Welcome young squire! Chess can now be played via the Internet! Many sites have made playing over the net very simple and fun. Listed below are some requirements you should have before attempting to play. Also, below are some popular sites where hundreds of people play every day. Grab your cup of Java, sit back, and enjoy the games! Seek knowledge, young apprentice!

Playing Chess over the internet is easy and can be very entertaining. Before you set off to become an Internet Chess guru, you should make sure you have all of the following...

1. A computer - Something faster then a 486.

2. An Internet connection - Something faster then 28.8kbps speed is recommended.

3. A recent version of either Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape 4.0 - You can download a browser at either Microsoft or at Netscape. NOTE: most internet Chess sites are Java based.

4. An interest in the game and the ability to have fun!

Once you have acquired all the things listed above, you are ready to play other people over the Internet.

Now that you have all the required components to play via the net, you need to select a place to play. Listed below are the easiest and most popular places to play on the Internet!

Click me to play!	The Microsoft Internet Gaming Zone. This site is most likely the most enjoyable place to play Chess over the Internet. The competition is fairly challenging, and most of the players I have met are nice people. The site requires you to obtain a free login account and download a small sized plug-in. Once you have your account and plug-in, playing a game is very simple, and it is very addictive.
Yahoo Games. This sub division of Yahoo is most likely the easiest of all places to play Chess over the Internet. All that is required is that you have a Java enabled browser and an account. The service is free and the account is very quick to set up. Yahoo Chess is interesting because you get ranked by the amount of games you win or lose. The ranking system is helpful so you know the difficulty of your opponents. One of my personal favorites is Yahoo Chess!	Click me to play!
Click me to play!	The Internet Chess Club (more commonly known as the ICC) is one of the most serious and skilled clubs on the net. With over 70,000 games played per day, it is very competitive. Competing you will find that the ICC has six International Grand Masters. A seven-day free trial is available. After your trial is up, you can continue your account with a monthly fee. This club is intended for serious players only.
iChess is a fun and simple way to play games over the net. All that is required is a quick sign up along with a Java Browser. It is pretty straight forward and fun. I have met some very good opponents over iChess. It is a median between Gaming Zone and Yahoo Games.	Click me to play!
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