Challenges

You can start a game by sending a challenge to a particular player or by accepting a challenge from someone else. A challenge can be accepted or declined. If you want to accept a challenge but the game details (time control etc.) are not to your liking you can edit the game details and return the challenge to your opponent.

Sending Challenges

Note: Sending challenges is only available with premium accounts.

Click on the 'New Game' link in the navigation bar. Select 'Challenge a particular player' in the 'Invitation Type' selector. A box will apear where you can type the name of the player you want to challenge. As you begin to type, the available matching player names appear in a drop-down list. This is simply an aid in finding the correct spelling of the name you're looking for. If you see the name you want, simply click on it to complete the name in the box. Otherwise simply type the full user name. Now fill in the remaining game details and click 'Post Game Invitation'.
You can also send a challenge by clicking the 'Challenge' link in any of the player lists or on a player's profile page. Clicking this link takes you to the new game page (as described above) with the player's name already filled in. You can then specify the other details of the game before submitting the challenge.

Accepting, Declining, and Editing Challenges

If you receive a challenge a notification appears on the 'Your Games' page. You may also receive an email notification (depending on your settings). A red number also appears next to the 'Pending Games' link indicating how many challenges are waiting for your response. Click the 'View' link or the 'Pending Games' link to view all your challenges.
The 'Pending Games' page shows all your current game invitations, challenges sent and challenges received. You can cancel any of the games or challenges you have posted by clicking the 'Cancel' link. On this page you can also respond to challenges received from other players. There are three ways to respond to a challenge:

• Accept the challenge by clicking the 'Play' link. The game will begin immediately.
• Decline the challenge by clicking 'Decline'. You will be prompted to enter a reason for declining. This is optional but it you enter a reason, your opponent will be able to read it.
• Edit the challenge by clicking 'Edit' (see below).

If you are prepared to accept a challenge but you prefer a different time control (or other game details) you can click 'Edit' (above) and modify the parameters. You can change the game type (Chess or FRC), number of games, colour, time control, and whether the game is rated. You can then click 'Send back to opponent' to send the challenge back to the person who challenged you.