Login now


From this page it is possible to log into FICS. There are two main FICS servers, one in the Oklahoma City, OK, USA and one in Aarhus, Denmark. The US FICS (termed 'AFICS') is the main site and the most active free internet chess server in the world. The European one (termed 'EICS') is smaller, but active during the European day.

Both servers cover for each other during downtime and admins will usually be at the other server to let users know when service is restored. Sometimes only some users may be affected if there is a problem with the internet.

The best way to connect to FICS is by downlading a graphical interface. You can get one from clicking on Download. Once you have installed it, you can select freechess.org 5000 (fics.onenet.net 5000) to log into FICS.
This page allows to connect to FICS with telnet, clicking on the first flag below. Telnet isn't very well supported on many platforms and you will not have any graphics.
You can also connect to EICS clicking on the second flag. EICS is usually active during european day time, but there will only be a few players on most of the time, while FICS has between 100 and 400 players online.

The main american FICS
The main european FICS

NOTE: If you get an error when clicking on one of the flags above telling you that the telnet application could not be found, then this can be fixed by telling your browser where the telnet-program is located on your computer. On a Win95/98/NT machine, you should specify under preferences::applications that the the telnet application is c:\windows\telnet.exe.

Eventually it will be possible to use the server with a Java Interface. This is currently under construction.

There are other FICS' around the world which you can access from here.