Hi Patrick,
Some observations:
Yes, the uschess.org site is down—still!
Have the two of you looked at ichess.com
“iChess matches are stored on the iChess server so they can be suspended and resumed when convenient. Spectators can view an iChess game from either player's perspective. Plus, iChess features a ‘chat’ window which allows players to communicate with each other during a match.”
I've tried it, and it works pretty well. It's a java-based environment but isn't prone to the slowness that I experience at other java-oriented sites. The ‘chat’ doesn’t work very well.
Of course, this would take away the fun of doing it on SI—not that SI is setup efficiently to do this sort of thing, but that you two are trying is admirable and innovative.<g>
To make it easier at SI, may I suggest the Mac/PC Chessmaster X000 CD-ROM (currently 5000 for PC; I think the Mac is 4000 but it doesn't really matter). Both of you can have a stored copy of the game, and the program gives you a number of notation options. You can make your moves, and copy/paste the notation. It will provide an easy to follow list format.
Additionally, if your chops are rusty, it allows you to learn all of the important book openings, has some end-game challenges, and style emulations of masters past and present.
There are a lot of chess programs on the market. But they all seem to have a stiff, calculated-by-the-numbers, uniform playing method. The Chessmaster series offers opponents of varying levels and strategies. Or just use it to mark and annotate a game against a real human.
-MrB |
