A: It's quite simple — you cannot use anything besides your own brain, and you cannot consult anyone besides yourself. That includes chess programs, chess engines or chess computers, your friends, colleagues etc. etc. — using any of them is strictly prohibited.

Chess books and game/move databases are allowed (as they are permitted in correspondence chess too), with the exception of endgame tablebases. Nalimov endgame tablebases, or any other books/programs/tools that show the exact moves to make for a guaranteed win/draw from a given position on the board, are not permitted.

This only applies to games that are still in progress, and games that are rated, or a part of a competition. Feel free to analyze your games with chess engines or discuss them with your friends after the game is over, but not while the game is still in progress. Unrated games are excepted as well, as they are generally played for learning purposes. However, both opponents must understand beforehand that the game will be unrated and that outside assistance will be used during the game.

If you have a concrete evidence that someone is cheating, please submit a formal complaint, and we will review the case. Please make sure it is not a mere "I suspect my opponent is using a chess program", or "his/her moves feel too computer-like". Unless we can conclusively prove that a player is cheating beyond any reasonable doubt, we would very much prefer to wait until there is more evidence available, instead of accusing a completely innocent player.

Please note that someone winning a large number of games in a row is not a conclusive evidence of cheating as it often happens when a strong player chooses their opponents to be mostly lower-rated, which is technically not against the rules, and it is relatively easy to achieve for a higher-rated player.

Also, a chess engine "agreeing" with most of the moves made by a player does not necessarily prove that they were cheating. It can also mean that the player's rating is on par with the chess engine's playing strength (or better). It could also be because the game was progressing in such a way that there was only one decisive (or non-losing) move at each turn. On the other hand, if for example a player routinely loses to lower rated players and then suddenly starts playing like a grandmaster, that would be very strong evidence that they are cheating. In any case, please refrain from using a chess engine to analyze any games still in progress, as not only it is against the rules by itself, but it is also very unlikely to prove that your opponent is cheating.

A: Yes, it is possible to play faster games and many players on GameKnot make their moves multiple times per day (see "average time per move" stat on the player's profile page). The main reason why the very short time controls are not officially supported by GameKnot is because we have players from all over the world from many different time zones, and the time difference can put one of the players in a significant disadvantage.

You would need to check on your games several times per day every single day, as checking just once a day is not enough in case of only 24 hours per move. For example, if you check your games in the morning (before noon) one day and in the afternoon the next day, that's more than 24 hours, and you could lose any 1-day-per-move games by time-out if your opponent happens to make their move shortly after yours.

If you like to play very fast games, please simply check your opponent's "average time per move" stat to match your own. When starting an open challenge game, you can also set "Players making moves" option to "many times per day" (under "More options...").

We also support Fischer/incremental time control with as little as +1 day added to the clock after each move. It requires you to make fast moves most of the time, but also provides a safety cushion in case you need more time once in a while. It is used in mini-tournaments and the Ladder, and you can also select it when challenging another player to a game directly. Please refer to question #20 for more information about the Fischer/incremental time control.

And lastly, if you are simply finding yourself wanting to play more and no games to make moves in, please simply start or join more games! Playing multiple simultaneous games is a very good way to improve your chess skills.

A: The higher of the two ratings — when the first move was made and when the last move was made — is used when calculating the rating adjustment after the game is over.

For example, if player A plays against player B and their ratings were 1300 for player A and 1400 for player B when the game was started, but just before the game ends their ratings are 1250 (A) and 1450 (B). The following ratings will be used: 1300 for player A (1300>1250) and 1450 for player B (1400<1450), when calculating the rating difference for the Elo formula. The only exception to this rule is if the player hadn't completed the first 5 rated games yet when the game was started, in which case the rating at the end of the game will be used for that player (everyone has a provisional rating of 1200 during their first 5 rated games).

» More about the rating system.

A: Please see here for more information.

A: Unless any of the chess rules or any of the GameKnot rules have been violated, unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about the game. If you find someone's behavior annoying, please simply add that person to your ignore list. You'll still have to finish the game though, so the best solution is to remain calm, always make your best moves and crush your opponent on the board.

A: Every player is entitled to make their moves at any time as long as it is within the time control set for the game. Unless any of the chess rules or any of the GameKnot rules have been violated, unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about the game. Using all the time allotted to the player is not against the rules, nor is it unethical in any way. While it might certainly be annoying, however in most cases your opponent is not actively trying to annoy you personally.

Players may take longer to try and find a way out of a tricky situation, looking very carefully to find a saving move or exchange, which takes time. Once in a while you may come across players who, in your opinion, are dragging out a "lost" game. However, they might not realize that the game is lost for them, or they might have something planned that will change things around very soon, or they might simply be trying their best to come up with a solution, which might or might not exist. Surely you will also appreciate being able to use all the time allotted to you to make your next move, when you find yourself in a difficult situation on the chessboard at some point in the future.

There are also players who generally are not in any rush to make their moves, who prefer to take their time when playing. You can always check the player's stats page, by clicking on their username, to find their "average time to move" stat, so that you can avoid slow players. If you still find someone's behavior annoying, please simply add that person to your ignore list, so that you don't have to play them again in the future. You'll still have to finish the current game though, so the best solution is to remain calm, always make your best moves and crush your opponent on the chessboard.

A: We certainly would not let any excessive or intrusive ads to be shown on GameKnot. Our goal has always been to make sure that GameKnot is one of the best and safest places to enjoy playing chess on the Internet, and allowing excessive ads would simply be a step in the wrong direction.

What you are seeing is most likely produced by so called "adware" or "spyware" programs hiding on your computer. It can also be caused by viruses as well, so make sure to check your computer. They hook into your web browser and "inject" their own ads (pop-ups, banner ads, text links, etc.) into the pages your visit, without the website's authorization or knowledge.

There are also legitimate ad-supported web browser plug-ins and extensions you might have installed, or that came bundled with another program you have installed, so try to disable all such plug-ins and extensions. Most often however, your computer is infected when you visit another website by clicking on a link (when googling for example, or in an e-mail, or on an adult website, software/music/etc. pirating website, etc.). All sorts of malware can install itself on your computer without your authorization by exploiting security flaws in your web browser.

Unfortunately, there is nothing that we can do about adware/spyware from our end, as it resides on your local computer. Please make sure that your anti-virus and spyware protection is up-to-date and always observe safe and prudent practices when dealing with software downloads, clicking on unknown links and opening e-mail attachments.

» More info about adware/spyware.
» Free anti-virus programs: Google, AVG.
» Free spyware detection and removal tools: Google, Malwarebytes , Ad-Aware, SpyBot Search and Destroy.

A: If you click on the link and nothing happens, most likely it is because of a pop-up window blocking software that is installed on your computer. Many of GameKnot's features work in a pop-up window, so if you have them blocked or disabled on your computer, you will not be able to use them.

Many web browsers have pop-up blockers built-in, however they are usually smart enough not to interfere with the non-advertising pop-ups. Third-party standalone software packages that have pop-up blocking functionality are much more likely to cause this problem. Please simply add GameKnot to the safe list or the exceptions list of your pop-up blocker to avoid this problem.

Also, please refer to question #17 for possibly relevant information.

A: Player's rating is adjusted after each game based on a) the result of the game (win, loss, draw); b) on how many rated games they have completed previously; and c) on the opponent's rating.

In the beginning and during the first 5 rated games, player's rating is set at 1200. Starting with the 6th rated game, player's rating will be adjusted after each game.

The first 20 games are used to establish the player's rating. During that time, player's rating is calculated as an average of the ratings of their opponents, +400 in case of a win, -400 in case of a loss, same for a draw. +/-200 points are used when playing against another player with a provisional rating (i.e. less than 20 rated games completed).

Starting with the 21st rated game, player's rating is considered established and Elo formula is used with a fixed K = 20. The formula uses statistical analysis and basically boils down to — winning against higher rating players gives you more points, winning against lower rated players gives you just a few points, and losing against lower rated players takes away a lot of points, and losing against higher rated players takes away just a few points, etc..

The higher of the two ratings, at the beginning of the game and at the end, is used to calculate the rating adjustments for each player after the game is over.

Short game: if a game ends with 2 or fewer moves made, it will have no effect on the players' ratings (it will be treated as an unrated game). Please note that short games still affect tournament/mini-tournament/etc. results/tables, only the players' ratings are not affected by short games.

Rating floor: to calculate one's rating floor, subtract 200 from the player's highest rating, and then round down to the nearest hundred. If the player's rating falls below their rating floor, it will be reset to be equal to the rating floor (i.e. it can never fall below the floor). Rating floor has no effect during the first 20 rated games (i.e. during the provisional rating period).
The rating floor is automatically reduced by 100 points when player's rating stays within 30 points of their rating floor for 90 days.

Examples: if during your first 20 rated games, you played 3 games and you won against 1200 player with provisional rating, then against 1400 player with established rating, but lost against 1600 player with established rating, your rating will be: ( (1200 + 200) + (1400 + 400) + (1600 - 400) ) / 3 = 1467

Or, if during your first 20 rated games, you win against 1200 provisional, win against 1400 established, lose against 1600 provisional, draw against 1500, your rating will be: ( (1200 + 200) + (1400 + 400) + (1600 - 200) + 1500 ) / 4 = 1525

A: Unless you have selected "remember me" check-box the last time you logged in, you will likely see the ads on GameKnot the next time you access the website. The reason is, our website doesn't yet know that it is in fact you, until after you log in. As soon as you log in to your account, all advertising will disappear from the website.

If you are still getting pop-ups and other ads while logged in to GameKnot under your username, your computer is likely to be infected with adware/spyware. Please refer to question #27 for more information.

A: Please rest assured that GameKnot is completely free from any viruses and other malicious content. We have several security measures in place to prevent it, including a regular remote inspection and security audit. A few reasons why your anti-virus software might be erroneously triggered when visiting our website:

Your computer is infected by adware and/or spyware that is interfering with your web browsing. Please refer to question #27 for more information.
Your computer is infected by a hidden virus that was not detected by your anti-virus software. Please make sure that you have the latest version of your anti-virus software, that your virus definition files are up to date, and that you have done a recent full scan of your computer. You might also want to try an alternative anti-virus software package to ensure your computer is not infected.
Anti-virus software can sometimes mistakenly identify innocent code as a virus. Please report the problem directly to the company that made the anti-virus software package installed on your computer.
Please always promptly install all the latest security updates for your operating system and your web browser (for example, via Windows Update).

A: The system time on all GameKnot servers is automatically synchronized with high-precision atomic clock servers on the Internet. We also have several automated checks in place to make sure that the time control of each game is working correctly (i.e. the system has several automated "judges" that all have to agree before the game is declared as timed out). Ever since the system was implemented back in 2000, we haven't had a single problem with any of the games, so it is probably safe to say that there are no hidden "bugs" and the system is working 100% correctly.

Please refer to question #8 for more information on how to request a reinstatement for a time-out game.

A: Unfortunately, it is not possible to reverse the results of any games that have ended — they've already been recorded in the past game histories and factored into the ratings and stats for both you and your opponents (and already affected the ratings of any players they've played against since then). Please simply continue to play and win more games and you will be able to restore the lost rating points in no time.

It is not as bad as it sounds however, as the rating system works in such a way that it automatically corrects any sudden dips in one's rating over time, if it doesn't correspond to reduced playing strength. The rating formula is based on statistical analysis and makes any previously completed games have progressively less and less influence on your current rating as you finish more games. It happens because the rating points awarded at the end of each game are calculated based on the difference in the ratings of the 2 participating players. Which means if your rating drops suddenly, you will be gaining relatively more points after each win after that (and losing relatively less points after each loss), which will even out the previous "dip" in your rating as you finish more games.

Also, please refer to question #8 for more information on how to request game reinstatement. But please note that it will not undo the results of the games that have already ended.

A: Depending on how busy the GameKnot servers are at the time, it can take up to an hour for a timed-out game to be processed by the system and reflected in your rating and stats. During processing, the game is removed from your active games list, but it won't be added to your past game history until the processing is completed.

A game that was about to time-out can also be returned back to your active games list if an automatic emergency postponement was triggered for your opponent.

A: Please rest assured that we closely monitor all GameKnot servers 24/7 with an immediate automatic notification to GameKnot staff if there are any problems or slow response. If there are any issues affecting connectivity to any of GameKnot servers for more than 1 hour, we will add extra time (24 hours or more) to all games to prevent time-outs, as needed. Such incidences are extremely rare however, as they would have to be caused by a catastrophic hardware failure, or some natural disaster.

Most often the slow page loading is caused by a temporary Internet traffic congestion on the way from your computer to GameKnot servers. Unfortunately it is not something that we have control over, or something that we can fix from our end. Try accessing the website later on, during a different time of day, or using a different Internet connection.

Make sure to do a complete scan of your computer for viruses and spyware, as they might be overloading your system as well. To rule out any issues local to your computer, try accessing GameKnot from a different device.

Also, it has been reported previously that some of the Internet security software packages can cause the slow loading of the pages on some systems. If you have any of the antivirus or firewall programs installed on your computer (McAfee, Norton, etc.), try temporarily disabling them to see if it helps.

If you have previously installed any third-party add-ons or extensions for your web browser, try temporarily disabling them to make sure they don't interfere.

If none of this helps, and you are absolutely sure it has nothing to do with your computer or your Internet connection, and the problem persists for more than a couple of days, please contact your ISP and they should be able to run some tests to see if there are any issues in the network segment between your computer and GameKnot servers.

The automatic emergency postponement should help if you are unable to access GameKnot for extended periods of time. Also, please refer to question #33 if you did lose any games by time-out because you couldn't connect to GameKnot.

A: The "green dot" is never shown for your own username as it will be always on — as you are always online when checking it. So it has been decided to conserve the screen space and bandwidth and never show it for the player's own username. On the same subject, did you know that the light inside your fridge isn't always on? :)

A: Stalemate is a situation on the chess board, when the player whose turn it is to move has no legal moves available but is not currently in check (see paragraph 4.2 of the Chess Rules). The game is automatically declared a draw in such situation. Most often this happens when one of the players has only a King remaining on the board and all squares around it are under attack, but not the square the King is occupying at the time.

A: The player playing white is always listed first (i.e. on the left side of "vs."). For example, if you see "opponent_A vs. opponent_B" in the description of a game, opponent_A is playing white and opponent_B is playing black.

A: As per the chess rules, if the current position on the chess board appeared 3 or more times, the game can be declared a draw by either of the opponents. The other player's approval is not required, and the game ends immediately and is recorded as a draw for both players.

Please note that simply repeating the same move 3 or more times by one of the players might not be enough, as the entire position on the board has to be repeated. That also includes whose turn it is to move, all castling possibilities and capture en passant targets.

It is not required that the same position occurs three times during the consecutive moves. However, it usually happens this way in practice, typically with one of the Kings being subjected to a perpetual check.

To declare the draw in a game due to the threefold repetition rule, please use "Declare draw" link located directly below the game board.

It is a perfectly valid strategy in chess to force the game to end in a draw, if otherwise the player is facing losing the game.

A: As per GK tournament rules, if the winner of the tournament group had exceeded the rating limits for the section, he/she will be automatically moved to the next higher section and the player(s) with the next high score, who has the rating within the limits, will advance to the next round instead.