English Chess Forum

Been playing there this week, I quite like it.

Do you play there too? What's your rating? Handle?

_________________
http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com/

Tom,
There is already a thread on this called "Online Chess Club"

John

_________________
Chess Images: http://johnupham.smugmug.com/Chess
IT Manager for the British Chess Magazine: http://www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Twitter: @jeupham
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.upham

Unusual handle.

_________________
http://streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com/

That's what the vicar and countless women have said down the years.

I am little concerned that you also know...

_________________
Chess Images: http://johnupham.smugmug.com/Chess
IT Manager for the British Chess Magazine: http://www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Twitter: @jeupham
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.upham

I just want to remind everyone that membership of ChessCube is completely FREE. Everyone who has played there and spoken to me have been complimentary.Please feel free to go along and take a look.

Andrew

Chesscube is very nicely done and whoever built it has done a fine job but servers need critical mass to be attractive. I'm not sure what Chesscube offers that FICS or ICC don't? i.e. I'm not sure why ECF needs its own chess server? Unless you're thinking that a major software suppplier might start using it as its on-line chess site or something?

Laurie,

I have asked ChessCube (ECFs partners) to respond to any posts in this thread.

I am working with the ChessCube team this week : watch this space for developments!

John

_________________
Chess Images: http://johnupham.smugmug.com/Chess
IT Manager for the British Chess Magazine: http://www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Twitter: @jeupham
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.upham

One advantage from my point of view, is that you don't need to install any chess client software to play. It runs straight out of the Web browser.

You can run ICC from a web-browser too (they have a java interface as well as the client software)

Who paid for ChessCube? Is it a private initiative or has the ECF funded it?

This is true, but the applet interfaces are never as nice as the full blown apps. Here there is only one interface. I must admit, I do miss the advanced command-line functionality though.

I will take the opportunity to point out a few bugs/annoyances:

1. The software does not handle O-O+ and O-O-O+ properly -it just moves the king two places.
2. Sometimes a move gets lost in transit. Both players are waiting, so the person that times out first, loses. They are working on this, they say.
3. When auto-seeking, you get paired, but that person is away from their computer. So you abort, but get paired with the same person again, because they too are on auto-seek. This can happen over and over again, which is quite annoying.
4. When you are black, your time starts ticking from the moment white completes their first move. If you happen to be away from the computer, or otherwise doing something else, you can actually lose on time without having made a move.
5. The button for "Edit Profile" should be changed to "Show Profile", which is the more frequent request.
6. Trying to view my games crashes the browser on my system.
7. The K factor in the Elo rating formula is too small, requiring 100s of games for a player to attain their true strength.
8. There are no "noplay" or "censor" lists. Some people are annoying, but not enough to be reported as abuse.
9. No pre-defined avatars one can select from (apart from the standard one).
10. No voluntary adjournments.

One thing I will praise is ChessCubeCinema - first rate (I could only get it to work with internet explorer. It didn't like firefox on my PC)

I use Linux and so am out of luck but I will try it with a Mac to see what it is like

_________________
Cheers
Carl Hibbard

Just to let you know that there is now an associated forum for ChessCube at

http://forum1.chesscube.com/forum/forums/list.page

_________________
Chess Images: http://johnupham.smugmug.com/Chess
IT Manager for the British Chess Magazine: http://www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Twitter: @jeupham
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.upham

Online Chess Business ChessCube Receives US$1.25m VC Funding


Cape Town, South Africa – 10 August 2009. ChessCube has concluded a US$1.25m funding agreement with Venture Capital fund, InVenFin (Pty) Ltd. InVenFin, the VC-focused subsidiary of VenFin Limited, invests in intellectual property-based start-ups with global potential. This transaction brings ChessCube’s total funding to date to US$1.8m.


Please find attached the full press release.


Useful links


ChessCube website: http://www.chesscube.com

ChessCube blog: http://www.blog.chesscube.com

High Resolution Logo (PNG): http://blog.chesscube.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ChessCubeLogo.png



Contact information


ChessCube (Pty) Ltd.

Contact: Mark Levitt (CEO)

Office: +27 21 555 2019

Mobile: +27 82 389 3637

mark@chesscube.com



About ChessCube


ChessCube (http://www.chesscube.com) was launched in May 2007 from its Cape Town headquarters. It has since grown into a community of over 650,000 avid chess players, and continues to grow at a rapid pace. ChessCube is an innovative, live chess platform, allowing competition and education within a social community. Mark Levitt, founder and CEO of ChessCube, is four times South African Chess Champion. ChessCube’s investors include InVenfin, Vinny Lingham and Michael Leeman.


For more information or images, please contact Mark Levitt (mark@chesscube.com) or Sarah Blake (sarah@chesscube.com).

_________________
Chess Images: http://johnupham.smugmug.com/Chess
IT Manager for the British Chess Magazine: http://www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Twitter: @jeupham
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.upham

Follow Us On

Hi john_upham ,
ANDREW MARTIN ON THE TORRE ATTACK
Read International Master Andrew Martin's interesting analysis of the Torre Attack, available free and exclusively on ChessCube.com
The Torre Attack is an opening which is both easy to understand and easy to play. It’s also used by some of the best international chess players, so you know it’s worth taking a look at.

This is also the first article using our new ChessCube Viewer widget, a neat board viewer with streaming sound for those who are bandwidth conscious.

Watch the free video by IM Andrew Martin »


NEW SHOP LAUNCHED
ChessCube Shop has been revamped with a great new look, shopping basket functionality and of course, our ever-popular ChessCube Videos.

Whether you want to improve your game, or you are just plain curious, it is well worth having a look at our new shop.

Visit the ChessCube Shop today »


CHESSCUBE ATTRACTS NEW FUNDING
ChessCube.com has just finalised a funding agreement with InVenFin, for an investment of US$1.25 million. This funding will enable ChessCube to grow the offering and become the best loved and most feature-rich online chess site on the 'net.

Expect a lot of positive and exciting changes to ChessCube in the coming months. ChessCube.com is your site, so why not give us your suggestions and feedback. Mail us your ChessCube wishlist at support@chesscube.com

Read more about InVenFin's investment »


Happy Chess Playing,
The ChessCube.com Team




You were sent this email because you're subscribed to receive ChessCube Newsletters. ChessCube will never rent or sell your email address. View our Privacy Policy

Change E-mail Preferences to control what e-mail you get from ChessCube.

Unsubscribe from all ChessCube emails.

ChessCube.com | PO Box 1696 Milnerton 7441 South Africa

_________________
Chess Images: http://johnupham.smugmug.com/Chess
IT Manager for the British Chess Magazine: http://www.britishchessmagazine.co.uk
Twitter: @jeupham
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.upham