Correspondence chess

The format of extramural chess dictates some sharp differences from the usual classical chess. Time to think about one move is usually measured in days, while the participant is allowed to use a chessboard for analysis and reference books. The development of computer chess and the emergence of chess programs that play significantly stronger than humans, has led to the fact that now correspondence chess can be considered as advanced chess with very much time control.

In addition, in order to save time, the game can be played not by separate moves, but by whole variants. To this end, a participant who wishes to offer one or several options notifies the opponent of his intention, listing the options offered. The opponent has the right to accept the option, either fully or partially, by cutting off the proposed chain of moves in the desired location.

The game of correspondence

The game of correspondence is that the opponent sends a message to the player with a move.

The date of the first mention of the game of correspondence is unclear. According to unconfirmed reports, there were parties by correspondence between the Byzantine emperor Nikifor I and the Arab caliph Harun al-Rashid . ^[2] There is also a reference from 1694 in the book by the English orientalist T. Hyde, On Oriental Fun, which tells about the game of correspondence between Venetian and Croatian merchants . Usually the player was given three days to think it over, after which he was obliged to respond by sending a similar letter with his turn to the opponent. Of course, such games lasted a very long time, sometimes more than a year. Sometimes it happened that a player died before he finished the game.

The first officially confirmed parties by correspondence were played in 1804 by a Dutch officer Friedrich von Mavillon with one of his friends from Breda . The name of the rival Mavilion remains unknown. ^{[3] [4]}

In the XIX century, the game of correspondence were chess clubs (for example, London and Edinburgh, 1824-28; Moscow and St. Petersburg, 1878-79) and individually. ^[five]

In 1928, the International Union of the game of chess by correspondence was created (from 1951 the International Federation of the game of chess by correspondence, ICCF ). Titles of world champions are played out, team Olympiad is held . All competitions are held separately for each ICCF sector (Europe, Latin America, North America / Pacific and Africa / Asia). The first final of the world chess championship by correspondence was held in 1950, in which Cecil Purdy won. The second world champion in correspondence was the Soviet grandmaster Vyacheslav Ragozin . The world chess championships in correspondence among women have been held since 1968, and to date there have been 8 finals of the competition. Chess Olympiads are held by correspondence since 1949. To date, held 18 Olympiads. The team representing each country includes 6 boards for men and 4 boards for women.

World Champions among men in the game of correspondence

1.   Cecil Purdy (1950–53)
2.   Vyacheslav Ragozin (1956–59)
3.   Alberic O'Kelly (1959–62)
4.   Vladimir Zagorovsky (1962–65)
5.   Hans Berliner (1965–68)
6.   Horst Rittner (1968–71)
7.   Jacob Estrin (1972–76)
8.   Yeurn Slot (1975–80)
9.   Tynu Yim (1977–83)
10.   Victor Palčiauskas (1978–84)
11.   Friedrich Baumbach (1983–89) ^[6]
12.   Gregory Sanakoev (1984–91) ^[7]
13.   Mikhail Umansky (1989–98) ^[8]
14.   Tynu Yim (1994–2000) ^[9]
15.   Jan Timmerman (1996–2002) ^[10]
16.   Thunk Hamarat (1999–2004) ^[11]
17.   Ivar Bern (2002–07) ^[12]
18.   Joop van Oster (2003–05) ^[13]
19.   Christoph Leotar (2004–07) ^[14]
20.   Pertti Lehikoinen (2004–11) ^[15]
21.   Joop van Oster (2005–08) ^[16]
22.   Alexander Dronov (2007–10) ^[17]
23.   Ulrich Stefan (2007–10) ^[18]
24.   Marian Schemrl ( 2009 ) ^[19]
25.   Fabio Finociaro (200913) ^[20]
26.   Ron Langeveld (2010–14) ^[21]
27.   Alexander Dronov (2011–14) ^[22]
28.   Leonardo Ljubicic (2013–16) ^[23]
29.   Alexander Dronov (2015–18) ^[24]

Women's World Champions in Correspondence

1.   Olga Rubtsova (1968–72)
2.   Laura Yakovleva (1972–77)
3.   Love Kristol (1978–84)
4.   Lyudmila Belavenets (1984–92)
5.   Love Kristol (1993–98)
6.   Alessandra Riegler (2000–05)
7.   Olga Sukhareva (2002–06)
8.   Olga Sukhareva (2007–10)
9.   Irina Pervertkina (2011–14)
10.   Irina Pervertkina (2014–17)

Play by phone

Since the 1970s the competition became widespread by telephone , several international matches took place. The most mass competitions by telephone also took place in the USSR (1964) - a match on 100 boards between the teams of Moscow and Leningrad. After the end of the Second World War, matches began to be held on the radio, the most famous of which was the match between the USSR national teams — USA, 1945, which ended with a convincing victory for Soviet chess players (15.5: 4.5). There have been cases when the phone replaced the presence of a chess player at a full-time tournament. For example, in 1965, Robert Fisher participated in absentia in an international tournament in Havana, transmitting his moves by telephone; because of the sanctions imposed by the USA against Cuba, Fisher was banned from traveling to this country, and he, not wanting to refuse to participate in the tournament, played by telephone.

Telegraph game

In 1844 , the party took place on the telegraph between the clubs of Washington and Baltimore . 40 years later, similar meetings were held between chess players of European capitals ( London - Vienna , 1884 ; Petersburg - London, 1886 - 1887 ; Petersburg - Paris , 1894 - 1895 ). In the 20th century, telegraph competitions were especially popular in the USSR , where more than 20 teams participated in the Russian championship alone (from 1948 ).

Playing online

With the development of the Internet (World Wide Web), online chess is very popular, in which players can play at a convenient time for themselves and with rivals whom they themselves will choose. Online chess allows you to play both with people and with computer programs.

The international organization of correspondence chess is the International Federation of the Chess Game of Correspondence (ICCF).

In Russia, the Russian Correspondence Chess Association (RASH), established on April 24, 1993, is responsible for conducting absentee chess tournaments and developing relevant rules. RAJ is the only organization managing all types of extramural chess in the Russian Federation, which is recognized by both the Russian Chess Federation and the ICCF. The Russian activities of the RAJ are built on a regional basis. The RAJ includes an appeal commission that deals with appeals against the decisions of judges; qualification commission, whose competence includes the calculation of ratings of participants and the establishment of qualification standards; tournament committee responsible for holding tournaments; Judges and Audit Commission.

The president of the RAJ is the international arbiter of the ICCF Sergey Grodzensky .

• “The game of correspondence and the game at the board complement each other” ( Alexander Alekhin )
• “I drink, smoke, walk with women, play games of chance, but chess by correspondence is a sin that I don’t have” ( Mikhail Tal )

• CJS Purdy, Hutchings. How Purdy Won: 1st World Champion of Correspondence Chess . - 1998. - ISBN 978-0938650805 .
• Grodzensky S. Chess mail of Russia: tournaments, games, personalities. - M.: Prospectus, 2016. - 405, [2] p. - ISBN 978-5-392-18675-4 .

• Modern site of the Russian Association of extramural chess
• Old website
• Advance for beginners. Quick Start Guide
• World Chess Championship Correspondence Chess