Computers On ICC |
There are many computers on ICC and they are shown with a (C) title next to their handle.
Using a computer to decide your moves on ICC can be fun, and is welcomed, but you must follow the ICC rules. You will need to talk to an admin and have a (C) placed next to your handle before using a chess program on ICC.
In the rest of this file "computer" means the use of any chess-related computer program during an ICC game, including chess-playing programs and chess databases.
There are both automated computers without an operator, and also some that are manually operated.
Here are some rules that you must follow when it comes to computer assistance on ICC:
NOTE: Read more about how to send messages |
Computers are strongly urged to use a reasonable rating range on their seek ads. For example, if your formula is going to block everyone below 2400, PLEASE put a minimum rating on your seeks of 2300 or 2400. This is very easy do with "set minseek 2300", and you only need to do it once. Computers which are always posting seek ads with no minimum rating and a very high minimum rating in their formula may be no-rated until they comply, at the discretion of ICC admins. This request in no way restricts who can answer your seeks, should only take 10 seconds of your time, and is a courtesy to the 95% of ICC members who receive your seek ads and get rejected by your formula.
Playing computers |
ICC maintains a list of computer playing robots to help you train and learn.
How to manually start a game against a computer
There are two primary ways:
Check in the Seek Tab of the Activities window for any square dots. If you hold the mouse over any of these, you will see the name of the computer, its rating, and the type of game being offered. Double clicking on the seek will begin the game.
Challenge the computer directly. However, before challenging the selected computer to a game, make sure it plays the variant that you want. Some computers are created specifically to play wild, Giveaway, crazyhouse, or other variants. When you are ready to play, the easiest way to issue a challenge is to go to "Actions" menu, and selecting the "Challenge Opponent" option. Follow the same procedure as you would against a regular opponent. Remember that computer accounts have the same privileges as regular user accounts (except for some technical commands).
How to find computer's strength and other qualifications
After you found a computer you might like to play, you would want to check its qualifications to make sure that it suits your playing interests. To do that, right click over their name in the players window and select Profile,
After you did that, on your screen you will see this computer's Profile which will contain it's rating table and any notes that the operator has set for that particular account.
If at any time during the game against a computer you find that something goes wrong, please message its operator! The name of the operator can be found in computer's profile. It is very important that you let the operator know about anything that goes wrong with the computer. Most of the time, automatic computer accounts are unattended and therefore the operator has no idea if something goes wrong. If the computer seriously misbehaves, contact an on-line administrator.
Free computer accounts |
Due to the large number of computer accounts on the ICC, we are only giving free accounts to the authors of programs that meet one of the following requirements:
You must also follow these rules:
Send a message to FreeComputer requesting your free computer account AFTER you have set it up and if you meet all the above requirements. ICC reserves the right to decline an application for a free computer account or to remove the free status for any reason. Free accounts unused for one year may be deleted. |
See also:
Reporting computer cheating