ChessJam 4.1 released

ChessJam 4.1 is now available as a required update. If you use the web version or Facebook version, you don't need to do anything. If you use the desktop version of ChessJam, you will be prompted to complete a quick upgrade.

Changes in 4.1:

• A once rare timeout bug has been recently exploited by a few users to become a real nuisance on ChessJam. The bug allowed someone to force a timeout of a game to avoid having the rating calculated for the winner and loser. This problem has now been fixed.
  
  
• There have been several complaints about some players utilizing computer programs to help them win games on ChessJam. We have added "application switch detection" into the ChessJam application to help identify users that are switching from ChessJam to another app after every move. We realize that it's common to switch to other applications during a game so we ignore it unless the number of application switches is very close to the number of moves. For now, we're collecting the information only for analysis. During the next few days, we'll add automatic messages to the chat window to notify the opponent that the player is switching between moves.
  
  
• Some players are registering with multiple usernames to help boost their rating on ChessJam. They play themselves to pump up their rating. We are starting to compare the IP address of both players to try and reduce this practice. There are valid cases where both players will be on the same network and can be sharing an IP address (for example, if someone plays someone in their own home, they will have the same address) so we'll only use this data when we see other patterns that suggest that someone is pumping up their rating.
  

We're working on some cool new features including new tournament types and even mobile device support, so stay tuned!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

ChessJam 4.0.2 released - bug fixes

ChessJam 4.0.2 is now available. We fixed another premature timeout situation (hopefully the last!), fixed the sounds that got screwed up in the 4.0.0/4.0.1 release and fixed the HUD clocks.

We apologize for the back to back releases but we're on a serious bug hunt!

Thanks!

ChessJam 4.01 released

Earlier this week we released ChessJam 4.0. Overall, it has been a great release for us. We've seen a lot of people take advantage of the new web version and Facebook versions of the game. We also saw a huge improvement in the number of failed games where a clock went bad, etc.

We've been monitoring like a hawk and found a few other bugs that needed fixing. This release takes care of the following:

• Clocks now stay in sync even with players with a lot of network lag
  
• Premature timeouts have been fixed
  
• The weird time that sometimes shows up on clocks after a game has completed has been fixed
  
• We rearranged the login buttons to help new people find their way. We apologize to our regular players that have learned to click the login button with their eyes closed. We'll all have to retrain a few times! ;-)
  
• Server upgrades to improve performance
  

We'll continue to watch things. We have a lot of enhancements planned, but we are currently trying to get to flawless play for all players.

If you see any problems, please email us at support@chessjam.com

ChessJam 4.0! Now 3 ways to play online chess including in Facebook and your web browser!

Today we released ChessJam 4.0! During the past few months, we've seen our growth accelerate and now we're starting to attract several grand masters! We think this latest release will put ChessJam up a few notches and spur even more growth.

ChessJam can now be played in three different ways:

• You can now play ChessJam in your web browser! Simply go to http://chessjam.com/play and you're in!
  
• You can also now play ChessJam within Facebook by going to http://apps.facebook.com/chessjam
  
• The ChessJam desktop application is also improved. It's now smaller and faster!
  

Bug fixes and other improvements:

• We have rewritten the way clocks are handled. They are now much more reliable and consistent. This should address the occasional premature timeouts that some players reported.
  
• Multiple memory optimizations
  

Let us know if you find any problems with the new software. You can always email us at support@chessjam.com

ChessJam 3.5 Released!

We just posted ChessJam 3.5 for download. Your existing version should auto-update.
Here's what new:

• The application is now 53% smaller resulting in faster downloads, updates and faster startup time.
  
• There should be fewer disconnects throughout the application now.
  
• Network traffic has been reduced throughout the application.
  
• Automatic draw detection added (finally!). If both players don't have the required pieces to checkmate, a draw is automatic. If a position arises in which neither player could possibly give checkmate by a series of legal moves, the game is an automatic draw. Combinations with insufficient material to checkmate are:
  
  
  
  • king versus king
    
  • king and bishop versus king
    
  • king and knight versus king
    
  • king and bishop versus king and bishop with the bishops on the same color.
    
  
  
• Turbo tournaments now auto-start more consistently.
  
• The end-game dialog is now clearer with a button for "Get a link to this game".
  
• Numerous other bug fixes, performance tweaks and cosmetic improvements.
  

We're working on a major new release - stay tuned!

ChessJam 3.3.0 Posted - NEW ROOMS!

The picture below says most of what's new!
If you are running ChessJam on a Netbook, you'll be pleased to hear that 3.3 has full netbook support and will auto-reduce the resolution to fit as needed. AIR 2.0 is required for netbook resolution support and can be downloaded from http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/air2.html (download and install the runtime).

ChessJam 3.2.2 now available - Improved reliability

We have had a few reports of games getting out of sync and have gone through the logs with a fine-tooth comb to learn how to improve reliability. We think you will find 3.2.2 more reliable with smoother graphics animations.

We also made some minor changes to the registration screen behavior.

More features are coming soon but we prioritize reliability over everything else. If you run into issues with games, please email us immediately with any details you can provide. Email to chessjam@gmail.com

Coming soon... new rooms, new tournaments and more!

ChessJam 3.2.1 now available - Chat commands and enhancements!

We just posted ChessJam 3.2.1. Changes include:

• New chat commands!
• /block username - blocks chat msgs from a user for the duration of the game.
• /unblock username - unblocks the user
• /silent - silences the chat sounds
• /help - get a list of current commands
• The chat window is now taller
• Blank chat messages are no longer possible
• Fixed a bug that sometimes made chat messages invisible
• Chat messages no longer have a blank line between them to allow more messages to be viewed at once
• Auto-scrolling of messages improved
• Additional memory improvements

New Big Dog Weekly Tournament starting tomorrow!

Everyone seems to be enjoying the Turbo Tournaments so we have decided to try something new with a bit of a twist called the Big Dog Weekly Tournament.
Here's the scoop:

• The 60 minute room is being replaced with the new Big Dog Tournament room. (We will be expanding to 12 rooms very soon and will bring back the 60 minute room).
  
• The new Big Dog room will have an in-room leader board similar to the Survivor Sunday room.
  
• The new tournament runs for a week from Sunday morning at 12:00am (0400Z) to Saturday night at 11:59pm (Sunday 0359Z).
  
• The tournament is point-based. Here's how it works:
  • Each time you win a game, you get a point
    
  • If your opponent has a higher rating than you, you get bonus points (1 bonus point for every 100 higher rating)
    
  • Example 1: If PlayerA (1500) defeats PlayerB (1850), PlayerA wins 4 points (1 for the win and 3 bonus points for the rating spread of 350)
    
  • Example 2: If PlayerA (1310) defeats PlayerB (1950), PlayerA wins 7 points (1 for the win and 6 bonus points for the rating spread of 640)
    
  • The loser's points remain the same. You never lose points.
• You can play as many games as you want. Obviously we're encouraging people to play the "big dogs" on ChessJam.
  

New Turbo Tournaments for players rated below 1700

Due to popular demand, we have added new Turbo Tournaments for players rated less than 1700.

Open Tournaments now run at 12AM/9AM/12PM/3PM/6PM/9PM EDT (0100Z/0400Z/1300Z/1600Z/1900Z/2200Z)

Below 1700 Tournaments run at 12AM/12PM/6PM EDT (0400Z/1600Z/2200Z)

Every other tournament is for players rated less than 1700 only!

ChessJam 3.2.0 now available

For this release, we focused solely on improving the memory consumption and CPU utilization and we think you will notice the results! Memory consumption was cut in half! CPU utilization is equally improved.

Your existing ChessJam application should auto-update. If not, simply uninstall and re-install.

Online Chess Turbo Tournaments now every 8 hours!

Last week, we announced Turbo Tournaments. The live online chess tournaments seem to be drawing a crowd! Starting today, we run them every 8 hours at 7AM, 3PM and 11PM EST (1200Z, 2000Z and 0400Z). The Tournament room has a countdown timer on it as a reminder.

Below is a screenshot from the 11PM tournament Saturday night. The entire thing played out in under an hour! The winner was "Undefined", our #1 player. Congrats!

Introducing Turbo Tournaments (Beta) - Live Online Chess Tournaments

Today we launched Turbo Tournaments, a fully automatic 8-bracket bracket live tournament. Here's how it works:

The room is a traditional 8-player bracket:


You enter a tournament by sitting down at any round 1 table. Once someone joins you at the table, the game will start. The winners of the round 1 games are automatically seated at the round 2 table. The winners of the two round 2 games advance to the final round where an overall tournament winner is crowned!

Once a tournament is in progress, the room highlights the completed games as shown in this sample screen shot:


Notes:

• You can only sit at a round 1 table. The system will auto-seat the round one winners at round 2 tables.
  
• IMPORTANT: Once the system seats you at a round 2 or round 3 table, do NOT unseat yourself. If you do, you forfeit the game and your opponent advances.
  
• If a draw is declared, the person with the most remaining time on the clock advances to the next round.
  
• Anyone can observe any game in the tournament.
  
• All tournament games are rated like any other game.
  
• Once a tournament ends, the tables are cleared and a new one starts.
  
• The winner of each tournament is recorded and will be displayed on the Turbo Tournament leader board.
  
• Coming soon: Turbo Tournament wins will be included in your user stats.
  

We have labeled this as "beta" for the next few days. Although we have done a lot of testing, there may be scenarios that we have not thought of. If you run into any issues or have suggestions on how to improve Turbo Tournaments, please drop us a note on the ChessJam forums or email us.

Enjoy!

Introducing Crazy Games on ChessJam!

Today we opened a new room on ChessJam called Crazy Games and as the name implies, this room has some crazy online chess variations. You'll find 14 tables, each with a unique starting position. Each table has a name that gives a hint as to what you can expect.

Crazy Tables:

• Queens
  
• 5+5
  
• Triple Knights
  
• Pawnless
  
• 15 Pointer
  
• Mirror Mirror
  
• Mind the Gap
  
• Double Double
  
• Totem Pole
  

We've also included five tables with positions from the middle of some famous historical games. Each link below takes you to a page where you can see the entire game.

• Byrne vs. Fischer 1956
  
• Fischer vs. Spassky 1972
  
• Kramnik vs. Kasparov 1994
  
• Anderrsen vs. Kiesenitzky 1851
  
• Polgar vs. Chiburdanidze 2004
  

Games in this room do not impact your rating or stats so there is no risk in going crazy! Below are some screen shots to entice you to come play.

The Crazy Games Room:



Mind the Gap:


Triple Knights:


Fischer vs. Spassky 1972:


We plan to mix things up in this room often. If you have a crazy idea for a fun starting position, send us the FEN and proposed name either in the ChessJam forums or via email. There are a lot of online FEN editors. Our favorite one is at ChessVideos.tv.

Announcing "Survivor Sundays" Tournaments and version 2.4!

On Sundays, the Stats page will also display a leader board for Survivor Sunday, an all day tournament that ChessJam is excited to start THIS WEEKEND! Every Sunday (GMT-5), we will open a room specifically for the tournament. Players are challenged to win as many games as possible during the day but if a player loses two games, he or she is blocked from playing in the Survivor room for the remainder of the day (you can still observe other tournament players and you can still play in normal rooms). You can track your progress directly in the room. Good luck!

Version 2.4!

Be sure to upgrade to the 2.4 release (just posted!). Your existing installation should upgrade itself. Version 2.4 includes new features to support the new Sunday Survivor tournament (and other soon-to-be-announced tournament types) as well as several bug fixes and minor enhancements:

• Challenge notifications now remain longer and only require one click to accept/decline.
  
• After a game, your opponent and any observers are notified when you leave the room.
  
• New themes! We have some fun surprises in store. Go login now and you'll see what we're talking about (be sure you are using v2.4 or higher).
  
• If you haven't looked at the STATS view lately, be sure to notice the new game history tab, rating chart, leader board for your country and other stats.
  

As many of you have noticed, we are seeing some VERY good chess players joining ChessJam lately. The leader board has been very dynamic and we have a few users quickly approaching a rating of 2000+. We are now auto-tweeting the top 5 users and top 5 countries each evening at 9PM EST (GMT-5). Follow us at http://twitter.com/chessjam.

Big milestone approaching:

We are quickly approaching 1,000,000 moves on ChessJam so watch the blog and twitter over the next few days. We'll be announcing who made the 1,000,000th move!

v2.3.2 and we're starting to get some good activity!

The challenge with any new multi-player gaming application is finding enough players to make it fun. Until the application reaches a certain "critical mass", it's a bit boring! During the past few days, we've seen some good accelerated growth and now it's getting easier and easier to find someone to play! Yesterday we had over 700 games played.

We just added a few cosmetic enhancements throughout the application and fixed a few bugs and performance issues. Version 2.3.2 is now available.

ChessJam Stats!

In our recent 2.2 release, we added a new view called STATS that takes you to a collection of statistics including top ranked users, top countries, a list of all countries and game history.
Below are a few screenshots showing TOP USERS, TOP COUNTRIES and ALL COUNTRIES.


Every game you have played on ChessJam is listed in the game history report. You can click on the REVIEW link to review any previous game move by move.


The notation on the left side is Portable Game Notation (PGN) and can be copy/pasted if needed.


We are already working on additional stats including some cool data visualization so check back often!

ChessJam 2.2 Available

We just released ChessJam 2.2. Your existing version will auto-update to the new release. Here's what's new:

• New STATS view - now contains the global leader board. If you are a frequent player, you might be on it! We will be adding new stats to this page shortly including the ability to view your personal game history, review previous games move-by-move, and more.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused issues when playing multiple games at once.
  
• Minor bug fixes throughout.
  

ChessJam Banners now available

If you like ChessJam, please spread the word! We've created a few banners to help at http://chessjam.com/badges/banners.html.

Thanks!

We need your feedback! Come to the forums.

We are already working on the next version of ChessJam and we need your help. Please go to the forums at http://chessjam.com/forums and report any bugs that you have found and any suggestions that you have on making ChessJam better.

Thanks!