Introduction
 

This document is designed to help you with Installing the chess server (should you not have bought it hosted), with it's administration aspects, explain some of the features, and maybe give you one or two ideas about how to build a chess community online.

Most chess players like the interactive game, seeing the opponent in the eye, and most chess players use technology only for training purposes. We believe that technology such as the web has more to offer, and maybe bring new players to the best game people ever invented.

Chess is good for you (with one or two famous exceptions), it furthers analytical thinking, predictive analysis, and helps children to grow trust in their logical abilities. phpChess therefore is proud to bring chess into an environment where many have not dared to follow. phpChess is a secure environment, which can be hosted privately, does not have to be accessible to the public, and yet allows others to join in if it is safe.

Chess Clubs on the other hand have had issues representing a technologically rich environment to their members. phpChess includes full billing functionality, and allows also for payment capabilities via paypal.

Website designers often want to offer extras on their site to attract more traffic. With phpChess great scalability we fear no community as being too large, or the site being to complex. With the ability of "buddies" you can easily have communities with in communities.

All in all we believe that phpChess is ideal for Schools, Clubs, and webmasters. We believe that we will with future additions extend this capability (mobile telephone and jave devices (such as PDAs) as well as PC clients have already been developed). And maybe, just maybe, we can play a small part in making chess as popular a game as it can be. 

Christian Blumhoff
Managing Director, phpChess Limited