language
FICGS - Search results for language
There are 95 results for language in the forum.
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-23 17:03:16)
Spanish / Deutsch (help...)
Hello to all.
As you can see, the home page is now "translated" (thanks babelfish :)) in 4 languages... It would be helpful if players speaking well spanish and deutsch can tell me about the faults... Please email me : info (at) ficgs.com
Thanks in advance :)
Stefano Ghisi (2006-04-24 16:08:59)
Other languages
Thanks for the translation in german, french and spanish
Can we hope to have an italian version too?
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-24 16:11:48)
Italian... (and other languages)
Of course ! (...would you help me ? :))
Thibault de Vassal (2006-04-24 21:08:33)
Spanish / Deutsch
The home page has been updated in the four languages. Thanks to YOU 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 (2006-06-17 19:56:11)
FICGS encyclopedia
Hello to all.
The FICGS Chess and Go encyclopedia just started ! (version beta)
This is a wikipedia-like encyclopedia, where you can write about everything related to Chess and Go in 184 languages...
http://www.ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=encyclopedia
It will be improved soon with new features. Feel free to tell me what you think...
Thomas Gilbreath (2006-09-18 13:52:13)
Dinesh
FYI it was not I who brought up GameKnot players being expelled from our site, but I can comment on it. Players have been expelled from GameKnot for numerous reasons. Some include 1) ratings manipulation, 2) using computers to recommend moves (our webmaster investigates all complaints re: games where, say, a 1300 player defeats a master, etc...), 3) foul language and/or intimidating behavior, and 4) general behavior that is unsportsmanlike. We pride ourselves at GameKnot on playing honorably, and do not tolerate otherwise.
:) Thomas
Dinesh De Silva (2006-09-29 13:14:25)
Kramnik's team says...........
Kramnik threatens to stop playing the match......
29.09.2006 Statement from the team of Vladimir Kramnik, rejecting the decision of the Appeals Committee of FIDE : "The protests of the Topalov team and the suspicions in the press release of Mr. Topalov are utterly disgraceful and are touching Mr. Kramnik’s privacy."
Elista, 29 September 2006
Open Letter to FIDE President H.E. Kirsan Iljumshinov
Copied to Executive Committee of Kalmykia Mr. Valery Bovaev, Chief Arbiter Mr. Geurt Gijssen, Russian Chess Federation
Dear Mr. President,
The Appeals Committee of the World Championship Match between Veselin Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik made the following decision on the protest of the Topalov Team:
“to close both the toilets in the players rest rooms and to open another toilet that will be available only to the two players”
The Kramnik team received the mentioned decision a few hours before the start of game 5 and was officially informed about the protest of Mr. Topalov only yesterday evening, 10 p.m., 28 September 2006. With such a decision the WCC Committee is clearly violating both the rules and regulations of the WCC match and the rights of Mr. Kramnik.
The relevant clause in contract of Mr. Kramnik expels: “FIDE shall provide a rest room and toilette for the players during the WCC match in the playing hall and close to the stage (if possible backstage) to be equipped with a live monitor furnished with coffee and tea as well as with light refreshments.”
The reasons that Mr. Kramnik is entering his own bathroom often is simple: The restroom is small and Mr. Kramnik likes to walk and therefore uses the space of the bathroom as well. The Appeals Committee has been informed about the issue before they decided. It should also be mentioned that Mr. Kramnik has to drink a lot of water during the games.
On the request of Mr. Topalov the agreed live monitors have been removed as well as the shower cabines in the bath rooms. The moves are provided on demonstration boards only. The substance of Mr. Topalov protests (dated 22, 24 and 28 September 2006) were basically always met by the approval of the Appeals Committee. Everything has been done here to satisfy Mr. Topalov’s requests.
On a regulary basis the restrooms and toiletts are heavily checked by specialists, obviously local police forces. This goes together with the arrival of the players. The arbiters are observing all the measures. One representative of each team has the right of being present in order to observe the activities. The playing area is banned from signals and the glas wall protects from any kind of view contact and/or body language. There is not a single reason or evidence to believe that a player would have any kind of cheating possibilities.
It is and was no problem for the organization to assure all necessary measures in order to avoid any kind of cheating. By starting the match both participants agreed all the playing conditions de facto and de jure and the conditions are therefore legally binding. Any change of the playing conditions without a good reason would in our understanding request the approval of both players which is not the case here.
Mr. Kramnik believes that the latest decision should increasingly concern the world of chess as it shows very clearly and once again the biased stand of the Appeals Committee members involved. In person: Mr. Makropolous, Mr. Azmaiparashivili (well known as a close friend to Mr. Danailov), Mr. Gelfer (now replaced by Mr. Vega). Therefore Mr. Kramnik requests to exchange the mentioned persons immediately. Enough is enough.
We would like to add that the recent decision not only insults Mr. Kramnik but is clearly critizing both the excellent work of the local organisation at Elista and the nominated arbiters. Yesterday evening the chief arbiter and the head of the excutive committee once again confirmed that the indirect accusations of cheating are nonsense.
The protests of the Topalov team into the direction of Mr. Kramnik and the suspicions in the press release of Mr. Topalov are utterly disgraceful and are touching Mr. Kramnik’s privacy. We do not think that the Topalov team has any right of getting access to the recordings. This shall be job of the nominated arbiters only.
The Topalov team includes a parapsychologist and more people which are obviously having no other tasks as to distract and to insult Mr. Kramnik especially since their team is realizing that Mr. Topalov finds himself in a difficult situation. This is what we call an utterly unfair behaviour which is not in accordance with the FIDE Code of Ethics. The decision taken by the Appeals Committee can only be seen as another attempt to disturb Mr. Kramniks concentration since it is difficult to understand what kind of improvement it shall be to have one toilet instead of two.
Our team does not trust the objectivity of the Appeals Committee anymore. Therefore it makes no sense for us to bring a protest to this table and Mr. Kramnik strongly insists once again that the members of the Appeals Committee will be changed immediately and that the heads of the Organizing Committee are taking their responsibilities.
In the meanwhile Mr. Kramnik will stop playing this match as long as FIDE is not ready to respect Mr. Kramnik’s rights, in this case to use the toilet of his own restroom whenever he wishes to do so.
Further and more detailed legal investigations are already in process.
On behalf of Vladimir Kramnik
Yours sincerely,
Carsten Hensel
(Manager to Vladimir Kramnik, Classical World Chess Champion)
Dinesh De Silva (2006-11-13 07:41:10)
Re:
Yes, the informations regarding Mr Macarsindale is very interesting! I did some quick research & found out that he speaks quite a number of languages.......English,French,German,Dutch,Portugese.......
Thibault de Vassal (2006-11-28 13:38:30)
FICGS chat !
Hello to all.
You probably noticed this new window on the right... :)
This is a chat window, here you can write to everyone in the international chat, and to people from your country only (in your own language !). You can moderate the messages by clicking on the arrow just before each message (please use it with moderation)...
Question is : Should it be permanent or not ??
Two ways :
1. It could appear only from time to time...
2. There should be a way to close the window during the session.
Feel free to tell me if you encounter any problem... Thanks for feedback !
Dinesh De Silva (2007-03-15 04:51:12)
Re:
A bit........mostly popular words & phrases. I've heard a lot of French songs, and it sounds nice. I plan to learn more of the French language.
Nick Burrows (2007-03-20 18:26:39)
politics > music
in my music collection i have ;-
mc solar - rap in the french language sounds beautiful.
camille - a french bjork!
yan tiersen - who did the soundtrack to amelie and is a genius.
Lionel Vidal (2007-03-27 23:09:46)
Xiangqi
The number of french xianqi players is of course nothing compare to the number of french chess players (which is BTW quite low compared to other country :-( )... but with the increased interest in China, for mainly economic reasons, xianqi may become more popular here too... consider for instance that the number of chinese language students is greatly increasing these last years...
Of course the popularity of chess will remain certainly much higher!
Nicola Lupinacci (2007-05-09 10:04:10)
suggestion
What about Dory defense?
1. d4 Nf6, 2. c4 e6, 3. Nf3 Ne4
or (in italian language) Attacco Aculeo?
1. g4 d5, 2. Bg2 c6; 3 g5 (I don't know if Black can make the first move in thematic tournament)
Thibault de Vassal (2007-06-18 01:50:11)
Translators needed - all languages
Hello to all.
Thanks to players who helped me to translate the home page to spanish, italian and deutsch already ...
I still need some help to translate it to all other languages : russian, romanian, chinese, japanese, korean... and so on !
Anyone who have some time to translate these lines can do it by clicking here :
http://www.ficgs.com/user_wiki_en-ficgs_home_page.html
... then following the link to your language.
Thanks in advance !
Best wishes, Thibault
Thibault de Vassal (2007-06-19 18:24:30)
Translations
Two ways, go to the wiki-encyclopedia home page, type 'Ficgs home page' and choose your language (Latvian) :
http://www.ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=encyclopedia
... or by going directly to the latvian page (with 2 letters code lv) :
http://www.ficgs.com/user_wiki_lv-ficgs_home_page.html
Thibault de Vassal (2007-06-22 14:32:14)
Other languages
Thanks for checking, Alexander :)
It would be great to have ukrainian, polish, romanian and some other versions too.
Thanks in advance for your help !
Denis Stork (2007-06-22 20:13:41)
Was?
Alexander, it's really a good idea to choose one communication language in this thread, isn't it?
Andrey Sumets (2007-06-26 16:38:31)
Wolfgang
You can easily recognize your opponent by his games on igame.ru because you will be given also his igame's nickname. All of our players have played a lot of games so far. If you have some problems with russian language please tell me your opponent's name and i'll give you link.
According to this I don't understand why you want to now REAL name inspite of this person's games?
Nick Burrows (2007-07-15 20:29:03)
IQ vs Multple Intelligence
Are there other forms of intellingence independant of having a high IQ? Or are they simply 'skills'?
How about...
1. Linguistic intelligence involving sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that
2. Logical-mathematical intelligence consisting of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. This entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.
3. Musical intelligence involving skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms.
4. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence entailing the potential of using one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements.
5. Spatial intelligence involving the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.
6. Interpersonal intelligence is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and counsellors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence.
7. Intrapersonal intelligence entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations.
Jason Repa (2007-07-15 20:45:57)
Hillarious!
This is your "argument"? You copy and paste some drivel where they seem to substitute the word "skill" with "intelligence", or perhaps you did that.
You don't provide any sources or qualifications of the author whatsoever.
This is too entertaining and unbelievable to make up!!
in a statement signed by 52 psychologists, published in the December 13, 1994 Wall Street Journal
"1. Intelligence exists as a very general mental capability involving ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience. The brain processes involved are little understood.
2. Intelligence can be measured, and IQ tests measure it well. Nonverbal tests can be used where language skills are weak.
3. IQ tests are not culturally biased.
4. IQ is more strongly related than any other measurable human trait to educational, occupational, economic, and social outcomes. Whatever it is that IQ tests measure, it is very important.
5. Genetics plays a bigger role than environment in intelligence, but environment has a strong effect.
6. Individuals are not born with an unchangeable IQ, but it gradually stabilizes during childhood and changes little thereafter."
I think 52 psychologists might be a bit more qualified than the random blog where you copied and pasted from.
Jason Repa (2007-09-10 22:39:03)
Chat Rules
Calling someone a hypocrite, who is indeed a hypocrite, as evidenced by their behavior, is neither provocative, nor is it an insult, any more than calling someone who steals for a living a thief.
The best way to prevent chat abuse is to punish the party who STARTS it. Obviously a coward will use various devices in order to try to get away with it, such as trying to pass off the insult as a joke, etc. Thibault, despite English not being your primary language, you're clearly an intelligent enough guy to figure out when someone is trying to start an argument by being offensive. My belief is that this is the party at fault, not the person who is defending themself. But if your policy is to limit access to the first person who starts the ad-hominem or disparaging remarks, then there would not be a need for responding. But I'm not sure why you seem to be placing the focus on the the responder to an offensive post, and not the real culprit who starts the flaming in the first place. Nothing happens until someone starts something.
Obviously butting into a conversation that has nothing to do with them and ordering someone to "cool down" is clearly both provocative and offensive. (...) [moderator : partly deleted]
Ilmars Cirulis (2007-09-12 08:49:40)
Hi!
Latvian language is still alive, too. :)
Thibault de Vassal (2007-09-12 11:48:27)
Latvian, Russian ...
Thanks to all for quick answers :)
Hi Ilmars, some languages (including Latvian) need UTF-8 format, so I can't include them in the 'real' home page (yet).
Thibault de Vassal (2007-09-20 12:33:12)
Japanese, Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian...
Thanks Pio, I'll correct it soon :)
... and thanks to any player who may help to translate the home page by going to :
http://www.ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=encyclopedia
... then entering "FICGS home page" as keyword and choosing your language. Original english version is here :
http://www.ficgs.com/user_wiki_en-ficgs_home_page.html
Thanks in advance !
Ulrich Imbeck (2007-10-26 23:28:42)
voting machines
The famous hacker organisation "Chaos Computer Club" is against voting machines.
On their website is a analyse about a voting machine from the netherlands on pdf.
http://www.ccc.de/updates/2007/wahlcomputer-ausgemustert?language=en
The same pdf is
http://wijvertrouwenstemcomputersniet.nl/other/es3b-en.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_Computer_Club
The voting machine will not be used in the Netherlands.
Thibault de Vassal (2007-11-29 05:32:28)
Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Portuguese..
Thanks to any player who may help by translating the first lines of the home page in these languages by going to :
http://www.ficgs.com/user_wiki_zh-ficgs_home_page.html - (Chinese)
http://www.ficgs.com/user_wiki_ja-ficgs_home_page.html - (Japanese)
http://www.ficgs.com/user_wiki_tr-ficgs_home_page.html - (Turkish)
http://www.ficgs.com/user_wiki_pt-ficgs_home_page.html - (Portuguese)
Original english version is here :
http://www.ficgs.com/user_wiki_en-ficgs_home_page.html
Thanks in advance :)
Thibault de Vassal (2007-12-03 03:04:56)
"Chess is like" series
Just tried a Google search on "chess is like" :
- Chess is like life (Spassky, Kasparov, Polar or so.. Fischer said Chess IS life :))
- A game of Chess is like a sword fight !
You must think first, before your move...
- To some extent face to face chess is like poker in that it can help to "read" your opponent's body language.
- Chess is like a box of choclates, once you start a game you never know what your gonna get.
- Chess is like body-building. If you train every day, you stay in top shape.
- Chess is like marriage. You cannot have a mate without a check. (Brian Wood)
- To me chess is like a patient and faithful lover; I may not always be there for her - er, it - but it is always there waiting by the phone for me to call and start up with the affair all over again. (Graham Moore)
- Chess is like snooker: once you slip a little it is very hard to get back because there are so many good young players fighting their way up.
- Chess is like golf, 50 percent mental, 50 percent physical.
- Chess is like the saxophone. You can pick it up and learn it, but it takes a lifetime to become any good.
- Chess is like tug-of-war, but it's also like "a cork bobbing up and down."
- Playing chess is like looking out over a limitless ocean; playing checkers is like looking into a bottomless well.
- Chess is like a symphony. The first phase of this piece was a furioso, leading to a quiet second movement, a positional struggle between two very different personalities. (about a Fischer's game)
... and so on. Finally anything's like everything :)
Rodolfo d Ettorre (2008-04-28 15:00:21)
Another idea ...
The chat, instead of grouping it by country, would it be possible to group it by language? For example, there are many spanish speaking south american countries, each one maybe too small to keep a comunity going, but maybe togather the y could carry on "talking". Just an idea.
Thibault de Vassal (2008-05-01 18:58:46)
Country chat
Hi Rodolfo, that's an idea but I think we should keep "closed" chat rooms too (it couldn't be the case with languages), as an alternative.
Andrew Stephenson (2008-06-10 18:09:02)
No apology necessary
You have nothing to apologise for Wayne your comments were reasonable. It is up to Thibault to enforce the policy and to stop this kind of thing happening. To have this happen every time different opinions are expressed is very damaging for the site. I respect everyone on this site whatever their grading and whether they agree or disagree with me. If someone cannot control their language and become abusive they should not be allowed to post on the forum - its that simple.
Normajean Yates (2008-07-11 01:00:36)
Thibault has a point
Like the mind-body problem; discussing the free will problem has the following problem:
It is not possible to pose these problems accurately in language [Noam Chomsky said this somewhere].
I (normajean) believe these are mystical/artistic/poetic questions and the answers have to be mystical/artistic/poetic also.
Philip Roe (2008-07-27 03:39:07)
Notation
There is a history of chess notation at
http://www.excaliburelectronics.com/history0799.html
crediting algebraic notation to Philip Stamma in 1737 and stating that "by the 19th century Stamma's simple system had become the norm in some European countries".
So if Breyer did make the remark attributed to him it would probably have read something like "after Nf3..." bur with N replaced by the symbol for Knight in whatever language he was using.
Descartes of course, invented algebraic geometry, in which a straight line is represented by
ax+by=c
and so on.
Alexis Bromo (2008-09-25 21:48:22)
second language
if the most of people speak another language, this language must be the second official language of the country, will not it? i tell about ukraine and russian language...
Alexis Bromo (2008-09-25 21:58:48)
language
i want to know, does ukraine need second language or not...
Denis Ivanchenkov (2008-09-25 23:06:07)
well
then the right way (I think) is just to count players by nationalities - and the most numerous group determines the second language.
I don't think that there are so many Russians here - I think Spanish or German would prevail.
Don Groves (2008-09-25 23:51:47)
FICGS languages
I think Thibault recently posted how many players of each nationality were registered on FICGS.
Rodolfo d Ettorre (2008-09-26 01:27:50)
Second language
In South America I think only Bolivia has got more than one official language, and it is not Russian, I am afraid.
Alexis Bromo (2008-09-26 07:31:12)
language
i posted this topic about ukraine as a country. and second official language for country. but it's a good idea to show national statistics on ficgs :)
Alexis Bromo (2008-09-26 07:38:46)
Rodolfo
in ukraine, the most of people speak russian. but it is not official language. and as far as i know canada and switzerland are multi-language counties. so why russian can not be official language in ukraine?
Iouri Basiliev (2008-09-26 16:30:07)
Alexis Bromo
Ukrainian and russian languages are very closed, have the same roots. Dutch and German like. But nobody wants to arteficially introduce German as second languge in Holland :) In Ukraine you can speak any language, but official papers must be ukrainian with russian/englisch/french translation if you need it.
Thibault de Vassal (2008-09-26 20:31:40)
Statistics by country
Hi Alexis, Denis & all.. Here are current statistics by country :
USA 1066
FRA 363
GBR 261
CAN 189
DEU 160
RUS 130
ITA 126
IND 120
ROU 93
TUR 89
BRA 79
BEL 75
AUS 70
ESP 63
PHL 55
POL 53
SWE 51
NLD 50
ARG 45
MEX 43
ZAF 43
GRC 39
BGR 38
UKR 37
HUN 36
CZE 33
CHE 32
ISR 31
FIN 30
IDN 30
IRL 29
PRT 29
VNM 25
AUT 24
VEN 24
CHL 23
DZA 23
EGY 21
SGP 21
CHN 20
DNK 20
COL 19
LTU 18
NOR 18
MAR 17
NZL 17
SVN 17
HRV 16
IRN 16
MYS 16
PER 16
SRB 16
PRI 14
SVK 13
THA 13
HKG 12
JPN 12
EST 11
GEO 9
PAK 9
KOR 8
LVA 8
ARM 7
BIH 7
ISL 7
TUN 7
TWN 7
BLR 6
CYP 6
LKA 6
MLT 6
ALB 5
CUB 5
KAZ 5
URY 5
ARE 4
ASM 4
BOL 4
CRI 4
ECU 4
GHA 4
LBN 4
LUX 4
MKD 4
NGA 4
BGD 3
DOM 3
FRO 3
GTM 3
JOR 3
MDA 3
MMR 3
MNG 3
PRY 3
SAU 3
ZWE 3
ATG 2
BHS 2
CMR 2
ERI 2
HTI 2
IRQ 2
KEN 2
KGZ 2
KHM 2
MDG 2
MNE 2
MUS 2
NIC 2
NPL 2
PNG 2
TTO 2
UGA 2
UZB 2
AIA 1
ALA 1
ANY 1
AZE 1
BHR 1
BRB 1
GLP 1
GMB 1
GRD 1
GUM 1
HND 1
JAM 1
LBY 1
LSO 1
MOZ 1
MRT 1
NCL 1
PRK 1
QAT 1
SHN 1
SYR 1
TKM 1
UMI 1
VUT 1
All players in each country :
http://www.ficgs.com/directory_countries.html
There's a french version of FICGS - see home page - you may change the language in Preferences (English, French, Deutsch, Spanish).
By the way, I'll open chess & Go forums in every languages very soon, if anyone wants to be a moderator in his own language, please look at the next threads in this forum for more information.
Denis Ivanchenkov (2008-09-27 02:03:33)
Thanks!
Thibault thanks for the interesting info! :)
as to other language site i actually ment that though introduction changes due to language selection other crucial messages remain English. Well, maybe that is even good - we all can communicate.
Rodolfo d Ettorre (2008-09-27 06:10:36)
Languages .....
That reminds me something, years ago I had a friend who was studing Russian, and he tried to adapt the Cirillic alphabet to the Spanish language.
Rodolfo d Ettorre (2008-09-27 13:58:06)
The result ...
Nothing special, he showed me some senteces in cirillic, he liked languages, especially slavic ones. Since I did not share his passion, I did not follow up. I have not seen him for many years.
Iouri Basiliev (2008-09-28 11:44:38)
Denis
I was talking about country, not the region. I would accept any language by voting majority. It could be tatarian in Crimea in 10 years from now :)
Alexis Bromo (2008-09-28 13:44:22)
Iouri
So am I. :) But there was not voting. And government didn't ask people. I want russian the regional language if it cannot be official. Many of my friends in eastern and southern regions have serious problems with communication.
Rodolfo d Ettorre (2008-09-28 15:34:26)
Languages ...
This is very interesting, in the olimpic games in Barcelona, the King of Spain spoke a few sentences in Catalan, someone told me it was the first time in History that a King of Spain spoke publicly in Catalan, instead of Spanish, also in Italy, in Bolzano, the streets names are in both Italian and German and the region I think have the status on bilingual.
In my opinion a second language is always a wonderful thing, been able to speak another language always enriches a person.
There was a SF writer in one of his stories he said that langiage gave shape to thoughts, not the opposite, and in the novel 1984 of George Orwell there was the concept of eliminating dissident movements by creating a new language without words that could be used for thoughts against the government.
Denis Ivanchenkov (2008-09-28 17:30:23)
Iouri Basiliev
"I would accept any language by voting majority". For you to know
that majority of people in Crimea are
Russian speaking people.
"It could be tatarian in Crimea in 10 years from now"
It'l happen not until Turkish language became second official language in German.
Again
"I would accept any language by voting majority". Western "dermocrats" and their supporters here in Ukraine showed very clear that they "accept" only those views of "voting majority" that correspond to their own interests.
and this is you and others like you to blame that word "democracy" (not so bad concept actually) turned into CURSE here in Ukraine and in Russia.
Iouri Basiliev (2008-09-29 14:49:24)
By the way
Denis, your deductive abilities are very impressive but offten wrong.
Russian and ukrainian are my native languages. I can speak english, french and german as well.
>>I understand that he must be an immigrant from former Soviet Union.>>
You are wrong.
>>Very probably he is not well adopted in German society - and is treated as person of "lesser quality".>>
I'm Prof. at Heidelberg Uni and do not feel "lesser quality" here or in France where i worked before :) Germany and France (at least the scientific community) are not the rasist countries.
I wish you feel similar at Ukraine!
Denis Ivanchenkov (2008-09-29 17:51:37)
Iouri Basiliev
"Russian and ukrainian are my native languages"
So you must know the simple fact that more than 70%
of Crimea people consider Russian as their native language.
For East and South of Ukraine we also can see that majority
of people speak Russian.
So saying about "artEficial introduction" of Russian in Ukraine,
about "talking about country, not the region" -
you demonstrate your own (one-eye blind) vision or it was adopted
during your life in "not the raSist countries" or
(what I believe is the most probable case) maybe both?
as to you professorship - in Ukraine we already saw
one "professor of Columbian University" of enormously great merits and honors
but ... without a diploma - Roman Zvarych.
http://www.pravda.com.ua/en/news/2005/7/23/543.htm
his named turned into nickname for those from outside who being
dressed up with different "titles & honors" like a Christmas trees
teaches us Ukrainians how to live.
Iouri Basiliev (2008-09-29 21:13:05)
Denis
U have not only extraordinary deductive abilities but great imagination. I have nothing against russian language. Moreover, Pushkin and Lermontov are my favourite poets. Lesya Ukrainka and Kotljarevsky are the greatest ukrainian poets imho.
Communists (like you?) 70 years artIficially (i've no spell checker) propagate russian in Ukraine.
It were only 10% of ukrainian schools at that time. Nowadays the situation is opposite. If you living in Ukraine, spend some time to learn ukrainian if you are able. When i sad i'll accept ANY decision by voting majority i mean i'll accept. I hate persons like Zvarych and another ProFFesors. My Ph.D. has been defended in USSR (not US) in deep 1989.
Iouri Basiliev (2008-09-29 22:49:32)
Second language
Ok. Revenons (retournons?) a nos moutons. The question is more difficult that one can expect. What would be a reaction of the French government if some one would proposed German as the second language in Alsace, where significant % of people speaks German???
Denis Ivanchenkov (2008-09-29 23:27:26)
Iouri Basiliev
"Communists 70 years artIficially propagate russian in Ukraine.
It were only 10% of ukrainian schools at that time.
Nowadays the situation is opposite."
so you think it is good to use communist methods - making
LESS than 10% of russian language schools?
"If you living in Ukraine, spend some time
to learn ukrainian if you are able."
oh thanks for such a deep, wise and unexpected advice.
and this is my advice for you - to read
"European Convention for the Protection of National Minorities"
this will also ansver your Alsace issue.
Denis Ivanchenkov (2008-09-29 23:39:40)
Alsace
"What would be a reaction of the French government
if some one would proposed German as the second
language in Alsace, where significant % of
people speaks German??? "
yeah! of course! recognition by these governments
of Cosovo independence actually means that they agree that
local territories could be separated from the country
by voting of people and gain independence -
so THIS IS THE ANSWER to your question! whatever
they think Alsace people can vote for independance!
Iouri Basiliev (2008-09-29 23:53:18)
Second language
<<you think it is good to use communist methods - making LESS than 10% of russian language schools>>
where i sad this? as i told your imagination is very turbulent :)
Russians are not "National Minorities", as Choukchas or Eskimos. If you so lazy to learn Ukrainian or you hate Ukraine, why you are living there? Go to Siberia or Chechen and hate Ukraine from there. You, probably, gifted by russian TV :)
Denis Ivanchenkov (2008-09-29 23:53:53)
By the way ...
Just look for the folowing document in the internret (I hope that unlike spellchecker you DO HAVE Internet):
Regional an minority languages and cultures in France are outlaws
addressed to :
The committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CESCR
Denis Ivanchenkov (2008-09-30 00:08:25)
Iouri Basiliev
"<<you think it is good to use communist methods -
making LESS than 10% of russian language schools>>
where i sad this?"
you just became bold enough to order me what to do:
"Nowadays the situation is opposite.
If you living in Ukraine, spend some
time to learn ukrainian if you are able"
and this is actuall means that you are
considering that this is right (and good of course).
so stop making a fool of you and just read what you are saying.
I live in Central Ukraine where Russian speaking people
are minority - so I don't say that Russian should
be introduced here. But in East and South and 100% in Crimea
Russian WILL BE introduced by people - whatever you(foreigner/traitor/
agent of western influence) want/order/dislike.
Alexis Bromo (2008-09-30 20:35:43)
interesting
Two men speak english at french site about russian/ukrainian language... it's amazing!
Normajean Yates (2008-10-19 10:16:47)
official language of britain
The answers to these might interest those who do not know:
What is/are the: 1. National Anthem of UK, 2. Official lanuage(s) of UK, 3-10. questions 1-2 for England, scotland, Wales, N. Ireland resp.
The answers to all these questions is - NONE. [and of course, no Constitution also :)] So people from other countries might consider if these things - official language, national anthem, ... - are really necessary!
Alexis Bromo (2008-10-19 16:18:20)
Normajean
I wrote not about foreign people. I told about citizens of Ukraine. Most of them speaks russian. But it is not national language.
Normajean Yates (2008-10-22 06:18:35)
Alexis Bromo
And I wrote about citizens of britain. Most of them speak english. But it is not national language. Because there is no national language of britain.
Normajean Yates (2008-10-24 00:39:28)
thanks Rodolfo
Thanks for the link!
It (en-wikip. on Alsace) is rather badly organised e.g. Alsace or Alsace-Lorraine don't have a prominent link to there, etc.
It doesnt mention any special status on official languages for Alsace-Moselle.. but hell, english-wikipedia is not God :) Specially, on politically controversial issues it is mainly trash...
Normajean Yates (2008-10-31 03:38:44)
similarly,smallest natural *extension*-
similarly, what is the *smallest* natural *extension* of chess? [Again I am reposting this idea - i did it a few months ago]
Think about it this way, as far as way of moving is concerned, [keeping aside pawns for the moment] you have R, B, N moving in essentially different ways. Q = R + B as far as movement is concerned - i.e. a queen can move like a rook or like a bishop, as the player chooses. The movement of the Q is nothing more and nothing less.
So, to extend chess minimally and naturally [therefore extending the symmetry also] IMO the natural choice of new pice would be a piece which I call the superqueen, lets call it U [because S is knight in chess problems and in many non-english roman-script languages..]. The superqueen U moves like a R, a B, or a N, according to mover's choice. In other words, it moves like a Q or a N.
movewise, U = R + B + N = Q + N.
Now keeping symmetry and minimality in mind we get 10x10 chess with the following starting position:
rnbqukqbnr/pppppppppp/10/10/10/10/10/10/PPPPPPPPPP/RNBQUKQBNR.
In 10x10 castling O-O and O-O-O, it may be more natural for the king to move *three* squares [and the R crosses the king and goes adjacent to the new position of the king, just like in 8x8 chess.]
Actually long ago (1981-82) we tried this 10x10 a few times with some friends - we used to call *this* 10x10 thing 'big chess' :(
[we used a one-pound coin heads-up and tails-up for white and black superqueen resp.]
But the name bigchess is taken [and bigchess is nice :) ] , so I am just calling it 10x10 chess now..
Normajean Yates (2008-11-04 03:43:33)
Rodolfo, this is not n queens prob!
1. 5 queens prob [none attacking any other] on 5x5 board has ZERO solutions, as is easy to see.
2. n queens problem - fast solution, all solutions, all solutions excluding symmetry etc. is routine exercise after teaching back tracking in a programming course. Also, writing recursive program in lisp, tail recursive program, program with function being called with itself as a parameter [in untyped languages - otherwise you get 'infinite type' error], lazy-eval-function-program [typically for Haskell] - are routine exercises for leaerning a new fundamentally different language for experienced programmers.
BUT I DO NOT SEE THE RELEVANCE OF THE N QUEENS PROBLEM HERE! WE ARE DISCUSSION 5X5 COMPETITIVE CHESS WITH START-POS rnbqk/ppppp/8/PPPPP/RNBQK w Qq !
nxn queens is 2 minutes programming exercise! Writing a good engine for above is a big project!
Continuing the topic of engines for above (nowadays called Gardner minichess) - we also need some endgame tablebases. That should not be difficult: modifying source code of nalimov tablebase generators. [download tbgen.c - or is it cc (c++)? I have the source - it is GPL anyway...
We are not talking about future ficgs things - we are discussing a point of some academic interest, that is all.
Normajean Yates (2008-11-09 04:18:14)
thibault, I think written liaison <->..
missing letters. This happens when one word ends in a vowel, the other starts with a vowel, and ending-vowel of the first word gets removed because of oral liaison. Then, and only then, I think the is the *written* liaison - and that is why the apostrophe :)
Je + adoube = J'adoube :)
['<->' was 'if and only if' - 'if and only if' would not fit in the title, and 'iff' or 'fif' would not be understood by some readers so I would have to explain anyway :)]
In wikipedia aricles I did not find separate discussion of *written* liaison :(
[the hiatus avoidance that thibault earlier mentioned applies of course to *all* liaison..., in *all* languages which try to avoid hiatus :)]
[If it doesnt, then people will at least in informal conversation evolve a colloquial hiatus-avoiding version ;)]
The rules for general liaison are complicated (only for people not fluent in french! they are very easy for every french child!):
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaison_(linguistique)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaison_(French)
Normajean Yates (2008-12-11 01:46:47)
my response...
Excellent, thought provoking article.
About subconscious thinking - I am in two minds: as an existentialist I am uncomfortable with the concept: yet there are memory/thought acts which bear no other explanation yet. The famous existentialist psychiatrist R.D.Laing who applied Sartre's work to psychiatry, also did not dwell on this issue, really..
I believe it is partly volition, partly innate - the innate part being proneness to 'subconscious', involuntary and in particular obsessive-compulsive thought patterns in OCD or in certain bipolar depressive states [I am bipolar depressive type 2], which responds to high-dose fluoxetine...
I am more comfortable with the part of the article I quote in the next paragraph, although there no reason we should have a specifically '*chess* pattern-recogniser organ' [1] - more likely we have an innate but more general 'chessy' pattern-recogniser-faculty ('organ') which takes in chess too. [our music-hearing faculty i.e. the ear can hear music, but not only music..] *This* is what the author Rune Vik-Hansen means, I am certain.
[from the article:] 'Playing on Noam Chomsky’s LAD, or Language Acquisition Device, we might say that chess players are guided and supported by a, perhaps slightly Kantian sounding, CAD; “Chess Acquisition Device, making is possible to display sound chess judgment which foundation is the subtle interplay between knowing what to keep and what to discard among triggered moves and in the final part of this article, we will have a closer look as how to increase and improve our chess judgment to form better decisions over the board.'
I will only add that subsequent investigations and deeper questioning of de Groot's subjects (experimented chessplayers? ;-) ) has shown that this faculty/device/organ is less important to chess ability than de Groot thought...
[1] I am calling this presumed faculty/device an 'organ', just like Noam Chomsky occasionally does [in his *linguistics* output, not in his *political* output! :)] - even if you choose to think of it as just a metaphor, it is a very hepful and suggestive metaphor.
Ilmars Cirulis (2009-02-11 16:54:15)
re
Don, is God she in your language? :)
William Taylor (2009-04-14 20:26:59)
draw offer
Definitely not number 2. Either number 1 or 3 would be fine. Ideally a draw offer would be binding, but I can see that there could be problems if it's worded slightly strangely. For example, it might look like a clear draw offer but the person who wrote it might not speak English as their first language and might not have intended it as such. Perhaps number 1 would create more problems than it would solve.
Normajean Yates (2009-04-19 04:41:26)
But thibault, you already have them!
Thibault, you say: About rule 11.2 and this issue, the aim is [...] only to build accurate & understandable rules.
But, on this issue, you already *have* a very easily understandable rule - tick draw offer box and make move and send it (for making draw offer). That is very accurate and easy, isn't it. So what is the problem?
And in general, for rules of games, [except in mathematics :)] it is understood that what is not mentioned is not true (if the situation is such that this is expected by common use of language). For example, about move of the knight, we say that it moves fom one end to the diagonally opposite end of a 2x3 rectangle, and can jump over pieces while doing so. Since nothing else is mentioned about knight moves, it is understood that the knight cannot move legally except in this way. [In mathematics, we would have to explicitly say: 'the knight moves in the above way AND IN NO OTHER WAY.']
Normajean Yates (2009-05-12 07:21:02)
to Daniel: and to Thib and programmers
The queen-traps - of the patzer kind as in my game at any rate - will become less common once we have more middle-level players, I think.
Also, [to thib and non-retired programmers] in bigchess game records, it would help to indicate the piece moved [tiny array in the code so that the piece display is in the language one wants, or in figurine notation], to indicate captures by 'x' and the captured piece, and to indicate promotion.
This is trivial [to write a converter from present notation to this more human-freindly one, given a game from the starting position -- 10 years ago I would have written and uploaded it (C/Haskell source code, command-line window) in 3 hours - but now I feel sooo lazy to write a single line of code - my programming brain-cells are dead or in a coma :)
Normajean Yates (2009-05-16 04:29:30)
WC?
On an English-language site, it would perhaps be more appropriate to use the abbreviation WCh or something -- anything but WC :/
Normajean Yates (2009-05-17 03:09:39)
Don : point of etymology revisited!
Don Groves posted and I agreed:'"The Arabic suffix "uddin" or "idin" means "of the faith." Hence a mujahidin is a "warrior of the faith," or a holy warrior.'
Still havent gotten down to learning to use the oxford arabic-english dictionary, but:
Don, I'm afraid your derivation won't do - you might still be right, but not for the reason you gave.
You see, mujahideen is just the plural of 'mujahid', 'mujahid' = one who does 'jihad' [arabic and hebrew are both semitic languages: people who use the term 'anti-semite' often forget this (because of the nonscientific 'ham' and 'sam' myths thrown in - so like hebrew, arabic has this - root in the middle, and modification affects the root and possibly adds prefix and suffix.. i remember reading this in chomsky - linguistic paper not political)
Khatoon (= lady; no religious overtone here); plural Khwateen = ladies
Talib (=student); plural Taliban
Mujahid (='jihad'-doer); plural Mujahideen
So we are back to the question:
Etymologically speaking, does 'jihad' just mean war, or does it mean holy war? (the current meaning is a different question..)
On this point: until 2001 no one including me would see any problem in saying - such-and-such is a lone crusader for human rights (or for animal rights, or for the separation of church and state, or for whatever cause) -
Bush-Cheney-Blair&co since ensured that the word 'crusade' became an avoidable word again..
Imagine reading the following sentence in 1999, and in 2009:
"Richard Dawkins has launched a *crusade* against all religions in general, and against christianity in paricular." ;)
Normajean Yates (2009-06-03 04:18:03)
I agree, heartily - chess is alive!
any number of specific eight-piece endings [in tablebase language; i.e. total of 6 pieces (pawn counted as piece) apart from the 2 Kings] - including KPPP v KPPP .. (King and 3 pawns v K and 3 pawns) no one knows the objective result!
So, rumours of chess's death have been greatly exaggerated. :)
Daniel Parmet (2009-08-11 20:08:24)
Quotes!
The following 11 quotes are all by me:
1- "Experiences are the keys to life."
2- "Happy endings are just stories that haven't finished yet."
3- "If you expect nothing then the following will happen: either 1) you will receive nothing and thus can be happy your expectations were met or 2) You will receive something and thus be happy you have received something. And.... Happiness ensues..."
4- "Step up and face your fear or you will never be what you should be."
5- "A mistake is only a mistake if you let it happen twice. Otherwise it is a learning experience. your experience."
6- "Life is painting a picture over many years with different paints and tools."
7- ""Horney concluded that love was at least a temporary escape from all her anxiety and insecurity" - Karen Horney
Does anyone else think that someoe named 'Horney' shouldn't be talking about love?"
8- "Take each event in a singularity and say if time passes will any of this matter?"
9- "Plans are ideas that never come to fruition."
10- "You should only get upset about the little things cause you have no control over the big things."
11- "Causing another problem without fixing the initial problem just makes the initial problem worse as time continues"
The following are classic quotes:
11- "If you lose the game you should win the analysis!"
12- "Every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around." - Vanilla Sky
13- "Life is pain my dear and anyone who says otherwise is selling something." - Princess Bride
14- "The 7ps: Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance" - U.S. Military
15- "Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink!" - Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner
16- "You can get in way more trouble with a good idea than a bad idea cause you forget the good idea has limits" - Warren Buffet
17- "Teach a child to be polite and courteous and, when he grows up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto the freeway."
18- "Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone."
19- "There is no tomorrow without the pains and pleasures of today" - Gabriel
20- "If life weren't this complicated, it would be nowhere near as fun. Why? WHY NOT!" - Catch-22
21- "When you've done things right people won't know you've done anything at all." - Futurama
22- "The right perception of any matter and a misunderstanding of the same matter do not wholly exclude each other." - Kafka's the trial
23- "the Trausi follow the normal practices of Thracians in general, except in one particular- their behaviour, namely, on the occasion of a birth or a death. When a baby is born the family sits round and mourns at the thought of the sufferings the infant must endure now that it has entered the world, and goes through the whole catalogue of human sorrows; but when somebody dies, they bury him with merriment and rejoicing, and point out how happy he now is and how many miseries he has at last escaped." -Herodotus Viv
24- "When a Persian herald demanded the surrender of arms, the king shouted back 'come here to get them'; and when he had seen that he was surrounded, he commanded his men to have a good breakfast since their dinner would be served in hell." - Herodotus
25- "I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it"
26- "Why, we don't even know what living means now, what it is, and what it is called? Leave us alone without books and we shall be lost and in confusion at once. We shall not know what to join on to, what to cling to, what to love and what to hate, what to respect and what to despise." - Fyodor Dostoyevsky Notes from the Underground
27- "Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams
28- "Nobody is always a winner and anyone who says otherwise either is a liar or doesn't play poker."
29- “The darkness immutable tranquility holds sway.” - Jun’ichiro Tanizaki
30- “People who are constantly asking 'why' are like tourists who stand in front of a building reading Baedeker and are so busy reading the history of its construction, etc., that they are prevented from seeing the building.” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
31- “Either move or be moved.” - Ezra Pound
32- "The real meditation is the meditation of one's identity..... You try finding out why you're you and not somebody else. And who in the blazes are you anyhow??" - Ezra Pound.
33- “The image is more than an idea. It is a vortex or cluster of fused ideas and is endowed with energy.” - Ezra Pound
34- “The thought working its way towards the light.” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
35- “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” - Ansel Adams
36- “When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” - Ansel Adams
37- "Wanting to think is one thing; having a talent for thinking is another." - Ludwig Wittgenstein
38- “Philosophers use a language that is already deformed as though by shoes that are too tight” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
39- “Nothing is more important for teaching us to understand the concepts we have than constructing fictitious ones” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
40- “don’t for heaven’s sake, be afraid of talking nonsense! But you must pay attention to your nonsense” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
41- “In a conversation: One person throws a ball; the other does not know: whether he is supposed to throw it back, or throw it to a third person, or leave it on the ground, or pick it up and put it in his pocket, etc” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
42- “I really do think with my pen, because my head often knows nothing about what my hand is writing” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
43- “What I am writing here may be feeble stuff; well, then I am just not capable of bringing the big, important thing to light. But hidden in these feeble remarks are great prospects.” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
44- “I ask countless irrelevant questions. If only I can succeed in hacking my way through this forest!” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
45- “Even to have expressed a false thought boldly and clearly is already to have gained a great deal” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
46- “Don’t concern yourself with what, presumably no one but you grasps!” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
47- “when you are philosophizing you have to descend into primeval chaos and feel at home there” - Ludwig Wittgenstein
48- "You cannot step into the same river twice." - Heraclitus
49- "Eternity is a child playing, playing checkers; the kingdom belongs to a child." - Heraclitus
50- "Nothing endures but change." - Heraclitus
51- "For a guest remembers all his days the hospitable man who showed him kindness." - Odyssey Book 15 Line 75
52- "Watching [GM Nigel] Short peruse the photos of young women, I had a fanciful notion that the development of specialized skills and character traits in early childhood is like a country fair in which you are alotted a fixed number of tickets to spend on the various concessions. This particular fixed number of tickets to spend on the various concessions. This particular fair is of short duration and happens only once in a lifetime. Nigel took the chess roller-coaster a dozen times, and rode the honesty ride twice, and so he had insufficient tickets left to take the Train Beyond Adolescence more than a stop or two. I myself missed the athletic concession, and I should have ridden -damn it- the chess coaster three or four times." - King's Gambit: A Son, A Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman page335
53- “I don’t know, but I do know with great precision why nobody else knows either.” - John H. Cochrane
54- "One must have chaos within oneself, to give birth to a dancing star." - Friedrich Nietsche
55- "I created chaos on the chess board and my strength lay in finding hidden harmonies. I always cultivated being at peace in chaos. manifest your unique character on the chess board." - Josh Waitzkin
56- "Leave numbers behind and ride the wave of the game." - Josh Waitzkin
57- "The weakness of an artist is dogma." - Josh Waitzkin
58- "Everything i've learned, i've eventually unlearned. I spend more time unlearning than learning. You must challenge your own micro thought constructs." - Josh Waitzkin
59- "It is like a tunnel, the deeper you get into the more you see there is to learn." - Josh Waitzkin
60- "Your emotions are there for a reason. Observe their ripple." - Josh Waitzkin
61- "The same mold, teachers have learned a certain way. great teachers should listen first." - Josh Waitzkin
62- "Change from psychology and technical errors, transition from opening prep to first middlegame decision or tactical to strategical." - Josh Waitzkin
63- "There is some part about any discipline that should appeal to any person." - Josh Waitzkin
64- "Identify thematic connections by breaking down the walls between different disciplines." - Josh Waitzkin
65- "You know your country is dying when you have to make a distinction between what is moral and ethical, and what is legal." - John de Armond
66- "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
67- "When you stop learning you start dying." - Scott Adams
68- "If you could buy some people for what they are worth, and sell them for what they "think" they are worth, there would always be a profit margin."
69- "Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about."
70- "Life is too short to waste time hating anyone."
71- "When in doubt, just take the next small step."
72- "When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer."
73- "Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?" - Ellis
74- "If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back."
75- "Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need."
76- "There are three sides to every story: your side, their side and the truth." - Bablyon 5
77- "Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher." - Japanese Proverb
My apologies if some of the classics are in the ficgs quote file already as I just keep my own (and pull quotes from everywhere). I tried to cull out the duplicates.
Wayne Lowrance (2009-09-07 23:52:52)
A Big Mouth on Rybka Forum
Howdy Thibault & all.
There is a poster on the Rybka forum who has sort of a big mouth. He claims that Rybka IA feature is not best for CC games, claims it is too time consuming and at any rate he blubbers and brags that those who use IA are not able to defeat him. I am using my own language here in a jist of the conversation of his.
He further says that he never spends more that a matter of hours cogitating his move using a 3 tear "long game" approach to working his moves. Timers such at 60' 40 moves @ 1st tier etc (don't remember his 2nd tier timer. In any case he claims he can get to depth 40 in mid game situations using a "long game" three tier mode. and finds moves that are superior to IA running a day or more (he doesn't seem to understand that most CC players use IA in a special Centaur way and the Program is a tool.
He gives little respect for 2500 CC rated Centaur players using the feature IA. He beats such players all of the time, he say's with his Rybka usage with his very modest hardware against 2500 players using IA. I am skeptical. I asked where he plays CC (out of courosity) and he will not tell where. a Poster in response to his post believe he plays CC where computers are not allowed, I have no idea in this regard. I told him that I play at FICGS where computers are welcome and a 2500 rating on this server is very high. There are many well known players held in high regard playing at FICGS that would "clean his clock" with him playing as he say's he does.
So what is my point. I am wondering if I can invite this guy to join FICGS and that his lofty rating can be accepted. I shall invite him to Join our SM #11 tourney.
Wayne
Pavel Hase (2009-11-30 23:56:42)
Value
Value is higher, my guess.
N - all fields, but horde moves for displacement, very slow piece.
B - only 128 fields, but only 2 moves for displacement (if clear board)
R - all fields, only 2 moves for displacement
Q - only 2 moves for displacement, but over one move, than Rook.
Guess
N - 3 (2-4) (From two pawns other sides any chance, but if pawns nearly, anyway 8x8 chess. Board 8x8 Notin, needed max. 4 moves, here?) Other tip? Mutually support afore own pawns.
B - 6(!) Very higher movement, than Notin. Other tip? Between own pawns, menace opponent piece.
R - 11 (10-12) Anyway 8x8 chess, pieces for middle game and endings. Interplay here is heavy work.
Q - 23 (20-30!) If interplay Rooks is heavy work, then Queen probably better, than two Rooks. Anyway 8x8, attention, traps and time for raven.
Sorry, my english language is weak.
Hannes Rada (2009-12-23 20:35:19)
Merry Christmas !
Merry Christmas !
Feliz Navidad !
Frohe Weihnachten !
to all FICGS members !
Please add season's greetings in a few more languages ..(Italian, French,....)
Lazaro Munoz (2010-02-27 16:46:21)
Hosting tournaments
Would FICGS be able to host a closed group tournament? For instance lets say some chess club, or group wants to have a tournament. Could they, after getting themselves an id on FICGS send you a request to create a tournament for that group?
As an enhancement for the future you might want to create a group(s) concept that can be stored in each users profile, so that one can in the future create group tournaments that are open to that group. Since this site is built in the spirit of openess it need not be enforced but people should understand that some groups many not want to be so open so they should request it from someone, so maybe the group info should have the user and email of the moderator for that group who will give the ok to join the group.
For instance some groups may want specific language so they converse in their native language in the chat box, or geographic area. Or even opening specialist can create thematic openings (although it could get tricky there if someones enters one these thematic groups and decides to play a different opening).
There really isn't anything like it for free anywhere, ICCF will host tournaments however they charge a fee, for instance.
Thibault de Vassal (2010-06-06 00:56:52)
New fields in Preferences : Profile
You may now complete your profile by answering a bunch of questions (24 so far) more or less relevant, such as your favorite engines, favorite chess player, favorite chess openings, spoken languages, your personal website and so on... feel free to suggest other questions!
Daniel Parmet (2010-09-23 07:59:05)
Quote festival, part 6
Then I apologize.
I like the Voltaire quote but like most things Voltaire says, I think its dripping with sardonic flavor (if you have read Candide). The problem in my mind is that reason comes and goes with all people. No one seems to always possess reason or common sense. The problem philosophically speaking can be addressed in any number of ways. Skeptically, you can ask if one could EVER claim to have reason. Etymologically, as you have done, one can pose the question of whether you can ever have reason. And the third problem, which consequently solves the 2nd problem, is linguistically. Here, you might look to someone like Wittgenstein who would ask the question of whether you need to specifically define the concept. Can you leave the concept open ended where it merely attempts to address a relative issue we can all pretend to agree on. In this case, you will notice that this is how language actually operates except when people like to get overly serious or detail oriented.
For example, if someone says "that is reasonable" you would know what they MEANT whether you agreed with them or not. It does not need to be laboriously defined that said action, thought or word was in fact the exact embodiment of "reason."
Rolf Staggat (2010-10-12 16:09:10)
Road to Grandmaster
William,
in the same time you need to become a GM you could learn ten languages perfectly or promote in different sciences. It´s a waste of time. You do not live for a thousand years.
I organized some open-tournaments in earlier years. The older GMs taking part there all had only little money. If you are rich by birth, then just do it, otherwise better not.
Garvin Gray (2010-11-07 11:23:10)
rybka 4 opening book
Hello all,
I downloaded the Rybka 4 opening book and have had no end of problems trying to make it work.
I have read the rybka forums on adaptors and how to install, but they make about as much sense to me as a foreign language does.
I have contacted chessok and now am in back and forth emails about this topic and my dis-satisfaction with the products.
Is someone able to explain how to get the rybka 4 opening book to work in aquarium and Fritz 12 in really simple language. No coding please.
Garvin Gray (2011-02-27 02:47:16)
FICGS chess World Championship #9
Thib, I have explained my point of view quite a few times and when you reply you keep either accidently mis-interpreting it, or are doing it deliberately.
I suspect there might be a language issue between English as a first language and French as a first language.
My issue is with the first stage groups, to which most of the players are allocated.
In none of my previous posts have I mentioned UNDERRATED players ie those who have established ratings on here, but most likely their true playing standard is higher than their rating.
I will try and explain my position again and I now see I am not alone in having this opinion.
With 15 or so groups in the first stage and having some players provisionally rated at 1800, this means those '1800' are seeded in the different groups at player number 3 or 4.
But a few of the '1800's' turn out to be quite stronger than that rating, meaning the genuine rated 2100's in that group get another person who can play to their level, whereas in another group which did not have an '1800er', the group that did not have the provisional 1800 gets a statistical advantage by having one less stronger player to qualify for round two.
Now to the argument that putting the provisionals in groups by themselves only delays the problem.
If there are only one or two provisional groups, then this means that only one or two provisionals make it through to round two.
While this idea makes those groups of questionable standard, it is extremely likely that whoever comes out of the provi groups is going to be of decent standard.
Thibault de Vassal (2011-02-27 21:34:13)
FICGS chess World Championship #9
Hi Garvin, sure there might be a language issue... sorry about that :/ I think I only try to interpret what you say in terms of consequences on the whole thing but I may be wrong at some points, be sure I'm not trying to avoid anything deliberately.
The provisional rating already takes account of if the player uses an engine or not (at least I try to make an estimation on what the new member says in the registration form).
As I just said in the other discussion, maybe we could try to extend the M groups to the 2200-2300 players, it may satisfy everyone as it is probably easier to cross the 2000 barrier than the 2200's, what do you think?
Thibault de Vassal (2011-08-19 11:43:45)
Rybka banned from ICGA
Clone or not clone, I'm not sure if this question is worth something in computer chess but ICGA did it: Rybka was banned and stripped of titles...
I just partly read RybkaInvestigation document, a few points are particularly ridiculous (like 2.2 "Sudden Strength Increase"), I have no idea on the other ones and I'm not sure if this is really important in the real world.
Finally, the punishment:
- to strip Rajlich of all ICGA Tournament Titles and,
- force the return of trophies and prize funds to the ICGA and,
- ban his programs from future competitions until he can satisfy the ICGA that they are no longer derivatives and that he has satisfied the conditions of any other penalties the ICGA imposes.
- encourage other tournaments (Leiden, Paderborn, CCT, TACCL, etc.) to disallow the entry of Rybka until it is proven “clean”.
ICGA Panel Members
The Secretariat members:
Robert Hyatt - (Crafty, Cray Blitz, World Computer Chess Champion in 1983 and 1986)
Mark Lefler (author of Now)
Harvey Williamson (part of Hiarcs Team)
Panel members:
Albert Silver (software designer for Chess Assistant (1999-2002); currently editor of
Chessbase News (2010-present))
Amir Ban (author of Junior: World Champion 2002, 2004, 2006, World microcomputer
Champion 1997, 2001)
Charles Roberson (author of NoonianChess)
Christophe Theron (author of Chess Tiger)
Dariusz Czechowski (author of Darmenios)
Don Dailey (author of Cilkchess, Star Socrates, Rex, Komodo)
Eric Hallsworth (part of Hiarcs Team, Publisher of Selective Search magazine)
Fabien Letousky (author of Fruit)
Frederic Friedel (Chessbase.com)
Gerd Isenberg (author of IsiChess)
Gyula Horvath (author of Pandix, Brainstorm)
Ingo Bauer (Shredder team)
Jan Krabbenbos (Tournament Director of Leiden tournaments)
Kai Himstedt (author of Gridchess and Cluster Toga)
Ken Thompson (creator of Belle Chess Machine, World Computer Chess Champion
1980, Turing Award winner 1983, creator of B and C programming languages,
Unix and Plan 9 developer).
Marcel van Kervinck (author of Rookie)
Maciej Szmit (assistant professor at Technical University of Lodz)
Mark Watkins (MAGMA Computer Algebra Group, School of Mathematics and
Statistics, University of Sydney)
Mark Uniacke (Hiarcs, World Microcomputer Champion 1993)
Mincho Georgiev (Pawny)
Olivier Deville (Tournament Director of ChessWars)
Omid David (author of Falcon)
Peter Skinner (Tournament Director of CCT--the major annual online computer chess
tournament)
Ralf Schäfer (author of Spike)
Richard Vida (author of Critter)
Richard Pijl (author of The Baron)
Stefan Meyer-Kahlen (author of Shredder, multiple world champions from 1996-2007)
Thomas Mayer (author of Quark)
Tord Romstad (author of Stockfish, Glaurung)
Tom Pronk (ProChess, Much)
Vladan Vuckovic (Axon, Achilles)
Wylie Garvin (game Programmer at Ubisoft Montreal)
Yngvi Björnsson (The Turk)
Zach Wegner (author of ZCT and Rondo, an upgraded version of Anthony Cozzie’s
Zappa program, which was world champion in 2005)
ICGA Board
President - David N.L. Levy
Vice-President: Yngvi Björnsson
Secretary-Treasurer: Hiroyuki Iida
Programmers Representative: Rémi Coulom
WCCC Tournament Director
Jaap van den Herik
http://www.chessvibes.com/plaatjes/rybkaevidence/RybkaInvestigation.pdf
http://www.chess.com/news/rybka-banned-and-stripped-of-titles-3798
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQshTNJ4pSM
Garvin Gray (2013-01-16 07:28:11)
FICGS admin scam me
My head hurts. I was hoping that by starting a thread some clarity could be brought to the discussion, but all I really see is just an endless stream of back and forth chat bar claims and counter claims.
Horatiu Adrian Petrescu,
Would be nice in simple to understand, clean and precise language, what you are claiming to have occurred.
Others have experience with the e point system here.
I have asked you to detail your complaint here, hopefully without all the rhetoric. But if you start abusing me if I do not give you the answer you desire, then I will not reply and you get no resolution.
Thibault de Vassal (2016-05-25 21:37:17)
FICGS restarts (2016 May 25)
Hi everyone, nice to see you again, I missed our games :)
First of all, my apologies for this too long delay... I went through hell to try to fix these first major issues (emails & database compatibility) that were the consequence of the forced system update that followed the server crash of last month.
Unfortunately, internet protocols & languages are constantly evolving and FICGS is late on these changes. Added to the fact that databases, databases tables, database interface, database calls, PHP language, PHP files, content display, browsers (and I probably forgot ones) communicate with variable charsets, the result is that it is impossible to make FICGS (which uses both UTF-8 and ISO-8859-1 according to the content) compatible with this system change in one shot...
Consequently, it will take a long time to make it right... Feel free to report any bug in the "Bugs after the server crash" discussion in this forum.
Thanks in advance! Have good games ;)
Ilmars Cirulis (2017-10-20 15:39:29)
AlphaGo Zero
I believe, some pros started to call it "she" long time ago, because it felt more correct for them. (Because language reasons.)
Ilmars Cirulis (2017-12-08 21:23:22)
AlphaZero stronger than Stockfish
There will be some more matches, I hope. I expect that at least some criticism about settings and machine of chess engine will be heard.
Also more serious paper about AlphaZero (chess/shogi/go) will be publised.
And then Deepmind are going to leave chess in the past, in the same way as it did with go. At the best, it will be used for testing some of next research ideas, and we will get few more games to look at.
And then it will make a superhuman Starcraft player, then maybe some AI that can do math research like the humans do (I would like to live so far :D), then maybe computer will learn languages properly... :)
Chess is just random checkpoint for Deepmind. We will have to make our own AlphaZero to play with, anyway. :)
Thibault de Vassal (2018-03-14 23:12:38)
A few questions to Nelson Bernal Varela
Nelson Bernal Varela is an early FICGS correspondence chess player, now rated 2277 but also rated 2359 at ICCF (Correspondence Chess Master - CCM).
Last but not least, and as all poker holdem players here probably noticed, he is also our ranked #1 for years, who just reached an outstanding poker rating of 2382, while number two is now rated "only" 2212. A good occasion to ask him a few questions, that he kindly accepted to answer.
-----------------------
- Hello Nelson! You are the 2nd most active player at FICGS for years now. Everyone here probably noticed your incredible results in poker tournaments. "Correspondence poker holdem" was probably a strange idea as it is very unusual and very different from "Internet poker". What's your opinion on this and on the presence of a card game (played without money) at FICGS?
NBV: There are more important things than money and one of those is HONOR; It is honorable to be a chess master, international master, grandmaster, world chess champion at ICCF and at FICGS and to be number one in the ranking. It is honorable to be a FICGS world champion at Go and to be first in the ranking, it is honorable to be poker world champion at FICGS poker and in my case, it is an honor to be number one at poker here at FICGS during the last years, understanding that our general level of play has improved remarkably. None of these activities produces money, but to achieve any of the mentioned titles, it is necessary to have extraordinary abilities.
When I was about 18 years old, I had the opportunity to meet a person with immense material wealth, we spent whole evenings playing chess and then I told him my perceptions about each movement of the game. He thanked me for my chess explanations and paid me with good money. That wealthy man in his turn told me about life and recommended that I should always be proud of the gifts I had, since he knew, with all the money he had and being able to hire the best grandmasters in the world, that it could hardly come at the level of chess master. That person told me that the intellect can be turned into money whenever you want.
Now, by playing poker without money at FICGS, I understood that it was my extraordinary and wonderful opportunity to study-learn-perfect and test my poker theories without costing me a single dollar. In FICGS there is no money, but thanks to the knowledge I gained playing poker in FICGS, today I can go after the money in online poker rooms and probably in OTB poker tournaments. I am studying the possibility of becoming a professional poker player.
- The understanding of your opponent's behaviour is usually quite important at Poker. Do you manage to establish some profiles while playing so many simultaneous hands & games? Did you build any method?
NBV: Today I am sure that the most important thing to raise, and keep raising my level in poker, has been to build a psychological profile of mine, to get to know Nelson Bernal Varela in depth and above all to understand me, accept me, love me and be work every day eliminating my technical errors, strategic, psychological that make me play badly. I am aware that in poker I can play perfectly and still lose, what I can not forgive me is playing badly, which is why I work hard correcting my wrong decisions.
Of course, there is a space in my brain where I have built a psychological profile of each contender, that profile I have been able to elaborate with all the information that is provided to me in each hand we play. The way each of us plays, gives reliable information about our personality.
About my method I can write the following: A few years ago, I created a table in excel, where I had all the games with each contender, I identified them with the FICGS numeration and each movement in each hand (preflop, flop, turn, river ) it I was writing and studying; I started to add technical-psychological variables that seemed important to me, resulting in 20 variables that I had to qualify in each movement. With the passage of time and my effort, I no longer needed the excel table and I did not use it again (it was exhausting and time consuming) because I was assimilating things faster and with greater depth. Today I can say that I evaluate these 20 variables in a natural way, as if I was breathing and that when I am at a poker table, online or real, after a few minutes I get the psychological profile of the table and each of my opponents. In the pocket of my shirt I keep a small paper with the list of variables, periodically reread it and I wonder if I should modify, remove or add something.
- You won 1007 poker games, and lost only 380, with a ratio usually going from 57% to 80% according to your best opponents. Undoubtly you know the mathematics hidden behind poker but that may not explain everything. How did you learn to play?
NBV: Mathematics is an ingredient in poker, in the same way that my psychological aspects and of my opponents (I recommend reading-studying about four times the book “The Poker mindset” of Ian Taylor and Matthew Hilger), it is vital to understand the Law of Large Numbers. Next I make a list of topics that I consider important to raise the level of poker; compete with EV+ cards, you have to know the small ball theory of Negreanu (but not apply it, hahaha) you have to always look at the texture of the board, you have to evaluate your reality and your future, also that of your opponents (act and power), the position to talk is important, the stack, the personality of the table, know who has the panic button on. All these and other variables must be evaluated in the few seconds they have to make a move and the only important thing is to make the right decision according to the circumstances. There is a good list of poker books to read... it is mandatory to have read about 15 poker books.
- As for me, I may be wrong but I can't imagine that you reached such a rating without special techniques & maybe by optimizing it in some ways... Of course, "rating management" is not a problem, and it is only one thing with a limited impact, but maybe you have some other secrets? What about this "+1" technique that I noticed in many of our games, if this is not a secret? :)
NBV: In these years I have used different techniques that I had to read, study, learn, repeat, modify, invent and sometimes eliminate. Poker is a sport that seems easy, with time one manages to understand that it has an amazing complexity, today I consider poker to be as complex as chess and I study them in a "similar" way. As an example, I have tried to create "openings in poker"; based only on probabilities I invented something that I called mirror theory and another "opening" that I called opposite outs. I am fascinated by mathematics and from the mathematical perspective they are perfect "theories-openings", but I have lost tournaments and a lot of money for applying such theories in mistaken emotional moments. In poker it is important to never lose sight of the Law of Large Numbers and be aware that this LAW likes to make fun of each one of us... I am working on giving an emotional nuance to my theories "mirror" and "opposite outs". There are moments when perfect mathematics becomes an unforgivable psychological error...
For the last few months I have modified my way of playing and my results have improved; Today it must be much more difficult to win a game me, thanks to small and imperceptible adjustments that of course only I know, because I have followed my mistakes-successes-evolution in the game over several years.
- Isn't it too frustrating for you to play heads up only (here at least) ? Of course it is a way to improve this important technical case but we know that many complexities come with 3 to 8 players on the table, which is the most common case in professional poker tournaments.
NBV: Currently I spend little time every day playing heads-up in FICGS, thanks to the fact that I have the profile of each contender. The 4-5 hours that I study poker daily, include practice in micro limits in cash tables of 6 players and tournaments in tables of 8-9 players. I think I'm covering the whole range of possibilities, experiencing game situations between 1 and 8 contenders.
- What do you think about computer analysis in poker? Do you think it could make a difference here just like the way we play advanced chess?
NBV: I think the algorithms are ready to be written in machine language and the question is where are those algorithms? Well, in the brains of the best players in the world and in their games compiled in huge databases. But programming language can be accelerated with artificial intelligence brains, making A.I. studying databases of the best professionals, playing with itself millions of games and building an invincible TACTIC-STRATEGIC SYSTEM, similar to chess software and GO... I think preflop and flop play would be very similar between humans and artificial intelligence, but on the turn and on the river artificial intelligence would take considerable advantage, but in the short time the level of human poker would rise because artificial intelligence would teach us to play poker, this event that would diminish the profits of the professionals. It will always be said in favor of poker that because it is an incomplete game of information, to make computer algorithms are quite complicated, but despite that, I am sure that artificial intelligence will far surpass the best human poker player. It is possible that an artificial intelligence that plays a perfect poker already exists, but unlike GO and chess, poker does produce a lot of money. Due to the money factor, in today's world, it is very difficult that there is a Prometheus willing to steal fire from the gods and give it to mankind...
- How would you describe your relation to games in general?
NBV: I can summarize it in one of the first chess books I had the fortune to read, by the great Danish master Bent Larsen, "I play to win"
- When did you start to play chess & poker? Do you play other games?
NBV: My first contact with chess was at the age of nine, it was love at first sight and until death separates us; I must confess that for some years we have been separated, due to my stupidity and my erroneous decisions. I have always been self-taught in any subject, my method is to buy about 10 to 15 books of the subject that interests me and I read them thoroughly, sometimes 3 or 4 times; already with that information in my head and thanks to the constant practice, I build MY SYSTEM (Nimzowitch) according to my personality, my dreams, my desires, my anguish, my fears... I was youth champion of Bogotá, for 4 years , my OTB level was strong, but I had to abandon chess because I had to work and survive; Being an athlete in Colombia is an absolutely difficult thing, but being a chess player is extremely complicated since there is no support or respect from society and you can not live by chess, because it does not produce money.
I met poker in 2009 in FICGS, at that time I was in a terrible emotional situation, trying to get away from a relationship with a woman that I should never approach and where I wasted valuable time and energy. In that context, looking for my thoughts to be occupied, I ended up playing the FICGS C-24 poker tournament and tied the first place with three more players; I kept playing, without understanding what was happening with the cards and obviously, losing, until in 2010 I won the FICGS D-21 tournament with perfect score, 6 out of 6. I had already bought-read my first beginner book: Poker for Dummies of Harroch and Krieger, but my poker was coarse, wild, street, intuitive, amateur, without dedication or study. In the background of this paragraph, the affection and gratitude that I have for FICGS is condensed, a place where I have been able to build-practice-study-test MY SYSTEM in poker.
I play Backgammon, I do not care that it may sound pretentious-petulant, but I have a very strong level and I have not read my first book yet. Hahaha. Any year I register as a participant in the world championship and I will cause disgust to more than one professional. Hahaha. Unlike chess and poker, backgammon does not cause me stress, on the contrary, I feel a lot of joy and pleasure when I play backgammon. I feel something similar with math, reading and music. It's true and I'm proud, I've always been a NERD.
- We all know how difficult it is to reach a number 1 rank but it is even more difficult to keep it during a long time. What is your motivation? Do you have more goals to achieve (chess & other games included) ?
NBV: My motivation in any activity I undertake in my life is to do it with absolute passion (passion is everything you would do to get a breath of air, in the second before dying by drowning or suffocation).
I have several goals to accomplish before December 2021; In the ICCF correspondence chess I must reach the 2400 elo and get the titles of International Master, SIM and Grand Master, also perform outstanding performances in world championships. In FICGS Chess I must complete my Master and International Master titles and overcome the 2450 elo, also snatch the title from our eternal champion Eros Riccio. You're warned Eros, hahaha. On the LSS site where I also play, www.chess-server.net I want to be a world champion.
In POKER I find myself playing micro limits bets in several online sites; in June 2018 I hope I have built some bankroll. In July of 2018 I must be evaluating my poker to know if my immediate goal is to become a professional poker player, that would completely change my chess goals and I would have to dedicate myself to OTB poker. At the moment I study and practice poker every day, about 4-5 hours a day. At this moment my poker is full of errors that I am eliminating one by one. MY SYSTEM needs to win and raise money in the micro limits, so that it can succeed in professional poker.
In chess OTB I should become a great master, but that topic should be left as a goal for after 2021. I could achieve the record of being the oldest human in getting the title of Grand Master OTB. Hahaha.
In backgammon I would like to play some important tournaments in USA and Europe and maybe to be OTB world champion, but at the moment I do not have clarity on how to do it. I must mature that idea.
I hope they invent immortality before I die and that I have enough money to buy it, because time is what I need to realize all these and other dreams...
- Finally, playing so many games on several websites (obviously with serious ambitions in each game & place) may look quite inhuman and exhausting, does your body or brain say "stop" sometimes? Do you train by melting sports and brain games just like Kasparov did in the past?
NBV: It's true, it takes willpower and a lot of resistance to sustain the pace that I carry. To take care of my body, I am doing daily exercise for 60 to 90 minutes, including routines of strength, elasticity, speed and endurance. I also practice table tennis to preserve the agility of my body. I'm also divorced and I do not have a girlfriend... Hahaha
- By curiosity, do you consider playing Go in the future, even after... 2021? (which would surely be an enormous charge more, but the game is really interesting)
I have a kind of commitment with the best Colombian GO player, exchange of classes, he makes me a competitive player of GO and I turn him into a competitive player of backgammon. But the truth is that I do not have time... it could be after 2021...
- Do you confirm that you are not (entirely or partly) AlphaZero or any kind of A.I. (yet) ? :-)
NBV: Hahaha, of course I would like to be a real centaur, human with machine power, I do not care what physical form I should adopt. I offer myself publicly as a guinea pig in projects of technological singularity. Hahaha
- Many thanks for your detailed and instructive (impressive as well) answers! My best wishes of luck in all your games and future tournaments.
Thibault de Vassal (2018-04-07 03:09:02)
Harold Moye, man of arts... and chess
I'm very sad to announce here that we just lost a chess friend, Harold Moye, who played chess with us while he was involved in a much more difficult battle. My condolences to his family.
Here is the first part of the obituary:
"Harold Anthony Moye, age 62, died on March 4, 2018, wife Linda (Polhemus) Moye at his side. They were devoted to each other for 17 years since vowing their love on a mountain in Wyoming. For 13 of those years, Harold endured bone marrow cancer (Multiple Myeloma) with grace, unusual resilience, and quiet courage.
He loved poetry, languages, art, music, history, philosophy, astronomy, cinema, flying airplanes (actually and with flight simulator) and coffee. Some of his favorites were Shelley, Blake, Rilke, Shakespeare, Norse sagas, VanGogh, Mahler, Bach, Beethoven, and Sumatran and Guatemalan beans. Harold said that Blake taught him the most about art; Shelley was his brother; VanGogh his first cousin; and coffee a major food group (along with pizza and cookies). Above all, he valued imagination, compassion, and generosity of spirit in others. He played Shogi and Chess with friends all over the world online and in person, reaching the distinction of Chess Master when he coordinated tournaments in Wyoming. (...)"
http://www.ficgs.com/moye_harold.htm
Thibault de Vassal (2022-05-11 01:02:59)
Carlos Alcaraz y el ajedrez :)
The recent winner of Rio, Barcelona & Madrid Open 2022 talks about his incredible performances at tennis, and how blitz chess helps him...
(spanish language)
https://www.marca.com/tenis/2022/03/07/6225c2c6e2704ed95f8b45cc.html
"P. Uno de los aspectos más desconocidos en usted es que le gusta hacer siesta y el ajedrez antes de los partidos. ¿Me lo puede explicar?
R. AsĂ es. Me pillaron con la cámara en el Next Gen de Milán y en RĂo tambiĂ©n dormĂa porque el descanso es importante y más en una semana tan intensa en la que lloviĂł y se retrasaron los partidos. La recuperaciĂłn era clave y las siestas antes de los partidos para mĂ lo son. Y el ajedrez me ayuda porque estás concentrado, la cabeza te funciona...
P. ¿En qué le ayuda concretamente el ajedrez para la práctica del tenis?
R. Me ayuda a estar más rápido mentalmente, a observar jugadas, a ver el movimiento que quieres hacer, la estrategia... A estar concentrado todo el tiempo. En el ajedrez, como el tenis, te despistas un momento y ya se revuelve la partida. En este aspecto son dos disciplinas bastante parecidas."
Stanislas Gounant (2024-12-29 23:49:39)
Next Ficgs World Championship Tournament
Thank you for the translation
I think Thibault has a better command of the French language than I do. (google translation for this sentence)
Ulises Pineda (2025-11-10 17:16:18)
Russian flag replaced
It's very interesting that the only message here from people actually involved is from an Ukranian that was happy becoming Russian. There's always two sides of the story, it's unfortunate almost nobody speaks Russian and we only get to hear the "English speaking world" narrative of the events where the side to take is clear, and you never get to know about the critical events happening there because they are only shown in a language nobody reads.
There are 0 results for language in wikichess.
FICGS : language , Wikipedia : language , Dmoz : language , Google : language , Yahoo : language
That's what Chess is all about. One day you give your opponent a lesson, the next day he gives you one. (Bobby Fischer)
A Chess game is a dialogue, a conversation between a player and his opponent. Each move by the opponent may contain threats or be a blunder, but a player cannot defend against threats or take advantage of blunders if he does not first ask himself: What is my opponent planning after each move ? (Bruce A. Moon)
The tactician knows what to do when there is something to do; whereas the strategian knows what to do when there is nothing to do. (Gerald Abrahams)
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