Free chess game?

November 16, 2007 5:13 AM

Hi, does anyone know where to find a network chess game that is open source (free basically)? I'm a teacher and I want my class to play each other at chess during an ICT lesson.
posted by mooreeasyvibe to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)

Will 64squar.es do? It's web-based, but free.
posted by Wolfdog at 5:17 AM on November 16, 2007

FICS - The original and still the best. 15 years now? Both web and desktop.
posted by unixrat at 5:20 AM on November 16, 2007 [1 favorite]

I really like Game Knot. You have to sign up for a [free] account, but it's a really great interface with lots of nice features. You can see past game history, walk through previous moves, and even watch other chess games in progress.

Check it out.
posted by jeffxl at 7:06 AM on November 16, 2007

Response by poster: I looked at all of the internet based ones and they are pretty darned good.

Does anyone know of a client that could just run a network game and not need net access?

Thanks for your ideas so far

Chris
posted by mooreeasyvibe at 7:48 AM on November 16, 2007

FICS is what you want - you set up a server, and give your clients access via WinBoard. This is a good starting point (see D.8).
posted by TheNewWazoo at 8:21 AM on November 16, 2007

Best answer: Easiest thing to do is go to SourceForge and search for Chess. To search for a specific operating system, first search for "chess," then click on "Filter" right before the results. A small options thing will pop up above the results with some drop-down menus. Change the menus to:
Require, Operating System, 32-bit MS Windows (NT/2000/XP)
for example.

It may take a few of them to find one you like, so make sure you try out at least 3 or 4.
posted by spiderskull at 8:42 PM on November 16, 2007

On second thought, it may not be the "easiest" per se, but it will give you a lot of options.
posted by spiderskull at 8:43 PM on November 16, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks very much spiderskull.

There are loads of possible solutions on SourceForge and I'll be spending a long time on there looking for other open source software for other uses too.

Yay!
posted by mooreeasyvibe at 6:55 AM on November 17, 2007