FMO CHESS CLUB: FAQ

as at Jan 1st, 2008

Q What is the FMO CHESS CLUB?

FMO CHESS CLUB is an online private family based CHESS CLUB
You can play for free for a specific period in a trial membership mode if that is currently offered.
The free trial membership does not allow access to many club features
and most players sign up for a full membership after a few weeks.
The duration of the free trial varies as does membership rates where special offers are sometimes offered.
The current membership options are:


A 1 year membership costs 17 (of your currency) and is based on your location.
US: $17 UK: 17pounds Europe: 17 Euros


A Lifetime membership costs 85 (of your currency)
A 1 year FAMILY Membership ( I adult & Child) 29 (of your currency)
Additional Family Member costs 12 (of your currency) ( requires active Family Account)
A lifetime FAMILY membership costs 75 (of your currency)
All payments are via paypal only.

Click the DONATE button below to Pay

We do reserve the right to refuse or revoke anyone Membership
First, select SignUp and complete the form. A new account will be created
An email will be sent with the activation code
Click that link and you will be able to login.
Note trial accounts cannot be used to play for free by recurring signups.
Any time during the free trial. you may subscribe to a full membership.
To do this,see the HELP section online

Q What features are included ?


*New GADGETS Central. Many features now available as google gadgets! *New CHESS Adventures in the Forum, Fictional tales based on members ;) *New.MOBILE version added!
Now runs on Iphone, Ipod Touch ,PSP mobile devices among others
NO game play limits or quotas.. You can play an Unlimited Number of Games!
Email Reminder module lets you know player moves, a game starts, ends etc!.
PLAY on your own schedule!.
SELECTABLE Themes, Piece Designs, History, Email , Chat and Audio choices.
CHESS CLOCKS: Timed or unlimited (from 15 mins to 14 days).
MEDALS: Awards for gaining certain milestones ,winning competitions etx
RANKINGS based on the official elo chess ranking
COLORFUL GRAPHS and CHARTS that track progress.
ANALYZE your own or others' games in our game viewer
ANNOTATE: Add annotations to your games and/or export to PGN
EXPORT your game moves as a PGN file for analysis in your chess programs.
LISTEN To you favorite RADIO station
MOBILE play.. ability to play on select handheld devices
FAMILY MEMBERSHIP (not available to public) allows gameplay on the same machine!
FAMILY MEMBERSHIP (not available to public) Statistics and LEAGUES!
Multiple Languages supported.
*THEMATIC GAMES: Over 50 Different Preset Openings
*LIVE SERVER: Create games and wait for players, Join other players games
*PREMIER LEAGUES- (lifetime membership req)full leagues with divisions,promotions,tables
*FMO CUP TOURNAMENT- (lifetime mebership req)full knockout cup with rounds.draw events etc
*TOURNAMENTS: 4 -16 players, official or not, timed or not, stealth options
*PLAY against other members or the computer
*PRIVATE MESSAGING: Integrated into all the club features
*PRIZES: Win REAL PRIZES in certain events.
*TOURNAMENT RANKINGS and points
*ROOKS CLUB a separate club within the club for younger players
* Separate rankings and tables,lessons, quizzes for kids and teachers.
*WATCH OTHER GAMES
*OPENINGS TUTOR
*PGN WORKSHOP: Edt, annotate, replay past games, create new games et al
*CREDITS awards for member participation.. Redeemable within CLUB.
*COMPETITIONS We hold monthly Tournament Competitions
*TEAM PLAY by state or country, TEAM v TEAM play. separate ranking tables.
*CHESS DATABASE SEARCH AND QUERY FEATURE
*CHAT LOUNGE (optional for some members) with AI bar staff that talk to you ;)
*CHAT(optionally for some members) to your opponent whilst playing a game.
*Watch CHESS VIDEO movies, tutorials and lectures in the ODEON
*Fully integrated FORUM with built in Game Analyzer Software
*The ATRIUM where one can play multiple robot GM's and play other games
* ARCADE room with links to many games
* NO ADS ANYWHERE! The site is 100% ad free! * Peaceful and friendly site!

Q What System Requirements are there?


We require Firefox Firefox 2 and recommend
a broadband connection though the site will run on dialup.
The site is written for a Windows platform using Firefox. We have users on MAC
and Linux. The software is built tested and optimized for FireFox.
We officially support Firefox on Windows XP, using a
1024 * 768 resolution and a high speed connection. While other configurations
may appear to work, we will not officially provide support for them. Some features require Java which may not be present on your computer. You can download Java for free by clicking HERE .


Q Can I play against the computer?


Yes.This feature is implemented using the Little Chess Partner
and several other engines, some in JAVA some in JS. It may be
accessed from our ATRIUM.


What does FMO stand for?


Though there is a chess acroynym called 'first move option', the origin of the Club and Name stem from an asteroid detection project I was involved in called 'The FMO PROJECT', run by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak. We were tracking near earth asteroids and they were known as Fast Moving Objects on the many thousands of images the telescopes took. I started the Club and websites etc for the astronomers and others to play and the name stuck. Thus FMO = Fast Moving Objects.

Q Any Other rules?


We do not tolerate any coarse behavior, or bad language whatsoever.
We require valid information when registering including age and location
as some of our members are children.
We respect your privacy and will not distribute any personal information
to any third parties.
We have young and old players and class ourselves as a family chess club
You are only allowed one account per person. Violation of this in any form
or any attempts to cheat, will cause you to be immediately banned
.


Thanks for reading. Sign Up and have fun.