Big Changes at ChessJam - app now free!

We received some fantastic feedback on the overall gaming experience of ChessJam but we realize that for ChessJam to reach it's ultimate goal as the best place to play online chess, we need to build a community of quality players. Therefore, we are making the following changes effective immediately:

• To increase distribution, we are no longer charging for the ChessJam application. If you are a trial user of ChessJam, your application should automatically update to version 1.8 which is a fully functional version with no trial. We will eventually start charging a small fee for blocks of time but for now, we are focused on getting as many quality players as possible into the castle!
  
• To help us minimize spam and other behavior that negatively impacts our users, we are now requiring valid email addresses at registration. After creating a profile, a verification email is automatically sent to the user. This email contains a link that verifies their account.
  

>>> REQUIRED STEPS FOR EXISTING USERS: <<<
An email has been sent to the email address that you used at registration that contains a link to verify your email address. You will not be able to login to ChessJam until you verify. If you have not received a verification email or if you registered using the wrong email address, simply email us at chessjam@gmail.com and we'll get you going.  

Some accounts have already been pre-verified so if you have not received an email, try logging in with your existing account.

ChessJam now tracks player ratings! 
We have implemented ratings in ChessJam and have applied the ratings to all users. We implemented the ELO rating system using the standard FIDE K-factors.

• Your rating and other stats are not impacted by playing robots. The robot's rating will change but yours will not.
  
• Ratings are only computed for human-vs-human games.
• You can see your rating in the profile screen
• All new users start with a 1200 rating
  
• You will now see ratings beside user names in the application
  
• We will create a set of rooms for non-rated games soon
  

Big things are coming!
We are working on a "Challenge Court" where users can gather to challenge each other to a game.  We think you'll like our unique approach.  We are also working on tournaments, multi-game support, correspondance play, game exports as PGN and other features. Stay tuned!

Where to get ChessJam
Go to http://ChessJam.com and click "INSTALL".  ChessJam runs on Windows, MacOS and Linux.

Sunday Night ChessJam!
Several of us will be hanging out in the castle Sunday night from 9PM to midnight EDT.  Join us!