More ways into a game
Bringing FICS play, live observation, chat, and screenshot positions into Ironwood's local analysis workspace.
A game worth studying can begin in several places: across the board from an engine, against someone online, while watching a live match, or in a position captured in a screenshot. Ironwood now brings those starting points into the same workspace, with local Stockfish analysis available for the review that follows.
Playing and watching on FICS
Online play connects Ironwood to the Free Internet Chess Server. You can enter as a guest or sign in with an existing FICS account, browse available games, seek an unrated opponent with a chosen time control, or challenge a particular player. The server supplies the live position and clocks. When your game finishes, its moves are saved on this device for later study.
Watching has its own workflow. Up to 10 games can be open in observation tabs at once, so following several games does not mean repeatedly finding them in the running-game list. The Available games and Observe a game menus have more space and scrollable lists to make choosing a game easier. Once an observed game finishes, you can run full-game analysis and revisit its decisions and turning points.
Conversations beside the board
The FICS console opens when a connection is established. It remains the place for commands and server replies, while player conversations and channel messages have separate tabs. Each conversation keeps its own draft, and unread counts make new messages visible without taking you away from the current tab.
Chat and console text use the same monospace font. This keeps the communication window consistent while giving each conversation its own place. Chats are kept for the session, and sending messages remains subject to FICS account and channel permissions.
Starting from a position
Local games can now begin with a random Chess960 arrangement or a custom FEN as well as the standard starting position. A visual editor lets you place pieces and review the side to move, castling rights, and other details before starting. In Chess960, castling is entered by moving the king onto its rook.
The editor also accepts a board screenshot through upload, paste, or drag and drop. Recognition happens on the device and gives you an editable position. A close crop helps, but checking the result is part of the process: confirm the pieces and orientation, then supply game-state details that a board image cannot reliably establish. Manual corrections remain available before the position is used.
A broader identity for Ironwood
The home page now leads with “Your board. Your way.” and the new gold knight logo. The same identity carries into the About window and app icons, with smaller compressed images where appropriate.
That presentation leaves room for Ironwood to grow. The current engine is Stockfish 19, and the current online service is FICS. Additional engines and online services are possibilities for the future, rather than features of this build.
Local ownership still has a clear boundary. Engine analysis, screenshot processing, and the saved-game library stay on the device. Online play and chat communicate with FICS and need a connection. You can move from those online games into local review without turning analysis into a remote service.