November 8, 2017 by your next move
The World Chess Network (WCN) was a commercial Internet chess server dedicated to the chess game launched in 1997 and closed ten years later in 2007 when it was bought by Internet Chess Club and merged with Chess Live to form World Chess Live. As a typical chess server, the network provided basic services such as conducting chess games online on the Internet between two human players. Chess tournaments were occasionally organized by the service, including a few games chosen between the famous chess masters where spectators could watch the game in real time. At its peak, the network was frequented by professional chess players, including great masters like Elena Donaldson, Susan Polgar, Larry Christiansen and Larry Evans.
The World Chess Network has provided a number of services to its subscribers. In addition to facilitating online chess games, he has also provided members with a method for conducting online chess tournaments. The network used the Elo scoring system to evaluate its players. The World Chess Network has also organized Grand Masters professional tournaments [2] allowing spectators to watch these matches live, with professional commentary. It has also presented itself as a meeting place for real-world chess players seeking to improve their playing skills. The network has facilitated private chess lessons from professional players, usually by arrangement with the professional player with an additional cost. He also provided a service called Banter Chess; With this service, spectators watched two masters play a game while explaining their movements and thoughts aloud, allowing viewers to learn how high-ranking players lead their games. Conferences on how to play chess professionally have also been given by the many masters on the site.
For players who were not currently playing, the network offered regular chat channels so that players could plan or discuss games, among other things.
The interface used by the website was proprietary chess software called Mgichess. The software has provisions to try to detect players using the help of chess programs. To do this, it detects changes in the orientation of the window entries, based on information about the activities performed on the computer that the program can detect.
The World Chess Network was originally created as an Internet chess server by Master Games International, Inc. with the support of chess philanthropist Dato Tan Chin Nam. [3] He has been home to many renowned chess masters and international masters such as Susan Polgar, [4] Larry Christiansen [2] and Larry Evans. [5]
At the 1999 United States Chess Federation Orientation Council meeting, a proposal for a strategic alliance between the World Chess Network and the USCF was proposed. [6]
On May 29, 2007, WCN was purchased through Internet Chess Club. It was then merged with Chess Live, another Internet chess server acquired by Internet Chess Club from GamesParlor. The result of the acquisition and merger was the creation of World Chess Live, a new chess server on the Internet that merged the features of both services. [3]
The site itself has been reviewed on Chess Central, a remarkable online chess resource, by the great chess master, Susan Polgar. [4] Polgar also referred to the World Chess Network as a major chess company. [7] Another well-known online chess site, ChessBase, featured the World Chess Network in at least one article. The article featured a match on the net between US grandmaster (GM) Larry Christiansen and Canadian international captain (IM) Pascal Charbonneau. [2] The network has also attracted the attention of other sites specializing in chess, such as Chessville. [5] The site has also been featured as a popular chess site on About.com