"Lurkasaurus" wrote in message
...
I've been playing at chessanytime for at least a year and can't say
anything
bad about it. I've had pleasant conversations with many, many opponents
without any technical problems. The one time I had a problem with an
opponent
who wouldn't finish a game, the admin was prompt and helpful. It's only
within
the last 6 months or so there are consistently been more than 100 people
on at
any time. Simple, clean interface, no cookies, and you can get your
games
mailed to you in PGN.

Some negatives about chessanytime.com in contrast to freechess.org that I've
noticed:
- chessanytime.com doesn't have separate ratings for
lightning/blitz/standard; freechess.org does
- chessanytime.com doesn't have chess variants; freechess.org has variants
like crazyhouse, atomic, suicide, bughouse
- chessanytime.com doesn't have any compensation for lag (a serious issue!);
freechess.org uses timeseal for lag
- chessanytime.com has about 100 players online; freechess.org has about 500
players online
- chessanytime.com only allows direct challenges; freechess.org allows open
seeks
- chessanytime.com has a limited interface; freechess.org has a multitude of
excellent free interfaces to choose from

Quite honestly, after trying both chess servers myself, I'm not sure why
anyone would pick chessanytime.com above freechess.org aside from the
nostalgia of existing loyalties, or perhaps ignorance in not knowing about
freechess.org? But don't take my word for it, check out both for yourself
and make your own decision. BabasChess (babaschess.net) is a good interface
to use when trying freechess.org.

--
Gregory Topov
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"I don't necessarily agree with everything I say." - Marshall McLuhan