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!

ChessJam 3.0 - The scoop!

Two days ago we released ChessJam 3.0 and subsequently 3.0.1. We are excited to share the full list of what's new and what's fixed:

What's new:

• Turbo Tournaments! - Live perpetual 8-player bracket tournaments. You'll immediately notice that this room is unique. All of the details on Turbo Tournaments can be found here.
  
  
  
• Crazy Games! - We've created a room for some unusual variations to the starting position of chess. The intent of this room is to stir things up a bit! All of the details on Crazy Games can be found here.
  
  
  
• Improved Facebook integration with game replay! At the end of each game, you have the option to post your game on Facebook. In 3.0, this post includes a link to the game history so your friends can see how you handled every move of the game. Check out this sample game.
  
  Here's what the game looks like posted to your facebook wall. Notice that a screenshot of the final position is included. The caption can be customized on a game by game basis.
  
  
  
  The link takes the viewer to a webpage where the entire game can be replayed.
  
  
  
• See your overall rank on the ChessJam leader boards! Now when you view the top 20 users or countries, you can see where you rank, even if you are not in the top 20.
  

Bug fixes and performance improvements:

• Clock increments are now working correctly
  
• Clocks now stay in sync better and are more reliable
  
• Improved game start reliability
  
• Overall game play is more reliable and has less lag
  

As you can see, we've added a lot of new features and worked hard to improve the quality of the gaming experience. We are already working on several new enhancements, many of which have been suggested by our users, so stay tuned!

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.