Play chess online - the 3 best servers

To play chess online you have to log on to a server. We show you the three best chess servers on which you can put your opponents on Matt.

Similarities of the three chess servers

You can play different chess variants on all three servers, such as Chess960 or Räberschach.
You are also free to choose the time control. Thinking times of one minute per player are possible, as are long games of two hours each.
In addition, tournaments are held every day, in which you can directly measure yourself against several opponents.

The "Internet Chess Club" is the oldest chess server. The first version was launched at the beginning of 1992, at that time under the name "Internet Chess Server".
With the name change, the players had to pay money to use "ICC".
Currently (as of January 15, 2014), 2-year membership costs $ 124.95, while the price for a month is $ 9.95. You can find the other offers here.
Over 30, 000 members regularly compete on "ICC". These included many title holders such as the US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.
In addition to pure online chess, you can improve your skills through instructional videos and watch live broadcasts with high-class commentators.

As a protest against the commercialization of the "ICC", members founded the "Free Internet Chess Server" in 1995.
The most important feature of "FICS" is therefore that everything on the server is free. It is a non-profit organization. So the leaders are not pursuing any economic prospects.
Approximately 90, 000 active players compete on "FICS". However, the top people are missing here and even lower title holders are rarely online.
The rest of the offer is sparse. Important tournaments are also broadcast live, but there are no commentators. Only the text chat with the other members remains as an extra.

The Hamburg company "ChessBase" is behind "chess.de". Especially their software "Fritz" is a popular tool among chess players.
Although only introduced in 2001, "schach.de" has become the most popular paid chess server.
The server has more than 300, 000 registered users. In addition to some of the strongest German players, internationally known champions also use the offer. Apart from the German-speaking market, "schach.de" is known as "playchess.com".
The full 1-year membership currently costs 49.90 euros (as of January 15, 2014), but is also supplied with "Fritz". The price list can be found on the website.
The premium membership includes training videos and commented live games such as "ICC".

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