Do I Need To Pay A Subscription And Download Software To Play Chess On The Internet?

Online chess communities and are normally free to join; some, though, offer additional services or benefits by becoming a subscriber.

For some chess sites, no additional software is required; most gaming takes place via standard web browsers such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. However, to play solo Java-based chess games, you may need to download the plug-in. If your browser requires this, a download link will be provided.

Many computer chess games, especially free General Public License software, and internet chess clubs run on X-Board, a free Graphical User Interface which you must download and install. As well as supporting the real time chess games of internet servers, X-Board also allows the playing of saved games and supports email chess too.

Originally designed for the X Window System, a Microsoft Windows variant of the communication protocol, called WinBoard, was also created. Today, the X-Board/WinBoard standard dominates the scene and is the usual means by which numerous free and commercial computer chess programs communicate across the internet. A rival communication protocol you may also encounter is the Universal Chess Interface.