Fortress Chess - Change Log

v1.26.25 - July 27, 2025

• Captured pieces bug fix.

v1.25.25 - July 25, 2025

• Fixed a bug where piece captures would sometimes not showing up correctly without a reload of the game screen.
• Fixed some achievements that were not able to be unlocked properly.
• Now added the time control to the direct game invite so a user can determine if they want to play that time control before selecting accept.

v1.24.25 - July 20, 2025

• Bug fixes.
• Added a head-to-head stats feature where you can see how many times you have played an oppenent.
• To prevent abusing AI players for stats, a game that is an AI's turn will not time out, but will instead cancel. All AI oppoenents will make a move while you have the game open within approximately 5 seconds.

v1.23.25 - July 19, 2025

• Implemented new AI player system. You can now play stockfish at various levels (level 1-10 difficulties). These are seperate AI players that will retain stats and function like a real person.

v1.22.25 - July 18, 2025

• Based on player feedback, improved the visuals of the leaderboard page.
• Based on player feedback, when a move is made and move confirmation is enabled, the piece will stay in place until the move is locked in.
• The leaderboard now displays the overall 100 players as well as all the 100 of each class.

v1.21.25 - July 16, 2025

• Fixed a bug where players that select to be paired with the same class will still pair with players searching for any class, so long as they are actually the same class.

v1.20.25 - July 13, 2025

• Defaulted email move notifications off. Users still have the option to enable this feature, but in order to be respectful of email volume it is off by default.
• Added a new feature (in place of the setting above) where if a game is 6 hours or less from timing out, an email reminder will be sent. This is on by default, but users can also opt out by disabling this feature within their settings.

v1.19.25 - July 12, 2025

• Implemented move confirmation setting. A player can now choose to have move confirmation made prior to the move actually being made if they so choose.
• Fixed a bug where not all settings were showing confirmation of saving changes.
• Improved visuals for some pop up messages.

v1.18.25 - July 6, 2025

• Achievements page now shows the number of times other players have earned those for comparison.
• Player icon on menu bar and on profile card is based on the following: under 100 games played = pawn, over 100 = knight, over 200 = bishop, over 300 = rook, over 400 = queen, over 500 games completed = king.
• Added a link to share with others in the user profile section to play on Fortress Chess.

v1.17.25 - July 4, 2025

• Bug fixes
• Captured pieces are now stacked on top of each other to compare the captures more easily.
• Requests for draw offers and move take backs now present in a cleaner request box that allows a user to still see the board so that they can make an informed decision.
• Added a page that lists what achievements are currently able to be earned.
• Players will become inactive after 3 years of either no login or games played. Inactive players are removed from the leaderboards but will become active just by logging in and will return to the leaderboards.

v1.16.25 - July 1, 2025

• Added a delay in sending the PGN to prevent multiple requests.
• Fixed a bug where captured pieces were not showing all the time correctly.
• Improved chat filtering.
• Achievements are now listed in order of date achieved to improve how they are viewed by a player.
• Fixed a bug that was impacting some of the opening achievements from unlocking because of variations.
• Games that are actively "Your Move" now sort in order of time remaining to help a player easily see which games will time out soonest.
• Improved the visuals of the game card layout on the dashboard.

v1.15.25 - June 29, 2025

• The achievements to play X games now only counts paired games and not pending games to earn the achievement based on pending or cancelled games.
• Significantly more achievements added, primarily opening related. This now brings the count to over 100, that only the chess fanatic would be able to achieve!
• Added even more to the stats page so that users can see more data about their games.

v1.14.25 - June 28, 2025

• Created a game details button in the options menu and provided info in there. Moved the ECO from the main game page to the button.

v1.13.25 - June 27, 2025

• Usernames are now limited to 18 characters.
• Centralized time on server side to run off Pacific Time. There was an issue where after a server reboot games might time out when the system came back online due to different timezones.
• Implemented an ECO system so that players can see the opening that they are playing

v1.12.25 - June 26, 2025

• Fixed a bug with the Draw by three-fold repetition achievment which now properly unlocks.
• Minor general improvements.
• Daily Summary Email now only counts paired games as active rather than including open games that have not been matched yet.
• Added even more stats to the Daily Summary Email.
• Completed games are now ordered by date of completion.

v1.11.25 - June 24, 2025

• Moved the back button on the game screen to the bottom for better layout and space utilization.

v1.10.25 - June 22, 2025

• Last move now updates along with the turn indicator.
• Fixed a bug with the resign button preventing users from terminating a game.
• Updated the daily summary so that cancelled games do not count toward total games played.
• Updated the material counter. The count was correct, but the advantage of + or - was not correctly tied to the board orientation.

v1.09.25 - June 21, 2025

• Push notifications now go out at 6 hours before timeout in order to remind players to make a move.
• Daily Summary Email now batches from the server in order to ease resources as the player base grows.
• The menu can now be swiped close and stays locked in place when scrolling.
• Fixed an issue where material count was not adding up correctly for captured pieces.
• Added last move to the game screen so it's easy to identify the last move made at a glance.
• For users who have not choosen a country, made N/A appear rather than a broken image icon.
• Users who have not validated their email will not show up in a friends search.
• Fixed a bug in the daily summary email calculations.
• Updated pending games so that if a user extends a direct invite, it now shows "Waiting for X" to help determine what game is what if multiple invites are pending.
• For Games that timeout, if neither side has moved, no ELO or win/loss stats will update. At least 1 player must move in order to trigger stat updates.

v1.08.25 - June 20, 2025

• Preparation for deployment of the official Android application.
• Created a privacy policy: https://www.fortress-serv.com/privacy.html
• Added the ability to view your password at login for user confirmation.
• Added more detail to the About Fortress Chess page.
• Push notifications are now issued for game pairing and not just when it is a players turn.
• Improved the layout of the options button.
• Improved the look of many pages that were basic html and small.

v1.07.25 - June 19, 2025

• Fixed an issue with inviting a friend where it would not property show the inviter name.
• Fixed a bug with captured pieces not displaying correctly.
• Fixed a bug where a user could resign after a game ended.
• Updated the database to support emojis in chat.
• Greatly improved the stats sent to a user if they choose to have the daily email summary sent to them.
• Fixed an issue where the board will auto resize to fit a users mobile device to prevent side to side scrolling to view the board.

v1.06.25 - June 18, 2025

• Added a copy button to the share a link option to publically view a game to make it easier.
• Removed the chat and options buttons from public links that are created to share with other people.
• Fixed a bug with how favorites were displaying some incorrect information.
• Created a game summary that will appear at the top of the game board once a game has been completed.
• Fixed a bug where push notifications were still being recieved after a user disabled them.
• In the replay screen, added First and Last buttons for better navigation of moves.
• Improved the layout of the chat box for a cleaner look
• Fixed a bug where you couldn't cancel an open game invite after it was created
• Updated game logic so that if a user is paired, but neither side moves, when the game times out, no rating update will be made.
• Fixed an achivement bug.
• Implemented a filter in chat.

v1.04-5.25 - June 17, 2025

• Major bugs fixed affecting game time and outcomes.

v1.03.25 - June 16, 2025

• Implemented the ability to match a game based on another users class. Users can now pair with anyone of any rating or specifically to another player within the same rating class.
• Minor bug fixes
• The main url (https://www.fortress-serv.com) now prompts a user to install the application for a smoother experience.
• Updated the timer to begin counting once a match is paired instead of waiting for White to move. Previously, if White abandoned the game, Black had no way to terminate the game.
• Posted a Fair Play & Conduct Policy located on the Help section. By using Fortress Chess, all players abide to comply with this policy
• Fixed a major bug where when delivering checkmate the result we be labelled as a draw and the ELO would not calculate.

v1.02.25 - June 15, 2025

• Fine tuned the interface for creation of the Android application.
• Finished development of the Android app. (Currently not published yet as some backend fine tuning to be done, but the URL www.fortress-serv.com will prompt a user to download the mobile app)

v1.0 - June 14, 2025

• Initial release of version 1.0
• Implemented push notifications which are controlled within user settings.
• Minor bug fixes and polishes.
• Added the option to change your password within your account settings.

Active Development - June 13, 2025

• Pawn promotion now allows the user to select which piece that want to promote to rather than automatic queen.
• The board now freezes the page while making a move to prevent the window from sliding around when trying to make a move (primarily an issue on mobile).
• Created a setting to toggle if coordinates show or not.
• Daily Email Summary is defaulted on at account creation.
• Added the ability to remove a game from favorites.
• Added a share button in the game list where the user has the ability to make a game link public to share if they so desire. Options within the game window are disabled in public view.
• Player profile icons will update through pieces based on the # of games they have play.
• Updated the code so that the board will reflect live moves visible to the other player so that if both players happen to be online at the same time they can see moves being made live.

Active Development - June 12, 2025

• Created a Help section with multiple options and references for players.
• Significantly improved the login/logout experience and PWA mobile application for a smooth login experience by the user.
• Created email notifications within settings for when a game is your move or a daily summary.
• Many bug fixes

Active Development - June 11, 2025

• Major bug fixes and improvements to achievement system code.
• Implemented the option to offer the player a draw request.
• Implemented a move take back feature in options.
• The chat function now has a ! indicator on the main page to indicate that a message has been received to alert a player of a new message.
• View Replay now allows piece movement to utilize that board to analyze.

Active Development - June 10, 2025

• Block player from game invites now does not show for your own profile.
• Report player function now added to the game options to report people based on specific reasons.
• In the games list, a limit of 25 completed games will show to help keep things responsive. Favorited games will still show, as all older games are just hidden from view.
• Bug fixes.

Active Development - June 9, 2025

• A friend search feature is now implemented to allow finding another user by username or email address.
• Email PGN feature now enabled within each game to send back a PGN if the user desires to save or replay their game for analysis.
• Block game invite feature now added to prevent game request from an individual user.
• Users can now globally block game invites if they so choose.
• An update email address option has been built within settings.

Active Development - June 8, 2025

• Significant code cleanup and fine tuning of code to be more organized/effecient.
• Leaderboards now reflect active players only. If a player is deemed active status (has logged in within a year) they are included in the leaderboards but if they are not active status they will fall off. This helps to keep the leaderboard clean and not cluttered with inactive/banned/suspended users without intervention.
• Added a friends list.
• Game menu/sidebar now loads in as collapsed.
• Friends can now send game invites directly to a specific person.
• Added the ability to favorite games for later review.

Active Development - June 7, 2025

• Fixed bugs after implementing server side move validation.
• Player profile cards [game file] are cleaner.
• Created a resign button that terminates the game and logs results.
• Added a replay move feature so that a player can review historical moves.
• Chat functionality now added.
• General bug fixes.

Active Development - June 6, 2025

• Updated game blocks in the dashboard to look cleaner and sleeker.
• Fix the code to prevent a slight delay in timers appearing for each game. They now load immediately into the dashboard.
• Game outcome now displays on the game card list at completion.
• Pending game requests are now broke out and kept at the top of the Games list and can now be cancelled.
• All moves are now validated server side to prevent any cheating or injection of an incorrect or illegal move.
• Users now have the option to select black or white if they have a preference to play and the match making system will comply with that logic.
• Player names are now links to a profile card.

Active Development - June 5, 2025

• Created account status field to display a users account status.
• Login page has been updated to prevent brute force of passwords and has a limit of 5 password attempts before a cooldown period is implemented.
• Added player class within the profile page.
• Fixed a bug where timers would continue to run after a game terminated.
• Created three distinct roles: Admin, Moderator, User for the game.
• Users can now select their country in their profile and display a flag, if they so choose.
• Stats are now all updated accurately.

Active Development - June 4, 2025

• Fixed a bug where the timer was double refreshing every second.
• Names in the game now update to the correct position (white on left and black on right) dynamically.
• Implemented ELO rating system that accurately shows a players score based on game results.
• Persistent login now allows for a user to remain logged in for 365 days and with each visit it pushes that out for another 365 days before asking for a login.
• Timers are not set that when a game reaches zero it will terminate the game and write the data back to the database. This is handled by a cron job running serverside to prevent a user from having to view a game.
• Captured pieces and a material count is not displayed below the board.
• Captured piece logic writes to the database now to persist everytime a player loads into a game.

Active Development - June 3, 2025

• Added password reset via email with secure token
• Timers now stop after game completion
• Timeouts now trigger a loss and update the game result
• Bug fixes to dashboard rendering and game result logic
• PGN data is now logged in the database

Active Development - June 2, 2025

• Games now display time remaining on dashboard
• Opponent names and ratings show correctly
• Private game notes modal added