Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club (ICC) is a commercial chess server that enables chess players from all over the world to find a suitable playing partner around the clock. The club has existed since March 1995 , its predecessor being the Internet Chess Server (ICS). According to its own statements, it now has over 30,000 members.
One of the leading developers of the software used is Daniel Sleator , professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University , who had initially been involved in the development on a voluntary basis since 1992, but then had the source code protected by copyright in 1994 . Communication with the server takes place via the proprietary client software BlitzIn (currently version 2.52) or ICC Dasher (currently version 1.5.4). Several chess variants are also supported.
Very quickly after the club officially opened, the number of members grew to over 10,000, although there were some forks like the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) that continued to offer free games. The attractiveness for chess players is based on the fact that the world's best players are members or take part in the game at irregular intervals. A large number of games played by the 13th world champion Garri Kasparow and the 14th world champion Wladimir Kramnik have been received and published. Membership is chargeable, for title holders ( GM and IM ) it is free.
Every registered member can choose a user name that allows him to keep his real name secret if necessary. Mostly be lightning or Bullet games played, while members may have a rating of earn.
The ICC broadcasts games from grandmaster tournaments from all over the world. In particularly important games, competent grandmasters comment on the moves played in front of a large audience. There are also lectures and simultaneous presentations . Online training can be paid for using an accounting unit called Chekel .