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==History==
=== Internet Chess Server ===
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" /> According to journalist Brad Stone, "players lost their tempers and were exiled from the server, opposition groups were formed, lawsuits were threatened, ICC administrators were harassed, and plans to erect alternative servers were formed".<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" />
=== Development of a free alternative ===
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>
=== Growth ===
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>
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==Usage==
[[File:babaschesssmallcrop.jpg|thumb|250px|FICS using BabasChess interface]]
FICS is accessible via [[telnet]] and was text-only by default. Before graphical interfaces, users would see a board created by [[ASCII]] characters, with the lines of the board created by [[Hyphen|hyphens]] and [[Vertical bar|pipes]], and pieces represented by letters.<ref name=":3" /> Whereas ICC has dedicated, proprietary graphical interfaces, several have been developed for FICS, with none having official status. The earliest were XICS and [[XBoard]], with subsequent programs including [[XBoard|WinBoard]], BabasChess, Jin, Thief, Raptor, eboard, [[PyChess]], and JavaBoard.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last1=Fernández Slezak |first1=Diego |last2=Etchemendy |first2=Pablo |last3=Sigman |first3=Mariano |date=2010 |title=Rapid chess: A massive-scale experiment |url=https://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/152631 |journal=High-Performance Computing Symposium (HPC 2010) |language=en}}</ref> Though built with pre-web technology, which typically requires a dedicated client, there are also web-based interfaces. Users can play using an anonymous guest account or register for an account with a username. Registered users can play games rated using the [[Glicko rating system]].<ref>{{Cite web |author=vek/glickman |title=Vek-splanation of the Glicko Ratings System |url=http://www.freechess.org/Help/HelpFiles/glicko.html |access-date=2010-05-10}}</ref>
Once connected, discussion takes place in a wide number of function-specific or subject-specific chat channels numbered 0 through 255. For example, channel 0 is for administrators only, 1 is for general help, 50 is general chat, and 49 is for tournaments.<ref name=":0" />▼
Players can choose any time control and increment. In addition to standard chess, FICS hosts several [[Chess variant|chess variants]], including [[Losing chess|suicide]], [[Losing chess|loser's]], [[Atomic chess|atomic]], wild (including [[chess960]]), [[Bughouse chess|bughouse]], and [[crazyhouse]].<ref name=":5" />
▲Once connected, discussion takes place in a wide number of function-specific or subject-specific chat channels numbered 0 through 255. For example, channel 0 is for administrators only, 1 is for general help, 50 is general chat, and 49 is for tournaments.<ref name=":0" /> Though based in the US, FICS, like the ICS before it, was notable for its international diversity. Early descriptions of using the servers highlight playing against and talking with people from around the world, which was a rare experience in the 1990s.<ref name=":3" />
== Relay ==
FICS relays major live chess events.<ref name=":5" /> A bot takes the moves in ongoing games and relays them to special demo accounts on FICS. These demo accounts bear the names of the players in the event. Users and guests on FICS can watch the games in progress and chat about the games with each other. The relay has covered every single [[World Chess Championship]] since its inception. Other major relays include the yearly relay of [[Tata Steel Chess Tournament|Wijk aan Zee]], [[Morelia-Linares]] and [[Amber Melody]].<ref name=":0" /> The web-based [[Lichess]] platform obtains its tournament relays via FICS.
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