Chess notation program?

Question

I want to play chess by email, but I only own one set, so I don't want to leave it set up as the game progresses. What I'd love is to be able to print out a board with the pieces depicted on it in the proper position, like people used to do with printed board pages and rubber stamps.

Or maybe someone knows where I could get one of those old rubber stamp sets?

Answer 1

There are many options. If you have almost any chess program it will let you save and reload various games, most let you print out the position. THere are also free programs. Check out some of these:
http://www.chessclub.com/chessviewer/pgnform.html
http://www.64funsolutions.ca/chessdiagram/
http://www.zenpawn.com/fen_reader/form.php
http://www.chessville.com/downloads/misc_downloads.htm

Answer 2

Simply Google search "free e-mail chess" and it will give you several sites that allow you to play for free with a friend via e-mail.

Other options:

Here is a way I do it using small and capital letters and dashes:

Capital letters refer to white pieces. Small letters refer to black pieces. Dashes represent empty squares.

K = king
Q = queen
B = bishop
N = knight
R = rook
P = pawn

Here's how the starting position would look using my method.

r n b q k b n r
p p p p p p p p
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - -
P P P P P P P P
R N B Q K B N R

(edit) : Well, unfortunately, after posting this diagram it didn't retain the correct alignment. But it would retain it using your Microsoft Word program.

It may be a poor man's way of recording positions, but it worked for me until I bought Chessmaster.

Another alternative that I did was to use Microsoft Paint and create my own board and pieces which could then be "cut and pasted" into whatever positions I wanted. I would simply draw a pawn on a dark square and save that as a file. Then do the same for a pawn on a light square. I also saved in this manner an empty light and an empty dark square. Then I drew and saved all pieces this way. Then from all those files I cut and pasted a 'beginning position' board as a file. That way I was ready to go just by loading that one file to start. To move a piece during a game, I'd simply cut and paste an empty square to the place where the piece moved from, then cut and paste that piece to it's destination square. So, in a sense, I used Microsoft Paint to create my own virtual chess "stamp set".

Another option is you can purchase a magnetic (flat peices with pictures stamped on them) sets at a dollar store very cheap. Then, simply take a digital photo of your new positions as you play and send it as an attatchment in your e-mails.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I agree any chess program will do. Don't use it to analyze, etc. just keep records.

To his list I'll add winboard.
http://www.tim-mann.org/xboard.html
Winboard is the interface for things like gnuchess.

If you'd rather use a font
http://www.enpassant.dk/chess/fonteng.htm

If you want my old chess by mail thing. (Kinda like colorform pieces on a chess board backgroud next to a hand written score.)

Oops hope you get this after I edit.:) See my profile and contact me. You pay transportation costs.