Getting Started in the Internet League (Historical)

NOTE:  THIS IS AN ARCHIVAL PAGE OF PROCEDURES FROM THE 2006 OHSCTA EXPERIMENTAL INTERNET LEAGUE.  IT IS CURRENTLY INACTIVE – JCD 3-15-2018
PROCEDURES FOR GETTING STARTED
IN THE INTERNET LEAGUE
STEP 1:
Contact Kate Taylor katetaylor@clatskanie.com and ask for information about the league.
STEP 2:
Visit FICS www.freechess.org and download chess interface software. Some schools use “babaschess” (very user friendly) www.babaschess.net  or “Jin” (similar to ICC), visit www.jinchess.com .
STEP 3:
Register each member of your team with the FICS administrator, Jeanie (contact Kate for her email address or go to FICS and send a message to “chessty”).  Jeanie will need each player’s name and handle. Something like this:
ClatskanieA = Kate Taylor (coach)
ClatskanieB = Blake Salisbury (player)
ClatskanieC = Michael Taylor  (player)
Once players are entered you will receive their information and passwords from Jeanie.
STEP 4:
Register your team with the league Internet League Team Registration.
STEP 5:
A few days or weeks before the first match, visit the following webpages and review the information with all of your players:
Coaches are responsible for their player’s conduct on FICS.  No one should sign onto FICS without first knowing the rules of conduct.  Failure to follow these rules may result in the entire team being blocked.  This step is VERY IMPORTANT!   It is imperative that coaches log onto FICS and read the rules of conduct and learn how everything works before turning their students loose!
STEP 6:
When your players are ready, have them sign on to FICS and play a few games.  You may find the following commands helpful in Jin:
  • set shout off (that’s a zero) – This will turn off the conversations and people asking for  help.
  • inchannel – This will tell you which channels you are currently in.
  • +ch 101 – Adds channel 101 to your channel list.
  • -ch 1 – This will remove you from the chatter on channel 1.  (Students should exit all channels, except 101.)
  • set autoflag on – This command is required when playing a league game.  It turns on the autoflag so games do not go longer than agreed.
  • +notify (type handle here) – Players should add their opponents to their notify list so they’ll know when they arrive.  Coaches should add ‘twinders’ and ‘klassact’ to their notify list.  These are our administrators for the FICS league.
  • set seek off – This turns off all seek ads.
  • password old password newpassword – This will change your password.  Students should tell their coaches what their passwords are so they can keep track.
  • finger teamchess – This will give you information about the teamchess league.
  • match opponent handle – This command allows you to set up the match between you and your opponent.
  • tell handle – This is how you communicate with people directly.  Be very careful of this feature.  If you need to communicate with your team captain, you should do so only to ask if you should accept a draw offer.  Players are not allowed to ask for any other advice or comment on any other game.  Players who use the tell or shout feature to offer advice or who offer advice in person will immediately forfeit their game.
STEP 7:
You will receive an email inviting you to join the Oregon Internet Chess League yahoogroups email list.  Respond to this email and sign up as a member. If, for some reason, you do not receive the invitation, you can join manually by sending a message to:  InternetChessLeague-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
STEP 8:
15 minutes prior to the beginning of the match, sign onto FICS and send a message to the coach of the opposing team  that you are ready to play.
STEP 9:
Games will begin within 15 minutes of the round start time.  Any games not started by that time (except for computer problems) will be forfeited.
The team listed first on the pairings sheet will be White on board 1, black on board 2, etc.  This team will initiate the games with their opposing team.  To set up a match, type:
match clatskanie_ W  45 0 lakeview_
As an example:  clatskanieB would play W in a G45 with 0 increasement against LakeviewB
Team Captains can “observe” or “follow” the games of their team mates.  But the only advice they can give is whether or not to offer or accept a draw.
STEP 10:
At the end of the round, both teams must email results to the League Director. To use the form available on the OHSCTA website, go to:  Internet League Results Form