Getting Started

ChesseR Desktop
Game Buttons

ChesseR Online
 To play a game of chess there are a few things you need to do first.
This part of the help system will guide you through setting up ChesseR,
sending and retrieving you first chess moves.

Enter your email settings
Enter a Foe into the list
Start a new game.
Make your chess move
Send your move to your foe
Get your foe's move


 Enter your email settings
From the lower right hand side of the ChesseR desktop click the setup button.

There are two basic ways to setup ChesseR.

The first is if you have a non POP3 email account or you receive your email via an online service.
Using this model you would have to cut and paste your chess moves from your email viewer into the ChesseR program.
In this case the only information you need to enter into the setup window is your email address and your chess handle.

The second is if you are going to use ChesseR to connect directly to your POP3 email server.
This setup is more involved but makes sending and receiving chess very simple.
Click this link for detailed information on configuring ChesseR.

 Enter a Foe into the list
From the upper left hand side of the ChesseR desktop click the Foe List button.

The word Foe is used in ChesseR to describe your opponents that you play chess with.

Click the Add button to popup the Foe Editor.
In the provided edit boxes enter the name and email address of your foe.
Then click the Save button.
This will take you back to the Foe List window. From this window click the Save button..

 Start a new game
From the upper left hand side of the ChesseR desktop click the Games button. Three new buttons will appear.

Click the New button to open the New Game window.
In the provided edit box enter the name you would like to call this match.
From the foe pull down menu select a foe you would like to play chess with. You should see the name of the foe you entered during the guide above. If there are no foes listed click the Add Foe button.
Once you have selected a foe for this match click the Save button.
The New Game window will close and you will be taken back to the ChesseR desktop ready to make your first move.


 Make your chess move

The person that creates the games goes first. Your chess piece's are always on the bottom of the board. If you move the mouse cursor over the chess piece's you can see the tails for all legal moves for that piece.
To make a move click the left mouse button and drag the piece to the location you want to move it. If you dropped the piece on a legal square your move will be completed. If the piece returns to it's original location then the square you tried to drop it on is not a legal move.
That's it, you have made your first move.
You can undo your move by clicking the Undo button.
The undo button is available only until you send your move.
You can not undo a move after you have send to your foe.


 Send your move to your foe
From the lower left hand side of the ChesseR desktop click the Send Move button.

A Window will be displayed that has three tabs at the top of the window in this order:
Status
This is used to display information about your move progress.
Message
Click this tab to send a message to your foe along with you move.
Message History
Click this tab to see the entire message history of your chess match.

There are two buttons the the right hand side of the window. Which one you click depends on how you have ChesseR configured.
As mentioned in the "Enter your email settings" section at the top of this page there are two ways of sending moves.
Sending instructions for both follow.

Non POP3 configuration
With this configuration you will be sending your move manually with your email client.

In this case click the Clipboard button and your move will be sent to the Windows Clipboard. In other words if you open your email client now and start a new message, then click the Paste button your chess move will be pasted into you email message. Most email clients have the paste function under the Edit menu.
Note: If you copy anything to the clipboard after making a move but before pasting into your email the move will be lost. Just click the Clipboard button again to fill the clipboard.

POP3 configuration
This configuration is much more simple.
Click the Email button to send your move to your mailbox.
That's it, your done.

 Get your foe's move
From the upper right hand side of the ChesseR desktop click the Get Move button.

AWindow will be displayed that has three tabs at the top of the window in this order:
Status
This is used to display information about your move progress.
Message
Click this tab to send a message to your foe along with you move.
Message History
Click this tab to see the entire message history of your chess match.

There are two buttons the the right hand side of the window. Which one you click depends on how you have ChesseR configured.
As mentioned in the "Enter your email settings" section at the top of this page there are two ways of receiving moves.
Sending instructions for both follow.

Non POP3 configuration
With this configuration you will be receiving your move manually with your email client.

In this case select all the text in the body of your email message and select copy with your email client.
Most email clients have the copy function under the Edit menu.

From ChesseR click the Clipboard button and your foe's move will be performed.

POP3 configuration
This configuration is much more simple.
Click the Email button to receive your foe's move from your mailbox.
That's it, your done.