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!

Turbo Tournament Rule Change

Effective immediately, the following rules are now enforced in Turbo Tournaments:

• If you are white, you have 90 seconds to make your first move or you will automatically forfeit the game. A warning will be sent to you 60 seconds prior to being booted.
• If you start a Turbo Tournament game, you cannot abandon a game without losing rating points. All games in the Turbo Tournament room are rated games regardless of the number of moves made. If you click the resign or draw button, your rating will be impacted.

Turbo Tournaments have been a huge success and we hope these new rules will make them run smoother and keep things more fair.

Thanks for playing!

How we enabled "Login using Facebook" with ChessJam

Last week, we rolled out an exciting new feature - the ability to login to ChessJam using your Facebook credentials, even if you have never registered for ChessJam! This capability is made possible by something called Facebook Connect, a fairly new API (application programming interface) from Facebook. This API makes it possible for applications to connect to Facebook in various ways authenticate, share data and more. We thought it was important to explain exactly what features we are using and why. These dialogs are only presented on your first login.

The login dialog:

When you first click "Login using Facebook" on the ChessJam login screen, you are prompted for your Facebook credentials. This dialog is presented by Facebook. Your Facebook email address and password are NOT collected by ChessJam. ChessJam does not have access to your email address nor your password. Once you enter your Facebook email address and password, Facebook confirms that they are OK and then tells ChessJam if you successfully logged in.

Facebook permissions dialog 1:

In addition to the login status, Facebook makes some of your data available to us, but only data that you have shared with everyone. We do not have access to any of your private data. Currently, we only use your name and country. No other details are used and we will never use any additional information without first asking you. Facebook has very strict rules about this, and we follow these rules to the letter!

Facebook permissions dialog 2:

If you click ALLOW, you will have the option of posting your game to your Facebook wall after each game you play. You can choose to do this on a game by game basis. Here is what it looks like on your wall:

Choosing a ChessJam user name:

After logging into Facebook and granting permissions, you will be prompted to select a user name and enter your country. The username is how others in ChessJam will see you. We use your country to build the country leader board.

If you previously created a ChessJam account without logging into Facebook, you can link it by clicking the "LINK" button on this dialog. You will then be prompted for your ChessJam username and password.

Once you have completed these steps, you can login to ChessJam in the future with one click!

If you later want to revoke permissions from ChessJam, you can go to the PROFILE page and click the Facebook icon. You can also login to Facebook using your web browser and go to your ACCOUNT menu, then APPLICATION SETTINGS. You will see a list of all applications you have granted permissions to, including ChessJam. You can simply delete ChessJam from this list by clicking the small "X" beside it.

We hope you enjoy this new feature!

Additional information about the Facebook connect APIs:

• http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Facebook_Connect
• http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Flash/ActionScript

ChessJam 3.4 released!

ChessJam 3.4 is now available for download. Your existing copy will auto-update to the 3.4 version.
Changes:

• Facebook integration has been improved. You can now login to ChessJam using your Facebook credentials! After you go through the login process once, the subsequent logins will be one-click away. The Facebook login dialog is coming directly from Facebook. ChessJam does not capture nor store your Facebook credentials. You can also still login using your ChessJam credentials.
• When you finish a game, you can share the game by either posting it on your Facebook wall, tweeting the results or you can click a button to get a link to the game that you can share with anyone.
  
• When you sit at a table, you are now represented by a different chess piece that is based on your rating (it was always a pawn before). Here is how the pieces are assigned:
  
  
  
  • below 1600 -- Pawn
  • 1600-1799 -- Knight
  • 1800-1999 -- Bishop
  • 2000-2199 -- Rook
  • 2200-2399 -- Queen
  • 2400 or higher -- King
  
  
• Bug fix: When a robot runs out of time, it now loses the game.
  
• Various minor bug fixes and performance improvements

What's next? We're working on a web version of ChessJam that even allows you to play ChessJam inside of Facebook. The web version will have all of the same features and both web and desktop versions will continue to be updated in parallel.

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.