Online chess

In 1992, the Internet Chess Server facilitated live online play via telnet, and inspired several other telnet-based systems around the world.

Web-based platforms became popular in the 2010s and grew considerably amid the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside a trend of livestreaming chess.

In 1992, Michael Moore and Richard Nash developed the American Internet Chess Server (ICS), which allowed users to connect via telnet.

Frustrated former users and developers began improving the older code to launch the Free Internet Chess Server.

[11][10] Grandmaster Maurice Ashley said "A boom is taking place in chess like we have never seen maybe since the Bobby Fischer days," attributing the growth to an increased desire to do something constructive during the pandemic.

[12] USCF Women's Program Director Jennifer Shahade stated that chess works well on the Internet, since pieces do not need to be reset and matchmaking is virtually instant.

This is usually achieved by using a chess engine to get the best moves in a given position, though it can take other forms including sandbagging and rating manipulation.

[19] Chess.com stated in August 2020 that they were closing roughly 500 accounts each day due to cheating, some of whom were Grandmasters and titled players.

[20] These were played on websites like Chess.com and chess24, but enforced additional rules on webcam usage and screen sharing in order to prevent cheating.