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Help using this TRCC website and FAQ

Navigation

Q. How do I go back to the home page?
A. Click on the TRCC logo in the top left corner of every page. Show me a picture

Q. How do I sign in?
A. Click on the TRCC member sign in button in the left corner column, just below the logo. Show me a picture

Searching for newsletters

Q. What is the search criteria, how can I find specific news letters?
A. You can enter one or more search terms, the matching results will be case-insensitive. If you are searching for 2 words that must go together, then place those words inside of double quotes. For example, if you type the 2 words club championship without quotes, then any newsletter that has the word club and the word championship will be matched, whereas if you were to type "club championship" instead, then only articles that matched that phrase would be matched. You can also enter partial words, for example, typing the word iran will find both the full word match Iran (remember search words are not case sensitive), as well as the partial word match Iranian. The search results will return exact matches only. So if you type in 4 search words, but no results match all 4, you will not get any results that only match 3 of your search words. Also, it does not try to guess what you mean, so if for example you were to type the word chees instead of chess, it won`t ask you "Did you mean chess?". Instead, if there were any newsletter where word the word cheese was used, that would be matched, as the charcters chees are contained within the word cheese

Uploading my chess games

This is a 2-step process. The first step is entering the game`s moves, and the second step is entering or revising the game`s statistical information.

Step 1

As to step 1, you can upload one of your chess games in PGN format.

What is PGN format?

PGN (which stands for "Portable Game Notation"), is the universal and standardized format for saving and sharing chess games, with virtually all chess software and online programs as well.

For more details about PGN, as well as examples, please see the article in Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_Game_Notation

So as you can see from the above article in Wikipedia, PGN is merely a plain-text recitation of the list of the game moves (e.g. 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Ng4), plus it can also contain information about the game, stored within a handful of square brackets [] before the moves list. Although it is strongly recommended that your PGN contain this additional information, it is not absolutely required, but if you leave it out, then when any program or software reads your PGN, it obviously won`t know the names of the players, their ratings, the result, etc.

Do I have to manually type in the PGN of my game, or is there any free software to help me do it?

Fortunately, you do not have to manually type in the PGN info. Instead, there are several good free PGN editors that you can use right online, without even downloading anything!

There are 2 that I am aware of, but I am sure there are more as well. The first of which I will mention is from the website Caissa.com. Here is the link to that online PGN editor:
1) http://www.caissa.com/chess-tools/pgn-editor.php
Pros:
It is the same foundation that my viewer on this website is based on, it allows drag and drop movement of the pieces, and allows the other special features to be set, and even allows you to preview your PGN beforehand.
Cons:
It does not allow you to save the PGN result to a file, so instead you will have to copy and paste the PGN it creates into this website (i.e. on Step 1 of "Add a Game", paste that PGN information into the "Manual PGN" area).
And secondly it can be a bit confusing at first, as if you want to play your game from the beginning (as is most usually the case), then you gotta know not to move any pieces while it is on its first tab, and instead click on the second tab before you start moving any pieces on the board.

Here is a picture, which should be worth at least a thousand more words: Show me a picture


2) http://www.apronus.com/chess/wbeditor.php
Pros:
It allows you to download the PGN as a file, which you can then use to upload here on Step 1 of "Add a Geme", as well as view the PGN it creates to then manually copy and paste into this website.
It also offers an older version as well (http://www.apronus.com/chess/pgnviewer/), which is very lightweight and works on virtually all browsers, and both versions are overall (in my opinion) a bit more intuitive to use than the one of caissa.com, EXCEPT FOR ONE THING:
Cons:
It does not allow drag and drop movement of the pieces; instead for each move, you must click the starting square, and then click the ending square. So to move pawn to e4, you would have to first click the e2 square, then click on the e4 square. Thus it is more tedious to enter the moves, especially for a long game.
Also, it does not offer any easy insertion of game information (i.e the stuff inside the square brackets), nor any of the special features.

So weighing the pros and cons of each of the above, out of those 2, I would recommend the one on caissa.com.

Also, I understand that for anyone who has a paid membership on chess.com, there is an excellent online PGN editor.

And of couse, they may be more out there, so by all means, do some web searches if you`re not satisfied with the options I just mentioned above.

Are there any tips if I just want to manually type in the PGN of my game?

Yes, first of all make sure to pay close attention to detail. (Remember the old computer adage: "Garbage in equals garbage out")

The statistical information inside the PGN
One easy trick is just to view an existing game on this website (either your own game or one from another TRCC member). When the PGN viewer loads, then click on the button that says "View PGN". That will open a window showing all the PGN for that game, including the game`s statistical information (i.e. the "square bracket" stuff) at the top. You can then just copy and paste that "square bracket stuff" into the Manual PGN area of your Step 1, edit that info to match the game you are about to enter, and then start typing in the list of moves, in the manner how I will describe next.

Typing the moves in proper PGN format
So for starters, be sure to have a period after each move number, and don`t type the moves without a space in between each move.
For example, this is good:
1. e4 e5
But this is bad: (no period after the one)
1 e4 e5
And this is also bad: (no space between the moves)
1. e4e5


However, in contrast, make sure to put all punctuation marks directly behind the move without any spaces.
For example, this is good:
1. e4!!
But this is bad:
1. e4 !!


Also, avoid the 2-letter shortcut for capturing pieces.
For example, avoid writing:
cxd4 as cd
Instead, always write it as cxd4


Comments/annotations
For any comments/annotations that you want to show, place these inside of curly brackets {} after the move where you wish these to show. But be sure to leave a space after the move and before the next move.
For example, this is good:
1. e4 {My favorite opening} e5
But this is bad: (i.e. no space after move)
1. e4{My favorite opening} e5
And this is also bad: (i.e. no space before next move)
1. e4 {My favorite opening}e5

Special features

You can also change 2 other features: 1) flip the orientation of the gameboard when it is viewed, to show the game from black`s perspective (i.e. with black`s name and rating on the bottom); and / or 2) set the list of moves to be hidden on the PGN viewer (i.e. for example, if you want the person to guess the next move before they play it).

To set the orientation to black, use the following code in your PGN:
%Orient=B

And /or to set the move list to hidden, use the following code in your PGN:
%Hidden=1

And you would place these inside your PGN after the square brackets and before your list of moves. For example:
[Event "Skittles"]
[Site "TRCC"]
[Date "2016-11-17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Stan"]
[Black "SteveD"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "800"]
[BlackELO "1500"]

%Orient=B
%Hidden=1

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5

Lastly, I recommend that you try to avoid the use of any double quotes and/or single quotes within your comments / annotations, as doing so will reduce the chances of your PGN information possibly becoming garbled or corrupted later on. I prefer to replace single quotes with the apostrophe symbol (the one just left of the number 1 of your keyboard). I would also recommend avoiding the use of any HTML Ampersand Character Codes, which could also cause problems.

Step 2

This is where you enter the statistical information about the game, such as the name of the event, when and where it was played, the result, etc. This information is important, so that other members (as well as yourself) can quickly identify this game and determine the basic info of this game.

My software will try to determine these details from the PGN you uploaded in Step 1 (assuming if this was available at all within that PGN). But it is very important to check the accuracy of the information, correct any info that is inaccurate, and fill-in any missing details. Although each field may be optional per se, most (if not all) of these fields should be filled in, and filled in with correct, accurate information. (Again, remember the old computer adage: "Garbage in equals garbage out")

Once you have updated the info and click the "Add This Game" button, 2 things happen.

First my software adds (updates) this Step-2 statisical information in the database for this game, and it also updates the square bracket info within the PGN itself, so that the PGN viewer will then display the most accurate information as well.

So do not be hasty or skimp while on Step 2!




Miscellaneous

Q. Can I search for specific chess games?
A. Still in the works, coming soon!

Q. Can I upload more than one chess game at a time?
A. No.

Q. Is there a more complete history of the TRCC that can be posted on this site?
A. Yes, for the "pre-Shosin" eras, I have some info from when I was member of this club from 1997-2001, and from before that when I first joined in 1997, I would also like to add more about the club`s history, such as when Steve Doyle was president. Perhaps I can get those directly from Mr. Doyle. I understand the club membership and participation was then at its all time low shortly after I left in 2001 (i.e. the Rene Brown and Bob Garrison eras). So I expect any additional info for those eras will be scant.

Q. Why does the newsletter archive only go back to the fall of 2016?
A. Because those are the only ones that I have (received by me weekly via emails). I understand other members have many more news letters, and I have asked for those archives, but to date, they have not been provided to me. So if and when I get them, I will add those as well. I would also like to add newsleters from the pre-Shoshin eras, such as those when Steve Doyle was president. Perhaps I can get those directly from Mr. Doyle.

Q. Why are some volumes of past newsletters missing, while some old newsletters have duplicate volume numbers?
A. As to the former, because I did not receive a copy of those via my weekly emails. As to the latter, that was how they were sent out.

Q. Steve D, why are you so smart?
A. Because I drink a lot of beer ... it made Bud wiser



This page is still a work in progress, since there likely will be many changes made after the TRCC members have provided even more of their inputs to my Beta version of this new website.

Please stay tuned, and as always, all TRCC member inputs are always welcomed!


Underdog Steve D`Agostino
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