Peeved With chessgames.com

    I suppose most of the games in this Blog can be found in my database, but for a long time I have downloaded them from chessgames.com. What I really like about the site is that very often you can view the crosstable of the event in which the game was played and there is almost always a brief biography of the players. 

    That’s a lot for free! For $39 a year you can get a whole lot more, but it’s stuff that holds no interest for me, so what the site offers for free is just fine. 

    Maintaining a massive game database, servers, forums, etc., etc. costs money and so I understand the reason for the pop up ads on the site. However, it seems that lately the ads have become more frequent. It’s a bit annoying, but I can live with it. 

     No doubt it has been “operator error” when I “mis-clicked” to close an ad and got sent to the ad’s site..annoying, but it was probably my fault. What has turned me off on the site though is that 2-3 times in the last week or two is that I have gotten that REALLY annoying SCAM message where a voice informs me that my computer is locked.

    This "computer locked" message claims my laptop is locked due to a virus or unusual activity. Of course it’s really a fake tech support scam, not a real message from Microsoft or the security software (in my case, Webroot). 

     If you call the listed number you will reach scammers who try to charge you fees, steal your personal data, or trick you into installing remote-access software. All really nasty stuff! 

    First, do not call the number! Instead, do the “three-finger salute”...press Ctrl + Alt + Delete on your keyboard and click Task Manager. Then select your web browser (like Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Firefox) and click End Task. Then restart your laptop and run your security software just to be safe. 

    To get rid of annoying ads on chessgames.com you have two main options. You can install third party ad blockers or you can pay for a membership. If you don’t want to do either, you can visit chess365. They also offer a ton of services from searching for games and players to improvement courses. A one year subscription is only $20.

    Without a membership you can't  download games. What you can do is highlight the moves then copy and paste them into your chess program. When you save the game you have to fill in the header yourself.