Besides the U.S. Chess Live site and the ChessBase site mentioned previously, there are an unbelievable amount of chess sites out there in cyberspace.

Online Magazines and News Groups

If you like to read your information online, there's plenty of chess available. The list is so vast that it's impossible to list them all. Suffice it to say that each of the major chess servers has its own version of online chess news to keep you up-to-date. And if you are playing chess online, you should be able to access news and information through these sources.

Some of the major sources include:

• USCF (www.uschess.org)

• New In Chess (www.newinchess.com)

• Chess Monthly Magazine (www.chess.co.uk)

• This Week in Chess (www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html)

• Europe Échecs (www.europe-echecs.com)

• World Chess Hall of Fame and Sidney Samole Museum (www.worldchesshalloffame.com)

• ChessBase (www.chessbase.com)

• ChessCafe (www.chesscafe.com)

Each online server should have a step-by-step guide on how to start your own computer account, how to manage and maintain it, and what policies to adhere to. You can also download most popular chess engines and learn about other computers playing online.

If you are looking to play casual chess online, it's best to go to one of the general game sites. However, if you are looking for hardcore chess, you'll want to check out specific chess gaming sites such as USCL (U.S. Chess Live) or the ICC (Internet Chess Club). They run tournaments and many other feature events, and are populated with many strong and famous players.

Additionally, you should be able to find and play in tournaments, view others’ games, visit with top-rated players on special events and online talks, and view your standings. Most online servers also have chess experts who are willing to devote their time and effort to help beginning chess players to improve their game.

Some Features

Diagrams, commentary on games, news, politics, and more are included on many sites. In addition, you can also see live coverage of many scholastic and national and international championships. In many cases you can see the games as they are being played and you may also be able to hear a grandmaster commentary on the play-by-play. Also, each week interesting articles, interviews, chess problems, and all of the games of significant tournaments are published and posted to various sites.

Internet chess clubs are also a great way to get information about chess books and equipment. If you can't decide which book to purchase or which computer chess game is better for your kid, then you can read more about the product online, or you can ask the experts.

Types of Events

Many people are familiar with the famous game played by Garry Kasparov against the world. This was an online chess game held in 1999 Microsoft sponsored the event, Kasparov had White, and his opponent (the world) had Black. Anyone could go to the Web site and register a single vote for a chess move. Whichever move won the vote would be played against Kasparov. Each side had one day to play a move.

Kasparov had a rough time with this game. There were several professional chess players who offered their advice to the world, so the move that won turned out to be quite good. Kasparov was surprised out of the opening and so the game became a real fight. In fact, the world could have drawn an endgame, but there was disagreement over which move to play, and the wrong move won.