Online Tools

Online Tools

Once Knights has established a connection with your chosen chess server, several new tools will be displayed to help you make the most of your time online.

The Console

The Console is your primary communications tool while you're online. All of the messages that are sent to you are displayed here.

Messages can be colored differently depending on the type of message. For example, a message from a chat channel may be displayed in blue, while message sent specifically to you may be in green. These colors ( and fonts ) may be customized by going to Settings->Configure Knights.... Then click on Display, and then the Console tab.

This is also where you send your messages out. Just start typing on your keyboard to write a message, and press Enter to send it. Knights will remember the last 100 messages you sent out, which you can access by pressing SHIFT + UP and SHIFT + DOWN.

There are several shortcuts available for the most commonly used server commands. To see a list of these, your should read the section of this document titled Command Reference.

The Sought Games List

Ok, you've connected to a chess server. Now how do you play chess on it?

The Sought Games List will help. Right click on it, and select Seek Matches. A list of other players, who are also interested in playing a game of chess, will appear. When you find one you like, simply left click on it to start playing.

As you'll notice, there are a number of actions you can take when you right click on a match. They are:

  • Tell... will begin a private message between you and the player offering this match. Simply select this and type your message.

  • Assess will display a graph that shows you how your rating will be effected if you play a match against this opponent.

  • Player Info, otherwise known as "Finger", will display a wealth of information about this player. This information can include how long the player has been online, his rating for different types of chess matches, win/loss statistics, etc.

  • Player History shows the results of the last 14 or so games played by this opponent. There are columns in the history display for the players and their ratings (as adjusted by the result of the match), the winner, the type of match (blitz/standard, rated/unrated) and the date.

  • Add to Friends tells your ICS that you want to be notified whenever this player logs on and off the server. In the future, Knights will display your friends list so you can easily send them messages, observe their matches, and more.

  • Ignore This Player keeps you from hearing anything this player says, including private messages.

The Sought Games Graph

The Sought Games Graph performs the same function as the Sought Games List, but with one difference: Instead of displaying a list of players, it displays a graph.

Usually, when you're interested in playing a chess match, you already know how long you want the match to be, and you already know that you want to play against an opponent of a particular skill level. The graph is very useful for this, because it organizes the available games based on it's length, and on your opponent's strength.

Stronger opponents are listed at the top of the graph, while weaker opponents are listed at the bottom. Shorter games are listed at the left, while longer games are listed at the right. Rated games are displayed using a solid square, while unrated games use a hollow square.

Right clicking on a match will display the same menu used in the Sought Games List. That menu includes:

  • Tell... will begin a private message between you and the player offering this match. Simply select this and type your message.

  • Assess will display a graph that shows you how your rating will be effected if you play a match against this opponent.

  • Player Info, otherwise known as "Finger", will display a wealth of information about this player. This information can include how long the player has been online, his rating for different types of chess matches, win/loss statistics, etc.

  • Player History shows the results of the last 14 or so games played by this opponent. There are columns in the history display for the players and their ratings (as adjusted by the result of the match), the winner, the type of match (blitz/standard, rated/unrated) and the date.

  • Add to Friends tells your ICS that you want to be notified whenever this player logs on and off the server. In the future, Knights will display your friends list so you can easily send them messages, observe their matches, and more.

  • Ignore This Player keeps you from hearing anything this player says, including private messages.

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