3.7 Downloading games from ICC and FICS
It is possible to download games in the history of anyone on the Internet Chess Club (ICC) or the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) to a database. The procedure is very similar for the two sites, although there are some minor differences.Downloading games from ICC
First, you must configure ChessDB to use the ICC server (usually chessclub.com, but you can use queen.chessclub.com too). ChessDB also needs to know your username and password on ICC in order that it can connect. Note you must use a full paid for ICC account - you can not use a trial account, as trial accounts only allow you to connect from ICC's own software (Blitzin or Dasher), but not programs like ChessDB.It is a good idea to add an exclam (!) in front of your username, so you log on anonymously. Then, anyone who has you on their notify list is not told
foobar has arrived
foobar has departed
every time the user foobar logs in.
Then enter a list of usernames from where you want the games downloaded. The PGN representation of the game is displayed on the screen and the games imported directly into the database.
It is very useful to find games played by opponents you might meet in a competition, as you can find out the openings they play and find their weaknesses and strengths.
Once the games have been downloaded, they can be seen in the game list of course. Here is part of the game list,
showing just a few of the 40 games downloaded (20 from boffman's history and 20 from dougmo's history).
Using FICS
The procedure for FICS is very similar to that for ICC. On FICS it would be best to use a guest account, so whost notify list you may be on, is made aware each time ChessDB connects.
If you would like to contribute to the tutorial or see anything that should be updated, corrected or improved, please contact David Kirkby. But please note David only speaks English.
Website administered by Dr. David Kirkby
This page was last modified: September 16, 2007. 10:41:39 am GMT