SchemingMind
Encyclopedia
SchemingMind is a privately owned international correspondence chess club founded in 2002. Most games and tournaments are played on a correspondence chess server
owned by the club for this purpose.
Teams representing SchemingMind regularly participate in ICCF
events, for example the ICCF Champions League and International Friendly Matches.
Public registration has been available since April 2003. A few site announcements were posted throughout 2003 to chess newsgroups and forums.
SchemingMind was accepted as a member organisation of the British Federation for Correspondence Chess (BFCC
) in 2007. This means that full members of SchemingMind may enter BFCC
and ICCF
events; BFCC membership also allows the club to play ICCF rated International Friendly Matches against other ICCF federations. Matches have been arranged against England
, Denmark
, Germany and Romania.
, Crazyhouse
, Atomic chess
, Shatranj
, Thai Chess and almost 40 other chess variants
(see complete list), and the site along with its members actively discuss, design and implement many chess variants.
The Fischer clock is used for time control
. The following clocks are available:
Holiday is available in case of longer absences - up to four weeks a year.
Players are able to extend repeated lifelines to opponents rather than force flag.
Games are rated using the Glicko rating system
.
Competition formats includes free challenges, pyramids, team matches and leagues, as well as private or public mini-tournaments of either knockout, dropout or double round robin tournaments
.
Dropout is a SchemingMind specific tournament scheme, invented as an intermediate step between knockout and Swiss. Swiss-like pairing is being used. Games are scored, with every loss being worth 3 points and every draw being worth 1 point. Players who get more than a specified limit (six or eight points, depending on tournament) are eliminated. The tournament is won by the sole remaining player, or the player with least points, if a few remain.
It is possible to play International Correspondence Chess Federation
games from SchemingMind interface.
An annotated database of chess openings, (interactive Game Explorer) is available and is under constant revision by an International Master in Correspondence Chess.
advanced site features (like team captaincy or openings database) are not available to free members. Full membership offers unlimited access to all site features.
The subscription is offered on a yearly basis and may be bought for personal use or in the form of a gift token.
Reviews, notes, etc.
Correspondence chess server
A correspondence chess server is arguably the most convenient form of correspondence chess. Instead of players directly emailing moves to each other, the game is played on a clickable board on a web page, which keeps track of all the moves. The web server emails each player when it is his or her turn...
owned by the club for this purpose.
Teams representing SchemingMind regularly participate in ICCF
International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation was founded in 1951 as a new appearance of the ICCA , which was founded in 1945, as successor of the IFSB , founded in 1928....
events, for example the ICCF Champions League and International Friendly Matches.
History
SchemingMind was created in 2002, initially as a private, invitation-based project.Public registration has been available since April 2003. A few site announcements were posted throughout 2003 to chess newsgroups and forums.
SchemingMind was accepted as a member organisation of the British Federation for Correspondence Chess (BFCC
ICCF England
The ICCF England belongs to the ICCF national member federations.-Grandmaster: *John G. Brookes *Dr. Ian S. Brooks *Peter Hugh Clarke *Peter Coleman *Richard V. M. Hall...
) in 2007. This means that full members of SchemingMind may enter BFCC
ICCF England
The ICCF England belongs to the ICCF national member federations.-Grandmaster: *John G. Brookes *Dr. Ian S. Brooks *Peter Hugh Clarke *Peter Coleman *Richard V. M. Hall...
and ICCF
International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation was founded in 1951 as a new appearance of the ICCA , which was founded in 1945, as successor of the IFSB , founded in 1928....
events; BFCC membership also allows the club to play ICCF rated International Friendly Matches against other ICCF federations. Matches have been arranged against England
ICCF England
The ICCF England belongs to the ICCF national member federations.-Grandmaster: *John G. Brookes *Dr. Ian S. Brooks *Peter Hugh Clarke *Peter Coleman *Richard V. M. Hall...
, Denmark
ICCF Denmark
ICCF Denmark belongs to the ICCF national member federations.-Grandmaster:*Erik Bang *Ove Ekebj‘rg *Niels Jørgen Fries Nielsen *Curt Hansen *Arne Bjørn Jørgensen...
, Germany and Romania.
Site Features
SchemingMind is predominantly a correspondence chess club; however a number of members also enjoy playing chess variants Chess960Chess960
Chess960 is a chess variant invented and advocated by former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer, originally announced on June 19, 1996 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It employs the same board and pieces as standard chess, but the starting position of the pieces is randomized along the players' home...
, Crazyhouse
Crazyhouse
Crazyhouse is a chess variant similar to bughouse chess, but with only two players. It effectively incorporates a rule in shogi , in which a player can introduce a captured piece back to the board as his own....
, Atomic chess
Atomic chess
Atomic chess is a chess variant. While the other rules of chess apply fully, all captures result in an atomic explosion. This means that the surrounding pieces — not including pawns — will be taken off the board as well.- The rules :...
, Shatranj
Shatranj
Shatranj is an old form of chess, which came to the Western world from India. Modern chess has gradually developed from this game.-Etymology and origins:...
, Thai Chess and almost 40 other chess variants
Chess variant
A chess variant is a game related to, derived from or inspired by chess. The difference from chess might include one or more of the following:...
(see complete list), and the site along with its members actively discuss, design and implement many chess variants.
The Fischer clock is used for time control
Time control
A time control is a mechanism in the tournament play of almost all two-player board games so that each round of the match can finish in a timely way and the tournament can proceed. Time controls are typically enforced by means of a game clock...
. The following clocks are available:
- 5d+12h (5 days of initial time, 12 hours increment, 10 days limit)
- 10d+1d (10 days of initial time, 1 day increment, 30 days limit),
- 30d+1d (30 days of initial time, 1 day increment, 45 days limit),
- 30d+3d (30 days of initial time, 3 days increment, 60 days limit).
Holiday is available in case of longer absences - up to four weeks a year.
Players are able to extend repeated lifelines to opponents rather than force flag.
Games are rated using the Glicko rating system
Glicko rating system
The Glicko rating system and the Glicko-2 rating system are chess rating systems similar to the Elo rating system: a method for assessing a player's strength in games of skill such as chess. It was invented by Mark Glickman as an improvement of the Elo rating system...
.
Competition formats includes free challenges, pyramids, team matches and leagues, as well as private or public mini-tournaments of either knockout, dropout or double round robin tournaments
Round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
.
Dropout is a SchemingMind specific tournament scheme, invented as an intermediate step between knockout and Swiss. Swiss-like pairing is being used. Games are scored, with every loss being worth 3 points and every draw being worth 1 point. Players who get more than a specified limit (six or eight points, depending on tournament) are eliminated. The tournament is won by the sole remaining player, or the player with least points, if a few remain.
Access
SchemingMind is mainly used through a web interface, with a JavaScript-based playing board. Some alternatives are offered for standard (non-variant) chess play:- WAPWireless Application ProtocolWireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
(mobile) website interface, - XFCC API protocol is supported, so any XFCC client can be used.
It is possible to play International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation
International Correspondence Chess Federation was founded in 1951 as a new appearance of the ICCA , which was founded in 1945, as successor of the IFSB , founded in 1928....
games from SchemingMind interface.
An annotated database of chess openings, (interactive Game Explorer) is available and is under constant revision by an International Master in Correspondence Chess.
Membership
Full membership of SchemingMind is by payable subscription. However a limited free membership is also available. Free membership puts limits on the number of simultaneous games and the frequency of tournament entry. Also someadvanced site features (like team captaincy or openings database) are not available to free members. Full membership offers unlimited access to all site features.
The subscription is offered on a yearly basis and may be bought for personal use or in the form of a gift token.
External links
Player resources:- Official site
- Documentation site (free registration required)
- Firefox Extension
- Frequently Asked Questions
Reviews, notes, etc.
- "The Check is in the Mail" March 2007 edition contains SchemingMind review by Alex Dunne (the Correspondence Chess director of USCF)
- SIM John C.Knudsen names SchemingMind among his recommendations in Correspondence Chess Starter Kit
- Social Correspondence Chess Association organises some of their tournaments on SchemingMind
- WildChess marks SchemingMind as recommendation
- Atomic Book names SchemingMind as one of the two correspondence atomic sites
- Correspondence servers review in Polish recommends SchemingMind as top choice