Frequently Asked Questions

What is PowChess?

PowChess is a chess platform where you can play against other players for money. You can play casual games, rated games, and paid games. In addition, you can participate in tournaments and play Arcade games.

How can I earn money by playing chess?

You can earn money by paid games and Arcade games. You can find more information about this in the sections Paid Games and Arcade Games.

In addition, you can earn money with Activity Points. Our most active players are rewarded with a share of the fees that are generated on PowChess.

Sometimes we organize arena tournaments where you can win money or other prizes. More information can be found in the section Arena.

What is the difference between casual games and rated games?

In casual games, your rating is not affected. You can play as many casual games as you want.In rated games, your rating is affected. Your rating is calculated based on the Glicko-2 rating system.

What is Stake Game?

In a Stake game, each player deposits the same amount of money at the beginning of the game. The one who wins the game gets all the money, minus our fees of 3.5%.

If the game ends in a draw, the money is divided equally between the two players.

What is Donation Game?

In a donation game, only the person who starts the game deposits money. No matter how the game ends, the second player always gets paid the full amount at the end of the game.

Donation mode is meant for paying other players to play against you.

In some cases, the money can be returned to the first player if the second player does not meet certain criteria.

What happens if the payment is not successful?

The deposit of the money is always executed when both players have made their first move in the game. This happens automatically in the background.

If the deposit is unsuccessful for one of the two players, the game will be cancelled immediately and the entire amount will be refunded.

In what cases is the deposited money refunded in Donation Games?

If the opponent you donated the money to simply lets his time run out without having played at least 18 moves, the money will be returned to you.

To make sure that the player really plays against you, he cannot resign in the first 20 moves of Donation Games.

What are Activity Points?

Activity Points (AP) are virtual points that you can earn by playing on PowChess. If you are among the top 100 players with the most AP, you can even earn money.

How do I earn Activity Points?

Whenever you play against another registered player and/or spend money in a game, you get Activity Points (AP). You can earn

• 1 AP in casual games
• 2 AP in rated games
• 3-48 AP in paid games depending on how much money is at stake.
• 3 AP in 'nano' Arcade games
• 4 AP in 'micro' Arcade games
• 7 AP in 'macro' Arcade games
• 12 AP in 'mega' Arcade games
• 48 AP in 'high roller' Arcade games

What are the requirements to earn Activity Points?

• You have to be logged in with your own account.
• You have to play a game that is longer than 20 moves.
• In games with less than 20 moves, you only get Activity Points if the game ended with checkmate or stalemate.
• Lightning games are generally excluded from Activity Points.
• In Arcade games, you always get Activity Points once you have paid.

Do Activity Points expire?

Yes. Activity Points expire after 30 days. You have to continuously earn Activity Points to stay on the leaderboard.

How can I earn money?

To earn money with Activity Points (AP) you have to fulfill the following requirements:

• You PowChess account your account must be connected to HandCash. If this is not the case, you can do it here.
• Earn enough AP to get in the top 100 on the Activity Leaderboard.

What if I always play against the same player?

There is a limit of 5 games that you can play against the same player per day that count towards Activity Points. All further games will not count towards Activity Points (this does not apply to Arcade games).

Can I play against myself with two different accounts?

According to our Terms of Service, it is forbidden to open more than one user account. If we discover this, you may be forced to repay any money you have earned in the last 3 months.

Can I sell my Activity Points?

You are not able to sell and trade your Activity Points. They are tied to your account.

What are arena tournaments?

The Arena is a place where you can play against other players and compete for money and various items.

How do I join an arena tournament?

You can join an arena tournament by clicking on the 'Join' button on the arena page. You can find all open or running arenas on the homepage under 'Open challenges'.

Some arenas have requirements that you must meet before you can join. For example, you must have a certain number of games played or a certain rating. There are also private arenas that you can only join if you have the password.

How do I create an arena tournament?

You can create an arena tournament here. Currently, this feature is not available to regular users. If you want to organize an arena tournament, please contact us at info@powchess.com or on our Discord server.

Are games in the arena rated?

Yes, all games in the arena are rated.

How does the ranking work?

At the beginning, all players are ranked based on their rating on PowChess. After each game, the players receive points based on the outcome of the game. The players are ranked based on the points they have earned during the tournament.

How are points calculated?

• Win: 2 points
• Draw: 1 point
• Loss: 0 points

If you win two games in a row, your points will be doubled until you lose or draw a game.

If Berserk is enabled, you will receive 1 additional point for a win.

What is Berserk?

If Berserk mode is enabled in the arena, you can choose to activate it at the beginning of the game. If you do so, you will play with half the time on the clock. If you win the game, you will receive 1 additional point.

You have to play at least 7 moves to get the additional point.

How can I earn money?

First, your account must be connected to Haste. If this is not the case, you can do it here.

As soon as you land on one of the Leaderboards of MateStorm, Streak64 or MoveChain, you will receive part of the fee every time someone plays MoveChain. You can find the exact distribution here.

In addition, you will also receive Activity Points, through which you can also earn money on the Activity Leaderboard.

Why do you use the Haste Arcade platform?

The Haste Arcade consists of a great community around the idea of 'instant leaderboards payouts'. Since we want to use the possibilities of micropayments on PowChess so that as many players as possible have the chance to profit from their skills, the Haste Arcade is the perfect platform.

What is the goal of MateStorm?

You have to find as many checkmates as you can in 2 minutes. One mate equals one point, and the players with the most points end up on the leaderboards where they earn money.

What is the goal of Streak64?

You have to find combinations ('streaks') to capture all the pieces on the board. If you solve one puzzle, you get one point, and the players with the most points end up on the leaderboards where they earn money.

What happens when I reach level 63?

Once level 63 is reached, the level will not change, and you will play at level 63 until you have no more lives left.

What is the goal of MoveChain?

You have to make as many moves as possible and still win the game against the bot.

What is the maximum number of moves that can be made in a game of chess?

As long as the 50-move rule is applied, the theoretical maximum number of moves in a game of chess is 5898.5. See here for more detailed information.