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[[File:Partida no FreeChess.png|thumb|upright=1.5|A chess game on '''FICS''' using
The '''Free Internet Chess Server''' (FICS) is a volunteer-run [[internet chess server]]. It launched in 1995, in response to the commercialization of the original [[Internet Chess Server|American Internet Chess Server]] (ICS).<ref name=":1" />
==History==
In January 1992, Michael Moore of the [[University of Utah]] and Richard Nash started the first online service facilitating live chess games, the [[Internet Chess Server|American Internet Chess Server]] (commonly known as the Internet Chess Server or ICS). The initial release, accessible via [[telnet]], was hosted at the [[University of Utah]], but over its first two years it moved repeatedly across American universities, with additional servers opening and connecting to each other through Nash's Internet Ratings Server.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Petroff |first=Chris |date=2009-03-05 |title=History of the Internet Chess Server – Part I |url=http://members.cox.net/cpetroff/FICS/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313150500/http://members.cox.net/cpetroff/FICS/ |archive-date=2010-03-13 |access-date=2010-05-10}}</ref><ref name="fics10year"/><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Doggers |first=Peter |title=The Chess Revolution: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age |publisher=Puzzlewright |year=2024 |isbn=9781454959243}}</ref> The software was coded, supported, and operated by volunteers. [[Daniel Sleator]], professor of computer science at [[Carnegie Mellon University]], took over operation in July 1992 and improved the code. One of his primary contributions was a mechanism to adjust clock times for the effects of internet lag. He announced plans to commercialize the service, copyrighted the code in 1994, and rebranded it as the [[Internet Chess Club]] (ICC) in 1995, charging membership fees.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.edcollins.com/chess/fics-icc.htm |title=Pawns Call King a Rook |first=Brad |last=Stone |access-date=2010-05-10 |date=2006-05-11 }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=November 1995 |title=Trapped in the (Inter) Net |url=https://www.chicagochessleague.org/cicl/bulls/history/Yr1995_96/Nov1995.pdf |website=The Chicago Chess Player}}</ref>
Sleator's decision to commercialize the ICS was controversial, outraging members who felt the internet should be free and open, or who simply did not want to pay for a service which had been free.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Hurst |first=Sarah |title=Chess on the Web |publisher=Batsford |year=1999 |isbn=9780713485776}}</ref><ref name=":4" />
Several former ICS programmers saw the move as exploiting their work and, on the day its rebranding was announced, they created a mailing list focused on developing an alternative. Work had been in progress, using Nash's original code, since Sleator initially revealed his commercialization plans.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> Several developers contributed, led by Nash, Henrik Gram, David Flynn, and Chris Petroff. The effort led to servers in several places around the world and in the United States, with the latter consolidating to form the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS), launched on March 5, 1995.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name="fics10year">{{Cite web|url=http://www.freechess.org/Events/Anniversary/2005/index.html |title=FICS 10th Anniversary Celebrations |access-date=2010-05-10}}</ref> Its tagline is "we do it for the game--not the money".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Slater |first=Derek |date=September 1, 1999 |title=Knight Moves |work=CIO|pages=20}}</ref>
After a few months, FICS had 1,500 members.<ref name=":3" /> In 1998, the Free Internet Chess Organization (FICS) was organized as a [[nonprofit organization]], although the formal entity was dissolved in 2007.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://gambiter.com/chess/online/Free_internet_chess_server.html|title=Free Internet Chess Server|website=gambiter.com|language=en|access-date=2017-09-28}}</ref> The server is still maintained and administered by volunteers.<ref name=":0" /> FICS never matched the popularity of ICC, but as of 2012 it had about 900 people logged in at any given time,<ref name=":7" /> and by August 2014 it had over 650,000 registered accounts.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Menn |first=Joseph |title=All the Rave: The Rise and Fall of Shawn Fanning's Napster |publisher=Crown Publishing Group |year=2003 |isbn=9781400050062}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> In 2016, 50,000 active players played a total of 23 million games.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ficsgames.org/2013_stats.html |title=FICS Games Database – Statistics for 2013 |access-date=2014-08-03 }}</ref>
In a 2024 book, Peter Doggers drew a comparison between the FICS and ICC rivalry and the later [[Lichess]] vs. [[Chess.com]] rivalry, with one side committed to free and open principles and the other offering more features for a fee.<ref name=":3" />
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