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Game result (chess) J. Riha, 1953 F. Vasquez, 2073 1/2-1/2 See game 24763 |
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André Diamant wins Brazilian Chess Championship W. Utesch wins the 2nd FICGS candidates final Veselin Topalov wins Pearl Spring in Nanjing Miroshnichenko wins Ukrainian Championship 2008 Vassily Ivanchuk wins Benidorm tournament Armenia wins gold at 38th Chess Olympiad Deep Fritz 11 is available (Chessbase.com) Dominguez-Perez wins World Blitz Championship Hikaru Nakamura wins Cap d'Agde tournament Viswanathan Anand is FIDE world champion 2008 more chess news... |
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Chi-Min Oh 7d wins London open Lee Sedol 9p beats Kang Dongyun in Korean Myeongin Kong Jie & Lee Sedol will play Samsung Cup final Crazy Stone wins Computer Go UEC Cup in Tokyo Fan Hui 2p wins Paris Meijin title more Go news... |
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In the forum... Money games... Moneybookers, Paypal, credit card and bank transfer are available to play money games... Affiliate links... Win E-Points by linking to us as an affiliate, for each new member referred by your link, 1 E-Point will be added to your account... E-Points prizes... Ficgs now offers free games & tournaments with E-Points prizes... Rybka 3, Fritz 12... Rybka 3, Fritz 12, Hiarcs 13, your predictions on forthcoming chess engines... Translators... Translators are needed for chinese, japanese, indian, romanian, polish home pages... Vacation help... Hello all, I've entered a vacation time in error. Is it possible to cancel the vacation ? |
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There are 0 results for Tim in the games.
There are 1166 results for Tim in the forum.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-08 13:10:47)
Things to be implemented...
Hello to all... and thank you for your confidence in this very new server (when no game started yet ! maybe today...)
I expected a high average rating, but not so much :)
The last update provoked the first bug -> in this forum. Sorry to all who tried to post here. It should work now.
Here are things to be implemented in the future :
- Vacations (until, time limit by move is 2 months)
- Conditional moves
- A better interface for the forum...
Don't hesitate if you have ideas to improve the website !
Best wishes.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-08 13:37:17)
Class tournaments overlap
Hello Hannes. Thank you for support :)
The overlap offers the possibility for players to register to several class tournaments, at least to choose. I think it won't be used a lot, but it could be something more for the stronger players who will choose to register to "under-class" tournament as well as other players who may play sometimes with stronger players.
Feel free to tell me what you think.
Thibault
Hannes Rada (2006-04-08 19:32:44)
vacations
40 days is fine for me. I've 31 days leave in a year and I ususaly use them all for travelling and visiting foreign countries. I had no experience with rapid tournaments on the cfc - server. However they also allowed 40 days in a year. Maybe otherwise many player would not participate. I for one had to go several times on business trips for a few days and in this case it would risk losing games in a rapid tournament if there is no possibility for taking leave.
Paul-Iosif Guralivu (2006-04-10 10:18:26)
FICGS council / staff
In will have a lot of time!
Daniel De Noose (2006-04-11 23:46:29)
FICGS council/staff
I'm interested too. I don't have always lot of time but I have lot of holidays ! ;-) You can see my description on echecsemail.com (login : danideno)
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-13 16:05:35)
I agree...
... that would be unfair.
About players that will never achieve a title, I think most important is to stimulate motivation, and titles (I think) are awarded in this way. Don't you think categories FI, FII, FIII are in a way the rating itself ?
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-14 05:16:26)
re: Proposal
What do we call "legitimacy", "official" ? This is quite subjective. In my opinion each organization can create his own titles and choose to recognize titles from other ones. IECG titles are recognized by FICGS, but it's obvious titles from FIDE / ICCF have more value in players mind (legitimacy is not the subject), and players from everywhere could appreciate this distinction. Anyway the FICGS council will discuss about that.
Håkon Anda (2006-04-14 16:52:42)
Some wishes
I think this server works great after so short time online. However I think there are som possible improvements that could be done: 1. Option that can disable e-mail notification of one own moves. 2. It should be possible to take leave. 3. A better list of our own games, like when last move was done, reflection time left and so on. 4. A flag for every player that shows the nationality and other information that could be found in the rating list. Best regards, Håkon Anda
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-15 19:01:14)
Extend Timeout
I agree great server. The board definiely would be better with coordinates. Is there a way to extend the timeout time? Or an option to save one's login information so you don't have to input name and password after being tossed? Thanks!
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-16 09:25:33)
Implemented & vacation
Hello to all.
Cookies, last move & board coordinates have been implemented. Thanks !
Still thinking about vacation, but it doesn't seem obvious to me that it is essential. There's objectively no difference between "vacation" & time for move... Rules on other servers are often a bit hard and to manage vacations is something more to do (and not so easy when you have few time). I would prefer not to hurry players and allow a 2 months time limit per move (= 1 month + 1 month leave by default) Quite more flexible. (!?)
Hannes Rada (2006-04-16 09:52:16)
time and vacation
>There's objectively no difference >between "vacation" & time for move... >Rules on other servers There is a difference. If the player does not have the time on the clock, because he is involved in many tournaments .... I think we should start a poll about this issue.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-16 11:58:58)
IECG & ICCF webserver
Hello to all.
Congratulations to Ortwin Paetzold who just started with success (src. IECG forum) the new IECG webserver.
Feel free to compare IECG, ICCF & FICGS servers (if you already played on) in this thread, it may help me to feel future improvements, as I have no more time to play on the other ones :(
Thank you for feedback.
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-16 12:15:33)
A Couple More Suggestions!
Thank you Thibault for your prompt response to my suggestions. Here's another one that you may not be able to do easily. Can you add an option to make the board a little bit larger? And maybe eventually give us chess piece choices or board color choice? My eyesight plays tricks on me as I get older and bt experimenting with the colors, sizes and piece choices it sometimes helps. Just a suggestion! None are big ones. Thanks!
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-16 12:33:44)
Comparisons
Hello Thibault - first thanks for creating this server. I'm happy to see so many members joined up so quickly. I just started on Ortwin's server (IECG) yesterday. Too early to compare, though one initial item I like better on Ortwin's server is that I can easily change board colors and chess pieces there. Would like the board a little larger (or maybe be adjustable) on both sites. Easier for old eyes! Two items I like much better here than at ICCF are the time rules (ICCF's are much too long) and the tournament sign-up procedure. I can not sign up for an ICCF tournament on-line. I have to do so by printing a form and mailing a check to my NF. A old process for a modern method of play!
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-16 18:57:19)
60/10 Too Slow for Me
I'm in the group that thinks 60/10 is too slow. Like Mr. LaCrosse, I like fewer games at a faster pace. Only way 60/10 might work is to set a REASONABLE limit on days per move. ICCF's 40 days is too long and some TD's are much too lenient about extending it. I hope this doesn't hijack your thread Thibault, but The opposite question I'd like to ask is how many server players find the opening game too fast and like a blur? I make a move and there's a reply waiting 5 minutes later. It won't be long before someone writes a script and connects it to ChessBase to cut the time down to seconds :)
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-17 19:01:10)
Thanks for the Comments Guys
Dinesh - since computer use is allowed I have no problem if someone uses a "script" to automate moves. I don't think that would be fradulent. Actually I think it would be clever :) The point I was trying to ask is anyone concerned (besides me) that we created a chess medium (server chess) where it's so easy to make moves that the games move too fast? I dread the start of a new section, particularly large sections with 10+ players. It's impossible to keep one's inbox empty for even a minute. I know I should show more discipline and walk away, but it's almost like an illness "just one more move then I'll stop" and I don't! One practice I've been using lately is to make a move in a notebook and sit on the move for a day or two before sending it. That helps slow things down. I wonder if a delay send option on the server would make any sense? One could make a move and then click a delay send button for 24 or 48 hours. One would be charged time during the delay, but it would automate the slow down and make tournament startups a little less hectic. Maybe I'm the only one who sees this as an issue> If so, then label this just one crazy man's thoughts :)
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-18 13:25:56)
Time limit per move
If a player has 60 days and more on his clock, the deadline for one move is 60 days ! This is a provisional (quite good, I think) solution before question of vacation be answered. Many players can't play every day and correspondence chess games usually last several months, often more than 1 year.
It seems server games go much faster than email games, but rules 40 days + 40 days / 10 moves are the same.
Time limit per move in IECG is 30 days. Here, a 60 days limit (a rating period) don't seem too much to me. Players won't feel oppressed (Glen, turn email notification off :)) and I think they won't use it often.
RAPID TOURNAMENTS are an alternative solution.
Thibault
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-18 21:39:57)
A Suggestion
Thibault my e-mail notification will be turned off :)
I'd encourage you to re-consider your 60 day ruling. I can foresee individuals getting late in a game and accumulating hundreds of reflection days. Not many, but a few players could go 59 days per move 2 or 3 times in a row just to irritate their opponent. Not everyone is a "good sport" unfortunately :(
IECG does it right by limiting time to 30 days max per move. You violate the limit once, game is over no questions asked. ICCF does it half right and half wrong. They set the limit at 40 days, but then make the person waiting beg the TD to do something. If the TD refuses to enforce the rule, the violating player can stall as long as he wants :(
This is your chance to pick and chose from the best things done in other organizations. Either set a limit on the number of accumulated days so it doesn't go into the hundreds or set a reasonable limit on the number of days per move. Just don't let both become large. Also don't be wishy washy on the limit. Set a limit and enforce it, no questions asked. No hard reasonable limit and too many accumulated days is an infrequent, but irritating problem in the making. There won't be many, but sadly there will be those few "bad losers" who think it's "cute" to string their opponents along. Don't let that happen at FICGS!
Just my two cents :)
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-18 23:04:48)
Interesting...
Glen, that's a fine suggestion !
We could probably improve the time rules, indeed.
Maybe a 100 days accumulated time limit would be appreciated ? What do think the players ?
Elmer Valderrama (2006-04-18 23:15:46)
30 d max
I agree with Glen, 'resign' is the hardest word, and some prefer the server (or the time control rules) _gradually_ pronounce it.. 30 days max, with time doubled at move 10th + optional leave of 30 days would be more than reasonable to me.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-18 23:26:06)
Live games
Hello to all.
I don't know (I hope) if the "live" concept is somewhat a reason for this, but I'm quite surprised to see already Alekhine defence played 6 times (and King's gambit the same). I wait for more accurate statistics, but no : everyone don't play Sicilian and that's great :) Spectacular & original games are welcome, I'm to install a "best game" poll script.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-19 19:13:56)
Vacation implemented
Dear chessfriends, a major update on FICGS : Vacation has been implemented. You now have 30 days leave per year (for all games !)
Be careful using it, as days can't be took back (or vacation stopped before the end date) by playing a move for example. But you can add days to your vacation simply taking days more. You can play while you're in vacation, the days leave you take are simply added to your clock for all your running games. A message tells your opponent you're in vacation in the viewer page.
Also please note this new rule : Time accumulated is now limited to 100 days ! (taking effect at your next move) The 60 days limit per move is kept for the player's convenience.
Have good games !
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-20 01:47:29)
Congratulations!
Thibault - I don't know if FICGS is the first server to do so, but it's the first server I play on that has made the intelligent decision to limit accumulated time. Hopefully you will set a trend that other servers will follow :)
60 days max for one move may be too much, but with a 100 day limit, abuse will be minimal.
Good job :)
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-20 23:18:32)
Vote for the best game
A funny feature has been implemented : You can vote for the best game played on FICGS. I hope it will reveal great games... :)
The votes have a lifetime.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-24 07:33:39)
Referee
You can call referee after a while. Anyway your opponent will loose on time before the one move time limit.
Michael Höppenstein (2006-04-24 15:45:19)
Referee - Checkmate
That's not quite all right, I think. In case a game is won by checkmate, the game should be over - that is: without referee and without me waiting for my opponent losing on time. Would you consider changing this? Just a suggestions.
Stefano Ghisi (2006-04-24 16:05:41)
Time pro move
Is it possible to have the "time pro move" or the time used by each player to make his move?
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-24 16:18:23)
Time pro move
The date of the last move played is displayed. I prefer not to store time for all moves on the server to minimize the size of the database. But they are stored on my computer. If there's a problem, I can find the time for any move.
Stefano Ghisi (2006-04-24 16:19:52)
time pro move
Ok, thanks
Graham Wyborn (2006-04-25 13:13:52)
Condition Moves?
I have played on another site which uses conditional moves. The Conditional Move is only operated after you opponent moves, therefore you are unaware of your opponents offer. Also players can turn the feature on or off. So if one player has it turned off, the opponent cannot use it. Conditional moves are good time savers. especially when making a capture and the opponent has only one good reply. It saves time. Hope Conditional Moves are coming to this site too!
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-25 16:09:45)
So, no need to turn it off... !?
That's not obvious... Conditional moves may save time, may irritate too... Is it really "fair" ? His existence is arguable, in my opinion.
Graham Cridland (2006-04-25 16:31:57)
?
You can't do anything with conditional moves you can't do just making the moves yourself. It isn't like it makes imitation harder to spot. It just saves time.
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-25 16:48:28)
Another Opinion
I have mixed feelings on 'conditional" moves. I agree they save time, but they also can be irritating. Depends how they're sent and who sends them.
We all have those opponents who play whatever Fritz plays. When one gets in a rather simple series of moves, those opponents like to run out a string of 3 or 4 conditionals in a row. Opponents like that are like leeches. You can't get them off your skin without yanking them off and eradicating them :)
Time saving versus irritation. Considering the options, I vote for time saving. The faster I can get rid of Fritz opponents, the happier I am.
Just another opinion :)
Michael Höppenstein (2006-04-25 17:15:18)
Opponent does not resign after checkmate
The bug might be fixed but my opponent won't resign. Do I really have to wait 48 days - I've just checked - till he forfeits on time? How do I make him resign?
Graham Cridland (2006-04-25 17:22:16)
Hmm.
Well, I see your point (I have an opponent like that) but what you're really objecting to is their failure to use their time, not conditional moves (or even fritz). And I can't imagine that forcing people to use their time will be popular. Just have to NOT send the move back right away, sit down at the board, and figure out where Fritz goes wrong. Our German friend isn't all knowing (especially at the 14-16 ply people only give him much of the time). So you should generally win those games.
Graham Wyborn (2006-04-25 17:42:52)
Please join:-
I joined this site recently and still have not started a game! Forgive the advert 4 the following games. We need one more player! FICGS__CHESS__CLASS_C__000002 (type : rated round-robin, time : 40 days, increment : 40 days / 10 moves) 7 players, 6 game (1 game against each opponent) elo : 1600-2000 Cridland, Graham (USA) 1700 Grady, Richard (USA) 1654 Höppenstein, Michael (DEU) 1700 Fillion, Nicolas (CAN) 1640 Wyborn, Graham (GBR) 1700 Muller, Henri-Louis (BEL) 1923
Glen D. Shields (2006-04-25 20:39:39)
Hmmm ... yup
Graham - I think you summed it perfectly. I have no objection to conditionals nor do I care how much time folks use. What I find "irritating" (the word used in this thread) are those situations where you move and ten minutes later you're back on the clock again. Overused conditionals contribute to the "irritation," but hardly are the root cause.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-25 23:23:09)
Forums
Here are some forums where I announced FICGS. Most of them are well known & good places :
http://pub11.bravenet.com/forum/924995304
TCCMB
http://www.quebecechecs.com
Quebec Echecs
http://www.talkchess.com
Talk Chess
http://www.chessninja.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi
Chess Ninja
http://chessexchange.com/
Chess Exchange
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-25 23:47:35)
Waiting lists / Delay
Usually, the delay before a tournament start is at least one week in other big organizations... Be patient, tournaments will start more often as time passes and players join us. (the next month could be "surprising") Anyway this is correspondence chess after all :)
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-26 19:42:16)
Russian, Italian, Chinese, Dutch....
The Babelfish versions of the FICGS home page in other languages are at the bottom of the home page... Quite funny :)
If players from these countries have time to help to translate, feel free to send me an email to info (at) ficgs.com ! Thanks.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-04 01:03:58)
Update - Chess 960
The start position for Chess 960 tournaments will change each time a tournament starts ! The start position for the next tournament is the Chess 960 board in the Help section.
Have good games...
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-05 16:35:18)
Question...
... from a player :
Who (how many players from each tournament) will play the next stages of the wch ?
Indeed, rules are not clear enough yet, I'll bring changes soon. About "how many players", from ie. a 11 players round-robin tournament : It's stated only one, the player with the highest rating in case of equality. Maybe that's not fair enough, I have to simulate other possibilities.
As June is very near already (too short delay), if there are no players enough at this time, we could pass the first stage but I think it would be better to wait, postponing (one month or two) could be considered...
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-06 11:49:01)
Advanced chess
About correspondence chess : IECG & ICCF (see links page) but probably all others too. GameKnot, Its your turn, Scheming mind, Chessmaniac etc... Real time play : Chessanytime, Chesshere.
Actually probably 98% are computer aided sites, so you can play advanced chess everywhere.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-15 11:05:57)
Blitz cup
Yes, time is the main problem. Correspondence chess don't give a large choice, it's difficult to vary rhythms.
10 days + 1 day per 4 moves (6 extra hours / move) could be more fair and we can avoid playoffs with the sudden death (similar to WCH knockout tournament). I like the idea of a violent, rapid and quite unfair (unrated) tournament. It could be quite popular. An advantage in a knockout (with 2 rounds) is that a few games will have to be played : 7 rounds means at most 14 games... If the number of players doesn't fit, the highest rated players could enter at stage 2. The winner could be qualified for the third stage of the WCH round-robin cycle.
But there are potential problems. I don't find a good & fair algorithm to distribute players in a big knockout (chance is not a good idea, I think), and it could be a big work to organize such a tournament (& start games regularly) with 256 players or more...
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-17 20:44:05)
Delay before adjudication request
About the game you request for adjudication, Wayne... I see you played your last move 2 days ago. It's a bit early... Please wait about a ten days before calling referee, even if your opponent takes 5 days for each move... This is correspondence chess... and we have time :) In email games (with the same time) such situations may take much more time... Be patient ! It doesn't prevent you to enter a new tournament, and next rating calculation won't occur before july.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-18 03:18:57)
Let's see...
Hello Glen.
This is quite unusual and it may look strange at the first sight, but I still think that this rule is positive and is not a nonsense !
That's true I prefer the server working this way, and it saves time process, but I keep in mind : First, this is friendly... 2nd, if a player want to last a game, he will do it before being checkmated. 3rd, I didn't adjudicate Wayne's game, and his opponent just resigned only 2 days after his move. Let's give a chance to this rule, I'm convinced time will show that it is not a nonsense ;)
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-19 02:15:13)
Amici sumus
Hello Wayne. I agree, of course, your game was won. Here the problem is not the checkmate rule, it is about the adjudication of a forced win or draw ! Clearly, there's no perfect solution. There will be some abuses, more or less important ! One can't prevent this... Rules (particularly time rules) mean abuses. But don't forget that if a player abuses, it doesn't mean all players do the same intentionally in such a situation. I don't know if your opponent really stopped to play... (what for ? .. you'll get the point anyway) Maybe he just had other things to do these days... Who knows ? Even if this is not the case, it could have been ! It is the same problem (in the forced mate case) everywhere, there's simply nothing else to do than wait, then call referee when a time limit is reached. There's no other reasonable rule ! (and it would be too much work for referees)
Understand me, I don't say it was not an abuse, I just say there's no solution. If I change the rule, there will be abuses in another way ! There will be abuses anyway... Nevertheless, if you have an idea, I'll read it with interest.
Respectfully.
Trent Parker (2006-05-19 08:04:48)
My Overall evaluation of this new site
I really like this site. I like the format of the tournaments, I like the fact that the number of games one can play are not limited.
I like the idea of the best game function, however i do not think it is properly utilised (I have aired my ideas on this elsewhere....)
I personally think the resign for checkmate rule is ok, although none of my games have gotten that far yet. After all a) this does not limit the amount of games that you can play on this site and b) your opponent will run out of time anyhow. So what is the difference? You are going to get the point anyhow.
I have the following criticisms:
I am on Dial up. This site is very slow to play on, very time consuming with the amount of games that i am up to. would it be possible to... I dunno... make it like a javascript or something, just to speed it up a bit. Or perhaps even make the submit button further up the page a bit? Often i have gone out of a game thinking that i have made the move when i have forgotten to click the submit button. (By the way this site would be excellent if i had broadband but i don't.)
I may have some more comments later on but at the moment i've said enough.
Thanks for this site Thibault!
Trent Parker
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-23 09:27:49)
Transpositions
Hello Pablo.
I fixed that. Auto-analyzing would take too much time processing, but it now works in another way : Just tell me (please send email) if you find a line transposing to another, and I'll make the change. As it's difficult to cancel a forwarding, only moderators could do such a change.
Henri Muller (2006-05-23 09:43:09)
Time reflexion !!
Je rejoins en partie la note de Wayne Lowrance. Il y a quelque chose d'incorrect dans le décompte du temps de réflexion. Il suffit de jouer les 10 premiers coups très rapidement, et on dispose ensuite de 60 jours de réflexion !!! Ainsi, un joueur, sur le point d'être maté, peut attendre DEUX mois avant de répondre !? Et certaines parties traînent ainsi lamentablement....par manque de fair-play de l'adversaire. Aberrant ! Pourquoi pas limiter une réponse à 5 ou 7 jours de réflexion MAXIMUM - tout en conservant le décompte habituel. Il FAUT donc répondre endéans les 5 ou 7 jours ( ou perdre la partie ). Cette pratique est courante partout !!
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-23 10:26:09)
Time reflexion
Ce n'est pas aussi simple. Les sites employant des règles de temps aussi dures (10 jours par coup ou moins) s'exposent à d'autres problèmes, et à de nombreuses parties gâchées... Le temps d'attente est inévitable par correspondance. La limitation du cumul du temps limitera les abus, mais les joueurs ont de toutes façons le choix de jouer des tournois rapides uniquement !
Je pense que le site est bien équilibré sur la question du temps désormais. J'ai une certaine expérience du jeu par correspondance et des problèmes posés par les cadences, et je suis convaincu que la formule actuelle conviendra au plus grand nombre. N'oublions pas que nombre de joueurs ne peuvent pas jouer aussi rapidement !
Phil Cook (2006-05-25 12:20:49)
refreshed page
I think there is a small bug in the system,I only refreshed my page,now I see I've posted three times,same subject.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-25 12:22:25)
FICGS__CHESS__CLASS_G__000001
Did you confirm your registration at this tournament ?
(please don't post your messages several times ;))
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-26 21:19:33)
transpositions...
Hello David. Thanks for your feedback !
That's a big deal. Actually I have a solution to automate transpositions management. But it could bring other problems... In example, a secondary (or totally wrong) line should always transpose to the main line..
Your example (f4 e5 e4) is true, so we should give our opinion about the position (and future moves), not the last move...
About the search function, you're right again, but this point is even more complex ! I'll think about it later, I must care about time processing. Anyway, you can use Chessbase or Chess Assistant to find games sorted by position. So, by now, the search function works for openings, not positions.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-28 01:06:10)
Other quotes by famous chess players
"I really believe that Go is destined to take the place of Chess as the leading intellectual game of the Occident, just as it has reigned supreme in the Orient for some four thousand years."
- Edward Lasker, Go and Go-Moku, c. 1934
"While the Baroque rules of chess could only have been created by humans, the rules of go are so elegant, organic, and rigorously logical that if intelligent life forms exist elsewhere in the universe, they almost certainly play go."
- Edward Lasker, international chess master
"You don't have to be really good anymore to get good results. What's happening with Chess is that it's gradually losing its place as the par excellence of intellectual activity. Smart people in search of a challenging board game might try a game called Go."
- Hans Berliner, The New York Times, Feb 6, 2003
"... {it is} something unearthly ... If there are sentient beings on other planets, then they play Go."
- Emanuel Lasker, chess world champion
David Grosdemange (2006-05-28 15:06:54)
go 9*9 ?
is it possible to organize some 9*9 go tournaments ? games in 19*19 are sometimes very long ...
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-28 15:40:14)
go 9*9
Hello David.
I didn't implement 9x9 goban firstly because I didn't have a Java viewer for this size... Then, I thought it was a good thing not to propose other sizes, 19x19 is "real go", most interesting and challenging games ! 9*9 is only tactical training... Actually my games here are the very first I play on a 19x19 goban. I use to play 9x9 with friends, on a chessboard :-)
We could offer different times, goban sizes, handicaps etc... but I think this is not the way FICGS goes : Purity of games and competition. 19x19 go games are long, but we have time... Not a bad thing to cut idleness (particularly mine :))
Trent Parker (2006-05-29 03:03:51)
Sorting your own games
Hello Thibault!
I know that you are working hard on this site already. But could i suggest that a sort function be implemented so that a player could sort their games according to how much time they have on the clock?
Most of my games are long standard games, however i am playing in one rapid play game which, when sorted by game number are quite a long way down the page. On days where i dont have much time to make moves i would prefer to make moves on my rapid games rather than my long games. This is where that sort function would become handy
Once again thanking you for this great chess server.
Trent Parker
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-29 13:06:48)
Sorting games
Hello Trent. That's a fine suggestion, thanks.
Actually, there are several ways to sort games usefully, hard to choose. Now the games (in 'My messages') are sorted according to your time of response. Thus the first game appearing is 'most probably' the one you should consider first.
About one of your messages I forgot to respond (sorry), I'll try to offer to play on a javascript/java interface later [help welcome :)] , but I think HTML is quite ok and most compatible. On some computers it consumes less time on dial-up than other servers using Java...
Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff (2006-05-29 13:14:29)
Remaining time on page "My Games"
Dear Thibault
the same problem - another suggestion. My preferred page is "My games". Is it possible to add the remaining time of both players (or at least of the player to move)?
Heinz-Georg
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-29 13:32:45)
Remaining time
Hello Heinz-Georg !
'My games' is only a short overview of all your running games (as Per suggested), useful when you have a lot of games. Adding clocks would be too much space consuming.
My preferred page is definitely 'My messages'... Using both should be efficient enough.
Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff (2006-05-29 13:51:27)
Remaining time
Hello Thibault!
What a pity! Everything I would like is a short overview of my running games - with the remaining time(s). I don't need the start date of the tournament at this page. You can delete it to get more space. My messages doesn't contain further information which I need.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-05-29 15:22:37)
Remaining time : added !
Thanks for boosting me ;) Is it better now ?
Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff (2006-05-29 16:40:45)
Remaining time : added !
Now it's great. Thanks for the fast change!
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-01 15:47:28)
Replacement
I did not forget you, Ryaad. (time sometimes misses, sorry to your opponents..)
Does anyone would accept to replace Ryaad in the first Go tournament that started a few days ago ? Thanks in advance.
Reminder : If players wish to qualify for the FICGS Go championship, they must be among the 11 players who obtained the best results in Go tournaments (see rules).
I think 2 (maybe 3 if the number of players increase quickly) victories in tournaments should assure a place in the WCH tournament.
Lionel Vidal (2006-06-01 15:56:41)
Replacement
I will be glad to play in that tournament: first time I will not play go face to face... I forsee an nice new experience!
Best wishes.
Michael Aigner (2006-06-01 20:48:46)
FICGS reminder
I have a lot of time left in all off my games and got the following reminser mail.
Did anyone get the same strange mail?
This is a reminder.
You did not connect to FICGS for 13275 days. You may have running games that will be lost on time. If you don't want to receive any reminder, you can turn off the notification options in preferences. There will be no more than 3 consecutive reminders. This email was generated automatically by http://www.ficgs.com/
Lionel Vidal (2006-06-01 22:21:52)
Bug?
It seems that the postings are sometimes not in chronological order ? (see the last two posts)
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-02 17:48:34)
Go rules
Hello Lionel. I just read the 1988 version of the official rules of the Chinese Weiqi Association.
The point here is to play with the most interesting & fair rules, not 'official' ones or others if it could be improved...
Note that FICGS chess rules have a peculiarity : 50 moves rules isn't applied if the mate can be forced. FICGS chess world championship rules are not (of course) the rules used by FIDE. I spent much time thinking about rules which are IMO the best thing in this server and I think most players will appreciate these points.
I think avoiding draws in Go is interesting because energy consuming could be too different in some games and lead to unfair situations in tournaments.
Hash keys don't solve all problems, 'superko' situations could remain as draw, furthermore these special rules could avoid any ambiguity. It is clear, it brokes 'symmetry' and I feel it is fair enough.
Then, rules exist to be enforced ! :) .. More seriously, I'm not convinced these new rules don't make sense, even if it needs adjustments. Still inquiring, but unless I find (or you convince me :)) a solid argument in another way, I think I'll apply them.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-03 07:03:45)
Download chess games
Hello Karlheinz.
Ok, I'll make something today to download directly all finished chess games in PGN format ! Sorry, not much time before and I had to think about it a little, so that it uses as less resources as possible.
Pablo Schmid (2006-06-04 15:30:51)
To De Vassal
Hello De Vassal, when I see my game against Höppenstein n°570, it tells that his move 18.. was illegal, but it wasn't and we continued to play. And each time I see the same problem.. Can you fix it please?
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-05 14:11:42)
Rules : Forfeiting / Replacement
Hello to all.
As a few players stopped to play (forfeit) in their games, I answer here to questions from their opponents.
- Rated games lost on time / forfeited are not calculated for the winner's (only) rating if less than 10 moves have been played and position is equal.
- If a player forfeits in a rated tournament without having played a single move, his games will be lost and he will be replaced, ie. FICGS CHESS CLASS B 000003 ... furthermore, his account will be closed. (obvious cheating)
Best wishes.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-09 14:34:14)
Email webmaster, 2 players matches
Bonjour Julien, merci :)
My email is displayed (just replace the symbol by @) on the 'About' page.
As I explained in another (old) thread, priorities are to reduce the delay for tournaments to start and to make it as simple as possible. As this server offers all games live, I think it to be 'competition oriented' is the best choice. It would be easy to offer many sorts of tournaments, rated/unrated, different time controls, quad/round-robin/ko etc... but it would loose his interest.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-13 18:28:54)
FICGS chess world championship 1 & 2
Hello to all.
FICGS chess world championship deadline (2006 june 15) is 2 days far from now ! Here is the scheme, allowing all players who registered to start playing at the same time, without loosing the opportunity for new players to register at a later date :
As 2300+ players will enter the cycle at stage 2, the idea is to start 1st (from stage 2) and 2nd (from stage 1) world championship at the same time. Thus, all tournaments will begin at the fixed date for all players who already registered, then a new deadline will be fixed (probably in august/september), and all players registering late for chess wch would begin a tournament each time there's enough new players in the waiting list, with the condition that the ELO average of these new tournaments be equal or superior (as few as possible) to the tournaments that began on June 15.
And good luck to all... :)
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-13 19:20:19)
1st (stage 2) and 2nd (stage 1)...
Ok :)
The rules state that 2300+ players enter stage 2 of wch cycle directly. If we begin now a cycle at stage 1, they couldn't play before a while... So if first wch begin at stage 2 with 2300+ players and second at stage 1 with 2300- players at the same time, everyone can play !
Furthermore, the 1st wch will begin earlier, "a stage before", that's logical.
2300+ players registering lately could enter the 1st wch at stage 2, 2300- players registering lately could enter the 2nd wch at stage 1.
Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff (2006-06-14 12:08:12)
FICGS 1st chess world championship
Hello Thibault
I don't like your rules. I think it would have been better if all players start in the 1st wch (this time and in future cycles). It would be more attractive for the most players. What do you think is the rating average of the 1st stage groups?
I cannot remember that the 2300-restriction was in the rules when I have registered ...
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-14 13:15:33)
FICGS 1st chess world championship
Hello Heinz-Georg !
It's only a logical extension to the rule that divide the championship in a round-robin and a knockout (for the 8 best rated players) tournament. Of course, there's no rule that fit to everyone, only choices... I hope to make the most balanced ones for the whole site.
By this rule, high rated players have a stage less to play (that they would probably win) and it limits the rating gaps (otherwise it would be more like a cup). In most wch competitions, winners and high rated players/teams are qualified for an advanced stage in the tournament.. A quite common and logical system, used everywhere from football world cup [winner qualified for quarter final] to Roland-Garros [qualifications stage], FIDE world championship etc... 2300 rule is a statistical choice, used in IECG too with more parameters. (nevertheless at IECG high rated players can choose to play the first stage too, but IMO it's quite complicate)
I hope to make it as simple and attractive as possible, believe me ;) Of course (and it is mentioned in the rules- preliminaries) rules could still evolve if improvements are decided by the [future] council.
The only negative point is, indeed, only 2300+ players can play the 1st wch, that is in a way not a "complete" championship. But compared to all other positive points (first, everyone can play now), and as 2nd wch starts at the same time, I think this choice is best.
What I think to do is to send all tournament tables to players who registered on 2006 june 16. If finally there are players who don't want to play it, they'll just have to tell me within days, responding by email. It should avoid any forfeit.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-15 16:36:17)
Criteria
Hello Dorel and Daniel.
As you noticed, rating is quite important in FICGS world championship cycle (particularly established ratings, obtained from IECG / ICCF or after 9 games finished in FICGS) !
I think these rules are really the best choice in order to designate a world champion. It's more logical IMO to favour players who obtained previously the best results in FICGS and recognized organizations, and consequently a high rating. It takes time, of course. Even very strong players starting with a 1700 rating won't achieve a 2300 established rating before months !
Criterias in FICGS wch are (from most important to least) :
1) Winner of the previous cycle (qualify for the final match)
2) The eight best established ratings (play the KO tournament)
3) Points obtained in the wch tournaments
4) The tournament entry rating (TER)
Of course, there are some provisional ratings that will increase a lot, but it is not possible to grant a 2300 rating to any player saying so. It's already a lot of time gained that ratings from FIDE, ICCF, IECG be recognized.
Finally it is the same in IECG / ICCF : it's very hard to achieve a high rating, it's very hard to directly qualify for a 2nd stage too, it takes months, probably years in email chess...
Now, please consider this, if we start 1st wch at stage 1 : It won't change anything for your play, as the 1st stage of the 2nd wch is exactly the same... 2300+ players won't play before months... and if the rule is changed about 2300 mark and everyone playing 1st stage, probably all games for 2300+ players won't be rated with a 100% result... and at last it will be harder for you to qualify for 2nd stage...
It is a hard work to write rules as fair, balanced and interesting as possible. Rules can't satisfy everyone, sorry about that.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-16 13:21:09)
:-)
Ce (léger ?!) retard en vaut vraiment la peine, je pense. Mieux vaut un système optimisé dès le départ que de le changer au fur et à mesure.
... il y avait de toutes façons de multiples bonnes raisons pour attendre encore un peu, l'essentiel est d'avoir pu en discuter (tout le monde n'ayant pas forcément fait attention aux changements successifs et nécessaires qui ont eu lieu dans les règles ce mois ci).
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-16 14:13:29)
Statistics, ELO and performances
Time and ratings will answer to that... It takes a few months for ratings to find themselves ! The same in FIDE and wher'ever...
Next rating list will be calculated on july 1st. :-)
Pablo Schmid (2006-06-16 18:53:39)
...
Tournoi reporté au 1er soit disant pour que tout soit optimisé. Mais pourquoi avoir attendu le dernier moment pour commencer à modifier les règles? Surtout que les modifications ne font pas l'unanimité et qu'en général ça se fait pas de changer les règles en cours de route et cela sans vraiment avoir demandé l'avis des inscrits.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-16 19:24:41)
Retard et explications
Bonjour Pablo.
La règle de la qualification au 2ème tour des joueurs 2300+ ne date pas d'hier, et j'avais annoncé une mise à jour des règles. Les discussions n'arrivant souvent également qu'au dernier moment, je dirais seulement : Mieux vaut tard que jamais :)
.. mieux vaut changer des règles non-optimisées avant le début des tournois qu'entre deux cycles... Je le répète, les règles changeront tant qu'elles pourront être améliorées significativement (comme partout ailleurs). Il me faut un peu de temps pour adapter et trouver de nouvelles dénominations pour les tournois (notamment celui qui permettra aux joueurs classés 2300+ de jouer avant l'heure).
Le plus important reste que le championnat attire les joueurs ayant un classement élevé comme moins élevé. Dans les règles originales, de nombreux joueurs n'auraient pas pu jouer tout de suite. Un retard reste un retard, certes... Désolé pour cela, mais je pense que ça en vaut la peine.
Wayne Lowrance (2006-06-17 07:36:58)
rating calc
Welp, I am another innocent victim of starting off at 1400. When I signed on I wanted to start at the beginning, much like daniel. what I really did not pay attention to is the difficulty in climbing the ladder. My chess rating on other sites including CC cite is well over 2200. I started there at the bottom and figured I would do the same here. Not so fast. I have won one tourney here weith 6/6 score tourney allready and am have a perfect scored in a second one with 3 games to go. and yet my expected rating is listed at 1805, cleary I am not a 1800 player. It is not my fault that I was forced to play in a tourney dominated by 1400 players. What you think. Not trying to cause trouble, just venting I guess. and the cite is nice, will continue playing, my best toya Wayne p.s. do you think my playing in a 1400 tourney is fair to those players, hummm?
Tim Bredernitz (2006-06-18 16:35:30)
Confused...
I understand the rules of the tournament fairly well, but I'm still having trouble figuring out when the games will start. The last post says that the deadline is June 15, but when I check the waiting list it says the deadline is July 1st. I'd just like to know when the games will start being played. Thank you.
Tim Bredernitz (2006-06-18 16:37:45)
Sorry
In my previous post there was a typo. Please excuse. "The last post" should be "The first post." Thank you.
Tim Bredernitz (2006-06-18 16:52:34)
Chess Openings
Hi, I'm wondering what openings other players have experienced success with. I've primarily used the Ruy Lopez, but I've grown tired of it. I haven't really explored any queen's pawn openings, and I'm wondering which ones are effective. Thanks.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-18 23:20:14)
Deadline / Start date
Hello Tim.
FICGS 1st wch will start on 2006 july 1st. A new deadline will be fixed, so that players can begin other tournaments lately, but all players who entered the waiting list already will begin their games on july 1st.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-19 15:13:45)
Chess Openings
Hi Tim.
What do you mean with Ruy Lopez ? There's IMO no opening better than other, it first depends on you play Black or White, who is your opponent (strength, favourite openings...), time controls..
Maybe you should specify your question... What opening against what move etc...
PS : I hope Amir will take a look at Wikichess, his opinion on chess openings would be very interesting to know ;)
Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff (2006-06-19 15:45:34)
FICGS 1st wch
Hello Thibault!
It seems that I haven't really understood what will happen on July 1st. You write "Thus 1st wch is a complete cycle". Does this mean, that the knock-out tournaments of the 8 players with the highest established rating also will start (stage 1)? If not it is not a complete cycle according to FICGS (your) rules - in my opinion.
What happens if a player has a rating > 2300 at the beginning of stage 1 and a rating < 2300 at the beginning of stage 2? May he play stage 2?
What happens if a player has a rating < 2300 at the beginning of stage 1 and a rating > 2300 at the beginning of stage 2? May he play stage 2 even if he hasn't won his round robin group? The rating at which time is essential?
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-19 16:34:56)
GM special match
Hello to all.
From time to time, special events will take place on FICGS.
A 4-games match just started between GM Nigel Davies (GBR) and GM Amir Bagheri (FRA).
http://www.ficgs.com/tournament_FICGS__CHESS__MATCH_EVENT__000001.html
I think we'll watch these games with interest :)
Amir Bagheri (2006-06-19 17:57:15)
Ruy Lopez
Tim, i am now playing a Ruy Lopez in my game vs Nigel Davies. I will try to show that that old opening still have some surprises...
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-19 18:42:16)
FICGS 1st world championship
Hello Heinz-Georg.
While watching the wch waiting list, I realized that there could be an improvement more about this "extra-group". So here is the 1st wch scheme (and next ones, without the special group in the first stage), according to the rules.
Stage 1 :
-- Knockout tournament --
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_QUARTER_FINAL_1__000001
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_QUARTER_FINAL_2__000001
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_QUARTER_FINAL_3__000001
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_QUARTER_FINAL_4__000001
with John Anderson, Petr Makovsky, Daniel Cinca and 5 other players...
-- Round-robin tournaments --
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_1_GROUP_1__000001
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_1_GROUP_2__000001
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_1_GROUP_3__000001
(...)
And at last, a special and one-time group :
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_1_GROUP_M__000001
This will be a high rated group, with GM Nigel Davies, GM Amir Bagheri and the ~10 players 2300+ who won't play the knockout tournament according to the rules. The winner of this group will directly qualify for stage 3 round-robin final tournament (a one-time rule). The others can play stage 2 as specified in the rules.
Thus, only the 1st wch will start on july 1st. I think it's fair enough and finally everyone can play...
Stage 2 :
-- Knockout tournament --
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_SEMI_FINAL_1__000001
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_SEMI_FINAL_2__000001
-- Round-robin tournaments --
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_2_GROUP_1__000001
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_2_GROUP_2__000001
(...)
Stage 3 :
-- Knockout tournament --
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_KNOCKOUT_FINAL__000001
-- Round-robin tournament --
FICGS__CHESS__WCH_ROUND_ROBIN_FINAL__000001
Stage 4 :
-- Candidates match --
FICGS__CHESS__CANDIDATES_FINAL__000001
Stage 5 :
-- Title match --
FICGS__CHESS__WORLD_CHAMPIONSHIP__000001
... if there's a world champion and if he defends his title. Consequently we won't have a stage 5 this time, but as it could happen again in the future...
That's all folks !
Tim Bredernitz (2006-06-19 23:02:26)
Thanks
Thanks to all, especially Amir. I'm curious as to your game number, and how you use the old Spanish game. Also, Wolfgang makes a good point. I'm not sure the exact stats, but I'm pretty sure almost half or maybe more of the games played at the master level and above end in ties. Chess is a game of creating opportunities and executing against mistakes. Once a player gets to a certain skill level, I'm sure that it's rare that they make mistakes, so its harder for the opponent to win. One side will usually pull out the draw. Thanks again, Tim
Amir Bagheri (2006-06-20 15:33:57)
Sicilian Annoted game
Tim, here is a game that I have annoted hope it will help http://www.chessville.com/Bagheri/Short-Karpov.htm
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-20 16:05:08)
Sicilian opening & Kasparov
I quote from Amir analysis : "But if you want to win, the Sicilian is really the best choice."
I fully agree, I'll just add: but Sveshnikov sicilian :)
Actually, (not a surprise) you just have to see how Black pieces are conducted by Garry Kasparov in sicilian opening to understand what lines to follow, why it is the best choice... and why he became the best player of all times.
He simply always wanted to win, never draw... It is an illustration of a quote in this interesting (but failed) movie by Guy Ritchie, "Revolver" : "To win against a weaker opponent, you have to extend the game field."
Finally, it's the exact opposite of what Bobby Fischer said : "I don't believe in psychology, I believe in good moves". That's not enough IMO, chess openings are a psychologic battle that reflect the state of mind and will. It often decides in a way the result of the game, not by moves, but by the intention.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-06-22 17:56:59)
King's gambit and statistics...
Wayne, where did you find such (wrong) statistics ??
Gambit (the real thing) is IMO first a psychological attack, most useful against a weaker player... "The best way to refute is to accept it", one said... but queen's gambit is NOT a real gambit and for sure 2. ... dxc4 is not the best move... King's gambit is, but a perfect play most probably also leads to a draw.
Queen's gambit accepted statistics : 33% (1-0), 48% (1/2-1/2), 17% (0-1)
King's gambit statistics : 35% (1-0), 27% (1/2-1/2), 36% (0-1)
... in classical time controls.
Amir Bagheri (2006-06-23 12:25:36)
Blindfolded Chess
THE chess-world (for there is a "world" in chess as in other matters) has lately been startled by a very extraordinary performance at one of the "divans" of the metropolis. A young American has played ten games at once, against an equal number