User's manual

This tab is shown when the program starts. It presents the YinYangChess logo and version and has a blank area underneath where messages from the YinYangChess server are displayed.

This tab allows you to enter the user and password for both YinYangChess server and FICS.

Registered to: e-mail address you used to register at YinYangChess.

YYC password: the password you chose when you registered at YinYangChess.

FICS login: your login name at FICS if you are a registered player. If you are not, you can enter 'guest' and play as a guest.

FICS password: the password for your login at FICS. Leave it empty if you are playing as a guest.

Connect: this button connects to FICS to play. The program will show the 'Console' tab after you click this button, so you can see the messages from the server.

Disconnect: this button disconnects from FICS.

Save login information: if this option is enabled your login information will be saved in the configuration file of the program when you save the configuration.

Save configuration: this button will save the configuration of the program to a file.

This tab shows console messages from FICS in a text area. You can scroll this area both vertically and horizontally.

You can also send commands to FICS. Choose a command from the drop-down menu or write it. Clicking the '>' button will send the command. The last command you send is added to the drop-down menu so that you do not have to rewrite it if you want to send it again.

You can use this tab to challenge a particular player or seek for a game at FICS.

Opponent: you can play with a particular player writing his/her username at FICS in this field.

Rated: you can check it to play a rated game or leave it unchecked for an unrated one. If you play as a guest you cannot play rated games.

Initial time: initial time in minutes for the game.

Increment: number of seconds added to your clock after each move.

Colour: you can choose black, white or let FICS decide.

Match: click this button to send your request to FICS.

Opponent: leave this field empty to seek for a game at FICS.

Rated: you can check it to play a rated game or leave it unchecked for an unrated one. If you play as a guest you cannot play rated games.

Initial time: initial time in minutes for the game.

Increment: number of seconds added to your clock after each move.

Colour: you can choose black, white or let FICS decide.

Minimum rating: the minimum rating you opponent should have to play with you.

Maximum rating: the maximum rating you opponent should have to play with you.

Formula: check it if your formula at FICS should be used to filter players. (See the explanation of the 'Formula' tab at the end of this page)

Manual: check it if you want to manually accept the game before it starts.

Seek: click this button to send your request to FICS.

This tab shows the active challenges. Challenges to other players are shown at the top of the tab. If you click on a challenge, its details will be shown at the bottom of the tab and a 'Withdraw' button will appear. If you click it your challenge will be withdrawn.

Challenges from other players are shown at the bottom of tab. If you click on a challenge, its details will be shown and two buttons will appear. You can click on them to accept or decline the challenge.

This tab shows a graphic with players seeking for a game. Every small square represents a player.

A green square means that the player is seeking a blitz game (duration from 3 to 15 minutes) and a blue square means that the player wants to play a standard game (15 or more minutes).

An 'R' inside the square means the game will be rated and a 'U' inside the square means the game will be unrated.

The horizontal position of the square is proportional to the duration of the game. A blitz game with a time control of 3+0 (three minutes and no time increment) will be shown on the left hand side of the screen. A standard game with a time control of 15+0 will be shown on the line dividing the blitz area and the standard area.

The vertical position is proportional to the rate (strength) of the player. The horizontal dotted lines help you get and idea of the player's rate

Clicking on a square will show the details of the challenge. If you click on the '>' button you accept the challenge.

Yellow squares show your challenges. If you click on one, the details will be shown and a '-' button will appear. You can click on the '-' button to withdraw the challenge.

This tab is where a game takes place. The top line shows information about the player with white pieces: name, rate, last move and clock. The bottom line shows the same information for the player with black pieces. If the board is turned the information is swapped.

There are three buttons on the right hand side. Starting from the top, the first button turns the board. The next button changes the colour of the board. The third button makes a menu pop up. This menu contains the commands commonly used while playing: abort, adjourn, draw, flag, pause, resign, unpause, take back 1, and take back 2.

There is another button with the text 'chat' that it is normally hidden and appears when your opponent has sent a text to you (he/she wants to chat). If you click it the 'Say' tab will be shown.

A small text under the buttons shows the details of the game. You can see 'u 10 0' in the image. The letter can be 'u', for 'unrated' or 'r' for 'rated'. The first number is the initial time in minutes and the second one the time increment in seconds after each move.

Moving the pieces is quite easy. Click the square where the piece you want to move is and then the square you want to move it to. As a square is selected, its colour is changed to yellow. If you chose the incorrect piece, click on its square again and the piece selection will be canceled. A yellow square is drawn around the square of the last piece moved.

Before a pawn promotion, a small window will show a queen, rook, bishop and knight so you can choose what piece to promote the pawn to.

You can use this tab to chat with your opponent.

The text window will show the messages sent and received. A message from your opponent will be added to the text windows as the name of the opponent, the simbol '>' and the text of the message.

You can send a message either typing in the combo box or selecting a text from the combo box and click the '>' button. The messages you type are added to the list of the combo box, so that you do not need to retype a message typed before.

The messages you send are written in the text window with the prefix '<'.

This tab shows the game in PGN format.

When a game ends it is automatically saved to disk. All the games are stored in a folder named 'Games' located in the same folder where the program is. An example of the way files are named is: FICS_Game_2008_12_17_0353.pgn, meaning that the game was saved on 17th december 2008 at 03:53.

You can then open this file with other program, in order to analyze it for example, or you can add it to a database of games.

This tab can be used to change your formula at FICS.

Your formula filters out match requests, as well as seek ads (the 'sought' display). If you have a formula set, then any match request not satisfying your formula is automatically declined; you will be notified that the offer was made and rejected by your formula. If you make an offer that fails a player's formula, you will be given similar feedback.