Correspondence E-mail or Postal Chess

Michael Kanehl
filed under "Reference-and-Education"

Correspondence Chess or E-mail Chess might be for you if can't spend a lot of time playing without interuptions because you also have a life E-mail chess is an evolution from the postal chess which was very popular in the late 19th century. Both can be catogarized under the term Correspondance Chess Unlike postal chess where time is measured in days,online e-mail messages can be delivered almost instantaneously Correspondence chess allows people or clubs geographically distant to play one another without meeting in person. The length of a game played by correspondence can vary depending on the method used to transmit the moves - a game played via server or by e-mail might last no more than a few months, but a game played by post between players in different countries might last several years. Correspondence chess differs from over-the-board play in several respects. While in OTB chess only one game is played at a time (the exception being in a simultaneous exhibition), in correspondence chess several games are usually played at once. All games in a tournament are played concurrently, and some players may have more than a hundred games continuing at the same time The time limits in correspondence play are usually between 30 and 60 days for every 10 moves. This allows for far deeper calculation, meaning that blunders are very rare. The use of any kind of assistance including chess databases and chess programs is allowed, although many hobby players voluntarily do without them The international governing body of correspondence chess is the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF) which organises postal and e-mail events. There are numerous national and regional bodies for postal chess, as well as a number of organisations devoted to organising e-mail play (such as the International Email Chess Group (IECG) and International E-mail Chess Club (IECC)). About the author: Discover all aspects of chess at http://www.artofchess.squarespace.com