Red Hot Pawn Online Chess Reviews 

An excellent correspondence chess site which I’ve been playing at for many years and have made many acquaintances including good friends from around the world. Site owner is highly engaged with the community and frequently delivering site upgrades and improvements.

The owner said he would give me $20 for a 5 star review... Ok I'm joking. it was only $10, cheapskate.

On a serious note it's a good chess website which has evolved throughout the years. Certainly worth the $40 odd to subscribe for a year but also get 12 games for free if you want. Good variety of tournaments and clubs playing their own mini tournaments.

Simply the best site for correspondence chess.

I’ve enjoyed playing chess on Red Hot Pawn for the past ten years. I like the design of the site, what it has to offer and how it is managed. In addition to tournaments and games I also like the occasional chat with players on one of the many forums.

Red Hot Pawn went online in February, 2001.

It's primary feature is correspondence chess, with opponents from the international community.
You can play from your computer or a variety of other devices including smart phones, tablets, etc.
You can control the types of games you prefer to play, and can select a variety of time controls. You can also play chess variants.
Your completed games remain available for review or can be downloaded using your email account.
You can customize a large variety of settings and features to make your experience more enjoyable.

In addition to correspondence chess, a 'live game' option is being developed.

You can communicate with your opponents while playing by using an 'in-game' messaging feature, or you can send and receive private messages with any member at any time.

There is a good forum feature that is very active, with a variety of forum topics.

Membership is free, but be aware that the free version does not include all of the features that are available on the site.
Subscribers are allowed to play in a large variety of tournaments, create or join clans, create clubs, use the 'vacation' feature, and play an unlimited number of games simulataneously.

I would suggest that you start with a free account, then spend some time (several days) exploring around on the site, read the help and FAQ pages, check the variety of forums, and use the 'help' forum if you have questions. Get a few games going and continue to browse around the whole site.

The site is available 24/7, and since it has members from around the world, people are coming and going at all times. I have been here since RHP went online in 2001, and I have rarely seen a time when the site was down. All problems or bugs are usually addressed quickly.

I have probably missed a few things that I should have included in this review, but I really think if you join up and give it an honest try, you will enjoy your Red Hot Pawn experience!

mwmiller

I joined the site about 12 years ago. There is free access to people with an Internet browser; ad-free version and some extra features are available for a yearly subscription. The browser version is clunky to use on a smart phone, but an update is promised, and a separate app is available for free for smart phones and tablets which works well. The user interface is much better on large-screen computers. No chess set is required; the UI provides customizable visual options for board and pieces, and a separate "analysis board" function allows a player to move pieces all around the board during a running game without committing a move (very useful feature). Games can be played either live or with various time limits. A setting can be activated to notify a player by email that an opponent has moved. Players are given a provisional rating, which is automatically adjusted as more games are played (the rating applies only to other players at the site and is not readily convertible to FIDE or USCF ratings). There are features for beginners to learn the rules, as well as for advanced players to learn strategy; there is a collection of master games to study, and a section where RHP players can upload and annotate their own games. Numerous chess variants are available, including Fischer Chess960. Tournaments are offered frequently in various rating bands, for individuals, teams, or clans (a feature apparently unique to RHP). The use of chess books, published journals, and online databases of previous games is allowed; chess engines are not allowed. There are forums for members to post opinions and engage in discussions with other players (dominated by English speakers, although the site has members from all over the world). Site admin is very responsive to requests for features and addressing issues relating to functionality. I'm giving the site 4 stars, knocking off one star where there is room for improvement: more vigorous forum moderation, and more vigorous policing of engine users.

Very easy to use interface and a large community so there will always be chess games available. The forums are much clearer and easier to navigate than most sites I've been to

A great site to play chess and improve my game. I prefer this form of chess where I can take my time to consider, and hopefully find, the best move. - Site always seems to be developing and listening to its users.

I joined RHP in the summer of 2005. It's also known as dailychess.com and was formerly known as playtheimmortalgame.com. I love chess and really enjoy this website. I've played over 600 games so far. I've made friends & acquaintances from all over the world.