White.

Be careful to only put the { and } symbols around chess annotation, otherwise you may accidentally invoke chess symbols in simple words like Black.

The complete list of graphics you may access are:

You type		Displayed		Meaning
P				pawn
N				knight
B				bishop
R				rook
Q				queen
K				king
+-				white is winning
-+				black is winning
+/-				white is better
-/+				black is better
+/=				white is slightly better
=/+				black is slightly better
unclear (or infinity)				unclear
only move (or forced)				only move
threatening (or delta)				with the idea; threatening; intending
compensation (or =/infinity)				with compensation for the material

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?

• To force a line break, put a backslash character ("\") at the end of the text. This is helpful when making lists, for example.
• We have implemented support for directly linking to Edward Winter's excellent resource Chess Notes. Simply enter "C.N. nnnn" (where nnnn is the entry number).
• To link to a specific post on Chessgames, simply do the following:
  1. Right click on the date link beside the post you want to link to, and then
  2. Select "Copy link..." from the context-sensitive menu which appears
  3. Paste it into your own post where desired. This will create a link directly to the original post.