ChessBase Support

The multiboard on playchess.com

Answer

On playchess.com you can comfortably follow several games at the same time by using the Multiboard function. This description refers to the Windows client software for the chess server. The function is activated in the list window which displays the games which are being played at that point, not in the player window. So, if you would like to use Multiboard, first click on the Games tab and highlight the games you would like to watch on the various boards.

Right click – Watch loads the games into the Multiboard.

Watching several boards at the same time makes high demands on the user’s chess understanding in particular when the games have short thinking times. The Windows client offers support and help regarding positions for this.

The position tutor highlights critical moments in the game with short text comments. This useful function is activated by a right click in the notation window followed by choosing “Show Position Tutor”.

Another helpful display is a display of the material balance, which can also be activated from the context menu in the notation window. Show material does not simply display the pieces which have been taken, but rather shows the different distribution for both sides.

The screenshot shows an example of the display of the material balance. Black has a knight compared to White’s pawn and thus has an advantage in material. Of course, this tells us nothing about the specific position, but it is a further quick piece of guidance for anyone kibitzing on several boards.

Ctrl-K allows you to switch an engine as a kibitzer. The engine you have selected calculates away industriously on the position on the board and displays its evaluation of the said position. If you change games to another one of the boards, the engine calculates away merrily without you having to restart it.

With this method the chess engine you have activated helps with the evaluation of the various board positions and games.

When navigating within the multiboard setup there are some useful shortcuts. It is somewhat difficult to get a good view of several boards on smaller monitors. The Tab-key allows you to rapidly switch between games in a large and clearer board window. The F6-key changes the view from that with several individual boards to the larger board window.

Access to the browser

The multiboard display also works whenever you access the chess server via a browser. The procedure is to a large extent identical.

After login first start the games list and highlight the games you would like to watch on the multiboards. You do this by pressing on the mouse button and clicking.

A click on “Watch” loads the games into the multiboard setup.

Here too you can navigate between the individual games by mouse click and at the same time start an engine running in the background!

The browser version automatically offers the previously described information from the Position Tutor and the automatic display of the material balance at the bottom of the notation. Via the toolbar which can be found at the top of the screen, the user can switch off boards and directly access important context-related functions.

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