Welcome to the General help page. Below you will find information on how to use the ICC app. If you need a refresher course on how to play chess, please visit our chess tutorial first.

Game play options:

• Your Color - This selects which color you will play in the game. Note that you will get less games if you ask for white every game, so using "Random" is preferred. You will get equal number of games as white and black when selecting Random
• Time Control - Here you will select your preferred time control. Unless you move very quickly and have a solid connection with all bars, you should select 10 minutes or above, to avoid losing a game on time. The time it takes to make a move and then for the server to register your move is known as "lag", and is not compensated.
• Rated - Do you want this game to affect your rating? If you want to practice, turn this off.
• Match a Friend - Maintain an online friends list and match your friends to live games. You can also add friends after each game you play from the OPTIONS menu below the game board.

• Presets - This observes the highest rated game in each category.
• Top Ranking Games - Here you choose which game you would like to observe, instead of the top rated game.
• Event Games - This tab displays all the live special events and top grandmaster tournaments that are being played around the world.

Here you can review your last 20 games. This includes rated and unrated games.

You can select the "Play and Pass" mode to play a game against someone locally or you can match the computer at various skill levels. Select the time control you wish to play, and if playing the computer, select the strength/rating you want to play against. The rating is in ELO and can be expressed this way:

• 1000-1300 = Novice player
• 1300-1600 = Average player
• 1600-1900 = Skilled player
• 1900-2200 = Expert player
• 2200+ Master level player
• 2500 = Grandmaster!

• General
  • Sound - This will toggle the sound off if you need to play in quiet. Sound is on by default.
  • Remember Me - This will save your login information so you do not have to constantly enter it. This is on by default.
• Appearance
  • Chess Pieces - Choose from a variety of chess pieces. Make sure to select a board that has a good contrast with the piece set you choose.
  • Chess Board - Choose from a variety of boards, and like above, make sure to select a piece set that has a good contrast with the board you choose.
  • Show Legal Moves - This will place a green dot on each square where the piece you touch can legally move to. This will quickly help you determined where your piece can land. If this is distracting, you can toggle this off.
  • Show coordinates - This will label the files/columns a through h and the ranks/rows 1 through 8.
• Options
  • Confirm Move - This will allow you to confirm each move after you make it on the board to help avoid mouse-slips.
  • AutoMail PGN - This option will mail each game you play to the email address you gave us when signing up an account. If you need to update your email, go to the HELP section and select "Customer Support" and let us know your new address.
• Other
  • Reset Settings - This is usefull if you've changed a lot of settings and don't recall how to restore to the original settings. This option will put everything back as it was when you first downloaded the application.
  • About ICC - The history of ICC.
  • User Agreement - This is the user agreement between you and ICC. This agreement determines what is acceptable use of the service and should be read carefully.