site



FICGS - Search results for site





There are 1020 results for site in the forum.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-04 03:54:36)
FICGS forum is open !

The forum is open to all discussions. Feel free to suggest and debate all kinds of improvements for the website. Please speak english only.

Have good games... :-)


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.


Sebastian Boehme    (2011-04-28 11:02:40)
Active rating lists

Mr Meraiya, please also consider that much effort wss put into this site to bring it to life.
I can not understand how you can use such rude words then, one can also say it in another tone! Words make people.


Sebastien Marez    (2006-04-10 08:26:01)
BUG

No the problem, It is necessary to make it possible the site to improve together. Sebastien MAREZ


Henri Muller    (2006-04-10 10:56:31)
success

Bravo et félicitations à Thibault ! Un TRES grand et mérité succès pour ce nouveau site. Bien pensé, bien ordonné, et....facile ( quand on s'y est fait !! ) Il y a qqs jours quand je me suis inscrit, j'étais le 39ème. Il y a déjà plus de 120 membres....et cela continue ! J'espère que Thibault sera en mesure d'assumer ce ghrand succès, car le travail ne manquera pas ! COURAGE - BONNE CHANCE ert....FELICITATIONS !! hm


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-10 12:53:29)
FICGS and internet

Hello to all & thanks again for support.

I announced FICGS starting into main chess forums (FIDE, TCCMB, Talkchess, France-Echecs...), now working on search engines.

Feel free to talk about it in other forums (in your country or chessclub) and to your chessfriends... Website success is here, and the more players, the more players :)

Thank you in advance. Have good games !


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-11 05:18:57)
FICGS council / staff

About job specification, as I said, I would like FICGS to be a place that fits to the most, and not under a dictatorship (even mine :)), so the idea to create a council with all members who want to be part of it, voting all decisions relating server rules, tournaments, wch cycles, titles... (or simply opinion poll on the website ? or both...)

The FICGS staff should be able to manage the server (registering new members, moderating the forum, referees...) Nothing difficult, just needs motivation. Most important is that it could completely work without me. Of course, if developers want to help, making a drag & drop interface ie. or improving whatelse..) About "go", we'll see later, Hannes :) (it's a fine game, you should learn !)

Anyway I'll send an email to all players responding in this thread soon. We will discuss about that.

Best wishes & thank you !


Patrice Verdier    (2006-04-11 14:06:50)
French Interface in preferences

In Preferences when I choice the French langage, only list in left of the page (Mes messages, mes parties,...) are writed in French Why not all the site ?


Jose Carrillo    (2006-04-11 23:26:39)
Fischer Random Chess / Chess960

Hello all! I'm the moderator of the Fischer Random Chess email Club (FRCEC) and I'm always looking for sites in the net that support Chess960, to promote them in my club, and to use to coordinate Chess960 events. To visit FRCEC got to: http://frcec.chess960.info/ Jose Carrillo


Jose Carrillo    (2006-04-11 23:28:13)
Chess960 Challenge

I'm new to the site, and learning how to use it. Anyone interested can challenge me to a Chess960 game. Thanks.


Marc Lacrosse    (2006-04-12 09:57:10)
Tournament formulas : not too many .

Personally I do prefer playing a small number of games simultaneously at a relatively rapid pace instead of a larger number at slower pace.

But I can understand that some prefer the opposite. So why not.

One caveat : I think you should wait a little bit before multiplying categories.
As long as we are not a larger number of active players there is a risk that there will be a small number of players waiting for long before a sufficient number of players will join for starting a tournament in a given category.

Marc


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-14 17:08:26)
Answers...

Hello Håkon. Some answers :

1. Maybe try : Preferences -> Notification checkbox
2. Right, other players already asked for this. Now you have 2 months to play a single move, so few chances to be late. The council will discuss about vacation option before to be implemented.
3. Some players asked these informations not to appear in the list to reduce it in size, so you can check this just by clicking on the games. ("when last move was done" : right !)
4. For website design reasons, I can't display many informations on the same page. I don't think flags are essential, but it will probably be implemented anyway !


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 :)


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-17 19:25:06)
New features...

Coordinates & last move have been implemented... Now the "live games" concept of the site extends to the home page :)

Also, player informations are 5 successive pages (informations, elo history, title norms, tournaments, games), reachable just by clicking on "ELO" (to improve yet) after clicking the magnifying glass.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-20 11:59:21)
Cheating / Forfeiting

Hello to all.

The website detected 2 'probable' cheaters registered (one playing), with a 1400 rating.

Of course, FICGS will face problems encountered by all correspondence chess sites but I think it will be minimal here, as I'm enforcing detection rules so that aliases couldn't register anymore.

Important : Games forfeited without a valid explanation won't be rated, and the account for the player closed. A player who may forfeit should send an email with explanation to : ficgs (at) ficgs.com

Thanks.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-23 06:01:44)
explanation

Hello Elmer.

It's possible the player entered an ambiguous move in plain text format. The program may have interpreted this move as the first one possible. Anyway he probably did not verify his move before confirmed (inquiring), I can't correct that. I'll fix that as soon as the next update of the site is done. Thank you.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-23 13:43:17)
Websites / Links

A thread where I'll post many various links.

Everyone can post URLs here, of course. Please don't forget to use the html < br > tag to jump a line. < a href=" " ..> is not recognized (yet) :/


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-23 13:48:27)
French websites

Quelques liens de sites français tout d'abord :

http://www.france-echecs.com
(le forum français bien connu)

http://echecsmag.over-blog.com
(un nouveau magazine sans lange de bois)

http://www.asso-ecam.com
(les échecs par correspondance sans assistance informatique)


Michael Aigner    (2006-04-24 20:20:09)
Spanish / Deutsch (help....)

Hello Thibault! I had a look for the german parts of the website and I have unfortunately to say the babelfish german is horrible. You can (if you like) send me all the english text you like to have in german and I will translate it for you. michael10013@lycos.com Give me please an mail adress where I schould send the translation to. Have a nice day Michael


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!


Trent Parker    (2006-04-25 14:05:50)
Australian site

Hey Thibault! Thanks for this excellent chess server! Below is an Australian site which welcomes all. And is where Thibault advertised this chess server that caused me to be interested in FICGS. It is a Forum/ Bulletin Board www.chesschat.org BTW I am a moderator at chesschat.org I am username "TCN"


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


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-04-26 01:33:22)
Finally...

Less than 2 hours later, the second Class C tournament started :)

I hope the first CHESS 960 tournament will begin soon. (Special tournaments category) See the Help section to see the start position. More about Chess 960 / Fischer Random on Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer_random_chess


Quad tournaments and other categories will appear later, but feel free if you have any idea for special events (teams from countries, other clubs or websites etc...)


David Angeli    (2006-05-01 18:42:19)
Tournament class

Hi thibault About the "tounaments" topic (je sais pas comment on dit rubrique en anglois ! ;o) ) One thing not very clear for a newcomer like me is the difference between the different classes of tournaments : A, M, etc...it is certainly explained somewhere but i'm a bit lazy and it would be easier if it was explained on the same page . Thanks to your site i'm back to correspondence chess :)


Amir Bagheri    (2006-06-13 11:22:45)
FICGS

this site looks like a great site just cant wait to get started...Nice to see that Suat Atalik is there as i am of to turkey next month and hope to meet him in his club in taksim (istanbul)


Nicolas Fillion    (2006-05-02 20:06:09)
Printable game list

Hi, I'd like to know if there's an option to have a printable list of the moves of the games we're playing. I don't see any option... If not, I'd like to suggest to add such an option to the webmaster! The site is undoubtly great, but this kind of option would surely make it even greater! Thanks


Graham Wyborn    (2006-05-06 10:37:16)
Computer Aided Sites

Do you know of any other sites that allow computer aided chess?
I am aware of www.playchess.de and www.cowplay.com. Any others?


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.


Glen D. Shields    (2006-05-06 11:51:16)
Two Others

Two other sites are ICCF (http://www.iccf-webchess.com/) and IECG (http://lss.chess-server.net/). They're similar to FICGS in that both require one to play with their real name. Neither site promotes computer use, yet neither site discourages it. ICCF is a fee-based. IECG is free.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-05-06 18:32:03)
All is possible...

Maybe players shouldn't be able to vote for their own games... But in most cases, interesting games are first known by the players themselves. We could miss something.

Anyway, I think only really interesting or spectacular games will obtain many votes. We'll see... I also think about mini-sites / kind of blog, or shared wiki-like pages for players who want to discuss & analyze games in depth together.


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-05-14 07:43:13)
An alternative to Cup Championship

In my opinion, instead of a Cup Championship, perhaps a Knock Out Rapid Championship maybe more interesting!? This is simply an idea. (Otherwise, FICGS might begin to look too similar to other correspondence chess sites, don't you think?!)


Wayne Lowrance    (2006-05-17 08:41:06)
overall evaluation of this new site

This mate problem on this site is a big problem. Only chess site I play on where you have won and it is not won until the player resigns. Secondly I am in a game where mate is in 2. but my opponent has stopped playing. Many others are reporting the same thing. The idea is nice, it assumes that all players are good sports. Over all I would say many players here are not considerate of their opponents, and it is a reflection of their charachter. I dont think to much of the moderaters or those who are responsible and have taken a no action stance despite many complaints. Moderator or responsible authority take care of this ridiculous policy Regards Wayne


Per Lea    (2006-05-17 13:27:46)
FICGS is not alone....

I have encountered a similar problem on another website: when accepting an offer of a draw, the system wouldn't accept the result unless you played a move as well!


Wayne Lowrance    (2006-05-19 00:50:31)
It is not nonsense

He resigned i believe cause of opinion of those here. It is not nonsence. The fact that this site is correspondence has nothing to do with it. absolutley nothing ! You go to any club tournament and you will not be welcome back with such over the board conduct. It is rude, spitefull and counter productive to good chess and fair play. You will change this rule my friend. There is NO justification for a player to drag out a forced mate loss if he sees it. and believe me in the case of my game 205 you must admit it is obvious. In fact he should have resigned many moves earlier, I would have 4 sure. do not like your weak argument justifying the mate implementation.... Here is to a nice cite for corresponse chess. Respexctfully Wayne


Glen D. Shields    (2006-05-19 03:43:15)
Oops ... sorry!

Oops .. this belongs in the discussion on "the overall evaluation of this site." My apology. Perhaps Thibault could kindly move the above post to the proper place and delete this apology? I'd be very appreciative. Thanks!


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


Dave Grobler    (2006-05-20 21:09:49)
team championship

Hello This is my first post....so I apologise for any mistakes. A team tournament should be organised as soon as possible . It is an excellant way of building up friendships.I think at the moment we have too few members to start . But this site grows quickly ! Teams should start to form now !


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 !


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 23:03:44)
Team Championship

Hello to all.

I'm now promoting the site in this way, a team championship will start as soon as possible. (waiting for more players)


David Grosdemange    (2006-05-30 00:28:03)
particularities of big chess ^^

we must take care about the possible endings ^^ for instance , knight+bishop can't win in big chess ^^ whereas 2 bishops (opposite coloured) still can win ^^ about a value , i think something like : pawn : 1 knight : 2,5 bishop : 4 rook : 6 queen : 11


Wayne Lowrance    (2006-06-01 02:52:44)
Other chess websites

Url u asked 4, http://pacific-mall.com/chess/ sign in as guest or create a user name. very simple. I am globalpac. my e-mail address is yagi90250@yahoo.com future responses concerning that site should be addressed via e-mail. I dont wish to sound promoting here, that is not the case..thanks Wayne


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-06-01 03:06:05)
Website url

Hello Wayne.

No problem, but take care with your website url while posting, you just sent a wrong link to both forums here & on http://www.talkchess.com ;)

I corrected the Url in your post.


Wayne Lowrance    (2006-06-01 07:32:45)
other chess websites

okey dokey. Thank you. dunno what I did wrong but I check. by the way, it is not my chess site, I only play there for over 10 years.Thanks Wayne


Lionel Vidal    (2006-06-01 15:08:53)
A missing link to the rules

Hello,

Would it be possible to have a direct link to the rules on the menu list of your home page in FICGS?
I would find useful to be able to access the rules at the same level of waiting lists, tournaments, forum and so on.
Or maybe there is an easy way I did not see?
(This is nitpicking, the site is already great :-))
Best wishes.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-06-01 15:37:17)
FICGS rules

No problem, the website may be quite unclear in some places. Anyway I have to improve many parts of it.

(FICGS, Lionel... FICGS :))


Kuzma Pecotic    (2006-06-03 07:28:29)
Incorrect move

This is my game:

[Event "FICGS__CHESS__CLASS_A__000003"]
[Site "FICGS"]
[Date "2006.04.22"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Pecotic,Kuzma"]
[Black "Sobrecases,Guy"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2179"]
[BlackElo "2105"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Qc7 9.f4 Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Qb6 11.Bd3 Qxb2 12.O-O Qd4+ 13.Kh1 Ba6 14.Bxa6 Qxe4 15.Rb1 Qa4 16.Bd3 f5 17.*


For what reason: Incorrect move : 17.exf6


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-06-06 17:39:44)
7.5 komi + Superko

Hello to all.

In accordance with Chinese rules, the last update of the FICGS rules of Go states a 7.5 komi (3.75 by chinese counting)

http://www.britgo.org/rules/compare.html#threeKK

The last ambiguity may concern the superko rule, as now FICGS graphical interface forbids any board repetition (not only previous move). See this page on BRITGO site, at the very bottom : Positional superko (PSK) means a play may not recreate a previous board position from the game, referring to the position just after the play and consequent removals.

However, forbidding any board repetition is the only way to prevent draw games.


Tommie Derz    (2006-06-07 00:05:48)
Go applet, ranking list

I am interested how this chess site could develop into a valid site for playing Go. It obviously started by as a server for Chess enthousiasts, which is ok. I suggest a better separation between Go and Chess on this server, resp. a rating list for Go to. It does not make sense to me to have my 'non'-chess-rating of ELO 1400 entered into a list and being silent of the Go rating of e.g. Florescu, Ion (2600?). The chess applet works well, the Go game replayer not.


Marc Lacrosse    (2006-06-09 09:21:54)
I cannot understand ...

To Trent Parker :
you say :
"I think the teams should be geographical at least"

This is really something that I cannot even understand.
In which way is my way of playing correspondence chess related to the place where I live or where I am born???
Is my kind of play "belgian" ?
Or is it "brown-haired", or "butter-cooked", or ...
Why shouldn't I be allowed to find a few friends from all over the world that play the same kind of unusual openings than myself to build a team ?
IMHO this kind of team could well have a better signification than a one made of chess players of the same country or of the same geographical region.

Anyway the idea itself of "correspondence chess teams" is completely strange for me. Does it mean that collaboration between members for the choice of the moves is allowed ?
This is at the exact opposite of what I feel to be the minimum requirement for a meaningful correspondence chess competition to survive : anything allowed (books, computers, databases) except human advice, and at least one single human name alone identified as the single "author" of the moves ...

So, why teams at all...

Marc


Julien Baudement    (2006-06-09 10:03:24)
Nouvelles fonctionnalités

Avant tout, Bravo pour le site sur lequel je prend beaucoup de plaisir. J'aimerais soumettre des modifications à apporter qui pourraient encore améliorer: 1) possibilité de contacter directement le webmestre... 2) possibilité de proposer une partie à un joueur quelconque sans passer par le mode tournoi. En effet, on est tenu de jouer toutes les parties dans ce système, mais peut etre que certains préfèreraient pouvoir n'en jouer qu'une à la fois ! En tout cas, encore bravo pour tout ce travail ! Ikki


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-06-10 10:52:11)
Team championship

Très exactement 3... (en me comptant :)) C'était prématuré de toutes manières, et il faudrait que je réfléchisse à une autre approche. Cela dit, je ne suis effectivement pas certain de la nécessité d'une telle compétition, les échecs par correspondance s'y prêtant sans doute moins. A suivre...


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.


Daniel De Noose    (2006-06-15 15:17:03)
Not very satisfy too...

Like Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff, when I registered the tournament it was announced as 1st championship and open to everyone. I don't like when rules change after the registration. Secundo, if you only reserve this 1st tournament to players with rating over 2300, you can change my rating : on the "correspondence" chess site chess-mail I'm over 2370. But as I said to you when I began here I want to improve my real rating beginning like an unrated. But if now the rating is so important to play the 1st championship, I prefer to be correctly rated. Hoping you'll change all this and play really the 1st championship with everybody.

My actual rating in "correspondence chess" :

- chess-mail : kasapov (2370)
- echecsemail : danideno (2280)
- echecsnet : danideno (2271; but it is the highest rating of this site)

Daniel


Daniel De Noose    (2006-06-15 17:23:38)
It is not the same !

Playing 1st or 2nd Championship is not the same because if you play only the second you can't be the first FICGS champion ! ;-) Secundo, as you explained it at the start of the site, everybody can use databases, computers, ... In that case a 1600 can beat a 2300 if he enters correctly parameters in his chess engine. Because the tournament is not again started you can correct this. After the beginning it will be harder. And what's my rating now ? ;-)


Amir Bagheri    (2006-06-16 13:19:00)
the GM class tournament...

I was interested to see that a tourney dedicated to the GMs of this site was available. So I tried to enrol, but my rating is too low :-) but yet I am a GM :-) I think it would be a great thing if we could enrol in it. Merci d'avance thibault


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?


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.


Paul-Iosif Guralivu    (2006-06-30 10:50:31)
Forfeit problem

Game 934 (chess)

White clock - 30 days 23:29:09
Black clock - Out of time.

[Event "FICGS__CHESS__RAPID_C__000002"]
[Site "FICGS"]
[Date "2006.05.31"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Guralivu,Paul-Iosif"]
[Black "Alessandrini,Alfredo"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "1293"]
[BlackElo "1400"]

1.e4 *

Should this game be forfeit ? Should all the games of Mr. Alessandrini be forfeit ?


Gino Figlio    (2006-07-04 01:07:56)
Symmetrical games

The format used(8-game match with simultaneous games, 4 white and 4 black) brings up the issue of avoiding symmetrical games. I don't see a perfect way of doing this other than being conscious of the problem, and trying to deviate early on. If I see an opening chosen by my opponent that I am also planning to use, I have waited to respond in one(or more) of the games, until the position reached a point where I would normal deviate, and choose an alternate move with the opposite colour. Anyone else with better ideas about how to avoid this problem?


Gino Figlio    (2006-07-04 19:08:38)
8-game matches

Just to clarify my position about this format, I think it's just fine if the players are alert and avoid playing symmetrical lines/games. I actually think it's a good idea to play a simultaneous 8-game match to see who's better. It's just a bit different than your normal round-robin tournament, perhaps that makes your site unique!


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-07-04 21:03:47)
Symmetrical games

Understand me, referee has to validate the evidence, nothing more. There can't be any ambiguity in this case (all moves are copied ad tempo, or not). Rules are written in this way : No human factor.

However I can't let the program close an account because of cheating :) .. There are a few players trying to use several accounts, they are automatically detected, but we can discuss (and finally close the facticious one). This site is friendly, we are not in Matrix :>


Glen D. Shields    (2006-07-06 03:54:49)
Congratulations - 500 members now !

Not sure how many noticed that FICGS reached 500 members this past week. That's a fantastic milestone considering FICGS is only three months old.

Congratulations Thibault and thank you for making this site available for all of us to enjoy!


Paul-Iosif Guralivu    (2006-07-06 20:35:49)
Some interesting!

I think this site has more succes then other(which haven't reach 500 after a few years), because:
-it's offer an online way to move
-it's allow players from other sites to keep their titles
-and offers other title



Josh Knapp    (2006-07-09 06:54:48)
Private notes

I'm new to the site, so far I like it. But I am curious, are there any plans to make a private notes feature? I have played on several other sites and make notes all the time. I know I could make them on my computer, but the problem with that is that I often switch back and forth between two different machines.


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-07-20 06:06:51)
Re: page rank.......

Thibault, Is Google the most well known search engine on the internet?! Is the page ranking of a website on it decided purely on the number of visitors clicking on any particular website?!


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-07-20 14:39:21)
Google pagerank

Hi Dinesh.

Ironic ? ;)

Google is definitely the best search engine for several years. Maybe his statistical concept will be outdated soon (or already), but it's the most powerful one (speed, capacity, accuracy...) and most : it still represents 85 % of visitors from search engines (for all websites). Yahoo represents 9% .. the others nothing. About 30 % (only) of FICGS visitors come from search engines, but it will undoublty increase and over 90 % as time passes.

Pagerank is decided on the value (Pagerank) of the links towards a website.. Actually this is a complex formula based on many parameters, but first of all the Pagerank of the websites referrers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagerank


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-07-28 02:31:50)
Blogs !

Everyday a new feature, I keep in the rhythm ;)

You may have noticed this link ('see the players blog') at the top of the forum page. A new interface that simply looks like the forum, but built like a blogs website.

You may want to relate your Chess life or Go philosophy, your games or whatever.. you can do it there.

Like in the forum, links are automatically parsed. The html < br > tag to begin a new line. Comments by everyone are also available.


Charlie Neil    (2006-07-30 11:40:10)
Country Flag

(here goes) is the Scottish flag available? I did discover this site via the Scottish Correspondence Chess Association website.The dam may burst as the UK divides into its constituent parts.


Graham Wyborn    (2006-08-01 00:31:08)
On another site!

On another site they had all the flags for each state in the USA! Not sure you will want to go that far, as then we UK people will be asking for the flags of each county. Where does it all end? Country flags only!


Marc Lacrosse    (2006-08-02 22:14:10)
Request for adjudication & rules

In game *** my opponent has a completely lost position for more than 2 months by now and refuses to resign.
How long will he require that I play child-level uninteresting moves?
I announce mate in 8 moves and request adjudication against this completely disgraceful way of playing.
I am evidently able to prove the win.
I already said how I felt this kind of proceeding to be completely disgusting.

If my requirement is not fulfilled I will leave this site being the first master-class tournament winner.

Nice...

Marc


Graham Wyborn    (2006-08-02 23:14:20)
Be patient!

Your opponent is not breaking any rules! I have an opponent who has not moved for about 6 weeks. Now with less than 24 hours left on his clock, he goes on holiday! Our opponents can use the time how they like. In the UK you can be arrested for wasting police time, but you cannot be arrested on any chess site for wasting opponents time! If you leave this site, which I hope you will not do, you will come across the same problem on other chess sites.


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-08-07 22:23:56)
Suggestion (sponsors)

Thibault, Are you looking at the possibility of getting some sponsors for this FICGS website in the near future?! If it materialises, it'll be a win-win situation for all.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-08-08 12:09:40)
Suggestion (sponsors)

Hi Dinesh.

I'm looking at everything of course, it would be great to get sponsors and prizes for free tournaments ie. WCH... The more success, the more chances, so still working. It will take time anyway...

In a near future : Tournaments with entry fees & money prizes should start in October, I have many new ideas to make it attractive for the most, titled players as beginners, and it should bring something to the whole site.


Graham Wyborn    (2006-08-09 09:24:23)
Missed the point

When I click the game number the screen appears with the game etc. but no (download) button at the bottom of the screen. I need to click the game number button again, then on the second attempt, the (download) button appears. It seems to me that the (download)button should appear on the screen when I first see the game page. Also have problems entering a move after using the (download) button! Anyone else having the same problem, or is it me and my PC! ........................ Great site, keep up the good work!


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-08-24 14:01:52)
Re: Premove (conditional moves).....

I think such issues as CONDITIONAL MOVES & VACATION TIME ALLOWED are sure to be debated in the future too. Some sites allow conditional moves , some don't. Some sites allow vacation time of 30 or 30+ days per year per tournament (and sometimes even special leave), some sites don't. These issues are sure to be hotly debated for a long time.


Don Burden    (2006-08-26 18:51:54)
Opening Idea

I'd say it is a fairly big advantage to black. He's a solid pawn up and threatens to win another. Found two games in my database with higher rated players:

[Event "ICCF MN/12 corr"]
[Site "ICCF corr"]
[Date "1995.06.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Majewski, Jan"]
[Black "Chorvat, Marian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2335"]
[BlackElo "2305"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[Source "www.chesslib.no"]
[SourceDate "2006.04.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O O-O 9. d5 Bxc3 10. bxc3 Ne7 11. Re1 Nf6 12. d6 Nf5 13. Ba3 Nxd6 14. Bxd6 cxd6 15. Qxd6 Ne8 16. Qd5 Nf6 17. Qd6 Ne8 18. Qd2 d6 19. Ng5 Nf6 20. Rad1 d5 21. Bb3 h6 22. Ne4 Bg4 23. Nxf6+ Qxf6 24. f3 Qb6+ 25. Qd4 Be6 26. Bxd5 Bxd5 27. Qxb6 axb6 28. Rxd5 Rxa2 29. f4 Rc8 30. Rd3 Rc2 31. Ree3 Ra8 32. h4 Raa2 33. Rg3 Rd2 34. Rde3 Kf8 35. Re4 b5 36. Re5 Rab2 37. Rc5 b4 38. Rc8+ Ke7 39. cxb4 Rxb4 40. Rxg7 Rxf4 41. Rh7 Rf6 42. Kh2 Ke6 43. h5 Rd5 44. g4 Rd4 45. Kg3 Rd3+ 46. Kg2 Rd6 47. Re8+ Kd7 48. Rf8 Ke7 49. Rhh8 Ke6 50. Re8+ Kd5 51. Re7 b6 52. Rf8 Rf4 53. Kg3 Rdf6 54. Rc8 Rf3+ 55. Kg2 Rf2+ 56. Kg1 R2f4 57. Rg8 b5 58. Re3 b4 59. Kg2 Kd4 60. Rb3 Rb6 61. Kg3 Rf1 0-1

[Event "ICCF MN/12 corr"]
[Site "ICCF corr"]
[Date "1995.06.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mathias, Manfred"]
[Black "Chorvat, Marian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2370"]
[BlackElo "2305"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[Source "www.chesslib.no"]
[SourceDate "2006.04.01"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O O-O 9. d5 Bxc3 10. bxc3 Ne7 11. Re1 Nf6 12. d6 Nf5 13. dxc7 Qxc7 14. Qb3 d5 15. Bd3 Be6 16. Rb1 b6 17. Qc2 g6 18. Bb2 Ne8 19. Re2 Neg7 20. Rbe1 Rfe8 21. Qd2 Nd6 22. c4 dxc4 23. Qc3 f6 24. Bxg6 hxg6 25. Qxf6 Qf7 26. Rxe6 Qxf6 27. Rxf6 Rxe1+ 28. Nxe1 Re8 29. Nf3 Re2 30. Be5 Nf7 31. Bd4 Re6 32. Kf1 Rxf6 33. Bxf6 b5 34. Bc3 Ne6 35. h4 Nf4 36. a3 Nd5 37. Bb4 a6 38. g3 Kg7 39. Ke2 Kf6 40. Ba5 Nd6 41. g4 Nb7 42. Bd2 a5 43. Bg5+ Kg7 44. Ne5 c3 45. Kd3 b4 46. Kc4 Nb6+ 47. Kd4 Nc5 48. axb4 axb4 49. f3 Nd5 50. Nc4 Ne6+ 51. Kd3 Nxg5 52. hxg5 b3 53. Na3 Kf7 54. f4 c2 55. Nxc2 Nxf4+ 0-1



Julien Baudement    (2006-08-28 17:21:40)
Go rules : no pass option

A little problem with the go games : It's possible to move, to resign, but not to pass. I remember that it was extisting before because one of my opponents did it! Thibaut: je t'aurai... dans quelques années mr Kobayashi m'a suggéré un site pour se perfectionner !


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-09-01 17:11:46)
Go / Weiqi tournaments : New categories

Hello to all.

New Go tournament categories have been created.

PRO category, for players ranked 1 dan and above (Go elo > 2099)
DAN category, for players ranked 10 kyu and above (Go elo > 1099).
KYU category, for all Go players, whatever their rating...

Rules have been updated for the rating calculation and Go championship (a win in a KYU tournament = 1 point, a win in a DAN tournament = 2 points, a win in a PRO tournament = 3 points).

Feel free to post here any suggestion to improve this site for Go game...

(& don't forget this is not a chess variant ;))

Kind regards.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-09-01 17:37:52)
FICGS titles update

This site will work by itself soon... :)

Thanks Benjamin. I'll post soon again about the council/staff, moderators etc.. Feel free to tell me if you're interested ;)

About titles, I'll add that players who will get a FICGS title could probably have one at ICCF, so they're invited to try...


The first norms calculation just occured. Here are the result(s) :

FICGS__CHESS__RAPID_M__000001 : Zubac, Marius EM=1,IM=1


Marc Lacrosse    (2006-09-04 10:51:45)
To Charlie on cheaters ...

Hi Charlie

I completely agree with the first sentences of your post, but I cannot accept the second part of it.
I use computers, and books, and databases and lots of prepared personal analyses for my games here.
I do not accept to be called a cheater : this is explicitly allowed by the rules here, and it is even one of the main reasons for which I joined this association.
There are lots of other sites where computer use is forbidden : you can for sure play there and complain when you will guess that your opponent is making use of electronic assistance, but not here.
Moreover for me it is pure shortness of sight if you are not able to imagine that playing with computer help can be both creative and even fascinating.
Take any of your games and do a quick analysis with several chess programs : you will see that for a large majority of positions they completely disagree on which is the best move to play. The human touch is critically decisive when playing with computer help.
And resulting games are far more complicated and interesting in my eyes.
Another point is that for myself I prefer that my opponents do not spoil an interesting game for which I have spent hours and hours of analysis along weeks of play through a stupid human blunder that ends it all suddenly.
I do pretty well understand that you prefer to play on your own. But what is the problem if you have a computer-assisted opponent? Either you will loose and will maybe learn something either you will win and it will be a pretty good achievement. And surely it will be a better game. The only problem I can see is the possible frustration not to be able to win many games.
Then I repeat : go on another site where computer assistance is forbidden. But I have to say that having played on such sites for years you will find _many_ cheaters... Pure human play cannot be enforced ...

But please stop saying that players like myself are cheaters and poor ignorants.
It is sure we play a different game but why should you be entitled to say that mine is worse than yours?


Regards

Marc


David Da Silva    (2006-09-04 16:30:13)
Clock running while on holliday

Hello, I may have missed something but in one of my games, maybe more but this one I'm sure because I had few days left, my clock runned enventhought the hollidays I declared. When I came back, I had 6 hours to play 9 moves wich I couldn't do(damn sleep ;))... Is this a bug or a rule subtility ? Thanks for the answer and congrats for this great site ! David


Charlie Neil    (2006-09-05 09:50:08)
why play corr-chess

Marc, excuse me I didn't make the difference between chess engines/databases and someone playing straight moves straight off their own computer. Yes, use books and databases that's what they are there for. But I feel sorry for the individual who relies solely on their computer to play their games for them. It is a bit like taking a fork lift to a weight lifting competition. The use of computers and servers is still relatively new to me. There are sites that ban the use of computers. but who is to know who is using their computer in an illegal way? There can be no profit for them or enjoyment in the game. It is good that FICGS has this forum for free discussion. I enjoyed reading "The future for Corr-chess" thread. There has always been points in time when it has been discussed that chess has "burnt-out" and the game will die off. I don't think that will ever happen in light of the passion for this terrible game expressed in all these forums. So, forgive an ignorant "free-range" "organic" chessfriend for not being clear about the differences about databases and computer-slaves who rely on their machines. The game is the thing. ( and maybe just maybe I wasn't drinking just coffee the time I posted the cheats slur...:-/)


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-09-06 18:24:47)
Re:

I think if there's enough positive feedback about inclusion of such games, you could go ahead and expand the website in the near future.


Graham Wyborn    (2006-09-07 20:28:48)
Site Design

Would it be possible to have a bigger selection of "Site Design" colours. I would prefer a simple all one colour pastel shade, or even a plain white. I am not too keen on diferent shades of colour on opposite sides of the screen. I am currently using the "grey" and some of the text almost fades into the darker colour.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-09-07 21:26:42)
Site Design

I just added plain grey, red, blue and green... Plain white is really awful :-)

I'll try to add other designs with pictures soon.


Graham Wyborn    (2006-09-07 22:15:35)
Site Design

Thank you for making the changes so quickly. Now using "grey plain". So much better.


Lionel Vidal    (2006-09-09 10:40:13)
arimaa ?!

Arimaa may be a good choice too: it may be played on a chessboard, it is deep, fun and invented precisely to make any computer ridiculous :-) (Just like with Go and ChuShogi it is a very satisfying ego-boost-experience to feel vastly superior once in a while to even the best silicon brains :-))
And another point is that I don't know any site where you could play correpondence arimaa with a server. (whereas you can play Go or Chusogi at pbem server for instance... with even a graphical interface but not as comfortable as FICGS!)
Oh but wait... if you add a game, you'll have to change the name FICGS ? :-)


Thomas Gilbreath    (2006-09-14 05:19:28)
Greetings from GameKnot :)

Hello friends, my name is Thomas, and I am the representative from GameKnot. We look forward to playing a match against you! GameKnot has played two matches vs. other sites in the past, and we have enjoyed the competition very much. It is my sincere hope that we can pull this thing off! As FICGS is a newer site with a smaller community than ours, we hope that you guys can field a team of approximately 12-20 players of ALL ratings ranges. We intend to put up at least 2 players in each of 7 ratings classes (U2400, U2200, U2000, U1800, U1600, U1400, and U1200). The rules of the match are currently being negotiated between Thibault and myself, and we would like to commence as soon as possible. I highly encourage the members of FICGS to participate, as these matches are a lot of fun! You guys will get a chance to visit our site, and we yours. Please contact Thibault and sign on! We look forward to seeing you OTB :)


Miguel Pires    (2006-09-15 02:50:58)
well

you are the boss, if say soo, for me is ok. But for shure some not going to do that. And now we have a big problem, the OTB Vs CC rating. Cairo from GK have an elo in OTB +2300, mor or less the same at GK an ICCF, but others, the thing's are different. Like me, i'm a +1700 in otb, and + 2000 in this site, and in GK i'm a +1900 (a lot of timeouts put my rating in 1756 now). soo playng in CC without any help (databases like i play in GK) is hard to play at + 2000. And we need players with good OTB rating's to. Like i say, you are the boss. what time controls we going to use?


Thomas Gilbreath    (2006-09-16 23:46:58)
Udate from GameKnot:

I just wanted to give you guys a heads up as to the players from my site that are being CONSIDERED for playing in the match. As ratings fluctuate, I have simply rounded and given approximate strength: mateintwo - 2400+ cyrano - 2400+ cairo - 2300+ fmgaigin - 2300+ drdesoto - 2300+ papani - 2300+ harlekin - 2300+ nestorix - 2300+ drunken_rabbit - 2200+ kumpan - 2200+ grandpatzer - 2200+ os5213 - 2200+ carlosmart - 2200+ chrisp - 2100+ nottop - 2100+ gloomy_den - 1900+ thumper - 1700+ gwalchmai - 1600+ tugger - 1600+ yanm - 1500+ mattw - 1500+ patagusto - 1500+ tag1153 - 1400+ cjjpeterson - 1400+ simian9 - 1400+ eqj2 - 1400+ hollcanna - 1300+ dewillget8 - 1200+ mozz - 1200+ These GameKnot players have expressed an interest in playing. More will sign on I'm sure, as I have set Oct 1, 2006 as the sign up deadline. I will put together our team during the first week of October, and will be ready to commence play by the second week of October. During the interim, Thibault and I will finalize the details of the match. I realize that this short list is very master and expert heavy, but have no worries - I will be contacting more of our A, B, C, and D class players and asking them to participate. We look forward to the match:) Thomas


Marc Lacrosse    (2006-09-18 11:22:31)
Computer use

I completely agree with H Muller.
In most web-based sites where computer use is forbidden most high-rated players do actually use them.
The most intriguing example is the very well organised www.playchess.de (not related to Chessbase server) where there are two different sections with respectively computer use allowed and forbidden : there are much more players in the "computer forbidden" section but almost all high-rated players in this section are cheaters (I was one of them and I left because I began to fell disgusted with this necessity to cheat for not being crushed).
That's why I came here and that's also why I will not in any case join the team for the match against GameKnot (or others) if the rules are not modified.

Marc


Thomas Gilbreath    (2006-09-18 12:55:35)
My friends at FICGS:

I am a little concerned, yet understanding, of your feelings about the possibility of cheating in our proposed match. Please understand that there are two sides to the suspicion coin. For those of you who are not familiar with the GameKnot website, let me assure you that I will only be putting up players who I am familiar with, and who have proven themselves to play honorably. I am a three year veteran of GameKnot, and play on the site daily. I will be selecting my team from players whom I feel confident will conduct themselves within the rules we agree on. The intent of arranging this match is NOT to simply put up all of our master level players and attempt to whitewash you guys 100-0. The intent is to provide as MANY matches of ALL ratings ranges for a fun, competetive match. If we lose every match we will have no hard feelings towards you. As the game results in our proposed match will have no bearing on ratings changes, we view the match as a simple, friendly exercise. So, having said all of that, we hope that FICGS will offer up as many people as possible, and Thibault and myself will pair them with my guys in such a way that is FAIR and equitable to both sides. Should anyone here at FICGS have any questions, please feel free to post them here or in the GameKnot forum (in the GameKnot Related threads). Thanks:) - Thomas


James Stripes    (2006-09-18 13:46:35)
excessive fears

Of course cheating is always a danger, but I doubt more than a small minority of players do it. Chess appeals to those who enjoy solving problems more than to those who need to maintain a artificial number (rating) alongside a fictitious name. Cheaters likely lose interest fairly quickly. I've played at GameKnot and many similar sites. If any more than a half-dozen of my 300 or so opponents were cheating, they were doing so badly.


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


James Stripes    (2006-09-18 15:56:13)
27 years ago

When I first played correspondence chess, books were encouraged and the few chess engines in existence were garbage. Good quality engines and comprehensive databases have changed the nature of correspondence play. Nearly everyone permits databases (electronic books), although endgame tablebases are less clear. Engines are permitted some places, while banned others. This site is my first foray into CC where engine use is permitted, but I've played at dozens of sites where I can use databases. (I don't believe I've ever reached a position in which tablebases would be useful, except a few elementary positions that any average player could win against Kramnik.) These inter-site matches, it seems to me, nurture connections across the broad community of correspondence players--a rapidly expanding coterie of chess aficionados thanks to the likes of GameKnot and similar sites.


Jaimie Wilson    (2006-09-19 14:28:46)
match GameKnot-FICGS

Here at FICGS, real names have to be supplied. This gives FICGS a human element that encourages honour and sportsmanship and in my opinion gives this site a clear edge over its rivals.


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-09-29 13:03:02)
Psycho(logical) games by Topalov's team?

[moderator : please don't copy exact content (news, articles..) from other websites]

Common toilet for both players.

29.09.2006 The Appeals Committee of FIDE has taken a decision on protest by the Bulgarian delegation who, after viewing the video tapes, stated that Kramnik would visit the toilet too often. A common toilet will be opened for both players.

The Appeals Committee : FIDE Deputy President IM Georgios Makropoulos, Continental President for Americas FM Jorge Vega, FIDE Vice President Zurab Azmaiparashvili.

More - http://www.chessbase.com


Roger Weber    (2006-09-29 23:27:19)
Another one

Hi Thibault,

I don't know if it's included somewhere on the site, but I didn't find it. Perhaps a little notice of the Go rules that you use on your site (i.e. chinese japanese).

A little explanation for those who don't know would be good, as with the prisoners and the endscore counting.



Regards, Roger.


Nigel Davies    (2006-09-30 09:07:48)
Legitimacy

This is (or should have been) the real point of these championships from FIDE's point of view. Rather than being seen as a banana republic with a paper champion their aim should have been to establish legitimacy for their cycle and organisation. FIDE established itself by taking over the World Chess Championships with the death of Alekhine. If it can no longer do that, a large part of its raison d'etre disappears, in my view. I'm not sure they realise it yet, but if Topalov 'wins' from his 1-3 position with some trumped up accusation of cheating, their legitimacy is not enhanced. Quite the opposite in fact. Kramnik goes home with a very strong claim to being the REAL World Champion (he beat Kasparov in a match) and having allowed FIDE to demonstrate its true colours. I think that the odds of him establishing his own cycle will have improved dramatically, he just needs a sponsor. Nigel


Anthony Bingham    (2006-10-03 15:47:07)
Introduction

Hello all, my name is Tony, aka (DEwillget8 @ Gameknot). I am looking forward to our upcoming tournament and would like to give a big thank you to all involved. I do have one question. How do I challenge a player here to a match so I can get used to the layout of your site? Thanks, Tony


James Stripes    (2006-10-03 16:06:53)
Engines appeal

I've played on several other correspondence sites, and this is the only one that permits engine use. For me, that was a critical part of its appeal. I started playing here to see how adding engine analysis to my other research methods will affect the play. I still think that positional understanding will be the critical difference in most games, as it is where engines are not permitted.


Wayne Lowrance    (2006-10-04 18:48:59)
Delay/Slow down games

Thibault, I see no reason to slow down play, I would be dead set against any such change. The current format is sufficient. I am playing in six tournaments,just signed up for a seventh, which I expect will open up soon. I have had no trouble keeping up and my site clock is in no danger. That is the way I feel. Wayne


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-10-09 11:19:53)
UCI / Winboard engine

Hello Yannick.

Maybe you could try a free chess engine like Crafty (quite strong already, also running on Chessbase / Fritz interface), GNUchess, Arasan, Ghost or any engine running on Winboard / Arena free interfaces...

See a list of chess engines here :
http://www.ficgs.com/wiki_en-chess_engines.html

A well-known french speaking website about computer chess :
http://perso.orange.fr/lefouduroi/computerchess.htm


Actually it's probably very hard not to be influenced by chess engines suggestions, but the point is to understand, then find better moves...

All depends on the level you want the engine to play. There are hundred of engines to download...


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-10-10 18:49:31)
Re: g11

With bishops on opposite colors, it's advised to keep a rook on each side to avoid a draw... Anyway, it seems to be a clear draw in all cases here.

If Kramnik doesn't win game 12, another battle will begin...


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-10-10 19:49:12)
Opposite color bishops

These endgames are much easier than same color bishops or rooks endings.. The bishop & king can block the opponent's pawns (1, 2, 3 or more) in most cases, and the bishop can be exchanged against one or two pawns... In most cases the bishop has only to make aleatory moves and it's a draw.

There's a famous position with 8 pawns up... It's a draw too.

With rooks, it all depends... Sometimes it's harder to get a draw with opposite color bishops than same color ones.


See the 'endgames' Wikipedia article...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endgame#Bishops_on_opposite_colors


Wayne Lowrance    (2006-10-14 18:37:24)
Best game

While kicking around the site I got the message advising my posting of a game of mine in "Best game" I don"t know how that happened, but it rembarrases me. I would not have made the post voluntarily (2168). Remove it for consideration please.....Wayne


Graham Wyborn    (2006-10-17 12:24:05)
Top of Rating List

How can Atalik, Suat be top of the rating list, when this player has never played a game on this site? Or have I got these facts wrong!


Scott Prestwood    (2006-10-21 02:42:17)
Moderation in everything

I find it easy to take on too many correspondence games my self. I prefer to have time to analyze as this is the tradition of coorespondence chess. I often feel busy (zeitnot as you call it) with just 15 games with long time controls. Some principals I use in moderating my challenge rate are; 1) I dont start new games if I have a game under 15 moves in progress, opening require less analysis, and the mid game is where most of the work is done. 2) whatever the estimated days per moves is I limit myself to 1/4th of that as my limit of games. i.e. if the average days per moves is 12 days I will try to keep around 3 games going if possible. These limits work well and I'm on several coorespondence sites.


Wolfgang Utesch    (2006-10-21 12:09:00)
Best game

The "Best Game" should be a figurehead of the FICS-Site - but is it? I don't think so. That so an exotic opening experiment (particularly with black) will run in a real loosing position, is not very suprising. And also the praised last move is found by several engines in a very short time! What we (this site) need is a very high classed game with surprising twists - which engines never can find. And it must be with very good comments on most moves. Looking for this - that is the real challenge for all of us! Wolfgang


Pekka I. Turakainen    (2006-10-26 18:04:25)
Reveal your software

Engines against engines....please, at least tell what chess engine you're using, so that your opponent knows which engine defeated his engine....like Shredder 10 vs. Shredder 10 1-0. Better advise: If you want to know which engine is strongest, please don't play here, visit some site that has ratings for chessengines.


Graham Wyborn    (2006-10-30 10:04:22)
Go games "display"

First allow me to say how much I enjoy playing chess & go on this site. Keep up the very good work!

Would it be possible to mark or display on the board when playin Go the piece that was last moved?

Also on other sites the option to flip the board is present. On this site the board is already fliped when playing white. Is this needed? If you download the .sgf to a viewer it will not show the game the same way round.

We have to press "send" and then "next". Is it possible to have an option included where after pressing "send" you go automatically to the next game?


John Acre    (2006-10-30 22:09:15)
lowball

I absolutely use an engine. The permitted use of engines is the only reason I'm at this site to begin with..... ........... ........... ........... ............. .............. ........... Engine assisted games can be a great study tool, if used correctly. I analyze each position to the best of my ability, record my candidate moves. Select one, record it, and then feed the position into Fritz to see how it evaluates the position......... ........... ............ ............. ........... ............. ............... ............. If my move is in the same ballpark, I make my selected move, I feel fricking great, and I await my opponent's reply. If my move is substantially inferior to Fritz's selection, I try to figure out why, and then I play Fritz's move. This way, not only do I get to understand the positions rising out of my chosen opening in a depth I could otherwise never approach without professional guidance, but each step of the way, I learn to play the next move's position as if the strongest move had been played............. ............ ........... ............. ............ ........... ........... .......... .......... If an opponent blunders in a big way, I mostly let Fritz finish him off, because the game is of no study value to me beyond that point. I don't care what my rating is, except that it be at a number where I can join a variety of rated tournaments (to face a variety of opposition). I don't play at this site to win, or to lose. I play here to get as close as a ~1600 OTB player like me can get to understanding the objective truth of the game............ ........... ........... ........... ........... ............. ............ ........ Sorry if that upsets anybody, but that's the whole reason I'm here. The community isn't big enough to have much independent value as a non-engine-assisted place to play correspondence matches. And why would one bother? There are a million of those places on the web. This place, however, is a one-of-a-kind goldmine. If engine play were to dry up or be outlawed here, what would be the point?....... ........... .......... ........ ........... ......... ........ ........... ............ .......... Anyway, to answer, from my viewpoint, another question asked in this thread, I'm currently self-rated at 1500 for this site. I'm playing in tournaments at about that level, and am admittedly using Fritz 9. My record, out of 20 or so games, looks like it's going to be about 4 wins, 6 losses, and 10 draws......... ............ ........... ............ ............ ............ ........... ............. ...... Only two of those wins are going to be miniatures, and both of those against the same guy. So playing with engine-assisted strength of around 2500 on my slow-ish machine, I'm going to score around 45%, with about 17 out of 18 opponents playing at or above my machine-enhanced strength............... ........... ............. ............ ........ ............ ........... People guessing 50% of users here use engines are lowballing, bigtime. I estimate around 95%. And I have no problem saying that I'm one of them.


Sebastian Ilie    (2006-10-31 06:55:11)
Go games "display"

Thx Thibault , for displaying the last move in red , you make my day :) Speaking about improving this site , i must say that it would be better if the opponent message will be displayed at the top - i usually missed them :(


Saksham Wal    (2006-10-31 22:53:03)
Help For New Members


I tried to check all existing post, but could not find what i Needed. Can someone Please Help me out in Few Things

1. How do i Start a Single Game Here ? Or playing Tournaments is the only way?

How do i find out which Tournaments are Open to join and which ones are already closed?

2. Are all moves played by e-mail(if yes, how?) or is there on site-java based Interface or something of the sort (eg: like features on GameKnot )

I understand that my Questions Might happen to be silly but well... i-need-to-know...

Hope this topic does not annoy anyone.

Regards



Roger Weber    (2006-10-31 22:56:02)
Help

1. There is no way to play single games on this site.

2. No, there's a beautiful interface on this site. I like the site, because it is very fast loading.

I hope this helped.



Regards,
Roger.


Saksham Wal    (2006-11-01 01:25:44)
A Small Suggestion


Hello Thibault de Vassal

The Names were Bit confusing. Maybe instead of "Waiting Lists" it would have been, "Open Tournaments" or tournament open for entry or something like that, i would have been more easy

Regards

P.S: This Site is Great!



Daniel De Noose    (2006-11-02 01:45:41)
Pas du tout car voici le mail ...

que j'ai reçu de notification :

-----------------------------
[Event "FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_1_GROUP_17__000001"]
[Site "FICGS"]
[Date "2006.7.1"]
[Round "1"]
[White "De Noose,Daniel"]
[Black "Ould Ahmed,Samy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1470"]
[BlackElo "2166"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.d3 Qf6 8.Nbd2 Bd6 9.Nc4 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Qxf3 11.gxf3 Ne7 12.f4 exf4 13.e5 Bc5 14.Bxf4 Ng6 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.fxe3 b5 17.Na5 Nxe5 18.Rf5 f6 19.d4 Nf7 20.Nxc6 Kd7 0-1

Move sent : 2006.10.29 - 11:35:31
Move replied : 2006.10.30 - 22:27:44

Non et j\'ai essayé ici mais cela ne me plaît pas ...
-----------------------------------

[j'ai volontairement coupé la fin du message car le reste ne regarde pas les autres utilisateurs.

Comme tu peux le voir c'est son coup qui est affiché mais le message est le mien ! C'est celui que je lui ai envoyé en jouant mon coup qui n'apparait pas càd 21.Cb4 !



Elmer Valderrama    (2006-11-07 19:34:10)
Motivation

It appears to me Fischer's approach to chess it's a simple case of (lack of) motivation, if you haven't got any everything seems dull and grey. On the opposite side is V Korchnoi, older than him, but with a lot a will and of course motivation.

Of course having been at the very top preclude any further motivation, perhaps that's a curse to every WC (they can't just go on playing chess for fun as other GM (wanna-be WCs) would do -and be happy at the same time-, exception could be M Tal)


Sebastien Marez    (2006-11-10 09:42:22)
temps de réflexion

J'etais d'accord avec M.MULLER, quand j'ai arrete de jouer mes parties sur le site (je le suis tjrs aujourd'hui). Malgré tout je suis revenu pour reprendre mes parties, et en faire d'autres. Car j'ai reussi a trouver un équilibre avec le site de l'IECG pour toujours avoir des parties en cours. Le système appliqué par l'IECG me parait malgré tout le mieux adapte au jeu.


Sebastien Marez    (2006-11-11 07:11:18)
temps de réflexion

Je suis revenu, car j'ai trouver un equilibre en les deux serveurs et que votre site me plait aussi. Il est vrai que le temps des parties sur FICGS est bcp trop long, le fait d attendre trop devient vite enervant et lassant, amenant ainsi un desinteret complet. Le fait de perdre mon classement n 'est pas important car je le retrouverais. Je comprends Mr OLTEAN, car je risque de lui enlever toutes ses chances dans les tournois respectifs. Il faut applique la meme regle que pour l'IECG sans reponse au bout de 30jrs les parties sont perdues, mais surtout reduire la cadence des parties pour retrouver un interet plus grand.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-11-11 16:48:20)
temps de réflexion

Je comprends que la règle de 60 jours max. par coup puisse paraitre plus que nécessaire, mais je maintiens que cette souplesse pour les joueurs a sa raison d'être, notamment en tenant compte du fait que contrairement à l'IECG (par l'intermédiaire des directeurs de tournois) le "facteur humain" est quasi nul sur FICGS, toute partie perdue au temps l'est irrémédiablement et sans recours... Dans de nombreux cas, 30 jours peuvent passer très vite (voyage, hospitalisation, vacances en oubliant de prendre des jours sur le site)...

D'autre part, les joueurs qui veulent énerver leurs adversaires en prenant leur temps joueront 1 coup tous les 30 jours au lieu d'un coup tous les 60 après avoir accumulé du temps, la durée de la partie restera la même (dans le cas d'un forfait, il suffit d'attendre un peu plus pour le gain)


Arthur Alfred Macarsindale    (2006-11-14 13:22:07)
Story Of Life and Chess

Often closer linked than people may think! Ask me anything you feel you want to please.Chess or otherwise.I can only answer or not answer! I was taught chess by a relative who was a rather fine player when I was aged 9 in 1921. He died when I was 12 years old and so I lost a playing partner. I was married in 1932 and, seeing the ghastly goings-on in Germany in 1930s knowing that the whole show was starting again as it had in 1914 ,I vowed to ensure that a group of thugs and criminals would not be taking a foot on the shores and shires of Great Britain and bringing along some new age of butchery and lunacy . And so the RAF was my home for the next 15 years from 1938. I revisited chess principally in 1940 and that was hot summer's days outside playing cards,chess and other games waiting for the phone to ring and 'scramble'. Unfortunately two of my chaps who I played often with were shot down and killed over Kent in August 1940. I miss them both to this day. Then I did not play for years until the advent of correspondence chess in the 1960s and 1970s through the postal mail. And since 1998 the Internet. There you have it!


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-11-15 12:56:07)
1996 + this site and others

So you played email chess since 1996 ! .. in a particular organization ?

About the boards here, you're right, they are quite small according to screen resolution. That's why I just implemented (at last) the possibility to change the board size & set in Preferences. Is it too small yet ? .. Anyway I have to improve it... All feedbacks are welcome :)


@ Marc : Thanks for info ! ;)


Arthur Alfred Macarsindale    (2006-11-15 11:43:50)
this site and others

may i say what a joy this site is to play on.Nice people,etc. I play also at GameKnot and the reason I chose that is because the chess board graphic is excellent and clear. No criticism of yours at all but for old eyes that one is wonderful.


Arthur Alfred Macarsindale    (2006-11-15 11:45:41)
this site and others

Oh yes friends. also QueenAlice. Again because the graphics are so clear! Please do not construe my comments as criticism.They are not intended that way. BUT a nice GameKnot or QueenAlice board on here would be nice. Hope my comments are taken as they are intended.


Ryaad Aabid    (2006-11-16 09:28:27)
Suggestion

All openings became known nowadays. If the opponents ends the openinig step, the clock will automatically be changed from 30 or 40 days to 7 or 10 days. If the player has no time enough to visit the website during 7 or 10 days, he/she should take vacation, otherwise to leave! instead of bothering his/her opponents. Thank you Thibault, Ryaad


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-11-16 13:27:51)
Please link to FICGS

Dear friends, you may know how it is important for a website to be linked from other places on the internet since Google created his famous ranking system Pagerank...

FICGS has got about 1,000 links so far (not too bad after 7 months) for a Pagerank 5, but the more links, the more players !

Feel free to link to FICGS from your website, blog, in forums and so on...

You may contact me - info (at) ficgs.com - if you have a chess or Go related website, so that I add it in the file that displays random links at the bottom of each game page, ie. http://www.ficgs.com/game_342.html


A link written one of these ways would be very appreciated :

<a href="http://www.ficgs.com " title="Correspondence Chess Server">FICGS</a>
<a href="http://www.ficgs.com " title="Chess Server">FICGS chess server</a>
<a href="http://www.ficgs.com " title="Go Server">FICGS Go server</a>
<a href="http://www.ficgs.com/forum.html " title="Chess forum">FICGS chess forum</a>
<a href="http://www.ficgs.com/wikichess.html " title="Wikichess">Wikichess</a>

Thanks in advance !


Dorel Oltean    (2006-11-19 15:51:50)
retire, come back. What's next ?

Is allowed to retire from FICGS tournaments (loosing around 10 games on time) and then come back to resume unfinished games and start new ones? The answer is YES , it happened and , after more then a week from my previous message, it seems it can happen again. The soft reaction of the administrator of the site and the totally (surprising for me) lack of reaction from any FICGS member showed it’s only me who has a problem. (Maybe, by changing the subject, my message was hidden behind the discussions about ‘the 60 days rule’). I cannot accept that ! For me chess is a serious thing. I consider chess a sport where the equality of chances and the respect for the competition must be the first rules. So I decided to retire from all FICGS tournaments . In M02 group I didn’t finished any game so my retiring will not affect the final standing. In WCH M01 I have only one unfinished game and my opponent will finish second last anyway. So my withdraw will only permit someone else to finish first and qualify instead of me. In my last group, A02 I wish to finish my remaining game (if I am allowed) than I will leave, with real sorrow, FICGS for good. Whishing you nice games Dorel Oltean


Charlie Neil    (2006-11-19 17:05:27)
Retire and come back.

I'm sorry to read that you feel you have to leave because of the behaviour of some other people. I think that is just one of the drawbacks of having a free site on the internet. Anyone can join our "club" and conduct themselves in an unsporting manner. I think it is just one of those things. I have been the victim of similar unsportsman like behaviour in over the board games, by post and on similar sites here on the net. I just think you get that tiny minotiry (and that is all they are) who mess around. I do like playing on ficgs and , (so far) have been paired with well-mannered opponents who play fair. I have had a number of silent withdrawals but that is to be expected. I am just sad to think if any well meaning players would leave because of someone messing around. But life's like that, that's the way it is.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-11-19 17:56:13)
Retire and come back.

Hello Dorel.

I'm very sorry about that, but actually Charlie just said everything.

"It is just one of the drawbacks of having a free site on the internet."

This was only an obvious example, but the problem is quite more complex... What about a player who just looses a game on time and continue his other games. Farther, why a player should draw to another one and win to a third. Any result in any round-robin tournament is partly 'aleatory' and depends on many other factors than chess, particularly rules.

It also happens in over the board tournaments to get prizes, it can happen everywhere and at ICCF too... That's why I prefer knockout system. Of course, I'd like to solve all problems, but no rules are perfect. (by the way all suggestions are welcome)


The original post was in 'temps de réflexion' thread :

http://www.ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=forum_read&id=1453


Best wishes.


Daniel Khayman    (2006-11-19 18:20:37)
Messages

Hello everyone, I'm new here and have joined after recommendation from Mr. Wayne Lowrence, my good web friend and chess master (watch out for him:-). I've been trying to communicate within the site via text message but that seems to be impossible unless the receiver is your direct opponent; can anybody help me out? Is there a way of sending texts to whoever one likes? Thank you for dropping by, Daniel


Wayne Lowrance    (2006-11-20 21:12:28)
Messages

Hi Dan. Welcome aboard. This is nice site. I agree, the site is a very good place to play CC, But it is not very friendly only because of the feature you mention. When I first came aboard that is the first thing I noticed. Consider this a second vote for a place that we all can converse and get to know each other better. Wayne. ps Dan I know your a tough cookie and will do well here


Daniel Khayman    (2006-11-21 20:38:51)
many thanks

thank you guys, i appreciate your concern; i'll send you an e-mail immediately, Wayne. and thanks to this site too.


Barry Bell    (2006-11-22 04:42:46)
Introduction - Anyone4chess.com

My name is Barry and after corresponding with Thibault on my website (www.anyone4chess.com) for the last few days, Thibault suggested I drop by and post something about our website. Anyone 4 Chess is not a correspondence chess, we call our system an online a turn based chess system (Association – A4C). The site works on a 7 day cycle for moves and you receive no emails that a move has been made however, if you are entered into one of our free tournaments (all tournaments are free and their will never be any cost to play chess on our system) an email is sent to each player in any tournament that the next round is about to begin. Anyone 4 Chess is an online turn based chess system however, it also hosts the Association dedicated to promoting, supporting and developing an association for webmasters / players who support this type of chess. We believe there is a place for this type of chess (different from correspondence, OTB and real time chess) and the association will work to promote this type of chess following the example of FIDE and other organization to work towards our mandate and goals. Thanks


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-11-22 05:01:51)
Anyone4chess

Hello Barry and welcome :)

http://www.anyone4chess.com


Feel free to inform us about the evolutions of this promising website. I hope the association for webmasters will give all chess sites nice opportunities to work together.

All the best.


Barry Bell    (2006-11-22 05:17:38)
Introduction

Thank you Thibault for your warm welcome, please feel free to create a 178 x 159 pixels jpg providing information about your site and I will post it a soon as possible. P.S. this offer is available to any webmaster that runs an online turn based chess system. Thanks again.


Glen D. Shields    (2006-11-22 14:04:56)
Strange Setup

Dear Mr. Bell - being the curious type I followed the link to your site. I don't understand what you're offering and I'm surely not registering to your site until I know. Might I suggest some basic FAQ's accesible prior to registation?

Thank you.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-11-22 14:13:29)
Strange Setup

I must say I agree with Glen about the setup...

I discovered the site thanks to a referer from Anyone4chess forum (which contains lots of info) - that is not linked from the home page and not known by Google. That's a pity, I also suggest you make something in this way.


Barry Bell    (2006-11-23 02:49:56)
Re:

Hi The site works on 7 days to make a move, the clocks are reset after each move. To answer the next question: The site is a free turn based online chess system (a place to play chess free) and it also hosts an association to support webmasters that believe and or support what A4C stands for regarding online chess. As for google, as I mention to ThibaulT, we have no interest in google at this time, we are in the first phase of development and when the third phase is finshed we plan to take full advantage of these options when we are ready. Thanks


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-11-23 04:14:40)
Re:

I think I figured it out: 1. A player has to log in to that site at least once every 7 days. 2. A player does not know whether his/her opponent has made a move until he/she logs in to check out. 3. A player who fails to make a move within 7 days loses the game. What I haven't figured out is whether computer analysis is allowed or not. Is it totally banned there???


Glen D. Shields    (2006-11-23 06:38:17)
No Thanks

Why in the world would I want to play on a site that sounds as disorganized as yours? There are tens of places to play like FICGS that are well organized and aren't shrouded in mystery. When you figure out what you want to be, want kind of tournaments you want to offer (turn based doesn't mean anything sorry), and you offer folks the opportunity to evaluate your site without harvesting their personal information, I'll take a look and re-consider.

Good luck.


Barry Bell    (2006-11-23 07:00:45)
re:

I would suggest you never evaluate my site, as you said there are lots of sites out there more suited to your needs and taste. I wish you the best.


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-11-23 07:54:47)
Re:

Mr Bell, Thanks for the info! It's a bit different from other sites, but I now have an understanding of it's structure of play. I have registered on your site. I will start playing my first tourney there soon. Best regards.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-11-28 16:53:37)
"Remove comment"

About this feature "Remove comment" : Of course I can see who removed any comment.

I make this site so that it can be auto-moderated. Please remove only abusing posts.

Thanks in advance.


Lawrence Nesko    (2006-11-28 17:58:47)
Excellent feature...

Hello, Thibault. Thanks for al of the work that you are putting into the site.


Don Groves    (2006-11-29 08:04:02)
Go: Komi revisited

This may have already been discussed but I wasn't around then. ;) I've read in more than one place that komi in Chinese scoring should be half the Japanese value or 3.75 instead of 7.5. Comments please.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-11-29 12:19:13)
Go: Komi revisited

Hi Don.

"should be"... maybe depends on the level of play ?!

Where did you read this ? Any links ?


Don Groves    (2006-11-29 23:01:22)
Go: Komi revisited

Forget what I wrote ;) Chinese komi is only 3.75 but they both add it to white and subtract it from black!? Thus, 7.5 added to white gives the same result. In one place I read about this, they left out the second part, which led to my confusion.


Charlie Neil    (2006-12-03 15:03:09)
New chessboards

Enormous is big enough! Sometimes size does matter. Thanks Thibault for another improvement to an improving site.


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-12-03 22:10:26)
Google Adsense

Hello to all.

You probably noticed these ads under the search field and on the chat bar.

Google Adsense could work with such a site with more than 24,000 pages viewed per day and constantly increasing, so I try. The idea is quite clear, if Google can sponsorize the server and FICGS championships prizes, they are welcome IMO. Google Adsense is an intelligent system, and adverts are quite relevant.

However, this is a test only ! .. Let's see.

Feel free to tell me what you think, is it unbearable, is it useful ?! .. Thanks for feedback !


Elmer Valderrama    (2006-12-06 14:21:49)
Deep (serious) dissappointment

..I think Kramnik website motto

"time is precious when you don't have enough of it"

couldn't be more true here: give him a CC time control and it would have been 0-1. ;)


Yannick Maret    (2006-12-15 10:29:25)
Withdraw from WCH waiting list

I registered on the waiting list of FICGS__CHESS__WORLD_CHAMPIONSHIP but I would like to retire. How can I do it? The reason, is that I started too many games in another site and cannot afford to play more chess at the moment!
Thanks,
Yannick


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-12-16 13:06:09)
Correspondence chess time controls

Hello Lennart.

Sorry about that, it's been discussed a lot, as in all other correspondence chess sites: correspondence chess time controls are the source of many problems, I'm afraid without a solution. I can only say that's the better solution anyway.

If 40 days + 40 days / 10 moves is too long for you, feel free to play rapid tournaments at 30 days + 1 day / move time control.

My best, Thibault.


Yannick Maret    (2006-12-16 13:11:12)
Merci

Merci beaucoup! Vous vous donnez beaucoup de peine pour la gestion de ce site!


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-12-17 01:38:17)
SEO forums

Hello to all.

You may have noticed new FICGS forums, linked from the Home Page (article follows) and from the bottom links...

http://www.ficgs.com/forums.html

The article : "The most famous game nowadays isn't chess or Go anymore, the game most played for several years is called SEO : Search Engines Optimization. The board is internet, rules are dicted by Google and players are the webmasters. Actually anyone who creates his homepage or a blog is interested at one time on how to get more visitors on his website. The stakes ? Glory or whatever, but first of all : Money, of course... FICGS now has his own SEO forums. Feel free to discuss anything about Google, his famous PageRank, Yahoo! search, MSN live, affiliate programs, AdSense, AdWords and so on... Have good-Google games !"


The idea is not to make this site a portal about everything or anything, of course :) .. But there are many good reasons to add such content to this site, even if it's completely separated.

SEO forums start today... first dedicated to webmasters, feel free to discuss anything about your website and search engines optimization. I'll try to give some advices :)

Best wishes.


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-12-17 04:13:25)
Re:

Thibault, What's the current top 10 correspondence chess websites according to Google?!


Thibault de Vassal    (2006-12-17 04:28:02)
Google results

Oldest sites are still best placed on some keywords, but FICGS slowly improves his rank :)

- "Correspondence chess server" :

FICGS is ranked 1st ! then SchemingMind, Chessfriend, Chessworld, ICCF, ChessHere...

- "Correspondence chess" :

Correspondencechess.com, ICCF, USCF, SchemingMind, EWCCF, Chessfriend, British federation, Scottish federation, RedHotPawn, QueenAlice... FICGS now is ranked about 20th.

- "Chess forum" : FICGS is ranked 13th

- "Chess server" : FICGS is also ranked 13th


Not bad after a few months :)


Wayne Lowrance    (2006-12-18 19:34:15)
Having said that

My personal Feeling is that Rybka has not proved itself in coorespondance chess and especially against top Gm's. It makes a lot of silly computer moves as do all engines That a Gm will exploit. So I guess I agree, more or less with Thibault that chess fritz10 probobly is #1. I have purchased all of the fritz engines except for fritz 9 and the new fritz10, which explains why I jumped on the chance to get fritz 9 for free here this site. Forget about that free stuff, but that is another subject that I wish not go into. P.S. Maybe Santa will deliver F10 to me :)


Glen D. Shields    (2006-12-26 12:59:52)
Congrats to cyrano

Score one for GK. I just resigned to cyrano on the GK site. I was given a lesson by am excellent player. Congratulations to cyrano and GK! Hope to hold on to the game here, but things are looking bleaker by the move.


Miguel Pires    (2006-12-26 23:25:01)
Open challenge

Hello, I'm making an open challenge to all players (from the top to the bottom) in this site to play against me in the Portuguese oppening. Soo if someone accept the challenge please tell me. I play always with withe. To Thibault de Vassal If someone accept can you please setup the games in FICGS? Best Regard's Miguel Pires


Graham Wyborn    (2006-12-29 14:28:09)
Could this be changed?

Other sites allow you to go on vacation and cancell or return early. Could you make this possible on this site? I would not have booked such a long holiday if I had known I could not cancel it. Now I have withdrawal symtoms as I cannot play on this site until my hoildays ends.


Dinesh De Silva    (2006-12-30 04:05:26)
Re:

Hi, Thibault No, it's a message from a TS on another correspondence chess website to an opponent & me regarding a game. I need a translation in English as I don't know what the message says.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-01-01 08:43:24)
Web directory

Hello to all.

A new extension (one more) to FICGS...

If you have a website, feel free to submit the url in the web directory to get more links :

http://www.ficgs.com/directory.html

Based on FICGS forums script, you can post your website, review other sites... You just have to create a free account that gives access to SEO (Search Engines Optimization) forums and Web directory.

Note : To create a hypertext link in the directory, just type ie. [url=www.yourdomain.com/page.html]Your site[/url] without http, see help.


Graham Wyborn    (2007-01-02 13:23:11)
Sledge Hammer to crack a nut!

The rules seem too hard to me. I am locked out of this until the 10th January. This is the only site that I use that does not allow you to cancel holidays. Nor am I allowed to move whilst on holiday, which other sites allow.


Graham Wyborn    (2007-01-03 00:12:41)
I'll stop moaning!

It appears to me that the "hard rule" re vacation is to stop players wasting time or using time in a mischievous way. All it has done for me and my opponents is waste time that could have been used wisely. This is the only site that I use that applies such hash rules, I wish I had seen the earlier correspondence on this matter, as I would had voiced my opinion then, but now it is too late. Anyway, thank you for the replies. I will stop moaning and look forward to the end of my vacation which will be on January 10th about 4 am!!


Charlie Neil    (2007-01-04 12:07:29)
Blitz Chess on Ficgs

Hello Thibault, By "Real Time" I mean both players are on the site, at the board at the same time. " The rendez-vous system" as you called it. The Swiss system of pairings by rating and then the second round having the winnners play the winners and those with no points play each other and so on into the next 4 rounds just may work I think, draws are then discouraged. If it is possible to play 40 moves in two hours on this site that would be brilliant! But how about 2 hours each for the whole game! Games lasting 4 hours maximum would be a challenge, and maybe fun. Along with the correspendence chess features. Ficgs would have it all! But then "you may call me a dreamer but I'm not the only one".


Kieran Child    (2007-01-07 12:14:08)
Rating

Would it be possible for the sign-up page to have a feature for entering your rating as a BCF rating rather than FIDE? I'm more used to BCF ratings and had to times it by five and add 80 then subtract 22% of my birthday before entering my rating - 'twould be much easier if the website did it for you.
This is just a suggestion though. I'm aware we're a minority.


Barry Bell    (2007-01-07 18:50:34)
Association Website

Well, the second phase of development has started and you can visit the Anyone 4 Chess association webpage at http://www.association.anyone4chess.com this is not a online playing site and their are no logins required. It is dedicated to providing information and tool to webmasters and people who may want to become a webmaster of a online chess system. The site is young but we that over the next several months to have enough content to be of value to the new and old webmaster. Thanks


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-01-08 14:53:13)
My new little chess site ...

... is located at http://chessbazaar.mlweb.info

There will be some computer chess related stuff (opening books, collected ICC games, database processing tips, tests results ...) together with a few games, analyses, and maybe some historical data and so on.

Not that much so far, but I wish and hope that the baby will be growing fast :-)

Marc


Charlie Neil    (2007-01-08 17:18:31)
My little new chess site

Loved the pictures on chessbazaar. We have a cat in this house who knows that evolved monkeys are his servants. Good luck with the site.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-01-08 18:14:32)
Chessbazaar

Good luck with this new chess site, Marc :)

What pictures are you talking about, Charlie ?? .. I may have problems to see it on this computer, I'll look at it on another one tomorrow...


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-01-10 20:20:51)
Chess sites

Category for chess related websites is :

http://www.ficgs.com/directory-board-games.html


Dinesh De Silva    (2007-01-17 14:49:23)
Re:

I had some interesting conversations with Nigel during some games on FICGS last year. It was great that a GM like him played on this site. Best wishes to him.


Barry Bell    (2007-01-19 03:13:05)
Chess Ring

Hello I have already announced the new chess association located at http://www.association.anyone4chess.com however, I also wanted to mention the new chess ring located at http://www.chessring.anyone4chess.com even though the ring is only available to webmasters that run online chess systems, there is an optional link section that is available to any chess player that would like to advertise (place a link) to their chess website. Thanks


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-01-19 09:38:38)
Chess Ring

Hello Barry, thanks for your email & post about this new chess ring. If I remember well there are 2 'well known' other chess rings on the internet. As for FICGS, I prefer to link directly to chess sites. Soon, there will be a top of best referers on the home page too.

Best wishes.


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-01-19 17:19:28)
Other forums that I visit daily

A few other computer-chess-related ones :

Winboard forum :
http://wbforum.vpittlik.org/

WBEC Ridderkerk forum (associated with one of the most reknowned engines evaluation site):
http://f27.parsimony.net/forum67828/index.htm

CSS-forum (german):
http://www.computerschach.de/forum/

Le Fou numérique (french):
http://f50.parsimony.net/forum200321/

And a very nice yahoo group devoted to unorthodox openings :

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/UnorthodoxChessOpenings


In another category I like the two following blogs where there are very lively daily discussions on every chess-related news :

Susan Polgar's one :
http://www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com/

Mig Greengard' daily dirt :
http://www.chessninja.com/dailydirt/

Marc


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-01-20 11:48:40)
Chess games

That's right, ChessGames.com is probably the most popular chess site !

Chess Games
http://www.chessgames.com


Michael Finkelstein    (2007-01-22 08:39:51)
problems with playback --

Whenever I play back a game and hit the move button, the computer screen drops down a quarter of a page and I have to move the screen up to get to the move buttons. I use firefox as my browser I came here from playing a lot at queen alice. That site has an easier to use and more informative interface. For instance, allowing me to download my games in progress all at once instead of one at a time; also, have a light by the name of a player to indicate he is online; a buddy list, etc.


Dan Rotaru    (2007-01-22 22:13:20)
WORLD_CHAMPIONSHIP Waiting list

Hello. I registered on the waiting list for FICGS__CHESS__WORLD_CHAMPIONSHIP__000002 on January 17 so I assume I am on for replacements during next month. However there are quite a few people before me on the waiting list so I am not sure what my chances to play are. Would it be possible to predict if I can play? I would like to start another tournament by I don’t want to have the surprise to have too many games at once. Or will it be wise to wait? Thank you! BTW. I really enjoy this site :-).


Michael Finkelstein    (2007-01-23 04:37:26)
problems with playback --

Dear Thibault, Thank you for your kind attention to my issue. I appreciate your efforts here very much. When I am at the start of a game which I wish to play back, I hit the forward button to play the next move -- when I do so the screen drops a quarter of a page. I then have to go to my screen up button to move the screen up again so I can see the move buttons. Or, when it is my turn to move, I click on the piece I want to move, and the screen again drops down a quarter of a page -- so I have to do a screen up button to get back to the board and click on the square I want to go to. I assume this is a unique problem to me since I saw no posts on it. What do you think, do I need to do a better job of explaining my situation? In regard to the light by the names of people online, I find it helpful when I logon and go to my games to see in one view which of my opponents is online, that way I can know if I will be making several moves before I log out since my opponent is online too. It is more tedious to search on my messages to see if any of my opponents is online. It would also to nice to have a buddy list so I could see stats in one view on my friends here. Thank you so much for allowing us to download all our games in progress at once. I did not mean to be critical. This is a nice site and you do a nice job here. Thank you again for your response to my question. Mike


Charlie Neil    (2007-01-23 10:54:15)
playback

Hello Thibault, Michael is right about the board dropping quarter of a page when you are going through each move of a current or a past game. But otherwise this is still a 'simple' site to play on. I mean not too many features that detract from the game. Keep up the good work.


Michael Finkelstein    (2007-01-23 21:25:52)
problems with playback --

Thibault, When you are looking at your own game, or any game in the site, you see the chess pieces on the chess board on your computer screen. Belown the chess board are the arrows to move the pieces forward and back in the game in order to replay it. When you click on the arrows to move a piece forward or back as you replay the game, the screen drops a quarter of a page. Thus, to get back to the arrows to replay another move in the game you have to scroll the screen up. Also, I just noticed that when viewing my game where it is my turn to move, the arrows for replaying the game are not present. This is a problem since I may not have played that game in many days and would like to replay before making my move to remind myself of how I got into the position. This is a nice play to play, but I do think you shoud visit queenalice.com to see some of the nicer features that you can incorporate here to make the experience better. Thank you for your kind consideration, Thibault. Mike PS I note that when I write here I do put in paragraph spacing but it does not show up in the preview or post. Yet your messages do have paragraph spacing -- how do you do that?


Charlie Neil    (2007-02-02 11:45:33)
Without Computer

Marcus if you can please read the old forum postings, "Why do you play corr-chess." I made a similar comment about computers being used as the main player. Believe me I was wrong! As much as in correspondence chess you can use notes, books and databases for reference. Here at FICGS, (A great site!) players use their computers as a reference. It does not benefit anyone to just relay their computer moves without understanding them. Those players won't prosper nor will develop a passion we chessplayers have for the game. I believe that now to be the case. Personally I don't have a Juinor8, Fritz 10 or Deep Joe 90 or whatever to use as a reference point. I do have a pile of books that serve to confuse me in my games. As I continue to seek understanding in this game. People should use computers as long as the computers don't use them! How boring can it be just to imput moves? The computer isn't compulsory. And I am saving a fortune on stamps playing here! It is fun after all. It is only a game. Even if it is a terrible one.


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-02-03 18:09:12)
To Richard & Benjamin

There are dozens of web-server-chess sites where computer use is forbidden.
If you cannot see any interest in computer-assisted play why do you play here ?
Nothing requested you to play here ...
I won't argue on the interest of computer-assisted chess. It's a question of taste and I do completely understand that you do not like it.
Every month there is a new thread in the forum complaining against computer-assisted cheaters or defending the gimmick of the poor computer-assisted idiot unable to play on its own.
This I cannot accept : go away to these numerous sites where computer is forbidden (and real cheaters abound) and let us play according to the rules of this site !
By the way if you wish do choose any engine of your liking and do let it play alone without human intervention a pair of games against any of the 100 best rated players here. I am ready to bet that the computer alone is probably going to lose both games or at most to get one draw.
Then you will maybe understand why the human touch is decisive in these games.
And as I already said on numerous occasions, when I am going to spend dozens of hours analysing a foregoing game all along months of play I prefer that my opponent won't spoil it due to a pure magnificent and so-human blunder.
Winning against blundering self-comfident purely human opponents has no taste at all IMHO

I prefer fighting hard against one who has all kind of book and computer help assisting him.

Marc


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-02-08 11:33:25)
Why I play here

I don't know if playing here is similar to being at an OTB club (well I forgot what it is :)), but I do appreciate to have time to discuss with my opponents.

About complaining, it looks like things are going really better for a few months, the site may be not very clear everywhere yet and I'm still late with new features to come, but that's encouraging :) .. Also I'd like to thank all people responding to newcomers in the forum & chat before I can see it. And last but not least, thanks everyone for the friendly peace that reigns here :)


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-02-14 19:09:12)
To Nicola

But there are already _many_ other web-chess organisations with forbidden computer use:

- our friends at itsyourturn.com
- the letsplaychess server
- http://www.playchess.de/
...

The last one has a very good interface and is also free.
Servers with computer use allowed are at the opposite very few.
So why should Thibault change a feature which is specific here for something which is already available everywhere else ?
Moreover, having played for long at playchess.de where both kinds of play exist (with or without computer help) I can tell you that there was there a surprinsingly large number of players cheating in the non-computer section instead of playing with their computers in the computer-allowed one, and this was at the origin pf permanent discussions and flame wars on their forum.

For what regards myself I do not wish that FICGS would go the same way.

Marc


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-02-15 22:55:30)
Why such a shouting ?

@Benjamin Aldag

"The discussion is not about to change something. It is about to build a new feature here"

You are completely illogical.

Evidently you may play without computer as you wish here.

You may also try to find other members who prefer to play this way and register together with them in a tournament.

So what you wish to do is already possible. But what you request is not that.

You request to play here against opponents for whom computer use will be forbidden.

This is simply not the rule here. It's even one of the fundamental originalities of this site.

The rules of the site are that everything is allowed

If you and friends of yours manage to play without computers this is up to you

But asking for special rules supposes that you intend to request that Thibault or someone will check that YOUR rule is enforced.

IMHO this is purely not working. You won't find any organisation that wil be able to ensure that no player cheats regarding this kind of rule.

So let me repeat (and it is MY RIGHT not to agree with your opinions) : if you find opponents with which you have an agreement for playing without comps here this is perfectly fine for everybody and it's up to you to see wether you are happy with the way your partners do or do not respect the agreement.

If you wish to change radically the rules so as to have tournaments where something like a police dept will check that no comp is used than GO AWAY and simply do register in one of the numerous sites where these rules do exist and where almost everybody cheats.

By the way : no need for shouting to tell what you wish.

Shouting will not make your opinions more valuable in any way.

Marc


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-02-17 12:26:13)
Les échecs en France

Here is the agreement just signed by the ministry of education and the french chess federation - fédération française des échecs (F.F.E.)

This should help to promote chess in France.



CONVENTION-CADRE

Établie entre les soussignés :

L'État - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche représenté par Monsieur Gilles de Robien, ministre, ci-dessous dénommé " le Ministère "

et

La Fédération française des échecs représenté par Monsieur Jean-Claude Moingt, président, ci-dessous dénommé " la Fédération "

Rappelant

Que le jeu d'échecs, activité à la fois ludique et sportive, constitue aussi et surtout une activité intellectuelle qui permet de développer des compétences diverses chez ceux qui le pratiquent, et notamment chez les jeunes auprès de qui il constitue un réel vecteur de formation ;

Que la pratique des échecs encourage notamment le développement des capacités intellectuelles telles que la mémoire, le raisonnement logique, la capacité d'abstraction, l'analyse de problème et la mise en oeuvre de stratégies de résolution ;

Que la pratique des échecs contribue également à la construction de la personnalité en encourageant l'attention, l'imagination, l'anticipation, le jugement et la confiance en soi ;

Que le jeu d'échecs, école de concentration et de maîtrise de la pensée, est enfin une école de maîtrise de soi qui favorise l'apprentissage des règles et le respect d'autrui, et à ce titre participe de l'apprentissage de la citoyenneté ;

Considérant

Que, pour toutes ces raisons, le jeu d'échecs constitue un complément légitime et pertinent des activités éducatives proposées par l'Ecole ;

Que de nombreuses expériences menées en académies ont permis de mettre en oeuvre des projets de qualité associant des établissements scolaires et des clubs d'échecs dans un cadre réfléchi et concerté entre les parties concernées ;

Que ces initiatives ont permis de développer des pratiques et des outils permettant une exploitation du jeu d'échecs dans un cadre scolaire et/ou périscolaire ;

Il a été convenu ce qui suit :

Article 1 - Objectifs

Par la présente convention le Ministère et la Fédération affirment leur volonté commune de favoriser le développement de la pratique du jeu d'échecs dans les écoles, les collèges et les lycées. Ils se donnent comme objectifs la mise en oeuvre de deux axes de travail privilégiés :

- le jeu d'échecs au service de l'égalité des chances, l'expérience montrant que la pratique des échecs peut constituer pour des élèves en difficulté scolaire une occasion privilégiée de se remotiver et de se remettre sur la voie de la réussite scolaire ;

- la dimension éducative du jeu d'échecs auprès du plus grand nombre, en favorisant la transférabilité des acquis entre les pratiques ludiques et les situations d'apprentissage.

Article 2 - Egalité des chances

Le Ministère et la Fédération conviennent de développer l'accès de la pratique des échecs auprès des publics scolaires qui en sont les plus éloignés pour des raisons sociales ou géographiques. Le partenariat portera en particulier sur des actions impliquant :

- les collèges " ambition réussite ", qui visent à offrir un cadre d'excellence à des publics scolaires confrontés aux plus grandes difficultés socio-économiques. La contribution de la Fédération consistera notamment en mise à disposition de matériel (ludique et/ou pédagogique), en actions de sensibilisation ou de formation organisées dans le cadre des établissements concernés, en appariements des collèges avec des clubs de proximité ou encore en parrainage de certains collèges par des joueurs de haut niveau recommandés par la Fédération.

- l'opération " Ecole ouverte ", qui accueille les jeunes dans les EPLE pendant les vacances scolaires pour leur proposer des activités de loisirs à visée éducative. Parce qu'il conjugue les dimensions ludique et formatrice, le jeu d'échecs correspond bien à l'esprit de ce dispositif qui contribue à modifier l'image de l'école auprès des jeunes.

- les dispositifs relais (classes et ateliers), qui accueillent temporairement des élèves en voie de décrochage ou de désocialisation. La pratique des échecs peut permettre à ces jeunes de reprendre goût à l'activité intellectuelle, tout en leur inculquant le respect des règles et de l'autre.

Article 3 - Action éducative

De façon plus générale, le Ministère et la Fédération conviennent d'encourager la connaissance et la pratique des échecs auprès du plus grand nombre. A ce titre, ils pourront notamment :

- développer la pratique des échecs dans le cadre des activités péri-scolaires au sein des internats scolaires, des clubs et des foyers socio-éducatifs, en partenariat avec les clubs locaux.

- mettre en place des actions de sensibilisation et/ou de formation dans les écoles et les établissements volontaires, en rapprochant les équipes éducatives et les clubs selon des modalités à préciser entre les partenaires concernés : enseignement et pratique dans le temps scolaire ou périscolaire, projets thématiques fédérateurs s'appuyant sur les dispositifs transversaux, opérations d'information et d'animation, tournois scolaires à l'échelle d'une ville ou d'un bassin, etc.

- développer des ressources en co-édition, en lien avec le réseau des CRDP et des CDDP (sites Internet de jeu pour les écoles, dépliants de présentation, outils pédagogiques, etc.).

Article 4 - Contribution des partenaires

La Fédération française des échecs s'engage à apporter aux écoles, collèges et lycées qui en font la demande une aide en matériel ou en ressources diverses (publications, outils pédagogiques etc.). Dans le cas d'actions spécifiques conduites au sein des établissements dans les temps scolaire ou périscolaire, les cadres qualifiés de la Fédération ou de ses organes déconcentrés devront avoir reçu un accord préalable du Ministère et/ou de ses services déconcentrés ; ils pourront apporter des aides techniques ponctuelles auprès des enseignants qui en feront la demande après avoir pris l'avis des corps d'inspection.

De son côté, le Ministère s'engage à diffuser, par le biais de son réseau de communication et de diffusion ainsi que par l'intermédiaire de ses services déconcentrés, l'information nécessaire à la mise en oeuvre de ce partenariat.

Article 5 - Communication

L'application du présent accord-cadre peut donner lieu à des déclarations et communications aux médias par chacun des partenaires, lesquels conviennent de se concerter préalablement.

Article 6 - Mise en oeuvre et suivi

Les partenaires conviennent de se réunir au moins une fois par an pour examiner les conditions de mise en œuvre de l'accord-cadre et dresser un état des lieux des actions entreprises sur la période de l'année écoulée.

Article 7 - Durée

La présente convention est signée pour une durée de trois ans à compter de la date de la signature. A l'issue de ces trois années un bilan global permettra de faire le point sur l'évolution des pratiques à l'école, au collège et au lycée et d'étudier sur cette base les termes du renouvellement de la convention. Elle peut être résiliée par l'une ou l'autre des parties, à l'expiration d'un délai de trois mois suivant l'envoi d'une lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception valant mise en demeure.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-02-17 13:45:09)
Tablebases 6 pieces

There was a russian website where tablebases 6 pieces were available. You just had to set up a position, then see the move to play and if it's a draw or mate in x moves.

I suppose there are other places with this feature now, does anyone know more websites like this one ?


Charlie Neil    (2007-02-17 15:36:41)
Gameknot Match

What's the score now? And are there any challanges to others sites planned? I enjoyed the visit to gameknot. Put me down for any other inter-site challanges.


Charlie Neil    (2007-02-19 13:52:00)
ICCF champions league

I have played on the ICCF webserver. So, it must be an easy webserver to play on if i can manage it! I think there must be a Ficgs team! More publicity and a chance to meet more chessfriends. Unfortunately I'm not of the standard required to be in a successful team but I can stand on the "touchline" with my Ficgs scarf and shout encouragement. C'mon! Also what about challenges to those sites such itsyourturn and chessworld.net and schemingming.com. you know the ones that aren't free to play on.....


Marcus Miranda    (2007-02-21 18:01:11)
Unrelated suggestion

This probably has nothing to do with this topic, but one suggestion I would like to make is to put the tournaments won by the player in the player profile. For me it would be kind of cool since I am a bit far from titles or norms. Anyways it's just a thought. And by the way, this site is great, thanks thibault.


Kim Peters    (2007-03-03 13:41:34)
Suggestion : Analysis board

forgive me if this has been mentioned before but i think the one thing this site is missing, and the one thing that would take it from being a very nice site to a GREAT one is an analysis board. one of the advantages CC has over OTB chess is the ability to move the pieces around and see how a position will play out 5,6 10 moves down the line. yes we have the "review" board, which is nice to see where you've been but we need something to see also where we are going.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-03-03 13:53:36)
Analysis board

That's a fine suggestion. The problem is the whole site (also the chessboard) is implemented in HTML, not Java / Javascript. Such an analysis board would be quite slow, loading a page for each move... Anyway I'll think about it.


Samy Ould Ahmed    (2007-03-08 16:19:54)
Mikhail Umansky-Samy_Ould-Ahmed

[Event "5th Freestyle Main Event"] [Site "playchess.com #091606"] [Date "2007.03.04"] [Round "7"] [White "Mikhail Umansky"] [Black "Samy_Ould-Ahmed"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E04"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O Rb8 7. Nc3 a6 8. e4 Be7 9. Qe2 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Rd1 Qc5 12. e5 Nd7 13. Ne4 Qb5 14. a4 Qb3 15. Rd4 b5 16. Qg4 Bf8 17. axb5 Qxb5 18. Bf4 Qxb2 19. Qd1 Qb3 20. Qh5 Qc2 21. Rdd1 Be7 22. Rac1 Qa2 23. Ng5 g6 24. Qh6 Bf8 25. Qh3 Rb6 26. Bf1 Qb2 27. Rxc4 c5 28. Ne4 h6 29. Bg2 Be7 30. Rc3 g5 31. Bc1 Qb4 32. Qh5 Bb7 33. Re3 c4 34. Nd6+ Bxd6 35. exd6 Bxg2 36. Rxe6+ Kd8 37. Qxf7 Rf8 38. Qe7+ Kc8 39. Rf6 Rd8 40. Kxg2 Qa4 41. Rf5 Qc6+ 42. Kg1 c3 43. Qe1 c2 44. Rd2 Rb1 45. h3 Kb8 46. Kh2 Qc3 47. Rf7 Ne5 48. Rf5 Nc6 49. Rfd5 h5 50. d7 a5 51. R5d3 Qc4 52. Re3 a4 53. Re8 Qc3 0-1


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-03-12 15:31:09)
Major update : SSL encryption forms

Hello to all.

This is the last major update before money tournaments can start...


Now you can login through SSL encryption forms, meaning the best security to prevent hacking.

You should use SSL encryption forms only to browse the whole site with HTTPS, particularly if you wish to enter money tournaments later... It is also strongly recommended to change your password regularly (at least 8 characters, numbers & letters is best).

Thus you should always see HTTPS:// before the url after you login.


Feel free to follow this link for more advices about security & phishing :

http://www.ficgs.com/membership.html#security


FICGS now uses SSL data encryption, hash functions and a bunch of other security features...

4 login forms is a lot but thus anyone can connect, even with browsers that doesn't support HTTPS and Javascript.

Also a few minor bug fixes and improvements, komi updated in .SGF files, reinforced hash functions, last connection date displayed in profile and so on...

All feedbacks are welcome :)


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-03-12 15:35:44)
Google ads

Notice : Ads by Google Adsense are no more displayed when you browse the site with HTTPS.

This may be a reason good enough to use the SSL encryption forms only :)


Nick Burrows    (2007-03-15 00:16:26)
quotationes

I think the different quotes popping up, enhance the site immeasureably. It's good that they are not all chess related, here are some more metaphysical offerings from my favourite film - 'Waking life' "Life is a matter of a miracle that is collected over time by moments flabbergasted to be in each others presence." “The quest is to be liberated from the negative, which is really our own will to nothingness…To say yes to one instant is to say yes to all of existence.” "Whatever you do, don’t be bored. This is absolutely the most exciting time we could have possibly hoped to be alive. And things are just starting.” Has anyone seen it? Peace, nick burrows.


Charlie Neil    (2007-03-17 21:18:40)
FIDE time controls

OTB 1 hour plus 10 seconds a move. The Fischer time clock manufacturers will be happy with that.....and it makes my old turnier clock obsolete! I checked out the site and read about the candidate matches in June. Boris Spassky is on the appeals committee. I wonder how he will deal with the ridiculous acussations that no doubt will arise.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-03-19 17:57:06)
Timeout

Yes, sorry.. This is a security issue. Too many people do not logout (true for all websites).


Don Burden    (2007-03-20 02:31:31)
Brainyquote

I see you found the brainyquote web site. I like a lot of the Greek Philosopher quotes:

All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind. Aristotle.

I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better. Plutarch.

The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled. Plutarch.


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-03-20 11:47:28)
Nice game and nice site!

Blokus seems really interesting indeed.
And the site with good online play features is very well done.
I can even play from behind my corporate firewall :-)
It will be difficult to resist ...
:-))))

Marc


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-03-21 12:13:29)
Web

I don't know much about books, but here are some good internet places to start IMO :

http://www.godiscussions.com

http://www.jeudego.org (french)


Google search :

http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awww.godiscussions.com%20books%20beginners


Lionel Vidal    (2007-03-23 18:59:07)
Not too up-to-date article...

Computers are much better in chess now than in 1998 ( :-) or :-( ... hum maybe :-( for me...). I am not sure that a player, even J. Edwards (very good player and a good chess writer too!) could be sure anymore to CC-outplay an engine running 24h/day on a modern hardware platform. He might win, yes, but might only IMHO.

Nowadays, many CC players (most?) consider that using an engine is *not* cheating, and I am so sure that *most* sites, as said in the article, do prohibit such a use. At least it could be noted that the strongest players seem to play in ICCF (or maybe iecg ... and in FICGS of course :-)) where engines are allowed. (and this is good IMO, not per se but, as it is often recalled, because their ban could not be correctly enforced)

Anyway I am looking forward to reading the next article to use more effenciently chessbase :-)


Lionel Vidal    (2007-03-27 15:57:30)
Chess and Xiangqi

A very interresting article in Chesscafe (www.chesscafe.com) by K.Müller on some endgame similarities in chess and xiangqi.

Xiangqi is great chess game (one of the greatest, even if I am quite weak at it; and in any cases, by far the greatest chess game by the number of players :-)): in short time limits (standard is 20 minutes per players) you can't beat that game for a exciting tactical mélée... and then if both palyers survive, the endgame is full of subtilities...

BTW *all* K.Müller articles on that site are a must-read! :-)


Pablo Schmid    (2011-07-13 23:01:37)
Shogi in ficgs?

Thanks for the link, but I think there is no real conclusion. Chinese chess and Japanese are really "classical" boards games that are quite related to chess, maybe it's not a bad idea to include these games, with the hope to get more asian players for example. If you are not convinced by that idea we could do a poll in this site for the inclusion of shogi, chinese chess, both or none?


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-03-28 04:21:32)
100 games per player

With the last update, a new "limitation" appeared on the server : It is not possible anymore to enter a waiting list (but money tournament) if you have more than 100 running games...

Of course, a hundred games is enormous already, actually the aim is not to reduce the number of running games on the server but only to prevent some cases of massive forfeits. Also a few players asked to prevent them to enter too many tournaments at the same time... This site may be too addictive :)


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-03-28 19:32:07)
You change the rules or I leave :-)

A few comments in french (sorry : easyer for me)

Deux situations distinctes se produisent :

1. Quelqu'un a mal évalué et s'est engagé dans trop de parties, ou bien a un problème de santé, ou un changement de ses possibilités de loisirs. Il décide d'abandonner un tournoi, abandonne toutes ses parties, donne une petite explication à ses adversaires et bien sûr ne se réinscrit à rien dans l'immédiat. Désagréable mais bien sûr tout à fait admissible. La moindre des choses est qu'on lui interdise de s'inscrire à quoi que ce soit tant que ce qui reste de parties n'est pas terminé (ou abandonné) et que la prochaine réinscription se limite au départ à un seul tournoi qui devra être complètement terminé avant de pouvoir à nouveau cumuler plusieurs inscriptions simultanées.

2. Quelqu'un s'inscrit à de multiples tournois et s'arrête de jouer dans ceux où il est mal parti. Il ne prévient rien ni personne et laisse son temps s'écouler. Entretemps il s'inscrit à d'autres tournois et procède de même. De temps en temps il termine un tournoi si celui-ci parait mieux engagé. Ce joueur(?)-ci est simplement un parasite, un gâcheur de plaisir et un fausseur de résultats pour ceux qui le rencontrent. Mon opinion est sans appel : exclusion pure et simple de celui qui laisse s'éteindre des parties sans aucun commentaire tout en s'inscrivant à de nouveaux tournois. Je ne vois aucune justification possible à une telle attitude.

Je comprends que certains ne partagent pas cette opinion radicale

Quoiqu'il en soit, j'estime que le minimum exigible en faveur de ceux qui ont déjà été confronté à des "droppers" est de leur offrir un moyen de ne pas se trouver à nouveau confrontés aux mêmes parasites dans un autre tournoi.

Je m'explique : actuellement si je m'inscris dans un nouveau tournoi je n'ai aucune assurance quant à l'identité de ceux qui viendront s'inscrire après moi, et je risque à donc à nouveau d'être confronté à quelques-uns de ces personnages que je suis fermement décidé à ne plus rencontrer.

Je n'accepte pas cette perspective

Dès lors, tant qu'il n'y aura pas une modification de règlement qui me permettra d'éviter qu'un "dropper" connu s'inscrive dans un tournoi où je prendrai part, je ne jouerai plus sur FICGS.

Marc

PS Pour ma part, m'étant déjà engagé dans ce tournoi qui a complètement avorté et dans un tournoi master class ICCF, j'ai renoncé à ma qualification dans le championnat FICGS pour éviter de me trouver dans l'obligation éventuelle de renoncer à certaines parties. Le moins qu'on puisse dire est que l'attitude de certains ne me récompense pas vraiment de ma prudence ...


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-03-29 04:57:34)
:o)

Merci pour la plaidoirie détaillée :) ... Bon, je suppose que l'idée d'une pénalité restrictive sur les inscriptions est assez bonne, mais peut être insuffisante également. Une pénalité immédiate sur le classement (entrainant une chute de catégorie) pourrait être plus persuasive, j'y pense !


Voilà ce que j'ai pu observer pour ma part jusqu'ici :

Les classements de ces joueurs (notamment dans ton tournoi) baissent malgré tout suffisamment vite pour qu'ils ne puissent pas se réinscrire dans les mêmes catégories, c'est le cas pour 4 des joueurs de ce tournoi, passés sous la barre des 2200.

Certains parasites qui, en effet, volontairement ont tenté de s'inscrire dans un maximum de tournois et abandonner toutes leurs parties pour troubler les classements ont eu un effet minime, pour la simple raison que je les vois faire et mets fin à leurs parties avant les 10 coups pour la plupart, ce qui n'a que peu d'incidence au final. Certains jouent maintenant leurs parties jusqu'au bout, les autres sont partis.

La plus grande cause de forfait en proportion est la "simple visite", le joueur qui s'inscrit, joue quelques coups dans un tournoi puis disparait... La rançon de la simplicité d'inscription et de la gratuité, contre laquelle je ne peux pas grand chose. J'ai pensé à mettre en place un système de limite de nombre de parties progressif, mais je ne suis pas sûr encore que ce soit positif.

Au final, j'ai tout de même envie de croire que ce qui s'est passé dans ce tournoi (à ce niveau) restera exceptionnel... Mais je suis d'accord pour trouver une solution à ce problème, au moins de garantir de ne plus pouvoir rencontrer ces adversaires avant un bon moment.

La pénalité immédiate sur le classement me parait être la seule solution. Toute autre suggestion bienvenue...


Wayne Lowrance    (2007-03-30 02:15:30)
Droppers: New Rule

I am wrestling with this new rule a little bit. Cannot make up my mind if I like it or not. I do not like to see games foreited or silent withdrawals in general. But Tribault goes on to amplify "any player who forfeits his games without giving an explanation...." The term (plural) games is one thing. But should I wish to forfeit "a" game based on my evaluation should not be challenged. I would not think I would have to explain why I am doing so. A certain amount of trust is required here on this site as Tribault has preached over and over again...Oh well, either way, fire away. Wayne


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-03-30 07:29:57)
why isn't it correspondence ?

"This is no more correspondence chess IMO"

Why so ?

I prefer few games where moves come quickly : I can keep them all in mind and I analyse them almost everyday

That's already the way I actually play : see the state of my clock at the end of my games :-)

At the opposite for what regards myself I feel terribly uncomfortable if I have more than 10-12 games running simultaneously and slowly: when I get a move it's like being in a new game because I cannot remind my former analyses (well they are written down but this is not the same)


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-04-01 00:35:38)
WCH prize fund - EUR 30,000

Hello to all.

A great news ! .. This is now confirmed just before the start of money tournaments, a german bank joined FICGS to guarantee a prize fund that just increased from EUR 2,000 to EUR 30.000 for the winner of the 2nd FICGS chess world championship !

Ads for both current sponsors will be displayed permanently in a few days on the site, thanks again to them, it will give a new dimension to this chess competition for sure ! .. Still looking for a second sponsor for the FICGS world Go championship, at the moment a japanese firm offers a prize fund of $1,500

Best wishes and have good WCH games !


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-04-09 16:16:41)
GM vs. chess engines database

Someone mentioned "Marc Lacrosse´s database" in a Rybka forum's thread, I did not find it with Google, but I found this interesting Man vs. Machine database, 2837 GM vs. engine games on ICC so far, on Marc's website : Chessbazaar (link was on this forum :))

http://users.skynet.be/mlcc/chessbazaar/gmvscompsicc2006.html


Graham Wyborn    (2007-04-18 06:51:36)
Skip Feature - thank U

Could the (download) button be duplicated next to the new "skip" button. This would save the constant need to scroll / wheel down the page.

Also having pressed "send", why the need to press the "next" button.

Either go straight to the next game or make it part of the prefences so the choice is ours. Some sites do the later. I am the web master on two sites (not related to games or chess), so I imagine the above could be done.

Keep up the good work Thibault, many thanks for a great site!


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-04-22 11:59:10)
win against Anand :-)

Yesterday world number one Vishy Anand played a 90-minute simul against 19 opponents on ICC to raise funds for his favorite charity in India.
I had bought a seat and intended to play an unorthodox opening if possible.
I happened to be lucky enough to get the opportunity to play my favorite Basman-Sale sicilian defence...
... and I won !

In the very next days I will publish the game with a few comments on my site at chessbazaar.mlweb.info

This is the most beautiful day of my chess life :-)

Marc

the game :

[Event "ICC 90 5 u"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2007.04.21"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand"]
[Black "Bluesette"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ICCResult "White resigns"]
[WhiteElo "2786"]
[BlackElo "2155"]
[Opening "Sicilian defense"]
[ECO "B41"]
[NIC "SI.41"]
[Time "12:04:06"]
[TimeControl "5400+5"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb6 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. Bf4 d5 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. Bb5+ Nc6 11. O-O O-O 12. c3 Bf5 13. Qd2 a6 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Be3 Bc7 16. Bf4 Bb6 17. Rfe1 Qf6 18. Be5 Qg6 19. Qf4 Be4 20. Qg3 Rfe8 21. Bd4 Bc7 22. Qxg6 Bxg6 23. Nc5 a5 24. b3 Bf5 25. f3 h5 26. g3 f6 27. Kf2 Kf7 28. Na4 g5 29. Rxe8 Rxe8 30. Bb6 Bxb6+ 31. Nxb6 Rb8 32. Na4 Rb5 33. Rd1 Be6 34. Ke3 c5 35. Kd2 c4 36. bxc4 dxc4 37. Kc1 Rf5 38. Rf1 Re5 39. Rf2 Re3 40. f4 gxf4 41. Rxf4 Re1+ 42. Kb2 Re2+ 43. Ka3 Rxh2 44. Nc5 Bg4 45. Ne4 f5 46. Rf2 Rxf2 47. Nxf2 Kf6 48. Ka4 Kg5 49. Kxa5 f4 50. gxf4+ Kxf4 {White resigns}
0-1


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-04-23 00:51:39)
some infos

Anand won 17, drew one and lost one.

I have put the game on my website with light comments at :
http://chessbazaar.mlweb.info

Marc


Nick Burrows    (2007-04-23 01:50:31)
my 64 pence worth...

I must admit that i have always disliked the Fide WC rule. It seems to be there to protect the champion rather than creating a level playing field.
The fide WC is also played over 24 games rather than 5 in the groups here.
My humble opinion is that for the WC groups of 11/13 or double round robin, would be fairer and give the skillfull players more oportunity to demonstrate that skill.
It is quite likely that in a group of 5, with just 1 or 2 critical games - the better player could finish even and be eliminated. Fine for class groups, but surely the in a 'World Championships' its worth exploring a little extra detail to find the real deserving winner.
A healthy debate! No matter what, thankyou for the provision of such a great site :)


Jason Repa    (2007-04-23 10:04:00)
Cheating Accusations

My advice is to take the accusations with a grain of salt. I'm a very good blitz/bullet player and years ago before I found out about ICC and Playchess.com I used to play at the crappy free sites such as yahoo and pogo. I would often be the strongest and highest rated player in the room and would get constantly accused of being a "prog". I would say take it as a compliment but these people are too stupid to understand what a good move or good technique is. They make the accusation based on successful results only.
As for your game with Anand. I think it's ridiculous to accuse you of program assistance. For starters, the game isn't very important. It's just an unrated simul game with no prize whatsoever. It seems to me you should have received some sort of award, not necessarily cash, but something chess related and of value. I understand it's for charity, but I can't see who in their right mind would pay money to play in a simul when there is no incentive to win. You might as well just write a check to send directly to the handicapped children of India.
When Chapters bookstore hired me to do a chess simul it was a fundraiser for our chess club. I didn't lose any games, but the sole person to merely draw me (28-0-1) in the 29 games I played received a free tournament entry ($30 value) to one of our local monthly events. I thought this was a great idea and had the benefit of bringing a new player into our club.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-04-29 23:48:55)
Google searches

Statistics are always instructive, often funny :)

Recently, a few new "magic" keywords appeared to attract Googlers on FICGS website... After 'Yahoo mail problems' and a bunch of other funny ones, it seems a new chess star is born on Google :) .. "Marc Lacrosse" or "Marc Lacrosse Anand ICC" appear many times a day... Another funny one "Rybka 2.3.1 free download" or "Rybka download free" : Dear friends, Rybka is not free for download here, I'm sorry ;)


Nick Burrows    (2007-04-30 16:31:33)
T vs K - Cochrane Gambit

Heres the game Thibault!?
[Event "XVI Ciudad de Linares 99"] [Site "Linares ESP"] [Date "1999.??.??"] [EventDate "?"] [Round "8"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "Veselin Topalov"] [Black "Vladimir Kramnik"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2700"] [BlackElo "2751"] [PlyCount "62"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nxf7 Kxf7 5. Nc3 c5 6. Bc4+ Be6 7. Bxe6+ Kxe6 8. d4 Kf7 9. dxc5 Nc6 10. Qe2 Qd7 11. Be3 dxc5 12. f4 Re8 13. e5 Ng4 14. Rd1 Qf5 15. O-O h5 16. Bc1 Nd4 17. Qc4+ Kg6 18. h3 Nh6 19. Nb5 a6 20. Nxd4 cxd4 21. Qxd4 Rc8 22. Qb6+ Kh7 23. Qxb7 Rxc2 24. Be3 Qg6 25. Rc1 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 Nf5 27. Bf2 h4 28. Rc7 Ng3 29. Kh2 Nf1+ 30. Kg1 Qb1 31. Bxh4 Bc5+ 1/2-1/2


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-05-01 04:15:25)
Chinese thoughts championship :)

Always looking for new funny quotes, Don just told me this nice one : "Man with more than one clock never know what time it is" :>

Do you have your own chinese thoughts ? .. or do you know websites like this one :

http://www.chine-informations.com/mods/dossiers/index.php?lg=en&action=fiche&id=253


Wolfgang Utesch    (2007-05-01 18:19:14)
Display of rules

It is displayed only under MEMBERSHIP (with a lot of scroling). It will be much better you can display it also on the personell sites under the special term RULES!


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-05-07 14:22:09)
Help / Rules

Fortunately, a few players who know the site quite well are always around there ;)

Hello Ida, feel free to see help - http://www.ficgs.com/help.html


Marc Lacrosse    (2007-05-12 17:02:41)
Basman-Sale defence

The Basman-Sale defence has now its site here :

http://users.skynet.be/mlcc/chessbazaar/basmansale/index.html

Comments are welcome.

Marc

PS. The BS is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 !?


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-05-29 15:28:44)
Chess news RSS / XML

Hello to all,

Feel free to use the FICGS RSS feed for chess news (and Go news) to display it on your own website, like Centurion Chess Club does :

http://www.centurionchessclub.co.za


The RSS feed for chess news - http://www.ficgs.com/news_chess.rss
The RSS feed for Go news - http://www.ficgs.com/news_go.rss


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-06-06 05:51:55)
E-Points + 25% , affiliate links

Hello to all, now trying to promote tournaments with entry fees & money prizes :)

You may have seen in rules that there are 2 'rakes' for money tournaments, a one-time 25% and a 'rake' per tournament which is very low... From now and until september 31, you'll be given 25% E-Points more when buying E-Points through Moneybookers or Paypal (see "My account" page), which nearly cancels the main rake !

Also it is now possible to win E-Points by becoming an affiliate & helping to promote FICGS... All details in "My account" page : For each new member refered by your link on the web, you'll be given E-Points (now 0,5 per member)... Of course urls and new members are verified, but anyway it is quite easy to reach the 10 E-Points silver ticket !

There could be E-Points prizes for free tournaments (class SM & class M) soon...


It is also possible to post your websites in FICGS directory :

http://www.ficgs.com/directory.html


Wolfgang Utesch    (2007-06-16 07:52:47)
Dead Man's Defense

Nobody has to install 6-pieces-endings on his own computer today. You can just have a look at internet site: http://www.shredderchess.com/online-chess/online-databases/endgame-database.html


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-06-18 02:18:32)
Translations / UTF-8

The reason why the home page can only be traduced in the FICGS wiki-encyclopedia is that it is the only part of the site (and chat bar) that accepts UTF-8 format, so ie. russian, chinese, japanese letters.


Wayne Lowrance    (2007-06-18 03:53:01)
World Computer Chess Championship (wccc)

Thibault, I dont care for your notion here. It is WCCC and should not be downgraded because ChessBase and program authors of Hiarcs, junior & fritz did not enter. Those programs have the big rep';s, but in actuality you should check out all of the rating sites. Zappa ranks Higher that those three programs for example. There is a thing called GridChess, which is very strong, beat shreddar. Oh I dunno, I could go on. Mostly I object to chesbase direct or indirect control of the chess engine tournaments. And to make things worse you and others posts nonsense as this. My two cents my friend. Wayne


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-06-19 08:46:02)
UTF-8

Sorry Andrey, this part of the site is not in UTF-8 format... It is possible to write in russian in the chat bar !


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-06-20 22:54:33)
Internet chess

Well, the discussion with Tryfon Gavriel continues at TCCMB. As I had to explain the way I make FICGS, I copy my responses here :

http://ancients.correspondencechess.com/index.php?topic=109.15


Hello again Tryfon !

That's a very interesting discussion...

Actually I have to explain FICGS in its whole to respond :) .. To be continued for sure..

While registering a new member wrote to me a few months ago "Thanks for creating this ultimate chess challenge" or so... That's exactly what I try to do, mostly with the FICGS championship knockout & round-robin rules... Players just want challenge, that's the only assumption I start with, so I try to create interesting challenges. About the intellectual part, you're right but I'm quite sure that top level correspondence chess players still consider their game as an intellectual challenge, much more than a brute force or computer skills one. That's not the case for Advanced chess with fast time controls.

Let's take a look at the bicycle races again... The "Tour de France" is dying IMO.. because everyone understood we "don't know" if the champion is ok.. If doping was allowed (it would be a scandal for health of course), I'm sure the interest would raise again ! I think it is the same for chess & for everything else... The "Tour de France" syndrom happened in Elista with the match Kramnik vs. Topalov... It will have consequences. We need champions and we want true champions, every means are ok for this ! .. So the "engines allowed" rule is the only one possible or reasonable in my opinion.

Of course, chess & correspondence chess are changing, because these "walls" are nearer & nearer... maybe chess will die, maybe not.. The main problem is that in 1997, a super computer became World Champion... this year a "simple" computer Deep Fritz became world champion, soon Rybka on a cellular phone... :) Who is really interested to be a champion in "human category" ? FIDE world chess championship will continue to progressively lose its interest IMO...

Correspondence chess is just starting to grow in popularity and is told to be dying already. Surely correspondence chess will ask more & more time at a high level to win a few points, but it is possible to create more challenge by ie. changing the rating rules (the "design" of Elo rating system will become a problem).. Then, if it is not enough, we'll look for other challenges... It's told for years that Go (Weiqi) will replace chess in western countries... why not Big chess as the "brain only" game if there can't be doping in it.. just trying, as there's no other solution :)

A word about Poker of course, as it's probably the fastest growing game in popularity : IMO this game is at a stade like chess in year 1900, but the same problem will happen, even quicker. At a high level the game will be just more and more boring (if you wish to win real money) or chancy (in a wch tournament), or you'll have to always find weak players (well, not very challenging).

About the simultaneous exhibition against Alekhine or Capablanca, I'm not sure at all they would crush everyone at our chess servers, they are undoubtly more talented than all of us, but I feel it wouldn't be enough in all cases to win against correspondence chess style of play & knowledge accumulated for 50 years... A few players rated OTB 2000-2200 could draw against them IMO...

At last, yes I'm a fan of Sun Tzu's "The art of war" :) .. I strongly believe that correspondence chess will not die in the next few years because players will follow its principles more and more, as the only way to win ! .. Big chess follows the same principles... and Go is the most challenging game because of it too !

Tryfon, I'm not sure that we're opposite in our vision of chess ! .. Our servers have obviousy different goals, nothing more.. I do enjoy playing mad blitz games without chess engines... I just believe that the future of internet chess is "serious (engines allowed, rated) correspondence chess" on one hand and "human chess for fun (no engines, unrated)" on the other hand... The other ways look like nonsense to me.

I hope it responds.


Best wishes, Thibault


Denis Stork    (2007-06-21 22:11:39)
from Russia with love

Greetings to all! So here we are, fresh new Russian players, to participate in FICGS vs. IGAME match. I'd like to give a short explanation of our "disguising identities". The thing is that mostly our names really won't say anything to you. iGame is just an amateurs' site and with the upcoming match we have a good chance to find out which material we really made of. :) So show us maser-class. And let the strongest win! :) Good night and good luck ! :)


Denis Stork    (2007-06-22 10:07:59)
Donald Duck :)

I get your point. But I'm Stork on iGame as well as some other sites. So if someone interested in my past games he/she can easily look through them. I don't think Donald Duck has any finished games statistics. :) BTW, as I see, FICGS team has adopted some iGame players, so it's gonna be "FICGS+iGame vs. iGame" match. It's just a joke. lol :)


Alexander Shalamanov    (2007-06-22 14:09:17)
Russian translation

As it appears, Mike has already done the Russian translation. Of course, some purely cosmetic improvements could be made to the Russian version but do they need to de done? It's not that bad and gives a good idea of the website and its content. So I think we can leave it at that. Cheers, Alex


Garvin Gray    (2007-06-22 16:00:54)
not happy


Got to admit, I am not pleased at the prospect of missing out on a game representing ficgs because some players have suddenly signed up from igame and are going to attempt to represent ficgs.

I think the ficgs regulars should be first picked and if there are any spots left over, they are filled with the other siters



Ilmars Cirulis    (2007-06-23 06:51:09)
Human games..

[Event "Bundesliga 2006-7"][Site "Berlin GER"][Date "2007.??.??"] [White "Luther,T"][Black "Ftacnik,L"][Round "9"]
20.-- Nc6 21.Bxf8 Kxf8 22.O-O Qb6 23.Rxf7+ Kg8 24.Rxg7+ 1-0

[Event "II Rapid"][Site "Canada de Calatrava ESP"][Date "2007.??.??"][White "Shirov,A"] [Black "Guliyev,N"][Round "4"]
20.-- Bd6 Nc6 21.O-O f5 22.Bxf8 Nxf8 23.Nd6 b5 24.Bf3 Bd7 25.Nxf5 exf5 26.Rxd7 Nxd7 27.Bxc6 Rd8 28.Bxd7 1-0

[Event "Corus A"][Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"][Date "2007.??.??"][White "Anand,V"][Black "Van Wely,L"][Round "9"]
20.Bd6 Nc6 21.Bxf8 Nxf8 22.O-O Bd7 23.Nd6 Ne5 24.Nxb7 Qc7 25.Nd6 f6 26.c4 Bc6 27.Ra1 Nfd7 28.Qd4 a5 29.Nb5 Qb6 30.Qxb6 Nxb6 31.Rd6 Nbd7 32.Nd4 Be4 33.Nxe6 a4 34.Nc7 Ra5 35.Ra6 Rxa6 36.Nxa6 Bc6 37.c5 Bb7 38.Rc1 Nc6 39.Nc7 Nd4 40.Bc4+ Kf8 41.Rd1 1-0

[Event "Corus A"][Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"][Date "2007.??.??"][White "Motylev,A"][Black "Anand,V"][Round "2"]
20.Bd6 Rd8 21.Qg3 Qf5 22.Be5 Qg6 23.Qh4 Nc6 24.O-O f5 25.Bh5 Qh7 26.Bb2 fxe4 27.Rf7 Rf8 28.Qf2 Rxf7 29.Qxf7+ Kh8 30.Rf2 e5 31.Qd5 Nf6 0-1

[Event "ch-USA"][Site "Stillwater USA"][Date "2007.??.??"][White "Shabalov,A"] [Black "Ehlvest,J"][Round "7"]
20.Bd6 Re8 21.O-O f5 22.Qg3 Nc6 23.Qg6 Qd8 24.c4 Ne7 25.Qg3 fxe4 26.Bc7 Nf5 27.Rxf5 Qe7 28.Bd6 Qd8 29.Bc7 Qe7 30.Bd6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Bundesliga 2006-7"][Site "Baden Baden GER"][Date "2007.??.??"][White "Shirov,A"][Black "Ftacnik,L"][Round "15"]
20.-- Re8 21.O-O f5 22.Qg3 Nc6 23.Qg6 Qd8 24.Bc4 Kh8 25.Ng5 Qxg5 26.Qxe8+ Kh7 27.Qxe6 Nf6 28.Qe2 Ne4 29.Rd3 Qg6 30.Ba3 Ne5 31.Rd4 Qb6 32.Rfd1 Nc6 33.Qe3 Nxd4 34.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 35.Rxd4 b5 36.Bd3 Ra7 37.Rd8 Be6 38.Re8 Bc4 39.Bxe4 fxe4 40.Rxe4 Rd7 41.Bb4 Kg6 42.Re7 Rd1+ 43.Re1 Rxe1+ 44.Bxe1 Kf5 45.Ba5 h5 46.g3 Ke4 47.Kf2 g5 48.c3 g4 49.Bb4 Kd3 50.Ba5 Bf7 51.Bb4 Bg6 52.Ba5 Kc4 53.Ke3 Kb3 54.Kd2 Ka4 55.Bc7 a5 56.Bd8 b4 57.cxb4 axb4 58.Bf6 Kb3 59.Bg7 Kc4 1/2-1/2


Nick Burrows    (2007-06-23 14:47:15)
player research

I tried to check player histories on igame as suggested, however the site seems to be entirely in Russian, and so i failed.


Viktor Savinov    (2007-06-23 15:09:26)
Who organizes this match?

Who organizes this match from Russian party? Sergey Pligin? There Is no such chessplayer. This nickname. If at "Sergey Pligin" of the right to represent site Igame?


Garvin Gray    (2007-06-24 08:20:06)
suggestion


If I understand the current situation, igame have already decided their 25 players and so the ones who have missed out from igame are looking to play for ficgs, which Thibault has said wont be happening.

Since it looks like ficgs will be able to allocate 25 ficgs only players, perhaps a second division needs to be created?

The top 25 from both sites still play each other, but then the ones who missed out from both sites get to compete against each other in Division B.

I believe this would help to stop igame players from trying to join ficgs with the only intention of playing in the team match.



Charlie Neil    (2007-06-25 14:45:39)
Ficgs vs Igame.ru

Is this the most replied to forum in Ficgs history? Regarding nicknames so what? It's a friendly match. Amici Sumus. (And psychology in chess still can win the game before the first move!) As far as I am aware you must give your real name to the administrators on the site before you can use nicknames. So there you go. Now play the board and not the man.........Look at my rating very very low but I have fun! it's only a game.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-06-26 01:35:03)
A guide to Endgames Tablebases

Endgames tablebases fully explained, a great page :

http://horizonchess.com/FAQ/Winboard/egtb.html


* [A.1] What is a endgame tablebase? How do they work? How much stronger will it make my chess program play?
* [A.2] What are the different endgame tablebases formats out there? What are the differences?
* [A.3] Where can I learn more about the endgame table formats?
* [A.4] What are the Chess programs that support endgame tables? Which format do they support?
* [A.5] Where can I get endgame tablebase?
* [A.6] Where can I buy tablebases?
* [A.7] Where can I download tablebases?
* [A.8] How do I generate tablebases on my computer?
* [A.9] How large are the tablebase files? Can I put then all into one directory? Do I have to use a complete set of 5 men tablebases?
* [A.10] Questions about 6 men endgame tablebases. Which are the most useful?
* [A.11] How do I find out which tablebase is corrupted? How do I know the endgame tablebases are working?
* [A.12] What is datacomp.exe? Where can I get it?
* [A.13] How do I get Crafty to work with Endgame tablebases?
* [A.14] How can I get Fritz to use Endgame tablebases?
* [A.15] What is the difference between tablebases download from Dr Hyatt's ftp site and those on the Chessbase endgame turbo CD? Can they be used together?
* [A.16] What are the files ending with .tbs? What about those with nbb and nbw? Do i need both?
* [A.17] Help, the endgame tablebases are not working properly!
* [A.18] Can I use tablebase files in zipped form?
* [A.19] Where can I get a useful graphical browser to view endgame tablebases? What about an online searchable database?
* [A.20] Misc questions


Garvin Gray    (2007-06-26 10:03:35)
vacation

The current amount of time is fine. On this site you can't play while on vacation.


Mladen Jankovic    (2007-06-26 15:08:05)
re: nicknames

Now, I might not be a high rated player here, but here's my take on the situation.

What some here don't seem to realise is that one can stand by his results or whatever with his nickname.

On this site I use my real name, but that is only becouse of the atmosphere here. However, on the rest of the Internet i tend to use nicknames, and when I say or do something under a such nickname I stand by my actions with the reputation of that nickname.

This goes to a point where my most commonly used nickname is used almost interchangebly with my real name IRL. BTW, I have friends who can say the same.


Wolfgang Utesch    (2007-06-26 16:06:08)
Ratings

The discussion of ratings is very problematic. Ratings on different sites are depending on different premises. What entry level was accepted? How long did you playing there – how often? How much thinking time did you spent per move? Is the basic rating you earned over years to be caused by old tournaments with postcards (maybe without any help of engines – and your opponents did it the same way)? How much care did you spent ratings (i.e. Norm tournaments?!)? Are you a member of the exclusive cycle of an organisation, getting invitations to closed high-level rating tournaments? Engines (also Rybka) are playing own styles and it depends on whether you can play better or worse against their special styles (knowing their potencies and weaknesses). Old fashioned players (independent from their ratings) will have much more problems to win or to hold draw against engines than players which have positioning themselves at actual situation. In my opinion today Rybka alone with one week thinking time per every move without any other help will reach a rating of about 2.400 at FICGS SM-tournament with an average rating of 2.450. In an ICCF anniversary tournament (average rating of about 2.600) same Rybka under same conditions will reach a rating about 2.550. I for myself wouldn’t play longer correspondence chess, if I would have the feeling that any engine is playing better without my command. How long will it still take? My engine handling is not in this way, that I am waiting for longer times which move is offer by the engine. I have own ideas and I’m trying their possibilities, investigating positions in depth over many moves in all directions. But sometimes engines have the better ideas and I have to accept this!


Miguel Pires    (2007-06-27 10:44:20)
Wolfgang Utesch and rules

Rules against "unreasonableness" is what we need. Rules against pp how atack others and try to create some sort of confrontations only because pp have different idias. That type of persones shuld see their capacity of post in the forum cancel. But that is my opinion. About this pool everyone is free to give their opinion about this thing. For me what thibault decide or the majority of the members is ok. I don't admit is a person that i don't now and i never see more "fat" (Portuguese expression) try to have some sort of confrontation with me about the whay i see or make my decisions on this site. Best Regard's Miguel Pires


Garvin Gray    (2007-06-27 17:28:50)
another few days


This site gives 30 days per year. Those are the rules.

I can understand that some players might want a few extra days per year vacation, but where does it end.

If it was to be extended to 40 days, then I am sure some other players would just argue that a few more days above that dont that much of a difference over the 40 days.

If there was to be an increase to 40 days, maybe it should be 20 days per six months, so a player cant take over a months vacation in one straight hit.



Thibault de Vassal    (2007-06-28 13:44:33)
Russian titles

Interesting, I didn't know anything about that.. Is there another organization in Russia ? .. Where is it possible to learn more about these russian titles (rules, websites or so) ? Thanks in advance :)


Samy Ould Ahmed    (2007-06-29 00:13:13)
Interesting Go website

A really great go website : www.online-go.com


Svante Carl von Erichsen    (2007-06-29 20:48:01)
Go sites

For fast games, a "real time" server is best, e.g. KGS (http://www.gokgs.com/). A great resource is the Go wiki at http://senseis.xmp.net/


Charlie Neil    (2007-06-30 09:26:19)
Cheering on Ficgs!

Hi, go to Tournaments, then Special Tournaments, then Ficgs Special Events and there is the Ficgs vs IGame match. There is one King's Gambit already! This is brave play in a strong match or not? Who needs sites covering matches and tournaments elsewhere when we can stay here and cheer on our own players against this strong team. "C'mon Ficgs! Check every move twice and again before sending. Take your time. Good luck!" Unfortunately we cannot pass comment of any kind on any of the games in progress. Rules forbid it...There must be somehow home advantage can count.


Mladen Jankovic    (2007-07-03 13:08:47)
Small board variations

I know that on this site people tend to talk much about large board variants, but, recently I have gained an interest in small board variants.

The reason is simple. They are fun!

I'm interested in the experiences of other members.

I've so far played only Los Alamos Chess. About 30 games. They were simply fun, regardless of winning or loosing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Alamos_chess

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minichess


Andrew Stephenson    (2007-07-10 11:11:52)
FICGS Data base of Games

Is there a searchable database of games on FICGS? How can I search for games by a particular player? Compliments to Thibault on an excellent site.


Charlie Neil    (2007-07-11 20:31:49)
Re: RE

Thanks Thibault, I'm not ungrateful. (Even if I don't have a chance in any of the games.) Thanks for the hard work, everyone. It is a free site!


Dinesh De Silva    (2007-07-13 04:48:27)
A certain email chess website.....

Dear chess friends, I want to bring to your attention that there's a certain chess website (which plays only by email) of a certain South American country where the main Arbitor who owns the website cheats and favours certain players in a world championship final. Playing there is at your own risk.

1.He protects certain players by saving them when they even have stepped the time limit twice. (He cunningly sends the game into adjudication etc., instead of dealing with the proof). 2.When requesting that an opponent should provide email proof in certain critical situations, he protects them by refusing that at all times. 3.He blames the persons who make a claim by saying "Don't Be Rude!", instead of taking action against those who clearly break rules. 4.The website keeps popping in and out on the internet, and the website says its under construction most of the time! 5.He does not send monthly reports to players. 6.He does not show finished games. 7.He stays silent for months and says he has lost files due to a virus. 8.He does not include some finished games in some reports. 9.At least 3 other players have already withdrawn from the tourney. 10.He has extended the tourney twice already! obviously trying to favour his favourite playes who are very slow players to climb up in the list. Pathetic!


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-07-13 13:53:11)
A certain email chess website

Hi Dinesh... May I not know this chess website ?!

Maybe a chance to remind to everyone all chess servers & sites which organize a "correspondence chess world championship" ? .. That could help, without naming it :)

ICCF, FICGS, IECG, ... ?


Dinesh De Silva    (2007-07-13 14:31:34)
Re:

In my opinion, the best chess websites include FICGS, IECG & ICCF, all 3 which I enjoy playing in & where I've never had problems regarding tournaments. Lets hear from other players which good chess websites they enjoy playing in & can recommend.


Kevin D. Plant    (2007-07-13 22:15:46)
Chess websites

I like using this site and also www.chessworld.net www.schemingmind.com http://www.chess-videos.com/forum/


Jason Repa    (2007-07-15 20:18:33)
Pure Stupidity!

So what you're saying is that chess alone is a perfect barometer of logic ability, and additionally, that a chess rating on a correspondence site where who knows who or what is playing the moves for you....not to mention you've only gained around 100 elo since you've been playing here compared to my 500+ elo and still gaining is proof of your "superior chess", LMAO!!

Wolfgang, are you pretending to be this stupid or is this really your mentality?


Nick Burrows    (2007-07-16 14:14:00)
Sandipan v Tiviakov

[Event "Canadian Open"] [Site "Ottawa CAN"] [Date "2007.07.14"] [Round "9"] [White "Sandipan,C"] [Black "Tiviakov,S"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2563"] [BlackElo "2648"] [EventDate "2007.07.07"] [ECO "E17"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4 c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11. e4 d5 12. Nc3 Bf6 13. exd5 cxd5 14. Bf4 Nba6 15. Re1 Qd7 16. Bh3 Ne6 17. Ne4 Bxb2 18. Rb1 Bc8 19. Ng5 Bf6 20. Qh5 Bxg5 21. Bxg5 Re8 22. Bf6 gxf6 23. Qh6 Nac5 24. Rbd1 Qb7 25. Rd4 Ne4 26. Rexe4 dxe4 27. Qxf6 Qc7 28. Nh6+ Kf8 29. Qh8+ Ke7 30. Nf5+ 1-0


Francois Caire    (2007-07-18 07:15:01)
Voilà

[Event "WCCC 21th Final"] [Site "Stockholm"] [Date "2005.08.01"] [EventDate "?"] [Round "10"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Arno Nickel"] [Black "Joop Van Oosterom"] [ECO "B47"] [WhiteElo "2590"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "89"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Ndb5 Qb8 7. Be3 a6 8. Bb6 axb5 9. Nxb5 Bb4+ 10. c3 Ba5 11. Nc7+ Qxc7 12. Bxc7 Bxc7 13. Qg4 g6 14. Qh4 Nge7 15. Bb5 f5 16. f3 O-O 17. O-O d5 18. Kh1 Bd7 19. a4 Rf7 20. Qe1 Kg7 21. Rd1 Raf8 22. Qe2 Bc8 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. b4 e5 25. a5 Rf6 26. h3 h5 27. Ra1 Bb7 28. a6 Ba8 29. c4 d4 30. c5 g5 31. g3 Ng6 32. Rg1 Kh6 33. Raf1 h4 34. f4 exf4 35. e5 d3 36. Qg2 hxg3 37. exf6 Nh4 38. Qd2 f3 39. Rxf3 Nxf3 40. Qxd3 Nxg1 41. Qd7 Rxf6 42. Kxg1 Be5 43. Qe8 Bc3 44. Qxa8 Bxb4 45. Qh8+ 1-0

I got this from www.chessgames.com


Don Groves    (2007-07-20 23:09:28)
You beat me to it

Hi Mladen -- I saw it there first too but decided to post the link to the site where the program is based. Now we have both ;-)


Nick Burrows    (2007-07-27 21:47:18)
Nice game from Tiviakov.

[Event "8th It"]
[Site "Montreal CAN"]
[Date "2007.07.26"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Tiviakov,S"]
[Black "Miton,K"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2648"]
[BlackElo "2648"]
[EventDate "2007.07.19"]
[ECO "C87"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. O-O Bd7 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 Be7 8. d4 O-O 9. d5 Nb8 10. Bc2 c6 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. d6 Bg4 13. dxe7 Qxe7 14. Qd3 Nbd7 15. Nd2 Rfd8 16. Nf1 Be6 17. Ng3 Nf8 18. Qf3 Ne8 19. Be3 Qc7 20. Nf5 f6 21. h4 Nd6 22. b3 Kh8 23. c4 c5 24. Rad1 Bg8 25. h5 Ne6 26. h6 Nxf5 27. exf5 Nd4 28. Qe4 Rd6 29. Bb1 Ne2+ 30. Rxe2 Rxd1+ 31. Kh2 Rad8 32. Bc2 R1d7 33. Qh4 Qd6 34. Be4 b6 35. hxg7+ Rxg7 36. Bh6 Rgd7 37. Re3 b5 38. cxb5 axb5 39. Rg3 b4 40. Rg4 Rc7 41. f4 Re7 42. Rg3 Red7 43. Qg4 Qe7 44. fxe5 fxe5 45. Bc6 Qf6 46. Bg5 Qxc6 47. Bxd8 Qh6+ 48. Rh3 Qd6 49. Bg5 Rf7 50. Rh6 Qf8 51. Qh4 Kg7 52. Rg6+ 1-0


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-08-03 17:20:49)
Your opinion

Hello Samy, I didn't play there... The website announces 1,5 million players (wow) !? Does it look like another well-known server ?


Artur Saigakov    (2007-08-08 23:13:50)
Re

Hello! Please, calm down! I am a command captain on the site of igame.ru of which --- [moderator : name deleted] consisted before. I'm sorry my English is terrible! Paulina and Sex-god (SG) are one person which thus make his own PR and shows the personal offense to --- [moderator : name deleted]. --- [moderator : name deleted] anyway is not connected with drugs, he simply played in my command. I want to underline that my command is AGAINST drugs! Name of command - STOP Narkotics! Motto of our command you can read on igame.ru : "" If you found forces, or search it to give up drugs, this command is for you! This command exists for everybody who gives the vote for nature, for peace, for understanding of our existence, for light ideas, for helping each other, for healthy children and their parents!"" --- [moderator : name deleted] never was drug addict but he just agreed with a command idea. He is 17 years old, he is IM, that's why he was taken in command of igame, and SG wasn't included. SG said that he is gay, then added to the repertoire a word is a drug addict. certainly, he was offended and he said that he would beat SG or he would ask somebody to do it It is not serious, but I think that this fight wouldn't stop even after this speech.


Dinesh De Silva    (2007-08-09 06:51:22)
Real names in chess websites

I have some critical suggestions: 1. Chess websites should allow players only to play under their REAL NAMES. Using any nicknames or fake names should be prohibited, as it leads to all sorts of confusion at one point or another. 2. In chess websites, whenever a question of which player to give captaincy arrives, the highest rated player should always be given first choice, UNLESS that player declines or that player has been proven to have broken rules or rules state a specific way of choosing a captain. 3. In chess websites, accusations against any player should be rejected IF there is no clear proof. 4. Players who still continue abusing each other after some warnings should be disqualified/thrown out. There should be no favourations whatsoever. 5. When awarding titles, it should be clearly stated from where the title was earned fom. For example, if a player gets an IM title at Igame, it should be stated as Igame IM.


Jason Repa    (2007-08-09 21:18:31)
real names

I like your idea, and agree. But don't you think it would be a formidable task to authenticate people? The poker sites sometimes get people to fax in a copy of their ID, but that might be a bit difficult to get chess players to do.


Charlie Neil    (2007-08-10 19:06:19)
Real Names

"Play the board not the man!" Is that not an old proverb? I play on another site, (or two) under a nickname. Chess should be fun and then a serious sport/game/art/science, Morozevitch and those like him play on those sites for 'fun'. And they relish the anonymity. Every large tournament will see a corner occupied with players having 'fun' blitz games between rounds. Legends such as M Tal, Karpov even Fischer had their 'fun' games. (Sorry for calling Tolya a Legend, but he is a living legend.) We all come here for our own reasons but mostly to play chess, (and Go) We know when we sign up here it must be on our real names. What's the problem? Some Websites charge a Fee, ICC for example. Ficgs doesn't.


---    (2007-08-10 22:34:03)
to Thibault de Vassal

Hello, Thibault. 1) Thibault, I am a professional chess-player. I do not have a necessity to put to death anybody! :-) You can talk with a captain is Sergey Pligin &#8211; he will confirm. You can talk with the administrator of site http://igame.ru/ &#8211; Dmitriy Matrosov &#8211; he will confirm. You can talk with the representatives of Chess Federation of Ukraine &#8211; they will confirm also! I only want to play a chess - on Your beautiful site! Do not I know, who such Sergei Ivanov!??? Do not I know, who such Polina Stefanova (or Romanova)!??? It is obvious impostors which have the fictitious names. I only want to notarize these people, that I am a chess-player, in place of killer! --- [moderator : name deleted] gets victories in chess games, and does not kill people! :-) 2) Do not I understand also, what these people want &#1086;&#1090; the site of http://www.ficgs.com/? Did they create this theme, to slander me? It seemed to me the page of humour at the beginning. But I see that it tired me already. I ask you to take measures! thanks a lot


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-08-11 04:43:43)
Warning : forum rules !

Hello to all.

It is time for this thread to end, so...

Reminder : No player may post in forums or send to another member any voluntary message that contains abusive, insulting, provocating, advertising, vulgar, foul, racist, sexist or other discriminatory or politically sensitive content that may violate any applicable laws. Doing so may lead to being immediately and permanently banned. You agree that the webmaster, administrator and moderators have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic, comment or message at any time should they see fit.


In other words I'll apply the rules letter by letter from now :


ANYONE WHO WILL POST SUCH ACCUSATIONS AGAIN WILL BE BANNED FROM THE SITE.


PS : The name has been deleted in the whole discussion.

Best wishes, Thibault


Andrew Stephenson    (2007-08-11 23:49:31)
Real names and databases

Do games with fictitious names ever get into databases like Mega Corre etc? I get the feeling that chess sites that use nicknames dont get onto databases so the games are less accesible maybe even lost?


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-08-12 16:17:18)
Contest : Your best quotes !

Once more it would be funny to add new quotes from FICGS players to the site... Feel free to create your own quotes and submit it in this thread ! .. The best ones (best play on words, most funny and so on...) will be displayed [with names] with the famous ones !

Have good quotes :)


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-08-13 05:40:04)
Hello Vitalii...

More accurately :

1) Posting private messages from anyone violates applicable laws.
2) Slander violates applicable laws.

These two were included in the discussion / accusations, whatever the facts about these threatens...


More accurately :

I'll apply the rules letter by letter from now...

... furthermore (not consequently) :

ANYONE WHO WILL POST SUCH ACCUSATIONS AGAIN WILL BE BANNED FROM THE SITE, cause this is definitely not the place for it.


Best wishes, Thibault


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-08-13 16:46:22)
:)))

Is "pig" offensive in your opinion ? :)


Reminder : "The site reserves the right to terminate any account or decline or limit your participation in any site activity for any reason, including, but not limited to, harassment of other participants, posting of offensive material, making libelous statements, or any breach of the terms of the agreement between you and the site."

http://www.ficgs.com/membership.html#membership


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-08-13 17:20:46)
Go Search Engine

From IGN Goama newsletter - http://gogame.info


Go Search Engine, created by Alexander Dinerchtein

There are many sites on the Internet dedicated to Go. The majority are non-profitmaking. They were created by people who enjoy playing Go strictly as amateurs. As a result, they don't invest much money or effort in making their sites popular among search engines, so it's hard to find their sites using Google, Yahoo! or other common tools.

Of course, it's not easy for them to compete with online gaming stores and gambling sites, which spend thousands of US dollars monthly on advertising and optimizing their sites for search engines. The verb "to go" makes the situation even more difficult. If we search for "go magazines" or "go news" on Google, we may find only a few Go-related resources on the first few pages. It's terrible!

The situation with Asian Go masters who have short and common names is also confusing. It's almost impossible to find their games, biographies and photos on the main search engines. We have decided to solve this problem! We have made a special search engine, based on Google Custom Search, which searches information only on Go-related sites.

Right now there are more than 500 sites in our database (99% of all Go-related resources) and we are trying to increase this number daily. We allow people to suggest new sites to crawl. Each site passes moderation, so you can be sure that each side is relevant to the subject of your search. We exclude non-Go related sites, doorways, sites with hidden text and dishonest competitors.

Dear Go-lovers, we hope that our system will be helpful for you!

You can find it here: http://find.gogame.info


Wayne Lowrance    (2007-08-13 23:40:48)
Obvious blunder

I always feel bad for a player who has done this. In my many years of playing CC I have done this on rare occasion. I remember a game in particuliar. I was playing this very excellent player (2300+) but very very arrogant. I had an easy but complicated clearly won end game. I copied the wrong move and resigned immediately. My Arrogant opponent as it turns out offered a take back, which was within the sites rules. But I declined telling him to me it is the same thing as "touch Move" in OTB chess. So my friend I know your feeling, I think we have all touched this base somewhere along the line. Wayne


Daniel Daoust    (2007-08-15 17:24:45)
Jouer!

Comment fait-on pour jouer aux échecs pour le plaisir dans ce site?


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-08-15 22:28:39)
Mode d'emploi

Bonjour Daniel.

Il est possible de jouer pour le plaisir (pas d'enjeu, pas de classement) en participant aux tournois "unrated", notamment dans 'Waiting lists' puis 'Chess special tournaments' : les tournois thématiques et de chess 960 ne sont pas classés !

Tous les autres tournois sont joués pour les classements 'échecs par correspondance', 'advanced chess' ou le classement du 'Go'. Parmi ceux-ci, certains ont un droit d'entrée et des prix.

Pour le fonctionnement du site une fois qu'un tournoi a commencé, voir la section 'Help'.

Bonnes parties !


Garvin Gray    (2007-08-16 03:08:50)
not a bank


What, ficgs isnt a bank. I cant believe it. I thought this was a bank site and chess was offered an additional extra lol.

I have a 20, can you change it for 4 5's thanks :P



Charlie Neil    (2007-08-19 16:56:18)
Draws and wins

Hello Everyone. I have just checked my chess rating and win/loss/draw ratio. I haven't 'won' that many games. The vast majority are 'time-outs' as my opponents silently withdraw. Well, that's how it is at the bottom of the table. Are there a lot of 'time-outs' elsewhere on Ficgs?. You can expect that in a free site and players do go for whatever reasons. But my number of draws, 6, I think. Very low. I don't engage in chats with my opponents very much, just because I can barely concentrate on the game. anyway the question(s) is(are) why so few draws? Are Ficgs players so good?


Charlie Neil    (2007-08-29 23:18:50)
Trust

I know this is a site for the computer search engine. There are sites elsewhere on the net that don't allow/frown on such assistance. Good idea to try it here though. Good luck everybody. It will be a matter of trusting your oppoenent.


Christophe Czekaj    (2007-08-30 13:16:49)
On which sites ?

Hello Charlie. Do you have some examples of sites which invit people not to use computers ? How they propose that ?


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-08-31 13:22:59)
Your chess websites ?

Hello all...

What about listing here the (chess or other) websites you made ? .. Could be a way to know better each other, at least all webmasters among us :)


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2007-08-31 14:59:16)
Not a chess website ...

http://rodolfo_3.tripod.com/


Garvin Gray    (2007-09-01 07:14:59)
Site unable to load, timing out


Just 'finished' a blitz silver game with Ilmars Cirulis.

Had four minutes remaining on my clock and five moves to make to the time control, when ficgs would not load on my browser and kept timing out.

I am not happy about this situation because this has resulted in costing me e-points (money) through no fault of my own.

It is not my fault that the site kept timing out.

I am not sure what remedy there is for this situation, but I really dont feel like I should be out of pocket financially through a site fault and not my own fault.



Garvin Gray    (2007-09-01 16:32:50)
accessing site

Thibault, Thought you might want to know that for a few minutes I was having problems accessing the site again just then. Only just got back on.


Philip Roe    (2007-09-01 20:04:25)
engine-free chess

When I started playing here about three months ago I did not realise that engine use was allowed (or even encouraged, according to some) What did attract me were some features like being able to see ongoing games of other players, which makes the experience more like a "real" OTB event. I have played on other sites (IECG,ICC) where engines are forbidden, and ICC at least claims to have software that detects cheating. I play without an engine (but using books)simply because I enjoy it more. I dont care all that much what you do as long as you play interesting moves. It seems very clear from the games that lower-rated players certainly dont use engines and higher-rated players probably have to. At my kind of level (1900ish) it seems optional, but the suspicion that my opponent analyses with an engine steers me away from certain types of position (speculative sacs, or clear strategy but complex tactics) which is a shame because that may be where the position wants to go. The previous thread got very heated, and Im not sure why. One suggestion was to let non-computer users go away and play funny little unrated games by themselves. That is not attractive. Im not interested in playing walkover games against weak opponents. Rating is essential. Other than that, Im very interested to find out what other people think. That will determine whether or not I come to feel at home here.


Christophe Czekaj    (2007-09-03 12:53:52)
no chess engines

Hello Thibault, I play here without chess engine. Anyway, recently I tried to play "hippopotamus defence", (with no good result yet, I have to admit) so a computer is no use, it doesn't understand anything, but perhaps it's hippopotamus which is wrong, not the computer ;-D. Anyway a difficult defence in correspondence play). I began on this site with 2000, and so my elo was too high to play against human only ? I don't see how it's possible a sofware detect computer use ? Ok we see strange, computer-like moves sometimes, but... Perhaps two players, at the beginning of the game can agree to not use computer. Again about chess engine, I use a computer to record the moves (chessbase),to gain time, and replay fast the moves to get to the actual position, but my chess engines (an old fritz (5) and chess tiger (14) all that on a old PC) would certainly suffer a lot use against more recent chess engines ;-D Like Philip, I like to play on ficgs and it would be nice to plmay against more human opponent. I play one tournament on itsyourturn since last year, and I saw a lot more human mistakes than on ficgs. So, how explain it, I sometimes feel more comfortable on itsyourturn, but still I do like the spirit of ficgs, match against RU, the tournaments, forum, nice people to meet on the board, and so on


Mladen Jankovic    (2007-09-03 16:55:11)
Actually

The waiting list is active since the site first became online. That is a lot more than two months.


Philip Roe    (2007-09-03 18:59:27)
CC without engines

Thibault, Christophe, All I did was to pass on that ICC CLAIMS to be able detect computer use. They dont say how they do it. Maybe they are just bluffing, or maybe they have an algorithm that kind of works and they dont want people to work around it by knowing how it works. The reason I dont use engines is because I want to take full credit for any wins I get. I can imagine using an engine and telling myself that I will just use it to prevent oversights. But I cant control what the engine will tell me. It might recommend a move that tells me that I am planning to attack the wrong target. If I then switch plans and win, what is left for me to feel proud of? But I can understand that others may feel differently, and there is much to be said for a site where everything is allowed because it gets around the issue of making a rule that is certainly very hard to enforce. But just because that rule does not exist on FICGS, it seems to me that if somebody on FICGS says that they are not using an engine, then you can probably believe them. The problem with other sites is that if a player with an umimpressive rating fires back a series of accurate moves very quickly in a difficult situation then you suspect that he is using an engine (although he promised not to) and there is not much you can do about it. If the same thing happens on FICGS you are pretty sure that he is using an engine, but you have already agreed that he can, so it doesnt irritate you. For that reason, I think that a computers-barred tournament might actually make sense on FICGS because those who want to use engines can legitimately do so. But for me, it would need to be chess that means something, with at least rating points at stake. Interestingly, Christophe and I are drawn in the same tournament, so we can declare at least that one game computer-free!


Garvin Gray    (2007-09-05 06:38:59)
engine use


I find this thread and interesting and surprising.

I joined this site specifically because it allows engine use and that is what I was after.

I play in otb tournaments and dont really enjoy playing 'human only' chess on the net. I guess that is just me :)

Now I feel a little uncomfortable because the two main posters in this thread are opponents in a couple of my games.

On a different note, I wish posters would learn to separate their paragraphs :P



Andrew Stephenson    (2007-09-05 06:40:22)
Referee

Thanks Garvin! I should add that we are spoilt (at least I feel I am!) by Thibault's magnificent work on setting up running and maintaining this site so always want to ask for more!


Philip Roe    (2007-09-05 23:13:44)
CC without engines

Well, you learn something new every day.

About paragraphing anyway!

Garvin, dont give it a second thought. Christophe and myself have both said that we accept your use of engines: we signed up for it.

Jason, I'm sure I speak for Christophe in saying that neither of wants to change anything for you happy centaurs. All we said was that IF enough other people felt the same way, THEN maybe Thibault might add that feature to his excellent site.

The parallel thread on tablebases is interesting. I find myself taking the opposite view. I dont see them as being very different from looking up KBNk in a textbook. They dont take fun out of the game because most of those rare positions are so impenetrable that they are not much fun anyway.

So I am not very consistent in my views. Who was it said that consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds?


Garvin Gray    (2007-09-06 07:36:52)
engine use


Jason- Thibault already spelled it out for you in pretty simple terms that he doesn't believe in human-only correspondence chess. I guess if there are enough people who don't want to deal with reality whining about it he'll cave in.

Hello Jason,

I think the better response is if someone wants to play 'human only' correspondence chess, there are plenty of other sites 'out there' to satisfy.
Rather than 'cave in' I am most likely am wrong as Thibault is of course not keen to lose members, but I can see more bitching if human only chess is specifically catered for as players will 'bitch' about other players who they suspect of using engine assistance.

I enjoy the freestyle component of play is what I enjoy here and the good nature of the site. I think a main part of this is that there are no misconceptions about what the rules are regarding engine use.



Jason Repa    (2007-09-06 08:15:18)
engine use

[moderator : partly deleted]

I explained quite clearly in my previous post that.... "you'll never be able to tell for certain if someone is consulting a program or not in corr. chess, so why fret about it?"

The truth is, there are no corr. sites that can satisfy a desire to play non computer-assisted chess because corr. chess doesn't work that way anymore. Anyone can simply say they aren't consulting a program but unless they are right in front of you as they are making the moves you'll never know for sure. (...) Just accept reality for what it is. Are you going to try to have a footrace with someone on a scooter? Of course not. So why complain about computer use on corr. chess? Re-read my previous post in this thread a few times until you understand.

There is something to be said for human only chess. It is my favourite form of the game. Really, the only form. All else is just study and analysis. You can call it "playing" if you want, but unless you're making the moves strictly on your own brainpower, it's not playing chess.

I play rated OTB tournaments at time controls ranging from 5 minutes to 6 hours. I also play hundreds of bullet games a week online where I am certain that there is no computer involvement. To me this makes allot more sense than whining and crying about the advent of Fritz (and other programs). It's called accepting realilty.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-07 02:08:01)
Hardware and software

Oops, sorry I forgot to answer about the hardware but anyway the site should move soon on a new server.

Linux, Sql, Php, FICGS, that's all software, only "those parts of the system that you can hit with a hammer (not advised) is called hardware"...


Christophe Czekaj    (2007-09-07 17:14:17)
Thanks Thibault

In the name of all the non centaurs (;-D) past, present and future, thanks a lot Thibault for all your work on this site !


Mladen Jankovic    (2007-09-08 00:46:47)
software

Are you using MySQL?

And, did you script all of the site yourself (other than some obvious external plugins)?

What distribution of Linux are you running if I might ask?

I have to commend it to you, the site certainly seems to have a good uptime, I have never encountered a problem accessing it, and only a single bug, promptly fixed.


Ulrich Imbeck    (2007-09-08 02:23:05)
chessage.com,schachtrainer.de

The guy from chessage.com (schachtrainer.de) scripted also his site himself.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-08 03:57:29)
Linux / MySQL

Hello Mladen.

Yes, MySQL. About the Linux distribution, Debian.. (if I remember well :))

And yes again, I did script all the site, already more than 500 php files (!) .. I was far to imagine this server when I started it ! .. Still much work to improve it for fast games... Finally, as it became quite huge, there are still (always) minor bugs that I correct as soon as I see them.


Jason Repa    (2007-09-08 12:26:56)
"No engines" Tournaments

I suspect you'll get a whole new breed of forum posts where accusations will be disguised as compliments such as: "Johnny So and So really played an excellent game! He was accurate like a machine against me", etc.
You'll also hear allot of twisted soapbox rants about how "morally superior" the allegedly non engine consulting players are.
This is what the forums on second rate sits such as RedHotPawn, ChessHere, etc are filled with, in addition to absurd claims of so-called "engine detection technology", which is obviously impossible. On RHP in particular, the site admin are software developers with extremely modest uscf ratings in the C-class range, yet somehow they deem themselves qualified to make such difficult judgment calls, which are at best a probability guess, even for a strong chess player.

I thought it was precisely this kind of nonsense you were trying to avoid when you decided to make it an up front policy of "freestyle" chess at will at FICGS.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-08 12:56:34)
No engines tournaments

Jason, of course you may be right ! .. We'll see, but I think the experience may be interesting anyway. As Philip said, FICGS main tournaments are designed for centaurs, and basically these "no engines" unrated tournaments are really just for fun... Unlike some of the other sites you mentioned, where to be ranked 1st may incite to use chess engines, I feel that these tournaments (with no rating ranges) will not attract many centaurs, simply because there's no interest at all for them...


Mladen Jankovic    (2007-09-09 03:19:05)
Debian

Seems to be a common choice of distribution for small servers. Hard to configure right, but infinitely stable once done so. And also featuring the best package manager around.

I'm guessing that this site is the most for what this server is used for.

I also wonder what connection do you use. Would you mind if I scanned the server?


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-09 15:28:33)
FICGS update & wish list

Hello to all.

You probably noticed a new extension to the chat bar, it delivers some random messages and news (forum, problems, public comments, entries, login). It also automatically warns a player if he started an advanced tournament [bullet, lightning or blitz games], which is more convenient... As it refreshes every minute, you shouldn't log out automatically anymore until you close the chat bar.


Other changes :

- Serbia & Montenegro (SCG) has become Serbia (SRB) and Montenegro (MNE).
- New players will start with a 1800 chess rating.
- Lightning tournaments become Advanced tournaments (blitz, lightning, bullet)
- New quotes added from the forum :)
- Some Google optimizations...
- Waiting list for unrated no-engines tournaments is open !
- Minor bugs corrected.


I did not implement the private messages facility yet... I feel it could create some problems (not technically), I still have to think about it.


This is probably a good moment to open a wish list and discuss all changes you'd like to see on the site...

Best wishes, Thibault


Mladen Jankovic    (2007-09-10 00:15:58)
Jason

Cool down a bit and don't shout, it's not a very civil thing to do. To me it seems obvious that Garvin has been joking. It might not be much of a joke, but it is still only a joke.

BTW, the only reason why I was asking questions is pure curiosity about the site, and what runs it so well! :)


Mladen Jankovic    (2007-09-11 05:44:21)
A wish

Could you please make the site align well within the confines of a 1024x768 monitor. You seem to be missing the resolution by the width of the slider, plus couple of pixels.


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2007-09-10 04:05:57)
Re ...

Hi Thibault, really the whole site is very impressive, especially the board diagrams. Any chance you publish that part as a library? The reason is just curiosity, the few times I had to do web development, was just boring stuff, shopping basket and inventory, and at work I never did PHP development, only small things at home.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-10 14:43:59)
Discussing the new rule

About this rule : "Responding to a provocative message is strictly forbidden and will lead to get a limited access to the server during one month a first time, two months the second one and so on. In this case, please just warn the moderator or webmaster in private."

As a player pointed out that this rule was really hard and suggested to me to punish verbal attacks only, here's my answer (to be discussed, of course) :

I did not ban provocation, I just try to limit the "discussions" that follow... Provocation calls provocation and progressively more and more, I don't think that any argument is useful when the aim is not to convince but only to provoke... So, how to limit that with clear rules ? What's exactly a verbal attack, where is the limit ? Quite hard to say... How to avoid such discussions to burn quickly ?

If you have any idea of a better rule, feel free to suggest... What most players like in this site is the friendly atmosphere... Such discussions are boring for most of them IMO.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-11 14:28:51)
Moderators

It's a long time ago I did not re-open the subject, but even if it's a good test to manage the site alone, of course there will be several moderators in the future.


Jason Repa    (2007-09-15 13:03:20)
FIDE World Championship 2007

Well there is some doubt there, most remarkably from Anand himself who considered Kramnik to be the favourite here in a pre-tournament interview, despite Anand's higher elo.

I predict Kramnik to win, not out of any personal admiration for the man. Quite the opposite is true actually. I would rather see Anand or Leko win.

At the close of Round 2, Anand and Kramnik are tied for the lead.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-19 13:45:30)
October 21

This should be the final date for the 1st FICGS freestyle tournament. As I had to finish the new interface, I'll only start to promote it today in forums and other websites...

About the time control, I agree that ie. 1h+20s would be less "Rybka mode" and more centaur, but it requires a lot of energy and time for a 6 rounds tournament. So let's give a try to 10m+20s, thus the tournament should last about 6 or 7 hours...

Until october 31, you'll be given 20% E-Points more when buying tickets :)


Andrew Stephenson    (2007-09-20 13:58:05)
chessfriends

I remember that chessfriends.com used to have the opposite rule ie the player with the lower elo advanced in the knockout. I guess their reasoning was if your better rated you should be able to prove it. As Thibault mentioned he may be a victim of the FICGS rule in his match against Farit Balabaev. He has the higher TER and his opponent as taken 4 draws as white by repeating the same 15 move sequence in his 4 white games (1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd 4 Nxd Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 Qb6 8 Qd2 Qxb2 9 Rb1 Qa3 10 f5 Nc6 11 fxe6 fxe6 12 Nxc6 bxc6 13 Be2 Be7 14 0-0 0-0 15 Rb3 Qc5+ 1/2 1/2) Not the greatest advert for cc games! It requires cooperation for this to happen although its dangerous for black to deviate after 9 Rb1. Still there are perfectly viable alternatives IMO in the Najdorf against 6 Bg5 other than this line. I suggest going to a 2 game mini match play off series at 5 days reserve and 1 day per move increment until there is a win. This would provide incentive to go for a result for the higher rated player in the main match. I would retain the lower rated player wins rule for decisive games (but overall draw) for the main match but leave it equal for the playoffs.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-20 16:06:36)
Chessfriend.com

That's right, I remember this opposite rule at Chessfriend server. By the way it may have incited players to lose games to decrease their rating, which is somewhat easier than to increase it.

About my quarter final against Farit, it seems we both had really too many games at this moment, that explains (from me at least) these 4 short draws.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-09-21 14:52:53)
60 minutes + 15 seconds

Ok Garvin, you convinced me :) .. Finally it will be play on 2 consecutive days (october 20 & 21 - 14 pm, 17 pm, 20 pm)

This format is longer but definitely more interesting.

I'll start (at last) to promote it today, feel free to announce it in forums & websites :) .. Now FICGS account at Paypal is available to send & receive money.

I'll start a new topic about Freestyle cup... Too many out-of-date informations in this one.

Thanks for your help !


Andrew Stephenson    (2007-09-21 18:52:24)
Tie Breaks

Farit just to clarify things, you lost your drawn match against Peter Schuster (despite being the higher rated player) because of the rule that the lower rated player wins in the event of a drawn match, where there has been at least one win by the lower rated player. So the 4 draws by you are drawing attention to the problems with the tie break by rating approach (albeit the higher rated player wins if all games drawn part of the rule) Well at least we understand your side of it - that you were actually making a point. Wolfgang I understand the rule is a compromise no need to cry however surely its right to review the experience and see if we can improve? The problem I have, based on the experience, is that it just makes the site look bad and silly to have 4 identical 15 move games. Thats not chess - in my view its absurd. So lets examine the experience and refine the process. A 2 game play off series at a very fast cc time rate ( 1-5 day reserve + 1 day increment)would, I believe, get a result. Its still a compromise because the time for cc is very short. At the same time lets re -think having the championship every 6 months idea - I think thats a big factor behind Thibault's tie break by rating rule. Its leading to overcrowding and its pretty hard to follow perhaps 1 every 9 months or year? Incidentally Thibault how do you break the tie if both have the same TER? Just a thought!


Andrew Stephenson    (2007-09-21 20:34:37)
Tie Breaks

Thansk for the reply Thibault. on the delay front I think it would be less than 6 months maybe 1 or 2 months. First the effect of this delay would impact on only very few top players in completing the final stages. Overall the quantity of chess games and opportunities would be unaffected as new championships start every 6 months so the amount of playing is the same. Second "If tournament entry ratings are equal, ratings when the next stage begins will be taken in account." Ok this will be rare but you cannot really be saying that a match would be decided perhaps 1 or 2 months after completion when the next rating is done? Third "The special rule, at least, force one player to avoid it." yes but it didn't did it? You took the 4 draws in 15 moves because you had too many games and your opponent was a strong player! My point is not about the unfairness of the rule Thibault its the effect of it - in this case 4 identical 15 move draws is not a good advert for the site, the World Championship FICGS or the players.


Andrew Stephenson    (2007-09-23 13:23:38)
Log out

Thibault I get logged out of the site automatically after a certain time is there anyway I can extend the time before the sysytem logs me out forcing me to log back in?


Garvin Gray    (2007-09-24 07:41:22)
site messages

Another reason could be so we see any important site change messages as our first port of call


Tano-Urayoan Russi Roman    (2007-09-28 00:36:03)
Comment

This remark was made by past freestyle winner Equidistance in the rybka forum: "This FICGS site is very unclear, impossible to find anything. No clear summary about what these e-points are all about, very long terms and conditions, really I doubt anybody will spend so much time to even find the page about Freestyle Cup, which is hidden under one of many menus." Maybe navigation could be made easier for new players interested in the tournament.


Garvin Gray    (2007-09-28 03:28:13)
pm's


Proposal for site rule, now that private messages has been enabled.

Publication of a private message without the authors expressed permission is forbidden and will lead to ...... (insert penalty here).



Thibault de Vassal    (2007-10-03 14:03:06)
Cool websites

Feel free to share here the last funny websites you just surfed on :)

Here's a completely mad one - http://twitter.com


Mladen Jankovic    (2007-10-03 14:26:56)
a good 1

http://xkcd.com/
http://xkcd.com/chesscoaster/

Caveat! The site contains an excessive amount of excessively geeky jokes.


Wolfgang Utesch    (2007-10-05 15:37:27)
Slave of ...

Thibault said, he is slave of his site - but I think, we are slaves of his site, aren't we?


Andrew Stephenson    (2007-10-06 19:20:34)
Slave

Definitely thibault is a slave to this site - the amount of time he must spend on it and play cc, mind boggling. Thibault do you actually have a full time job as well as all this?


Edwin Dabbaghyan    (2007-10-20 11:14:42)
where?

Hello everyone...just got back from a 3 drunk days cruise trip and am quite beatable ;)....where exactly do we play the freestyle? on a server client or on this website like any other game? Hej, William, Eros and Alberto...good luck friends:)


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-10-24 14:05:27)
Wolf Blitzer on CNN's Late Edition

Kasparov : "In Russia we are not fighting win elections, we are fighting to have elections."

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4198


Fighting from the opposite side of the earth, quite good strategy :)


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    (2007-11-02 20:55:37)
Videogames & the future of Board Games

Quite funny to see the same discussion on GoDiscussions.com and ChessDiscussion.com forums :

http://www.chessdiscussion.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=457
http://www.godiscussions.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4644

<<

Apparently, two years ago there was a major exhibition sponsored by the Asia Society in American museums called "Asian Games: The Art of Contest." I have been fortunate enough to get a copy of the exhibition book. I found a quote there that I would like you to comment on:

“We hope that this exhibition, in addition to persuading visitors of the historical importance of games, will also stimulate an interest in playing board games. As computer gamers sit in solitary oblivion frantically pressing buttons to manipulate images on screens, it is worth considering how such games could have succeeded, to a large extent, in eclipsing real board games. The answer may be that they have appropriated much of the best of traditional board games. But it is also worth pointing out that the appeal of most electronic games is ephemeral. Ask a teenager if he still plays the same game he played two years ago, and the answer will inevitably be no. We can predict with confidence that twenty years from now, of the electronic games currently in fashion, it is only those versions of classic board games—chess, weiqi/go and perhaps backgammon—that will still enjoy widespread popularity. Does the future of chess, weiqi and backgammon, then, lie solely in electronic media? We hope not. However convenient it may be to play chess or weiqi on the internet, nothing can replace the face-to-face social interaction of real games playing—and indeed the attraction of such games as spectacle. It is no coincidence that there is a trend now among jaded electronic games players to return to board games. This renewed interest undoubtedly reflects the need to compete with a real (as opposed to real-time) person. But there may be another reason for this development. The physical satisfaction of holding a well-crafted gaming piece or die, or of hearing the sonorous click of the pieces as they are placed on the board, does not exist in an electronic universe. No culture better understood the aesthetics of games than the Japanese, whose go, sugoroku, and shogi boards were not only objects of exquisite beauty, but were also designed to enhance the sound of piece struck against board. If, in addition to stimulating more research on Asian games, this exhibition prompts some of its visitors to take up chess, xiangqi, or weiqi—or even better, to work out the rules of liubo—then we will be entirely satisfied.”

Colin Mackenzie and Irving Finkel, “Preface”, Asian Games: The Art of Contest (Asia Society), p. 17

>>


Interesting !


Dan Rotaru    (2007-11-12 01:14:40)
Number of games limitation

I think that limiting the number of games is a good idea, and I have a feeling reading the posts that the issue is not if to do it but the number of games. 40 seems to be a reasonable number. FICGS is still free for corr chess and people are tempted to play too many games at once which not only dilute the quality of the games but leads to too many forfeits. I was horrified some time ago when one of my opponent confessed that he had about 230 games in progress on various sites including FICGS. I believe that even for very strong players too many games will reduce the quality of some games and I am not talking about chess knowledge but about the possibility to do a mistake as the good move in the wrong game.


Thibault de Vassal    (2007-11-22 04:23:12)
IECG chess server

Hi Dinesh !

The server is not really down but I can't login, so Ortwin may be working on the site...


Garvin Gray    (2007-12-12 16:40:02)
5 over 7 as a trial :)


7 players is best for fair ratings IMO.

I do not disagree one bit. The more games and more players in a touranment, the better rating outcomes and fairer tournament all round.

That being said, I think this does need to be balanced against both how long it takes to get a tournament started (which can be quite a while in some cases) and keeping new players on the site by being able to get them some starting games sooner. This has to also be good for accurate ratings as it increases the pool of potential players.



Samy Ould Ahmed    (2007-12-20 12:11:06)
www.brainking.com

In this site you can see 33 variants of chess...it can help you to find a new one :-)


Garvin Gray    (2008-01-03 04:29:22)
Steve Lopez latest article on chessbase


My only comment is that I would have liked Steve to also have compared the chessbase engines to Rybka, Zappa et al

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4357


[moderator : please just leave a link to articles from other websites]


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-01-11 05:00:33)
FICGS improvements : Your opinion

Hello to all...

Kind of poll, it would be useful to know which part of the site looks quite or really unclear to you. FICGS website continues to grow, I tried to use some symbols repeatedly to make it coherent but it's quite obvious that it's not easy to understand how the site works at a first sight.

Feel free to point unclear functions or to make suggestions...

Thanks in advance :)


Konrad Hornung    (2008-01-13 03:05:32)
Possible Improvement to site

I like to sometimes analyze a position before moving i.e. move pieces around, and I don't think this a possible option on the game page.


Patrick Richardson    (2008-01-13 12:32:53)
analyze board

I would second the idea of an analyze board, it would be a nice addition to the other site features. Pat


Konrad Hornung    (2008-01-16 07:11:38)
Games Database

Having a user friendly games database, showing the board and position and listing the options of moves played in that position by users of the database, with the option to filter games below a particular rating e.g. 2000, is my next idea to improve this site.


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-01-25 16:29:52)
Chinese Chess, Shogi ...

Hi Christophe... Of course it has been discussed here already. Well, it is technically possible, but it is not technically possible before a few months :)

The real question is : Do you want FICGS to be a multi-games site or mainly a chess place ? .. I've included Go (weiqi) because this game is really different and interesting, I'm not sure yet about the others and "A few is better than too many" IMO (what a quote) :)


Dan Rotaru    (2008-01-25 21:54:21)
Logged out

It happened to me few times because my Internet connection was down for few seconds. When I tried to access other link on the website I was told to try again. Maybe the server resets the connection if the Internet is down?


Hannes Rada    (2008-01-28 18:58:35)
Chess, Chinese Chess, Go

Thibault, have you ever tried Chinese Chess ? I've a book about the rules with some games, but I do not have a board. Maybe there is somewhere a Chinese Chess pgrogramm for free download. What do you like more Chess or Go ? Some years ago I tried to study Go, visited a Go Club. I tried to play a few games but did not realy realize what's going on. I was even not in the position to find out if my position is better or worse :-). Shogi - Japanese Chess, and Korean Chess, many chess variants and board games ....


Hao Nhien Nguyen    (2008-01-30 10:02:33)
Rating from the other site.

I've got a rating of 1834 in chesshere.com. Can I get this rating here?


Hao Nhien Nguyen    (2008-02-02 03:35:39)
Chinese chess

Chinese chess is the most loved chess game in my country, Vietnam and in many other Asian countries. So, if Chinese chess is available, this site is better.


Wayne Lowrance    (2008-02-02 19:15:42)
Rating from the other side

Congratulations Hao, when I joined I had a CC rating of 2300 at another CC site that I played at for years and years. I started here at 1400,,,,did not know any better. Wayne


Julien Coll    (2008-02-04 08:11:23)
hello :)

I mean: 15 people maxi for each game, each time I connected -that's not enormous anyway... :) some months ago some members of the the ASA (the french shôgi association) used to meet all monday evenings in Kurnik -I don't know if they continue doing it again. If you're able to understand chinese, korean, japanese, etc... perhaps you'll find plenty of very good internet clubs devoted to these games :o) There is a shogi club called ISC, but I don't know if it is active. about shogi and servers: a good server for OTB play is Shogidojo... but the level is quite hard for beginners. there are other sites for differed play (ex. in Brainking you can play to the two games).


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-02-07 09:33:55)
cycle entry rating??

Thibault now your really confusing me?? I do not think there is any concept of cycle entry rating being followed in your WC system! In the knockout stages players ratings change so there entry rating changes in different stages. eg Wolfgang entered the quarter finals for 000002 with a TER of 2460 he was successful (against you)and played the semi final with improved TER 2523 and for the the knockout TER was the same 2523 with Harry had TER with 2456 for quarters but went to semis with TER 2459 and for knockout final his TER changed again to 2555. Now if CER is operating Thibault, the knockout final match should contain entry ratings at the start of the cycle ...this is extremely important because that would have wolfgang on 2460 and Harry on 2456 which will make a difference as it reverses the TER at present showing in that match leading to opposite results in the event of a tie. The same occurs for the stages and round robin finals - updated ratings are used for tie breaks at each stage. Anyway for the next cycle why do you not just change the candidate tie break rule to make it consistent with all the other tie break rules ie based on TER at the time the stage commences. It does not make any sense to give an advantage to say the no 8 rated player at the start of the cycle who goes into knockout over the no 9 rated player going into the stage and round robin. Both players will benefit from improved TER during the course of the cycle before they meet in the candidates final where there strength at that entry point should be a tie breaking factor and not where there rating was 1 year or more years earlier- the more so as their changed ratings since will/may have been used as tie breakers along the way anyway. Either that or introduce cycle entry ratings concept and keep ratings fixed for the duration of the cycle for tie break purposes for all matches and stages!


Iouri Basiliev    (2008-02-13 16:40:48)
FICGS vs. IGAME.RU, the games

I don't pretend to make the conclusion, but looking for the games quality i must admit the very high average level of play. Nearly all the tables! Fantastic! I personally think it's a historical (sorry for the overpathetic) event in the life of both sites.


Wayne Lowrance    (2008-02-15 18:57:08)
ratings

Thibault you say you don't understand why a strong player would not ask for a provisional rating change when coming aboard.... Easy to answer Thibault, most people feel like rules are rules, and won't challenge them. At least that is why I didnt ask for a rating upgrade when I first came aboard. As I said earlier that when I came aboard my rating was 2300+ on another CC site I played on for humpteen years. Anyway I was confident in my CC chess ability and figured it would not take long to get to a decent rating, I wanted to more or less prove my self here. I guess that is basic to what you have answered. Wayne


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-02-15 22:47:18)
FICGS other forums

Hello to all.

You may have noticed new banners on the right of the chat bar before to login, so this other part of FICGS website. Well, looks like a small portal now, these new forums (seo forums, buzz blog, web directory, country & city forums and chat..) should help the games server, even if there's a lot of work to make it coherent and to improve it yet. Feel free to use it anyway :)

Lots of improvements to come on the chess server next month. Have a nice week !

Best wishes, Thibault


Garvin Gray    (2008-03-17 11:35:42)
freestyle and seedings


While I am just another user of this forum, I can answer both of these questions as they come up regularly.

Hailes- My understanding is once you sign onto a waiting list, you cant leave it.

The reason being is players could enter, then see another player enter, then leave the tournament and rejoin in another slot to get a better colour, as your entry position determines your seeding in the round robin draw.

Also regarding chess engines etc, as long as you play as an individual, anything goes. Most of the players on here are using engines and it is fully endorsed.

Basically this is a freestyle chess site.



Mark Hailes    (2008-03-17 15:10:44)
Thibault

Thanks - that's a relief. I'd have had some problems trying to run 10 games at once!? I'll try not to screw up again. BTW I really like the site. The tournament has just started! M


Don Burden    (2008-04-01 23:21:35)
April Fools!

Here is a link to one of the better April Fools jokes I've seen - from the Chessbase site:

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp

The author hasn't admitted that this is a joke yet, but it obviously must be.


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-04-06 18:06:20)
time control

Once more, you are probably right about time controls.. just tried, but anyway, no formula will fit to everyone :( .. IMO the main points are the site has to improve yet and we need more players, then things should follow. Of course, feel free to make suggestions...

Two points :

- I just wonder if an 'open' waiting list is ok for such a tournament : Maybe players shouldn't be able to see the players who already entered the waiting list (cause of course everyone may wait to see who registered before to register...)

- Following some improvements, bronze games may become free soon. More players could familiarize with short time controls.

What do you think ?


Hu To    (2008-04-21 16:21:04)
GoChild 2.0 is available

For kids who loves to play web games, GoChild 2.0 can use their favorite website as reward.


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-05-01 13:42:03)
time controls

The server is accessed on the site, you can tick the box on log in and then your password will come up automatically, once in you go to waiting lists and enter a tournament that your starting rating permits, the time controls are described under the categories (world championship is the same as the rapid time control), check the my games to see when you have games click on the game and you can play with the server keeping all the records. Hope that helps


Marc Lacrosse    (2008-05-01 18:03:17)
to Andrew

"I don't se much benefit to letting the computer think for hours frankly wants it gets to 20 + ply. There all sorts of horizons in positions that letting the computer run for a year wont sort out."

There are other ways to use engines than letting simply one of them run for hours.
You may interactively walk along the various branches of the tree going from current position with one or several engines running.
You may also have engines playing some kind of test matches against each other from the current position or from any critical position that you identify along the possible continuations.
You can use Rybka randomizer against itself or against other engines for more exhaustive evaluation through test games
And so on ...

"Marc why are you playing this c3 stuff against the sicilian with such great kit? You play the same openings all the time and I thought it was because you had not much time!!!"

1. I never played this disreputed c3 stuff against the 2..d6 sicilian (with or without the 4.Be2 pawn offer) before january 2008 in my 140+ former serious correspondence games
Indeed I did choose it because I erroneously enrolled in three new tournaments simultaneously and I feared to miss time for serious analysis due to heavy workload at that time.
Results are a bit disappointing with it : five draws so far and two unfinished games that I should win (one win is sure and the other one is probable).
This should lead to a 64% result and a 2333 elo performance. Not shining but not that bad insn't it ?

2. I like playing unorthodox openings in correspondence play.
I do not see any interest in beginning my games with 30 moves of overanalysed theory.
Most often I decide for a side variation and I do play it in as many games as possible simultaneously : I do the analysis job once for all while being fully "in the mood" of a similar set of positions.
Then I change for something else
I won't probably ever play any more game with the line I played against you.

3. An exception is the Basman-Sale Sicilian (2..e6 4..Bc5).
I like it a lot and even have a web site devoted to it (http://chessbazaar.mlweb.info/basmansale/index.html)
I am in a running series of more than twenty corr. games without a single loss with it and decided not to stop using it until defeat happens
I probably analysed it more than anybody : I have several thousands of analysed lines in my files.
I am just busy to consider switching to something more agressive for cases where I need to play for a win as Black.

Regards

Marc


Jason Repa    (2008-05-06 03:59:45)
Bird's Opening

Comparing 1.b4 to the Bird's Opening is just revealing your lack of chess knowledge. There have been many books written about the Bird's Opening. It has it's own discrete chapter in MCO, and its played in serious games in professional chess still today, as I've already mentioned to you. I wasn't making an argument that it should be someone's "main weapon", and I don't use it as a "main weapon" myself. Your original statement that I was contesting was: "1 f4 at cc seems a waste of white".

I'm significantly higher rated than you are on this site, and I beat you quite easily when we played last year (only took me 33 moves if I recall), so I don't think you're any authority in cc either.

And you shouldn't equate a lack of an "opening advantage" with winning potential. Chess is a complex game, and its not about simply trying to make the best theoretical move all the time. It's about defeating your opponent. Theory suggests that 3.Nc3 is the strongest objective continuation for White against the French Defense, yet you still see 3.Nd2 quite regularly and even 3.e5 sometimes. There is more to think about than trying to get an opening advantage when it comes to winning a chess game. There is positional maneuvering and jockeying, as well as psychological factors to consider.

Additionally, trying to win the most games on an online correspondence chess server isn't everyone's goal. Some of us play real chess and use the information garnered here to assist us in our over the board play.


Jason Repa    (2008-05-06 04:24:31)
Bird's Opening

Here's a few more wins played on this site I obtained with 1.f4 http://members.shaw.ca/winnipeg_chess/birdsopening.htm I've actually never lost a single game with this opening. Hardly seems like a "waste" to me.


Pablo Schmid    (2008-05-07 00:34:11)
...

"Actually you're wrong once again Pablo. I know that you're only a 1912 rated player on this site" Yeah, on this site... I began here as a 1700 (the first rating here) and I lost many games on time or because I was very busy and in a hurry to play a move without checking seriously to not lose on time. And corr rating does not mean everything. I play OTB too. Do you? I would be happy to play with you, even if you seems a bit arrogant when I see the way you speak in general. And still, when I read that: "FYI, 5...Nc6 doesn't "put up more of a fight". It loses immediately to 6.Bxg5. I rarely have anyone play that badly against me in an online bullet game, let alone a cc game. and in the line with 4...Nf6 (called the Mestel Variation), there is no clear way for Black to win his pawn back. " There is not discussion about material, you seems to judge the position on the fact that Black could not regain the pawn, so they are worse...


Jason Repa    (2008-05-06 23:41:40)
Pablo

"I realize that Pablo, probably a lot better than you do. 'What? How do you know? You know nothing about me and you say that...'" Actually you're wrong once again Pablo. I know that you're only a 1912 rated player on this site. And I also know that you have difficulty understanding the difference between a discussion of dynamic compensation for material, and one of simply whether or not material can be recovered. Only in your mind is there the implication that "chess is all about material". Material is one parameter, and that is the parameter that was being discussed. You need to learn to understand that. Nobody was saying that was the only parameter to consider, or that it was the most important parameter to consider.


Jason Repa    (2008-05-07 01:09:36)
Step up, or shut up!

"I know that you're only a 1912 rated player on this site" Yeah, on this site... I began here as a 1700 (the first rating here)"

Join the club. I started as a 1700 player also. You've lost over 25% of your games. And to weak opponents at that. So I'm quite justified in assuming that I'm a better chess player than you, and by a very wide margin also. The fact that you couldn't figure out on your own why 10...Bf5 is no improvement over 10...Qe7 is just icing on the cake.

But anyway, I've had enough of you whining about your low rating and making excuses for your poor performance in chess. Excuses are for losers.

And there was nothing "arrogant" in any of my statements. The problem here is your stupidity and incapability at understanding what has been said to you. I've already explained to you TWICE that you were wrong in assuming that there was an implication that "material is everything" when I was discussing the recovery of material. That was not said nor implied. What part of this isn't sinking into your skull? How many more times does it need to be repeated for you to be able to understand???

I don't normally give free chess lessons to insolent patzers like you, but I'd be willing to have you a few bullet games on a secure server like playchess.com where in bullet time controls you won't be able to use your chess program to do the thinking for you like you do here. I've already had this type of thing go down with another motormouth on this site. I beat him 100% of the games and posted a link to them. At least he was man enough to step up to the plate and play me. You made the challenge so don't back down with any excuses, like the excuses you used to explain your paltry 1912 rating. And obviously if we're going to play real-time chess with the assumption is that its going to be human mind vs human mind chess, it's going to have to be fast bullet games. Not standard blitz where you have time to see what rybka running on your other computer suggests. Let me know what your playchess.com account name is and when you're able to play.


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-05-07 05:15:58)
f4 or not f4

1.0 Pablo here is a link you should read: http://www.avlerchess.com/chess-analysis/A_BRAND_NEW_Chessbase_9_for_sale_on_eBay_92649.html 2.0 Mr Repa here is a comment about the Dutch defense: "Black's ...f5 stakes a serious claim to the e4 square and looks towards an attack on White's kingside in the middlegame. However, it weakens Black's own kingside somewhat, and does nothing to contribute to Black's development" My point exactly about 1 f4 3.0 Mr Repa's chess federation of canada rating is listed as 2010 with an active rating of 1737. If he reaches am expected rating here of, by his account, 2370+ then everyone will be impressed particularly as Mr Repa says "I think I'm a bit out gunned here.I'm running BATTLE CHESS on a Commodore 64. I believe its running at 1.023 MHz." 4.0 It might be battle chess that accounted for the following cc (!) game as black he played against Torsten Opas 1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.exd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bb5 Be7 7.Ne5 Bd7 8.O-O O-O 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 a6 11.Bxc6 Bxc6 12.Re1 Re8 13.Qf3 Qd6 14.Re3 Qb4 15.Rae1 Bd8 16.Qf5 Qxd4 (oops)17.Bxf6 Bxf6 and the game is already lost 5.0 Together with his loss with 1f4 that he forgot about here is another example of the correct treatment of f4 by black against Mr Repa 1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 g6 4.b3 Bg7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Be2 b6 7.O-O Bb7 8.d3 c5 9.Ne5 Nfd7 10.d4 e6 11.Nd2 Nc6 12.Nxc6 Bxc6 completely dead for white no prospects and duly drawn. Like I said 1 f4 is a waste at cc. I doubt we shall see Mr Repa use it again against a good opponent on this site. 6.0 All the games I referred to were white victories OTB with 1. f4 "Look what happened to Evgeny Alexseev as black - a very strong 2600+ GM at the time - he continued 6 ..b6 7 h3 c5 8 Qe1 Bb7 9 g4 and lost to IM Sengupta." Alexseev lost and the criticisms of IM Sengupta's moves by Mr Repa are quite funny - thats the whole point. At cc Sengupta's play would not be impressive but otb it was effective. Incidentally the game was played in 2004 in India 8.0 1 g4 is like 1 b4? Well that is clearly wrong. There have been no GM - GM encounters with 1 g4 there have been several with 1 b4 including Topalov v Malakhatsov. Over 50 IM's and a dozen GM's have played 1 b4 very few have ever played g4. 1 f4 has been championed by GM Jakubiec who is the only GM who has played it regularly. 9.0 "What is weird is that the conversation began with quite civil exchanges before tiny criticisms quickly escalated to nuclear mode despite my genuine and exhaustive efforts at diffusion and removal of misinterpretation" Can anyone guess who is being written about here on another chess site?


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-05-07 19:34:00)
Reminder : Forum rules

Hello all. The previous thread about From's Gambit has been closed.

As a reminder of the site regulations :

11. 1. Netiquette

(...) No player may post in forums or send to another member any voluntary message that contains abusive, insulting, provocating, advertising, vulgar, foul, racist, sexist or other discriminatory or politically sensitive content. Doing so may lead to being immediately and permanently banned. You agree that the webmaster, administrator and moderators have the right to remove, edit, move or close any topic, comment or message at any time should they see fit. Responding to a provocative message is strictly forbidden (...). In this case, please just warn the moderator or webmaster in private.

Provocation is just ridiculous when alone...


Jason Repa    (2008-05-13 08:25:55)
When will this troll stop?

This is hilarious! You've got a guy (and I use the term loosely) who goes WAY out of his way to insult, harass, and annoy, now trying to pass himself off as holier-than-thou. He's even following me around from thread to thread with the sole purpose of abuse and provocation. If I say the sky is blue, he'll say green. If I say 2+2=4, he'll say there is no proof of that. This character will not stop trying to provoke, as this thread proves.

I start an innocent thread describing an interesting game I played with someone. He immediately starts criticizing my choice of chess openings, made all the more laughable because I CRUSHED the guy in chess, and am significantly higher rated than he is. Perhaps this is what is fueling his little tirade. He then proceeds to post links to off-topic discussions that occurred 4-5 years ago as further harassment. And this is the same individual who is whining about, of all things, Netiquette? Irony to the EXTREME!

His latest tactic is to incessantly suck up to the site admin by making repeated hybrid posts which are intended to harass me while worshiping the admin. We'll see his signature phrase "I agree with Thibault" over and over again ad-nausiam. As if this somehow buys him respite for the provocative and abusive comments he CONTINUES to make towards me.

Although you're probably used to being in that position, please get off your knees and stop brown nosing Stephenson. It's pathetic. And before you start talking about Netiquette, please learn what the term means yourself. We wouldn't be having this discussion if you did.


Benjamin Block    (2008-05-19 15:06:03)
Nice!

why have the GM class 2600+ in rating? Nobody in this site have that high rating?


Michael Aigner    (2008-05-27 18:35:33)
Sorry but white is going to win

I think black has a maximum 10 % drawing chances in this position. e.g. [Event "Blitz:120'"] [Site "PC"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "New game"] [Black "Naum 3.1"] [Result "*"] [PlyCount "65"] [TimeControl "7200"] {256MB, Hiarcs10.ctg, HOME-PC} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 Bg7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bd6 a6 14. a4 e5 15. Bg4 exd4 16. e5 c5 17. Re1 Nxe5 18. Bxe5 O-O 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Ne2 f5 21. Bh5 f4 22. b4 cxb3 23. Qxb3 Qd5 24. Qh3 Bc8 25. Nc3 dxc3 26. Qxc3+ Qd4 27. Qf3 Ra7 28. axb5 Rf6 29. h3 Qd6 (29... Re6 30. Qa3 Rxe1+ (30... Qd6 31. Rxe6 Bxe6 32. Rd1 Qe5 33. b6 Re7 34. Rc1 g4 35. hxg4 Rd7 36. Qa5 Qd6 37. Qxa6 and White wins) 31. Rxe1 Bf5 32. b6 and White wins) 30. Re8 Be6 31. h4 g4 32. Bxg4 Bf7 33. Rc8 and White is clearly better Regards Michael


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-05-27 19:02:42)
Provisional rating

1800 is quite usual as a provisional rating in correspondence chess, some sites prefer to ignore games played by players who don't have an established rating in rating calculation. In my opinion, the effects are quite small here and ratings move faster this way.


Mik Kris    (2008-05-27 19:51:18)
Thanks for the quick response

I am sorry I did not think my original idea it all the way And forgat my manners for a moment there I wold like to thank you for building this great site and this opportunity for me to meet many intersting people Yes I wold like to be able to challenge some one for a simple rank game without starting a tournament one more thing might be nice is to get an "are youre ready to play" message before a game in a bullet or lightning tournament


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-05-28 00:32:54)
Advanced Go games

Actually, it should also open a pop-up window if your browser allow it for the site. Anyway you should remove from the waiting list if you can't check the page regularly.


Mik Kris    (2008-05-29 06:37:00)
so thing you might not know about go

go is not about making a better move its about keeping the game equal you cant win in go unless youre oponent had a misstake that you fix or a simple misstake you didnt evean have to fix most players take too long to realy understand this hell i know this i stil dont understand it but its true ask any strong player or pro its evean more true in our kyu games where we make a wrong move every few also i took some time lookin at some games on this site it seems that most players here dont use the extra time they have to read or make shape any way in fact many games are lost becouse of misstakes in reading what seems to me becuse the lack of faster games where you have to read perfactly fast


Don Burden    (2008-06-01 18:50:35)
Problem....Problem

"Find a Grave" site says he was cremated and his ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3476


Garvin Gray    (2008-06-02 19:14:39)
response


Wayne, this is an enternal problem and while you complain about it for the rating group 2100-2300, saying that only 2100 will benefit from it.

No matter what the rating bracket, it has been shown on this site many times that very few players will enter a waiting list when their entry is just below the cut off.

So changing the rating limits to 2200-2400 will not change this behaviour, all it will do is move the 'problem'.



Benjamin Block    (2008-06-03 17:20:27)
Poker

I have not seen any site with corr poker it would be funny? Or do you mean live time?


William Taylor    (2008-06-04 23:09:47)
Don't like the idea

My initial reaction is that I don't like the idea. Whilst I do enjoy playing poker, I think it would be out of place here. As others have pointed out, there's a lot of luck involved, and (so far anyway) this website is for skill-based abstract strategy games. I also think it would be unsuited to a correspondence time control. Shogi or xiang-qi on the other hand... I'm in favour of introducing them.


Jason Repa    (2008-06-08 20:37:40)
Rapid chess entry rating

No, Lowrance, you're the one missing the point here. And you're using engine assistance as much as anyone here, so don't pretend like you're somehow at a disadvantage. I've played you, and you're 100% program. Perhaps that's the problem.

Thibault mentioned once that a weak player running Rybka can get to around 2100 or so. To get beyond that requires some chess knowledge. While he may not be precisely accurate about the number....perhaps it's 2200 instead......nonetheless, the point is accurate. Everyone who's above 2000 on this site is consulting chess engines, but in corr. chess simply running a program alone is not the strongest way to play. You make it sound as though Rybka plays the perfect chess game. If that were the case everyone on this site would be rated about the same. It should be quite obvious to you that to go from 2300 to 2400 is much more difficult than going from 2200-2300. As a higher rated player, you get less points for winning or drawing, and lose more when you lose. As for your chances against 2400 players being the same as against 2100 players, that's pure nonsense. You'd be lucky to get the occasional draw against a 2400 player, (one who's really earned their rating and not just started with an artificially high rating as is the case with more than a few on this site) whilst you will lost most of those games. A higher rated player is higher rated for a reason. They win more games.

The correct spelling of my name should also be obvious to you, as it's on the same page that you're entering text into.


Don Groves    (2008-06-09 06:47:09)
Brackets - both Chess and Go

In response to Garvin Gray's first response in this thread: There is a way around the problem of being stuck at a certain rating because you never get to play against higher rated players (which is necessary to move up) -- allow the winner of a tournament to qualify for the next higher classification regardless of his/her rating. This is done on at least one site already (IECG, if I recall correctly). If the player in question does not improve his/her rating enough to stay at the higher level, he/she drops back into the lower classification. Thibault would have to agree to allow this of course. I think it's a good way to reward the winner of a tournament.


Wayne Lowrance    (2008-06-10 16:44:32)
Rapid chess entry rating

I am pleased that Thiabalt has/is taking steps to put a stop to this bickering and name calling here at the chess site. For my part I would like to apoligize to all for opening this "Rapid chess entry rating" topic in the first place. It is my bad ! And I will not repeat this mistake again. It was never my intension to creat such chaos. I thought it was a harmless topic and was giving an opinion. I feel bad that one individual has such a dislike for me. I have been playing c hess on internet for perhaps 20 years, and in all of that time I have never had anyone dislike me, I confess it does bother me. Wayne


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.


Samy Ould Ahmed    (2008-06-25 23:24:54)
Salut

Salut Khaled, je ne pense pas qu'on puisse jouer un match (en deux parties) de parties longues sur ce site, Thibault me contredira si j'ai tort. Joue tu sur d'autres sites ?


Wayne Lowrance    (2008-07-03 01:03:17)
my games copied to Fritz database

Sorry Thibault, I cannot make this work, too dense I guess. Thanks for trying to help me. Maybe you can make a site up date to do this. Wayne


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-07-09 22:18:10)
Derrida

Strongly advise against reading anything by the chap although I did enjoy his defense to being caught with a big bag of dope in prague - it was planted on him when he visited Franz Kafka's grave - hmmm yeah ok.


Normajean Yates    (2008-07-11 01:20:57)
the answer is in Carla Bruni's new album

Well maybe so and maybe not - but rather like the album. (Comme si de rien n'était) - I liked the first two albums too :)

You can hear the enitire album at the official site www.calabruni.com


Normajean Yates    (2008-07-14 04:29:14)
thanks thibault, it was adblock problem

the adblock-filter-updater i was using was too strong :)

As a courtesy, as long as I am a free memner I have allowed all ads that appear that appear on this site :)


Benjamin Block    (2008-07-16 14:32:33)
New idea

i have think about this a long time but now i think it is time to write it down.
What do you think about make you´re own money price tournament. First you choose e-points fee 10 or 100. Then you choose how many games you want. Of course the site need to have limit so nobody take 100 games. And you choose the highest and lowest rating you want here the site need to take a limit. And the last thing you choose the time control. Here it will be fun if we can take more time control example 30/10 days,50/10 days and 60/10 days.

What do you think?


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-07-16 23:12:46)
Mirroring moves

This rule work from move 1 (let's say move 5 :)) .. it can be verified within the site by examining the date of each move.


Benjamin Block    (2008-07-17 19:30:56)
Why more times an be good.

First i am going to take a example. You will play on a high rated tournamnet on iccf. The fee is 10 euro. But it is too hard for you too win so you need help from this site. You take help from this site. If you lose on this site you will win on iccf. If you lose on iccf you will win here not smart?
One more example. I play vs example you Thibault. You are white. You start with. 1.e4 i make the move on iccf. the player on iccf. move 1-.e5 and i make the move on this site and so on....


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-07-18 14:15:56)
how did member's name change?

According to the terms & conditions, the site can keep players informations and games, however if it's a "real" problem for a player who wants to close his account to have his name remaining on the site, an admin may change it (at his own discretion, the player can't register under his previous name though), but the games remain.


Robert Mueller    (2008-07-19 07:31:33)
available? - not quite

Rybka 3 is not quite available yet. You could pre-order at Chessbase (if their website wasn't down) or at Convekta. But delivery willl begin on August 1 or August 4 depending on where you buy.


Normajean Yates    (2008-07-21 15:16:14)
why so few women on ficgs?

compare chess.com.

Simone de Beauvoir write in Le Deuxième Sexe, 1949 that women in l'Etats-Unis d'America are more advanced...

Still true? [with modification: women members of USA-based sites :)]


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-07-21 16:00:32)
cc sites

Sites like ICCF and IECG seem to be like FICGS - very few women members. Chess.com is not just an exclusive cc site and has a lot more varied chess content - not just cc. Perhaps thats part of the reason. However some sites like chessbase are cringeingly sexist - never missing an opportunity to show pics of the "pretty girls" together with 1950's style comments.


Normajean Yates    (2008-07-21 19:15:38)
thibault you really need more women here

US sites like fics are so sexist [AND racist --- anti-Arab] that for 3 years i was ranting and raving there ...

So chess.com is an exception i think.

I would have liked the first exception to be NOT from the USa, but .. fait accompli it is ... And woman are vocal at chess.com - i've not been the target of any sexist remark [or seen any anti-arab or otherwise racist remark] there so far though i am perhaps the most vocal woman there .. And lots of women DO play corrspondence chess there ... 'lydiablonde' is both vocal and a strong, heavy player.
Anyony I am here for computer-assisted chess and there for the other sort ... [that site doesnt allow engines]


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2008-07-25 05:01:17)
quote was Gloria Steinem's iirc...

The opposite is also true:

A married woman looks like a fish riding a bicycle.


Garvin Gray    (2008-07-25 17:41:01)
wonders will never cease

and you guys wonder why there is a lack of females on this site :o :P


Marc Lacrosse    (2008-07-27 19:36:41)
The specifics of match play ...

Tanks to FICGS championships interesting formula I just entered Wch 005 in a quarter final 8-games match (against GM Balabaev).
This is the first time I have to play several simultaneous games against the same opponent in correspondence play.
There are interesting questions related to this unusual kind of tournament.
First of all, what kind of opening(s) should you play, and more precisely is it better to vary or to go for the same opening in several games?
Having had a look at my opponents former games I had prepared quite a few options.
As Black I decided to rely on my favorite Bc5 sicilian defence
Four identical games developped and very soon it appeared that these games should be decisive for the whole match
For long I was afraid that my opponent could come with some decisive prepared analysis leading to a 4-0 lead ...
But the opposite happened and all four games ended (draw by position repetition) before I had left my opening prep, after less than one month of play.
Thus I am left with four games where I am white
A considerable advantage IMHO ...

On this precise topic I wonder what is the opinion of top players here : is it better to be the one who vary early or should you go along your favorite analysis as long as your opponent won't diverge himself in case of match play

I have never read anything on this topic anywhere ...

Marc


Normajean Yates    (2008-07-29 05:32:27)
why so few retrograde analysis fans here

http://www.ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=problem_read&id=262
Nicola, Kieran, and me [ i hadn't discovered this site when the problem was posted]

This problem is not trivial, but definitely not difficult!


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-07-29 14:05:49)
why so few retrograde analysis fans here

Because I hate this ! :o)

Just joking, but I don't like it much for real. As I made this site mainly in a competitive way, probably most players look for the same things as me here, a deeper chess (& Go) games understanding and of course competition - this is a men's feature, you know :))


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-08-07 16:00:12)
Longest game

I just wondered whats the longest game game ever played on FICGS - in terms of moves? Potentially it could be very long as the 50 move draw rule does not apply automaticaaly on this site.


Normajean Yates    (2008-08-11 09:33:10)
or maybe the question is not clear to me

Exactly what do you mean, Phil and others - getting a game annotated?

Specially since this is primarily a computer-chess site so of course you dont want engine annotation. You want the sort of human annotation that engines cannot do, right?


Normajean Yates    (2008-08-12 02:10:55)
Okay, requestiong annnotation!

Consider this latvian fraser 'book' line:
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Nxg6 Nf6 6. Qh3 hxg6 7. Qxh8 Qe7. [yes I know it is in crisis :)]
well, opp played 8. Nc3 [which i couldnt find in any database] and I was already in serious trouble after:

8...fxe4 9. Be2 Nd4 10. O-O.

Cant see any counterplay by black.

[not on this site; and the game is in progress but has moved on a few moves beyond this point - so I am not cheating!]

Anyone care to comment on - ahem, annotate - my [black's] 8th and 9th move?


Phil Cook    (2008-08-12 07:34:16)
Morales Vs Cook

[Event "Single game, E4EC"] [Site "http://gameknot.com/"] [Date "2008.04.22"] [Round "-"] [White "Morales, Rafael (rafafallo)"] [Black "Cook, Phil (Kiwi)"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteElo "1078"] [BlackElo "1170"] [TimeControl "10/30"] 1. d4 {(D 00 Queeens Pawn,Chigorin varation) 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 } d5 2. Nc3 {(D 00 Queeens Pawn,Chigorin varation) 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 e6..not commonly played } e6 {(D 00 Queeens Pawn,Chigorin varation) 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 e6..not commonly played} 3. a3 {3.blocking ..Bb4} h6 4. e4 a6 5. g3 dxe4 6. Nxe4 Nf6 {3. ....... h6 4. e4 a6 5. g3 dxe4 6. Nxe4 Nf6 attemps white into another exchange} 7. Bg2 {7.Bg2 defends } Nxe4 8. Bxe4 c6 9. c4 Be7 10. d5 {7. Nxe4 8. Bxe4 c6 9. c4 Be7 10. d5 (white here,trying to open the middle up) so black attacks} cxd5 11. cxd5 O-O 12. dxe6 {12.dxe6,,(black gives up a pawn or does he)} Qxd1+ 13. Kxd1 Rd8+ 14. Bd2 fxe6 {12. dxe6 Qxd1+ 13. Kxd1 Rd8+ 14. Bd2 fxe6(wins the pawn back,has white in disarray here)} 15. Nf3 Bf6 16. Rb1 Nd7 17. b4 Ne5 18. Ke2 Nxf3 19. Bxf3 {15. Nf3 Bf6 16. Rb1 Nd7 17. b4 Ne5 18. Ke2 Nxf3 19. Bxf3 (note whites black bishop)} Rb8 20. a4 b5 21. a5 Bb7 22. Rbc1 Bxf3+ {19. Bxf3 Rb8 20. a4 b5 21. a5 Bb7 22. Rbc1 Bxf3(white lost contol and game from here,yet plods on)} 23. Kxf3 Rxd2 {22. Rbc1 Bxf3+ 23. Kxf3 Rxd(loss of bishop)} 24. Rc6 Rd3+ 25. Ke4 Rbd8 26. Rxe6 Rd3d6 27. Rxd6 Rxd6 28. Rc1 Rd4+ 29. Kf5 Rxb4 30. Kg6 Rg4+ 31. Kf5 Rc4 32. Rd1 Rc5+ 33. Ke4 b4 34. Rb1 Rb5 35. Rb3 Bc3 36. f4 Rxa5 37. f5 Ra3 0-1


Don Groves    (2008-08-14 00:17:39)
Nada...

I set my site design to random and logged in again, but it still looks like it always did...


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-08-16 12:29:32)
Questions to Xavier Pichelin

Xavier Pichelin is 1st FICGS chess champion after beating IM Gino Figlio in the first candidates final, he accepted to talk about his match, the tournament, his views around correspondence chess, chess engines and so on... The most important part may be he'll defend his title against the winner of the 2nd candidates final :)

Unfortunately, the complete interview is in french only as he doesn't speak english, but if someone finds a good translator (if possible better than Babelfish), he may post it in this thread. Thanks !


- Bonjour Xavier et tout d'abord félicitations pour ta victoire dans le match qui t'opposait au MI (ICCF) Gino Figlio [Pérou] dans la finale des candidats. Tu devais éviter à tout prix la nulle dans toutes les parties, finalement les noirs t'ont porté chance, comment expliques-tu ce résultat ?

Xavier : Bonjour, merci pour les félicitations. C'est vrai qu'en cas de nulles pour toutes les parties, le règlement indique Figlio Vainqueur en cas d'égalité avec victoire(s) et défaite(s) je remporte le match. Donc il fallait que je prenne des risques en attaquant et c'est avec les noirs que je l'ai fait car je pensais que Gino, dans ces parties, attendrait sans prendre de risques pour assurer les nulles.

- Peux-tu nous décrire la manière dont tu as abordé ce match contre Gino et son déroulement au fur et à mesure des différentes phases du jeu ?

X : C'est assez simple, dans ce match je n'étais pas du tout favori car avec plus de 200 points ELO FICGS en ma défaveur, et Gino titré Maître International avec plus de 2480 point ELO ICCF, je pensais que je n'allais pas résister sur 8 parties simultanées car sur une partie tout est possible mais sur 8 parties... c'était pour moi un grand défi ! Pour le déroulement du jeu j'ai joué la diversité sur mes débuts avec les blancs 4 parties 4 coups différents : 1.e4 1.d4 1.c4 1.Cf3. Gino a fait de même : 1.e4 1.d4 1.Cf3 1.Cc3. Ce qui m'a fait douter aussi car 1.Cc3 m'a surpris, je pensais qu'il avait prévu un début tonitruand et c'est là que je me suis dit qu'il fallait que je prenne des risques avec les noirs. Au fur et à mesure des différentes phases du jeu j'ai assuré les nulles des positions équilibrées pour me concacrer a deux parties avantageuses dont une avec les blancs et une avec les noirs pour au moins faire la différence dans une partie pour assurer la victoire. Et en fin de compte c'est 3 victoires qui me reviennent, ce qui me paraissait impossible étant donnée la qualité du jeu de Gino joué sur ce site pour arriver à la finale des candidats du championnat.

- Tu as réalisé pendant le championnat un parcours sans faute, aucune défaite à signaler, tu affiches également des statistiques stratosphériques à 78% contre une moyenne elo à près de 2200, quel est ton secret ?

X : Mon secret? Je n'ai pas de secret. Si j'avais un secret je ne le dévoilerais pas sinon je ne gagnerais plus ! Je pense que j'ai eu un petit peu de chance car il s'en est fallu de peu que je ne sois pas qualifié au stage 3 (robin-round final) car il y avait 3 joueurs à égalité et j'ai eu l'avantage du classement du départ de ce tournoi comme l'indique le règlement. Quant à mes statistiques, c'est aussi grâce aux erreurs de mes adversaires qui m'ont permis de gagner des parties équilibrées.

- Que penses-tu du système mi-ko, mi-toutes-rondes du championnat FICGS et de ses départages inédits lors des matchs en 8 parties ? Quelles modifications y apporterais-tu ?

X : Très bonne question ! Le système mi-ko pour moi est un peu trop rapide car un coup par jour c'est des heures d'analyses pour exploiter une position compliquée, ce qui est difficile quand on à plusieurs parties en cours. Surtout quand on travaille. C'est peut-être aussi grâce à cette cadence que mes adversaires, faute de temps, ont fait des imprécisions sur certaines postions ou exploité mes erreurs. Mais cette cadence a un avantage par rapport aux cadences ICCF qui est de 5 jours par coup, c'est que les parties durent 5 fois moins longtemps ! Le départage inédit des matchs en 8 parties est excellent, obliger le favori à assurer tous les matchs nulles pour gagner ce duel et sinon d'obtenir une victoire supplémentaire contre le challenger est un mode très bien pensé. La modification que je pourrais y apporter est peut-être la gestion du temps qui est rapide pour un système de jeu par serveur. Peut-être augmenter l'horloge de départ de 15 jours, soit de commencer avec 45 jours contre 30 en ce moment. Et aussi la possibilité des prendre des vacances uniquement sur le tournoi en cours afin de gérer les autres parties du site. Par exemple prendre 7 jours de vacances sur un tournoi d'échecs du championnat et pouvoir jouer un tournoi de Big Chess, de Go ou un autre tournoi d'échecs pendant ces vacances. Pouvoir choisir une date de début de vacances à l'avance serait également appréciable.

- Pourquoi t'être investi dans les échecs par correspondance ? T'apportent-ils d'autres satisfactions par rapport aux échecs classiques et au blitz ?

X : Je préfère les échecs par correspondance par rapport au temps. Car les échecs classiques se jouent souvent le week-end, à une heure précise et souvent en déplacement pour effectuer un tournoi. L'avantage, pour moi, des échecs par correspondance est que je puisse me connecter à n'importe quelle heure pour jouer mes coups, ce qui me permet, par exemple, de faire des repas de famille le week-end et le soir tard de jouer un coup, ce qui n'est pas possible aux échecs classiques.

- Tu as su ne pas céder à la tentation et te limiter à jouer un nombre très raisonnable de parties sur le site tout le long du championnat, penses-tu néanmoins que les échecs par correspondance soient addictifs et à quel point ? Ont-ils des répercussions sur ta vie de tous les jours ?

X : Oui ! Limiter mon nombre de parties en cours est pour moi essentiel pour essayer d'avoir des parties de qualité plutôt que de quantité. Avoir beaucoup de parties en simultanée est quand même une chose très difficile à gérer ! C'est peut-être la clé de ma victoire contre Figlio, j'ai regardé ses parties en cours, il en avait pas loin de 90 sur le site de l'ICCF, cela a pu se ressentir sur son temps d'analyse consacré à nos 8 parties sur FICGS. Sur la vie de tous les jours les répercussions sont familiales car il est vrai que je passe plus de temps à analyser les parties et moins temps avec ma famille, ce qui est assez difficile pour moi. Mais quand les résultats sont là je ne regrette pas !

- Que penses-tu de la place actuelle des moteurs d'analyse (Rybka, Shredder, Fritz et autres) dans les échecs par correspondance ? Quelles sont pour toi les qualités complémentaires essentielles du joueur par correspondance, devenu centaure avec la machine pour jambes ?

X : Les moteurs d'analyses dans les échecs par correspondances sont utilisés par 95% des joueurs... Maintenant il faut s'adapter et savoir utiliser ces machines à calculer. Car jouer simplement le meilleur coup de Rybka 3, de Fritz 12 ou Hiarcs 12 sans réfléchir mentalement mène à la nulle si l'adversaire fait de même ou possiblement à perdre si l'adversaire se donne la peine de réfléchir en les utilisant également. En sachant que lorsqu'on est dans le milieu de partie ces logiciels vous donnent souvent 4 à 5 coups evalués de manière semblable, et c'est là qu'il faut choisir le bon coup alors que celui-ci n'est même pas forcément cité par le moteur d'analyse...

- Tu joues désormais au Big Chess sur le site, curiosité ou intérêt ? Que penses-tu de cette version étrange des échecs ?

X : Par curiosité et par amusement et je pense que Rybka 3 ne joue pas encore au Big Chess ! Cette version est quasiment inédite je ne connaissais pas cette forme de jeu d'échecs auparavant donc celui qui a inventé ce jeu a très bien fait ! A propos c'est moi qui vous pose une question sur le Big chess... Y a t-il possiblité de roquer avec ce jeu si oui comment? (NDLR : Non, il est impossible de roquer au Big Chess)

- Et enfin la question que tout le monde se pose, particulièrement François et Wolfgang qui disputent la deuxième finale des candidats, penses-tu pouvoir défendre ton titre l'an prochain ? :)

X : Bien sûr ! Je défendrai le titre ! J'aimerais si possible savoir la date et la cadence du match. Et je souhaite à François et Wolfgang une belle finale ! Je dois faire honneur à cette compétition qui est bien organisée !

- Le match devrait pouvoir débuter durant la première semaine de janvier 2009, la cadence sera à nouveau de 30 jours et 1 jour supplémentaire par coup. Merci pour tes réponses, et encore bravo pour cette belle performance !

X : Merci ! Et à bientôt ! Bonne continuation à tous et bonnes parties !


Benjamin Block    (2008-08-18 08:52:18)
Try to translate!

I think it is something like that?
Hello Xavier and first congratulations on your victory in the match which t'opposait the MI (ICCF) Gino Figlio [Peru] in the final candidates. You should avoid at all costs void in all parties, finally brought blacks t'ont chance, how do you explain this result? X
avier: Hello, thank you for the congratulations. It is true that in case of zero for all parties, the regulation states Figlio winner in the event of a tie with victory (s) and defeat (s) I won the match. So I had to take risks in attacking and it is with blacks that I did it because I thought Gino, in these parts, expected without taking risks to ensure the void.
-- Can you tell us about how you approached this match against Gino and his conduct as different phases of the game?
X: It's pretty simple, in this match I was not at all favorite because with more than 200 ELO points FICGS to my disadvantage, and Gino titled Master International, with more than 2480 ELO ICCF point, I thought I n ' not resist going on 8 simultaneous games as a part everything is possible but on 8 parts ... it was for me a great challenge! In the course of the game I played diversity in my beginnings with white 4 parts 4 different strokes: 1.e4 1.d4 1.c4 1.Cf3. Gino did the same: 1.e4 1.d4 1.Cf3 1.Cc3. What made me doubt also because 1.Cc3 surprised me, I thought he had planned an early tonitruand and this is where I said that I should take risks with blacks. As the different phases of the game I assured the zero positions balanced for me concacrer deal has two parts, one with blanks and one with the black for at least make a difference in part to ensure victory. And ultimately it 3 victories me back, which seemed impossible given the quality of the game Gino played on this site to reach the final of the championship candidates.
-- You have made during a championship course without fault, no losses to report, you also posters statistics stratospheric to 78% against an average elo to about 2200, what's your secret?
X: My secret? I have no secret. If I had a secret I do not dévoilerais if I do win more! I think I got a little lucky because he is required by little I am not qualified to stage 3 (round-robin final) because there were 3 players equally and I had l 'advantage classifying the departure of this tournament as indicated by the regulation. As for my statistics, it is also thanks to the errors of my opponents who allowed me to win parts in balance.
-- What do you think the system mid-ko, semi-all-round championship FICGS and its new départages in matches in 8 parties? What changes would it be?
X: Very good question! The system mid-ko for me is a little too fast since a coup by day is overtime analyses to operate a complicated position, which is difficult when several parties in progress. Especially when you work. It is perhaps also through this pace that my opponents lack of time, made some uncertainty regarding postions or exploited my mistakes. But the pace has an advantage over the cadences ICCF which is 5 days a coup is that the parties had to 5 times less time! The départage new games to 8 parts is excellent, forcing the favorite to ensure all matches to nil win this duel and otherwise obtain an additional victory against the challenger is a very well thought out. The amendment that I could make is perhaps time management which is fast for a game system per server. Perhaps increase the clock starting 15 days, starting with 45 against 30 days at this time. And also the possibility of taking a vacation only on the tournament underway to manage other parts of the site. For example, take 7 days vacation on a chess tournament championship and be able to play a tournament Big Chess, Go or another chess tournament during the holidays. Being able to choose a start date of holidays in advance would also be appreciated.
-- Why t'être invested in correspondence chess? T'apportent there are other rewards compared to traditional chess and blitz?
X: I prefer chess match over time. For the classical chess is often play the weekend at a specific time and often on the move to make a tournament. The advantage for me, correspondence chess is that I can connect at any time to play my shots, which allows me, for example, making family meals on weekends and late at night to play a coup, which is not possible chess classics.
-- You knew not to succumb to the temptation and you only play a very reasonable number of parties on the site throughout the championship, do you think nevertheless that the correspondence chess are addictive and at what point? Did they affect your everyday life?
X: Yes! Limiting my number of games in progress is essential for me to try to have parts of quality rather than quantity. Have a lot of parts simultaneously is still something very difficult to manage! This is perhaps the key to my victory against Figlio, I watched its games in progress, it had nearly 90 on the site of the ICCF, it has been felt on his time devoted to analysis our parties on FICGS 8. On the everyday life impacts are family because it is true that I spend more time to analyze the parts and less time with my family, which is quite difficult for me. But when the results are there I do not regret!
-- What do you think about the current position of engines for analysis (Rybka, Shredder, Fritz and others) in correspondence chess? What are the qualities you complementary core player by correspondence, now centaur with the machine for legs?
X: The engines of analyses in chess matches are used by 95% of players ... Now we must adapt and learn to use these machines to calculate. Car simply play the best shot of Rybka 3, Fritz 12 or Hiarcs 12 mentally without thinking leads to zero if the opponent does the same or possibly lose if the opponent gives himself the trouble to consider using them as well. Knowing that when you're in the middle part of these programs give you often 4 to 5 strokes assessed similarly, and that is that we must choose the right time when it is not even necessarily cited by the analysis engine ...
-- You get the Big Chess now on the site, curiosity or interest? What do you think of this strange version of chess?
X: For curiosity and fun and I think Rybka 3 is not yet the Big Chess! This version is almost unprecedented I did not know this form of chess before therefore the one who invented this game was very well done! About I'm the one who asks you a question on the Big chess ... Is there possibility of castle with this game if so, how? (Editor's note: No, it is impossible to castle the Big Chess)
-- And finally the question that everyone arises, especially Francis and Wolfgang disputing that the second final candidates, think you can defend your title next year? :)
X: of course! I will defend the title! I would like if possible to know the timing and pace of the match. And I wish Francis and Wolfgang a beautiful final! I must honor in this competition which is well organized!
-- The match should be able to start during the first week of January 2009, the pace will again 30 days and 1 additional day by coup. Thank you for your answers, and even congratulations for this excellent performance!
X: Thank you! And see you! Bonne continuation to all and good parties!


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-08-18 16:06:16)
translation

I will have a go off the top of my head at giving a sense of the interview in english (I dont know the phrase tonitruand but I am guessing it means dynamic!)?: Hi Xavier and first of all congratulations on your success in the candidates final match against IM (ICCF) Gino Figlio [Peru] You had to avoid drawing all the games and finally you succeded with the black pieces. How did that happen? Xavier: Hi thank you. Its true that if all the games had been drawn then under the rules Figlio would have won whereas if the match was drawn but with a win and loss I would win. Because of this I had to take risks and attack. It was with Black that I did this because I thought that Gino would play safely to be sure of a draw. - Tell us how you approched the match and how the different phases of the game went x: Its quite simple, I was not the favorite I have 200 ELO less on FICGS and Gino is an IM on ICCF with a 2480 rating. I did not think I could survive 8 games at once - in a single game anything is possible but 8 games .... it was a big challenge for me! In the openings I chose 4 different moves 1 e4 1 d4 1 c4 1 Nf3 Gino chose 1 e4 1 d4 1 c4 1 Nc3 I was surpised by 1 Nc3 because I was expecting dynamic openings and it was then that I decided I must take some risks with black. I kept most of the games balanced with a draw in hand and concentrated on 2 games 1 white and 1 black to get a result. In the end I got 3 wins which seemed an impossibility given the quality of the games Gino had played on this site to reach the final. - you have not lost any games in the championship and you have fantastic statistics 78% against an average elo of about 2200. What is your secret? x: My secret? I havent any secret and if I did I would not say because I would not win anymore! I think I have been a bit lucky because in the the Round Robin final there were 3 of us on the same score and I went through under the rules because of my rating. As for my statistics I was helped by mistakes by opponents who allowed me to win some drawn games. - What do you think of the system for the FICGS championship (round robin and knock out matches)and what changes would you make? x: Very good question. The matches are a bit too fast for me - 1 day per move when there are hours of analysis needed to exploit a complicated position its difficult when you have several games running Particularly if you are working. Perhaps that is why my opponents have made errors or failed to exploit my mistakes. But this time limit has an advantage over ICCF where it is 5 days per move the games here are 5 times quicker! Having 8 game matches is an excellent idea and obliging the favorite to draw all the games and the challenger to get a at least 1 victory is very well thought out. The change that I would suggest is to have 15 days extra starting time that is 45 days at the start instead of 30 and also the possibilty to take holidays for tournaments for example take 7 days for championship games and to be able to play big chess go or another chess tournament during the holiday. To be able to choose the start of a holiday in advance would also be good. - Why do you like cc and how does it compare to blitz and normal chess? x: I prefer cc because of the time factor. Classical chess is often played at the week end at a fixed time and you have to travel to the tournament. The advantage for me at cc is that I can connect at any time to play a move which allows me for example to have meals with the family at the weekend. Late night moves for example are not possible at classical chess. - You limited the number of your games on the site to a reasonable amount throughout the championship. Do you think nonetheless that cc is addictive? Does it affect your daily life? x: Yes! Limiting the number of my games is essential to try to have games of quality not quantity. Having a lot of games going at the same time is something very difficult to handle. It is perhaps the key to my victory against Figlio - I looked at his games - he had not less than 80 games going on at ICCF this must have affected the amount of time he could spend analysing his 8 games at FICGS. The effects on daily life are felt by the family because the reality is if I spend more time analysing the games I spend less time with the family. Thats difficult for me. But when the results come I dont regret it! - What do you think of the role of chess engines (Rybka Fritz etc)in cc. What are for you the important skills of a cc player - to supplement the machine? x: Chess engines are used in cc by 95% of players. You have to adapt yourself and know how to use the engines. To play just the best move of Rybka 3 Fritz 12 or Hiracs 12 without thinking leads to a draw if your opponent does the same or to a loss if your opponent is thinking. You have to choose bewteen 4 or 5 moves with a similer evaluation from the engine during a game and sometimes the best move is not among these. - You play Big chess. Interest or curiosity? What do you think of this strange version of chess? X : Curiosity and amusement and I think Rrybka 3 cannot yet play Big Chess! This version is new and I did not know it and the inventor has done a good job! By the way I would like to ask is it possible to castle at Big Chess? [No its not possible] - Finally the question that everyone is asking particularly Francois and Wolfgang who are contesting the 2nd candidates final. Do think you will be able to defend your title next year? :) x: Definitely I will defend the title I would like to know if possible the date and time limits for the match. I wish Francois and Wolfgang a great match! I would also like to express my appreciation for this tournament which has been well organised! - the match should start in the first week in January next year the time limit will be 30 days plus 1 day per move. Thank you for your answers and once again congratulations on a great performance. x: Thank you. Cheers. Best wishes to everyone and good games!


Normajean Yates    (2008-08-21 14:46:27)
Ilmars, you don't realise it but...

In marxian terms, *objectively* you are in the 'try to keep latvian alive' team, though 'subjectively' you think are in the opposite team :)

Because by participating in a latvian thematic, you are helping to try to keep it alive ;)


Wolfgang Utesch    (2008-08-24 09:06:56)
Andrew, stop scathing criticism

on Thibault. Maybe he did some controversial decisions. But everybody who have to do decisions can be out in his calculations. In summery Thibault do a very good job and we all have to be thankful to him for all his work on this site.


Marc Lacrosse    (2008-08-24 10:02:03)
I fully agree with Wolfgang

"In summary Thibault does a very good job and we all have to be thankful to him for all his work on this site."

I could not say it better.

Marc


Iouri Basiliev    (2008-08-26 11:57:21)
igame.ru R.I.P.

Looks like owner of the site is not interested in this project anymore. It's very sad. It was one of the best correspondent chess sites from only about 10? in the world! R.I.P.


Ilmars Cirulis    (2008-08-30 11:11:51)
...

We have 2 "refuters" vs 2 (maybe 3) "defenders".
Will every play with every from opposite team?


Alexis Bromo    (2008-09-01 17:01:13)
igame.ru

It was my favorite chess site... but i like ficgs. another beautyful and convenient site for me :)


Benjamin Block    (2008-09-02 18:58:21)
organize?

On this site? Yes it would be funny. I think it will be hard to ask the rybka team?? Have they time? But if some one that we trust can use the computer 30+1 to don´t get to much electricity. How are inveted to play? The openingsbook Random?


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-09-05 19:23:28)
Team challenge : Latvian gambit

"Will every play with every from opposite team?"

Good question : I think yes, at least if there are no more than 4 players in each team. Do anyone else want to enter a team or may we start the tournament ?


Peter Unger    (2008-09-08 00:54:05)
a game ended with mate

my Game vs. Sharma ended with Mate. Why isn't it finished? And tournament-table isn't adapted?! Here is the game: [Event "FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_1_GROUP_04__000005"] [Site "FICGS"] [Date "2008.07.08"] [Round "1"] [White "Sharma,Kirti"] [Black "Unger,Peter"] [Result "*"] [WhiteElo "1365"] [BlackElo "2187"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Qc2 Qc7 5. Be2 e5 6. O-O Be7 7. Na3 O-O 8. Nc4 Be6 9. Ng5 Bd7 10. Ne3 h6 11. Nf3 Be6 12. c4 b6 13. Nd5 Qb7 14. Qd3 a5 15. a4 Nc6 16. Qc2 Nb4 17. Nxb4 axb4 18. d3 Nd7 19. b3 Nb8 20. h3 Nc6 21. Qd1 f5 22. Nd2 fxe4 23. dxe4 Nd4 24. Bg4 Bxg4 25. Qxg4 Bg5 26. Rb1 Rf6 27. h4 Rf4 28. Qd1 Rxh4 29. g3 Bxd2 30. Bxd2 Qxe4 31. gxh4 Ne2+ 32. Kh2 Qxh4+ 33. Kg2 Qg4+ 34. Kh2 Rf8 35. f3 Qg3+ 36. Kh1 Qh3+ 37.* regards retep1


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-09-09 18:32:31)
One player needed to save Latvian gambit

Current teams :

Defenders : Michael Aigner, Rodolfo d'Ettorre
Refuters : Ilmars Cirulis, Iouri Basiliev, Scott Nichols


We need one more player in the defenders team ! One game to play against each player of the opposite team...


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-09-09 19:40:44)
Multi-site tournament

Hi all,

A multi-site tournament is being to be organized with 4 chess websites (not using real names), each player from each team playing 1 game with Black "at home" and 1 game with White in his opponent's home with 1 opponent of each website (3 in total, hope I'm clear), so 6 games in total.

2 websites in the competition are :

http://www.echecsemail.com
http://www.echeconline.net


6 games (3 games here and 3 games played on 3 other websites) seem a lot though, what do you think ?


Ruslan Kopytov    (2008-09-16 11:41:51)
igame.ru

Imho igame.ru was very nice place 2 play corr. chess. Alot of strong players, interesting personalities, really popular and actual threads in forum. It is very bad news if this site is down 4ever. Played there 2002-2008. Nick Ruslan73.


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-09-16 13:12:58)
Tournoi multi sites

Salut Alexis, non tu vois ça ne décolle pas sur le forum en tout cas, mais je pense qu'il faut de toutes manières continuer d'en parler sur le forum intersite pour voir s'il n'y a pas moyen de rendre le concept plus attractif (un challenge plus clair) et plus pratique (moins de parties, et sur un site ou 2 maxi) pour les joueurs de chaque équipe.

http://grandintersite.forumactif.net/forum.htm


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-09-18 20:47:10)
Chess quizz beta

Hi Michael, yes it is planned to make the interface easier... But 30 seconds should be a max. The point is not to be able to search the game on the site ;)


Denis Ivanchenkov    (2008-09-25 23:13:44)
Alexis

What you are actually doing - is just trying to convert Ficgs.com into Igame.ru :)) I'd recommend you to register on chess-online.ru - they have vibrant russian forum. The palpable difference between westerners and russians - is in absence of desire to communicate a lot (and most time to chatter about nothing :)). Just look at Ficgs forum - visitors are pretty rare and usually they pretty brief and discuss only chess/site related issues.


Denis Ivanchenkov    (2008-09-27 01:54:32)
hmmm...

Iouri Basiliev "arteficially introduce" Russian in Crimea??? Alexis Bromo it is not a good place to discuss our internal problems here on international site.


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.


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-09-27 12:11:12)
Seen by Jennifer Shahade

BTW the debate seen by GM Pascal Charbonneau, John Fernandez & Jennifer Shahade :

http://jennifershahade.com/site/2008/09/23/obama-plays-chess-against-mccain/


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.


Josef Riha    (2008-09-29 19:32:36)
Hallo Wayne,

it's a little difficult, I believe.
Start Fritz and then change to the Database(the very right icon in the iconbar). Then click New Database. In the dialogue enter the name, e.g.: FICGS.cbh and open it. Remember the directory displayed at top.
Now go to your ficgs site and download your games in that directory.
After this load one game after the other and save them as New Game. That's all.


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.


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    (2008-09-30 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!


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-10-02 11:50:49)
Game 16370, towards a new rule ?

What do you think about this case :

http://www.ficgs.com/game_16370.html


Last move : Qe4+ 2008 September 30 19:57:40

White clock - 94 days 18:34:55 (58 days 08:20:25)
Black clock - 0 day 01:19:54

[Event "FICGS__CHESS__CLASS_A__000032"]
[Site "FICGS"]
[Date "2007.11.30"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Koch,Christian"]
[Black "Stephenson,Andrew"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "2140"]
[BlackElo "2104"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.h3 Be7 9.Qf3 O-O 10.O-O-O b5 11.g4 b4 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Bc8 14.Kb1 Nd7 15.Qe2 Bb7 16.f4 Qc7 17.fxe5 Nxe5 18.Qf2 Bd8 19.Bg2 a5 20.Nd4 a4 21.Rhe1 a3 22.b3 Ra5 23.Nf5 g6 24.Nh6+ Kg7 25.Qf4 Bxd5 26.Bxd5 Rxd5 27.Qxb4 Qc6 28.Rxd5 Qxd5 29.Qf4 f6 30.Bc1 Qc5 31.Rd1 Ba5 32.Qe4 Rc8 33.c4 Bb4 34.h4 Qc6 35.Rd5 Re8 36.Qf4 Bc5 37.Bd2 Qb7 38.Bc3 Bb4 39.g5 f5 40.Qd2 Bxc3 41.Qxc3 Kf8 42.Kc1 Qb6 43.c5 Qc6 44.Rxd6 Qh1+ 45.Kc2 Qe4+ 46.Kc1 Qh1+ 47.Kc2 Qe4+ 48.*


So here player Black has good chances to lose the game on time, even if the best thing player White can do is to draw the game. In my opinion, "in general" player Black should play his next move, unless an analysis prove that the game is a forced draw - according to the rules, http://www.ficgs.com/membership.html#adjudications - and eventually the result will be corrected after the game, but I'd like to know what other players think about this situation in general...

Thanks for helping to build strong rules.


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-10-14 16:21:25)
Kramnik vs. Anand

The first game of the match for the Fide WCC started !

You may see the games live at this french site :

http://www.imineo.com/wcc2008


Garvin Gray    (2008-10-23 23:22:31)
change as good as a holiday

Are you able to provide the new link now, so we can change our information and then just wait for the site to come up?


Normajean Yates    (2008-10-24 00:46:29)
maybe put in the IP of new server?

maybe thibault can post the IP of the new server [those 4 numbers] so that one can bypass DNS - or is it one of those new kinds of indirections I dont understand? Nowadays on some addresses I 'ping' to get the IP but trying to reach the site via the IP doesnt not work [only for very few adresses.. generally on free-webhosting sites..]


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-10-24 00:53:32)
www.ficgs.com

The website address won't change : www.ficgs.com , no need to change anything to your favorites, but I'm not completely sure of what can happen if someone connects through the ip address so it won't be possible to connect this way, sorry :/

Please just check the login page (that will display a message tomorrow) regularly, when it's normal again, it means that you reach the new server.


Scott Nichols    (2008-10-26 03:38:49)
Aigner

There is a really good article on the Latvian revisited at www.chessville.com


Normajean Yates    (2008-10-26 08:03:34)
ive seen those chesville articles before

http://www.chessville.com/instruction/Openings/LatvianGambitRevisited.htm

http://www.chessville.com/instruction/Openings/LatvianGambitRevisited_PartTwo.htm - not bad for a starting uderstanding.. but the lines - dont follow them blindly! doublecheck with latest databases and - with llmars :)


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-10-26 11:57:39)
SSL / https problem

Hello all,

If you use the site in HTTPS mode with Firefox 3 or a more recent version (the latest is 3.0.3), you may have intermittently encountered this error : SSL received an unexpected Change Cipher Spec record. (Error code: ssl_error_rx_unexpected_change_cipher)

This is a bug from OpenSSL that occurs with Firefox 3+ , I just added something to correct it so please just report any bug of that kind here if you have it yet. Thanks in advance.


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2008-10-27 12:25:59)
Thanks Thibault

Hi Thibault, your site is probably the best chess postal site ever.

Une question, after a few years, when you grow older, do you have any grand children to whom to pass this legacy?


Normajean Yates    (2008-10-30 21:27:23)
what I *really* miss is 1 move/month...

Wish there was a site with one move / month, one week increment after every move, max 400 days vacation every decade...

It will have health benefits also - I mean you may be a B up in the middlegame and opp may have no counterplay, but you have to maintain good health to live long enough to deliver checkmate! :)

Preferably, resignation should not be allowed in such a format :)


Normajean Yates    (2008-10-30 22:46:54)
Scott Nichols - hahahahaha :):):)

mate[*], chess site comments/anecdotes have occasionally made me smile, but yours is the first really funny enough that I cant't stop laughing for 2 whole minutes ans still counting!

I am going to shamelessly plagiarise an retell it orally - my version will be -- 'when *I* used to play postal chess back in the '70s-'80s [I did actually], <your anecdote will go here> and after 6 months I recieve this postcard with "j'adoube" written on it! ' :)

[*]if a woman may address a man thus - but why not?


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-10-31 20:37:59)
10x10 "super" chess

The 10x10 variant seems much more funny but it is not so far from 8x8 chess. Ok, let's say that 5x5 chess is a "natural" variant, but I see no real interest to play it yet as the first 5x5 chess engine will be probably invincible :/

16x16 big chess is too long but IMO the great interest is that the pieces are the same and it is far enough from computer chess (unlike chess 960)... But it is not played enough yet and the more tournament categories, the more variants (..whatever), the less players in each one. This site is firstly dedicated to competition, unlike some other sites that offer tens of variants and it is not compatible IMO :/ .. Big chess & chess 960 + all unrated categories are a lot of chess tournaments already, maybe too many.


Normajean Yates    (2008-11-01 23:43:03)
Benjamin Block - I agree

It seems there is some HP product that offers 5x5 chess of various kinds including the one I describled - it is called 'Gardner minichess' now. English-wikipedia 'minichess' entry has a link to that - and in a discussion forum on that HP thing I found - "recent play suggests that Gardner minichess is a draw".

So the first decent engine for it would finish it, it seems, as thibault said earlier in this thread...

Someone modify crafty for 5x5 and check - yawn - I am toooo lazy --- plus crafty [and all later closed source engines I suppose] are too strongly low-level optimised for 8x8 chess --- writing an engine from scratch? Well I know the seven steps [they are/were on an internet in a nice article] --- but I have retired from writing code --- written enough for three lifetimes; no more programming for me.

*Proving* that Gardner-minichess is a draw would be more difficult -- 20-piece tablebases! (okay, in a much smaller space) - that's for the universities --- they have to do something to give out M.S.'s and Ph.D.s - so let them do it :)

[they did it with draughts <called checkers in the USA> - it is solved ie proven to be a draw -- let them try Gardner-minichess now :)]

3x3 - as I said there are complate tablebases now including for positions with pawns on first rank -- so it is very-strongly solved [i.e. given *any* position, the result and the best play for that result are known - in fact online accessible -- instant results of course... you'll find the link on eng-wikipedia -- I have accessed it [3x3 chess site] before but yesteday it seemed to be down - the old link was http://kd.lab.nig.ac.jp/3x3-chess/ but it is broken now...


Benjamin Block    (2008-11-06 17:49:39)
You mean this site?

If you mean this site the answer is no. But you can filter the games in fritz.
1.Start fritz.
2.Press File->Open->Databas (F12)
3.Press File->Open->Databas (ctrl+o)and choose file with the games you want to filter.
4.Now you have the games. Press Edit->Filter games... (ctrl+f)
5.Now you can choose every things you want ;)
If you don´t understand i can send you one step by step on you´re e-mail.
Good luck and have fun


Ben Milton    (2008-11-06 19:50:27)
!

Thanks for the reply but i am already familiar with that. I was referring to this site... So what alternatives are there? chose top games and download pgn 1 by 1?


Ilmars Cirulis    (2008-11-14 19:07:51)
'Experimented players' still here :)

'Experimented players' still aren't corrected.

I look at the right upper corner of site (when I am not logged in yet). And what I see?
Imho, I see some flash animation with rotating sentence (in purple colour under line in blue "Wikichess, open chess repertoire") - "Chess moves explained by experimented players"

It was what I meant previous time. :D


Ben Milton    (2008-11-22 11:32:04)
.

Good evening, I would like to count myself as an experienced poker player, however that is only true when i play face to face and can read the other players, however playing on the websites such as pokerparty.com or here is quite different. I was wondering if there was a way for me to increase my poker rating thibault? If a world poker champion is 2500 rated and a beginner is 1500 i think id categorize myself as 2000. Regards


Benjamin Block    (2008-11-26 15:41:54)
Two time?

with no cheat and no program error? Four of a kind already at this site it is very good.
I have only get 4 of one kind 3 times in my live. Two with 6 and 1 with 9. My best hand ever is with four 9.
I did have fluch one time but my oppenent did have royal fluch :(


Francisco Gramajo    (2008-11-26 18:43:12)
Best hand or best played hand?

Any hand can be the best, when is played correctly... and that depends on prior hands. Not in the cards showing up. A good hand? I just had one full house K-K-K-10-10 ironically I was playing for K-K-2-2-2 or 10-10-2-2-2 or 10-10-10-2-2. For me the way to play is the key. Later we can discusse about the algorithm to generate cards. Thanks for this website, it is amazing!


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-12-01 15:34:03)
cant argue...

..with your results Marc. However the current champion won FICGS with exactly the strategy I favour and exactly the opposite to your strategy. So thats powerful evidence in favour of the varying openings approach. Well done on winning your match - lets see how far you get with your strategy. As for these side line sicilians I never called them silly Marc your being over sensitive. I thought that it was easy to equalise against them and get a draw at cc. I still believe that and proved it in our game. However I do think your opponent (as black) was playing ambitiously to win! Now thats a different story .....


Andrew Stephenson    (2008-12-01 15:37:40)
cant argue...

..with your results Marc. However the current champion won FICGS with exactly the strategy I favour and exactly the opposite to your strategy. So thats powerful evidence in favour of the varying openings approach. Well done on winning your match - lets see how far you get with your strategy. As for these side line sicilians I never called them silly Marc your being over sensitive. I thought that it was easy to equalise against them and get a draw at cc. I still believe that and proved it in our game. However I do think your opponent (as black) was playing ambitiously to win! Now thats a different story .....


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-12-03 11:30:29)
Chess olympiads, Tkatchiev "forfeits"

After the case of Ivanchuk on doping, a new unexplained and undercovered (actually completely missed by the official websites - FIDE, federations, olympiads site...) case at the Olympiads !

France just lost 1,5-2,5 to Azerbaijan, Vladislav Tkatchiev just did not arrive to the board !! .. while the France team has 5 players for 4 boards... One full point lost. No explanation, nothing, maybe a conflict in the team. I hope there will be more information about it. To be continued.


Pablo Schmid    (2008-12-07 14:05:01)
@Thibault

Je profite de ce post pour parler d'un "problème", sur une partie j'ai fait une promotion de pion en dame mais j'ai été "désagréablement" surpris que bien que c'était le coup que je voulais faire, le site ne m'a pas proposé la pièce promue. Ok, dans 95% des cas, faire dame est le meilleur coup mais parfois promouvoir en autre chose est le seul coup...Pourrais-tu remédier à ce "problème"?


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-12-13 16:30:45)
Wikipedia

I posted about this article here already. I saw it about 1 year ago, as far as I can remember. Well, many (chess) sites have an article on Wikipedia, that's not so surprising...


Marc Lacrosse    (2008-12-15 12:26:29)
You are abused by a mediocre clone

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(chess)

The machine described there relies on a 64 PCs cluster, each PC being equipped with specially designed FPGA hardware cards for chess processing.

So there is no sense in asking "do you use the hydra engine?" : the hydra engine proper won't run on anything else than its dedicated hardware.

At the time Hydra had just beaten a few GMs, there appeared a so-called Hydra engine in dubious sites. This was soon proven to be a mere clone of the Fruit engine, completely unrelated with the true Hydra machine.

This is what you may still find on sites like the TommyThomas one.

Marc


Normajean Yates    (2008-12-17 18:05:42)
anyway, about the 16-queens mate-in-4:

Svante Carl von Erichsen showed it was possible to solve without computer help:

http://www.ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=problem_read&id=311

As for proof game, The foll is from my rec.games.chess.analysis post [it *was* .analysis I think - feeling too tired to search usenet]

" This one is mine:

1. 4k3/qqqqqqqq/8/8/8/8/QQQQQQQQ/4K3 w - - 0 109: [pos. 1]

White to play and mate in 4.

There are no duals - only one moves mates in 4. [there is no mate in 3 or less.]

Move given at end of post, with sample continuation.

These two were posed by me and solved by likesforests [see fics (www.freechess.org) or chess.com] in 20 minutes total!

2. Give a proof game for pos. 1, ie Show that the position in prob. 1 is legally reachable by giving a game that leads to the position.

3. Okay, so you can reach a position where you have 16 queens on board. Can you construct a game which reaches a position with 18 queens? If so, do so! [the last part carries 99% of the credit - it is to pre-empt the answers "yes" and "no".

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(note: these can be more conveniently viewed at chess.com in the thread "advantage of moving first - mate in 4 in symmetrical position" in the forum-category "more puzzles")

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Solution to 2: by likesforests

[Event ]
[Site ]
[Date ..]
[White likesforests]
[Black likesforests]
[Result 1-0]
1. a4 b5 2. a5 b4 3. a6 Bb7 4. axb7 Nc6 5. Na3 bxa3 6. b8=Q a2 7. Rb1 a1=Q 8. Qb3 Qa6 9. Qa2 Qb7 10. b4 a5 11. b5 a4 12. b6 Qa6 13. b7 a3 14. Qb3 a2 15. b8=Q a1=Q 16. Qh3 Q1a5 17. Qbb3 Ne5 18. Qbg3 c5 19. Rb3 c4 20. c3 cxb3 21. c4 b2 22. c5 b1=Q 23. c6 Qba2 24. c7 Qb8 25. Bb2 f6 26. Bc3 Kf7 27. c8=Q d5 28. Qc4 Nc6 29. Qch4 d4 30. d3 dxc3 31. d4 c2+ 32. Qd2 Ra7 33. f3 Q5a4 34. Kf2 c1=Q 35. d5 Qca3 36. d6 e5 37. e4 Nge7 38. d7 Kg8 39. d8=Q Qa8 40. Qb6 Nb4 41. Qbe3 Nbd5 42. exd5 e4 43. Ne2 f5 44. Qeh6 f4 45. Kg1 e3 46. Nd4 e2 47. d6 e1=Q 48. d7 Qea1 49. d8=Q Nd5 50. Nc2 Nc3 51. Ne3 fxe3 52. Qdg5 e2 53. Qdf4 e1=Q 54. Qfg4 Qeb1 55. f4 g6 56. Qc5 g5 57. f5 Bg7 58. Qgc4+ Rf7 59. f6 Bf8 60. Q5b4 g4 61. Qe5 g3 62. Qe1 Ne4 63. Qcb3 Nd2 64. Qhc4 Nf3+ 65. gxf3 g2 66. Be2 Bg7 67. Kf2 Bf8 68. Ke3 g1=Q+ 69. Kf4 Qgb6 70. Qcc3 Be7 71. Kg4 Qe6+ 72. Kg3 Rf8 73. fxe7 Rf7 74. e8=Q+ Rf8 75. Qeb5 Qf7 76. f4 Re8 77. f5 Re6 78. fxe6 Qff8 79. e7+ Qf7 80. Rf1 Qaf8 81. e8=Q Qa8 82. Qbb2 Q4a7 83. Qed2 Q3a6 84. Rf3 Q8b7 85. Qcc2 Qac4 86. Q4b3 Qad6+ 87. Kg2 Qdc7 88. Q3a2 Qce6 89. Qhe3 Qed7 90. Q8e4 Q8e7 91. Qb2b3 Qag7+ 92. Qg3 Qbb2 93. Bc4 Qbf6 94. Kf1 h5 95. Rf5 Qfxf5+ 96. Ke1 Rh6 97. Qxh6 Qfh7 98. Qhxh5 Qfxc4 99. Qee2 Qcf7 100. Qbb2 Kf8 101. Qgf2 Ke8 102. h4 Kf8 103. Qhg4 Qhxh4 104. Qgg2 Qhh7 105. Qbh5 Ke8 106. Qhh2 Qfe6 107. Qff3 Q6f6 108. Qff2 Qff7 1-0

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

solution to 3: by likesforests

Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[White "likesforests"]
[Black "likesforests"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. a4 b5 2. a5 b4 3. a6 Bb7 4. axb7 Nc6 5. Na3 bxa3 6. b8=Q a2 7. Rb1 a1=Q 8. Qb3 Qa6 9. Qa2 Qb7 10. b4 a5 11. b5 a4 12. b6 Qa6 13. b7 a3 14. Qb3 a2 15. b8=Q a1=Q 16. Qh3 Q1a5 17. Qbb3 Ne5 18. Qbg3 c5 19. Rb3 c4 20. c3 cxb3 21. c4 b2 22. c5 b1=Q 23. c6 Qba2 24. c7 Qb8 25. Bb2 f6 26. Bc3 Kf7 27. c8=Q d5 28. Qc4 Nc6 29. Qch4 d4 30. d3 dxc3 31. d4 c2+ 32. Qd2 Ra7 33. f3 Q5a4 34. Kf2 c1=Q 35. d5 Qca3 36. d6 e5 37. e4 Nge7 38. d7 Kg8 39. d8=Q Qa8 40. Qb6 Nb4 41. Qbe3 Nbd5 42. exd5 e4 43. Ne2 f5 44. Qeh6 f4 45. Kg1 e3 46. Nd4 e2 47. d6 e1=Q 48. d7 Qea1 49. d8=Q Nd5 50. Nc2 Nc3 51. Ne3 fxe3 52. Qdg5 e2 53. Qdf4 e1=Q 54. Qfg4 Qeb1 55. f4 g6 56. Qc5 g5 57. f5 Bg7 58. Qgc4+ Rf7 59. f6 Bf8 60. Q5b4 g4 61. Qe5 g3 62. Qe1 Ne4 63. Qcb3 Nd2 64. Qhc4 Nf3+ 65. gxf3 g2 66. Be2 Bg7 67. Kf2 Bf8 68. Ke3 g1=Q+ 69. Kf4 Qgb6 70. Qcc3 Be7 71. Kg4 Qe6+ 72. Kg3 Rf8 73. fxe7 Rf7 74. e8=Q+ Rf8 75. Qeb5 Qf7 76. f4 Re8 77. f5 Re6 78. fxe6 Qff8 79. e7+ Qf7 80. Rf1 Qaf8 81. e8=Q Qa8 82. Qhc1 ( 82. Qbb2 Q4a7 83. Qed2 Q3a6 84. Rf3 Q8b7 85. Qcc2 Qac4 86. Q4b3 Qad6+ 87. Kg2 Qdc7 88. Q3a2 Qce6 89. Qhe3 Qed7 90. Q8e4 Q8e7 91. Qb2b3 Qag7+ 92. Qg3 Qbb2 93. Bc4 Qbf6 94. Kf1 h5 95. Rf5 Qfxf5+ 96. Ke1 Rh6 97. Qxh6 Qfh7 98. Qhxh5 Qfxc4 99. Qee2 Qcf7 100. Qbb2 Kf8 101. Qgf2 Ke8 102. h4 Kf8 103. Qhg4 Qhxh4 104. Qgg2 Qhh7 105. Qbh5 Ke8 106. Qhh2 Qfe6 107. Qff3 Q6f6 108. Qff2 Qff7 ) h5 83. Qhc8 h4+ 84. Kg4 h3 85. Bf3 Rh5 86. Bg2 hxg2 87. h3 Rh4+ 88. Kxh4 g1=Q 89. Rf6 Qga7 90. Qec6 Q8b8 91. Q8a6 Q8e7 92. Kg4 Kf8 93. h4 Qbe8 94. Rd6 Qg8+ 95. Kf3 Qbg6 96. h5 Q6g7 97. h6 Qad7 98. h7 Qa5 99. h8=Q Qdxd6 1-0

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

solution to 1: 1. Qaxf7+!

Sample continuations:
1... Kd8 2. Qexe7+ Kc8 3. Qdxd7+ Kb8 4. Qdd8#
1... Qxf7 2. Qh8+ Qxh8 3. Qxh8+ Qf8 4. Qfxf8#

"


Thibault de Vassal    (2008-12-23 16:24:15)
Inviter mode

I understand that but be sure I wouldn't take any risk on this, no passwords nor usernames are stored, and there is no way to catch it, particularly if you use the SSL (https://) mode. I can't even know your password at FICGS -which may be the same- that is encrypted with a complex function. Security has always been an important issue for me, I know that many sites using this kind of inviter (often related to MSN) then use passwords to send spam & virus.. that's not the case here.

Only the emails are stored to locate your friends, definitely it makes no sense to give Epoints in the 'email mode'.. anyone may enter bob.. , bob2.. , bob3.. and so on. Sorry about that.


Marc Lacrosse    (2009-01-06 21:54:35)
Too much time lost lately I fear

I do not see anything interesting in these developments : there are better dedicated sites for this kind of things
Isn't it just a way to try expanding general traffic and thus advertising income?
If this is the aim, I do agree to some point: You have offered to us all a very nice tool for free and I will allways be very glad if you can earn something significant from your site's activity
But I fear that you are more and more busy in money-making trials than in core site improvements (chess and go).
This could well lead to a problem as it led one day or another many another site that followed the very same path...
If you do not care enough with improving the core of your site people will leave as soon as another one offers more appealing features partly built on what you were first to offer.


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-01-06 22:18:38)
Social networks & money

Hi Marc, thanks for your comments.

It is true that I'm trying to make money with the site now, also to increase significantly the prizes offered in the future, but I did not sell my soul & the site will remain a chess server before everything else ! Money can do so much too, before it becomes too much ;)

About the other social networks, well... of course a new social network is created every week but most of them are dedicated to a particular function (couchsurfing, viadeo, reunion, facebook, myspace, hi5 & so on...) and are not exactly in concurrence. Let's see how this one will go in this sea, I have many features to add yet :)

About the core of the site, I already thought about removing the ads in the chess server... It may happen very soon if most players agree that it would be a significant improvement. The ads will remain in the general forums... Believe me, I'll do the necessary, that's why your comments & suggestions are always welcome here.


Wayne Lowrance    (2009-01-06 23:20:05)
Norms

Thank you Marc, your input is well received. I was a 2300+ rated player on another CC site. I was unaware that I could apply for an appropriate transfer rating. My entry rating here was 1400 which accounts for a mean opponent rating of 2000. I have not cherry picked tournaments, far from it. I always have entered in the highest rated tournament allowed, always. I do not wish special treatment, wont accept it. I think my suggestion is an improvement in this terrific server. Thiabault has always solicited ideas. That was my sole intent, nothing more. I think it is a darn good one. Wayne


Wayne Lowrance    (2009-01-07 00:48:40)
Site Core

Tribault, I think you will not find very many who complain about your adds,the nature of them and their position, etc. We are all very much interested in your income prospects here, I know I am. I can appreciate it maybe a little more than others, as I have mentioned both of my sons are programmers and their sole income come from internet and they are doing quite well.. Wayne


Normajean Yates    (2009-01-08 04:36:46)
I find this update excellent!

I've seen that chess sites with social networking features allow people to interfere with chess players by intrusive comments/messages etc.

OTOH, I like Thibault's model - it:

1. keeps an excellent separation between the social networking part and the chess-play part.

2. provides much more privacy.

And why should Thibault not try to make money??? Do you think this is a charity or soup-kitchen or what? How many of you do your jobs [salaried/self-employment/business] for free???


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-01-08 12:30:06)
Separation

That's the way I want to do it indeed. As Marc said, protecting the core of the chess server is essential, but there's no problem while creating some connections between these different parts of the site IMO.


Hannes Rada    (2009-01-10 17:40:18)
html - tags ?

Hi Thibault, I don't thinkt that using html-tags is very intuitive for most users. I would prefer having the look and feel and the features of one of the widely used forums. Like phpbb .... I think such a forum could be easily included here in this site.


Tom Smith    (2009-01-11 12:16:27)
Engines allowed?!

Hi I have another issue with the rules and conditions here, I came across the following: Computer assistance is authorized, as any other kind of help but in the "no-engines" tournaments. This in itself is confusing, am I to believe that players are allowed to use engines to play for them in the "no engines" tournament?? Unless it is a mistake and means engines are allowed but NOT in the no engines section. If this is true then do most people use enignes here? I really do not want to play on a site where engines use is considered ok!I am far too weak to play engines :) Would somebody please clarify this section of the rules for me please. Thank you Tom


Joseph Thomas    (2009-01-11 22:35:06)
Social Networks and Money

Thibault, while I probably won't use a social networking site on here, I may always change my mind. I don't use www.myspace.com or www.facebook.com either, and since I am 25 I should fit into that demographic. I really enjoy the site though. And I the advertisements nor the social networking they way you have it now is not intrusive for me. Great site!


Normajean Yates    (2009-01-12 03:52:03)
The simplicity of this site is its USP!

The simplicity of this site is one of its USPs [USP ='Unique Selling Point' (advertisement-agency jargon)]

If and when making big changes, Thibault has been careful that it hasnt affected this unique attractiveness of the site.

I hope - (and expect! I like Thibault's aesthetic sense) - that this site will remain unique in the simplicity of its core 'look'.

Otherwise, it will become 'just another chess site [yawn]' - but I am sure Thibault won't let that happen :)


Tom Smith    (2009-01-12 18:55:18)
Re:

Thank you both for your replies.I understand "but" was meant to mean except. This brings me back to my original concern, that being engines are actually allowed, IE cheating is allowed, this has made me very reluctant to begin playing on this site, knowing that anyone is allowed to openly cheat! That seems quite crazy to me, and is the reason that I probably wont start any games, I hope that the site admins or owners see this thread as I am sure that a lot of people will be put off by this bizarre rule. Thank you again for your replies


Marc Lacrosse    (2009-01-12 21:12:03)
to Tom Smith

"...back to my original concern, that being engines are actually allowed, IE cheating is allowed".
I cannot understand your point.
Cheating is when one infringes the rules in a disguised manner.
Where is there cheating here as computer (and books, and databases, and anything...) help is explicitly allowed and encouraged in the site rules?
OK I do understand that you do not _like_ this kind of play.
But then the answer is simple : go away, go on these many sites where computer use is actually forbidden and where there are a lot of cheaters!
Here is a place without cheaters.

Marc


Tom Smith    (2009-01-12 21:40:28)
Re: Marc

By allowing engine use, the site is allowing players to have the computer engine make certain moves for them or indeed play an entire game for them, I can play fritz or any engine for the same effect, I wish to play against humans who play moves themselves rather than get an engine to make moves for them, how is that not cheating? If you dont see that as cheating then I dont know what to say, I think this is a fair complaint and does not quite deserve being told "go away if you dont like it", I am simply suprised a site allows it thats all.


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-01-12 23:54:09)
Engines allowed

Actually many (most, probably) correspondence chess sites allow the use of chess engines, to start with ICCF, the "International Correspondence Chess Federation".


Scott Nichols    (2009-01-13 03:58:19)
Different sites:

Dear Tom, There is a site called Playchess.com that only allows engine play in the engine room. All other areas are closly monitored and players who try to use engine assistance are seriously repremanded, (loss of ratings and on up). It is an excellent site. This site allows engine use in correspondence chess. Alot of players love the system. And it seems also, that even when players have basically the same equipment, the better player usually wins anyway. As Thibault so eloquently put it, they look beyond the "horizon" of computers to make their decisions. I play on both sites and follow both sites rules. Playchess=serious chess. FICGS=fun and theoretical chess and more.


Philip Roe    (2009-01-14 05:00:51)
Tom, if you are still with us..

Not everyone here uses engines, even in events where it would be allowed. As proof, some of us occasionally play moves that would disgrace a cell phone (and have long ago learned not to aspire to high honours).

However, the site has many nice features, and the absence of rules, "bizarre" as it may seem at first, does mean that whatever is going on is not actually cheating.


Tom Smith    (2009-01-14 18:49:58)
Reply

Thank you all for your comments. I will reiterate again that I am not pointing the finger at anyone, I just asked about this as I do not wish to play against people who just let a computer play their moves, that is all. I do not think that all people who use engines are cheaters, and I apologize to all those who do not blindly let a computer play their games for them. I am astonished now at normajeans hostility, I dont believe I have been offensive to anyone, if I have then it is unintentional. To Normajean, I can only assume that your hostility is due to someone mentioning about selling some software, I can only say, not only have I not heard of any software of this type, but I am in no way involved at any such goings on. I came on the site to join up for some chess and had one issue I wanted to ask about before I started playing, I am beginning to regret this as I did not expect quite such a response! I can maybe understand some suspicion at a new person asking a question of this nature, and understand that some may not like me asking, so again I am sorry for the offense I have caused those players who play a fair game. "Care to confess to the libel under oath in the U.K. and get a taste of the receiving end of libel law?" This comment is ridiculously over the top and again that particular post was unecessarily hostile imo, if you read my posts to this point normajean and still dont see what I am trying to find out about then I shant try any further to answer you as you and some others have obviously found me guilty of a plot of some form against you. I thank the people who answered me honestly and calmly for their comments and I shall try the site out as I said to give it a fair shot.


Normajean Yates    (2009-01-15 07:04:32)
sober/serious look - yes!!!!

from thibault's post - "maybe it should keep its 'sober/serious' side, what do you think ?"

YES!!!! That is the *unique* sober elegance of this site. Must not be disturbed.

The forum - with < br > and now chess diagrams -- that is good enough. My vote is against adding any more html/phpbb features in the forum.



Tom Smith    (2009-01-15 07:10:20)
wow...

normajean you are one crazy lady. Thibault, I have chosen the wrong site I feel, would you please cancel my membership, I entered a standard 40 day tournament, would you please remove from that too as I wouldnt want to hold that up. Thank you


Garvin Gray    (2009-01-18 13:57:42)
to which do you belong


Either that, or that the readers are not sure exactly what you are talking about, to which I am in the second category.

On possibly a related issue, when I click on the links below, the site opens a new window and tells me I have to log in again, but when I log in again, it sends me back to the my messages page. So I can not get to the page you mention from the link.



Garvin Gray    (2009-01-18 17:26:53)
rules question


Ok, what I was suspecting was the situation is in fact the case.

To clarify in different speak and to guarantee we are talking about the same situation.

Game 232- The river is Ad and Player 1 has gone all in for 55 chips.

You are now asking if player 2 calls, will player 2 have to show cards, is that correct?

Do I have all this correct?

Went for an internet search to see if there were any sites at least claiming official poker rules status and there were none from my searching.

In my opinion, Player 2 has called Player 1, so both players must show their cards.



Normajean Yates    (2009-01-19 15:30:21)
:) [to rodolfo] - and, to sophie: re OTB

to rodolfo:

:)


to Sophie:
[and a general point to all wikichess contributers]:

I think that it will be a bit less confusing if in your wikichess entries, you include the phrase '(at OTB chess)' or something like that.

The reason is that this is (for chess) a site where engine-use and *slow* correspondence-chess is the default.

Contemporary computer programs do not get 'tense' or 'fooled' by an attack -- they just calculate the static evaluation functions for positions on the game tree [using hash tables, alphabeta, iterative deepening, nullmove, quiessence search, endgame recognition heuristics, etc etc for efficiency :) positions]

computer programs *can* be fooled [otherwise every game here would have the same result by now], but not by the same techniques as those by which humans can be... :)


Sebastian Boehme    (2009-01-24 00:34:23)
It is not everything like it seems

Eros plays way more games, than he plays on this site... Anyway nice rating that is for sure Congrats il grande Eros Riccio! ;-)


Normajean Yates    (2009-01-24 16:53:42)
I would be most intesrested in reading..

.. posts in this thread.

though I am afraid i have nothing to contribute - didn't keep statistical track: until 2006, I used engines for analysis of critical positions of my favourite historical games only.. at up to 5 days / move! [but I didnt keep hardware/NPS records - all I can say is I mostly used whatever was the latest version of rebel - that was until 2006. Until 2002 I ran long analyses with crafty also...]

Also, in my experience the hash size does change the PV, not only the time taken to reach a certain ply [ because if a line/subtree is in hash it gets appended - with eval - so that say at 18-ply you are seeing *some* lines which are actually 28-ply or more - so it affects what gets pruned by alphabeta ... and if the engine has forward pruning it affects that much more..]

But this being a centeaur chess site (as far as chess is concerned) I suppose every chess player here knows this... :-/


Garvin Gray    (2009-01-28 03:22:26)
Since poker has started


Since poker has started on here, it feels as a general rule that my chess opponents are taking longer to reply with their moves, suggesting that poker is taking over.

Has anyone else noticed this? If my hypothesis is correct, then this would be a real shame and could cause me to find another chess freestyle site.



Francisco Gramajo    (2009-01-29 03:42:30)
Poker insults Chess...

My friends: Years ago I was addicted to poker, losing a lot of money on line, also in real casinos. I was a chess player since 13, but dont like the openings, I was tired to play same thing... e1-aggg! same faces... and a lot of fake players on line. I discover this place by mistake, I was so happy because keep my fix with chess in peace. Playing with decent players. Not only doing regular openings... Then you install poker... how come poker? again... I am playing in my local casinos again, and afraid to tell about his site, because I don't want a lot of people playing here making this place full of poker players. The finest, the few, the chess... te best. I suggest you Thib, separate ficgs from poker, and create a really server to play poker in a table with many players a time. Play poker heads-up one to one, is bored, the winner is not always the best. The future of ficgs is compromised with poker, but not for bad... go ahead and crate... fipgs... Best Regards!!!!


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-01-29 12:33:51)
FICGS

Hi Francisco, these important points need to be discussed for sure.

1) As it has been said here on another point, I shouldn't try to protect players from themselves, but I've to protect players from other players (speaking of the quality of the games, general forfeits & so on - or the posts of Garvin & Josef in this thread). You can play poker all over the internet, it's up to you only. I'm not sure I should feel responsible of players addictions, the whole world (commercial issues) is about addictions that exist anyway. In my experience, I was not really addicted to poker as a gambling game, I never played it in casinos but I like competition and that's the way I introduced poker here, quite different from the casino games (by the way a few "pro" poker players here do not even understand it).

2) "Play poker heads-up one to one, is bored, the winner is not always the best", so chess, so Go... of course. I may be wrong on the poker games format (3 winning rounds / 100 chips), we'll see it in a few months as the rating list will evolve.

3) "Poker insults chess", I don't agree with this but I understand & respect this opinion (that could probably be "Poker insults" in some cases). Only 1 player cancelled his membership because of this at the moment. I'm sorry about this, I can't satisfy everyone when making updates but be sure I'm working for FICGS firstly as a chess place and thanks to poker (even with no money), we welcome more players & the prizes (for chess tournaments) will increase a lot in the next months. That's quite good for the site in my opinion. Anyway if I realize I'm wrong, no doubt I'll change it.

Anyway, that's an interesting & important discussion and I'll listen to all your points.


Normajean Yates    (2009-02-01 09:55:59)
poker is NOT interfering with chess..

Players that are *choosing* poker over chess (as posted by some as reason for delay on moving, delay in tournaments starting...) are either not *that* interested in chess anyway, OR it is a transient phenomenon - they are trying out poker as a novelty.

We are humans, not dedicated chess-playing machines.

If someone takes longer to move because of poker or anything else (whether the 'anything else' is related to this site or not, whether it is related to the internet or not); it gives me either more time to analyse, or effectively more vacation time, so I see no reason to complain.

If poker generates revenue for ficgs, it will help ficgs survive and so it will help ficgs chess (and go) survive.

The point is, whatever choices we make have to be made taking into account that we are embedded in a capitalist economy. We are not living in some anarchist utopia.




Normajean Yates    (2009-02-01 10:15:31)
thanks Mr R.-Román, and I am *Ms* Yates.

Mr Russi-Román, I am Ms Yates, not Mr Yates.

I thank Mr Russi-Román for the valuable info and link: (and others too) : I'll update myself whenever I have free time [not only from chess play, but from higher-priority things...]

So, what is the state of the art in noticing drawish nodes (blockade, repitition etc) during search? [remember: 'false positives' are as bad as 'false negatives'] Offhand here is one area where significantly good new heuristics would be much more important than hardware..

Another example: at present, has any program - however highly parallel - delivered mate from a suite of mate-in-60+ troitski positions (NN v P) *without* using tablebases? (ignore the 50-move rule for this question. Anyway this site doesnt have the 50-move rule...) I dont know the answer...


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-02-04 13:47:29)
Roadrunner vs. Jaguar

I found these informations on Roadrunner but I must admit I'm unable to compare it with a typical 2GHz processor, any idea on this ?

System Name Roadrunner
Site DOE/NNSA/LANL
System Family IBM Cluster
System Model BladeCenter QS22 Cluster
Computer BladeCenter QS22/LS21 Cluster, PowerXCell 8i 3.2 Ghz / Opteron DC 1.8 GHz , Voltaire Infiniband
Installation Year 2008
Operating System Linux Interconnect Infiniband
Processor PowerXCell 8i 3200 MHz (12.8 GFlops)


http://top500.org/


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-02-05 16:53:23)
The "invisible" bug

Well, after 4 hours of work I found what was finally a human error, mine of course... One of the hardest situation I've had to understand :/

The story for coders, kind of butterfly effect : Weeks, maybe months ago, for some reason I suppose I've deleted an essential line in a file that created an invisible "bug" (no consequences) in all games but also a real bug for poker, but worst, for some reason I did not update the bugged file ! So the site worked well until yesterday when I finally updated the file for a minor change (nothing about the actual problem), so I had no clue about what happened...

Everything should be ok now, but some cards may have changed in a few games.

Bad day... Sorry about that.


Don Groves    (2009-02-06 04:34:00)
Normajean's point revisited

Yes, of course that counts ;-)

I should change my bio since I think "programmer" is more accurate than "software engineer." Although I did build my software with the same care and planning as an engineer building a bridge, so maybe... Who knows ;-)


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-02-28 03:35:14)
Svante Carl wins FICGS Go WCH (again)

Congratulations to Svante Carl von Erichsen who keeps the FICGS Go champion title by beating Ke Lu 5d on an impressive 5-0 score, also reaching a rating of 2653 !

A rematch just started between our two top Go players, as Ke Lu convincingly won the 3rd FICGS Go WCH preliminary tournament by 7/7

You can follow the games here :

http://www.ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=tournament&tournament=FICGS__GO__WORLD_CHAMPIONSHIP__000003

Svante Carl kindly accepted to answer a few questions on his match :


FICGS - Hello Svante Carl, first of all congratulations for your win in the FICGS correspondence Go championship final. Your opponent was Ke Lu 5 dan, you won 4 games out of 5 already (the last game is not finished yet), how do you explain such a result?

Svante Carl - Hello! Thank you very much! It is certainly astonishing for me that I was able to hold my own in these games. I believe that the main factor that helped me in getting on even terms with such a strong player was that I could spend much more time analyzing each move than in a face-to-face or online direct playing situation.

FICGS - Did you have a particular preparation or plan before to start the games?

Svante Carl - The only things I planned beforehand was to really give my best, and to make the games as distinct as possible.

FICGS - The site will now try to attract more correspondence Go players from Asia (with a few chinese, japanese or korean words on the home page already), what do you think about the games format played at FICGS (30 days + 1 day / move, chinese rules komi 7.5 points) and the championship rules?

Svante Carl - I like the format. I am also interested in the rules of Go as well as the rules that surround Go, like tournament rules and time settings. My current conviction is that the "real, pure" Go rules are area rules with superko, and territory rules should be seen as a shortcut which should give the same result. I have come to think that the "Taiwan rule", i.e. White gets a point of compensation if Black got the last play (before the first pass), is a sensible part of the rules. FICGS has taken a very easy route by declaring the rule set and leaving negotiation of the result to the players. While in the end, it is only important who won, I think that showing a result as e.g. "White+3", "Black+Resign" adds a lot of flavour. As a time system, I think that bonus time (a.k.a. Fischer time), like on FICGS, is a very general and sensible approach to timing a game like Go. I think that many "real-world" tournaments and internet servers will switch to that in the future, for all, blitz, speed, normal, slow, and correspondence games. The championship format is quite nice. I like the title holder/challenger way of tournament series. The only thing I would like to see is some sort of nigiri to determine the colours in the odd game. Attracting players from Asia is really a worthwhile goal. I look forward to playing players from all over the world.

FICGS - Does correspondence Go bring you something more than real time Go? What is more addictive according to you?

Svante Carl - Since I think that analyzing is a forte of mine, I might be a bit stronger at correspondence Go than at "real time" Go. I don't think that one is more addictive than the other.

FICGS - Do you often play real time Go online? What servers do you prefer?

Svante Carl - I usually play on KGS, but not too much, perhaps one or two games per week on average, often in "bursts". KGS is quite nice, but not perfect. Sometimes I play at CyberOro, but there is much less communication; I like to watch pro games there.

FICGS - Do you use softwares that assist you in your games (FICGS rules allow this)? What do you think about computer Go in general nowadays?

Svante Carl - I only use a board or a simple SGF file viewer for analyzing. There are no playing programs that could help me. The programs have advanced quite much recently, but I think that it will still be a long time before they can beat me in an even game. Currently, most tests of these programs are against professional players with high handicaps, and I think that this is a good situation for the bots, since they get exponentially weaker the further the game is from the end -- high handicap practically eliminates the opening, their weakest spot. I would like to see more tests against amateur players at the bots' own level.

FICGS - Do you play other games (board games, video games...), what is your favourite one?

Svante Carl - Go is certainly my absolute favourite. I also know chess, although I am really weak at that. I also like "german board games", there are some really nice pearls there. In video games, well, there are also some pearls, but they get drowned by a mass of ... not so good games..., I don't waste time looking at that scene any more. I also played some online poker, but it wasn't able to keep me interested.

FICGS - Will you defend your title again against Ke Lu who also won the 3rd wch tournament?

Svante Carl - Of course, I am looking forward to that!

FICGS - Could you give us your impressions on the games, how it went from the beginning to the end, do you think that time pressure were a non-negligible factor in the result (the clocks of Ke Lu were quickly near 1 or 2 days left)?

Svante Carl - I was a bit surprised that he let his time drop to such a low level right at the beginning, perhaps he was not familiar yet with the vacancy feature at FICGS. I can't see his reasons for this, or how much time he actually could spend on his games. I was ahead in each game when it timed out, though.

I think that game 2 was quite even from the start. The skirmish in the lower left resulted in me capturing a little group, but he got a nice framework on the lower side. My prospects of reducing this were a bit hampered by the fact that my right side group was not completely settled. I found a way to sacrifice some stones to settle my group while fixing the framework's extent and keeping sente to secure my top side, at which time, the game was still almost even, but I think that I was a few points ahead then. Later, I could seal the top side with some extra points through some rather blunt forcing moves.

In game 3, my opponent made an approach with White 24 that is usually regarded as bad in this situation, because the pincer Black 25 works out very well in conjunction with the stone on the left side. He tried to settle with White 26, but I refused to make things so easy, even though the result from the usual joseki would not have been bad. He resisted Black 27, but I think that White 28 is an overplay. The resulting fight left me with nice profit in that corner and sente, while he made some centre thickness. I then tried to carefully neutralize this thickness, but I may have played some slack moves in the course. Later, I was able to keep a little moyo in the lower right centre, and then I poked into his right-side territory where he had left a serious weakness earlier.

Game 1 started out with an interesting fight in the upper right. After White 42, both the three captured black and the two almost captured white stones retain some serious aji, which I came back to fix on my side a few moves later. When I could set up a splitting attack with Black 77, he was able to connect his two weak groups, but in bad shape. I continued to keep this dragon separated from the top, planning to invade the top side afterwards. However, with White 110, instead of connecting by playing B6, he saved some centre stones, and I proceeded to separate and kill the dragon. He may have overlooked that my upper left side group was still able to live after 110 and 111.

In game 4, after White 22, Black's stones on the left side have a strange relation. The three stones in the corner are a bit far from C10, but putting another move here is way too slow. He tried to remedy this situation with the following moves. After Black 27, there are weaknesses left in both sides' shape. When I entered with White 32, I thought that his weakness at F13 would let me settle easily, but he attacked very hard. After White 60, there are some weaknesses in my shape, but he also has a weakish group in the centre. Playing at K10 with White 76 before taking the two stones with H2 felt very important to me. At move 94, I couldn't find a good move to complete my moyo at the top, but I thought that I had found a good point to invade. This was much harder than I thought, since after Black 95, the 3-3 point fails to live. With 96 and 98, I thought that I would get a ko, but he played a line that I had excluded earlier on account of too many cuts in Black's outside shape. However, with Black 107, he made things very difficult for me, since cutting at P16 doesn't work out too well -- my inside group doesn't have enough liberties. I cut at Q14 instead with the hope to at least get some outside forcing opportunities that might have been able to keep me in the game. I think that Black 115 should have been at R12, because after White 116, R12 and N16 have become miai. Black 117 just doesn't work at all. I really got lucky in the end here. These impressions are naturally one-sided, and I would be really interested what stronger players might say about these games.

FICGS - Thank you very much and have good games !

Svante Carl - Thank you!


Denis Ivanchenkov    (2009-03-22 23:34:58)
notation

Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff, would you be so kind to tell me what 4R means? 4 rooks captured? though it is possible I'd prefer if site engine would make reverse engineering of those 2 extra rooks to the original pawns and write in the following manner - 2R 2P - well that's just my point of view


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-03-23 15:44:12)
Best poker sites

Well this thread may be a good place to discuss the best poker places... Do you know other sites where to play Poker Texas Hold'em ?

I have no time to try it anyway but it's always good to know.


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-03-23 15:55:15)
Checkmate detection (finally)

A few improvements to come today !

Checkmate detection : Finally I implemented it even if I like the idea that a player should resign by himself (just like for Go). It will be in test for a few days/weeks so it may not work for everyone during this time.

A few informations more in players statistics (number of advanced chess, Go & poker games won, lost, running...)

In Go games, a reminder will appear when a player "pass" (one player has to resign or call referee to end the game, with a link to the Go scorer)

Thank you all for making suggestions that help to improve the site, I know there are many others to implement (e.g. challenges option & so on...), be patient :)


Benjamin Block    (2009-03-28 09:04:48)
Other sites

There are some site that have free tournamnets. You can win in them and then play bigger and bigger some have earned over $10 000 starting with no money. But the most sites you need to be 18. I don´t really understand why. If it is free tournament why do you need to be 18? You can´t lose any money. Maybe they only want players that they can take money from. At the moment i play on pogo.com it is free and you win tickets that you can win money but the chans is very smal.


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-03-28 17:19:58)
Email notification

Hi Don, the link to the game is included in emails for about 1 or 2 months already !? Just before the PGN. How (which software or website) do you read your emails ?


Nick Burrows    (2009-03-31 23:46:20)
general improvements

I agree that seeing 'rabbit' cards is a waste of space & distracting.
I also would prefer to just see the cards as they are, rather than the winning hand. It's very simple to see who has the best hand.
Scrolling back through a game is way too time consuming, i would play back thru games if there there was a 'viewer' similair to the chess analysis board, but as it is now is just like a hard record of the game.
Otherwise, i am greatly enjoying my poker games and has improved my enjoyment of the site immensely :-)
Many thanks, Nick.


Scott Nichols    (2009-04-05 18:50:07)
Programming

Hi Thibault. Most of us have no clue about what it takes to program. Something we think looks like an easy add-on may be a programming nightmare. It is VERY impressive all of the things you do on this great site. Just one question, is making the chess ratings happen instantly like the poker does one of those programming nightmares?


Ranganathan Raman    (2009-04-08 23:53:11)
today it show i can not join any game?

You have too many running games (54/50) any bug in the site


William Taylor    (2009-04-12 20:04:06)
I still like the idea

I still like the idea of country teams and an Olympiad-like format. I've read Marc's post and can't imagine nationalism would be a problem on a friendly site like FICGS. However, it would be a shame for countries which only have one or two players at FICGS not to be able to play. How about a team championship along the lines of other chess team championships such as the Russian one which has just finished? i.e. teams are made up of invited players from all over the world. Anyone could be a team captain and enter a team if they could get one together. There could be an entry fee and captains might even then pay a fee to top FICGS players to be on their team in an effort to win the FICGS team trophy and prize money. ;) I'm not saying an entry fee would be a good idea - just mentioning it as a possibility. Anyway, I think a team championship of some kind, Olympiad-format or not, or both, would be interesting, exciting, and good for building the sense of community on FICGS.


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-04-17 20:16:45)
Draw offers

I'm not sure the site "allows" such a thing, rules allow or don't allow and ambiguous (obviously) rules should be changed. As it's been said, we might consider that the message field is independant from the draw and resign box. Any player may send a message offering a draw through other ways.

Does anyone know how this issue is ruled at ICCF & IECG ?


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.']




Don Groves    (2009-04-19 08:21:09)
Ending abandoned games

This requires more programming for our already overworked director, but how about having the system send an email to anyone who has not played a move in a certain (to be determined) time period asking if that player intends to continue the game and requesting that s/he resign if the answer is no?

The message could also request an RSVP and, if no response is forthcoming, the game is ended. This handles a common situation in Internet games where a player enters some games, then after a short time never returns to the site.

This seems like a reasonable thing to do and it doesn't change any existing rules or time controls.


Don Groves    (2009-04-23 22:35:20)
Move with draw offer

I understand the offer is not valid -- the problem is how to continue the game!

It seems the only solution is for me to send my opponent a private message declining the offer. This could lead to misunderstanding.

On the other hand, the system says it is my turn, so can I make another move even though my opponent hasn't moved?

A can of worms has been opened...

A quick solution could be to add another check box for declining a draw offer.

Does anyone know how this is handled on other sites? A


Normajean Yates    (2009-04-24 05:24:14)
re lennon/yko ono and chess...

Oh dear, quoting lennon's 'imagine' made me some sort a sitting duck but nobody's noticed it yet so I'll preempt that line of attack by pointing it out myself :)

I had forgotten, in the 'no more war' (that was the Vietnam war) sit-ins /bed-ins /exhibitions/ 'happenings' by Ono and Lennon, Yoko Ono had exhibited this sequence of chess sets where the two sides were indistinguishable --- or, more clearly, there was only one side - there was no 'Other'. [and only Yoko Ono 'playing']..

So, if I were to be consistent, I shouldn't be playing chess or any competitive game - against living beings at any rate - here or anywhere -:(

But, saved by something Thibault used to have on this site [I suppose it is still one of those quotes whose turn to be the 'featured quote' comes] - essentially, one is competing against oneself...

but woe! :(
If so, then once I have won a game [ie see the win clearly] why do I insist on actually completing the game, if I am 'only' competing against oneself?

I think I managed to score something which has the feel of an own goal ^^:-|


Normajean Yates    (2009-04-26 18:11:42)
I think Thib's IS the shortest...

To spell it out, white moves Nh2-j4-h6-j8-h10-j12, while black helps by g15-g14,Nj15-h13-g15,Ng16-j15, (and one irrelevant move e.g. moving an edge pawn). That is 5 moves ['half-moves'] by each side, and the 11th half-move is white's Nj12xh14 mate (the black K is smothered and the h14-pawn is unprotected).

You need five [half-]moves for a N to reach the opposite king; so: black can mate white (helpmate ie white co-operates) in 10 half-moves.


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-04-29 21:59:19)
Player games search

Right.. not a mockery, I know that the site is not clear enough on such things, sometimes there are so many ways, but none is really obvious :)


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-02 00:56:55)
I am patient !

- will remind once very 6 months :)

Another suggestion: let's some of us become free members of some online chess-games database site; so that we can post there to suggest including ficgs games - then transposition problem will be solved at least for completed games... just search that database site..

I use chesslab.com among others - I suggest some of us lobby chesslab.com for including ficgs games. After all, these are much higher-than-average quality as these are engine+human (=centaur) games...


Sophie Leclerc    (2009-05-10 22:13:49)
For the move

He send me his move by e-mail, since I am his friend, I promise I would keep his account and play his on this site and inform him of his opponent sometimes I mess up and play badly a couple of his games or resign them, he grew angry at me...


I don't think our opponent will have any objection, they will just ask to not be stupid and to not play for him.

I can reconnize his account now, he set it in french..


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-11 02:07:31)
thoughts on Big Chess... and tips...

I find bigchess more and more fascinating.. I Think it is a wonderful creation of Thibault's (I presume it is Thib. who created it: any way he offers it seriously on this site...) - the starting position is very well-concieved..

I think Bigchess needs more publicity. This is about the only place one can play it - and here there are 2-3 top-class players; less than 20 middle-standard players (including me); others try it once or twice and for some reason get scared or overwhelmed and give up - I see no reason why..

Bigchess gives no advantage on account of huge memorisation of theory, or of better engines: there are *no* theory books; and there are no known engines in existence (probably there isnt one - too little demand, and writing a *good* engine is somewhat laborious, coming up with a *good* static-eval function is tricky, fast board-implementation issues...), so it is all wits...

In fact last week I spend part of two days writing down whatever theory I could discover [with help from top games], it comes to half a page..



Tips for people who want to try bigchess:

1. Bishops are much more powerful than Knights. (because of much longer range compared to 8x8 chess).

The consensus on the values of bigchess pieces is David Grosdemange's valuation:

pawn=1
knight=2.5 (written 2,5 in the continent, of course)
bishop=4
rook=6
queen=11


2. In the opening position, the c,f,L and o-pawns are unprotected.

So, if white's opening move is with the j2-Knight ( freeing the queen), then on move 2 white can move the Queen and threaten to pick up a pawn by forks.. Similarly for black.

*However*, such pawn gambits are quite playable because the Queen can be forced to make many moves to capture a pawn, while the gambitting side develops their pieces.



3. Most Important For Many People: board for offline analysis.

Best of course, is to take time to draw a 16x16 board on paper and stick it on cardboard. And get hold of four sets of chess pieces.

Another way: print a position, and after a move is made - just update the position using correction fluid (typewriter/printer-ink erasing fluid) or something. That way you don't have to keep printng a lot of positions.


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    (2009-05-26 12:31:32)
Thib. - best wishes for site in these ..

.. recession times.Improvements, to-do lists etc. can wait if necessary.

I fell in love with the site at first sight - such a classy approach - not like some of the garish american sites.

So I hope that in these times of recession, there is no serious cash flow problems you are facing... I am sure all of us want this site to live long!

Again I say; improvements, to-do lists etc. can wait if necessary: please concentrate on cash flow [if there is a serious problem there] -- that is the practical thing to do. This site is excellent as it is now!

Again, best wishes to Thibault the person, and may ficgs live long!


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-05-26 17:30:46)
Thanks :)

There's no problem with to-do lists.. actually it is just absolutely necessary.. I can't think about everything. I still have many things to improve, this year I developped much more the "other side" of the site and this was very exciting, I learnt a lot while doing this.. that will be useful for future improvements and it brings more and more visitors [the current statistics are about +10% every week for a few months (that's good :))] on the server (I try to redirect as many as potential players as possible here).

Speaking of the server, I'm not afraid of crisis or whatever, the statistics are just better and better now, that helps the site to distribute Epoints (potential money) prizes. Almost nobody claims for real money prizes but that's the finality (to distribute money prizes in free tournaments).. There are plenty of "successful" sites on the internet that offer money prizes (or costly services) for free but all of them are built on unrealistic views IMO, so they implode or cheat in a way as soon as they encounter success. Most of us know about the Facebook case that still lose money. FICGS grew very slowly during 2 or 3 years but IMO it was based on realistic views so don't worry, the site will survive after both of us, I'll take care of that :)


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-27 05:02:24)
Thank you Thib: and I am so relieved!

First, about the 'thank you' to Thib.: that is for responding :) Now, to business:

>Thib said: Speaking of the server, I'm not afraid of crisis or whatever, the statistics are just better and better now..

I am so relieved! Seriously.

>Thib. said: FICGS grew very slowly during 2 or 3 years but IMO it was based on realistic views..

Exactly! That was one of the first things I noticed when I discovered this site (early June last year, I think) - I phoned my partner [she and I were in different countries on that day; coincidentally, this month also..] - told her this site *will* survive, and chess.com will *not* survive [too much money wasted by Eric of chess.com even then] - [It was only in in May last year that I had noticed chess.com in its present incarnation (earlier it did *not* offer chess-*playing*, it was a chess-reference-material site only)

(My partner doesn't play chess but of course one doesn't have to be a chess-player to be interested in issues like this!)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(beginning of digression about chess.com (as a contrasting example):)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well chess.com has *technically speaking* survived; but there is a graded level of paying members [silver-gold-diamond-platinum-what not] - each year paying membership has to be renewed [I am a free member there; I don't play games there now except on special request :) ] -- and..

Guess what, chess.com in a few months intoduced a system that gave a *playing advantage* to paying members: the more expensive grade you are in, the greater the paying advantage. So, as far as correspondence chess is concerned, can chess.com be now considered a chess site?

(In fact I posted a thread there last year suggesting that they should introduce auction: at any time any of the opponents in a game can bid to win a game. [even if they have lone K against K+Q+Q+R :}] - then if opponent doesn't make a bigger bid then the bidder wins the game. Minimum bid € 20,00 :) (chess.com is a US site ;) )There was some heated discussion over it.. Eric (the site owner - he is a decent chap, all said and done) prudently stayed away from that discussion :)

I posted in various threads there also directly saying that chess.com is probably the only *chess* site where the more you pay, the greater advantage you have in a *game*. Is that chess?

None of the above is defamatory: it is obviously true for anyone to check - and clearly Erik silently agrees - well good luck to him...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(end of digression about chess.com)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



>Thib. said: so don't worry, the site will survive after both of us, I'll take care of that :)

:)
I am sure now that you will :) (but not because both of us will suddenly die tomorrow, I hope ;))



Thibault de Vassal    (2009-05-27 23:17:28)
FICGS & chess.com

The example of chess.com is very interesting, I looked at this site (from time to time) growing very fastly, most probably because of investments for good SEO (search engines optimisation) - to start with the domain name - but it still looks like a MFA (Made For Adsense) website even if I'm sure that Eric made good work to offer plenty of services related to chess. Well, I did not check it for a while...

Speaking of auction at chess.com, that's a funny idea and I just wonder why I did not think about a system where you can bet some epoints at any time in any game... maybe I'll think about that, but that's not really important (the very large majority of players do not play for money but for the love of games only).


Normajean Yates    (2009-05-28 03:40:31)
Thib, my auction suggestion was sarcasm!

Thib. please read it again (the part where I suggested auction at chess.com - or you can loook at my thread on this there - it is called 'the best chess money can buy' ;)

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/community/the-best-chess-money-can-buy

(I am not sure whether the link works for members only or for everyone; anyway free membership is a 5-minute process..)

That was sarcasm! I meant this: suppose you are left with K+Q v K. Sure win for you, no? At least you can't lose, even on time (insuff. material) ? Now my sarcastic suggestion was that: opponent bids €20 for the game, now if you cannot bid higher then opponent *wins* the game automatically!

Of course I thought until yesterday that no chess site will offer *that* kind of auction! but you said:

>Speaking of auction at chess.com, that's a funny idea and I just wonder why I did not think about a system where you can bet some epoints at any time in any game...

Surely *you* don't want *that* kind of auction here, do you? ;)


Wayne Lowrance    (2009-06-04 01:44:44)
Draw offers

Tribault I do not know how it is addressed in other sites. But clearly you need to be careful where you tread here. Repeated draw offers seems on the surface rude. I have not seen the game, but according to Nick Burrows he feels he has winning chances and hence has refused the draw offers. That is clearly his right. If this evaluation is accurate the the repeated offers are in very bad taste.
I do not know if you have a review structure here for handling complaints. Having said this it is best if this site just runs on its own without intervention. Maybe extreme abuse should be reviewed. I dunno
Wayne


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-06-16 22:33:44)
World Go Oza canceled by sponsors

Sad news for the world of Go, the rumor was reported in GoDiscussions.com forums then confirmed by the AGA (American Go Association) : The Nihon Kiin announced that Toyota & Denso Cup World Go Oza has been canceled by sponsors. TOM news website reported that JP Morgan is discontinuing sponsorship of the Zhonghuan Cup and GoGameWorld.net reported that the Chinese NEC Cup has been canceled as well.

Looks like the economic crisis hits the small Go world also.


Daniel Parmet    (2009-06-24 02:50:06)
Learning Go

Greetings!
I really really want to learn to play Go (and play some of it on ficgs of course!). Does anyone have recommendation for the easiest way of learning the basics? Good websites for rules, follow masters etc. I appreciate any and all help!


Normajean Yates    (2009-07-03 01:38:27)
The Scheming Mind

I provided a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle where Sherlock Holms says that excellence at chess is a mark of a scheming mind.

Voila, there is a correspondence site called 'the scheming mind', and its motto is precisely that quote!

http://www.schemingmind.com/ . This offers some variants also; it is the only site I have seen which offers the 7th century persian chess 'shatranj' at correspondence time controls.. [engines won't help in that one!]


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-07-03 01:55:36)
The Scheming Mind

This is a well known website ! I did not know how to play "Shatranj", but it is fully explained on Wikipedia :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatranj

Maybe it is worth a try.


Marc Lacrosse    (2009-07-03 09:47:02)
My chess site ...

... has been rejuvenated and I intend to add content more regularly.
Address is still http://chessbazaar.mlweb.info
I hope computer chess and correspondence chess fans will find some interesting info there.
There is a linked blog where comments and suggestions are welcome.

Marc


Normajean Yates    (2009-07-03 14:03:22)
ficgs v 'the scheming mind' ..

well 'the scheming mind' seems to be a no-engines no-tablebases site. But, for ficgs v 'the scheming mind' engine-use a matter of negotiation..


Don Groves    (2009-07-04 00:19:53)
Your chess site

Very nice!


Nick Burrows    (2009-07-04 07:55:18)
Minimum rating idea

A common problem encountered in correspondance chess is that of strong players forefitting several games and their rating dropping by hundreds of points

This spoils the tourny for lower rated players who often have a 2200 rated player in their group with a misleading rating of 1600.
It also de-stabilises the ratings across the whole site as many players grades are false.
Lastly, and of least concern because players who made the drop deserve some handicap - the artificially low-graded player has a whole year of uncompetitive matches as he waits to regain points.

In o.t.b tournaments in England, a method employed to stop rating cheats is that a player who has won a certain class of tournament previously, cannot re-enter at that level.
The equivalent here would be that your rating has a minimum value, equal to the highest rating requirement of a tournament class you have previously won.

This seems to solve the problems experienced by many on this site.

It may be said that the rating drop is a necessary deterrent to prevent players from doing this. My experience is that it occurs from factors out of one's control (illness) and any deterrant is irrelevant - just as a death penalty doesn't stop heroin addicts from stealing!

What d'yall think?


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-07-08 15:05:34)
Kasparov meets Obama

This is quite a surprise to me already, Barrack Obama met former chess world champion Garry Kasparov and other opposition leaders in Russia !

Nobody knows exactly what has been said during this meeting but the site Theotherrussia.org provided a full transcript of United Civil Front Chairman Garry Kasparov’s statement to president Barack Obama and an interesting interview of Garry Kasparov... The name of the forgotten Khodorkovsky appears several times.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5562

A good summary could be : "Obama seems like a man who doesn’t try to solve problems that don’t have solutions. He saves his energy and political capital on realistic goals. If there’s a big obstacle he simply takes it off the table and deals with what can be done." (Garry Kasparov)


Normajean Yates    (2009-07-09 04:25:46)
icc offers live shatranj, that's why...

that's why I said 'theschemind mind' is the only site i knew that offers correspondence-time-control shatranj...

(should have made it explicit - anyway William Taylor has now...)


Scott Nichols    (2009-07-29 14:26:23)
Excellent

Another nice new feature, thank you Thibault for always working and improving this site!


Tano-Urayoan Russi Roman    (2009-08-05 18:13:29)
Another game




William Taylor    (2009-08-06 15:09:54)
Nice

I hadn't heard about that - I look forward to it. Is there a website dedicated to the match?


Rolf Staggat    (2009-08-06 18:20:56)
Valencia-match

I did not find a site about that match, but
<previews.chessdom.com/kasparov-karpov-valencia-2009>
is a report about it, also to find on the <fide.com> site


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-08-10 12:46:38)
Poker engine

I'm not sure if there can be exactly a "poker engine" like Fritz is a chess engine, able to play any situation... I know that there is poker engines for certain poker rooms but in order to play here you may only find sites that offer to calculate the odds for each hand, but it won't take in account the coins & points you have, which are very important also, so I'm afraid it does not exist :)


William Taylor    (2009-08-10 16:16:54)
Poker engine

I've played poker against a computer before (several computer opponents). I think the program I used was called 'Tik's Texas Hold'em', but I've no idea what the best poker program is. I seem to remember reading something in either a poker magazine or a poker website a while ago about a match between top pros and top programs, and I don't think it was a one-sided encounter.


Michel van der Kemp    (2009-08-25 19:47:10)
Mistake in ELO calculation?

I got this email from an advanced match.

Game 27857


[Event "FICGS__CHESS__BULLET_BRONZE__000132"]
[Site "FICGS"]
[Date "2009.8.23"]
[Round "1"]
[White "van der Kemp,Michel"]
[Black "Goršek,Gregor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1966"]
[BlackElo "1623"]

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O c6 7.a4 a5 8.h3 Na6 9.Be3 Nb4 10.Qd2 Qc7 11.Rac1 Rd8 12.Rfe1 d5 13.exd5 Nbxd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Bh6 Be6 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.c4 Nb4 18.Bd3 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 Qd6 20.Re3 Rd7 21.Qe2 Re8 22.Rd1 R7d8 23.Re1 Rd7 24.b3 b6 25.Ng5 Bf5 26.g4 1-0



Move sent : 2009.8.23 - 17:54:11
Move replied : 2009.8.23 - 19:10:44


Player resigned.




WhiteELO : 1966 ... 1961
BlackELO : 1623 ... 1627


This email was generated automatically by http://www.ficgs.com/
My rating went down after winning a game :)


Garvin Gray    (2009-08-29 16:05:33)
Issue for 2150 rated players

I am starting to notice an issue with how the rating bands are set for tournaments, both standard and rapid.

Currently I am rated between 2150 and 2200, depending on the rating period. After having been in this rating band for a couple of rating periods, I am noticing it is very difficult to get rated games against players rated above 2200.

This makes it very difficult to improve my rating, or at least have it proven that my playing standard is not deserved of a higher rating, or a lower rating as the case maybe.

I know it is possible to look at my results from players rated similar to myself and try and work out conclusions from there, but to not have the opportunity to play people rated above myself does not afford me the opportunity to see how I go against them, or to record results against higher rated players that might suggest I am underrated.

I suggested awhile ago that each of the tournament bands need to be 200 points apart, with the standard and rapid tournaments operated on odds and evens 200 point rating bands. I still believe this to be the answer to a lot of the sites ills as I still see many tournaments where players just under the rating cut off not entering when the rating band is 400 points.


Garvin Gray    (2009-08-30 16:23:48)
200 point bands in both!

nooooo, i am suggesting the complete opposite. That in both standard time control and rapid that the bands be 200 points.

It is only that in the standard time control that the bands be 1700-1899, 1900-2099, 2100-2299, 2300-2499 etc and for rapid it would be 1800-1999, 2000-2199, 2200-2399, 2400-2599.

This would mean for a person with a rating of 1950 would be at the top of the ratings for one of the bands and at the bottom of the bands for the other.


Don Groves    (2009-09-02 01:28:18)
No official rules

Hi, Thib -- While there are no "official" rules for poker, most clubs use Roberts Rules of Poker which can be found at many websites. Of course, there are also many exceptions...


Garvin Gray    (2009-09-02 07:33:40)
to be clear

Apologies if my post irks anyone, but just to be clear, the standard and rapid rating cutoffs have to at the opposite 100 point bands.

So as I said previously,

It is only that in the standard time control that the bands be 1700-1899, 1900-2099, 2100-2299, 2300-2499 etc and for rapid it would be 1800-1999, 2000-2199, 2200-2399, 2400-2599.

Of course this idea also works if Thibault decides to have the standard tournaments using an even rating cutoff ie 1800-1999, 2000-2199 etc.


Tano-Urayoan Russi Roman    (2009-09-08 09:05:01)
Mr Lowrance

Don't waste your time with such characters. Mr Uri Blass has already revealed his methods, he plays in a site where engines are not allowed and he cheats using them. He has already made the same silly arguments before, he just wants attention.


Ilmars Cirulis    (2009-09-11 14:43:15)
...

Ha. I have opposite question.

"How to finish?"


Scott Nichols    (2009-09-16 08:58:46)
Quick Corr. Chess

With the recent narrowing of the band in standard tournaments, it occurred to me that there is even less opportunity to get games than before. For those of us (and I think it is many) who check the site many times daily waiting for the next move, there just isn't enough games to feed our tremendous appetite for chess. I propose a new catagory, Quick Corr. chess, I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but here it is. It would have it's own Quick chess rating. Bands would be, Over 2000, 1600-2000, and under 1600. Time limit-10 days per game, increment-8 hours. I truly believe there is a market for this here. Advanced chess requires that you actually be at the comp. for a length of time till game is done, so it is not an option for many. But as you can see there has been quite an increase in advanced games being played. So---if you are one of those players like me, that check for moves first thing in the morning and last thing at night, sneak your laptop into the bathroom at work to see if your opponent took the sacrifice you just offered, etc., and time after time are disappointed at not seeing any new moves, please offer your support and suggestions on this. Thank you, signed "Starving for chess". :)


Benjamin Block    (2009-09-17 19:41:23)
Quick corr. chess

The only swedish site where you can play corr. chess have some very smal times the lowest is 7 days for whole game (no increment). But it is very smal and only person that don´t have a job or don´t go to school can fix it. It is also a contest about how can make the last move on the night?


Scott Nichols    (2009-09-18 02:11:45)
Obviously....

This idea does not have near the backing I thought it would. Gave it a shot, right? And since this is the best site on the planet, no way would go elsewhere. So I will be content to wait for my next move, SIGH....:(


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-09-24 01:00:06)
Games 1 & 2

What do you think about the final positions ?




Thibault de Vassal    (2009-09-24 14:13:33)
Karpov wins game 3

.. but he lost game 4, Kasparov leads 3-1




Garvin Gray    (2009-09-29 17:34:56)
Moneybookers warning

I have just received a warning email telling me that my moneybookers account has been suspended and to click on the link provided in the email to confirm my records.

The email does look legit, but from my understanding of these things, a proper site with this information would ask you to go to moneybookers.com and sign in, rather than provide a link. Clicking the link option is what scammers provide to get your information.

Thibault, are you able to confirm anything on this matter?


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-09-29 19:06:17)
Moneybookers accounts blocked

Hi Garvin,

Yes, I have the same problem for one month... First you'll probably have to send a copy of your bank details, then a copy of your identity card and so on, and it seems that many people are in the same case.

On my case, it may be a personal/professional account confusion, but it may be another "problem" as well. Moneybookers seems to be very slow to respond when the end is to give back any money, I'm not sure I'll continue to use this site.


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-09-29 20:17:35)
Carlsen leads the Nanjing tournament

The Nanjing tournament starts quite well for Magnus Carlsen, who won his first game with the scotch opening against Peter Leko (maybe the influence of Garry Kasparov), and won his second game against Veselin Topalov !






Thibault de Vassal    (2009-10-01 18:54:07)
Carlsen beats Jakovenko

A third win (for 4 games) for Carlsen in the tournament !




Nick Burrows    (2009-10-09 20:09:13)
Game from today




Nick Burrows    (2009-10-09 20:12:28)
Another played this week




Daniel Parmet    (2009-10-17 00:20:25)
Three Cheers for Thibault

After having had numerous bad experiences on other chess correspondence sites... it occurs to me how lucky we are to have this great one run by Thibault! I would like to thank him!


Don Groves    (2009-10-17 05:43:18)
I'll second that!

In my opinion, this is the best Internet game site.


Benjamin Block    (2009-10-18 21:36:58)
I agree

Thibault you make a really good work. I hope you take some money self from the google ads you are really worth it. It is hard to think any person that can take over this site when you do not want or can. I really hope that my grandchild will play on this site and have that fun as i have and always will have (i´m still i child). PS: Please stop smoke we don´t want you to die in prematurly. You really work hard. Do you ever sleep?


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-10-18 22:52:59)
About PS :)

Hi Benjamin ! Do not believe photos, I never smoked (even this one) so I'll haunt this site for decades :) I hope our grandchild will play chess together ;)


Lazaro Munoz    (2009-10-28 03:07:17)
Crazyhouse

There is a website of chess variant database at http://wildchess.org/. The interesting thing is that popular openings are very similar to bughouse but that should be no wonder: avoid fianchetto's (weakness in g7,b7) to a drop pawn is deadly and avoiding pawn conflicts since pawns are lot more valuable off the board then on, etc.


Don Groves    (2009-10-30 00:57:59)
And the winner is...

Thibault! He's made over 26,000 moves while also building and maintaining the site!


Garvin Gray    (2009-11-04 12:20:13)
2 or 4 for me.

I vote for option 2. This could already occur, could it now?

1 and 3 open up all manners of pandoras boxes about cheating and probably worse and more likely, paranoia about cheating and advice.

This already could occur with people advising outside of this site, but I do not think this is something that should be encouraged by having a forum dedicated to it.

Also there would be no way to prevent a player in the game seeing the comments/analysis while they are a guest viewing unless only those who sign up to view thread can see said thread.


Philip Roe    (2009-11-06 03:54:51)
Luck is the residue of design

Nick, I did not know that one. It is quite splendid and I thank you for it.

But it may not be Milton. I tried to look it up and quotation sites attribute it to a poem of his called "At a Vacation Exercise in the College" However, it does not occur there, and the Yale book of quotation credits someone called Branch Rickey in Sporting News, Feb 21 1946. A rather different source.

See http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/quotes-uncovered-who-worried-about-events/


Lazaro Munoz    (2009-11-06 05:14:51)
Minims

I had this great little book on "Minims". Now minims is the opposite of maxims. Mimins make statements that are obvious, but funny. eg:

"No man has ever achieved immortality in his own life time."

"There are more things in heaven and earth than practically anywhere else."

"The early worm gets eaten by the bird."

Does anyone have this book? (I have long since lost my copy) And remember any of the other minims.


Nick Burrows    (2009-11-06 06:56:01)
"At a Vacation Exercise in the College"

Hi Phillip. I had a look around also, many sources site the quote as being wrongly attributed to the baseball player Branch Rickey.
The poem itself was written in Latin & English, then finished with lines of prose which are usually not published.
The quote is said to come from this prose and not the main body of the poem.


John Smith    (2009-11-17 13:38:01)
regarding Naum

Regarding Naum retiring, I didn't find an official word on this, but

1) Naum's site http://www.geocities.com/naum_chess/
appears to be down

2) according to wikipedia " Naum tied for first with Rybka in the 2008 Internet Computer Chess Tournament [3], but has not yet competed in other public tournaments."


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-11-17 15:27:32)
Naum

All I can say is that the complete Geocities website closed, so it doesn't mean anything for Naum which appeared 2nd behind of Rybka in a recent CEGT rating list.


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-11-17 20:59:43)
Anand vs. Lacrosse

Yes, the event was related on many well known websites :

http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2007/04/anand-scored-17-wins-1-loss-and-1-draw.html

http://www.chessninja.com/dailydirt/2007/04/anand-simul-and-interview.htm

http://www.indianchessfed.org/News/2007/April/Anandwins17gamesincharitysimul.asp


William Taylor    (2009-12-05 17:22:48)
Opening theory

I remember Marc publishing some material about this opening on his website. Unfortunately it seems like the material was not transferred when his website moved. He had accumulated a lot of knowledge on this opening and it would be a shame to lose all his work on it - I don't suppose anyone knows if the material is available anywhere do they?


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-12-05 18:16:56)
Basman Sale defence

Actually it may be possible to find the old website on the "wayback machine" http://www.archive.org , I'll have a look on this.


William Taylor    (2009-12-05 21:48:19)
Great

Thanks Thib - it is possible to find it through this site. I haven't investigated it fully yet to see if all his analysis can be seen, but some certainly can.


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2009-12-06 00:33:26)
BasmanSale defence . ..

I downloaded long time ago from that website most of the zip files and the reports in pdf. These are:

BasmanSale-extended-05.2007.zip
BasmanSale-pure-05.2007.zip
Basman-Sale-reports-052007.zip

I could send the to anyone or put them in any repository .....


Xavier Pichelin    (2009-12-10 22:10:00)
119.95$ not 1200$

For the site the Rybka.com

1) Now Rybka Aquarium 2010+ / Deep Rybka Aquarium 2010+ will include Rybka 3/Deep Rybka 3.

2) Super Bonus. Instead of a right for a free upgrade to Rybka 4 / Deep Rybka 4 you will get a free copy of a professional chess database program Chess Assistant 10 along with Aquarium 2010+!


Wayne Lowrance    (2009-12-11 21:56:40)
clock implementation

Okey dokey Thibault, case closed. I must pay more attention to timers. I confess to not paying much attention. In hindsite it just did not look right. :)
Wayne


Thibault de Vassal    (2009-12-20 14:23:36)
Boris Spassky vs. Viktor Korchnoi

Entitled the "Battle of the Giants", a match just started in Elista (Kalmykia) between the 10th World Champion Boris Spassky (aged of 72), and Viktor Korchnoi (now aged of 78, multiple World Championship challenger mainly during the Karpov era, but still active in competitive play).

Korchnoi won the first game, game two ended in a draw. This kind of match is always a pleasure to follow for long time chess fans :)

Here is the first game !




Thibault de Vassal    (2009-12-21 20:03:52)
ID

Hello Luc-Olivier,

Well, I cannot force it... who can ? Not FICGS, nor Facebook or other sites who ask for the real names as well, obviously.

Anyway, as far as I can remember it is legal to ask for & store real names in a database if you have an 'obvious' reason to do it. However if you can prove that something is illegal at FICGS, I'll be grateful for that and be sure that I'll make the necessary changes !


Wayne Lowrance    (2009-12-29 00:56:03)
Rybka demise

Howdy all. I feel like voicing my opinion of Vas and Rybka. I honestly feel his hold on the chess community has weakened to the point of breaking. He has his problems. His source code apparently has been compromized. This has led him to not releasing a Rybka3+ as promised. The release of Rybka4 is very cloudy. Then there is this cloud Rybka internet rentel thing that is supported by no one it seems, me for sure.
Anyways this is just back drop for recent developments in free software engines that are very strong and are pushing R3 in ratings. I am thinking about the following engines, that I have downloaded and find very interesting AND strong :

Stockfish 1.6
Brite 0.4A
Spark 0.3

I have minimal experience with these engines. I just want all my friend here on FICGS to be aware of them and if interested they can download them and be on equal footing. My wish is for better chess and I have no ambition to have secret progams.
The important thing I feel is that the loss of Rybka engine does not put much of dent in play quality. It was gonna happen sooner or later, and now it seems sooner.
My honest evaluation today is that Rybka3 still provides the best insite to best mid game play.
I want to put in a word for Zappa. I fairly often use Zappa as my CC engine partner because of better end game analysis. Rybka has no peer in mid game analysis. Well I share these thought with you all for what it may be worth. Best 2010 Cheers. Wayne


Wayne Lowrance    (2009-12-29 18:40:55)
Rybka demise

William, wow, These are new engines for me, I will look for them.
On cloning, Stockfish is not the engine cloned as for as I know. There are two other engines for which I have downloaded because the moderators of the Rybka forum have deleted all reference to them, including engine name and download site. Vas has admitted that one in particuliar is a clone and the cloning programmer had discussions with Vas letting him know what he was doing, very interesting. Since both these engines are free downloadable making the source code available for all other programmers. It is common on the forum discussions about R3 source code being compromised. Thank you for sharing your Stockfish- Rybka testing results. What time control are your test run. Wayne


William Taylor    (2010-01-04 18:35:41)
Rodolfo

I haven't managed to get hold of anything other than the Basman-Sale index page, so I second Philip's request for you to make the files you downloaded generally available somehow. Perhaps Thib could host them - or if not then maybe you could upload them to some site like rapidshare?


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2010-01-05 09:40:32)
Marc Lacrosse memorial

Hi every buddy, I placed the files somewhere in this site:

http://rodolfo_3.tripod.com/

Maybe later I will put them in something like rapidshare.

Cherries

Rodolfo


Kamesh Nookala    (2010-01-24 19:34:39)
Resign before 10th move

Hello HOST,

I didnt know about this forum earlier and posted in the International Chat. I am sorry for that stupid mistake of mine. But the problem which i faced now is this. There is a guy whom i defeated in all 4 meetings where i played vs. him. This poor guy found me yet again and having known by now that he cant beat me, he simply resigned. I have no grievance against him. But in my very first Rapid B tour here at ficgs, i got an advantage of +-1.00 (approx.) vs. a player who simply resigned after my white 10th move. This meant that though I am awarded with a win, yet because my opponent resigned simply instead of playing the 10th move, he denied me earning some elo. That also implies that he saved his elo by simply resigning.

I dont know much above this site as i am pretty new to this. However, i have been already a victim of this sort of activities. For e.g., I could simply resign when i play bad openings and evals dip before 10th move and i can simply save my elo. That means i can simply resign vs. Big Guys as Black and play as Black only vs. weak players.

Just thought to express my views. Rest upto the moderators


Daniel Parmet    (2010-01-26 01:01:46)
SuperGMs watch Corr?!

Carlsen mentioned to the media after his game with Shirov that the improvement in the game of 22... Bc3 was taken from a Correspondence game he found. (Carlsen's own old novelty was 22... Be5 where he lost to Shirov). This is at least the third time i've heard Carlsen using correspondence games for his own opening research and I know also Peter Leko does this. How many supergms you think are accessing all the correspondence sites around the world looking at our opening ideas?! Cute thought!


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-01-26 16:24:43)
Go chinese rules : should pass count?

A player just told me that in chinese rules for the game of Go, consecutive pass change the score of the game (thus in some cases the winner as well), I just visited a few websites that do not even mention this rule that is taken in account by some Go programs.

In my opinion it does not have any sense to link this to the score of the game, but I may be wrong... Does anyone have an opinion on this and clear examples that show it should be taken (or not) here at FICGS ?

I'll add a word on this in the rules after it is clearer to me.

Thanks in advance!


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-01-27 08:21:05)
Shirov-Carlsen

Here is the game by the way...




Thibault de Vassal    (2010-01-27 09:18:36)
Wijk aan Zee 2010

Finally, the tournament is now open again in Wijk aan Zee group A, after that Alexei Shirov won consecutively his first 5 games with a comfortable lead, Vladimir Kramnik finally catched him at 6.5/9 after a win over Magnus Carlsen with Black pieces.

Here is the game :



In group B, A. Giri leads by 6.5/9, in group C, Li Chao leads by 6.5/9 as well.


Zholy Zhou    (2010-01-29 03:22:40)
make cool 3D flash banners for website

Recently I've been asked by a friend who wants to make a 3D flash banner for his website of wedding business. Many people included me thought that making a 3D flash banner is a very difficult thing for those who don't know flash skills, but I should say it's not like what you think if you have got a 3D flash banner making software Aneesoft 3D Flash Gallery.

This article will show you how to create a cool 3D flash banner without Adobe Flash. A viewer can click on the banner to be transported to your website. You can use it on your own website to present your products or services. Also flash banners can be used to market your website as a banner ad on another website. A flash banner is much more attractive than still images. I bet you'll be agree with me if you see the 3D flash banner.

What you'll need:
1. Digital photos and background music for 3D flash banner
2. Aneesoft 3D Flash Gallery(http://www.aneesoft.com/win-3d-flash-gallery.html)

Step 1: Download & install Aneesoft 3D Flash Gallery
We'll be using a very nice 3D flash banner making software 'Aneesoft 3D Flash Gallery' to making a cool flash banner for wedding websites, head over here and download the free trial version(http://www.aneesoft.com/download/win/aneesoft-3d-flash-gallery.exe). Next step is to install the program.

Step 2: Import wedding photos, add captions, edit photos
You can add up to 500 photos that you want to use in your flash banner, type in caption and arrange the photos here. 3D Flash Gallery supports a wide range of file formats for images, such as .jpg, .bmp, .gif. You're able to add hyperlink for each photo of your flash banner to be transported to your website.

Step 3: Choose from a variety of flash banner templates
3D Flash Gallery offer you an easy way to make a cool flash banner by choosing from variety of flash banner templates. A flash banner template automatically put preset decoration to your flash banners. When you select a preset banner template, you're able to enhance it by customizing some additional settings, such as background, thumbnail effects, playback options and scrolling actions. For the adventurous users, explore the powerful advanced features and tools that gives you total control over how you compose your flash banners.

Step 4: Add some background music files to flash banner
In this step, you can add background music files to play along with your flash banner. To do so, click Add Music button to browse and add your music files. You can add, remove and edit the music files. And you may check the option to control the background music looping or not.

Step 5: Preview and publish your cool 3D flash banners
It is advisable that you preview the 3D flash banner at least once, before your publish it. Click and drag mouse for scrolling and tilting the 3D flash banner. Click on the thumbnail to zoom in and out the photos. You have several options to share and publish your 3D photo gallery. It depends on your needs.


Lazaro Munoz    (2010-01-31 11:54:48)
SuperGMs watch Corr?!

The Vidalina-Kabachev games goes:

[Event "WC-2006-F-00005"]
[Site "LSS"]
[Date "2007.9.12"]
[Round ""]
[White "Vidalina, Franjo"]
[Black "Kabachev, Andrey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco ""]
[Annotator ""]
[Source ""]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 Bg7 11.Bd3 Ne7 12.Nxe7 Qxe7 13.c4 f5 14.O-O O-O 15.Qh5 Rb8 16.exf5 e4 17.Rae1 Bb7 18.Qg4 Rfe8 19.cxb5 d5 20.bxa6 Bc6 21.b3 Kh8 22.Nc2 Bc3 23.Be2 Qf6 24.Rd1 Rg8 25.Qf4 d4 26.Bc4 d3 27.Ne1 Be5 28.Qe3 Rg5 29.g3 Rxf5 30.Ng2 Rg8 31.Rc1 Bd4 32.Qd2 Rf3 33.Rce1 Rgxg3 0-1

Interestingly Shirov played 23. Qh3 in his game. Rybka thought the move absolutely sucked and would have responded with the material grab: 23...Bxe1 24. Rxe1 Qc5 25. Bf1 Qxc2 giving it +0.11. It thought that white was much better before 23. Qh3 with the simple 23. Be2 (as was played by Vidalina).

Vidalina may have resigned prematurely since after 34. hxg3 Rxg3 35. Re3, Black is better and has some attacking chances there does not seem to be knock-out move.


Teudis Naranjo    (2010-02-23 04:03:55)
Go

How to play in the tournaments of in this sites?


Garvin Gray    (2010-02-26 19:13:30)
mate in N moves. Game is going on :)

I thought it was a rule on this site that as soon as a tablebase win appears it can be claimed.

I certainly remember this being discussed in the forum and being agreed to.


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.


Ralph Deline    (2010-03-12 19:36:04)
Rating calculation

Hi Thibault,
Thanks for your earlier explanation. I wanted to respond sooner but then when I was at the FICGS site, I saw another player, also confused about his chess rating, questioning you about it so I threw in my two cents. In my situation, my opponent was rated about 80 points higher so when I drew, I thought I would actually go up in ratings points instead of down. That is still confusing to me.
Maybe my age is catching up with me, but for fifty years or more, using the formula for establishing ratings in Canada, I was always under the impression that your score and your opponents ratings, with a bit of math thrown in, determined your rating. I know at one time it was possible to win a tournament and lose rating points but I believe that was corrected about a decade or so ago. I wasn't playing for over a decade so I'm not certain on dates.
However, let me acknowledge the fact that I understand what you are saying, play less, win more, and your rating will improve. But I still have a hurdle to overcome. When a lower rated player ties with a highed rated player, regardless of colour, why does he get penalized instead of rewarded for achieving a result that is performing above his present rating? It doesn't seem logical.
You are probably busy and I've taken enough of your time. I don't think I will understand any explanation, you know, can't teach an old dog new tricks, so you don't have to try to explain any further. I just wanted my voice to be heard.
I have had three gross blunders in the last half year so maybe I am playing too many games. I hate to do it, but maybe I will try playing less.
Thanks for listening.
Ralph


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-03-16 10:37:01)
Interview with E. Kotlyanskiy

Congrats again to Edward Kotlyanskiy, new FICGS chess champion after beating Xavier Pichelin (2577) in the 12 games final match of the 3rd cycle.

Edward kindly accepted to answer a few questions on his match and correspondence chess in general :

_________________________


> Hi Edward, first of all congratulations for winning this 12 games match against the former FICGS chess champion, Xavier Pichelin. You had to score at least one point more than your opponent, what was your strategy when the games started?

Knowing that I had to score at least +1 against Xavier, I had to try to get the games into complex positions where there are many options to play for both sides. At the point when the games started, I was the underdog to Xavier (mainly due to the face that I was rated about 200 points lower). In part, I think that one of the reasons why Xavier allowed the games to reach such complex positions is due to the fact that his rating was undoubtedly higher than mine and therefore he probably assumed that he could “outplay” me. Although this was simultaneously a brave and admirable choice, I think an option that many other players would have pursued would have been to play “drawish” lines with the hope of having all of the games ending in draws. I have great respect for Xavier due to the fact that he didn't choose such a path and allowed us to put on a hard fought show that was worth watching.

> What could you say on the hot moments of the match?

The first game in which I thought I had very good chances to win was game 34739. In this game (particularly on move 18) Xavier played the move Nb8?? Looking back at the move, I realized that the game was lost for him. I assumed that Xavier probably underestimated the threat of f5. There were no good responses and/or countermeasures for the move f5. For example, if 19) gxf5, I have 20) Nxh5 Nc6 21) Rc3! Bxh4 (Qd8 was also possible) 22) Qf4 Be7 23) g4! His king is just clearly caught in the attack! 19) exf5 also fails to 20) e6 f6 (trying to keep the king safe) 21) Bxh5!! gxh5 22) Nc6 Rc3 and therefore it’s easy to see that it is just a matter of time. Xavier did try something better although even that failed due to some nice moves. I believe that 21) g7 came as a surprise to Xavier (or that at least he hadn't seen this move when playing Nb8). After Nxh5 (another neat move), another line that I thought Xavier would enter (which is also losing) is 22) Qxc2 23) Qxc2 Rxc2 24) Nf6+! Bxf6 25) exf6. Clearly my pawns are just too strong! Knowing that I am winning after the mentioned alternatives, the other games (although I won three others) were just necessary to hold without falling for any tactics/tricks.

A second game I want to briefly comment on is game 34729. I played a very nice (although I am not sure if it is winning just yet) move known as 17.a4! It was a very nice way to open the position on both of our kings. In all honesty, the move that I think was winning in this situation 25) Rd3, I did not even consider too highly until the position reached that very move. After a relatively short analysis, I was indeed pleasantly surprised to see that; overall, it was completely winning for me.

> What could you say on the advantages and inconveniences of this 12 games match format played at a quite fast time control?

From the days when I first starting playing correspondence chess, I have always been accustomed to making moves rather quickly. In fact, when I first started playing, in some games I made moves within 10 minutes of looking at the position. Although I take a lot more time to analyze now-a-days, I still consider the speed of my play to be relatively faster compared to most other correspondence players. Playing 12 games simultaneously can have drawbacks as not having enough time to properly analyze; however, I didn't have such a problem. With the exception of a few games that I was playing on IECG at the start of the FICGS Championship, the 12 game series was my main concern.

> Without revealing your secrets, how would you define modern correspondence chess as a centaur (playing with chess engines)?

These days, it is impossible to play correspondence chess on a high level without consulting the engine. It is also unlikely that one can achieve a lot of success just by following the engine blindly (even after a long analysis). Personally, I know that some of my friends believe that in correspondence chess you are just following the engine but I believe that most “high level” correspondence players know that it just doesn't work that way.

In my opinion, one of the most important skills that a correspondence player should have is having some sense of where the engine he is analyzing with is faulty. To give a well known example, many people know that there are certain endgame positions that an engine alone can't be trusted in (a simple case is the wrong color bishop). In essence, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of whatever engine you are analyzing with is critical to playing correspondence chess at a “high level”.

> Why did you choose to play correspondence chess, do you play OTB (over the board) chess as well?

Before starting correspondence chess, I played OTB chess for quite a few years. When my schedule became busy, I realized that I wouldn't have much time to play OTB in clubs. I came across correspondence chess and got hooked on it very quickly. Also, I began to enjoy more of the subtleties of the game; something that is just lacking in OTB blitz games. I imagine that some people prefer to play practical chess (OTB) in which a move order wouldn't make much of a difference; however, I guess I am a perfectionist and believe the game should be played on as high of a level as possible.

> How many correspondence games do you usually play at the same time (on different chess servers or by email)? Would you say that it is an addiction?

Usually, I played about 5 to 10 games on average on all different sites. I did play via email on IECC but wasn't fond of playing by email therefore I went back to server only sites (IECG, FICGS, Schemingmind).

I can definitely say that correspondence chess is an addiction. All too often, I catch myself analyzing games when I really should be doing something much more time sensitive. Well, at least I can say that this addiction paid off in that I am the new FICGS champion!

> Are you interested in other games?

As far as board games go, chess is primarily the only game I play. At times I do play games like monopoly and scrabble with my friends. Another interest that I have is billiards.

> The next challenger for the FICGS chess champion title is SM Eros Riccio (winner of several PlayChess PAL freestyle tournaments). Do you think that you'll play him? What does this perspective inspire in you?

I can't wait to play Eros! I believe that he would be my toughest opponent yet (although I have played GM Leitão, Rafael (fide elo: 2619) and managed to draw). Eros is like an unstoppable juggernaut in corr chess. That said, I look forward to our games and I am certain that they will simultaneously be challenging and entertaining.

> Thanks and best of luck in your future games!


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-03-29 17:14:43)
Comment jouer ???

Bonjour Benoit, si vous êtes inscrit à un tournoi, il faut attendre que celui ci démarre... les parties "bullet" sont peu recommandées lorsqu'on débute ici car il faut bien comprendre que le site est une interface web et que l'on risque de manquer le début de la partie si on ne surveille pas le démarrage dans "My games" ou "Mes parties" (donc il faut se désinscrire après un moment avant d'oublier)

Mieux vaut donc s'inscrire à un tournoi lent avant tout.

Vous pouvez trouver l'aide en français ici pour comprendre la procédure :

http://www.ficgs.com/help_fr.html


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-03-31 10:01:23)
Poker dealing algorithm

I mean that there is no card generated 'randomly' [without any control] like on many poker sites that can e.g. give better cards to super players and say "it was just luck"). I can prove that all cards come from the same algorithm, but of course if I reveal it, I'll have to change at least some parameters of the algorithm for the next games.

Anyway I can make a study and generate billions of hands (would it be enough, I'm not even sure) automatically to see accurate statistics but really, I would be surprised to see any problem.


Don Groves    (2010-04-01 02:04:45)
Poker dealing algorithm

Google gives many results for testing random number generators. Why not just use Fischer-Yates? Here is a site that gives that algorithm in Java Script: http://sedition.com/perl/javascript-fy.html

And, yes, "psuedo" means the same in English. A true random number "generator" is not possible, of course.


Xavier Pichelin    (2010-04-01 14:02:09)
SITE DOWN HACKED???

It's a Publicité?
What Happened?
It's a Hacker to attaque the FICGS?
It's a April Fish??
Today is à 01 April 2010.I think is a April Fish!!
Best regards


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2010-04-01 14:03:27)
SITE DOWN HACKED???

must be a conspiration from the fide


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2010-04-01 14:04:55)
SITE DOWN HACKED???

The site is hacked, but still usable, so let's carry on!


William Taylor    (2010-04-01 14:08:03)
SITE DOWN HACKED???

Ah, thanks for reminding me it was April 1st Xavier. The 'Fischer's remains to be exhumed' story on Chessbase must also be an April Fool's joke.


Michel van der Kemp    (2010-04-03 16:58:45)
Weird technical problem

Thibault, thanks for organising this nice tournament. Lot of fun. I lost my first game against Xavier Pichelin, which I will totally accept, Xavier played excellent. However I do have a weird question.

About the game I receive this email:

[Event "FICGS__CHESS__FREESTYLE_CUP__000002"]
[Site "FICGS"]
[Date "2010.4.3"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Pichelin,Xavier"]
[Black "van der Kemp,Michel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2405"]
[BlackElo "1921"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Be3 Bg4 16.Qd3 Rae8 17.Nd2 Re6 18.a4 Qh5 19.axb5 axb5 20.Qf1 Bh3 21.Bd1 Qf5 22.Qe2 c5 23.Nf3 Bf4 24.Qd2 Nxe3 25.fxe3 Bh6 26.Qf2 Rfe8 27.Bc2 Qh5 28.e4 Rf6 29.Bd1 Bg4 30.Rf1 g6 31.e5 Rf5 32.Ra5 cxd4 33.cxd4 Rc8 34.Ra3 Rc1 35.Qe2 Rb1 36.d5 Bh3 37.Qe4 Bxf1 38.Qxb1 Qh3 39.Qc2 Bc4 40.Be2 Rxf3 41.Rxf3 Bxd5 42.Bf1 Qg4 43.Rc3 Qd4+ 44.Qf2 Qxe5 45.Bg2 Bc4 46.Kh1 Bg5 47.h3 Kg7 48.Bf1 Bd5+ 49.Kh2 h5 50.Qe2 Qd6 51.Rd3 h4 52.Bg2 hxg3+ 53.Kh1 Bxg2+ 54.Kxg2 Qc6+ 55.Kxg3 Qc7+ 56.Kg2 Qc6+ 57.Rf3 f5 58.b3 Bf6 59.Qd3 1-0



Move sent : 2010.4.3 - 16:34:26
Move replied : 2010.4.3 - 16:34:55


Last move sent : g7-h7




WhiteELO : 2405 ... 2405
BlackELO : 1921 ... 1921


This email was generated automatically by http://www.ficgs.com/

It says last move send g7-h7. How did I actually lose this game if the server still received my move? The result of the game came as a little shock to me, because I thought I had about 10 seconds left when I send the move, and the server did receive it as well, and somehow registered it.

Anyway I should have been faster and accept my loss.


Daniel Parmet    (2010-04-03 21:17:31)
Difference between class A / rapid A

of course some people hold completely the opposite opinion and find these rating bands ridiculous.


Wayne Lowrance    (2010-04-05 03:22:11)
How to check tablebases integrity

Thibault, do not waste your time trying to generate them, you won't live long enough. download them at sesse.com
You need 1 terribyte to down load them all. and takes over a year I am informed.
I just started downloading lil over a month ago and have about 25 poitions total downloaded and working.
Please, a word of caution at Sesse download site. He will not allow hardware accelerators (whatever they are). DO NOT download more than a file at a time. You will get blocked.
Thibault I have not used 6 man bases yet.
Caution: Do not have your engine loaded/running when downloading, otherwise expect engine crashing.
I pass on to those interested a decent list of 50 bases to downoad.
Been at this one month +/- so as I learn I will pass on.
Wayne


Wayne Lowrance    (2010-04-05 18:08:19)
How to check tablebases integrity

Okey Dokey Thibault, no problem. I only ask that those interested and use Sesse download site that they respect it with his wishes. That I have aready cautioned. He maintains this site at his own expense.
He had probem with abuse in the past i understand and has said he would pull the plug, if any further abuse, So I myself am very grateful and and I am very carefull about hogging the server bandwidth,
Wayne


William Taylor    (2010-04-11 01:24:05)
Thib

Hi Thibault!

I, and many others on this website are in the habit of abbreviating your name to Thib. I'm curious to know if this is a shortening which is actually used in France, or if it's just a 'FICGSism'...

Will


Wayne Lowrance    (2010-04-12 17:57:11)
Blitz Games

No, only one square would be highlighted, the current moved piece in it's new destination. This is the way I have seen it done on other site's, It makes playing blitz more enjoyable as your opponents move is quickly recognized ON the board.
I really like it. It wiuld be a very nice option. Everyone will use it once they see it :)


Peter Marriott    (2010-04-12 20:56:34)
NEW # 1

The CCRL site you showed is FRC, and the CEGT one is not. :)


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-20 15:59:34)
Match Against Rybka Forum

Hi Gaetano! Very nice to see you in, by the way even in the opposite team as Rybkaforum needed one player more... :)

Thanks to you both teams are complete now, the match should start very very soon!


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-24 17:02:39)
Entry fee for higher class tournament

Tano-Urayoán just posted an interesting idea in the following discussion:

http://www.ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=forum_read&id=8507

I was totally opposed to this idea at a first sight, but after a while I found some real advantages.

The idea : Any player could pay an entry fee to enter a high class chess tournament (e.g. 20 Euros for class M, 40 for class SM, 60 for class GM), whatever his rating.

Of course what we all see first is : Anyone can pay to make increase his rating faster, that is just unfair!

But let's imagine that a player rated 1800 pays an entry fee of 40 Euros to enter the class SM waiting list.

1) The waiting list will be filled faster!

2) If this player is actually stronger than its rating show, he'll find its place faster (the other players will not lose so many points because their ratings are protected - see rating calculation rules).

3) There could be such an extra rule: Players who are already in the waiting list or who will play the tournament may share 50% of the entry fee in Epoints, which would be a kind of compensation for them.

4) These entry fees will help to have more prizes in free tournaments (another compensation) and bigger prizes in e.g. freestyle cups, although I don't have any idea on how many players would be interested in this, so the site will become more popular and so on...


Anyway, please share your views if you have any idea to improve this one, and your opinion is needed here of course!


Wayne Lowrance    (2010-04-25 02:00:36)
Careful wht you do with our loved F

Thibault, I have been here since the beginning. I have grown with FICGS. I am very proud to be a member of FICGS in good standing.

I see dangers ahead for you and our FICGS.
You need to be very careful my friend about Changing the overall makeup of FICGS. I think overall the "E" point conditions here is ok, as long as it does not infringe outward from where it is now> This latest proposal (buying into a high classification) is very bad and changes the premise of FICGS, which is: If you are good, diligent and work hard you will advance and be rewarded. Tites should not come easy. Same for rating points. For if they do come easy then they have no meaning.
Players who have earned their stripes do merit certain considerations, that is good and proper.

Another potential problem that I see is that FICGS is headed in a direction down yahoo chess lane. We all like these bullet games, they are fun. I am not at all suggesting their elimination. I am just counseling "be careful". Do not let it become the face of FICGS chess. Yahoo chess is a total disaster. I do not want our site to even look in that direction.
I have been monitoring the chatter on bullet chess and it is great, all are enjoying it. That covers the main points of interest for me. I am not against changes. I do not want changes that change the make up of FICGS as we know it now. Its your server, you may do as you wish of course Wayne


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-25 02:52:37)
FICGS

I understand you Wayne, I don't want to make such mistakes and that's why we talk so much about these changes in this forum :)

On entry fees for a higher class tournament, I agree on the main point of course, but some advantages had to be discussed. The success of this site is also money and money prizes in the future IMO so I prefer to discuss such ideas than to do nothing.

That was the first point. Then there are some other points that remain to be discussed IMO : 1) Maybe correspondence chess ratings should increase (in average) as engines become stronger. 2) Titles calculation rules should probably be harder as a consequence, maybe it should have been changed already.

Correspondence/Advanced chess is constantly evolving, our marks move fast, so rules may have to change. I don't think that FICGS can turn into a kind of Yahoo chess (I did not ever play there btw), the most important thing is the atmosphere and I know that if I make a mistake, someone will let me know very quickly as it happened once a few months ago. We all make that success in that way!


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-25 02:55:31)
Topalov wins Game 1




Benjamin Block    (2010-04-25 18:02:19)
Ads gone?

Before there where ads everywhere. No i can´t found any... I hope this are not a tecnical bugg or something. Because i know having a site cost money. And the there are a lots of free e-points wining in tournaments. I guess the money need to come from somewhere. Keep up the good work.


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-25 18:36:33)
Ads gone?

Google ads were not so necessary on this part of the site anymore and it is not so good for its image so I removed it.

The ads are still visible on the other forums which receive more visitors... and I must say it is best like this :) Thanks!


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-25 20:06:21)
Anand wins Game 2 ! 1-1




Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-27 10:37:30)
FICGS down, server HACKED!

The server was down for about 1 day, all my apologies. FICGS is still secure and was not in danger or compromised at any time, nothing was lost during the process, but another site on the server was hacked so the server was blocked to avoid to spread the virus. Everything should be ok now.

To be sure that no game will be lost on time because of this, I've added 2 days to any player expected to play and 12 hours more to all players. Thanks for your patience and sorry about all that!


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-27 11:11:51)
FICGS down, server HACKED!

Actually I could have restarted the server in its normal mode earlier but I was to be sure that I had found all files added by the hacker and moved all files of the other site that had a security breach (and some more admin things)... I had to be very careful but finally I did not even had to reinstall the server. All this was a good lesson for me on anti-hacking.


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-28 08:55:53)
Game 3 is a draw




Benjamin Block    (2010-04-28 15:55:07)
FICGS down, server HACKED!

Thanks, good work!! Very good that you send a e-mail to get the news, so nobody left this site because they think it has closen down or something.


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-28 21:22:41)
Game 4: Anand wins again

How to explain so many wins in this match? Let's hope it can continue like this as a way to promote chess as a still living & not drawish game. Do you think that the players took many risks so far? Nice game anyway.




Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-29 11:27:48)
Infinitychess.com dead ?

Does anyone know what happened with the website Infinitychess? If I'm correct, this website was owned or run by GM Arno Nickel. It looks like the domain name has been sold or not used anymore.


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-04-30 21:08:53)
Game 5, draw




Thibault de Vassal    (2010-05-02 16:17:36)
Game 6 draw, Anand still leads




Thibault de Vassal    (2010-05-03 23:33:36)
Game 7, draw again




Thibault de Vassal    (2010-05-05 15:41:56)
Topalov wins Game 8

Topalov strikes back in Game 8, now the score is 4-4, and as Mircea noticed it, the game follows a line until move 18 in another game played here "de Vassal vs. Leemans 1/2-1/2", I'm not sure if 18.a5 is a real improvement but it worked well against a world champion, at least!




Thibault de Vassal    (2010-05-08 20:50:45)
Games 9 & 10 ended in a draw






Daniel Parmet    (2010-05-09 03:36:39)
How many games at once?

If you lower the time limit for response on games to 7 days then I will ask for you to delete my account. This little time defeats the entire point of correspondence. You have no right to dictate how I can and where I should spend my time. The reason I play correspondence is because I can spend 10 days on juicy positions or sit on draw offers or if my real life gets too busy ignore my games all together. If you take this away from me then correspondence is dead to me or at least this site is.


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-05-09 23:24:12)
How many games at once?

Of course it is laughable, I took the extreme opposites but while everything goes faster & faster on the internet and everyone MUST become more & more addicted so that the world runs fine (just meaning more money), my choice is definitely not to follow that way, also because this system will not work so long IMO. People will slowly quit Facebook after a time or at least will not use it the same way, and many already started to stop to play all these thousands stupid applications. Maybe it cannot be really a good comparison but the idea is there.

Correspondence chess was much slower before email chess & server chess, and it is now fast enough IMO. I don't know how other players feel it, some ones have time for sure, as for me I have some time to play but a 14 days limit per move would be really stressful to me though... I cannot imagine how many games more I would have lost with such a rule.

I know that a few players would like faster moves, however I feel that most players are fine with the current rules and I really want everyone to be cool here. We've lost a bunch of good players because of the previous rules such as unlimited number of games.

Now we should debate it game after game as most players who would like faster moves at chess still play in class tournaments (while rapid category was designed for them). Go is a game of patience definitely, but I have some work to do to accelerate some games (something towards automatic adjudication), and the major problem will be for poker games.

So, what are we talking about? :)


Michel van der Kemp    (2010-05-11 16:42:20)
Entry fee for higher class tournament

I just dont like the possibility to buy oneself tickets for higher tournaments. What's next? Next FIDE world championship challenger is going to be the one that brings the largest bag of money to the table?

Perhaps a commercial aspect to this justifies this idea. I know it's a lot of work to keep a site like this running, and FICGS gets many improvements all the time. It makes sense to get some revenue out of it, to compensate so much work.


Benjamin Block    (2010-05-11 18:19:01)
Entry fee for higher class tournament

Ficgs is still free... I think it can be very good indeed.

1.Some players maybe want training...

2.It will also stop an inflation. Because some new player came here and already have a high rating from example iccf.
And they start playing this site. Maybe they don´t have time for the games and left this site. With just giving a way some points.
Am i right?


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-05-11 19:13:45)
Anand is new world champion

30... f5 !




Garvin Gray    (2010-05-12 08:51:01)
Entry fee for higher class tournament

To answer one point, as opposed to point one hehe.

While it is true with hard work and good results, it is possible to get into the very high rating groups, the way this site works makes it very difficult indeed.

In fact, it is more likely that a persons rating will stay the same or reduce due to the fact that more players come into the system, take away rating points from those with established ratings and this keeps happening.

With how this site is set up, there are very few opportunities for players in the 2100 rating group to get back those points by playing opponents in the 2200-2300 or more as it stands atm.

So it is highly likely that a player, or players, could be improving their games, but their rating does not improve because they do not have the opportunity to improve their rating because they do not play people rated above them as much as they are playing people rated below them.


Garvin Gray    (2010-05-12 08:55:30)
Entry fee for higher class tournament

Options 1 and 6 are the only options in my opinion.

As I have already commented many times now, if you allow people to just buy their way in, then it creates disadvantages for those without much money and goes against the grain of this whole site.

While I am voting for option 1, if it is a choice between anyone can pay to enter a division up or there are no promotion opportunities at all, I WILL CHANGE MY VOTE TO OPTION 6- NO CHANGE AT ALL.


Garvin Gray    (2010-05-12 08:59:48)
Entry fee for higher class tournament

Thib- I really think this voting idea is the wrong direction indeed.

The number of votes that you will receive will be so small as a representative of the whole site that it is not representative at all.

Furthermore, those voting most likely will not have read all of the history, counter-arguments and posts that have been made explaining why things are being proposed.

I am getting quite frustrated at reading some of the posts. I really would just like to see option 1 enacted by yourself, even for a trial period of one year.

One year might seem like a long time, but considering that this rule would only apply from when new tournaments have started, it could take a while for tournament winners to become apparent and then for them to accept their entry and then for those 'going up' to have achieved results that are worthy of analysis.


Lazaro Munoz    (2010-06-03 19:23:41)
Number of rated FIDE players

FIDE has always had a bit of an elitist streak with rating, but also most national tournament administrator do not send in tournament reports from local events to them so that is another reason why do not the expected bell curve of ratings.

The traditional method for a lower rated player to get a FIDE rating was to play in major open event such as the World Open and hopefully play against a FIDE rated player. But since these events are broken in under-xxxx (by ratings) sections, most lower rated players never get a chance to play against a rated opponent unless they were brave enough to enter to top open section.

ICCF had a similar elitist attitude but that has changed in recent years; however at in countries that have a established national CC federation, you use to need to be a member of one to play; it use to be you needed to be invited by your national federation, but that part has changed and as long as you a member of national CC organization you can enter any ICCF that you qualify for (based on ratings).

BTW, ICCF has announced a Webserver open tournament that is free to anyone that does not currently have an ICCF rating. If you have one (ICCF rating) you can join via your national fed or at the ICCF site; I found that the ICCF site was more expensive than going through the national federation.

--laz


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!


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-07-28 16:21:55)
Match vs. ICCF

No, there were no FICGS vs. ICCF match yet. We lost our two previous matches against IGAME.RU (with engines, against a very strong team mainly from Ukraine! the site died since that time) & GAMEKNOT (without engines).

I doubt that ICCF will be interested in playing such a match (maybe Gino or anyone involved can say it), but maybe someone can throw the idea in the ICCF forum, like I did in RybkaForum... who knows after all.


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-08-01 15:50:59)
Match vs. ICCF

Salut Xavier ! Merci pour la proposition, et en effet (mis à part le fait que j'aie du mal à trouver de bonnes raisons à l'ICCF de jouer un tel match - à part la passion de la compétition) l'un des problemes majeurs dans l'idée est que quasiment tous les meilleurs joueurs du site sont également actifs à l'ICCF... A chacun de choisir peut être, ou bien seuls les joueurs actifs sur un site seulement pourraient jouer, pas de choix simple :/

________

Well, Xavier may submit the idea directly to the ICCF president, but one more obvious problem is that most of the best FICGS players are also active members at ICCF... If such a match would happen, the selected players would have to choose... Or only players active at one server only may be included in a team... no easy choice :/

Or maybe FICGS, ICCF and players wouldn't care about all this and only want a nice match that wouldn't mean anything, why not :)


Jorma Hakkinen    (2010-08-07 22:45:53)
Match vs. ICCF

Why not? But there are players at both sites; can I play against me;-))


Andres E. Leon    (2010-08-11 00:41:41)
Future Rating Question

I am sorry to bother you, but I do not understand why the system does not take into account three of my last four games, in the moment to calculate my future rating. For example, the last game that I finished in the FICGS__CHESS__RAPID_A__000075 tournament was:

Game 39469

Last move : 1-0 2010 July 3 22:30:1

[Event "FICGS__CHESS__RAPID_A__000075"]
[Site "FICGS"]
[Date "2010.01.20"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Leon,Andres E."]
[Black "Faust,Dieter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1904"]
[BlackElo "1980"]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.Qg4 Kf8 8.Bd2 Qa5 9.a4 Nbc6 10.Nf3 c4 11.Be2 b5 12.O-O bxa4 13.Ra2 Ba6 14.Rfa1 Bb5 15.h4 h5 16.Qg5 a6 17.Bc1 Kg8 18.Qd2 Nf5 19.Bf1 Rh6 20.g3 Re8 21.Ba3 Rg6 22.Bh3 Rh6 23.Rb1 Rb8 24.Bxf5 exf5 25.Qe3 Nd8 26.Ne1 Ne6 27.Ng2 Rc8 28.Qf3 g6 29.Nf4 Nxf4 30.Qxf4 Rh7 31.Bd6 Rg7 32.e6 fxe6 33.Qh6 Qd8 34.Be5 Qf8 35.Re1 Rc6 36.R2a1 Kf7 37.Qxg7+ Qxg7 38.Bxg7 Kxg7 39.Kf1 Kf7 40.Ke2 Rb6 41.Rab1 Rc6 42.Kd2 Ke7 43.Kc1 Rc7 44.Kb2 Rc6 45.Ka3 Rc7 46.Re5 Kf6 47.Rbe1 Bd7 48.f3 Rc8 49.Ka2 Rg8 50.Rb1 Bb5 51.R5e1 Rc8 52.Rb4 Rg8 53.Rg1 Rb8 54.Ka3 Rb7 55.Rgb1 Rg7 56.Rg1 Rb7 57.R4b1 Rg7 58.Kb4 Rc7 59.Rh1 Rh7 60.Rh2 Rb7 61.Ka5 Rh7 62.Rg1 Ke7 63.g4 fxg4 64.fxg4 hxg4 65.Rxg4 Rh6 66.Rh1 Kd6 67.Rb1 Rh8 68.Rxg6 Rxh4 69.Rbg1 Rh2 70.R6g2 Rh3 71.Kb4 Rh6 72.Rg8 Rh2 73.R1g2 Rxg2 74.Rxg2 Be8 75.Ka5 Bb5 76.Kb6 Kd7 77.Kc5 Kc7 78.Rg7+ Bd7 79.Rh7 a3 80.Rh1 Be8 81.Ra1 Bb5 82.Rxa3 Kd7 83.Ra5 Ke7 84.Ra1 Kd7 85.Rh1 Kc7 86.Rh7+ Bd7 87.Rg7 a5 88.Rh7 1-0

Besides, I am playing the FICGS__CHESS__WCH_STAGE_1_GROUP_13__000008 group of the WCH, and I already finished three games.

Game 45063 Leon - Leclerc
Game 45064 Piantadosi - Leon
Game 45065 Leon - Dsouza

In one of them less than 10 moves were played (Game 45063 Leon - Leclerc ). However, in the other two games more than 20 moves were played, but when I finished these two games they were not taken into account in my future rating. Some of these games, particularly the Game 39469, I like very much and I spend a lot of efforts. It is a bitter that it is not used in my rating. I am afraid that the system is not actualizing my future rating, Can you help me to understand what is happening?

Again, I apologise for this inconvenience and I appreciate any help, thank you very much.


Daniel Parmet    (2010-08-17 20:08:37)
Speeding up Poker games

time controls here are a joke. I love everything about this site and the hardwork that Thib has put in. Still I will not sugar coat it. A spade is a spade. The time controls are slower than molasses.


Wayne Lowrance    (2010-08-21 03:52:15)
Newest/oldest posts first

On the other hand if you have not visited a post your gonna have to scroll all of the way to the bottom to find out what its all about. The way it is now is the normal way, I prefer it
wayne


Daniel Parmet    (2010-09-19 01:54:20)
Corr. Chess Maxims

You're missing the point that what you're suggesting is EXACTLY the opposite of what is proper. I am 80 pts lower, I am 10 billion trillion points lower, I can still offer a draw. Period.


Daniel Parmet    (2010-09-20 00:13:09)
Corr. Chess Maxims

I'm not attacking you. I'm attacking your silly ideas which I've proven 100% wrong and you have yet to defend in any way. You are attacking me. Therefore, your own quote defeats yourself. Irony for you.

I think its best to finish this note on the fact that most players who play this game have never read the rules. Not for USCF, FIDE, or any of the sites they play on. Try looking up the draw rules sometimes, you might be shocked to find out about the fact that no place would ever honor your maxim.


William Taylor    (2010-09-23 01:42:30)
Road to Grandmaster

Hello FICGS friends,

On the 1st of September I started a chess website - http://roadtograndmaster.com - which documents my attempt to become a GM (otb). The first post and 'mission statement' can be read here: http://roadtograndmaster.com/?p=11

Of course I realise the goal is extremely ambitious, but I'm going to give it a shot. :) I probably won't be playing much serious correspondence chess for a while, as I'll be focusing on OTB games, but I'll still be keeping a few games of one sort or another running here. Comments/suggestions about the site or the goal are welcome.

Will


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-09-23 11:03:26)
Road to Grandmaster

Very good idea! The site is nice and I'm surprised not being able to find a few other blogs like this one... and it will motivate you even more to reach the 2500 mark for sure! Please keep us aware :)


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-09-28 20:55:02)
Next freestyle tournament

Finally... the next freestyle chess tournament will be held on october 30 & 31, 2010 ! It will be announced everywhere on the site very soon.


Garvin Gray    (2010-10-01 13:21:12)
WCH Stage 1 groups (new players)

Colour allocation- There are two answers to this, the most pure solution is to have double round robin groups. If this means six player groups and more groups in total, so be it, but at least it would solve the issue.

Berger Pairing Tables- It seems that the round robin groups are not paired using the Berger Pairing Tables for single round robins, why not?

If they are not, then they should be, solves all these issues of colours. This should be the case for all round robins on this site.


Garvin Gray    (2010-10-06 01:37:29)
Colour allocation change in WCH round robins

Currently in the WCH Stage 1 groups (new players) thread, there has been a side discussion occurring about allocation of colours in round robins on this site.

Since Thib has said that he is open to discussing it in a new thread, this is a new thread.

I have made mention of the berger pairing tables, which is the accepted format in otb round robins for how to pair round robins fairly.

The Berger pairing table for seven and eight player round robin is now provided:


Round
1 1:8 2:7 3:6 4:5
2 8:5 6:4 7:3 1:2
3 2:8 3:1 4:7 5:6
4 8:6 7:5 1:4 2:3
5 3:8 4:2 5:1 6:7
6 8:7 1:6 2:5 3:4
7 4:8 5:3 6:2 7:1


Garvin Gray    (2010-10-06 14:43:08)
Colour allocation change in WCH round robins

Thib: Is there a table to view for how the pairings are made on here? From looking at the pairings from my current WCH group, I was struggling to find out how the pairings are different from the 7/8 berger pairing table.

I am seed 1 and I have white against 2, black against 3, white against 4 and so on.

Seed 2 has black against seed 1, white against seed 3, black against seed 4 and so forth.

I think this is right, but without the tables provided for this site, I can not confirm this.

I am not sure whether seed 1 should be white or black against seed 2. This is because the TER rules mean that if seed 1 ties with seed 3, then seed 1 progresses regardless of which colour.

Which colour seed 1 is allocated probably means more depending where in the serpentine pairings the group 1.

If it is group 1, then seed 1 will be playing seed 22(overall)(seed 2 in Group 1) and then seed 23(overall)(Seed 3 in Group 1).
But if we are talking about Group 11, then it is a battle for seeds 11 and 12. Seed 3 in Group 11 wil be around seed 33(overall).

I am not fussed either way, but this would depend on alot on what tables are used for pairings on here.


Garvin Gray    (2010-10-08 15:26:38)
Colour allocation change in WCH round robins

Hello Daniel Parmet,

In the other thread WCH Stage 1 groups (new players), in your first post-

Further i've noticed that the color pairings tends to be very very bad for seed 2 & 3 but great for seed 1 & 4.

As seed 2 I get black against 1&4 as seed 3 I get black against 1 4 but as seed 4 I get white against 1&3. Yet these color disadvantages are not at all included as a tiebreak in any way.

From looking at the pairings posted above by Thibault about how colours are determined on this site, I believe your post contains a factual error which does not help your argument at all about the unfairness of pairings on here in the context of colours.

On this site-
Seed 2 is black against 1&4.
Seed 3 is WHITE, repeat WHITE, against 1 and 4.
Seed 4 is BLACK, repeat BLACK against 1&3.


Garvin Gray    (2010-10-08 15:29:24)
Colour allocation change in WCH round robins

Now that I have seen the full list of pairings used on this site, I can not see any difference between the berger pairing tables that I have listed and the pairings used here.

The order of games is different, but this is because Berger Pairing Tables are normally used in otb tournaments, whereas on here all games are played at the same time, so no need for separate round game allocations.


Warren Porter    (2010-10-08 20:01:55)
Colour allocation change in WCH round robins

I have had a suite of webpages to produce and support Berger round robin tables for several years now:

http://home.comcast.net/~wporter211/realsite/chess_etc/rrpair.htm


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-10-20 12:40:03)
In Chessbase & forums

Hey, looks like I missed many things, William became a chess star already with his website! There was an article in Chessbase & numerous discussions in chess forums...

http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6725

http://france-echecs.com/index.php?mode=showComment&art=20101014033737124 (french)


Jimmy Huggins    (2010-10-22 10:25:55)
Strong Tournament at Rybka Forum

Hi to all the FICGS players! In the last few days there has been in the works a strong tournament on the Rybka Forum. I know that most of you play a lot of games not only here but on others sites. I have been looking into the interest of having a type of World Chess Corr Blitz Championship. With the time controls being 2 to 3 days per move. There will be a time out or some kind of extra time system in place to get you a chance to AN critical positions. As of now there are discussions on the Rybka Forum for a Tournament Format that would be comfort to most of the players who play. I have been talking to the person who does the web design there and would are working out a new sub forum to keep this tournament organized and working a clock system so everyone can keep track of there time. I'm also having a prize fund organized to the top 10 finishers. Not so much for give money to the players, but as more a means to keep all the players interested and not have any problems with aborted games. This tournament will have 3 TD's to help with any problems that may come up. We are planing on having the tournament just after the new year. I have the interested of Wayne Lowrance and Ruben Comes has said he will play. If any are interested in playing in a World Chess Corr. Blitz Championship or if you have any questions or comments. Let know on here or your can leave a message on the rybka forum my user name is "thehug"


Jimmy Huggins    (2010-10-25 01:30:27)
Strong Tournament at Rybka Forum

Thanks for your continue interested Wayne! Yeah as of now. I think we are doing a two game per round(1 white and 1 black) set. And I think there are players who will being playing a one game at time approach. And to help with the time difference we are working on a quicker format to help offset the time difference. I still believe that Havery Williamson will still consider playing if the gameload is not that great. Even if he still declines I think with yourself I have 3 or 4 players that are inside the top 25 on this site. I'm hopeful that devassal thibault can help me get the word to the other top players in a effort to get a couple more of the top 50. It will help when I finally can have a 100% idea of the format. I'll you posted on here or on the Rybka Forum. When we finally have more or all the details worked out.
Jimmy


Sebastian Boehme    (2010-10-31 20:00:30)
Eros Riccio wins the 3rd Freestyle Cup !

Also here goes my 50 cents about the tour.

First of all: Thib, very nice tour. Without you we would not have such nice events. FICGS rocks!

Secondly: Congrats to Eros, who made a last minute join and made me think: oh maybe he is out of shape, but you proved the opposite!

Last but not least....am grrrrr about my own performance a bit. I think time management I need to practise a little better next time. ;-)

Many regards,
Sebastian


Sebastian Boehme    (2010-10-31 20:11:04)
Creating an opening book

Hi Garvin,

Book making ia for example in my case always been a very time-intense and manually tuned process. I never do import any outside games to my book.

Guidelines on how to starting out in creating an opening book you can find (or probably have already found), here:
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=11798

That site got some useful links

General rule of thumb, work on each system one by one. My favourite example: I as white play 1. e4 and Black replies 1....f5, so the Elephant Gambit arises.

Now I want to find good white moves for it, so I enable in my Book allow move adding and check my Correspondence and Playchess Games database for the replies of white. Also I see what major engines think about the moves offered by the database in say 1-2 minute analysis and what these engines themselves gotta offer. This way a reply to the elephant gambit (or maybe more) for move 2 of white can be found.
Also not in any case 1-2 minute analysis will be sufficient. You need to figure this out for yourself.

The less time intensive process: Create a database where you import games filtered by very well chosen criteria (for instance recent games i.e. 2008-2010). Then import the database games into a new empty book.

That's all I know about how it could be done.

Sebi


Wayne Lowrance    (2010-11-02 22:18:30)
Strong Tournament at Rybka Forum

yep, I am aware of both sites. That is not the problem as I see it.
Those sites are good if you have arrived at 6 man positions. The problem occurs far before that during analysis. Example player(a) in deep analysis with his hardware/programs determines that a 6 man tablebase will occur and player (b) with his hardware/program is unable to verify that and thus will object to 6 man ruling as He cannot verify it. Not much time will be saved I am afraid if the game continue until the current position is a 6 man position.
Of course a lot of communication can resolve it for player (b) but that is a big work load for someone. So I am very much in favor of the idea, but do not see clear solution to it.
Wayne


Patrice Gosteli    (2010-12-13 15:49:25)
Improvements to score Go games

Salut Thibaut.
Je découvre ton site depuis peu, et j'adore.
Le go est pour moi le principal, mais je vais essayer d'apprendre le poker.
Je ne comprends pas '' the fast move mode'' ?
A+


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-12-13 18:52:48)
Improvements to score Go games

Salut Patrice! Merci, même s'il y a encore beaucoup à faire...

Le mode "fast move" nécessiterait une petite explication dans l'aide, en effet... On a le choix entre envoyer un coup en 1 étape (en visualisant la position finale avec javascript) avec le mode "fast moves" ou en 2 étapes (en visualisant la position finale en HTML uniquement) avec le mode "slow moves".

Si "slow moves" est indiqué dans la page My games, c'est que l'on est en mode "fast moves", mode par défaut pour les nouveaux joueurs. Dans ce mode on peut également envoyer le coup automatiquement (sans avoir à presser le bouton Send) avec l'option "touch move" dans Preferences.


Patrice Gosteli    (2010-12-22 14:35:43)
7 players tournament with fee & prize

Hi!
I wonder since my ''initiation'' to your site if a lot of members enter the fee systen. I have belived it was mostly for the poker fans.
I supose you think of a tournament with fee & prize to the big majority of chess players.
What about a GO tournament with same conditions?


Thibault de Vassal    (2010-12-25 03:01:57)
Paypal box in My messages page

A small question, what would you say about the Paypal box in the My messages page?

1) It is useless
2) It is annoying
3) It is not clear that the site is free
4) It is not important, so why not
5) It is just ok
6) Something else

I hesitate between 3 & 4 actually...

Thanks for your help :)


Jimmy Huggins    (2010-12-29 23:17:16)
WBCCC news

That maybe, But I went a head and posted the message I got for him on the Rybka site here.

http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=20039


Jai Prakash Singh    (2011-01-04 08:00:30)
New site on Chess Thinking Systems

Hi Chess Friends,

Now you can visit my new chess site
http://chessthinkingsystems.blogspot.com/

and suggest me some improvements.


Jimmy Huggins    (2011-01-12 21:10:14)
Edward Kotlyanskiy vs Eros Ricco

That may have been the most beautiful tactical and combative match. I have ever seen, its says a lot since I've followed a lot of Wch matches on different sites.

Both players who have very similar artistic styles of play. Both made a lot of interesting problems for there opponent to solve. In truth one got the feeling the Edward Kotlyanskiy tired to hard at times in the match to beat Eros. But such a statement can be seen as an insult to him. But its not true at all because. Not many will have the resolve to play Eros Ricco that way.

Congrats to both for a match I won't soon forget.


Jai Prakash Singh    (2011-01-13 07:16:17)
New site on Chess Thinking Systems

A new site on chess Training also

http://chesstrainingsystem.blogspot.com/


Jai Prakash Singh    (2011-02-05 17:23:36)
New site on Chess Thinking Systems

Hi friends,

Now watch Chess Video "How to break 3000 rating in blitz chess" packed with valuable advices by GM Igor free at

http://chessthinkingsystems.blogspot.com/


Garvin Gray    (2011-02-27 09:28:07)
Plea for classical rating help

I do not have a solution for what I am about to whinge about, but it is a situation I am getting a little tired of on this site and I see the situation as rather terminal to my participation here.

For the last 12 rating periods, I have had a rating between 2100 and 2200. In the one tournament where I got to play a field with consistent 2200's, I scored 50% or better.

What I am noticing more and more is that for me it is impossible to get opportunities to find out what my true standard is on here.

I am continually having to play people rated around myself or below and these includes those who are provisionally rated 1800 or 2100. When these games are drawn or lost, my rating is dragged down quite a bit.

I do not ever get the opportunity get those points back by playing people above 2200.

It is an issue that I am so sick of and I feel that my progress is being stunted because of it. My rating progress is certainly being stunted.

We do have the higher ticket idea, but that still takes six months to win one and that does NOT help a persons rating all that much.

With the WCH cycle as it is, I also do not have an opportunity to qualify straight through to group 2, like those with higher ratings do.

As I said, this is a bit of a whinge, but I really am sick of this issue and would like some more opportunities to try and find out what I am like against higher rated opponents.

It is part of the reason why I have also asked that the top rateds in the WCH are not segregated from the lower rated as they are atm. I think they should be made to start from stage 1.

Only the defending champion and possibly the defeated previous finalist should receive preferential treatment.


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-02-27 21:20:59)
Plea for classical rating help

I don't know if only the defending champion and/or finalist "should" have any treatment after all... That's the whole debate of the FIDE WCH and I wanted to make it quite the opposite way.

On the opportunities for 2100-2200 players to cross the 2200 barrier, your last 4 ratings were 2160, 2157, 2160 & 2135. The tickets system also allow you to enter the CLASS M (2200+) waiting list for 10 Epoints if your rating is above 2150. I'm not trying to sell anything there but it is an option that is dedicated to help in such cases.

On the WCH cycle, maybe another idea would be to "extend" the M Groups idea to the 2200-2300 players. With 2200 to ~2400 players in these groups, there will be more strong players in Stage 2... I'm not sure about the whole consequences but it may be worth a try, what do you think?


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-02-28 21:02:18)
FICGS chess World Championship #9

@Garvin:

I suggest that all 2200+ players (but the 8 of the knockout tournament) play the M group at stage 1 OR that all 2100+ players (but the 8 of the knockout tournament) play the M group at stage 1 with the new rule that only half the players in these M groups can qualify for stage 2 and still 1 for stage 3. This combined to another new rule that would allow new members declaring to use a chess engine (not so many so far, maybe 20%) when registering would have a provisional rating of 2000 would solve IMO this issue (2000-2100 players would lose less points to those strong provisionally rated players during the wch) and would help to somewhat inflate the ratings that would be a logical thing when seeing the whole correspondence chess standards at the other sites (some already use this 2000 prov. rating). The ratings may even deflate due to the 10 moves rule. Actually I think I would be very favourable to one of these changes.

@Jimmy:

Fortunately there are players like Garvin, Scott, Gino & others who really helped to build the FICGS rules :) On the numbers of players by rating range, it is quite different from a cycle to another, sometimes we have 2 M groups, sometimes there is no M group at all so I'm not sure if it would be representative. Still I'm not favourable at all to have groups of provisionally rated players.


Daniel Parmet    (2011-02-28 23:29:13)
Plea for classical rating help

I feel I have the same problem as Garvin. But it does not bother me as much as I consider playing otb the real place for improvement. I just use corr as a chance to test my otb ideas. However, I still try to seek out the strongest players I am allowed to play. The restrictions I have found in most correspondence sites though is that I am not allowed to play the stronger players. The 2150 rule does not help me as I am at a mere 2100.


Daniel Parmet    (2011-03-02 00:58:02)
FICGS chess World Championship #9

I agree there as well. Thank you for this wonderful website. I do not want you to feel like our comments are against the great things you have done. I think we all just want to see the best FICGS we can see.


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-03-02 15:44:26)
FICGS chess World Championship #9

Hi Garvin :)

The main point is IMO this suggestion:

"All 2100+, 2150+ or 2200+ players (but the 8 of the knockout tournament) could play the M groups at stage 1 with the new rule that only half the players in these M groups can qualify for stage 2, while the winners will qualify for stage 3 as before.

Combined to another new rule, that would allow new members declaring to use a chess engine (not so many so far, maybe 20%) when registering to get a provisional rating of 2000, it could solve this issue.

Indeed 2000-2100 players would lose less points to those strong provisionally rated players during the regular wch groups, while they keep more chances to qualify for round 2, and it would help to somewhat inflate the ratings that would be a logical thing when seeing the whole correspondence chess standards at the other sites (some already use this 2000 prov. rating).

The ratings may even deflate due to the 10 moves rule."


Daniel Parmet    (2011-03-07 19:24:44)
FICGS chess World Championship #9

How hard is really for these people to play 9 games? I would amend choice 5 to say no provisional unless they provide another corr website they play on to get a point of parity for their rating (like LSS/ICCF). I mean really the players most likely to timeout are those who have never played a single game of correspondence ever in their life.

I would also point out that if the special rating group is extended to 2100 then I won't be playing. No reason for me to play stage 1 if i'm top seed.

Why did the groups get changed from 8 man groups to 6 man groups?


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-03-07 21:45:17)
FICGS chess World Championship #9

Well, I see that the idea of "equal chances for everyone" is still in the debate, that's quite strange as I thought it was obvious & accepted that such a thing cannot exist in correspondence chess.

No correspondence chess championship format can give equal chances to everyone because there is no time for this, and to try to do it only gives less chances to the best player to win it.

The way IECG & ICCF do it has probably as many advantages & inconvenients as we do it at FICGS but at the end the efficiency is quite similar to find as accurately as possible the best player among the highest rated ones IMO & everyone have NOT equal chances (either you have to play a few rounds more or there is a TER rule or whatever).

I'm not saying that one format is better than others, some will like the FICGS format, some will prefer other formats, that's all IMO. Do not think that the WBCCC format solves all problems, it tries to avoid the time problem but the number of players is very limited in the running edition.

Finally, why to play another ICCF/IECG championship here?

I think that there is no argument that can justify that all players (including the 8 players of the knockout after all) should play in regular groups, as well as no argument can justify the opposite. It was just a choice to make it different and somewhat looking like the old FIDE championship.

That's why choices 2) & 4) are really best to me. 2) may be better because the range 2100-2400~ may be too large for M groups, but another solution may be to build M (2250-2400)& N (2100-2250) groups like it was done in one WCH cycle, where the number of qualified players were different. Actually the idea of class groups with different numbers of qualified players is really interesting but of course, the chances are not the same for everyone once again.

Whatever the choice, surely it will not be ok for some players for any reason, but I'm now quite sure that a change should be done.


Jai Prakash Singh    (2011-03-23 03:50:19)
New site on Chess Thinking Systems

Petrosian System link is now active at

http://chessthinkingsystems.blogspot.com/

or directly

http://chessthinkingsystems2.blogspot.com/p/petrosian-system.html

Please read and comment.


William Taylor    (2011-03-30 19:04:59)
Active rating lists

Hi Thib,

The 'Active' rating lists currently filter out people who haven't connected to the server for 2 months. I think it would make more sense to filter people who haven't made a move in a game of that type for 2 months, as currently the lists contain people who are not active in that game type at all. For example, the poker list contains lots of people who have never played a game of poker on this site.

Will


Don Groves    (2011-03-31 03:30:35)
Active rating lists

I agree with William. In addition, I would like to see players who have never played any game after joining the site removed from all rating lists. Their presence tends to distort the lists.


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-04-05 11:49:56)
FICGS Birthday?

Hi Paul-Iosif !

For the story, I remember how Paul-Iosif joined FICGS because he is the first & ONLY member not from my personal friends who joined FICGS even before I announced it (which was a true surprise to me)! I remember that you found it through Google that indexed FICGS before that there is any friendly link pointing to it (probably thanks to a "whois" website).

Thanks Paul-Iosif for being still there 5 years later :)


Harshil Meraiya    (2011-04-24 10:20:30)
Active rating lists

Actually it's outrageous. I've been playing for 1 yr and haven't lost single game. still my rating is 1767 while persons just joined and playing no game at all have 1800. Such a stupid site. I'm leaving this site. Nothing is more idiotic than this! Such a waste of time!!


Rodolfo d Ettorre    (2011-04-26 03:22:43)
Active rating lists

Hi Harshil, when I joined my ranking was 1400, now it is over 2000. I only played one class d championship. If you try to play chess rapid tournaments or the ficgs world champion with players whose ranking is higher than yours, you may progress faster. About the ranking system used here, it is pretty standard, you will find it in others chess sites or clubs.


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-04-27 12:40:42)
Active rating lists

Obviously such changes are not good, but not doing these changes would be just worse... for Poker this is different, new players can estimate their level, existing players with no rating start at 1600, but it is quite easy to reach 1800.

For chess, maybe it should have been possible to start at 2000 from the start of the site (as it is possible in some cases at other sites), but by experience I thought it was too much, and engines are stronger today. Well, actually better would be to have a test to estimate a provisional rating... Still it wouldn't be perfect and not sure it would be appreciated :)


Jimmy Huggins    (2011-04-29 11:23:50)
WBCCC-New stuff and Round 2 Update

Hello everyone! Its been a while since the last time I have updated. I would like to talk about recent happening. Then I will give an update on the games for this round.

I have had some talks with a few players. And I would like to announce that starting next year there will be more prizes. Besides the money prize next year. I haven't decide yet how many of these I will have yet. And its possible there could be more ideas to come by. Please also know that there will be money prizes still this is just something on also to add to the interests.

1.Subscriptions to annotated games. For example Chess Today, Chessvibes, chesspublishing.com and Opening Master. There can be others, these are just examples. If you have other good ideas here please post. Most likely this will be a combined prize here.

2.Rental time on the new Rybka Cluster- Not sure how exactly this one would work. It could be a lot different in a years time for the Rybka Cluster. But I think this would have some interests.

3.Hardware- Again not sure how I would do this. But I would probably have it as a middle to high end setup for a prize. Hardware is always a every changing process its hard to know what is good at that time.

Any other suggests are welcome. Probably the best realistic prize is the first one. If I have multiple prizes like this. The way it would probably play out is like a lottery system. Start with the winner and work your way down. On what they want and go 2nd, 3rd etc...

The last prize to talk about.(And maybe the best) I have had talks with the people of chesspublishing.com and next year. Whatever game is voted for "best game of the round". Will have there game analyzed, by one of the titled players on that site and have the game published. I will try and have it open to everyone that follows the games for the WBCCC.

The next thing of interest for next year. Is that we will have a conditional move system in place. It was thought in a blitz setting to be a great asset to have. For example if your opponent is in a different time zone than you and the next move to you would be a force move. It would be nice to have this option to make the forced play. Without having to say up late at night to make this obvious move. This is all the new stuff. Round 2 Update to come.


Jimmy Huggins    (2011-04-29 18:36:20)
WBCCC-New stuff and Round 2 Update

B1-CumnorChessClub (Kevin E.Plant) vs Moz
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21180

Kevin makes an interesting choice here with 2.a4!? vs the Silicon Defense. Not exactly sure what he wanted out of the opening. I can only guess he wanted to mix it up here. Anyway, black equalizes fairly quickly and is better. But after 18.a5! He finds the best way to equalize and both agree to a draw.

B2-jitan vs Loboestepario (Gino Figilo)
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21181-

The somewhat unknown Jitan has had a good tournament. And is given his ICCF SM opponent all he can handle. In a game that is still going. Gino is down a pawn, but it appears to be a draw and I would guess the game is about to finish. This was an interesting approach by Gino who gets in b5 and h5 very early in this game. And Jitan plays the most naturally looking sac. 13.Nbxd5! it looked like for a long time Gino was in trouble, but he has found enough resources IMO. A well played game by both players.

B3-Fulcrum2000 vs Mark Eldridge
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21182

This was a nice French game to watch. The novelty move was ..11.Na5, OTB I would like white in this game and I had a feeling that white possibly could have risked an attack, but this game came down to endgame play and White was able to outplay black in the end.

B4-Kamesh vs Stephanie
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21183-

In my opinion this is the most important game the round and it is reaching its fianlly stages. I believe Stephanie to be one of the top players in this event. She has been doing well, but Kam has played the near perfect opening and got her in trouble. If you remember my previous post you remember I talk about Stephanie was in time trouble. Which has not help the cause. The one move I enjoyed the most so far in this game was 36.Ra5!, this was a nice exchange sac. And its given Kam nice pass pawns on the Queen-side. I would guess this game will be over soon. It has been a nice game to watch.

B5-David Evans vs National12
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21184

A battle of the English Countryman here. :) This was the Open Defense of the Ruy. Form the comments I got, it seems that the opening was played about as perfectly as you can get. David posed some problems to Paul(National12), but it ends in a fairly easy draw. One finally note ..10.d4 IMO is a very difficult move to beat.

B6-ppipper vs jitan
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21168-

This is one of the finally 4 games still playing. What looks like to be a draw here. The white black has been dancing for a few moves now, but blacks back rank is weak. That equals a drawish game. :)
This game started out form B90 and so has a ton of theory.

B7-indrajit_sg vs Wayne Lowrance
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21186

I fairly quiet B90 game. I don't think white got much out of the opening. Well played by Wayne here.

B8-tomski1981 vs Uly
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21187

A battle of good friends here. IMO I thought white played the this Queens pawn opening passively. And so we had an early draw at move 26.

B9-Sebastian Boehme vs Schachmatt (Matt O'Brein)
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21188-

This is one of the 4 last games. And I have to say its been a good game. We had an interesting Sicilian position. I had thought black was in trouble. But after he tripled up on the d-file. Then got massive exchanges. He looks like its headed toward a draw.

B10-Weirwindle vs donkasand
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21189-

This was a nice positional Sicilian game. Although it ends in a draw. Its a must see game! Watching the drawing combo at the end is very beautiful. It starts with ..27.e4! and you can watch it form there.

B11-Ruben Comes vs Balabachi(William Fuller)
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21190

Ruben opened up this rep with 3.h3!? and we ended up with a closed type of Sicilian. But his opponent stayed strong. Though out the game. Even if it looked like Ruben had some pressure. In the finally position.

B12-ralunger (Ramil Germanes) vs keoki010 (George Clement)
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21191-

This game saw the Exchange variation in the Queen's gambit. It has a high rate rate. But to Ramil credit he manage to give George a couple of weak pawns in the endgame, but not enough for any real advantage.

B13-Omparakash vs natmaku
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21193-

I would have hoped for more in this game. As I'm a lover of the 6.Bc4 (Sozin) Sicilian. After 14.e5!? this forces unneeded exchanges. After which, the game looked like a draw. And that is how it ended.

B14-deka vs Scott Nichols
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21194

Usually the Exchange Slav is pretty drawish. And this game was no different. But both players did try to mount some kind of advance. Both had good posts on each others side of the board. But a drawish opening is a drawish opening.

B15-TheHug (Jimmy Huggins) vs parmentd
(Daniel Parmet)
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21195

I tried my luck in an opening that was not something with e4. And it didn't go as well I had hoped, Daniel was able to get a equal position fairly quickly. In my try at making new theory in a very uncommon line vs the King's Indian Defense.

And finally we have this last game.

B16-SpiderG (Peter Marriott) vs Banned for Life
http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=21196

This would have promised to be a nice Larson Attack game. By alas Peter timed out in this game as well. I would have loved to seen this attacking game with both sides castled on opposite sides.

Well that would do it for my reports for this round. This was a great round, and the next promises to be great as well. I will post info for the next round after the last game is over with.

Any feedback is welcome!


Jimmy Huggins    (2011-04-29 19:39:52)
WBCCC-New stuff and Round 2 Update

Well promotion is going to be important. And I have been talking to some people about it and seeing what I can and should do. After this tournament is over, there is a good chance we will have a top tier freestyle event after that. It will be before WBCCC II. It will be a good way to promote a nice tournament. I know a some of the FICGS players would like to play in such a tournament. As far as OTB GM's maybe lol. :) I think getting more titled players form ICCF, here, and other sites is possible. I have about 5 to 6 sources I will promote heavily. Add a couple of others. I'm going to be ambitious and say we can get 60+ players in next year. And maybe more. It will be a great 6 round tournament next time. Since it will probably go the whole year. I will try and add something for vacation time in there. If we go over by a month or something. That would be oh ok.(For WBCCC II) and thanks for the compliment. :)


Paul Valle    (2011-05-03 23:40:03)
Starting Rating

First of all: This is a great site, and love the fact that the Thib interacts with users to improve the site. Many decent chess sites out there, but this is rare.

When it comes to starting ratings, I would like to add some ideas for improvement:

The point of ratings is that they should reflect playing strength.
Likewise, the goal with starting ratings is that it should reflect actual playing strength.
Rules for both should be as equal and fair as possible.

Assumption:
I) the composition of «Active Players» and their ratings here on FICGS, are a valuable source in guesstimating a new players rating. Most players here play aided by an engine and the site is free, so players here should reflect what comes in the door.
(BTW My minimum definition of an «Active Player», is someone who has made at least one move in the period leading up to the official rating list.)
II) Lightning rating is a good estimate of Correspondence Rating.

I further believe that any choices or complications made to the FIDE rules of one starting rating fits all, should mostly be done to aid good Advanced Chess Players, and good OTB-players. Such complications might not be fair, but essential for FICGS to be relevant to the elite.

My proposal:

«Newly Regs» have a choice of THREE options upon starting to play correspondence CHESS on FICGS:

A) Start with a set rating. I would suggest this be set at the average or median off all Active players. Or a fixed numerical constant times this average. You could of course set up all kinds of formulas, but the main point in should reflect the current composition of FICGS members and not estimates based on unverifiable data given by the player.

Some players might feel that they are way better than this and might be discouraged to join and fight for a long time to reach the top tournaments they feel they are entitiled to play. The seccond option is created to encourage these players to join, and give them a choice to prove their skill relativly quickly and accurately.

B) Play 10 preliminary lightning games (starting with the same rating as in A), and then using the end lightning rating as the starting rating for normal tournaments. These players will get a much more accurate starting rating, and may be well motivated to put in the effort if they care. (If all the 10 games went close to 60 moves, and both players used all their time, the playing time would be around 16 hours)

Then there are the top international correspondence or Over-The-Board players. Why bother these with 10 lightning games?

C) Titled players can start in Master with a higher fixed rating (same as in option A, but multiplied with a higher constant), but must register by credit card to prove identity.

Possible drawbacks and problems
1) Assumption I and/or II is flawed
2) A poor player might be highly overrated choosing option A)
3) Players can dump lightning rating points to a friend
4) Implementation cost – development

-What ya think folks?
reg, Paul


Wayne Lowrance    (2011-05-26 01:23:39)
I am exhausted

Thibault Eros & friends.
I am exhausted. At 81 years I cannot play chess to my standards. Recent events have drained me and I do not know what to do. I dearly love this site, it has been good to me, I met a lot of friends but I cannot any longer function at the level I expect of myself. Please forgive me. May I drop out of current WBCCC matches with Eros.
Thanks to all for being my friend
Wayne


Jai Prakash Singh    (2011-05-31 20:44:13)
New site on Chess Thinking Systems

Read a review and get Maximum discount on GM Igor Smirnov Courses at

http://chessthinkingsystems.blogspot.com/


Jai Prakash Singh    (2011-06-03 05:04:07)
New site on Chess Thinking Systems

Now watch six chess videos "How to Plan and Execute in Chess", "Breaking Stereotypes series 1,2 & 3", "How to prevent Blunders" and "How to break 3000 rating in blitz chess" all by GM Igor Smirnov free at

http://chessthinkingsystems.blogspot.com/


Sebastian Boehme    (2011-06-08 02:45:02)
Improving visibility of draw offers

Hi guys,

have posted it in chat and thought I give it another shot here in forum too.

Sometimes players can maybe not see the draw offer, due to stress, playing the move quickly...
I know there is the little message box, like a letter below the game board that says "Draw has been offered".
But maybe there can be an improvement,i.e. a sort of colour....have seen it from other chess sites and there for example a red button
above the board has been implemented.

Or maybe some sort of red frame around the board in design could work it out. So in case of draw offerit gets visible.

I do not want to say players are too stupid to see a draw offer or anything like this, but maybe see it as a simplification for your eyes.

Just a wild idea, looking for comments, or not. ;)

Cheers,

Sebastian


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-06-13 18:44:21)
Unable to login for several days?

Hi all,

It looks like a few players are still unable to login (actually to access the whole website) during several days from time to time.

I thought I solved the problem a few months ago and I did not encounter this problem since that time, so I'm not sure about what happens for these players.

A trick may be to enter https://ficgs.com instead of http://www.ficgs.com in your navigator, it does not work every time but it may help sometimes.

If this issue happens to you, please describe what you can do and cannot do here... Let's try to figure it out.

Thanks for your help!


Gino Figlio    (2011-06-17 17:39:28)
Unable to login for several days?

I was unable to connect to the website for 24 hours with my home computer but did not have problems using my cell phone. This morning everything was fine. I guess this might be ISP related.


Sebastian Boehme    (2011-06-17 20:06:01)
Unable to login for several days?

I tried to log in from work via Internet Explorer, first site does not load, but it says run diagnosis tool for connection check so I clicked on that....and la voilà everything fine.

At home the site loads fine under Firefox for example.
Could it sometimes be a just browser-related issue?


Lalit Kapoor    (2011-06-28 10:39:04)
When a player declared winner?

The following tournaments are finished with no unfinished games but site does not declared the winner so far:

1. FICGS__CHESS__RAPID_A__000093 (last game finished on June 16, 2011
2. FICGS__POKER_HOLDEM__TOURNAMENT_C__000049 (last game finished on May 24, 2011.)

Please let the players know about the rules upon this issue.


Daniel Parmet    (2011-07-09 15:39:26)
Active rating lists

No matter my complaints, I am still *VERY* happy with FICGS and Thib. This site is the best correspondence site I've ever seen.


Wayne Lowrance    (2011-07-09 19:43:59)
Active rating lists

MY two cents worth. This site is terrific and Thibaut is very, very active in keeping it rolling.
Wayne


Don Groves    (2011-07-10 05:00:20)
Active rating lists

And that's what matters most, that Thib keeps working hard to improve an already terrific site!


Gino Figlio    (2011-07-15 07:17:43)
Case of resignation in WCH tournament

Finishing games early in a tournament can cost you if the player you agreed to draw ends up losing interest and either resigns many games or withdraws.

Having said that, resigning games in equal positions could be grounds to a complain to the TD who may then question the player. If there is a valid explanation (health reasons for example) the player could be given the chance to submit games for adjudication instead of resigning.
I think the system should be ready for a change of results in these rare circumstances.
If the player does not have a valid reason for resigning games in equal positions the he should receive a penalty that prevents him from joining tournaments for a period of time (2 years maybe). The games should be sent to adjudication also. It's a lot of work but the effort provides a sense of added value to the site


Wayne Lowrance    (2011-07-19 05:57:38)
More statistics for every player

Yes, Thank you so much. I try and keep up with all here. I love this site and it has been a very part of my life.

wayne


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-08-23 12:25:19)
Comments anyone?

Hi Scott, sorry about this, happens from time to time but I keep an eye on this. It shouldn't last...

I cannot satisfy the second suggestion, it would be too dangerous as the chat bar is visible on the whole site, I prefer by far everyone to be able to delete spam or insults... However I may refresh the chat bar every 5 minutes or so... To be continued.


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-08-24 12:24:56)
Comments anyone?

Spam, insults or whatever would be visible on the whole site during hours, maybe more. It happens not so often but it may happen (that's why most sites do not have such a chat bar).


William Taylor    (2011-08-24 13:33:12)
Comments anyone?

Thib - can you see who has removed messages? If so, perhaps you can caution people who remove them for no obvious reason, and remove their ability to do so or ban them from the site if necessary.


Rolf Staggat    (2011-08-24 14:13:00)
Comments anyone?

On nearly every site I know only the moderator and the author are able to delete a comment. Other persons only can ask the mod to delete a comment, when they tell the reason why (abuse of "free speech" to miscredit someone f.e.).
I think, this should be here the same. When I do not like a comment, I might answer - or ignore it.


Don Groves    (2011-08-25 00:38:34)
Comments anyone?

I like Jimmy's suggestion. Pick a few members whose judgement you trust and allow them to delete any message. Many sites have have more than one moderator -- one person cannot be online 24/7, not even Thib ;-)


Philip Roe    (2011-09-18 05:19:36)
Phantom ficgs

When I am in the ficgs site, a second tab opens spontaneously in the ficgs format, and bearing some random message from the real site. The message scrolls across the page from right to left. I kill this tab and it returns after about a minute. It carries a label in the tab box "Message box 1"

Does this happen to anyone else? how do you get rid of it?


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-09-27 11:43:12)
About lag (timestamp system) for bullet

Just answering a question I just saw in the chat: no, there is no timestamp system at FICGS. Actually I made those bullet/lightning/blitz time controls while I had the worst (!) broadband in the world (until last year), according to me it was long enough even for a few seconds lag. The other reason is that I experienced the timestamp systems on ICS and other sites at this time and it didn't work so well. Anyway, we should probably use a software to use this system, and cheating would probably be possible then.


Vjacheslav Perevozchikov    (2011-10-03 06:00:05)
my IP banned?

Hi! I can't enter the site for some time, the pages not loaded at all. But when using proxy I can be here.

What's the reason for banning my IP or IP network from Ukraine?


Garvin Gray    (2011-10-05 14:56:35)
Chess world championship #10

Hello Thib,

Instead of the site showing the list of names in order of entry, would it be possible to show them in rating order?

Or to provide both lists?


Guillaume Schub    (2011-10-11 11:36:01)
Change country settings

Thanks for the change.

I think it is quite a limitation. What if I had both nationalities, or actually change my nationality (a frind of mine who lived in GB actually asked for the british nationality).

Anyway, that's no big deal. Thanks for all the good work on this website !!!


Jimmy Huggins    (2011-11-28 10:38:22)
WBCCC 2 sign up and WBCCC 1 review

After an exciting WBCCC 1, Own Champion ppipper (José Sanz) wins with a finally score of 7.5 out 10. FICGS top players were in a tied for 2nd with Timothy Cookson, Sebastian Boehme, and Ruben Comes. Credit also has to go to David Evans who had ppipper as White in the last game. And went all out to beat him. In the end Jose pulled out the win with black. For those interested I highly recommend you read this article. About the champion talked about his tournament games.

http://www.chesscafe.com/chessok/chessok.htm

Now I wanted to go a head and open up the sign up for the 2nd edition of WBCCC and tell everyone about the improvements and add ons.

The first major improvement on WBCCC is that it will have a simple to use conditional move system. With our easy downloadable client we use. There is also going to be a 2nd tournament for those who prefer a little more time than own standard tournament of 30days per side. In the 2nd tournament that is going to be called Rybka Forum Grand Prix. Is going to be 30day for the first 40 moves and 30 days Sudden Death after that. So basically you get 30 more days for 40 moves on your clock. Now here is a few more things to know about the tournament. After each move, if you request it. You can have your move noticed to you by email. This is good for the busy person who doesn't check the game forums all the time. The other thing added to the tournament is that there will be a file on hand for everyone to check to see what sites everyone plays on it a head of time. This is good for guys who like to prepare for there opponent. As for other fun things offered. I finalize with chesspublishing.com that they will help for own best game per round and the winners will get there games analyzed by the top players there and will publish them on the forum. Which I can expand to here and the other forums I promote at. For some were scared of the time control, but in truth we only had 2 games time out, but this was because they left there games. Which was a disappointment, but 2 games over a whole tournament was very good! If you maybe interested, but are unsure about the time. I recommend talking to me and when can have a test game to see if you can handle it. Most know with in a week or 2 if they can do it or not. Thanks for the support of Thib and everyone that played this year and anyone that will try this next year!

Jimmy


Garvin Gray    (2011-12-15 18:10:53)
5 player double round robins

Thib, are you saying that you are considering creating a whole new third category of chess tournaments?

We currently have standard and rapid, all seven player tournaments. Are you proposing that we have a third category, which are five player double round robins?

If you are proposing a whole new third category, then I am not in favour of this idea. We are having enough issues filling the tournaments we already have, I think adding a whole new set of tournaments will just make this situation worse, where players are sprinkled around the three events, but not enough join one particular one to get any of them started.

We have enough players on this site that tournaments should be able to start. So it is not like we are completely short of players in certain categories.


Daniel Parmet    (2011-12-17 07:37:30)
Holiday

I agree with Lehnhoff. No change to vacation should be done! Bad vacation rules are enough reason to quit playing on corr sites. Ficgs has good vacation rules.


Don Groves    (2011-12-22 06:57:24)
5 player double round robins

I second Stephane's comment. If all tournaments were 5 person DRRs, tournaments would begin sooner and very likely more games would played on the site. It also eliminates any perceived white/black advantage or disadvantage.


Thibault de Vassal    (2011-12-22 18:47:03)
5 player double round robins

I agree that more regular games would be played on the site (on the white/black advantage also), but wouldn't it mean less players in the championship cycles?

It would be somewhat more difficult to control the number of total running games and IMO it's less fun also but anyway I'm ready to consider a change for the whole tournaments structure (for chess & maybe Go) if most players think it's a good idea, I'll send an email to all players about that (and other things) very soon.


Scott Nichols    (2011-12-28 22:48:20)
5 player double round robins

I do think it would, at least in part solve the main problem, nothing is 100% as we are finding out on that forum tournament. I think these days, seriously, if you put 10 Chessplayers in a room, you would have 9 different opinions. Maybe we could have a test to see if any of these ideas work. We need more input... If these ideas don't work, it's no big deal. This is still the best site out there IMHO, :)


Garvin Gray    (2011-12-29 16:11:44)
Different tournament format

Thibault has touched on an issue that I have thought about for a while, so time for a new thread.

Regularly it is discussed about the issues regarding the rating bands, getting to play different players and all sundry similiar issues.

In my opinion I think what this site really needs is more events run under the correspondence style format (not freestyle cup style), where players of significantly different ratings are playing against each other.

Here is what I envisage:

Qualification Stage:

All players of all ratings enter. Groups are divided up similar to Ficgs, except that no players are segregated, so the highest rated player is in Group A, second highest rated player in Group B and so forth.

Even numbers in each group, with a maximum of nine players in a group. There are no substitutes after a group begins.

There are no special groups for the highest rated players or knockout matches. (this is most important to distinguish this event from the WCH)

Final Stage(s):

The winners of each qualification group advance to the final stages, everyone else is eliminated. If there is a tie for first, then all tied players advance. If only one group is required, then this is the final.

If two groups are required, then it would be semi finals and normal round robin pairings would be used and the cycle repeats to get a final group of .... players.

To encourage the highest rated players to enter and to give everyone else a chance to win something substantial, e point entry fee would be 10 epoints.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-01-01 20:05:53)
Unable to stay connected to FICGS

Quite strange... what browser do you use? Is FICGS the only site you encountered this problem with?


Don Groves    (2012-01-02 00:02:18)
Unable to stay connected to FICGS

I use Firefox. Don't know about any other sites as this PC (with Windows 7) is only used for FICGS games.


Garvin Gray    (2012-01-02 02:05:43)
On rules & players who lost 300 pts

I do not agree at all. I think there needs to be consequences for a person's actions, not just let off with no consequences, perhaps even get an advantage.

If there are mass time-outs, their rating should be returned to where it was (that is their correct playing standard), which means they can not enter the lower waiting list.

The idea that losing on time is part of the game only applies if the game was about 100 moves long and the game was short of time and someone used too much time on one or more moves.

But mass timing out of games is not a general part of the game at all. It is poor form and disrespectful to the site and the other opponents in the tournament and should be punished as such.

If they remain on the same rating, then they should certainly not be allowed to play in the event where they previously entered.

If a player has a legitimate reason for timing out so many games, they can take it up with the site administrator. That option always exists.


Garvin Gray    (2012-01-18 16:52:39)
Standard open : DRR with entry fee/prize

And to add, I really am disappointed about the general direction this whole discussion has taken.

It was not my intention to create a tournament of this style when I asked for double round robin. It was my intention to get one of the standard or rapid's to change over to Double round robin, which has not occurred.

I am really starting to get the feeling that this site is starting to move away from the free part and is moving towards a paid site.

More and more tournaments are having entry fees attached to them, which is fine, but then if that is case then the free part of FICGS should be dropped.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-01-18 17:03:41)
Standard open : DRR with entry fee/prize

Well, I really don't mind if the entry fee is 10 or 30 euro... it could be even free, but would it work? As we had silver & gold games, I just tried to find something between (and it had to be of interest for strong players to play lower rated ones).

The path towards a paid site (as far as I know, much more Epoints are given than taken) will be very... very long :)

The reason for this tournament was mainly that you asked for such a tournament so that more games can start & more quickly, it is also a good experience before to make such drastic changes to modify a whole tournaments category. I'm still not sure it would be a good idea!


Garvin Gray    (2012-01-20 17:45:57)
Standard open : DRR with entry fee/prize

I do not think a few e points either way are going to make a difference to the 2400 players. What most likely matters to them is winning tournaments and titles.

So either way they were not going to enter these events.

Just to start stratching the record ;) my original idea was for these double round robins was for one of the divisions to be replaced with them, not to create a whole new division.

As it currently stands, I really do not see the point of this change as it feels like duplications of other areas of the site.


Costantino Proietti    (2012-02-08 08:43:47)
annotated games

It could be useful to create a section in the site where to post our annotated games.


Paul Campanella    (2012-02-26 19:44:53)
New Player Ratings

I started at a 1600 rating. Personally, I find it completely UNACCEPTABLE that new players start at 1800 because it is a misrepresentation of their poker skills.

I started playing poker approximately a year ago on this site and I had to work exceptionally hard to make it into the top 20. As a past low ranked 1600 player... it was not easy to advance my elo to 1800+. It took considerable time and dicipline to hone my skills and get to the B-Level Tournaments. Playing those lower ranked players developed my skill because it taught me to expect the unexpected and learn all about odds and player styles.

Allow me to present some examples of players in relation to starting point and current rating:

A) I started out as a 1600 player... there were many people that were low ranked. As of now, the only 2 players that I recall advancing from a low rank to the top 20 are Paul Campanella (#16) and Dmitriy Panov (#17).

B) Slobodan Ilic (#6) and Trond Amile (#11) are both high rated good players but the reality is that it is much easier for people like them who entered in as 1800 elo to advance to the top compared to people who entered in at 1600 elo.

Now it seems that all new players get a "free ride" to the B-Class Tournaments and 200 elo points for doing absolutely nothing!

Starting at 1600 elo and advancing through the ranks is the true definition of skill. In order for players' ratings to accurately represent their skills, EVERYONE should start at 1600 and WORK their way up!


Jimmy Huggins    (2012-02-27 04:20:26)
Folding in Poker

I may get smash for this comment, but I have to say it.

To me this isn't chess were we have engines that help assist us in own games and to be honest there isn't a lot of luck in corr chess. The odds of getting someone to fall in your "trap" is very small. Personally I don't care about the ratings that much. There is a lot more LUCK in this game, and yes there is some skill. But not like chess, point is the best person in poker on this site can lose to a guy who doesn't know what the hell he is doing. This would never happen in chess or go or any other game on this site besides poker. In short I think the ratings are give in take and we shouldn't flip out because of a few changes.


Jimmy Huggins    (2012-02-27 07:01:43)
Folding in Poker

Not only that, but it could be a good measure of who really is the best poker player on the site. I live event is a lot more normal for me, you get a little more info form the player like how long it takes him to make his move.


Paul Campanella    (2012-03-05 00:11:09)
FICGS poker ratings

Correction, Scott... you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch because the number one spot will actually be mine one day! :)

I entered my first poker tournament on February 14th, 2011. In barely over one year, I have managed to raise my poker elo from 1600 to 2071 ... an increase of 471 points in, what I consider to be, record-breaking time!

Here is my proof...

http://www.ficgs.com/tournament_FICGS__POKER_HOLDEM__TOURNAMENT_D__000036.html

Considering the current situation, I am curious to know if there is anyone else that has managed to increase and maintain their rating by 471 points in such a short amount of time?

Not only do I have a winning record against you of 60%-40%, I also have a 50%-50% record against Nelson, which is better than almost everyone else on FICGS.

Regarding the experiment, Nelson will have to get by me as well. Since I am one of the only people on this site that does not have a losing record against him... it's not going be an easy quest. :)


Garvin Gray    (2012-03-04 23:47:06)
FICGS poker ratings

I am more alarmed than anything that a person's selfish actions, regardless of who they are, are not only tolerated, but are encouraged by statements like this:

However, following the current rules on general forfeits I think that Nelson should continue his experiment so that we can learn from all this. In my opinion he'll reach the top rankings within a few months (particularly if he plays bullet games) which is quite short compared to correspondence chess.

His actions now affect many players, which includes denying a place to someone in a tournament that he otherwise should not be allowed to enter ie class B tournaments where by all reports he is too good for.

How about we all do this to see how the rating system goes? I find his actions appalling and he deserves to be banned.

If this was done in chess, would the response be the same? If so and someone did it and the same response was given, I would be looking for another site to play at.

I believe people who act like this deserve to have their rating re-set and then spend quite a lot of time on the sidelines. They should forfeit all their games, but not lose any rating points.

What does this site stand for, I think that is one of the main questions? I play poker on here for something to do in the middle of my chess games, even though I am not particularly interested.
My playing of poker will stop if it is treated with such contempt.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-03-05 00:22:47)
FICGS poker ratings

I knew that you would answer this way... And you are right on several points.

I read the rules before to write this, we could envisage to change the rules on the general forfeits issue but it wouldn't probably be so easy to "fix" it. Maybe another discussion is needed.

About chess, this has been done the same way several times for different reasons, see Wolfgang Utesch, Wayne Lowrance... The only difference is that Nelson gave a bad reason (with the excuse that he may have done this to help to find the best rating rules, which was not necessary). But he could have said something else. What would be the perfect rule? The current rule was probably discussed in the forum previously. Nothing better was found, that's all.

Anyway, this site stands for applying rules... and IMO I have the choice between doing nothing in this special case and preventing Nelson to enter a waiting list during 2 months. Nelson was totally wrong to do this... (also because of Paul's previous message that proves that it is possible to climb the scale quite quickly, which IMO goes in the way of not changing the rating rules) but now that it's done, I think that the best thing for the site is to let him continue, at least we'll learn something from this and it will improve the rating rules.


Paul Campanella    (2012-03-05 03:29:32)
FICGS poker ratings

Thank you for the compliment, Scott!

I consider you to be one of the top players and have great respect for you: as both top poker and as a person. You're also a very worthy adversary and our matches are almost always 3-2 (on either side)! :)

Thank you, Thibault, for recognizing my point that it is possible to climb the ladder quite quickly using the current rating system.

I would like to note that it is also possible to climb the ladder without using any strategy. Throughout all of my poker matches on FICGS, I always finished my games (both the winning games and the losing games). I could have easily waited a long time (like some players obviously do on this site) to finish my losing games, but I refuse to do that out of respect for my opponents.

Although poker is a game that requires a combination of luck and skill, I believe that respect belongs here as well. Out of my overall record of 202 completed games, I have won 120 and lost 80. During each game, I was always honorable. For instance, if it is my turn and I know that I am 4 chips away from losing a match 3-0, I will refuse to delay the game and deny my opponent his victory for the next two months even though I have 60 days left on the clock.

Besides, it is my philosophy that the best thing to do when opponent outplays me is to accept the loss, learn from it, and then try to win in a rematch! :)


Alvin Alcala    (2012-05-30 00:55:06)
Ficgs: Number 1 freestyle chess site??

FICGS has a better user interface for freestyle compared to other site. Its just need to sponsor more freestyle events to gain more players. Yes definitely its number 1.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-03-10 16:57:59)
50+ Poker Games

That would be funny too but that's what offer any other poker site.


Scott Nichols    (2012-03-20 17:39:19)
Slow tournament entries

3 days increment! It would be more fun to watch paint dry or grass grow. Some players, and we all know there are plenty of them out there, could keep a totally lost endgame going for over a year, just out of spite.

Which brings up another subject that would help immensely to speed up games without hurting quality.Install the 6-man tablebases on here, or at least let a player claim a win, draw etc when 6-man is reached. In this age of computer chess, if you have the equipment to even sign on to ficgs, you have the ability to go to a tablebase site and see the result. Plus, even the oldest computers, (like mine, :), can find the mate in under a minute in 6-man positions. So for someone to be able to drag the game out just for spite, for me, is a reason not to sign up in the first place.


Don Groves    (2012-03-25 07:52:26)
Go : Zen engine 4 stones away from 9p?

It's offered on a Japanese site. Probably an earlier version though...


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-04-15 13:53:20)
About Pinformant

Dear chessfriends,

Please receive my apologies for a stupid bug that happened yesterday (my entire fault). Some of you may have received an invitation twice for a new social network (pinformant.com) that is dedicated to help to promote FICGS on the internet [technically Pinformant is actually a part of FICGS]. That will not happen again!

A few words on this new website: Pinformant is a kind of "social browser" where it is possible to share and discuss full web pages (soon applications and games) displayed into a single page. It quite looks like a basic social network, but the display is quite new as far as I know - It is also a way to boost shared websites traffic instead of simply "stealing" their content.

Why this new website: I needed a website able to gather more people to have the means (thanks to advertisement) to make a better promotion for FICGS. So your help & participation is warmly welcomed anyway.

Any feedback is welcome as well! Thanks in advance.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-04-16 22:08:04)
About Pinformant

I agree that the site's purpose is not clear enough yet, I have much to do in this way... But one thing is clear, this website has nothing to do with chess but if you personaly use it this way (like I do)!

The interest is (IMHO) that if you like to share web stuff with friends but do not like the way of Facebook e.g. by using real name, things about private life & so on... This is one more alternative. The main difference with similar social networks is that you share full web pages instead of extracts (saves time, boost sites traffic).

To fully use it, like in every social network, you must have friends (so you probably need to invite friends, that can be done easily thanks to a really great script named Adiinviter - that will be used at FICGS very soon). That way the site may become viral - after some work, we'll see.

How it helps FICGS: This year I launched several websites in this aim and one thing is still missing: a massive source of visitors, in other words a big sponsor! Advertising is quite expensive and it will help this way. So you'll see changes here as fast as Pinformant's traffic will increase...


Garvin Gray    (2012-04-20 15:28:37)
Slow tournament entries

Ramil:

When I first came across this site, the rating bands used to be 400 points, and then after a lot of negotiation, debates and cross topics, it was changed to 200, with the even numbers (2400, 2200, 2000) in the standard category, and (2300, 2100, 19000 in the rapid category.

While I understand your point that perhaps these should be changed to 100 point bands as this is what I think the market is trying to say, I think it is an issue of total number of players.

If we had many more players, then each category would fill quicker. Your point is certainly worth discussing and I would not be upset to see it work in practice, but we have had quite a few changes, and another change might just be a bit much for Thibault to consider at this stage.

I could be wrong though ;)


Daniel Parmet    (2012-04-21 01:34:43)
Slow tournament entries

Well my reason for not playing at FICGS (despite the fact it is the best site out there!) has been that I can't play the stronger opponents. The rating restrictions have forced me to ONLY play unrated events here or seek other places to play.

However, other than ICCF which costs money there are no other places to play strong players. I just had the most horrendous chess experience of all time at LSS. So my conclusion is that I have probably reached the end of my correspondence career altogether save the ocassional unrated ficgs game if I notice a strong cue up in one of them. I certainly won't be playing my rating class ever again.

The problem IS NOT the time control. The time control here is lovely. I am curious what Thib's solution might be.


Ramil Germanes    (2012-04-21 02:01:43)
Slow tournament entries

Daniel:

If we have the option to challenge a player of our choice then your second problem is solved.

Your first problem is partly due to negative reactions of players here due to not able to play stronger players but if that is met we all be satisfied and might give good overall reactions about ficgs which might help to attract more players in the long run.

The more important part is the current players here must be satisfied for the site to attract more players.


Daniel Parmet    (2012-04-22 06:50:06)
LSS is the worst Corr server

I was not discussing with my opponent. I feel like corr issues in general are something the corr community should be aware of so I do not share Garvin or Don's opinion. I obviously can't post this on lss forums as I have been banned there. Clearly, posting on forums of a site that is so wildly out of control is a waste of one's time and breath anyways.
Frankly, I am most ashamed of Scott's response above all else. His only problem with 20 games being forfeited is that it wasn't 21 so he could claim an illegitimate win as well - disgusting. Frankly the more I see of the correspondence chess world the more inclined I am to leave it permanently behind.


Daniel Parmet    (2012-04-22 17:08:16)
Slow tournament entries

It is my fault that I don't get to play stronger players? Interesting... logically impossible but I'm curious how you drew such a wrong conclusion.

Of course, whether or not you accept my argument is irrelevant because my argument is why I don't play. It is why others don't play. It is also why many don't sign up. I showed my roommate this site when he wanted to start corr chess and he saw he would be forced to play weak players for years before he'd get ONE decent game. He decided to join chess.com instead.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-04-22 18:49:49)
Answer from Ortwin

Well, here is the answer from Dr. Ortwin Paetzold (LSS/IECG) that he asked me to post here. I'm glad to do it of course so that we can hear from both sides and make our own opinion with:

>>>>>>>>>>

Daniel Parmet is twisting the reality a bit. I take the right to quote my full answers, however as I do not have the permission to do so, I will not post the notes from Daniel to me, unless he quoted it here himself already.

Fact 1 is that Daniel has not read the rules of LSS or forgot about them. There is a function in LSS which lets the webmaster check this esp. in case of rule questions. Therefore he might not have known about the rule, however, when registering on LSS each player is asked to study the rules and to play according to them. I am sure, the same holds for FICGS and any other server.

Fact 2 is that on 4th April Daniel Parmet has lost a game on time by violating the 30-days-rule. The server automatically stopped the game and awarded the point to the opponent, independent from the position. The server also imposed the two week suspension to start a new tournament. The 30-days-rule was installed at IECG more than 10 years ago and I had included it into LSS right from the beginning. Daniel Parmet asked politely why the admin has cancelled his game (which I had not).

Fact 3 is that in my answer about the query why the game was finished, I have answered with reference to the rules:

“Your game was forfeited, because you did not move for 30 days. This is the maximum number of days to be used per individual move, independent of the total amount of time you have left. See the Rules and Usage Section under "Violation of Time Control". This is also the reason of your two-week-suspension. “

In his response Daniel Parmet called the LSS “a joke of a site”.

Fact 4 is that I answered to this insultation:

“Well, it is not my fault that you have not read the rules during the past five years you have played here! To be honest, this is impressing!”

I do not think this is more rude than insulting me/LSS because one has made a mistake!

Fact 5 is that I did not remove him from the waiting list of the LSS Anniversary 2012 as requested, because I thought that – once Daniel thinks reasonably about the case – he might want to continue, esp. as he wanted to continue all other games. Furthermore LSS has a feature where each player can remove himself from the waitinglist of this tournament. This all happened on 5th April! I then forgot about the matter.

Fact 6 is that on 19th April the LSS Anniverary groups were created including Daniel Parmet to one of the groups. As he was no longer suspended that time I missed that he still was on the waitinglist. I would otherwise have tried to get a replacement, which I did in other cases . When he claimed not to play in the anniversary on 20th April, I decided to remove him from all tournaments he was playing. As the tournaments were in an early stage (start date 15th Feb, Parmet finished only 3/10 and 1/12 games in them), I believe it makes less impact to withdraw a player then letting him influence the outcome, esp. as e.g. he would not use a potential qualification to the LSS WC Semi-Final or the Consolation Finals. I commented that action with the following message:

‘I have withdrawn you from this "joke of a site" (your own - wrong - words. It is not my fault that you have not read the rules!)

Thanks for playing here.’

The answer was unfriendly so I decided to cancel the membership permanently.

I would like to thank Thibault for the opportunity to express my view. I do not intend to comment anyfurther in this matter, as I think the two different versions are speaking for themselves.


Scott Nichols    (2012-04-22 21:53:16)
LSS is the worst Corr server

P.S. What if I were in an accident or some family emergency and COULDN'T answer for 40 days. I see the light. Different sites offer different things, this site is still one of my favorites, :)


Sebastian Boehme    (2012-04-23 10:36:38)
LSS is the worst Corr server

I do definitely like this point as well and yes I am also a slow player in general, but that is not because I like slow-food, it is because I am a busy soul.
It is nice that these aspects are taken care of on so many corr chess sites.

Cheers,

Sebi


Garvin Gray    (2012-04-27 04:16:52)
Ficgs World Cup

Please, no replacements. If people can not organise themselves to add themselves to the entry list before the close of entries, they do not deserve to enter.

I think it is fairer to have one or two players not participate in a group than it is to add players after the event has started.

Please do not use replacements. This concept is meant to be the opposite in almost every way to WCH, and the main idea is to keep it as simple as possible.

Having replacements add a complication that is not required. It will also distort the balance on ratings of each group where forfeited players occur.

How do you ensure that each group where a forfeited player occurs and get a replacement? Otherwise you have filled some groups and not others.

See the hornets nest that is created by using replacements. Please do not use replacements, just let the normal standard tournament factors decide the final placings and people in the final stage.


Garvin Gray    (2012-04-29 16:51:39)
About Pinformant

Ok, I still do not get this site. So I will ask an obvious question.

How do we find each other on that site?

And how do we use it for anything that might be relevant to get new members for here?


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-04-29 18:26:23)
About Pinformant

Hi Garvin, If you really want to help, just use it like you may use Facebook or similar sites e.g. share web pages of interest, comment it and invite friends. The site will help (very much) to get new members here as soon as there are about 1000 active members, thanks to ads of course. You'll see it quickly!

To invite friends, just click the earth icon in the top menu on the right and find your contacts in your webmail or social networks (this inviter will be used at FICGS soon, it may not work on IE or Opera though), or follow this link (if you are connected) to find all ways:

http://pinformant.com/user.php?page=friends


Garvin Gray    (2012-05-03 04:23:36)
Slow tournament entries

Gino: That is because you are high rated and so play only other high rated players.

Which is good for you, but I am not sure if that is in the best interests of the site as a whole when it is one of the only formats offered.

Scott: I would like to use swiss pairings and have one game paired a time with a time control of something like 20 days plus 1 hour increment. It short, fast and with only one game, the time control should be long enough.

It will take more than 1 year, but that is not so much of a concern here.

I proposed the group and final idea to fit in with existing arrangements on here.

I would also be willing to do swiss pairings on here, like I do on WBCCC.


Gino Figlio    (2012-05-03 04:36:12)
Slow tournament entries

Garvin,
You imply that I look out for myself only while you attempt to find the best for the site.
Either you don't know what you are talking about or you got it right but inverted the roles.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-05-03 22:57:23)
Slow tournament entries

Many interesting things have been said in this discussion, thanks to you guys for defending sometimes opposite views, that's constructive.

I'm still thinking about all this (not so easy!), I should make a clear proposal within days.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-05-09 01:46:02)
Xiao Tong on his win in 6th FICGS Go WCH

Xiao Tong, winner of the 6th FICGS Go championship, kindly accepted to answer a few questions, here is the first part:


FICGS - Hello Xiao, congratulations once again for winning this nice match. Svante Carl von Erichsen was FICGS champion from the start of the site, after winning 5 championships. What did you think about his play & yours in these games?

Xiao Tong - Mr. Svante Carl von Erichsen is the strongest player I have met on this site. The games are so tough. In the middle of this match I thought I would lose in at least two games. At last I am lucky to have a 4-1 winning.

FICGS - Would you like to tell us a few words about you (where you live, other games you play, Go servers you play on...) so that we know you better?

Xiao Tong - I live in China but when I started to play Go on this site I was visiting France. In China when we play Go face to face, generally it takes 2 or 3 hours. But when we play on the ineternet, we always choose 30sec/move. I always play on TYGEM site, which is a China/Korea cooperated site. Before playing we need to install a client software. You can visit this address http://www.tygembaduk.com

FICGS - Unfortunately you are one of the rare chinese players at FICGS, but obviously they do very well. We all know many chinese Go champions names, could you tell us your opinion on the state of Go in China and in the world nowadays?

Xiao Tong - The past 10 years can be called Korea decade. They won more world championships than Chinese players, because before 1990 few Chinese children studied Go. But when China won several matches between China and Japan in late 1980s, more and more children started to study and play go. And then these millions of Go children grew up. Now Chinese players can get more world champions than Korea. I think besides the several world champions there are 30 young players in China who may win world championships in the future. They aged from 16-25.

FICGS - The best Go engines would now reach a level of 4 or 5 dan, is computer Go something that helps in such a correspondence Go championship according to you (and without revealing your secrets of course)? Do you think it is becoming a danger as it is for chess?

Xiao Tong - I don’t think computer Go engines can do anything. They are too weak.

FICGS - Do you watch other games played by your opponents before starting your games? Do you think that preparation is really important like it is in Correspondence chess?

Xiao Tong - I don’t take much time to analyze my opponents. But I will watch their games to get a first evaluation. World champions need to prepare before the game, because preparation can save their time in game. For me, preparation mean nothing.

FICGS - This FICGS Go championship is still young, what did you think about it? Would you change something, any rule, to improve it?

Xiao Tong - 1, Encourage players to play live games. One game can be finished in 2 hours when they play at 30sec/move. The more they play, the higher the site level will be. 2, when the world champion match is live on net, encourage player watch the games through your site. Let the watcher can bet on the live games. It will be more funny.


Many thanks to Xiao for these instructive answers, to be continued...


Peter W. Anderson    (2012-05-12 09:40:47)
Playing poker for e-points

I don't think this is a problem just because of French law. My understanding is that it is illegal to take on-line bets from US citizens regardless of which country is hosting the service. It happens but it is not legal. As e-points can be traded for money, this could be a problem.

On-line gambling is legal in the UK but sone UK companies have been charged under US laws for allowing US citizens to play on their poker sites. Most big UK on-line gambling companies block US citizens from playing at their sites.

So even if French law changes, be very careful Thibault. You would need to check the law of every country of the players.

I know a little bit about this as I have a friend who is hoping to make a lot of money (quite legally!) from on-line poker in the US (but for obvious reasons I can't say how).


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-05-12 23:26:19)
Playing poker for e-points

Actually the problem really exists in the opposite way... You'd be surprised! French departments really tried to discourage me to organize chess tournaments with money prizes, by making comparisons to gambling games! (and actually I also think that the limit is not so clear) - The problem is that there is no clear law on that issue.

I also know that the previous french government (Sarkozy's one) was to try to make it even harder to do that because of the success of some sites that offer skill money games. So I try to follow all this...


Scott Nichols    (2012-05-18 16:44:21)
Private chat?

Maybe this has been discussed before, I don't know. Sometimes we just want to have a small chat with a particular person. Here there are three options, chat in public for all to see, go thru a series of e-mails (yuk), or leave the site to go somewhere this is possible. e.g. Thib, come to FB, Scott come to Playchess. Is it possible to do something like this?


Garvin Gray    (2012-05-21 15:45:11)
Second match v Rybka Forum

Neel, Planning is only in its infancy and there are many hurdles to overcome.

So stay tuned.

Some of these hurdles include:

Interest from both sites?
Whether we use Rybka Forum's playing client?
If that will be available to all or just RF members?
What the time control will be?
Will players have to play their games on here as well as RF?
Whether conditional moves will be used?
How many players per team?
Is it possible to use the RF playing client, but have games transmitted live on both sites, so all members of both sites can follow the action as it happens?
Will chat be allowed in the games? This could be a sticking point as the two forums run very differently on this issue.
Who plays for which team?

And the list goes on.


Garvin Gray    (2012-05-27 08:36:57)
Second match v Rybka Forum

It has been confirmed that we can use xfccplay for all the games, if we wish.

Xfccplay is a playing client where players can make their moves and they are transmitted live to the Rybka Forum sub forum where these games will be shown live. Hopefully it will be possible to also show them here live.

To pursue using xfccplay further, I need to know if anyone who is considering playing would be not willing to play if the whole match is held using xfccplay, rather than making moves on here.

I certainly do want the second match to be very different to the first. To start with, that no games end with time outs.

Likely format:

Time control: 30 days initial plus 1 day increment.
Format: Each player plays two games against a single opponent
Number of players for each team: As many players as we can get for both teams
Board Order: By rating for those who have ratings on the site they are playing for. Others can be placed at captain’s discretion.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-05-28 16:32:40)
Second match v Rybka Forum

How do we avoid time outs? :/

Well, games may be played on RF (using Xfcc or not) or here, or on both sites (players choice).

Garvin, I'm afraid that games played through Xfcc cannot be shown here but that's not so important if it is viewable at RybkaForum.


Garvin Gray    (2012-05-29 11:54:54)
Ficgs: Number 1 freestyle chess site??

Title is deliberately provocative :)

Was looking to see how many other freestyle chess sites there are and came across this wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Chess

The trend might be changing as Advanced Chess is offered on the correspondence chess server at FICGS as the default mode of play, with special, unrated, "no engines" tournaments being the exception, rather than the rule. http://www.ficgs.com/


Garvin Gray    (2012-05-30 11:05:01)
No access for me to Rybka Forum

Looks like I am able to access the site now. Did anyone else have a period of time of no access at all?


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-05-30 23:44:03)
Freestyle chess interfaces

Oh... didn't see this article before.

Well, I guess that a good freestyle interface should allow the use of an engine just like Playchess does. Playchess interface is not exactly a website though. But anyway there is so much that could be done yet to improve it :/


Garvin Gray    (2012-06-06 13:53:31)
Second match v Rybka Forum

Hello all,

Current discussion here: http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybkaforum/topic_show.pl?tid=24942

Following discussions on RF and now what looks like a completely different format to what I was proposing and ideas I had in mind and seeing what looks like a no compromise situation from the RF side, it looks almost certain that I will not be having anything to do with organising this event, or participating for either side.

When I first came up with this idea of trying to get a second match going, one of the main ideas was to help promote both forums and playing clients to a wider audience, and especially to the better players for both sites.

Now that I see what RF seems to have in mind, or at least what they are willing to accept for playing conditions, I find them wholly unacceptable and contrary to the ideas and purposes originally intended.

The current proposed design really does have a pro RF feel about it, in that FICGS players will have to learn how to use xfccplay to play on here, plus possibly sign up an account, but RF players will not have to do the same at FICGS. I am also wondering, what happens if the high majority of players from both sites say they only want to play on their own forum. This whole competition falls over.

RF 'bosses' have been kind enough to allow xfccplay to be used for these games to make them a better product. I do not think it is unreasonable for RF players to play some of their games on FICGS.

Secondly, the current proposed design also goes competely against another original idea, which was to have the top player from RF competing against the top player from FICGS. And so on down the boards. This current design will most likely result in random board pairings and henceforth likely mis-matches, rather than having showpiece games and at the same time having the bottom players from both sides games counting as much as the top board. Potentially it could now be the top player from FICGS against the two bottom players from RF and vice versa. That is ridiculous.

So all in all, I have proposed a format originally on both sites. I do not see the current proposed format as achieving anything substantial and certainly not in the vein of the original ideas. Had I known the current structure was going to be proposed, I never would have bothered proposing this in the first place.

Unless the current structure changes, I hereby resign as overall organiser and go between for both forums and also as a participant in the second match.


Kind regards,

Garvin Gray


Garvin Gray    (2012-06-08 11:07:00)
Second match v Rybka Forum

Following on from my post above, we will now be going with the format originally posted, which is:

1) Time control 30 moves initial plus 1 day increment
2) All individual matches are two games
3) Players are to play in rating order. - RF now does have some kind of rating system, at least for WBCCC participants. I think more of their players have also come over to here, so have ratings here.
4) Xfccplay will be used for the games played at RF
5) Conditional move system will be used for the games played at RF. Games played here will be using the standard interface.

Both sides are going to have to make compromises. Ficgs players who are not already familiar with xfccplay are going to need to learn how to use it and will also need to join RF.

RF players, who are not members of here already, will need to sign up to here and learn how to use this interface.

I can not give a definite sign up by this date yet as some of the nuts and bolts are still being worked out.

Can everyone start saying if they are going to play? I hope this will be more than just the players who already play in WBCCC as I do hope it is the best players from both sites participating as well.


Garvin Gray    (2012-07-28 01:26:40)
Chess WCH Schedule ?

Sometime way in the future as we have only just gotten the site back.


Scott Nichols    (2012-07-28 01:29:58)
FICGS IS BACK !!!!!!!!!

This brings up the quote, "you never know what you've got till its gone." Been wandering aimlessly to other chess sites, into unfamiliar territory, and sometimes unfriendly. Now again we have a homebase, a place to park our cars! :)


Paul Campanella    (2012-07-29 01:55:41)
FICGS IS BACK !!!!!!!!!

46 days is certainly no joke and I imagine that this was no easy task. Instead of giving up and letting all the data just remain lost, you went above and beyond to recover everything as best as you could. In my opinion, that demonstrates your loyalty, devotion, and determination as the best website administrator around!

On behalf of myself and all of the other members of FICGS, I want to sincerely thank you for looking out for our us doing everything in your power to fix the situation as fast as you could.

3 CHEERS TO THIBAULT DEVASSAL!!!

Now that everything is back to normal... lets all have some imaginary champagne and toast the fact that we are glad that everything is back up and running! :)


Garvin Gray    (2012-07-29 03:24:47)
Second match v Rybka Forum

I am intending to try and get this going again, but will wait a week till everything settles down and we are certain that the website is working as it should.


Scott Nichols    (2012-08-10 22:53:49)
Premium site?

I usually agree with most everything, but I have to say... On the internet there are many, many free chess sites to go to, some better than others. Then there are the paid sites for people who are willing to spend a little to getting a better site and service.

This site is free to look around and very adequate for that. But some of us pay to play the premium features. The amount of down time is becoming a major issue. The first one, hard drive fried, who's hasn't, but since then, 2 more outages that I know of. For a premium site, this is disheartening.


Scott Nichols    (2012-08-10 22:56:41)
Premium site?

Edit: It might just be my imagination, but this all seem to start with the introduction of the social network. Many people love these, I've never seen one.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-08-10 23:38:32)
Premium site?

Since the crash, the server was offline only once (as far as I know) and it is totally my mistake, the other sites on the server have nothing to do with it... After a common update Apache did not restart correctly and I just did not notice :(

I'll be more careful on this point too. Sorry again... Obviously I am a really bad webmaster sometimes.


Scott Nichols    (2012-08-11 00:44:18)
Premium site?

It went down once after crash for about 4 hours and just before my last post which prompted the post. This is my favorite site, and I'm sure you will work it out as always.


Garvin Gray    (2012-08-11 16:41:01)
Premium site?

On a related topic, I am rather concerned that everything relies on Thibault. Surely there should be some sort of safeguard or other people who can monitor and make sure that things aren't missed.


Garvin Gray    (2012-08-11 16:41:40)
Premium site?

Scott, I am a little bit unsure of your actual point.

Please clarify your exact point so I can respond :)


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-08-11 17:33:23)
Premium site?

Hi Garvin, it is true that during the first years a few players and an automatic checker were able to contact me anytime on my phone by email, unfortunately this was not the case anymore this last year but it should be possible again very soon, I'll let you know.


Alvin Alcala    (2012-08-11 21:56:24)
Premium site?

Thib I suggest you do regular server maintenance check. You can have a schedule so everyone is informed. This will prevent annoyance from members.


Don Groves    (2012-08-12 08:40:05)
Premium site?

I agree with Alvin. A scheduled weekly maintenance could help prevent further unexpected down time. And all users would know to do something else with their lives during this period ;-)


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-08-12 10:18:23)
Premium site?

This is a good idea Alvin! We'll do that but unfortunately it will not avoid unexpected problems and short periods of down time.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-08-18 13:16:50)
FICGS backup is now ok!

Well, simple things are quite complicated sometimes (so many limitations on Linux) but finally the backup [site + database] works fine now...

Now the server can bug, crash, explode, whatever... I can completely reinstall FICGS in a few hours from most situations. There should not be more than 59 minutes of moves lost in the process.

- Complete backup every hour on a distant storage space.
- Complete backup every week on another distant storage space.
- Multiple database backup on the server (case of other problems)
- Moves incrementally sent to my email every 12 hours.

So, definitely the recent break shouldn't happen again... I hope so.


Dmitri Mamrukov    (2012-08-21 06:04:19)
This is Russia :(

Vadim, oil prices fluctuated over years. Up and down. The real question is how much revenue the Russian budget received (hence, how good the lifestyle is). In the 1990s, almost none as oligarchs reaped most in their offshores and deposited their "earnings" in Western banks.

"This honey collection is the best-guarded secret of capitalist superiority."

Caribbean Sea Pirates in Crisis
http://www.israelshamir.net/English/Crisis_Ed.htm

That changed after the nationalization (either directly or oligarchs became socially responsible) happened after 2000.


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-12-01 23:09:11)
Houdini 3.0

It seems that Houdini 3.0 is available as a commercial program for a few weeks at Cruxis website.

The 64-bit 4CPU would have reached a 3334 elo rating on the CCRL 40/4 list. This is about 90 points more than the free version Houdini 1.5a which seems to be a great improvement!

I just read on Wikipedia that Houdini was used by Viswanathan Anand [FIDE world champion]... It seems that it beats Rybka 4 in every match. In brief, Houdini is by far the best chess engine nowadays...


Garvin Gray    (2012-12-02 13:51:13)
Problem with new groups for the chess WC

Nick- Did not have the oppportunity???? The waiting list for the wch is open for a month, sometimes even more. Any player who wants to enter can do so at any stage between when the waiting list opens and when it closes. So they have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for four or more weeks to enter.

It is not like the entry period for the waiting list is only open for a couple of days.

The only people who could claim they did not have much opportunity to enter were those who only just joined the site before the waiting list closed.

As for why some of us might be 'getting too uptight'. Those who entered by the deadline have been seeded correctly as per the rules. Which means for some they have been placed in M groups with all those players being rated over 2200.

To now see the possibility of having a weak M group, which means those who have entered by the deadline have now been substantially disadvantaged compared to those who entered late.

I really do not care at all for your 'we are getting too uptight' argument Nick.

Those who respond have every right to debate the pros and cons of what is being proposed.

If you have something to actually add to this issue in terms of finding an acceptable answer for Thibault's conundrum, or wish to try and point out why his solution is not a good one, then feel free to add something to the debate and thread.

A few of us have pointed issues with Thibault's idea and our disagreement with the whole approach. That is our right to do so.

None of us have been abusive, derogatory or demeaning of anyone else, even if we disagree with the other viewpoints.

If I am an example of getting too uptight, in your opinion, so be it, but I do not like at all when players are able to enter late and even more when they look like, or are, getting an advantage they would not have gotten if they entered before the deadline.


Robert Knighton    (2012-12-02 14:45:47)
Problem with new groups for the chess WC

My computer broke down on me about 2 1/2 months ago. I have been without a computer until a couple weeks ago.

I could not have signed up on time :/

And I'd be willing to bet most late signups were for lack of knowledge of the tournaments available, how they work, or that they exist at all. This site is not exactly new user friendly. Getting games is confusing until you understand the unique system being used here. Same goes for finding and entering tournaments.

If I cant get in then so be it; no hard feelings, but if I can get the chance to play, that would be wonderful. What I really want is the chance to play stronger opponents. I'm still stuck in the sub 2k rating bands until more of my games finish.


Wayne Lowrance    (2012-12-05 22:36:06)
Problem with new groups for the chess WC

yes, I am sort of a wildcat person, so I would not expect all to agree with me and all have my respect.
I do understand problems to new comers Entering into a new rating system. Advancing is difficult. Here at this site all are playing Centaur chess. Which means in the end you have to beat the program input to the Centaur. I wish I knew of a way to help you. because of illness I resigned all my current games causing a loss of rating from 2500 to 2280 Wayne


Michael Aigner    (2012-12-19 17:17:23)
The very unofficial World Championship

Final standing: 4,5 : 1,5 for H3 But finaly Cluster Rybka was able to win a game :-)

[Event "105m+15s, unrated"]
[Site "Engine Room"]
[Date "2012.12.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Felix 2, Houdini 3 Pro x64"]
[Black "TryMe, Rybka Cluster 64 Cor"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "201"]
[EventDate "2012.12.18"]
[TimeControl "6300+15"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 {0.34/28 249} dxe4 {0.21/23 216} 4. Nxe4 {0.33/29 0}
Nf6 {0.21/23 186 (Lf5)} 5. Nxf6+ {0.32/29 284} exf6 {0.21/24 0} 6. Nf3 {0.34/
29 154} Na6 {0.19/23 28} 7. a3 {0.34/29 122} Nc7 {0.17/24 60} 8. Bd3 {0.30/29
73} Qe7+ {0.16/24 250} 9. Be2 {0.31/31 0} Bf5 {0.18/25 261} 10. O-O {0.29/30 40
} Qd7 {0.16/25 128} 11. Nh4 {0.34/30 180 (c4)} Be6 {0.16/23 166} 12. c4 {0.28/
29 0} b5 {0.16/22 281 (Ld6)} 13. Re1 {0.27/27 197 (Lf4)} bxc4 {0.05/22 281
(Le7)} 14. Bxc4 {0.28/27 118} g6 {0.04/23 9} 15. Bd2 {0.16/28 564} Be7 {0.03/
24 0} 16. Rc1 {0.16/27 120 (Lxe6)} O-O {-0.01/22 229} 17. Nf3 {0.13/28 75} a5 {
-0.03/22 183 (Tfc8)} 18. Bf4 {0.04/25 142 (Dc2)} Bd6 {-0.15/23 370} 19. Bxe6 {
0.03/28 0} Nxe6 {-0.16/20 31} 20. Be3 {0.00/28 88 (Ld2)} Rfb8 {-0.13/21 269
(Tfc8)} 21. Qc2 {0.00/28 213} Ra6 {-0.14/23 1 (Tc8)} 22. Qe2 {0.05/26 134 (Dc4)
} Qb7 {-0.19/23 186 (Taa8)} 23. Rc2 {-0.04/28 250 (g3)} Rd8 {-0.19/23 338 (Lf8)
} 24. h3 {-0.06/26 88} Be7 {-0.20/22 47 (Lf8)} 25. h4 {-0.04/25 116 (Dd2)} Rd7
{-0.26/24 331 (Td5)} 26. Rc4 {-0.07/26 98 (Dd1)} Rb6 {-0.29/23 190} 27. Bc1 {
-0.11/30 0} Rd5 {-0.28/23 143} 28. Qd2 {-0.11/29 188 (Dc2)} Bd6 {-0.29/23 237
(Lf8)} 29. Qc2 {-0.19/25 141} Kg7 {-0.29/22 0} 30. Re4 {-0.23/24 104 (Te2)}
Rdb5 {-0.34/22 231} 31. Qd1 {-0.21/26 0 (Te1)} Bb8 {-0.43/24 269 (Th5)} 32. Qd2
{-0.26/25 82} Qd7 {-0.40/20 0 (Td5)} 33. Qc2 {-0.29/26 204 (Dh6+)} Qd5 {-0.46/
24 131} 34. Qe2 {-0.36/27 0 (Te3)} h6 {-0.68/21 127 (Lc7)} 35. Rc3 {-0.54/25
164 (Te3)} g5 {-0.91/21 121} 36. g3 {-0.81/27 326 (De1)} f5 {-1.15/22 180} 37.
Rxe6 {-0.59/29 0} Qxe6 {-1.16/22 11} 38. Qxe6 {-0.71/30 137} fxe6 {-1.08/25 0}
39. hxg5 {-0.57/29 0} hxg5 {-1.06/25 15} 40. Nxg5 {-0.57/30 53} Kf6 {-1.08/25
39} 41. Rc4 {-0.62/30 57} Rb3 {-1.08/25 32 (Ld6)} 42. Kg2 {-0.49/30 67} e5 {-1.
07/24 0} 43. Nf3 {-0.51/30 55} e4 {-1.07/25 0} 44. Ng1 {-0.48/31 98} Rd3 {-1.
11/27 56 (Ke6)} 45. Ne2 {-0.53/31 55} Ke6 {-1.08/25 0} 46. Rc5 {-0.55/30 53}
Ra6 {-1.08/26 35} 47. Rc4 {-0.52/30 37} Rb3 {-1.08/26 14} 48. Nc3 {-0.56/28 53
(Tc2)} Bd6 {-1.08/25 78} 49. Kf1 {-0.55/30 0} Ra8 {-1.16/23 58} 50. Na4 {-0.55/
29 4} Rh8 {-1.21/22 52 (Kd7)} 51. Be3 {-0.61/28 59} Kf7 {-1.33/22 17 (Kd7)} 52.
Rxc6 {-0.55/27 51} Bxg3 {-1.45/23 0} 53. Rc5 {-0.99/30 213} f4 {-1.69/26 0} 54.
Bxf4 {-0.99/28 1} Bxf4 {-1.69/26 7} 55. Rf5+ {-0.99/28 4} Ke6 {-1.67/26 7} 56.
Rxf4 {-0.99/28 0} Kd5 {-1.72/27 8} 57. Ke2 {-0.97/31 45 (Sc3+)} Kxd4 {-1.86/25
37} 58. Rf7 {-0.94/31 25} Rh2 {-2.24/24 23 (Th5)} 59. Rd7+ {-1.87/27 45} Kc4 {
-2.11/23 0} 60. Re7 {-2.01/29 103} Rbh3 {-2.53/25 0} 61. Rxe4+ {-1.86/29 61}
Kb3 {-2.58/24 0} 62. Nc5+ {-1.97/30 107 (Sb6)} Kxb2 {-2.55/24 12} 63. a4 {-2.
10/27 31} Kc3 {-2.51/24 24} 64. Re8 {-2.22/29 25 (Se6)} Kb4 {-2.78/23 53} 65.
Nd3+ {-2.30/28 0 (Sb7)} Kxa4 {-2.81/22 5} 66. Rb8 {-2.42/30 53} Rh4 {-2.98/25
0 (Ka3)} 67. Kd2 {-3.12/30 222} R2h3 {-3.30/25 0} 68. Rf8 {-3.07/28 37 (Tc8)}
Rd4 {-3.76/23 71 (Kb3)} 69. f3 {-2.94/25 14} Rh5 {-3.68/23 16 (Thh4)} 70. Kc3 {
-3.12/29 51} Rhd5 {-3.81/24 0} 71. Nb2+ {-3.21/29 34} Kb5 {-3.90/25 0} 72. Rb8+
{-3.23/30 35} Kc6 {-3.96/26 0} 73. Rc8+ {-3.31/29 48} Kd7 {-4.04/27 0} 74. Rf8
{-3.73/31 166} Rb4 {-4.38/26 0 (Ke7)} 75. Nd3 {-3.36/29 38} Ra4 {-4.21/22 0}
76. Kb3 {-3.37/29 31 (Sf4)} Rad4 {-4.24/23 14} 77. Nf2 {-3.43/31 20} a4+ {-4.
50/26 16} 78. Kc3 {-5.40/30 144} Kc7 {-7.45/27 59} 79. Ne4 {-6.34/29 75} a3 {
-7.46/25 63} 80. Ra8 {-6.34/32 0} Rd3+ {-5.11/15 2} 81. Kc2 {-6.52/32 28} Kb7 {
-12.55/22 0} 82. Ra4 {-8.77/32 122} R5d4 {-24.25/25 0} 83. Ra5 {-8.79/31 74}
Kb6 {-32.02/26 0} 84. Ra8 {-10.20/28 45} Rd8 {-61.24/26 0} 85. Ra4 {-11.82/31
46} Kb5 {-62.63/26 0} 86. Ra7 {-7.47/28 38} Kb4 {-60.64/27 103} 87. Rb7+ {-13.
80/27 0} Kc4 {-23.29/26 1} 88. Ra7 {-13.80/22 9 (f4)} Rc8 {-#18/24 351 (Te3)}
89. Kb1 {-13.79/28 24} Rb8+ {-#16/26 171 (Th8)} 90. Kc1 {-10.99/26 23 (Ka1)}
Kd4 {-#17/24 182 (Kb4)} 91. Rd7+ {-12.22/29 73} Ke3 {-#16/26 0} 92. Re7 {-12.
22/25 7} Rc8+ {-#15/29 83 (Kxf3)} 93. Kb1 {-19.95/27 10} Kxf3 {-#15/29 75} 94.
Ng5+ {-#22/35 0} Kf4 {-77.98/20 1} 95. Ne6+ {-#19/34 20} Kf5 {-#13/28 61} 96.
Ng7+ {-#19/34 23} Kg6 {-#13/29 55} 97. Re6+ {-#17/33 0 (Te8)} Kxg7 {-#12/32 135
} 98. Re2 {-#15/39 0} Kg6 {-#11/32 94 (Kf6)} 99. Rf2 {-#15/38 89 (Th2)} Kg5 {
-#11/37 108 (Tcd8)} 100. Ka1 {-#14/36 28 (Ka2)} Kh4 {-#10/39 69 (Kg4)} 101. Rg2
{-#13/36 6 (Te2) Felix 2,Houdini 3 Pro x64 gibt auf (Lag: Av=0.24s, max=0.8s)}
0-1


Garvin Gray    (2012-12-13 16:52:12)
WBCCC 2013

This information is in regards to the World Blitz Correspondence Chess Championship for the year 2013.

It is held on Rybka Forum www.rybkaforum.net.

There is a full sub forum located on that forum that explains a lot of the rules, current list of players and specifics of information.

For a general run down, read on:

My name is Garvin Gray and I am the organiser and arbiter for this event. This event attempts to bring as many strong correspondence and freestyle players together from all the different playing sites, such as iccf, ficgs, playchess, lss and many other sites.

As the title says, this is a blitz event, meaning the time controls are short compared to normal correspondence play. This requires players to devote a greater share of their focus to these games than would normal correspondence play.

This event has been held for two years now, with the 2012 version still in progress. Feel free to browse the 2012 sub forum to see the games and how the structure works.

In the two years of this event, I feel that many new discoveries have been made and advanced freestyle chess knowledge has certainly been increased, to the benefit of all. Those who have participated in both events have gained a lot from their participation and I want to see this continue.

To allow this event to start and finish in one calendar year, we start in mid January and for 2013, it will finish in mid December. The format requires that you will play one game as white and one game as black in each round. There are 10 games in total.

Each round is paired as an individual swiss using the dutch pairing rules, but accommodations are made because each person must have one white and one black game per round.

Kibitizing is allowed and encouraged, but discussions about future positions, game analysis or anything else that could affect the result of the game is not allowed. Feel free to read the thread on game commentary.

There will also be a thread for each round that allows discussion of events during the round, general discussion about games or other general chit chat.

We do seek to provide a friendly, but competitive environment for those who want to advance their freestyle skills, or test themselves against other players from the different sites. This event will take up quite a bit of your time as the time control is fast, the play is difficult and the enjoyment factor high.

This is not meant to be a deterrent, but I feel I should make it clear that you need to be dedicated and willing to play each and every game/round.

Withdrawing or timing out mid game is not acceptable and will see you removed from the event. If you think you can not complete a particular round, it is better to contact me and have you withdrawn from that round. You are free to rejoin the event in these circumstances, but will receive zero points for those two missed games.

I hope to see more entries and good freestyling to everyone.

Cheers,

Garvin Gray
WBCCC 2013 Organiser


Thibault de Vassal    (2012-12-21 00:56:41)
Chess Server Team Tournament

Dear chessfriends,

I just received this proposition to play a "Chess Server Team Tournament" that would be played on ICCF web server:

Any opinion? Who would be interested to play such a tournament?

____________________________

Dear Thibault!

In recent years many friendly matches between different chess servers have been played. It has become a good tradition to organize such matches. A very good idea is to organize a round-robin tournament to find out the strongest team of a chess server.

We invite a team of your server to take part in the first unofficial correspondence chess championship for chess servers.

The championship is unofficial, because ICCF Officials do not head it.

The Organizer and Tournament Director is Pavlikov Andrey Nikolaevich who is experienced in organizing and directing both domestic (Russian) and international correspondence chess tournaments.

Invitations have been sent to administrators of the following chess servers:

Bestlogic – http://www.bestlogic.ru/
Chesshere – http://www.chesshere.com/
FICGS – http://www.ficgs.com/
GameKnot – http://gameknot.com/
LSS – http://www.chess-server.net/
SchemingMind – http://www.schemingmind.com/

Chess Planet – http://chessplanet.ru/pages/game-zone (to play chess on this server one must have a client program which is free to download at main page of the site)


If you have a proposal to add any chess server, it will be taken in consideration.

Regulations of the event
http://www.mocorrchess.narod.ru/wccstc/en/regen.html

Information on the event may be seen at http://www.mocorrchess.narod.ru/wccstc/wccstc.html


Best wishes, Andrey Pavlikov,

Russian Correspondence Chess Association Vice-President,

The Organizer of the event


Dmitriy Malish    (2013-01-12 16:17:34)
Progressive Chess

In progressive chess, every move is a series-move. White starts with a series of 1 move, black answers with a series of 2 moves, white answers with a series of 3 moves, etc.
White starts the game by playing one move, Black answers with two and so on, always increasing by one the length of the series. Check may only be given with the last move of a series and must be defended with the first one.
Example.
1. e4
2. e6 Bb4
Bb4 seems to be ineffective.
3. a3 axb4 Nh3
Nh3 protects f2.
4. b5 c5 d6 Kd7
At first sight Black's moves seem valid but
they leave too much room for White to operate.
5. d4 dxc5 Bg5 Bxd8 Qxd6+
White has a strong position. First, Black must move the
King, and then he needs a least three moves to eliminate
White's Queen.
6. Ke8 Nf6 Nxe4 Nxd6 Kxd8 Kc7
There were not too many possibilities left.
7. Ra6 Rxd6 Bxb5 Ba6 Na3 Nb5++
A nice mate.

What about making this game on site?


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 01:07:41)
FICGS admin scam me

Hello again Horatiu,

Sorry to see that you do not accept to realize that FICGS rules have always been clear on that point (it is specified that it is required for you to read and understand it before using this site), also that this site is not a bank, which is true for all similar websites - at least in France but most probably everywhere.

So here is the continuation of our conversation in the chat room (you have to read it from bottom to top). We can continue it here if you wish, this way we'll not bother everyone with this. By the way, maybe other players who experienced the epoints thing will be able to confirm all this.

Do not worry, I will not delete this discussion, at least this will be informative for everyone (I hope).


______________________



petrescu horatiuadrian :
[Remove this comment] of course ,I just open a topic to see everybody who are you
(2013-01-16 01:00:12)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] I have no problem with this.
(2013-01-16 00:58:59)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] anyway, we can continue this discussion in the forum...
(2013-01-16 00:58:49)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] insults are unnecessary...
(2013-01-16 00:58:28)

petrescu horatiuadrian :
[Remove this comment] and fraud
(2013-01-16 00:58:23)

petrescu horatiuadrian :
[Remove this comment] yes i lost 4 ,is not mistake ?you are a mistake
(2013-01-16 00:53:06)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] ... a bank just by saying it
(2013-01-16 00:51:34)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] because it explains that it's not possible to be...
(2013-01-16 00:51:20)

petrescu horatiuadrian :
[Remove this comment] no gipsy,but then why you told me about L511 code?
(2013-01-16 00:49:44)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] There's no mistake, obviously...
(2013-01-16 00:49:14)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] Then you won 1 & lost 4 silver games...
(2013-01-16 00:49:09)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] I know exactly how many epoints you bought/ when and how...
(2013-01-16 00:47:47)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] What do you expect? finding FICGS rules in french laws?
(2013-01-16 00:44:05)

petrescu horatiuadrian :
[Remove this comment] you are a charlatan
(2013-01-15 23:46:58)


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 01:34:58)
FICGS admin scam me

petrescu horatiuadrian :
is the reality,are you forgot who talking?
(2013-01-16 01:33:16)

devassal thibault :
Okay, just do it... :)
(2013-01-16 01:32:52)

petrescu horatiuadrian :
defaimation,ahahahah ,are you child? is not defaimation this
(2013-01-16 01:32:31)

devassal thibault :
I will not hesitate to use it if necessary...
(2013-01-16 01:30:56)

petrescu horatiuadrian :
boehme this site is scam as long as not pays its members
(2013-01-16 01:30:15)

devassal thibault :
But we have a law in France on "defamation"...
(2013-01-16 01:29:54)

devassal thibault :
I allow you to say what you want here on this story...
(2013-01-16 01:28:55)

...continuation
petrescu horatiuadrian :
and I will post on others forums on internet ,and on WOT too
(2013-01-16 01:26:40)

boehme sebastian :
You seem to forget what this site contributes to chess!


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 11:57:37)
FICGS admin scam me

What you do not understand stupid admin and others stupids which are on his side,that I DO NOT require profit or interest,I am asking ONLY MY MONEY, but less than what I invested, what is so hard to understand ?
This admin invents all sorts of conditions to make HIS OWN bank here.It is obvious.
No other legit site does have a such condition so obvious to robbery his members.
For this reason I was saying I'm going to discuss this issue and on other forums because here are only flatterers of this greedy french admin. Remember : ONLY MY OWN MONEY ,I asked.


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 12:04:07)
FICGS admin scam me

P.S. Have anyone heard about playE4 ? This site have no such terms like ficgs.


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 12:29:30)
FICGS admin scam me

Dear Horatiu,

Unfortunately for you, I also kept all emails that you sent to me and that I sent to you... Now here are the facts:

I sent 30 emails (!) to you to kindly answer again and again what is explained in terms & conditions and Help section. I explained to you how to use a captcha, how to use the site and so on..........

First of all, you forget one important thing: It is required that you ACCEPT and UNDERSTAND terms and conditions BEFORE you register.... Obviously you didn't understand it, I cannot do anything there.

Second of all, you are of bad faith and here is a clear proof:

Among the very first emails (before the one you mention), here is the answer I sent to you:

<<<<<<<<<<

December 14, 2009 - Monday, 21:22


Hello,

It is all explained at - http://www.ficgs.com/membership.html & http://www.ficgs.com/help.html , when you have Epoints, you can play Silver & Gold games, winning Epoints or money according to the results & tournaments...

Best wishes,
Thibault

<<<<<<<<<<


I guess that you kept this one too but you "forgot" to mention it...

Now, I've said enough. I was patient, but now I'll apply FICGS rules (you should read it carefully) and french laws as soon as you act again against me.


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 13:31:54)
FICGS admin scam me

30 emails to me???? When ? Before or now???
You angry because I telling the truth ? The truth is disturbing, right?
I don't know if your site is legit or not with the condition that everybody can play for money and use soft here and not operate only with his brain ,like Garvin Gray which in several moves he defeated me twice.Greedy admin Thibault you must have an security system for those members who want play without machine ,only with their head.


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 13:42:09)
FICGS admin scam me

30 emails from february 2009 until now. I send it to you to your email.

As you can see, I have no reason to be afraid of anything :) You can defend your views, I do not ban you for that. But anyway you are of bad faith, why would you have kept only one email from 2010 and not the others? Anyway, the fact is that I mentioned those terms and conditions while I did not even have to do it because you were registered already.

I'm not angry about anyone, I'm just sorry for you that you do not even know how to use a website (reading & understanding terms is the first thing to do). Then I do not accept insults just like everyone, nothing more.

Finally, this site is perfectly legit and you are free to verify it.


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 13:52:08)
FICGS admin scam me

You are arrogant again ,when you say I don't know how to use a website.I asked you about a button for cashout or not?

And you did't answer me why your site not use a security system implemented .Why you avoid to answer me?


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 13:58:15)
FICGS admin scam me

About the button, I have no idea... What's the point here? If there were a button, it would follow the exact terms and conditions. It changes nothing.

What do you mean by "security system"? We use SSL, like many other sites. What's the point here?


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 14:10:41)
FICGS admin scam me

Ah.... Obviously you really did not read the terms and conditions... actually you don't even know what this site is all about.

Actually, it is specified in terms & conditions that we ENCOURAGE the use of chess engines!

FICGS is a "computer chess" website before everything else.


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 14:54:11)
FICGS admin scam me

Nothing Garvin ,sleep well with your soft machine.:)))).And when you wake up and you are ready for a honest game chess without machines call me and we play on playok website.sweet dreams!


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 15:39:18)
FICGS admin scam me

That's nonsense Horatiu, since this site authorize computer chess, it is perfectly honest to play with machines, and of course I don't have to implement anything to avoid that...

About your money, you bought Epoints... You cannot ask for money just like this, you have to win silver/gold games to claim money prizes according to terms & conditions. You accepted this when registering.


Continuation of the chat:


devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] you just had to click the link...
(2013-01-16 14:18:23)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] the conditions are in the link
(2013-01-16 14:18:04)

devassal thibault :
[Remove this comment] this is the right email! with correct date
(2013-01-16 14:17:39)


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 17:56:29)
FICGS admin scam me

I was expecting at your shit answer,how else can think a man of greed carried to absurd.You are a man without morals and scruples.I cast pearls before swine.
Anand and Kasparov no play against computer for money stupido.You infantile ?
"None here wants to see such a system to be implemented":))) Hey arrogant boy I am nobody? I am member here since 2009.And how you know everybody else no wants ,you asked them ? Stupid and inflated admin.
And how many times you will repeat like a parrot that this site is not a bank so often I will say myself IS A BANK FOR YOURSELF. Everybody can see.


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 18:07:11)
FICGS admin scam me

Garvin,if you say your mind is not lazy ,and if you say I am ignorant ,i challenge you at a fight without using any machine.What do you say you accept ? There are many websites like playok.com where we can play without using programs not how says jerk admin that "it would be very easy to cheat anyway" How you cheat if is an implemented security system?


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 18:10:33)
FICGS admin scam me

Of course I meant players who understood what this site is....

If someone registers while thinking this site is a TV shop website, he may claim that there are no TVs enough to buy on here and say the admin that he should ask all players if they want TVs available to buy but well.... wouldn't it be quite ridiculous?

Players who are not aware that the use of chess engines is encouraged are very rare... The message "As a reminder, the use of chess engines (Rybka, Fritz, Shredder...) is allowed and encouraged in standard chess tournaments." is visible when anyone enters any rated chess tournament.

Is it really necessary to have this message blinking in big size on all pages?


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 18:18:25)
FICGS admin scam me

About cheating on these websites, quite easy... just use a chess engine, copy its moves from one window/computer to another and do not play the best moves all times... playing the 2nd or 3rd best move should be enough to beat most human players...... and do not win in less than 50 moves. No program can detect it. And almost everyone would be able to do that.


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 18:22:38)
FICGS admin scam me

Yes ,2 computers,but you didn't hear about that security system that can track every your move and can detect if you play with soft or not from another computer.That website ,playe4 using this system....stupido


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-01-16 18:24:32)
FICGS admin scam me

If you say so... I hope you'll enjoy these websites.

My best wishes.


Horatiu Adrian Petrescu    (2013-01-16 18:30:14)
FICGS admin scam me

If you will say again even one word against me,or if you will insult me,I will start a war against you and your website on other forums and sites.Do not mess with me scum and greedy man.


Josef Riha    (2013-01-16 19:30:27)
FICGS admin scam me

@Petrescu: you childish Chess Troll, shutup and leave this site if you're too lazy to read the conditions. We can live very well without an unrespectful person like you.


Josef Riha    (2013-01-16 20:00:05)
FICGS admin scam me

Hello Thibault, delete this member from our site. There's no place here for such an Ceausescu-like person. It seems he is living int the past of his country.


Rolf Staggat    (2013-01-21 18:10:26)
Progressive Chess

Another new chess-variant on this site ?
In BIGCHESS one has to wait half a year or even longer for starting a new group. In my opinion, what we need are more players not more variations.


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-03-19 11:25:56)
Vacation: change for 3 days minimum?

I just received a long and detailed private message from a very strong chess player who explained how vacation have influenced some of his games and I must say it was quite a strong demonstration of the issue.

Obviously it is a problem for certain players.

I'm not really favorable to a change here as it will complicate rules and the use of the site but here are the facts:

- Vacation are just rules... vacation may mean anything. So it is ok right now.

- Is it normal to save games thanks to vacation by gaining day after day ? It is just a question of point of view but IMO the answer is no. At least it cannot be done for each game separately, which is a great thing.

So we have a contradiction here.


Finally my proposal is a change for 2 days minimum that I would install in 2 months from now.

I think it would be a fair compromise... It should reduce the effects on the games in the future and it is quite short yet.

Any opinion on this change for 2 days minimum? Acceptable or not?


Kieran Moore    (2013-03-23 13:17:09)
Vacation: change for 3 days minimum?

On another site vacation is divided into two blocks of 20 days.So in most games a player would only have 20 days leave. Its annoying if players use their vacation time to prevent Flag fall as Chess is about tactics and time management. Bad positions tend to cost time, so players shouldn't recover from bad positions by running their vacation days.


Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff    (2013-03-23 13:51:58)
Vacation: change for 3 days minimum?

On other sites vacation can be taken per tournament. That's what I prefer. But I think the current vacation rules on FICGS are ok.


Jaimie Wilson    (2013-04-06 17:04:44)
Thematic tournaments?

Hi Dann,

Yes, under waiting lists - special tournaments. It seems the last Sokolsky tourney was back in 2010. I'm sure there will be another one day - 'good things come to those who wait' could be the motto of this site.


Attila Ba    (2013-05-15 14:46:09)
PGN notation for forfeit, loss on time

Artur Wachelka, the creator of MyChess is a very talented programmer. This was the site where I first started to play online chess. He uses this notation in a universal manner: every PGN has a curly bracket comment at the end of it, including ongoing games:

34.Qb2 Nb3 35.f4 Qe7 36.e5 {in progress} *

and draws:

17.Ne2 Re8 18.Qd4 {draw accepted} 1/2-1/2

therefore they speek for themselves.


Eros Riccio    (2013-05-15 18:41:10)
Eros Riccio on his win in 8th chess WCH

Here is the game where Gino kicked me, it was played on a server called "Chessfriend.com":

[Event "AT-2005-0-00273"]
[Site "Chessfriend.com"]
[Date "2005.08.18"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Riccio, Eros"]
[Black "Figlio, Gino"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B97"]
[WhiteElo "2480"]
[BlackElo "2154"]
[PlyCount "112"]
[EventDate "2005.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Nb3
Be7 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. Bd3 b5 12. Rhe1 b4 13. Ne2 Bb7 14. Kb1 Nc5
15. Nxc5 dxc5 16. c4 O-O 17. g4 a5 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. g5 Be7 20. Qe3 a4 21. h4
Rfd8 22. h5 Rd7 23. Rd2 Qc6 24. Ng3 b3 25. a3 Bd8 26. Rdd1 Ba5 27. Rg1 Rad8 28.
Ka1 Qd6 29. Ne2 Ba6 30. e5 Qc6 31. g6 fxg6 32. hxg6 h6 33. f5 Bxc4 34. Nf4 Bxd3
35. fxe6 Rd4 36. e7 Re8 37. Nxd3 Rxe7 38. Nxc5 Rxd1+ 39. Rxd1 Qxg6 40. Qd4 Kh7
41. Nxa4 Qc2 42. Qd3+ Qxd3 43. Rxd3 Bc7 44. Rxb3 Bxe5 45. Nb6 g5 46. Nd5 Rd7
47. Ne3 h5 48. Kb1 Kg6 49. a4 h4 50. a5 Kh5 51. Kc2 h3 52. Nf1 Kh4 53. Ra3 Rf7
54. Ra1 g4 55. a6 Bd4 56. Kd3 Ba7 {White resigns.; Enddate: 12/3/2005} 0-1


Eros Riccio    (2013-05-15 18:55:23)
Eros Riccio on his win in 8th chess WCH

I have problems in evaluating chess games, how can you say if a game is good or not? To my taste, "unusual" games are the best ones. The one I am publishing is one of the first games I played, back in 2001. After a "unusual" Hyppo-Defence, it was amazing how the Black pieces coordinated for an incredible kingside attack. This is probably my favorite game:

[Event "18 C.I.M."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2001.02.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Calzolari, Mario (PG)"]
[Black "Riccio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2107"]
[BlackElo "2025"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2002.11.26"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 a6 5. a4 b6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Ne7 8. Re1 O-O
9. Bf4 h6 10. Qd2 Kh7 11. Rad1 Bb7 12. h3 Nd7 13. Re2 Nf6 14. Rde1 g5 15. Bh2
Ng6 16. d5 e5 17. b4 Qd7 18. b5 a5 19. Bb3 Rg8 20. Kh1 Nf4 21. Bxf4 gxf4 22.
Qd3 Nh5 23. Rg1 Bf6 24. Ree1 Rg6 25. Nb1 Rag8 26. c4 Bc8 27. Nbd2 Qd8 28. c5
Bh4 29. Ref1 bxc5 30. Qc3 Ng3+ 31. fxg3 Rxg3 32. Qc2 Bxh3 33. Rf2 Bg4 34. Rb1
Bxf3 35. Nxf3 Rxf3 36. Rxf3 Bg3 37. Kg1 Qh4 38. Qd1 Qh2+ 0-1


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-05-15 19:03:28)
Eros Riccio on his win in 8th chess WCH

Easier to watch this way...


... a funny game, indeed :)


Mladen Jankovic    (2013-05-16 08:33:48)
PGN notation for forfeit, loss on time

There is no such notation in the standard. The standard specifies that a checkmate move should end with '#', instead of '+', as is standard here for other reasons. So if someone wins without checkmating it would be easy to understand what hapened.

You have another problem, any draw would, due to the mechanics of the site, be a draw accepted, as the server does not track 3-fold repetition and such (I might be mistaken).

You have another problem, as the moves are contained in a single line, while the standard specifies 255 character maximum (including newline), and recommends 80 character maximum, for compatibility with older software.

While I have not encountered any problems with that, and nobody so far complained, it still is a break from the standard.

The best place to look for how PGN should work is the standard itself: http://www6.chessclub.com/help/PGN-spec


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-05-22 01:22:46)
Eros Riccio on his win in 8th chess WCH

By the way, I didn't see the Riccio-Figlio game... here it is:




Garvin Gray    (2013-05-25 18:44:45)
Playing activity top 20 players

I just had a look at how active the top 20 players on this site are, and apart from one or two players, almost all have either zero or one game active at the moment.

What can be done to make them more active, which gives more opportunities to players lower down the rating list?

Also, with so many not being active, makes it much harder to fill the top divisions.


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-06-05 00:06:55)
Wch cycles possible changes?

Hi Garvin!

Some changes have been made for the chess WCH, about 1 year and a half ago, complicating the rules but not so bad IMO.

I'm not against changes but I'm definitely for coherence... as you know, I think that there is no point changing FICGS WCH going to another round-robin one, just an example. It would kill the original scheme & previous championships value just like FIDE killed its own scheme. I gave my opinion on this when launching the very first championship. Also, I'm quite convinced that constant changes always become bad and hide another problem.

I'm still favourable to create the FICGS CUP with another scheme though! But conditions are not fulfilled... we have no new players enough, numbers are very bad these times. FICGS major problem is here... solving it and most changes proposals become useless.

Anyway, do not think that I will have the last word here for ever, that won't be the case... I only hope that the best decisions will be made for the site.


Daniel Parmet    (2013-06-07 01:07:26)
Playing activity top 20 players

Thib, I already went from a 2100 rating to a 2372 rating (and my rating is still CLIMBING FAST) with to SIM norm events on ICCF in a mere 32 games. While I have played over 200 games on FICGS and have yet to have a SINGLE opportunity to play a strong tournament. My strength grows but my rating does not grow because this site has gone out of its way to establish rating barriers. Why should I push myself to unbelievable lengths to try to break this site's barriers when I have another site that will happily let me play players of my own strength or slightly stronger without any such herculean effort?


Robert Knighton    (2013-06-08 22:37:01)
Vacation: change for 3 days minimum?

@Daniel: The problem with your way of thinking is that it encourages me to play as few games on this site as possible so I can always be able to use my vacation time in that way.

Also if I have real vacation coming up in a few months I wont start new games because I dont have vacation time now to cover it.

end result being less games played on the site because vacation time is easy to abuse?

Even without hard rules being put in place, my opinion would be that using vacation time to get an edge in your games is poor conduct but I don't see how there is any way to completely stop the behavior. Limiting the convenience of it is about the best that could be done.


Don Groves    (2013-06-11 06:09:20)
Playing activity top 20 players

To whom is may concern:

There is no one set of rules that will be acceptable to everyone. There are many game sites on the Internet, so pick one that comes closest to your desired set of rules and be satisfied. That is as close as you will ever get.

Either that or form your own site and discover what Thibault knows far too well - that you will get more complaints than compliments.


Daniel Parmet    (2013-06-11 06:20:32)
Playing activity top 20 players

Don
-
As stated by both Garvin and I many many times, we are not trying to "file complaints" ... we are trying to make THIS site better.


Attila Ba    (2013-06-11 10:10:18)
Playing activity top 20 players

As to 'create your own site of you are not satisfied' I'm seriously considering setting up a big chess site of my own. I like the idea of engine free chess very much but I can't get a tournament running here for half a year or so.

My site is not fully working as yet but has fragments that work (you can sign up, modify your profile, create challenges, view the board and make moves on it etc.).

Should you have any comments on the design it has a forum.

you can find it here:

baatti.com


Don Groves    (2013-06-11 12:49:47)
Playing activity top 20 players

Daniel: Better in whose opinion? You're trying to make Thibault's site fit your expectations. As I wrote above, no site will ever meet all your expectations unless it's your own site.


Daniel Parmet    (2013-06-15 04:38:44)
Playing activity top 20 players

Typical trash response there Don.

I have *already* moved on to ICCF because it fit MY NEEDS. Did you even read this thread? This thread was something Garvin started to make players more active. I responded as player who chose to become INACTIVE to explain that decision. If this site does not change one bit, then fine by me... I have already discovered a site that fulfills my needs. On the other hand, if this site wants to IMPROVE - I want Thib to know I will come support him.


Don Groves    (2013-06-15 06:27:50)
Playing activity top 20 players

Not trash, Daniel, just simple logic. Do you deny that "better" is an opinion? Do you really think Thibault needs your help to improve his site? He did very well before you ever started playing here and I'm sure he can continue just fine without you.


Daniel Parmet    (2013-06-15 16:39:29)
Playing activity top 20 players

Well Don the good news for you is that today my last game officially finished and now I have no reason to connect to this site again! Congratulations Don!

The bad news is that even though I am gone this event in no way improves your lack of logic skills. You will have to improve these yourself.

I know quite well Thib does not *need my help.* And I outlined above my thanks for the amazing job he has done with this place. I merely said if he could use my help that it was at his disposal.


Scott Nichols    (2013-06-18 20:44:03)
Playing activity top 20 players

I have a couple of thoughts. First is ICCF is not better for me than anywhere. The games just take too long. More to Daniels taste for sure. To help this site out, I will say it again, there needs to be at least one fast playing category. Like 10 days, with 1 day increment. This time control is very popular at other sites. Blitz CC is the wave of the future, even in OTB they don't play that slow chess anymore. Another idea is large cash prizes, :), to draw in the big guns. People are willing to pay more to get more. A couple of small things you could do Thib is offer a 2 e-point prize for most active player in a rating cycle and one for the player who improved the most in that same cycle for all 3 categories, chess, go and poker. Just some ideas...


Robert Knighton    (2013-06-19 02:22:03)
Playing activity top 20 players

I found iccf website to be mildly confusing to navigate and the inability to play games without paying money on iccf is annoying as well thus I don't play there.

The ability to play faster time controls like Scott suggested would be nice particularly if there were a 1v1 option like what we have for advanced games now.


Alvin Alcala    (2013-06-21 18:51:04)
Playing activity top 20 players

Blitz and Rapid Fide events are becoming popular fast. I agree with you Scott, Thib should grabe this opportunity I'm sure a surge of new faces will com to play in this site.


Robert Knighton    (2013-06-24 14:53:02)
Anyone play Semi Slav Botvinnik as black

it's too bad there is no way to play 1v1 unrated games at CC time controls on this site. I would gladly play a couple games like this on the side if there were.


John Dyson    (2013-07-07 14:37:07)
Download

Can anyone tell me how to download chess games from this site in words a 3yo can understand please? I have Chessbase if that's a help.


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-07-15 14:16:39)
Interview with new FICGS Go champion

Yen-Wei Huang, winner of the 8th FICGS Go championship, kindly accepted to answer a few questions for this very interesting interview!

_______________________


- Hello Yen-Wei and congratulations for winning the FICGS Go championship! Xiao Tong was obviously a tough opponent, yet you won 5-0, what happened during this match?

Hi Thib. Thanks again for your kind invitation. Xiao is definitely one of the strongest Go players on FICGS, and I was really, really lucky to have won all five games. In fact, I was behind in three of them until Xiao made some mistakes late in the games: in game 69092, I forced a tough ko fight which jeopardized my lower group. Xiao made a mistake at P2 as he missed my T3 could force another ko. Game 69093 was very close towards the end but I think the move at C13 caused him the game. Game 69096 was even closer that I won by half a point thanks to the big 7.5 komi. The other two games were not easy either and I am glad I could have hung on to the lead. Overall I really enjoyed our match and I would love to have a rematch with Xiao in the future.

- You're from Taiwan, could you tell us a bit more about you? At what age did you learn Go? Do you have any other ranks (e.g. at other sites)?

I learned Go when I was 5 and I have always enjoyed playing all my life. I used to play on servers like KGS and Tygem and I was around 6-7 dan on these sites. Recently I don't have that much time to play so that's why turned to turn-based server like FICGS.

- What do you think about the world of Go these days? Who is the very best player in the world according to you?

I think the past two years were the "warring period" in the world of Go. I would say Lee Sedol was the best player two years ago, but he seems to have lost his dominant position recently. There are many rising stars that are winning the world champions. I am especially keeping an eye on Yuta Iyama, who I think is No. 1 in Japan and has started to threaten the dominance of Chinese and Korean players.

- What about computer Go and its future? How many years do you give to the human before losing to the machine?

As a software engineer I foresee the computer Go beats the world's No. 1 player in two decades. Crazy Stone already beat Yoshio Ishida with four handicap stones earlier this year, and I believe it wouldn't take long for computers to beat pros in two handicap stones. The real challenge will come when computers need to go from handicap games to even games since they need to advance from defensive mode to attack mode. I am really excited to see how Artificial Intelligence can surprise us with its "creative" moves when the time comes.

- Do you use engines or databases? What advice would you give to beginners (and to your future challengers :))?

I know there are many useful Go engines and databases that are being developed these days, unfortunately I don't really know much about them. I do use http://ps.waltheri.net/ if I need to look something up, and I go to http://tom.com for commented games (they're in Chinese, nonetheless). Advice to beginners: just go to any search engine and you can easily find all the free resources you want. Advice to my future challengers: just try the new variations since I know none of them :)

- What new features would you like to see at FICGS?

Firstly I'd like to thank Thib for maintaining such a wonderful site. I enjoy playing Go and Poker here and maybe I'll start playing Chess sometime (I really suck so I'm not ready to embarrass myself yet). The ability to play different games is what makes FICGS unique. As Thib mentioned earlier, we need much more players, and I think FICGS simply needs to host much more tournaments, probably some with shorter time settings. With more games and more player engagement, more people will stick around. Another feature I'd really like to see is FICGS client for cellphones/tablets. The main advantage of turn-based servers is that it allows people to play wherever for whatever period of time: a 1-min ride in the elevator, a 10-min wait at the bus stop, or a couple of hours at home. If playing on FICGS is made easier, I know I will be more addicted to it :)

- Thank you very much and good luck in the next final match...

Thanks! And please go easy on our Poker match...


Attila Ba    (2013-07-18 10:12:31)
Looking for big chess partners

Looking for big chess partners

I like very much the idea presented by this site of chess played on a bigger than normal board. Since Chess960 destroys theory but does not destroy engines (playing Chess960 for an engine is easy as pie) the only anti-engine way is to go for bigger board sizes. In this way you can measure your true correspondence chess skills independent of engines (on one hand no professional would go and write an engine for a game that is played by very few, on the other hand the number of possibilities soon grow out of hand on bigger boards making the tree search very difficult).

Out of my 18 big chess games on this site I have won 17 and lost 1 making it my most succesful type of game here. But with low player turnouts I simply can't get a tournament running (for half a year or so).

In order to have the possibility to play I have created a site solely for the purpose of playing rated big chess games on a single game basis with wide choice of timers and board sizes.

If anyone is interested please come to baatti.com and let's play big chess.


Ilmars Cirulis    (2013-07-31 12:41:09)
Thematic tournaments?




Scott Nichols    (2013-08-07 21:21:54)
Next WCH Stage start

It could be done easy, just like wbccc. Get rid of the increments and limit games to 25 days which is more than enough. But as the saying goes, "you can't teach an old dog new tricks." Thib is hardly ever here since he started that other project, but it doesn't matter. This site just kind of runs itself. I doubt if it will grow though, what you see is what you get.


Garvin Gray    (2013-08-31 09:27:36)
New my games feature requested

I would like to see an additional heading item added to the my games page.

Currently I have a heap of games going. Some of them are class time control and some are rapid time control.

I think it would improve the site and make 'things' much easier if in the space between each tournament games, a new heading was added telling you either:

1) The actual name of the tournament those particular games belong to
or
2) Just a listing of class or rapid.

Because currently a game says 10 days remaining, but 10 days and 8 moves to the time control in a class event is different to having 10 days remaining in a rapid. This would then make it easier to prioritise games.


Garvin Gray    (2013-09-20 09:23:43)
Active players list

Paul, an issue with is, how do you define playing a game? Do you mean having a game that has finished, just starting, or have made a move?

I think a person should have games in progress and be making moves to be considered active.

A person can log into a site (any site) but not actually be active. They are called lurkers.


Scott Nichols    (2013-10-08 16:52:38)
Best Freestyle Site

This site is still IMHO the best site for Freestyle. The interface is easy to understand and everything is clear, that's important to any site.

That's why I don't understand why the traffic has dwindled so. I'm sure we could come up with something to increase the Freestyle on here.

I'll start with my idea, :) Have a monthly Freestyle OPEN tournament. The only requirent is a 2 E-point entry fee. The winner gets 90%, FICGS gets 10%. The time controls would have to be bullet, 5 min with 15 second increment. If 8 players or less, it could be a round robin. 9 players or more, even up to a hundred!, would play a swiss style. Make it unrated so anybody could join. Have it on the first Sat. of the month. It would have to start at least by 1800 server time to get all the rounds in in ONE DAY.


Alvin Alcala    (2013-10-08 19:19:44)
Best Freestyle Site

+1 Agree

Super extremely awesome site to play freestyle chess.


Garvin Gray    (2013-10-09 16:38:34)
Best Freestyle Site

One change for freestyle chess would be option to choose time control.


Peter W. Anderson    (2013-10-10 09:58:08)
Best Freestyle Site

One thing that might help generate traffic for both freestyle and normal time limits is a Wiki entry for FICGS with a few links from other Wiki articles.

Any reason why FICGS does not have one?


Toon Pepermans    (2013-10-22 23:12:23)
Kievan Rus

that site is very likely just a 'historical mystification', something like 'Mongolia' coming from 'megalos' or 'megaleios' should be easily verifiable but ... it's not


Garvin Gray    (2013-12-20 15:18:41)
WBCCC 2014 Entries Open

Entries are now at seventeen. More ficgs players wanted. If you know someone from another site who might be interested, please contact me.

1. Garvin GRAY GARVIN GRAY
2. Om PRAKASH MASTER OM
3. Scott NICHOLS SCOTT
4. George CLEMENT KEOKI010
5. Nikolaos SARAKENIDIS TRANDISM
6. Djordje KASABASIC ARMAGEDDON
7. Paul WATSON NATIONAL12
8. Matt O'BRIEN SCHACHMATT
9. Carlo ALTIERI ITACA2
10. Mark ELDRIDGE MARK ELDRIDGE
11. David EVANS DAVID EVANS
12. Neel BASANT NEELBASANT
13. Timothy COOKSON WEIRWINDLE
14. Ruben COMES RUBEN COMES
15. Erik VAREND DEKA
16. Jose SANZ PPIPPER
17. Michael GLATTHAAR DONKASAND


Garvin Gray    (2013-12-22 09:17:43)
Withdrawal from all standard time events

I thought I would bring this topic up to let everyone know.

After a few years here, I have decided that it is almost certain that I will no longer be entering standard time control events on this site until the time control changes.

I find that most players in that time control just waste the time provided and are able to play faster, but choose to run their time down, and then make 8 moves in 10 days, then wait another 30 days before making another 8 moves in 10 days, or similar behaviour.

Sorry Thibault, but I have better things to do in my life than have my life wasted like this.

If you want me to return to standard time control events, change the time control.

This means I will only be playing in rapid time control events, which is a much better time control.


Garvin Gray    (2013-12-26 15:39:07)
FICGS World Chess Championship results

I am getting a message. Your current account (graygarvin@gmail.com) does not have access to view this page.
Click here to logout and change accounts.

Geez I find links on this site such a pain , almost all the time.


Thibault de Vassal    (2013-12-26 21:59:43)
FICGS Facebook app in question

Hello all,

As you probably have noticed, we have less and less new players and it seems that many correspondence chess sites encounter the same problem (but chess.com, maybe gameknot... mainly).

Nowadays, it seems that everything goes with Facebook and Facebook applications (even if Facebook enforced their rules in many ways around apps), so I'm thinking about making one... somewhat against my principles. In my opinion, there may be many other reasons why chess sites lose popularity but that's another story.

So I'd like to know your opinion on Facebook applications (well, most are spammy and with one goal, gathering personal data... that's quite obvious) and why not we could share ideas to make it useful and viral as much as possible...


Garvin Gray    (2013-12-27 17:23:41)
FICGS Facebook app in question

Facebook is a very good medium and does not have to be 'spammy'. People have the ability to control what other see by controlling their settings.

The group admin can also decide who is able to enter a group, either by having the group as open or closed group.

Since pinterest was a bust, and I think facebook is the way to go, this idea should certainly be advanced.

I can see possibilities where it could help not just ficgs, but other sites as well as there are going to be players on facebook who are from other sites who are not on ficgs.

So I think it has the potential to be a win all round.


Garvin Gray    (2014-01-24 06:26:31)
Withdrawal from all standard time events

Don: From my experience I am not sure the issue discussed in this thread really comes from game overload, as in having committed to too many games.

In fact on this site it would be difficult to commit to too many games :o.

Of course if a person has committed themselves to too many games across a number of sites, nothing can be done about that on here with a number cap.

So for this site alone, a game cap I don't think is required. The issue is the time control.

A curiosity- in one of the games to which I am complaining about, where I believe my opponent is 'gaming' the time control, the opponent has just past the time control, but now in a curiosity of the time control, it shows that I have 57 days for 10 moves and my opponent 43 days for 10 moves.

So in spite of having taken about a less 80 less days during the whole game, for this time I receive no credit for this due to the 59 day limit.

Seems like there really is no benefit to getting on with your games on here and the site administrator wants to endorse this behaviour. Certainty does not want to put anything in place to stop it.


Garvin Gray    (2014-02-03 02:10:36)
Standard time control abusers

Suffering again with two players abusing the time control.

Sick of this site with an administrator who will not doing anything about it when he has the ability to do so. I believe it is time to start naming and shaming these people and will start to do so in the next post after replies from others. I really do not care anymore, it is time this issue is exposed for the disgrace it is. Perhaps by exposing them, they will be gotten rid of. They hide under the cover of anonymity.

I am strongly considering resigning both games, telling Thibault what he can do with his site and leaving. I have had a F****** gutful of these actions and having months of my life wasted.


Thibault de Vassal    (2014-02-08 16:11:32)
Standard time control abusers

Changing the time control will not avoid the ways to abuse it... And we can always complexify rules (e.g. vacation) but it will always be possible to use it to gain time on difficult moves. All this reminds me the way we are governed in France, with the well known no-results...

Finally, I must say that you often had very good ideas for this site (even if many cannot be used yet because we have no players enough) but I think that your view on time controls is really subjective, probably most of us are really ok with the current rules and we can observe alternatives (iccf, wbccc, other sites).


George Clement    (2014-02-10 20:26:55)
Standard time control abusers

Thib, I for one agree with Garvin. Currently I believe the reason that no new m or sm tours have started in months is because of the time control abuse. There is no way it should take a modern computer and analyst 30 days to come up with 10 moves. They wait 30 days play 10 fast moves and are gone for 30 days again. It's one of the main reason play on this site is going down. n'est ce pas?


Garvin Gray    (2014-02-12 14:57:59)
Standard time control abusers

I found it difficult on that site to find the time controls for correspondence chess. Also I noticed that the rules forbid engine use. Which does compromise comparisons to this site.


Mladen Jankovic    (2014-02-14 22:18:12)
Also, other problems

At least the link is back on wikipedia corresponcence chess article, for starters, it may have been impacted by a study on external links deletion.

Another problem is that ratings appear to be negative sum, and will tend to go down accross the site. For example, I recently beat an opponent that has a rating higher than mine by almost 200, and he resigned on the tenth move, and I get *no* rating change, while he takes a loss in rating.


Garvin Gray    (2014-02-25 11:36:55)
Standard time control abusers

Broniek is now down to seven days in my game against him and has 9 moves to make. I have no doubt that he will make the time control, then will sit on the game for another 35 days.

Thanks Thibault for wasting my life like this.

You have a choice, you can either be on the side of the abusers or the victims. It is clear which side you are choosing. At the clear cost of the site.

I know why most people are not commenting and this because they are scared to offend you, even though they hate behaviour like this. Instead they just do not participate in the events.

I have noticed that no one is promoting ficgs anymore. Perhaps it is because the members have grown tired of seeing a site admin allowing members to act in manners like this and not being held to account for it.


Thibault de Vassal    (2014-02-26 15:17:40)
Standard time control abusers

Garvin, please tell me what do other sites like ICCF or any other in such cases?


George Clement    (2014-02-26 18:22:36)
Standard time control abusers

Of the top 25 active users on this site only 7 have active games running!


Garvin Gray    (2014-02-28 17:15:22)
Standard time control abusers

ICCF code of conduct 2: Extremely slow play in a clearly lost position is not proper behaviour in CC play, and is subject to a warning from the TD, and will result in disciplinary action if it continuous or is repeated in other games

Playing Rules- Server

3) Failure to Reply- a. The ICCF Webserver system will automatically generate an Email reminder when a player has not
made a move for 14 days and another, after 28 generated after 35 days of silence by a player.
b. When a player is sent a final reminder after 35 days of response time, he/she must either move or report to the Tournament Director and to his/her opponent, the intention to continue the game, within 5 days of that
reminder. If a player does not move or otherwise report his/her intention to continue, during the 40 days of response
time for the same move, the game may be scored as lost by the Tournament Director.

My own words- The number of days set above are based on 10 moves in 50 days, so for our site we would use a much shorter time period.

I can not answer what happens in practice on iccf as I do not play there.


Garvin Gray    (2014-03-01 03:29:31)
Standard time control abusers

And once again your response is to sit on your hands and do nothing. That is your clear response all the time to this major issue.

You ask for solutions, some of us attempt to offer solutions, you reject them. You ask for other sites rules, we offer them, you reject them saying they won't work. It is clear that you have no intention of doing anything about this and that you really believe that allowing my life to be wasted is acceptable, well I don't and I am sure the others who are trapped in this same situation do not.

I really do not understand how you can think it is acceptable to allow your members to have their lives wasted by players who are clearly just acting out of spite?

Your actions are really against the best interests of this site. I know as the site administrator that is a big call, but I really do feel it is the right call to make.

When you side with the abusers and not the victims, that is what happens.


Garvin Gray    (2014-03-02 04:03:47)
Standard time control abusers

I see the idea of a vote as ridiculous and a waste of time. What it could lead to is people voting to keep the class A, M and SM tournaments open because they do not want to deprive the opportunity of someone to play in them, but the status quo remains that no one is joining them.

And what happens if you only get a couple of responses, which is exactly what could happen because of general site apathy?

If you want knowledge of how people feel about these matters, but do not want to publicly speak about the matter because they are afraid to offend the site administrator because they are afraid.

I have given you the absolute 'rounds of the kitchen' repeatedly and often on this issue and have not let up over a number of weeks.

It is natural on the internet that when someone is pushing that hard against the efforts of a volunteer site admin that there will be blowback and the 'pusher (me)' will cop criticism in return.

So far there has been little to none. In fact some of the regulars have been stating that there is an issue as well.

Instead of calling for votes that could just leave all of us in the same ridiculous situation, take the feedback I have provided, and also the inactivity of the groups as the votes that really count ie the marketplace has decided that they do not want those groups, and close the class SM, class M and class A groups immediately.


Heinz-Georg Lehnhoff    (2014-03-03 01:40:14)
Standard time control abusers

I can't believe that one player has success with his permanent and aggressive posts. What a terrible development of the server. So I can no longer recommend this website as a chess server.


Peter W. Anderson    (2014-04-10 11:14:59)
Alvin Alcala in Freestyle Battle 2014

Yes, excellent performance by Alvin.

Anson Williams is interesting. I can't find him on any correspondence sites. I believe he is English but I cannot find any record of an English Chess Federation or FIDE rating for him. The only type of chess he seems to play is freestyle and he seems to do very well at it. He must have a lot of natural talent because there are some strong OTB and correspondence players in that tournament.

Good luck Alvin for the last round :)


Michael Sayers    (2014-04-20 09:23:00)
remove from non-started tournaments

A previous post on the subject mentioned to email to the site director about removals. Maybe someone here knows where to locate the email address? I tried and failed to locate it.

Michael S.


Garvin Gray    (2014-04-29 09:28:37)
Reduction in max days available? (move)

Just before anyone decides to say that I am complaining, or criticising Thibault too much. Or that I am dominating the issue too much (just anticipating some of the comebacks now :) )

I have given others a chance to either agree or disagree with either Thibault or myself, or even to give a different pov/analysis.

I do have a reply to Thibault's reply, but I do feel it is only proper to wait till others have had a decent chance to reply, lest I be accused like I was in another thread of attempting to abuse and dominate the site admin to force my own opinion.


Garvin Gray    (2014-04-29 09:35:01)
Reduction in max days available? (move)

Thib, each sport, should review its rules and conducts every once in a while to see if it is operating to best of its ability for the maximum enjoyment of the membership.

When looking through the rules and thinking about some of the issues here, I noticed that we do have the 60 day maximum play rule, which seems extra-ordinarily long.

That type of time (2 months) is a throwback to the days of email or even postal play, and in my opinion, is way to long for acceptable server play.

I still believe 30 days is the right time frame, but others have proposed 40 and so I am happy to abide by the majority if it gets the time shortened.

What I am concerned about and possibly trying to achieve a little bit, is that it is not acceptable for players to allow their games just to remain in limbo for an unlimited amount of time.

If a person can not make one move in each of their games on this site in 40 days, then perhaps they should be reviewing their participation. It is not fair on their opponents who have to wait around for them and it is not good for the site as a whole which needs games finishing for accurate and reliable ratings.


Timofey Denisov    (2014-05-16 16:39:39)
big chess pgn viewer?

and I think would be good to develop PGN converter FICGS notation to Winboard notation (squares a0 - p15 with letter i, short notation a la "common" chess).

Sample:

[Event "Edited game"]
[Site "CHESSPC"]
[Date "2014.05.10"]
[Round "-"]
[White "-"]
[Black "-"]
[Result "*"]
[FEN "rnb1rbnqknbr1bnr/pppppppnnppppppp/7pp7/16/16/16/16/16/16/16/16/16/16/7PP7/PPPPPPPNNPPPPPPP/RNB1RBNQKNBR1BNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[SetUp "1"]

{--------------
r n b . r b n q k n b r . b n r
p p p p p p p n n p p p p p p p
. . . . . . . p p . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . P P . . . . . . .
P P P P P P P N N P P P P P P P
R N B . R B N Q K N B R . B N R
white to play
--------------}
1. g3 d13 2. f3 Nh12 3. Njk2 m13 4. m3 Qn9 5. h3 Qxn1 6. Nn2 Qg8 7. e3 Bj8
8. f4 Bh9 9. Nj3 Nm14 10. Bk5 Nc13 11. Qo7 Nl12 12. Qxo14 n13 13. Qo4 Rpo15
14. Qg4 Qxg4 15. hxg4 Nk10 16. Nhi3 Ni9 17. Nc2 Ro7 18. d3 Nj7 19. Bl4 Rn7
20. l3 Ngi14 21. Ngh2 Bi8 22. e4 Ro15 23. Bo4 e13 24. Ni4 Be14


Garvin Gray    (2014-06-01 14:57:20)
Class A, class M & class SM closed

I agree with both of these points.

Point number 1 has been thrashed around a lot.

Point number 2 needs to be embraced. Currently the site really does feel like just one game to the next. It is very difficult to work out how each game fits in to the grand scheme of things.

As Thib has just had to point out to Neel, next stage starts Nov 1. This should all be displayed clearly as part of the wch section on the left hand side.

Perhaps what is required is a full site overhaul to change the layout so the tournament results can be displayed more clearly.


Garvin Gray    (2014-07-08 17:04:32)
FICGS WCh results summary updated

Thib, I know you are going to defend the status quo on everything. That is what you do. You do it on everything, so I have pretty much lost interest in trying to change or improve things around here.

The site with either live or die as is. I am finishing up my games and then seeing what happens. My participation is coming to an end. I am finding it has stagnated overall in terms of site progression, ideas and overall administration.

It has become stale for ideas and the format is dead. Time to move on me thinks.


Garvin Gray    (2014-08-28 12:50:46)
Standard time control abusers

Alexis Alban: I dont you have read the whole thread and the comments from other posters who have talked about the habits of other players.

There is even a term for this behaviour. It is called DMD- dead mans defense.

And it is described very well.

They sit on their games for 35 days, make no moves, then suddenly are able to make 9 moves in 5 days, then make no more moves for 35 days and then make another 9 moves in 35 days and then it is rinse and repeat, time control and time control.

Meanwhile this is being done in positions where they are in dead lost positions ie mate in 30. They idea is solely to just piss off their opponents, nothing more.

So please do not just try and make this about one player. Standard time control abusers are a cancer on this and other corro chess sites and they should be gotten rid of as fast as possible.

They spread misery and suffering everywhere they go and the only person that really suffers is the opponent, who has to wait and wait for the games to finish, whilst the site admin sits back, does nothing and is just as guilty and the person doing the action.

At the end of the day, the person in charge who sits back and does nothing when they know of poor conduct under their watch is taking place is just as guilty, if not more so, than the original offender. This is because they create the culture that says it is permissable and says to everyone else that this behaviour is tolerated and the site is not to be taken seriously.


Garvin Gray    (2014-08-30 07:46:33)
Ficgs is a money trap * BEWARE *

Had some more time to think about this. Read the rules, read them again. Especially about where if a person asks for a financial payout from e points to Euro (and then converted to their currency.

They receive 75% of the stated e point amount.

So by my calculations-

David Evans paid 100 euro to enter the waiting list.
Nick Burrows paid 100 euro to enter the waiting list.

The advertised prize for winning the match is 196 e points.

So lets say that this match was played on merit and Nick won 2-0. He would receive 196 e points in his account. That is already 4 e points that FICGS is keeping for itself.

Then if Nick decided to 'cash out' those 196 e points, he would receive 75% of that- so 147 EURO.

This means that FICGS has received 200 EURO originally from these two entries, and paid out 147 EURO to Nick for his win.

Now, in the circumstance that has occurred here, the rule mentioned is more designed for multiple player tournaments to stop rating manipulation (sandbagging and the like), not for this circumstance.

Also, this rule states- For example if a participant obviously lost quickly one or several games only to allow his opponent to get the money prize (and particularly if it happens several times). This would then be saying that David Evans deliberately lost both games on purpose to attempt to give Nick the prize (even though David paid the money out of his own pocket). Why wouldn't David just give the money straight to Nick?

If FICGS really does believe that part rule I have quoted has been violated and that David has engaged in game fixing, will FICGS be taking strong against David Evans, including suspensions or banning him from this site. It would be the logical conclusion for game fixing. Since this is the rule being quote to deny a payout.

Now the only other circumstance that I can think of why FICGS has attempted to deny a payout if that FICGS believes that Nick only entered the GOLD match, believing that David would not play the two games. That is a risky strategy for Nick to take, considering David is an active player, especially for 100 euro and 2 games.

Considering that even if FICGS pays out the money on this two game match, the site still makes 53 euro from a 2 game match, and I do not see a rule that justifies not paying it out, this money should be paid out.

A further question now is- Are these fees fair? A 53 euro profit from a 2 game match?


Thibault de Vassal    (2014-08-30 22:44:50)
Ficgs is a money trap * BEWARE *

I have to specify here that the rule mentioned is absolutely not about rating manipulation (by the way, there is already another rule for this), it is about money prize in 2 players matches only, maybe with 3+ players in unlikely cases! It was added when a player got a money prize after getting a few free Epoints and without playing any move... Of course, that was not acceptable (the prize was paid though, following the rules) as games recorded -especially silver/gold tournaments- should be worth to watch. So these are the reasons for this rule: To avoid empty games, to punish the player who didn't play (by taking Epoints, which is a obviously strong act in this particular case) and to redistribute Epoints to players who deserve it. Just like the rating rule, why a player should get a money prize by winning games without fighting?

I don't think that suspension or banning is necessary here (it would be really hard according to me, anyone can have good reasons for a long absence, but I'll consider this option if many players complains on this point).

To answer the last point, I don't and I cannot know if Nick entered this match believing that David would not play and I don't think that should be the point. As always, we need undisputable rules, as fair as possible, and I do think this one is a good one.

One important thing: The site does not make 53 Euro from this match, at most the site makes Epoints (on the other hand, most are offered by the site, by far). That makes a big difference!

Finally, if I understand Nick's point well, the way to understand "if a participant obviously lost quickly one or several games only to allow his opponent to get the money prize" may be ambiguous so it could be not possible to make the decision (who can know if David really wanted to play these games, wanted that Nick or anyone else get the prize?). So I probably should make it more clear to avoid such situation - even if I doubt that players realize about this rule before entering a silver tournament.


Garvin Gray    (2014-08-31 10:37:06)
Standard time control abusers

As for the idea of the rapid time control- I love the rapid time control, it is just that for my rating, and those around my rating range, very few tournaments start at all.

So to get our fix, we have to look to the standard time control events, and then we run into these issues.

I maintain that you stopped the trail of closing the standard time control divisions wayyyy too early.

Nothing at the top is really starting at this point in time, even though players on this site are active, or trying to be.


Garvin Gray    (2014-08-31 10:53:40)
Ficgs is a money trap * BEWARE *

From what I have read here from your response Thibault- I see no grounds AT ALL to not pay the prize.

The rating rule is there for the best interest of the site, because ratings are meant to be the way we all judge what standard of play we are and what divisions we can enter.

So comparing a rating argument with this argument is drawing a rather long bow indeed.

Just like the rating rule, why a player should get a money prize by winning games without fighting?

Already answered about ratings. About winning games without fighting (or playing), Nick entered under the conditions believing the match would take place.

If he entered the match believing it to not take place and David did play, then Nick has taken a risk that has backfired.

The point is that it is not Nick's fault the match did not take place. From my reading of the rules, there is nothing clear that says you can not pay out the prize.

Remember, you are making an absolute ruling here that applies FOREVER. This means that in effect you have taken 100 epoints at least out of Nick's account, his original stake, for just entering a match.

I would ask as site admin. Why would ANY player on this site want to support paid matches after this event and circumstances?

When the site admin can in effect, I was not happy with your match conditions that it was played under, I don't really have anything to point towards, but I did keep your cash anyways.

I for one will not be supporting any matches or tournaments from now on whilst this practice remains in place. I do not want to enter a match, have it not take place and then the site admin say, tough luck, not your fault the match did not take place, but I am keeping your cash.

The more I look at this and type, I am finding it hard to not say that Nick Burrows has been robbed of his cash. These events are real.


Thibault de Vassal    (2014-08-31 16:36:03)
Ficgs is a money trap * BEWARE *

Once again Nick, you didn't buy a particular match, you bought Epoints without any certitude to play this match (that could have started without you, then you'd have asked a refund, I guess)...

And saying FICGS keeps Euros on this case is not exact, FICGS keeps Epoints just like those that are distributed in free tournaments prizes.

You seem not to realize that FICGS is not a casino and cannot be one. When you participate at a tournament over the board and cannot play the opponent you wanted to play, there is most probably no refund. If there is no other participant showing, there could be a refund (because no other match would be possible) but I doubt that you get the whole prize, nevertheless the tournament would probably keep some fees. That's quite the same spirit with this rule.

Finally, I think that players may want to buy Epoints to really play games and casually win and get a money prize. As explained in the rules, the 25% rake should be balanced with the results after a certain number of games. Things can go very fast with bullet or lightning games. If you really want to get a money prize, it can take a few hours after you find an opponent... Didn't you think about it?

About business models, believe me: FICGS is not a good one in France. I did not make it and I don't run it for money. By the way, as far as I know, even poker sites have difficulties under french laws.


Garvin Gray    (2014-10-31 16:00:59)
July 1 2014 Fide laws of chess

There have been quite a few changes. But considering our continual disagreements over many issues and the fact that apart from this event, I have walked away from this site, it is not my job to now go ahead and do your work for you.

I am not your research assistant. I offered you my advice many times over the years and in almost all occasions you flatly rejected them, or took so long to come around to them, that I have taken the decision to walk away from this site.

The new fide laws of chess have been on display since July 1 and have been confirmed in stages since then. I am not going to be your research assistant and now sit down and prepare a full document on what has changed and how it should be incorporated into this event- ESPECIALLY- when I know from your past form- that you will flat reject most, if not all, of my recommendations.

So I am not going to waste my time being your research assistant.

I have my own event to prepare for in 2015 and prepare the rules for in that event, which I am working through.

I can give you a word of warning though. If you think that the default time is the only major change, you are very wrong.


Garvin Gray    (2014-11-01 22:51:23)
July 1 2014 Fide laws of chess

There was no context other than a very simple request. With the new rules now in operation, I was asking where do we find a copy or further information on what changes have taken place for this event that flow on from the changes to the laws.

The areas I was mainly concerned with are in relation to:

5 consecutive repetition of moves and 75 moves without a pawn move or capture. The arbiter can now step and force the draw, there does not need to be a player claim.

So will the server be updated to match this? There are quite a few other changes as well where current server practices do not match the new rules.

But as I said, it is your responsibility to make sure that the competition complies with the new rules if you advertise that your tournament follows the fide laws of chess where possible.

The reason for my stance is a very simple one. Over the years, on almost every single occassion, when I have made suggestions or recommendations to you, you have gone in the opposite direction in pretty much 100 percent of cases. Or even when you have claimed to 'agree' with my recommendation, you have then given the trial period such a short time to make it practically worthless.

The last saga in relation with Nick Burrows said to me that, except for the wch, I will no longer be playing on this site.

I can tell you directly, your handling of that issue lost you a long time member.

On the format of the wch, if I actually thought this format was fair and even gave me a shot of winning it, rather than being so heavily biased in favour of Eros Riccio winning it every time, to the point of being fixed, then I would use that as sole motivation to win it.


Thibault de Vassal    (2014-11-02 14:19:06)
July 1 2014 Fide laws of chess

About repetition and number of moves without a pawn move or capture, FICGS rules already specify that it does not apply here so there is no change to make.

The rest of your message explains the context I was talking about. But we don't have to agree on anything: As I explained when FICGS started and many times after that, I wanted to make it (particularly the championship cycle) different from what already exists (and closer to previous FIDE cycle). Obviously, you prefer the other way, that's not a big deal, and there is ICCF or LSS. I would have been ok to make a cup cycle if we had players enough but that's definitely not the case. What to add? There are many reasons why FICGS has quite few members (real names to start...) but there are well known advantages to this. Otherwise there are chess.com, gameknot, so many sites full of players. Finally, complaining players are probably the most important ones here because they constantly bring ideas. There was many many improvements in the first years and it did not go against the coherence of the site. Your cup cycle idea does not even go against the coherence of the original idea of the site, only the context is wrong here. Changing the WCH cycle for a ICCF-like one would be the worst thing to do in this point of view. But that's only a point of view.


Alex Getman    (2015-01-05 07:29:02)
Business Idea - Chess education

Let us introduce you our small idea of chess education web-site

Interactivity at this level is an untouched niche that will give you
the stable income
and the satisfaction of being relevant to somebody – “the live” work

Details of ideas on a page on LiveJournal >> http://greathumility.livejournal.com/910.html

will hear good criticism with pleasure

To moderator:
am not a spammer but a member of the team, working on the site (the mentioned email is my personal one)
We don’t place full text on your sites,
because it is constantly being improved
So, our request to you is to treat us with understanding, please


Thibault de Vassal    (2015-05-03 01:25:37)
Chess tournaments rating ranges

Hello all,

As you probably noticed, we slowly have more and more difficulties to fill some tournaments waiting lists (mainly chess SM ones).

No change seem to solve this, actually all major chess websites seem to have less and less activity. Anyway I made a minor change (step backward) with the chess waiting lists rating ranges: brackets are now 400 points again. Looks more logical to me according to circumstances and players behaviour.

Let's wait and see. To be continued.


Firhan Firhansyah    (2015-05-23 04:52:40)
untuk orang indonesia gabung di sini

maybe this site can use bahasa indonesia interface on the future


Josef Riha    (2015-06-04 12:49:44)
chessbook.net

Another interesting chess-site.


Pablo Schmid    (2015-07-06 09:05:09)
Wch Match Tie Break Rules

@ Ohlin quite the opposite if the human adapt to this rule and if the computer is not "reprogrammed" for the new rule.


Peter W. Anderson    (2015-07-09 09:35:12)
Wch Match Tie Break Rules

I have avoided commenting further on this idea because I wanted to see what other people had to say. But now I will reply to the points made.
“Giving a bonus for stalemate is almost like playing for stalemating your opponent, which is not the aim of the game and this would change the game deeply.”
As I said I am against a points bonus, but am in favour of using stalemates for tie breaks. The real question is would someone start a game aiming for stalemate as opposed to start the game trying to win? I am not sure how you would do that – either way you have to try to build up an advantage and if it gets big enough it will lead to mate and if it is not quite big enough it might lead to stalemate. Anyone who gets the choice between a win and stalemate will presumably always take the win.
The one way I think this will really affect the game is by discouraging some very deeply analysed defences that are known to drawn or close to drawn but will almost certainly lead to stalemate. Personally I think this is a good thing, but I accept that the opposite view could be taken :)

“I think you overlooking a little that a good defense leading to stalemate means showing great skill. It´s not all about luck.”
Reaching stalemate as the defending side can be very simple (e.g. king and pawn vs king) or can indeed show great skill. It is almost never down to luck. In the case where great skill is shown that skill earns you half a point instead of no points. Nonetheless, the very fact that you needed great skill to save the game shows how close you came to losing, so I see no reason not to use this as a tiebreak rule.

“And stalemating gamepoints definitely will favour stupid engine playing and not human thinking with endgame skill”.
Like Pablo, I think quite the opposite is true. In fact one of my motivations for suggesting the change was to increase the human element in the game.

“According to me, stalemating an opponent (or having King + Bishop vs. King) reflects who played better ONLY IF rules say it before the game. In some cases, it actually reflects a better play, but in some others, it only shows that the stalemated player (or naked king) found a clever way to draw the game by giving the opponent the illusion of an advantage. Isn't it quite subjective after all?”
I have some sympathy for this viewpoint. If we could play perfect chess and at the start of the game someone decided to take the draw by allowing themselves to be stalemated then that would be a very good example supporting that view. However, I think the reality is different. In most cases when someone gets stalemated (or would be stalemated if the game was played through to its conclusion) it is because they have got a worse position and have little choice if they want to save the game.
If the defending side could achieve a draw by stalemate or by other means, then under today’s rules they could choose either way. Under my proposed rules they might be wise to choose the other method, unless of course they were confident of achieving more wins in the match.

“Maybe the games become more interesting if instead give small extra score for win with black!? Encourage black to play for a better score, just as UEFA do in football.”
This might be helpful for tournaments but I don’t think it helps at all for match play. In reality, if you can win just one game in a match you will most likely win the match. Therefore you don’t need a bonus to play for a win with black in a match situation.
However, I think this point indirectly touches on an issue with match play and how hard people try to win, and I do think the stalemate tiebreak rules would help a little with this.
The problem as it stands is that the higher rated player (or the champion in the case of the tile match) knows that if all games are drawn he will win the match. The higher rated player (or champion) can therefore take a low risk approach to the match, with both black and white (actually I think the low risk approach with white is just as much a problem).
If the higher rated player (or champion) was not certain that all draws would win them the match then they would probably try harder to win. This would give a better chance of decisive games in matches.
One way of a achieving this would be through a toss of a coin if the match is tied with all draws. Personally I would not find this satisfactory.
Whilst the likelihood of stalemate is quite low, it will nonetheless be there, so this rule might encourage the higher rated player or champion to try harder for a win.
I will speak from personal experience on this matter. In most of my recent matches I have been the higher rated player. I still play some relatively risky defences as black (e.g. the modern against 1.e4) and I always try to win with white. However, I have to be honest, if I am the higher rated player, I do not always play the very sharpest lines as white and I do not often play some of my riskier defences to 1.d4. If the stalemate tiebreak rule was in place, I would be taking more chances with both white and black.
So whilst I accept that it is not perfect, I still think the stalemate tie-break rule is a good idea. However, as nobody else has spoken out in favour of it I accept that it is very unlikely to be implemented and I won’t write any more on this matter unless someone asks me a direct question. It is time to concentrate on my matches under the existing rules! :)


Pablo Schmid    (2015-07-12 02:09:18)
Wch Match Tie Break Rules

Here is most examples of my ficgs practice (corr and Advanced chess). This represent a low percentage of my games. These games are food for thought from my own assisted experience against that rule that I call "+1 decisive advantage chess". I believe you could already burn a lot of chapters in ending's book. Most of my games show balanced games until the end, sometime, the "punished guy" could have played another drawing defense, sometimes not, unfairly to me. The game would be more safe, with less sacrifices of piece vs 2 or 3 pawns and things like that because of fearing an ending with king vs king + piece or king vs king + pawn even if the sacrifice was sound and well played. Game 22895 and 84758 I would probably have been punished by the rule in the ending of game 22895 (and my opponent in the other game), and that type of ending in general (piece + pawn up vs piece when the king cannot block the pawn). Game 37122 Shame on me, my advantage in that ending was not sufficient to force my opponent to sacrifice his bishop for my last pawn. This is why I only deserve 0,5!
Game 37920 That king of pawns vs piece + pawn would become lost for the player without the piece, what a way of punish some balanced sacrifices for pawns!
Game 54907 and 20704 That kind of opposite bishop ending would be "lost" for the guy pawnless even if the transition into an inferior but drawn ending was the intention of the "inferior guy".
Game 74870 The ending is perfectly balanced but my opponent couldn't finish the game the way he did because of the rule.
Game 74875 I would have been half-losing in the pawn ending after a nice defense in an interesting unbalanced material line.
Game 74880 the ending knight + h pawn would have been "half losing" for me even if we can't say that I was clearly worse overall.
Game 76734 and 76764 Technichally this game is not directly concerned by the rule but it is very close. I was on the verge of defeat but I have managed to defend stubornely. If he have played well to get a winning position and then the win disapear because of bad play but still finish with a draw, he would get a bonus because he played better overall? The way I managed to defend would not be rewarded?
Game 77809 In this game the whole deep opening line would probably be "half losing" for Black in the ending because of the new rule.
Game 80954 Suddenly it seems that I would have been punished for my defense in the final position.
Game 85106 I did not play specially badly but... I would have been punished for my way of finishing the game!


Scott Nichols    (2015-09-23 16:01:32)
The draw problem, part two

That is a terrible site! Sloooow and jam packed with ads, never could see what you wanted to show. Why don't people just say what they want.


Garvin Gray    (2015-09-26 11:36:01)
Wch Match Tie Break Rules

I see this topic is being discussed again, or was. I notice that Eros has not actually won a game against an opponent since match 4.

This means, unless results are missing, that he has not beaten successive opponents the matches since. All this shows is that he is the equal of the players he is put up against and it is the champion retains the title that allows him to stay where he is.

This then results in the nature of play we see, which is defensive.

I proposed back quite a whilst ago that the format should be changed for the final match to 8 games, and then if the result is 4-4, the remaining 4 games are played.

Disclaimer- I come from a position that I believe that Eros should be made to show that he is the best player on this site.

He has drawn too many matches with all drawn games for this to continue and I do not believe this is a healthy situation for the site and it needs to change.


Garvin Gray    (2015-09-27 12:55:00)
Wch Match Tie Break Rules

I will carry this point on a bit. Thibault defense for the current system is that it maintains the old classical system of the world championship.

But even fide has recognised that the draw odds to the champion gave too much advantage, and that is in over the board play, never mind in engine chess.

The defending champion already receives two advantages- the right to be in the final match, and if that match is lost, then is in the next qualifying match.

And then the champion in the championship match also receives draw odds.

When you see it written like this, do you now see how much of an advantage the defending champion actually does receive?

And this all goes back to when the site was first set up.

It is not like Eros had to play through from the first stage against all the beginners and fight his way and defeat the previous defending champion to win the title.


Jan Ohlin    (2015-10-14 07:08:13)
Wch Match Tie Break Rules

If playing a lot more games it is like forcing mistakes instead of good games?! Social life will become ruined... Whom will bother about become a "world champ"? Not me who also have small kids to take care of.
And the opposite, if instead play fewer games it will force the challenger to play even more risky openings. The games will become more exciting to watch.


Alvin Alcala    (2015-10-29 16:55:49)
5th Centaur Weekend Tourney (CWT)

Announcement
5th Centaur Weekend Tourney (CWT) November 6-8 at Infinity Chess Server
Grand Prix Series (8 tours)
Swiss System.
7 Rounds.
Time control: 45m + 15s.
Play modes: centaur + engine only.
Rated tour for centaur vs. centaur games.
Privately sponsored tour, but open to all.
Schedule:
1st game Friday 6th November, 21:00 server time
2nd game Friday 6th November, 23:30 server time
3rd game Saturday 7th November, 17:30 server time
4th game Saturday 7th November, 20:00 server time
5th game Saturday 7th November, 22:30 server time
6th game Sunday 8th November, 17:30 server time
7th game Sunday 8th November, 20:00 server time
Registration requires full and correct name in your profile.
Registration is free of start fee, if you play just for fun.
If you play for a money prize ($400, $200, $100) you have to pay a start fee.
For details see: http://infinitychess.freeforums.org/viewtopic.php?t=243
Registration closes on Thursday 5th November, 23:55 server time.
For reports on previous CWT see our website: http://infinitychess.com
NEXT TOUR DATES
CWT 6: December 4th - December 6th, 2015
CWT 7: January 8th - January 11th, 2016
CWT 8: February 5th - February 7th, 2016
GRAND PRIX PRIZES (sponsored by Jojo & friends)
(GP Points = 4 best tournament results of each player, who paid a start fee for those tours)
1st Prize 600 USD
2nd Prize 300 USD
3rd Prize 200 USD
4th Prize 100 USD

The best 8 centaurs according to the final Grand Prix table will be nominated for the next official Freestyle event by InfinityChess in 2016/2017.


Ian Zimmerman    (2015-11-18 16:59:23)
Feature request

Something still missing on this site, is the ability to sort games by time of last move. This is very useful for players who keeps their own records of games offline, as almost all experienced correspondence players do. All of the following sites have the feature: ICCF, SchemingMind, ChessWorld.

Alternatively, if you want to be innovative, here is something that would do the same job even more efficiently: have an extra flag (call it ACK) stored with each game, and allow filtering by ACK. Display ACK next to each game as a checkbox. Set ACK automatically in one and exactly one situation: when the *opponent* moves.

This way, when I turn on the filter, I can see at a glance all the games where my opponent *just* moved, and I clear ACK by clicking on the checkbox as I update my offline database for each game.


Scott Nichols    (2015-11-24 00:22:43)
New quotes?

Big deal, it's not like there aren't 80,000 more sites about the same subject...


Garvin Gray    (2015-12-02 09:32:52)
FICGS chess cup : proposal

In regards to point 1) I have never made any comments in regards to any of the other knockout matches other than the final match involving Eros.

I have made no proposals to change the format of those matches.

My only proposal is in regards to Eros's final match.

2) The ficgs world cup concept in my original format- if fully implemented, is in fact, dramatically different from the ficgs wch, and has little similarity to it.

What I could see it do though, if popular, is it might make some of the division groups less enticing to enter.

In my opinion, that would just be site evolution. If the high majority of the site prefer- ficgs wch, ficgs world cup and some of the divisions (or one style of the divisions), then an important discovery has been made that is beneficial to the membership.


Scott Nichols    (2016-01-02 23:14:06)
Social networking site.

Thib, I signed for the first time a couple of months ago and see some uses. I forgot the name of your site and was wondering it could give us a short brief? Thanks


Thibault de Vassal    (2016-01-05 17:50:13)
Social networking site.

You mean Pinformant? It's been abandoned, too many technical issues, actually it may have been a feature for a navigator, not a website.


Ilmars Cirulis    (2016-01-27 16:52:41)
(Random idea)

ChessOK and other sites have it only for 8*8 board. Big Chess, for example, is bigger.


Thibault de Vassal    (2016-04-16 01:18:01)
7 pieces tablebases

Hi all, I just realized that 7-pieces tablebases (Lomonosov tablebases) have been produced... 100 Tb would be necessary to use it!! Looks like that it is available on another chess website, but not for free yet.

It would be useful in the last game of the 13th round robin final :)

http://www.ficgs.com/game_87413.html


Peter Brodie    (2016-09-13 17:51:28)
Missing chat

You should only be able to delete your own chat..it shouldn't effect others..if you are posting offensive material and won't delete the site moderator(s) should be able to delete..it's s site glitch that should be fixed..otherwise it makes chat meaningless.I only come here to play not yack so it's a small thing but my sense of justice and fair play came into effect..


Garvin Gray    (2016-11-17 07:36:41)
FICGS chess cup : proposal

With ficgs now back up and running and seemingly most of the back end issues sorted out, I am now bringing up the topic of the FICGS World Cup and when will it start.

We had a format, a concept and almost a start date, then the whole site collapsed.

With now that WCH has started, the very first Ficgs World Cup could start in early January, with possible plans to hold one every six months (rough schedule).


Garvin Gray    (2016-11-30 02:01:25)
Future penalties for games lost on time

I know this topic comes up for discussion from time to time, but seeing the results from Rapid A 192, I think a more thorough discussion needs to take place about what should be done about players who lose multiple games on time.

I know on ICCF, they have very strict rules in this matter, and I believe that FICGS should follow the same procedure.

Players should be made aware before entering a tournament that they are expected to complete all their games, not just time out some of their games without consequence.

If players do not want to continue their games and feel that it is ok to let their games time out, then FICGS should take the position that their services are no longer required on this site for a stated period.

The ICCF rules should be followed in this matter.


Thibault de Vassal    (2016-12-02 22:06:28)
Future penalties for games lost on time

Hi all,

On dead man defence, Herbert said it all and as far as I can see, this rule works (when used, of course)!

On losses on time, I'm still not sure of what rule is best but I'm quite sure that simple rules are often best. However, I guess that rules could be more incitative about finishing games even without sanctions ("threat is stronger than execution") I'm not sure how efficient it could be on a free website though, FICGS context is not ICCF context. So I'm open to any change but I'm still not favourable to any suspension or banishment (that could lead to even more games lost on time). Also, I do know that life events could lead to this, I do know that there are many good reasons to lose on time, unfortunately :/


Pablo Schmid    (2017-01-19 22:22:11)
GM Eros Riccio 12th WCH & chess

Not necessarily, as I said the thematic would be the final test to test that the best corr player is the most complete one, but the qualification would still be by free chess where you need to be at least 2300 level in this site.


Pablo Schmid    (2017-01-19 23:46:08)
GM Eros Riccio 12th WCH & chess

*in this website I meant.


Roger Llull    (2017-01-20 17:29:03)
GM Eros Riccio 12th WCH & chess

No, you can't mix thematic Elo with classic Elo because you are more likely to lose as black in thematic chess. What you can do is to create a separate Elo for thematic chess. Also I don't think it's good to mix thematic and classic in a championship. I stand by my suggestion to create a system to allow site users to "create" thematic tournaments using our Epoints.


Pablo Schmid    (2017-01-20 18:05:27)
GM Eros Riccio 12th WCH & chess

Why would a thematic disfavour Black? That's not logical, it just depends of the thematic! If we take the King's gambit accepred as example, Black is not worse and may be the opposite! Even if you lose as Black because of the thematuc, you have chance to win the game where you have White against it... At least the idea would be interesting to play very interesting lines and games that fear does not allow in normal time and to contribue to chess theory in wild opening.


Roger Llull    (2017-01-20 19:00:04)
GM Eros Riccio 12th WCH & chess

My point is that your chances are not the same, so Elo mixing is not appropriate. And you can't count on your game with the opposite color because it may be against a different oponent depending on the tournament format.

We have separate Elo for freestyle, so what's the problem with having separate Elo for thematic?


Roger Llull    (2017-01-20 21:29:00)
GM Eros Riccio 12th WCH & chess

Pablo, changes to the WCH wouldn't make a difference for many years because the rules of each running event can't be changed now without sacrificing site credibility.

But I don't think this is about fixing the WCH final. This is about getting rid of the big frustration that represents the almost total impossibility of winning at the top level.

You can't mix thematic and classic CC Elos for the same reason you can't mix the Elo of classic time controls and the Elo of bullet time controls.

Thibault has an opportunity to bring new life to correspondence chess, but we need to see things from a different perspective. Let's make the most of what's already in place, -like Epoints- and introduce ways to add and influence new events even before they start. Because connecting with others and participating in more ways would bring new interest and benefit a lot more people than tring to fix what's already perfect -sort of- but stale.


Garvin Gray    (2017-01-22 10:00:16)
FICGS chess cup : proposal

Absolutely bloody not. There has already been a long discussion and a lot of work put into getting a somewhat agreed format.

Thibault, this is exactly what I expected you to do with this ficgs world cup, try and renege on the agreement at the last minute and attempt to change the format.

And with this concept of some kind of thematic championship, no one is going to agree on which opening to play.

We have an agreed format for the ficgs world cup and all you have to do is open the entry list for it, which starts February 1st for play beginning March 1st.

You renege from this and I will almost certainly walk from this site.


Thibault de Vassal    (2017-01-25 15:30:58)
Adjudications & 7 pieces tablebases

And if I remember well, we agreeded that a player can claim an adjudication in this case, but the adjudication will be effective 30 days after the 2nd claim if needed (at least because all players do not use engines or tablebases websites and can be interested in playing it). That's specified in the rules.


Scott Nichols    (2017-05-01 01:05:29)
Ultimate Challenge Tour 2017, USD 20k

This was absolutely the worst tournament atmosphere I have ever saw. I would not only not recommend, I wholeheartedly discourage anyone from this site. But to each his own.


Aniruddha Duttagupta    (2017-05-06 19:55:27)
adjudication of FICGS Games

Can any game of FICGS send for adjudication? If so, to whom the game will be send? Who is thw adjudicator? If my opponent wants to continue a dead drawn game with opposite color Bishops and one pawn in the board only, can I send the game for adjudication ?


Thibault de Vassal    (2017-05-13 19:50:31)
Ultimate Challenge Tour 2017, USD 20k

By the way, why "this was"? The tournament is scheduled to end not before May 20th, but I cannot find any news about it on the site.


Garvin Gray    (2017-07-02 04:33:16)
FICGS chess cup : proposal

I have wondered for a long while whether:

1) The 2300 rated players or higher who started on this site, were not really 2300 in comparison to quite a few 2200 or so players
2) That deflation in the rating system at the top end has occurred in the system over time


Sergey Zemlyanov    (2017-07-03 22:02:59)
My new match with GM Eros Riccio

Hi all! I just transfer 100 euros to the site in hope to play with GM Eros Riccio in Standart Tournament with 100 e-points as entry fee. I know him as one of the strongest corrchess players of the world, but I'll try to survive in two games. And I'm not going to purposely shut out the game.


Sergey Zemlyanov    (2017-10-09 08:11:36)
Ficgs is a money trap * BEWARE *

Hello, Thibault,

Well. I hear you. This is a real scam ("lohotron")! However, from a legal point of view, you are right. Because the text of the rules was written in a small font somewhere on the site. And still, such important moments should be in a visible place, so that beginners can immediately familiarize themselves with the site rules. From the point of view of morality it is a fraud. Similarly, I will give an example: often, when a person, which is a pensioner or disabled (by health), comes to the Bank, then the Bank offer to him to make a loan at high interest rates. Then the bank's employers give him a document in which you can see (only having good eyesight!) a rule written in a very small font and in future that document will eventually bankrupt this poor person! Very unpleasant incident, Thibault! 100 euros is a big money for me! I am disabled for health reasons and my pension is about 250 euros, most of this money goes to expensive medications. When I agreed to the match with Eros, I didn’t know all the tricks and traps on you site.

Okay, I'm ready to agree with you if you spend my money on charity. There are so many unfortunate people in the world now!


Sergey Zemlyanov    (2017-10-09 21:55:57)
Ficgs is a money trap * BEWARE *

Hi, Thibault
A few words about the match with Riccio Eros. It seemed to me that Eros played too reliably, with a reserve of durability! However, now top-ranking OTB chess grandmasters, like Karjakin or Caruana, often play reliably too. The drawish tendencies are now visible in correspondence chess, unfortunately. To win Eros was very difficult, because of his debut choice and a power of the game, of course. Top grandmasters ICCF usually lose when they risk playing, for example, the Old Indian defense for Black.
Okay, then I donate e-points to the site and the question will be closed.
Sorry for my bad English. I do not have enough communication with foreigners.


Sergey Zemlyanov    (2017-10-09 22:16:24)
Ficgs is a money trap * BEWARE *

Dear Thib,
Thank you very much!
I donated e-points to the site. Also, I will focus on my games on ICCF. I do not have only 5 points of the rating to get into the tournament with a grandmaster's norm. I need to put pressure on it!)


Garvin Gray    (2017-11-01 15:42:29)
Adjudications & 7 pieces tablebases

Since no one else has answered this. The reason why 7 piece tablebases are not yet used as declared results is two fold:

1) All positions have not yet been completely solved. This is my understanding at this point in time. Even if this point is now incorrect, please refer to point 2

2) The positions are not freely available and able to be reviewed to verify that a position is a draw or win for the claimant. At this point in time, this is possible for all 6 man positions, with sites like shredder tablebases site, for instance. Just copy your fen in as the arbiter and up come the result.

This type of resource does not yet exist for 7 man endings and until it does, 7 man adjudications will remain outside the rulings of official decisions.


Zack Stephen    (2018-01-13 12:34:41)
1st King Supertournament

I tend to agree with christoph. The reason to play on this site is because the use of engines is allowed.


Kym Farnik    (2018-01-15 07:11:04)
Conditional chess moves (again)

Hi
I've used a site in the past with conditional moves. VERY handy!
Especially for forced moves or obvious moves.

For those against the idea - you don't have to use the feature :)

It would speed up games for those that want to use it.

I'm a software developer with PHP experience and would be happy to help implement the feature!
(Yes, putting my money where my mouth is so to speak)

Thanks!


Garvin Gray    (2018-01-16 00:52:53)
Conditional chess moves (again)

Ahh conditional moves again. Seems like once a year this topic comes up. Rinse and repeat.

For the record, yes I am in favour it. So please do not take my position as being against it.

This discussion has been held before a few times, but the site does change.

Thibault, what is this sites current capability to handle conditional moves? They would only just have to be just one line linear conditionals.


Kym Farnik    (2018-01-16 03:01:46)
Conditional chess moves (again)

@Thibault ... my offer to assist development is real.
1. Design a prototype UI (probably JS tool to do up to maybe 3 lines of conditionals)
2. Feedback from members
3. Review design
4. Implement and deploy to test site
5. TEST !!
6. Rinse repeat 4/5 until happy
7. Deploy beta
8. Feedback and tune as needed
9. Go live


Thibault de Vassal    (2018-01-16 16:43:40)
Conditional chess moves (again)

Hi all,

Before everything, let's make it clear: Absolute priority (for years actually, but particularly since the launch of the Android apps) right now is to increase the popularity of the server, that slowly went down for more than 5 years. Now it's going better for the first time since, but I'm still working on and have much to do there.

Well, let's say this would be the right thing to do after all (which is another debate, with questions like what if a player does not want his opponent to use this option that by the way he cannot or does not want to use himself because it goes too fast and/or gains time on clock - case that I saw at another server).

Don't misunderstand me: I already used conditional moves at other servers and I liked it too, but I did not find it essential. Also, we all know that all opinions are in nature. And as a reminder, one goal of this server was to offer the simpliest & lightest (HTML or HTML & few javascript) interface.

Kim, one question to think about the work to do in your step 1:

How do you imagine the communication between a Javascript interface & php server? Well, I know how to implement Ajax (which I chose not to use at FICGS), this is not the point here. But it is not enough that moves are verified by javascript - that is a big work if you do it from zero - , it must be validated by the server itself, then confirmed or not to the player, meaning casually one more step. Means more php jobs from the server (which is not a big deal) so new codes that would be compatible between that Javascript UI (that must fit to site's design) & FICGS (that is not obvious if you know the small possible differences in terms of PGN format), a new field in database, the way to handle it after few conditional moves & so on.

Once more, it is feasible, of course. But there are obvious difficulties: it is not possible to add such code without being completely in FICGS codes, that are not object-oriented.

Anyway, if the number of active players grows again, I'm quite sure we'll have a good occasion to discuss it (with some more pressure ^^).


Kym Farnik    (2018-01-17 00:34:08)
Conditional chess moves (again)

Hi
First thanks for making your position clear.

Yes, JS talking Ajax to a PHP handler.
I have implemented this type of thing in the past.

Even if the main FICGS code is totally procedural, it is not uncommon to build a new feature using an OO module, and in time either run old and new code in parallel. Or... migrate all the code to a new OO framework over time.

The play move and add conditionals interface would need to be made JS and redesigned. The back end would I expect have a game/move/conditional validator function.
There are plenty of JS chess interfaces that could be used as design input.

I recognize this is a major project for a one man team. I'd say 4-6 weeks of full time effort, possibly longer if we have to design a OO framework for the back end. Hence my offer to help as I'm semi-retired and have time.

A good isolated dev and test environment is mandatory. This is not just a simple site hack.

I hope this helps!


Garvin Gray    (2018-01-17 03:45:40)
Conditional chess moves (again)

Problems to identify and solutions:

As a starting point for the games:

Conditional moves would be restricted to the classical chess style. We have to start somewhere and this is the tried and tested format and most well known. So there are already sites out there using conditional moves in classical chess.

As for draw offers. If a player wants to offer a draw, the linear conditional move line stops at that move. They have to input their move and the draw offer by ticking the box.

Then the move passes to player B with the draw offer and they have to accept or decline the draw offer and play their move.

And then play resumes as normal with linear conditional moves.

This is how linear conditional moves worked when I ran the WBCCC events.

I am not sure what you mean by messages?


Garvin Gray    (2018-01-17 12:57:54)
Conditional chess moves (again)

Kym: Point 2- regarding whether to allow more than one line of conditional moves.

I think it is important to introduce a concept now called project scope. What this means is setting the outer limits of the project and also what are the main aims, or purpose of the project.

Anything that is outside of these aims, is outside of the project scope and is rejected.

As was stated by yourself in the first post:

I've used a site in the past with conditional moves. VERY handy!
Especially for forced moves or obvious moves.

For those against the idea - you don't have to use the feature :)

It would speed up games for those that want to use it.

And then Herbert Kruse said- I like that idea.

So that gives a very good idea of what the project scope is, or the reason for allowing conditional moves- to allow players to make forced moves or obvious moves through conditional moves.

An issue that already occurs in correspondence chess is players either resigning by mistake, move slips, or other mistakes.

Introducing conditional moves will increase the possibility of this occurring. This is why the number of conditional moves must be kept to a minimum, hence why I believe the requirement for linear conditional moves.

This also makes it much easier to deal with draw offers.


Thibault de Vassal    (2018-01-21 17:06:34)
Conditional chess moves (again)

Now I'm to integrate chess.js & chessboard.js in some parts of the site to remove the flash chess board... one issue with conditional moves would be that FICGS rules are slightly different from FIDE rules: no 50/60 moves rule here. Anyway, to be continued.


Garvin Gray    (2018-01-22 01:08:34)
Conditional chess moves (again)

The rules of the site already permit players to claim 6 man tablebase positions, when they appear on the board, as either a win or draw, even if the position is above 50 moves.

That rule is standard across all webserver sites.

Also, even though a position might say mate in 75 and the claim is granted, this does not mean it is outside of the 50 move rule as there maybe a capture or pawn move between the initial position and mate.


Zack Stephen    (2018-01-26 02:57:33)
FICGS Android APP beta version

I find that I have to frequently login to the site both via the browser and via your new app. Am I the only one who experiences this? This site should not require logins via the app.


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.


Steven DuCharme    (2018-03-29 21:47:52)
Daily Chess World Champ.

I have sent my request via PM. This is self organized. One entrant per site. One total entrant thus far. No prize other than mention across my sites and forums. Original intent was top player of each site would battle for internet supremacy but I'll take whoever I can get :)


Steven DuCharme    (2018-03-30 20:28:50)
Daily Chess World Champ.

Please don't make me rep this site. The hORROR!!!!!!!!


Ilmars Cirulis    (2018-04-01 18:12:31)
Poll: renaming the Queen as Dragon

Traditional domestic labour division is the most sexist, if you ask me. (Anyway, that's probably discussion for some other website.)


Paul Campanella    (2018-04-09 02:31:01)
Real Poker Game

This might seem like a farfetched/crazy thought, but what if were to actually have a real Texas Holdem Game sometime this summer with the top 10 players on the list physically meeting in person at an agreed upon location?

In order to promote the site, the winners could also donate a portion of the winnings to an agreed upon charity/word organization that helps people?

Does anyone have any thoughts about this?


Thibault de Vassal    (2018-04-09 03:55:44)
Real Poker Game

Hmm hmm, that's an interesting idea to dig! But there are many instant questions, starting with legality :) FICGS cannot organize any poker tournament with money prize, real or not. But there may be other ways.

And such a meeting wouldn't be easy for sure as we're quite far from each other (not speaking about me, out of the top 10 :))

About promotion, I just don't know if FICGS is kind of a "real" poker site but one thing is sure, it was time to come back to fundamentals (chess). Now that things are going better, I'll focus this way for the moment to attract more and more players, then the next goal will be to increase prizes (a lot).


Thibault de Vassal    (2018-04-15 18:52:45)
Big chess castling

Hi William,

Everything is possible, as for me I always disliked the strange castling rules at chess 960 and didn't want to complexify rules for Big Chess (now also called Sweet Chess at another website, if I remember well :))

It is too late for a change on this one, but it is always possible to create new chess variants.


Thibault de Vassal    (2018-08-21 00:15:26)
poker reflection time

First of all, games that last 5 years are quite rare, fortunately :) And believe me, any intermediate time control playable in less than one day would be a nightmare for the players, it is way too long, it could last 12 hours or more! (the dead man defence could find its place)

Also, the reason why the most do not play bullet/blitz games here is mainly that this is a correspondence chess website first, and most players always have a few moves to play... On the contrary, the FICGS chess trainer app is quite successful on Facebook because most users of this app do not play at FICGS.


Thibault de Vassal    (2018-09-24 00:15:43)
Some questions to H. Kruse, WCH finalist

After that the last FICGS chess WCH final match finished, the choice was made again to ask a few questions to Eros Riccio's challenger: Herbert Kruse, for the 2nd time. He kindly accepted to answer it so let's learn a bit more on our top-ranked correspondence chess player.

______________________________


Hello Herbert, you're not really a player to introduce as you're very active here and at several chess websites for years, with outstanding ratings in each one (as far as I know), you're the 1st FICGS CUP winner & several times FICGS WCH challenger, each time facing "the wall" Eros Riccio, what could you tell us about yourself particularly as a chess & correspondence chess player?

- i began late with 16 to play my first tournament game, but with 18 i already was kicked out of a night club in company with tony miles ;) (dresscode) had vlastimil hort as trainer for a short time and played in teams with gutman, michalchisin, klovans, gipslis and some other GMs. corr chess i began, because i love to find the truth and because of freestyle, where i began to build very strong computers


What kind of computers do you build? Is it all dedicated to chess?

- i have several dual xeon e5 computers with 64gb ddr3 and 16 to 20 real cores and they all play chess ;)


Once again, GM Eros Riccio managed to draw the 12 games of the match. What are your feelings on these games? How did you estimate your chances to destabilize your opponent in the openings and to create complications enough with White (or Black)?

- this time my feelings were neutral. 1% chances to win, but i hoped he would lose his concentration if i began more games with him (we played 6 other games at the same time)


Doesn't "1% chances to win (the match)" mean about 0.17% to win only one game with White, even when losing one with Black? Isn't it a bit pessimistic after all, or is it the new so called Riccio-effect? :)

- if the strongest players face each other there is no win possible, except some has a mouse slep or forgot something during human interfacing


When did you start playing correspondence chess and what changed since that time? What attracted you most in the game?

- 2004 and evaluation of the position is the key point of improvement since then. attractive was to be better than actual world class players :)


Could you tell us anything on the way you work chess and play your correspondence games? Any tip or secret? (nothing to lose to ask :))

- with black i play for fastest way to 0.00 and with white i try every promising way to make a game for a longer time complicated


Do you use several ones at the same time when analyzing a game? (still grabbing some tips)

- i only use the newest stockfish versions of brainfish and corchess because the other engines are not so good. because i have many games i decide which one gets the most cores and time and let them run in infinity mode until i am happy that can be after 1 week or more sometimes.


You're not far to rank 2nd as a poker player at FICGS, you obviously started to take on Big Chess as well. What other games do you play? Did you consider to play Go already?

- i played go against the german champion and lost so i quit :)) played backgammon money game and internet (in fibs with kit woolsey i played over 100 matches) in bridge i was best bidder in germany 1994 to 1995, but dont play much nowadays


Do you have specific goals to achieve as a player?

- 2 goals, since a long time: be ficgs world champion and win one german bridge championship


How do you imagine correspondence chess evolution within a decade? What kind of engines/computers do you expect to use and what will look like centaur chess according to you? (in other words, what part will remain to the human player in the decision?)

- i think the engines today are already unbeatable, so in 20 years the would still not lose and chess is dead since about 4 years


What did you think about Google Deepmind's Alpha Zero performance vs. Stockfish?

- it was a joke because they let a bad version of stockfish play. i would not have lost one game against az0 and maybe won 2 til 5 out of 100


Conditions of this AlphaZero vs. Stockfish match were very specific (opening books, unbalanced hardware...) What weaknesses did you detect in AlphaZero play?

- it was the lack of precision, what would let it lose against stockfish in its tuned newest version but i look from a view of a player who is used to play with deep 60 :)


It seems that computers did not completely take on Bridge yet, what do you expect within a decade?

- i have not seen bridge programms, but the game is so easy that it must be already mastered by computers


Garvin Gray    (2018-11-18 03:12:48)
World Championship Groups

I see in the chat box there is a comment about adding players for a new group in the WCH.

This should not be allowed and is a bad idea. The original groups were worked out based on ratings available at the close of entry.

And also now this new group will be a rating scattered group, rather than being similar to the others.

Players have protested before about adding players and new groups well after the entry deadline has passed. I have frankly had a gutful of having to protest about it.

It is one of main things that is turning me off this site. Having to keep protesting against items on this site when others have said similar viewpoints to mine, but the site owner keeps trying to sneak in his ideas via the backdoor.


Paul Larwinski    (2018-11-19 22:21:46)
World Championship Tie-breaks

and of discussion with you all

you seems to be on one side , this let me think of you

and i hope next ficgs.com is a french, this is a french site not german one


Paul Larwinski    (2018-11-19 22:22:44)
World Championship Tie-breaks

end of discussion with you all

you seems to be on one side , this let me think of you

and i hope next ficgs.com is a french, this is a french site not german one


Thibault de Vassal    (2018-12-07 02:36:32)
AlphaZero 2.0

And of course the article on the Deepmind's website:

https://deepmind.com/blog/alphazero-shedding-new-light-grand-games-chess-shogi-and-go/


Steven DuCharme    (2018-12-25 23:29:50)
This site is now...

#109 of 702 on the great list


Thibault de Vassal    (2018-12-26 01:58:04)
This site is now...

Like last year at the same time, I know that... the Alexa rank moved a lot this year and it will do it again within months. No worries, it is under control & it will be better soon. Just wait and see :)


Garvin Gray    (2019-01-24 13:56:38)
James Romig

Asking him to find is the site administrator responsibility. I know that sounds like a buck pass, but as following up on game time outs and other question marks is truly the responsibility of the arbiter of the events, in this case, the person in charge of the site, Thibault De Vassal. Not us.

And also, if we have the correct James Romig, he had 45 calendar days available for holidays to use to avoid timing out his games, so that excuse that he went on tour is not a good enough excuse.

He entered the event and is responsible for managing his time. If he knew he was going on concert, he should not have accepted his place if he could not fulfil his commitments.


Thibault de Vassal    (2019-01-24 18:58:12)
James Romig

Hi all,

Well, it seems to me that a website administrator shouldn't intervene in players private life / ask for or discuss players private life if it does not come from players or players families (as it happens regularly, most often for bad news).

Of course general forfeits happen quite/too often, sometimes there are expressed concerns from other players, sometimes unexpressed concerns or nothing at all, whatever... so IMO the website administrator/referee shouldn't have to act according to such criteria.

Finally, it seems to me that we have to wait for news (but of course friends can contact each other).

As Garvin said, sometimes players make some choices (e.g. if not taking vacation days for any reason is considered as a choice) and there may be unfortunate consequences for themselves & for their opponents. That's what can happen on chess websites... more than in real tournaments, of course.


Steven DuCharme    (2019-02-27 18:24:54)
Happy 18th Birthday...

to a competing site


Abdulsamad Sujas    (2019-03-02 17:54:14)
AlphaZero 2.0

What you posted is not Alpha zero. It is Leela zero, which is same as alpha zero in terms of using neural networks.
It learns by playing itself

Google Leela zero to get info. It is free engine, and need some software knowledge to install. There are YouTube videos and some sites. Find by yourself
. I was using it in my system but problem it is losing on time. Don't know why. But it is now rated no.2 in cc engine matches. Just neck to neck with stockfish.


John Hadden    (2019-06-25 13:44:49)
Android App not working

There is an app called 'lookout' and another called smart manager installed on the phone - but I've never noticed them do anything blocking websites or anything. I don't normally use the samsung browser - I use chrome instead - so not sure if there is anything antivirus in there - but I think the ficgs app uses it as the default browser (or at least it looks like it does).


Thibault de Vassal    (2019-06-27 00:16:57)
Android App not working

The FICGS website did not change, but the apps were updated (maybe something wrong there). Do you know what browser is used by default when you open the app? A browser by Xiaomi or Chrome/Firefox?


Steven DuCharme    (2019-07-28 05:24:07)
CHESSHERE.COM

New owners took over not that long ago. Site redesigned early this year. Subscribers are getting their money back at least.


Steven DuCharme    (2019-08-22 09:43:00)
CHESSHERE.COM

A player has bought that site :)


Steven DuCharme    (2019-10-19 00:54:46)
CHESSHERE.COM

that site is promoting play for money on its facebook page


Steven DuCharme    (2019-11-17 17:28:43)
CC Server World Championship Tournament

I have contacted the top player from about 40 sites with the hope they will battle for global supremacy. A forum topic with the title name is at chesstempo.com where games will be played. Optional money play is available at chesshere.com...Herbert Kruse has accepted my invite but has not signed in at chesstempo yet. He is the first and hopefully not the last to respond.


Steven DuCharme    (2019-12-08 19:51:08)
IECG chess-server.net

If you mean www.chess-server.net it's going well enough imo. It will apparently be upgraded (redesigned) before year's end.
IECG ended operations 12/31/2010 when it became chess-server.net.

Where did you see the news about that sites' traffic?


Thibault de Vassal    (2019-12-08 23:21:56)
IECG chess-server.net

Good news! I check from time to time how are going other chess websites at Alexa traffic rank & Similarweb.


Steven DuCharme    (2019-12-23 20:42:42)
IECG chess-server.net

Currently #103 ranked chess site globally


Daniel Parmet    (2020-04-28 22:59:06)
The State of correspondence chess

I have played correspondence chess now for 13 years. During that time, I have played 983 correspondence games. These days I mostly play at ICCF and some of these issues may be ICCF specific... but since ICCF has no forum and I want to get a sense of the health of correspondence chess in general... I posit my thoughts here.

First of all, I think the number of correspondence players and the number of correspondence games are decreasing across the board on all correspondence websites due to the things I want to talk about.

Second, I primarily shifted my playing to ICCF years ago for two reasons: 1) The higher level of competition available; 2) The norms available. Although I was concerned with their fees which are usually minor but, in many cases, certain organizers do construct outlandish tournaments that you need to be wary of (looking at you Venezuela).

On the first point, I think ICCF is a little more open to high caliber players competing up until a point (they really try to prevent you from playing a 2450+ player until you are 2450+ yourself). And the rating protections get tougher and tougher the further you go but they make it easy to play 2300 players. While most websites outside of ICCF, usually have one annual Cup / WCH or Thematics, these other websites usually make it impossible to play anyone more than a few hundred points above you no matter your rating outside of these few events.

On the second point, I think ICCF norms are somewhat of an illusion. They’ve always been hard and much harder to achieve than OTB norms which received a watering down of requirements of decades ago. In fact, ICCF norms are so much harder than FIDE norms that one actually needs to achieve two norms to receive the prerequisite title in ICCF vs the standard three norms required by FIDE. In the US, for example, there are 116 ICCF Titled players in history (13 GMs, 25 SIM, 78 IMs) vs 828 FIDE Titled players in present (101 GMs 166 IM 561 FMs) [https://ratings.fide.com/topfed.phtml]. Now however, there is a proposal, for the ICCF GM Title only, proposed by Dennis Doren, ICCF Rules Commissioner who really does a lot for correspondence chess, and SIM Uwe Staroske, ICCF Qualifications and Ratings Commissioner, to remove the requirement to have to play GMs to get the GM Title [leaving IM and SIM untouched] [https://www.iccf.com/Proposal.aspx?id=1280]. This proposal states, “A search of the ICCF data indicates that 21 players obtained at least 2 GM norms across 24 games but failed to get the GM title because of the requirement of "5 GM" opponents. (Only 5 of those players are currently active).†Leaving aside the fact that this proposal violates the very definition of the GM Title, one must beat the club in order to join it, the proposal further outlines the real problems without addressing them, “The GM Title has already become far harder to earn than it used to be, due to the rating suppression caused by the increase in draws.†Wow, let’s unpack that one line because it is a doozy!

Really, this one line, that is easily overlooked, is two huge problems that correspondence is facing: 1) death by one thousand draw paper cuts and 2) rating deflation. I will argue later that there is a third huge problem but let’s start with the ones acknowledged by ICCF itself. Every correspondence player knows the draw rate is going up. As engines and hardware get stronger, players are able to save positions that in the past would have been lost and we are finding ever easier ways to head straight towards 0.00 as Black. I would love to see a detailed analysis that describes how much harder it has become to win as Black against a decent correspondence player (let’s say someone 2300+). In the last five years, I have beaten three 2300+ players as Black without counting mouseslips (one in 2015, one in 2016 and one any day now in 2020) despite playing extremely aggressive openings like the KID (for the record that’s three Black wins out 103 Black draws or 2.91% Win rate). That may be part of the draw problem, but I have witnessed my own draw rate skyrocket 2014: 82.4% 2015: 86.7% 2016: 90.2% 2017: 90.6% 2018: 91% 2019 is still in progress. Often for these norms, you need to score +2, +3, +4 or +5 despite the fact that +1 usually wins the event… and with the draw rate North of 90% in a 12-13 game event that means you are likely to win 1 game on average… but in many events the entire cross table often sees one to three entire wins (look at a recently completed tournament here where I scored my first IM norm that required +0 and I scored +1). My win was one of five wins in the entire tournament 100/105 = 95.2% draw rate! [https://www.iccf.com/event?id=73482]. People love to tell me that’s fine because we are talking about such a weak event as Category 8 [2449 was the rating average]. Fine, I do not accept your argument but let’s look at the World Championship then shall we? Let’s look at the most recently concluded World Championship 30 which finished on 10/2/2019, Category 13 [2562 was the rating average]. This event was won by the new World Champion SIM Kochemasov, Andrey Leonidovich 2540 [https://www.iccf.com/event?id=66745]. Congrats to the new World Champion on his two wins! The event had 8 decisive games out 136 or a draw rate of 91.2% (not far off my own). But wait did I say SIM? I did. In fact, congratulations to the World Champion on scoring his final GM norm as well! This World Championship saw 5 SIMs compete in a field with 12 GMs. While 3 of the SIMs finished 1st 2nd and 3rd, only our new World Champion scored a GM norm. The problem is with all the draws that norms are not just becoming hard, but maintaining or increasing one’s rating is becoming hard. And one’s rating is how one receives any decent invites to have a chance at a norm in the first place.

The draws are a death by one thousand cuts as I recently played one of the ICCF’s proposal’s outlined “21 players that could have obtained a GM norm.†My rating is 2389 and his rating is 2504 (although SIM, he is recognized by all his peers as a GM caliber player). As Black, I obtained an easy draw without ever being in any trouble at all. The player had a rather angry initial discussion with me post mortem about how he felt it was wrong that a 2504 should have to play a player as weak as 2389 where the draw would kill his rating. He felt that his rating was being destroyed by these draws with weaker players and that ICCF should protect him from us. He felt I have it easier as a lower rated player because I can gain rating from these draws. Let’s look at his argument that one is causing the other and it is only happening to those 2500+. At the time that draw occurred, I gained exactly 1.17915 rating points from it (and he lost the same); however, this was the first draw in over 40 games in which I *gained* rating points (this statement is no longer true as a few higher rated players have since given me draws but at the time of the game’s conclusion this was the case). Yes, that’s right, ICCF already does such a good job of protecting higher rated players that it actively hands out advice to new players to be very particular about what invites and events they play because the draws could kill their initial rating. I too have experienced a net negative loss of rating points from draws and still seen my rating going up only due to the fact that wins are easier and ever so slightly more common to come by at my level. However, it means I am not exempt from the draw problem. It is patently false that this problem is limited to those 2500+ as in my last 43 draws, I lost rating in 42 of them and gained rating from 1 of them. Therefore, it appears draws are causing rating deflation and this is the real problem in both norms and correspondence in general. With the exception of matches, perhaps there is a way to have draws not count against one’s rating since there are so many of them? It kind of blends the Chess rating concept with that of Bridge where one cannot lose rating points once earned. What we can see is that the player’s argument that draws are causing rating deflation is probably true. One problem is at least partly causing the other one.

There is a third more devious problem worse than the two outlined above in my opinion. While rating deflation, draws, less players and norms are real issues… they are dwarfed by the change in behavior caused by these issues. I know it is a bit overdramatic to talk about such issues in a time of COVID, but there has been a great increase in the number of players playing Dead Man Defense (often shortened by correspondence players to DMD+ and DMD=). It is important to note that the death rate in COVID for those in the elderly category is markedly higher and the correspondence community in general is also markedly higher. I have heard estimates of the average age of correspondence player being 70-75 range though I haven’t seen any data. Back to DMD, what is DMD and why is it such awful behavior? The players are hoping you die before you win so they can claim either a win on time or if it goes to adjudication then at least claim a draw. The other hope is that you might mouse slip by being forced to play more moves which while that would never happen over the board does surprisingly account for a large portion of wins in ICCF correspondence high-level play. One of the main problems this issue causes is that if someone takes an early draw against a player who then goes on to die, the entire rest of the field gets a free half point and you are punished for playing your game quicker than your peers. Often, players over the board resign once mate is unstoppable or a simple endgame is reached in which the result is known to players of all levels. In correspondence, often even sooner than these players will resign or offer draws, knowing that perpetual check is unavoidable should we play another 10 moves past the piece sac against a bare king? How about when the engine reads +25 +30 or +40? So, for the most, correspondence players draw or resign much earlier than one might over the board due to engine and tablebase assistance. On that note, depending on the tournament, players can outright claim wins and draws either on the 6-piece tablebase (always allowed) or the sometimes allowed on an event by event basis the 7-piece tablebase. It is considered out right rude to make a player play all the way to the 6-piece tablebase to claim. I recently claimed one win in a six piece tablebase up an entire piece where my jolly opponent wanted to discuss the game in a post mortem (rarely done in correspondence in general anyways). I declined to even respond to him even though I was already having a very lively and fun post mortem with a Venezuelan on our extremely interesting draw. A worse example is the 92 move game I played with opposite colored bishops where I had two extra pawns. I offered a draw as white and the higher rated player to my lower rated opponent who declined it, forcing me to play to a 7-piece tablebase claim to end the game. This kind of behavior used to be quite rare. In the past, I would say it happened in 1 out of every 100 games… these days it seems to happen in every other game (1/2!). I have seven different opponents right now that are DMD+ against me where the engine reads +148 (or in some cases even sees mate! The 2504 player that complained about my rating earlier also complained someone was DMD+ him… I remarked that I have no less than 7 players DMD+ me and if they would resign? My rating would be about 2450 right which sort of eliminates his claim about our “giant†rating difference). The issue is that due to rating deflation these players need to artificially keep their rating high as long as they can because that’s how they will get their next invite. With the new terrible time control that is not yet Official (although there is a proposal to make it Official: https://www.iccf.com/Proposal.aspx?id=1282), players only need to make a move once every 50 days to pointlessly extend the game. I have a DMD= draw currently going on 16 months now where the player is just moving Kg1 Kf1 Kg1 every 50 days. This time control exasperates the DMD problem. When I contacted ICCF Officials to point out the severity of this problem, I was told that I should report it to the TD on a case by case basis only if it is DMD+ as they will not look at DMD= at all. However, it is usually the TDs that are the biggest offenders (6 of the 7 players described above were TDs). In fact, it is usually the same general casts of characters which allows for an easy black list to be created that bars these players from play until they can fix their atrocious behavior. This behavior needs to be punished. These players need to be reprimanded. In the end, lack of norms, rating deflation and the draw death will not make me quit correspondence chess. It is DMD+/DMD= that will make me quit. This experience is my personal experience with high level correspondence over thirteen years and I would love to hear from other correspondence players concerning these problems.


Steven DuCharme    (2020-05-09 05:06:08)
CC Server World Championship Tournament

I am giving it another go. please can one and only one of you register at chesstempo.com...then add your name and site to the related forum topic there (under general discussion) tyvm


Roberto Battaglia    (2020-06-04 09:55:29)
chess archives in pgn

A few days ago, in the chat, I put some questions regarding the existence or not of archives of chess games and their organization. The chat doesn't allow many words so I take advantage of the forum for explaining the matter.
For example on the ICCF website I find for each player a file with all his chess games, I also find archives of all the games played year by year. This allows me to create excellent databases, using for example SCID.
I also would like to add the games played on FICS but, perhaps for my limit, I was able to find only one way to access the pgn. that is: I type the name of a player in the search box and press go. If, for example, I write Fric (Fric Lubos is a friend of mine who attends both ICCF and FICGS) I find all his PNGs but there are mixed games of poker and chess and this creates a problem because I have to separate them by looking at them one by one.
I hope I was clear. Obviously it is possible that I have not seen some functions of the site that allow to access to archives where could be stored games divided by year, by player and by type of game. I thank all those who want to answer me and wish everyone good and winning games.
Roberto


Steven DuCharme    (2020-11-23 18:42:54)
On Another Site...

the system there said my position was lost...I disagreed...I said I didn't like the system...(I have since learned I was wrong)...I have been suspended there until March 18


Steven DuCharme    (2020-11-29 00:55:28)
On Another Site...

on another other site ratings will be reset to 1500 at year end


Garvin Gray    (2020-12-12 05:04:25)
Repeated draw offers

I do not see any ethical questions here.

The issue is rather simple. Are repeated draw offers a nuisance? The clear answer would be yes to this.

And so, what is a solution?

Currently, if a player is being annoyed/distracted by the repeated draw offers, they have to click 'call referee' and then formally complain about the draw offers.

Most people are not aware of this option, or do not complain. This does not mean that they are off put by it, but instead either just put up with it, which then advantages the draw offerer, or they walk away from the site and play elsewhere.

The solution I have offered allows the draw offer, but stops repeated draw offers.

I would say in all the games that have been played on this site, that out of all those games, the percentage of games that have ended in a draw after a player has offered two or more draws in a row to be so small as to not be measurable.

As a side note - As this is an ICCF rule, this means that the majority of ICCF National Federations voted to implement this rule.

Clearly, those NF's thought the issue was serious enough to implement this rule years ago, with refinements along the way to the current rule quoted here.

Since the rule has been in place and not overturned, I think the fact that many National Federations and players want this rule should be a clear clue that the issue is serious and counter measures should be put in place, as suggested with my rule offer.


Daniel Parmet    (2020-12-12 22:17:24)
What happened to all the players?

Interesting to see someone actually is in opposition to such a rule!

I am completely the opposite. It makes me want to only play on LSS and give up on ICCF. ICCF has such a huge DMD problem now; it is totally out of control.


Daniel Parmet    (2020-12-13 18:13:22)
What happened to all the players?

Well the thing is that the rule is not specific so we don't know how it will be applied but it is hard to come up with a scenario where it isn't the logical course of action. We have people that play R+3 vs R +3 for years or Opposite color bishop endgames that are obviously draw. This has to stop.


Vadrya Pokshtya    (2022-02-17 08:52:23)
Grand Dice Chess

Hello,
I am the author and inventor of chess variants. My chess variants are published on chessvariants.com and some of them can be played on Game Courier.
I would like to present to you a variant of chess with dice that I invented relatively recently and which can already be played on two sites on the Internet.

Grand Dice Chess
The Rules

The game uses a 12x12 board.

Each player has:

4 Kings
24 Pawns
8 Knights
8 Bishops
8 Rooks
4 Queens

White and black occupy the 1st-6th and 7th-12th ranks, respectively, as shown in the diagram.
Unfortunately I can't post an image here, but you can always find it here:

https://granddicechess.blogspot.com/2022/01/grand-dice-chess.html
https://www.chess.com/blog/Pokshtya/grand-dice-chess-battle
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-variants/grand-dice-chess

White starts the game first.
The game uses four dice.
Opponents make moves alternately, throwing 4 dice. The piece to move is determined by a die:
1 = pawn, 2 = knight, 3 = bishop, 4 = rook, 5 = queen and 6 = king.

The player makes four moves at the same time based on the indications of the dice and has the right to refuse (pass) any move that does not suit him, unless it is a pawn move. Unlike in regular dice chess it's allowable to pass moves. And this rule was already applied about a thousand years ago in old variant of Shatranj (Shatranj al-Mustatîla or Oblong Chess), the Arabic pre-decessor of modern chess. However it's not allowed to pass on pawn-moves, except when they are blocked.

Chess pieces move across the board as they do in ordinary chess - according to the standard rules of move and capture.
The only minor exception is for a pawn that is not allowed to move forward two squares from its starting position.
Upon reaching the last rank, the pawn can be promoted to any piece except the king and itself.
There is no castling, check and checkmate in the game.
The goal of the game is to capture four enemy kings.

The first test tournament was held on the site http://abstractgames.ru/index.php
The tournament is attended by 10 people and I received the most positive feedback from them.
The game has proven itself so well that regular tournaments have already been launched.
Yesterday the game was added to Dagaz server https://games.dtco.ru/map
And it's a great place to test the game in person, as registering on the site is very easy and doesn't require any personal information.

The game turned out to be extremely interesting and exciting, replete with puzzling combinations. Surprisingly, with this size of the board and the number of pieces, the average game lasts no more than 30 turns.


Garvin Gray    (2021-04-13 09:25:24)
Wch 22 Stage 2 ended

In terms of games management, I do not think there is any 'perfect' solution.

The only way a player could have any way of being able to predict when the next stage would start is if a full pdf calendar was published, which is not the case for this site.

With what we have to work with so far, the best way a player can predict game load is to monitor the remaining games in the cycle in progress and estimate when they are going to end.

And then a rule could be implemented that states something like: Once all games from the previous stage have been completed, the next stage will begin as of the 1st of the next month.

Which would mean that for Wch 22 Stage 2, the Round Robin group would start 1/5/2021.

And then once the last two games from the Semi Final knockouts are completed, the knockout final starts on the 1st day of the next month.


Don Groves    (2021-04-16 22:49:33)
Poker Rating

Do other chess sites have rules similar to those here?


Garvin Gray    (2021-04-18 13:26:22)
Wch 22 Stage 2 ended

I have come to the conclusion that there is no point in debating this topic.

The reason for deciding on this conclusion is that I believe that Thibault will always support the status quo and will not change is opinion as site owner, therefore it is a complete waste of time debating any of these topics.

I have been involved in these debates before, and even though sometimes changes are made, it takes many months of painful debate and even after that and agreements reached, those agreements are then reneged on.

Therefore, it is just a waste of time to attempt to try and change the status quo.


Stanislas Gounant    (2021-04-18 16:32:05)
Wch 22 Stage 2 ended

I would like to thank the efforts of Thibault who makes available to us free of charge and keeps this probably unprofitable site alive.


Garvin Gray    (2021-04-18 17:28:11)
Wch 22 Stage 2 ended

I do not disagree with your general sentiment, but as someone who has been on this site a long time, I have experienced a lot of negotiations and discussions like this, where the discussions end up going nowhere, or some kind of 'change' is promised , and then after a while, those format changes are walked back.

Therefore, I have become rather jaded by this entire process and I am now of the opinion that Thibault just offers these discussions in an attempt to make it look like he is entertaining differing opinions, when really he TRULY can not bring himself to make the changes that some of these discussions are asking for as he already believes that the site is perfect as it is.

So, you are then treating the forum posters like mugs if you are saying, lets discuss the topic and come up with new ideas, if you have no genuine intention of embracing any of the ideas proposed.

I have now said my last post on this matter for quite a while.

I have made it clear what I think of these forum discussions and their purpose, so there is now no further requirement for me to reply.


Garvin Gray    (2021-05-04 12:14:16)
Wch 22 Stage 2 ended

I decided to leave this discussion for a while for two reasons. 1) I genuinely believed that whatever would be agreed to in this discussions would be unwound at a later date and

2) That my involvement in the discussions was not a helpful factor for others to become involved in the discussions

I will now explain what issues made me go public with my frustrations with this site and with the site owner in particular.

Over a long period of time, I had a to beg, plead and convince that the FICGS World Cup was an event that would be supported, despite Thibault's regular protests to the contrary.

Once the event and the format was finally decided to 'give it a go', the numbers was huge for this site and the general format had two primary goals:

1) No preferential treatment for high rated players. Everyone started from round one and the groups for round one would be divided up to make sure that each group would be of roughly equal strength

2) In previous discussions with the WCH, I had regularly protested that when there were groups of 5, that these groups should be double round robin, ensuring that all players got eight games and that colour allocation for the top two seeds would not play a role in the final results.

Then the latest groupings for the World Cup were released and everything that had been previously agreed had been violated:

1) Groups of 5 were used and all groups were only single round robin (breaking of a previous agreement)
2) The entire purpose of the World Cup was to have large first round groups and a small number of groups, ensuring that only about 9 or so players made it through to the final round. As it stands now, about 19 players will make it to the final round. The entire format has been advertised as a two round event. Therefore, there can not be a third stage. This is a clear condition of entry and it can not be violated. (breaking of another previous agreement).

I can go on and on, but I think this is sufficient as to highlight why I come to the conclusion that the site owner has no issue at all with breaking previous agreements.

I busted my ass for a number of years to convince everyone that the World Cup was a good event worth supporting. And when it was first run, it was well supported.

To now see it so corrupted makes me just think, why bother. Another deal broken. Time to move on from this site.


Garvin Gray    (2021-05-10 11:44:13)
Wch 22 Stage 2 ended

Groups with less than 7 players: https://ficgs.com/user_page.php?page=forum_read&id=13002

FICGS__CHESS__CUP_CHAMPIONSHIP__000004

FICGS chess cup championship is a 2 stages round-robin tournament.

My wording: The two stage tournament is the basic design of the event and is hard wired into the event. The whole event was designed to be a two stage event, with large groups in the first stage, to ensure that the first round groups are competitive and also that no players received byes through to a second round based on rating.

I had to plead for years for this format and garner support from other players before you would agree to even run it as a trial in it's first year. And then in its first year, it received over 100 entries, a lot of top players entered and was a complete success.

So, I believe I have every right to be pissed off at you directly that it really does seem like you are attempting to unwind the format of this event.

The format is clearly described in the published rules, so for the site owner to so flagrantly ignore them can only be described as one of two actions:

1) Negligent
2) Deliberant


Thibault de Vassal    (2021-06-19 11:19:01)
What is the longest game of Big Chess?

Yes, checkmate is the goal (in some way) of the game, but it doesn't say it automatically ends the game. Of course I can specify it.

Finally your opponent did resign... new players do not always get immediately how the site works.

And yes, the ratio may evolve, it happened once only since FICGS started.


Thibault de Vassal    (2021-07-09 02:02:20)
Big Chess theory?

I don't think a bishop is worth 2 knights... maybe 6 paws IMO, but bishops of opposite colors also matter.


Juri Eintalu    (2021-10-21 16:36:16)
After 23.75 years...

Apronus:

"This website is in financial crisis. Please consider donating regularly to keep it functional."

https://www.apronus.com/chess/

Apronus is excellent for creating chess tactics problems and sharing them on the blog.


Vadrya Pokshtya    (2022-02-19 06:11:11)
Grand Dice Chess

Thank you, Mr. Thibault!
This was facilitated by reducing the distance between the two armies to zero. Each move is a roll of 4 dice or a movement of four pieces. As soon as the pawn chain is opened, events develop at lightning speed. It is also interesting that the right of the first move is not an advantage here for the beginning side. The first games in the test tournament on one of the Russian gaming sites showed this. The balance of white and black victories is kept strictly around 50%. The game turned out to be one of the most strategic among all dice chess variants.
You can try playing against the AI ​​here

https://glukkazan.github.io/checkmate/grand-dice-chess.htm?fbclid=IwAR1Tt6sFmrK8KYRxwPPZJnrGujGss7to2jzdV8GxSons7Pmjdk7udHoJ0PA

This is a direct link to the game with the bot. Registration is not required. The bot is very weak but perfect for understanding the game.
Mr. Thibault, I would be glad if you would consider the possibility of holding a test tournament on your site. It would be interesting to see how many people would take part and what would be their opinion about the game. In any case, everyone would get an unforgettable experience.
Since I am doing this for the game and not for the money, you are free to dispose of Grand Dice Chess as you see fit on your site.
Thank you!


Thibault de Vassal    (2022-02-28 01:44:32)
FICGS support to Ukraine

"Support to all people under attack", followed by ukrainian flag on the right side displayed about everywhere on the website. Of course, not only ukrainians can be victims in Ukraine, so it may be more appropriate.

Feel free to suggest any other message...


Garvin Gray    (2022-02-28 13:06:22)
Ukrainian players clocks during war

I think this issue is one of those higher order issues where the responsibility is on us, or more in particular, the site owner, to protect the interests of the players who country is under attack from war.

I believe the only responsible option is for their clocks to be stopped.

The players should not have to appeal for their clocks to be stopped. Those players may not be aware of this option. And quite frankly, given what is occurring in Ukraine, they should not have to think about, 'oh, I have to contact ficgs to get my clocks stopped'.

Just stop their clocks immediately and then if a Ukrainian player contacts Thibault and says 'I do not live in Ukraine and can continue playing' then their clock can be restarted.


Jan Talek    (2022-02-28 19:01:04)
FICGS support to Ukraine

I see there are many different opinions regarding flags. If it is such problematic issue let's remove flags on the website for the time of war.


Patrick DeBonis    (2022-03-02 14:19:18)
FICGS support to Ukraine

Of course, I support the Ukrainian people, but I don't hold any of this against the Russian players on this site. I'm not for removing there flags. We are all adults' here and can discern the difference between governments and ordinary people.


Thibault de Vassal    (2022-05-06 16:12:00)
Chess.com blocked in Russia

It seems that the #1 chess website has just been blocked in Russia, probably because of too many messages in favor of Ukraine... about 3.5 million users could be impacted.

Let's hope that other chess websites will not follow this way, isolating more and more our russian chessfriends. I'm just more and more skeptical on how the situation can evolve.


Juri Eintalu    (2022-07-10 19:05:13)
RUSSIA AND BELARUS NOT SUSPENDED?

It seems that Russia and Belarus have not been suspended from the international chess federation ICCF.

The ICCF Extraordinary Congress tried to suspend Russian and Belarus federations.

Online voting was carried on 27 April - 09 May 2022.

https://www.iccf.com/congresses

ICCF homepage does not provide a clear result. I do not see it. The link to THAT Congress disappeared today.

The downloadable table of the voting results does not show in detail, what country made what decision.

An excerpt from the results:

***

EC 2022-003 Suspend the Russian Federation - Void if EC 2022-001 is Defeated

For 33, Against 10, Abstain 14
(I calculate that FOR: 58%)

Amendment of ICCF Statute Article 17, EC 2022-01 required 2/3 votes. The result was:

For 34, Against 10, Abstain 13.
I calculate that FOR: 60% which is less than the required 2/3 or 67%.

***

It seems that the ICCF did not succeed to change its Statute so as to allow the suspension of Russia and Belarus based on majority voting.

Unfortunately, in my homeland, there is no information available on how our representative voted (if he voted) and based on what considerations. The national federation also has not responded to my question sent officially through the ICCF server. I also do not see any relevant news on the national federation's website.


Patrycja Zerowska    (2022-10-06 09:54:59)
Threefold repetition

It seems that there is no way to claim a draw by threefold repetition on this site. In the game 136386, where I have Black, the position that occurred after my 50th move, is the same as that after my 58th move, and will be the same after my intended 60th move, namely 60... Bf7. I therefore claim a draw in this game.

Since apparently there is no "automatic arbiter" to process the claim, I called the "referee" on 1 October 2022 (5 days ago), explaining that I made a draw claim as described above (and mentioning my intended move), but I haven't received a reaction yet.

This particular game has been a dead draw at least since move 35. I offered a draw after my 35th move and on my 59th move. Both offers were declined.

1. Why is there no automatic arbiter which processes draw claims? If I am not mistaken, this site exists more than 15 years already, and yet the Laws of Chess are not yet fully implemented.

2. Why can't I stop my clock when I make such a claim? See art. 9.5 of FIDE's Laws of Chess.

3. Why doesn't the arbiter or the referee stop my clock? Without this, a player making a claim can timeout, or, when she is short on time, may be reluctant to make a draw claim.

4. Why doesn't the referee take action? Is there a referee at all?

In the rules section of this site I read: "Also, there is no way to stop the clocks, players cannot claim that they stopped to play after they called the referee for any reason..." This is a violation of the rules of chess; it implies that on this site it is not chess that is being played, but a weird chess variant. Of course I disagree with this corruption of the playing rules, and so should everyone who call themselves chess players!

Your strange rules also state that the referee will "act as soon as possible", but so far, after five days, no referee has shown up. So you are not even acting in agreement to your own rules.

Finally, I find in your rules the following statement: "All games are played until a player resign, accept draw, or lose on time." This is the most ridiculous "rule" I have ever encountered. Not only renders this farcical rule a win by checkmate illegitimate, it is a blatant ignoring of the Laws of Chess, which allow games to be ended by accepted draw claims, or for any other reason at the discretion of an arbiter.


Scott Ligon    (2022-10-07 01:20:05)
Threefold repetition

I don't think you have to claim the draw. When threefold repetition occurs (after you submit your next move), I believe the site software will automatically declare the game a draw. In a recent game of mine, that's what happened. I got the email notification that the game was a draw almost immediately after submitting the move that resulted in the third repetition, too quickly for my opponent to have accepted my draw offer. Maybe the draw offer is necessary for the draw to happen, I don't know about that, but if it automatically recognizes the repetition I see no reason why it would matter whether there was a draw offer.

As for when / if the arbiter should act in positions that seem obviously drawn, I don't know how that's handled and I have nothing to say about that.


Thibault de Vassal    (2022-10-07 02:58:17)
Threefold repetition

Hello Patrycja,

Sorry for the delay, I just saw the email indeed... As Scott says, you have to play the move anyway before to claim a draw (if the site does not recognize it automatically). It seems to me that's how work most chess websites.


1. Why is there no automatic arbiter which processes draw claims? If I am not mistaken, this site exists more than 15 years already, and yet the Laws of Chess are not yet fully implemented.

> The only way to claim a draw after a threefold repetition is to play the move.


2. Why can't I stop my clock when I make such a claim? See art. 9.5 of FIDE's Laws of Chess.

> FICGS offers (mainly) correspondence chess, that is not OTB chess, and some FIDE laws do not apply here.


3. Why doesn't the arbiter or the referee stop my clock? Without this, a player making a claim can timeout, or, when she is short on time, may be reluctant to make a draw claim.

> FICGS is an automatic place, mainly. Games continue even if the referee has to take action later.


4. Why doesn't the referee take action? Is there a referee at all?

> There is one. But he may take some time... the forum & chat are good alternatives to get answers to any question.


Patrycja Zerowska    (2022-10-08 00:56:47)
Threefold repetition

Mr. Thbault de Vassal, you say that this case is treated the same way on most chess websites. This is not true. At the ICCF website, which is the standard for correspondence chess, the draw must be claimed (this in agreement with the Laws of Chess):

" ICCF:
9.2.1 The game is drawn, upon a correct claim by a player having the move, when the same position for at least the third time (not necessarily by a repetition of moves):
9.2.1.1 is about to appear, declares to the tournament director (or the server) the intention to make this move, or
9.2.1.2 has just appeared, and the player claiming the draw has the move.

At other websites, the rule is also correctly applied:

chess-mail.com
"8. To check the draw ( threefold repetition ; the fifty-move rule ) : Click on "Send and offer the draw". "

Gameknot:
"To declare the draw in a game due to the threefold repetition rule, please use "Declare draw" link located directly below the game board."

None of these sites violates the correct rule.

The FICGS way of handling this case involves several violations of the rules. First of all, the draw must be claimed. This rule exists for more than 100 years, and the advent of server chess hasn't changed it. Secondly, you require me to make a move, thereby taking back my claim and my intended move. Every beginner is told that it is forbidden to take back a move, a draw claim or a draw offer. Thirdly, you refuse to stop the clocks, allowing a player to lose on time by your inaction. This "inaction" constitutes interference in the course of the game by a third party, which is forbidden. Fourthly, your bot wants to automatically end the game when there is threefold repetition (or 50-move rule). Again this is forbidden by the rules! A bot can only act upon a claim, and never when there is no claim. With all these violations, we are no longer talking about chess, but about an undesirable chess variant.

It would be so easy to add a button under the chess board, where a player can make a draw claim. Why isn't this done?

You or your referee still hasn't taken action, and a whole week has passed since my claim.

I have always - since 1972 - played according to the rules and I refuse to violate the rules here and now. Therefore I won't make a move; it is forbidden.


Thibault de Vassal    (2022-10-09 01:55:57)
Threefold repetition

Oh ok then... Anyway there are indeed several violations of FIDE rules at FICGS. The first one (the 50 moves rule does not apply) because I found it interesting to try it & to make it different when I created the website. It is specified in the terms & conditions (if you read it).

The other ones exist probably because either I didn't care or know, either because it was technically convenient.

Consequently, I agree with you on this point but it works like this for more than 16 years now and I don't aim to change it until FICGS goes into other hands (that will probably happen one day) for many technical reasons.

About your game, you will have to play that move, just like any other player has to do in such situation. This will prove you agreeded the draw.


Patrycja Zerowska    (2022-10-13 08:16:44)
Threefold repetition

"... or you can lose on time or resign &/or cancel your membership, of course."

Of course... And then you ask yourself why so many strong players have left your site in the past. The answer should be very clear, not only from this incident, but also from the archived forum posts, which yield plenty of indications.


Stanislas Gounant    (2022-11-21 18:00:54)
I did not win a game since 3 years

Cela fait 15 ans que je joue sur ce site, assisté par ordinateur. Il y a 15 ans pour gagner une partie il fallait utiliser plusieurs programmes d'analyse suivant les phases de jeu. Je crois me souvenir que Hiarcs était meilleur en finale que les autres programmes. Il y a quelques années encore, il était possible de trouver des forteresses qui résistaient aux assauts de l'adversaire, même quand mon programme me disait que j'avais perdu. Mais cela fait 3 ans que je n'ai gagné que contre des joueurs qui jouaient sans l'aide de l'ordinateur ou qui se sont trompés de case en jouant leur coup. Ce que j'aimerais c'est qu'une solution soit trouvée pour redonner de l'intérêt au jeu par correspondance.


Thibault de Vassal    (2022-11-22 02:31:19)
I did not win a game since 3 years

Voilà un débat qui pourrait être intéressant...

Stanislas' message in english:

"I've been playing on this computer-assisted site for 15 years. Fifteen years ago to win a game you had to use several analysis programs depending on the game phases. I seem to remember that Hiarcs was better in the final than the other programs. Until a few years ago, it was possible to find fortresses that resisted the onslaught of the adversary, even when my program told me that I had lost. But it's been 3 years since I only won against players who played without the help of the computer or who made a mistake when playing their move. What I would like is that a solution be found to restore interest in the game by correspondence."


Juri Eintalu    (2023-11-14 03:57:14)
A Public Appeal to Chess Organisations

Herbert Kruse:

"... our older generations did the holocaust, so for me its never again, so i am with jews always!"

"Holocaust" is the name of a historical event.
"Genocide" is a concept derived from that event.
Shortly after WWII, the first international conventions preventing genocide were adopted.

Today, we have:

Article 6 "Genocide" of the Rome Statute for the International Criminal Court

https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RS-Eng.pdf

Article 2 of the UN Genocide Convention (= Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide)

https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.1_Convention%20on%20the%20Prevention%20and%20Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Genocide.pdf

There is one serious problem that has arisen.

Israel's actions toward the Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip, since October 2023 seem to match the definition of genocide exactly.

Israel's war crimes and crimes against humanity were sufficiently proven already in 2014.

https://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/TRP-Concl.-Gaza-EN.pdf

Jews are like all the other nations. In Israel, they have their state, government, and so on.

The problem is with the politics of that government, not with Jews.


Thibault de Vassal    (2023-11-20 19:39:27)
A Public Appeal to Chess Organisations

Juri, you probably spread fake news:

___________________________

Social media users recently circulated video footage they claimed shows an Israeli helicopter killing Israelis at an Oct. 7 concert in Israel.

Stew Peters, a far-right radio host and the filmmaker behind the anti-COVID-19 vaccine films "Died Suddenly" and "Watch the Water," shared the 14-second video clip on X, formerly Twitter.

"VIDEO PROVES and ISRAEL ADMITS it slaughtered its own people on Oct. 7th," Peters wrote Nov. 9. "This attack was NOT made by goat herders on paragliders. Footage from Israeli helicopter shows the IDF killing many people at October 7 concert in Israel. IDF helicopters fired on civilians fleeing the PsyTrance Music Festival."

Other social media users shared Peters’ post, and it was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.) We also found this video clip misrepresented on TikTok.

(...)

GeoConfirmed, a group that works to geolocate video footage, analyzed the Israel Defense Forces’ video, and concluded it was not filmed at the site of the Nova music festival.

We found no evidence to support Peters’ claim that the video clip showed Israeli forces killing people at an Oct. 7 concert in Israel. A group that works to geolocate video footage analyzed the Israel Defense Forces’ video and said it was not filmed at the music festival site.

https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2023/nov/17/stew-peters/no-this-video-doesnt-show-israeli-military-killing/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57UQKWdZRco

_________________________


In doubt, such news (probably fake news) have no place here... Thanks in advance.

Now we heard your message (and I did respond to your public appeal), feel free to let chess organizations decide what they have to do, no need to discuss it more here.


Ilmars Cirulis    (2023-12-27 19:30:42)
Fried Liver analysis on rybkaforum.net?

I tried to browse it using web.archive.org website, but I don't remember when (which year) and where (which place in the forum) it was posted...

There was some collective analysis of Fried Liver, after some poster postulated that black is okay in this variation.

Thank you in advance and Happy New Year of 2024! :)


Bahadir Ozen    (2024-10-19 16:25:41)
Conditional Moves Method

Hello, thank you for keeping the site active!

I am curious; ICCF - as in LSS; Is it possible to make conditional moves in FICGS? Could it be possible in the future?

Kind regards


Stanislas Gounant    (2024-11-12 01:02:19)
50 moves rule

Does this site use the rule of 50 moves, or not ? And why ?


Garvin Gray    (2024-12-30 00:05:14)
Next Ficgs World Championship Tournament

On this site, Forum topics are meant to be discussed in English


Ulises Pineda    (2025-03-20 00:31:48)
Fried Liver analysis on rybkaforum.net?

Hello, I was a Rybka Forum moderator for several years, as Uly/Vytron, and the person with most games at their Correspondence Chess section.

I've been amassing a great deal of chess analysis since 2007 in Bookup files (later named Chess Openings Wizard files) so I have all the analysis that was posted on the forum.

It was able to hold up for years, until Sotckfish NNUE appeared, that was the software that obsoleted the analysis, as so many moves were misevaluated (it said white had a big advantage when it was the opposite, and vice versa) and Stockfish NNUE was providing, at low depth, moves that were refuting entire variations and trees.

It was at that point I realized I had more than a decade of useless analysis, and it's not just the Fried Liver, it happened in all of chess. In all the positions I analyzed for my games.

Which means any recovered analysis from rybkaforum would be garbage, since I do have it but had to start new trees from scratch because nothing worthwhile could be recovered from the old ones, and it was more trouble than it was worth, Stockfish NNUE would produce variations that from scratch would be more useful to generate than wasting time refuting the old lines.

At the end of the day, getting unpublished was a fortune because people will not waste time looking at those obsolete lines.


Scott Ligon    (2025-04-23 15:21:53)
Stockfish unbeatable at modest settings?

My goal is to find the minimal setting where Stockfish can't be beaten, or close to the minimal setting anyway. The title of the thread shows my point of view on this issue. I think currently available versions of Stockfish with relatively modest computing power are already good enough to be unbeatable, regardless of how much money an opponent is being offered or how many supercomputers and grandmasters they have at their disposal when devising a strategy. From the starting position of a game of chess, it simply isn't that hard for modern engines to hold the draw with black. The draw rate on this very site is evidence.

I could make the task easier by generating a small opening book to keep Stockfish out of trouble in the opening, so in the case of Stockfish 17 @ 15 million nodes it might be good enough to simply dictate that it play e5 in response to e4 (I don't know if that specific example is true but it might be - I never found any trouble spots for that strategy with black outside of the Sicilian). But I want to do this with no opening book and also no access to endgame tablebases, just the engine's recommendation using a set number of nodes for the search. The settings I've tried so far fell short, but I think they weren't far off, so I'm taking only small steps forward. Stockfish 17.1 @ 10 million nodes seems like a good next step to me. If somebody finds a winning line against it, then I'll take the next step, either increasing the node count or if enough time has passed I'll move on to the next version of Stockfish.


A. T. S. Broekhuizen    (2025-08-01 09:13:35)
50 moves rule

it's not important anymore. In this wch game the site doesn't recognize checkmate: 147445


Sergei Orlov    (2025-08-07 17:21:03)
Изменение учетной запиÑи

I sent an email on 08/25/2018 to info@ficgs.com There is no reaction yet. Here is the text of the letter - Good afternoon! Please change the account name - Sergey Orlov to Vladimir Orlov. Sincerely, Vladimir
P.S. I registered my son, but he has never played on the site.


Garvin Gray    (2025-10-27 14:15:04)
Russian flag replaced

Before you take any action, you should actually check your facts regarding Israel. I really hate discussing this topic, but since now the site owner is considering taking similar against those who display the Israel flag as those who were from Russia and Belarus, it is extremely important to remember how we got here in both situations.

With Russia and Belarus, it was because they started a war of aggression on another correspondence chess federation.

And all sporting bodies took swift action against them in suspending their Federations and preventing their teams from competing, and players from competing and their own flag.

With the situation between Hamas/Hezbollah and Isreal, it was Hamas that was the aggressor. There was no war on July 6, 2023 and Gaza was in a state of peace. But then Hamas attacked Isreal, chopping the heads of babies and taking hostages and raping Israeli women hostages.

What did you expect the Isreali Government to do in response? Sit back and let a terrorist organisation keep the hostages and are you saying that Isreal does not have a right to defend itself?

It is quite disgusting that there are wars all over the world at the moment, about 20 at the moment, but it is only when Jews defend themselves that people feel the need to virtue signal their sense of outrage.

The correct word for them is anti-semites. We used to say 'Never again' after the Holocaust, but it now seem perfectly acceptable to support a terrorist organisation when it attacks Israel and Israel responds by trying to eliminate the threat once and for all.

And it should also be noted as we saw over a week ago. A sixth peace offer was made and Hamas responded like all the others. With more aggression.

Decide to take action against Israel on this site and you prove your antisemitism.


Scott Ligon    (2025-10-31 00:49:54)
a 2300-player tried the Budapest

I don't know if you're talking about the Budapest in the context of correspondence games, but it's playable for black, just barely. I don't think it loses by force. I have played it several times on this site.


Bahadir Ozen    (2025-11-11 10:46:11)
Increasing the Number of Games in Progre

Hello,

First of all, I'd like to thank Mr. Thibault for his efforts. We can play regularly for free. FICGS and LSS are my favorite correspondence chess sites.

Is there a possibility of increasing the maximum number of matches from 50 in the future? For example, 200 matches at a time.

Players who forfeit too many matches will be penalized; perhaps such a system could be implemented. I'm just curious; is it possible?

Regards
Bahadir


Garvin Gray    (2025-11-18 02:55:42)
Clarification of Rating Groups

It is really annoying when the site owner does not bother to clarify this issue and instead leaves it to the players to have to dig through the rules themselves to sort out this issue.

Tickets for a higher class tournament :

However, when you win a rated tournament (only after that you receive an email specifying it or when the tournaments list shows your name as winner or co-winner of the tournament) or if your rating is at most 50 points below the low rating limit of the next class tournament's waiting list, it is now possible to buy a ticket for the next class tournament's waiting list (for example if you win a chess class A tournament, you may ask for a ticket for the next class M tournament) for 10 Epoints if the following conditions are filled : 1) No more than 2 players obtained the best score in the tournament. There's no winner otherwise. 2) The player's TER must not be more than 200 points below the low rating limit of the tournament's waiting list. 3) At most 2 players may buy a ticket to enter the same waiting list. 4) Five players at least must have entered the tournament's waiting list already so that you can buy a ticket for this tournament. 5) The possibility to buy a ticket is valid after the official end of the tournament [when the tournaments list shows winners, not leaders of the tournament]. 6) As the price for any ticket is 10 Epoints, the player's account must be credited of at least 10 Epoints.


Garvin Gray    (2025-11-18 02:57:20)
Clarification of Rating Groups

So, based on this, each time I have tried to enter a higher rated tournament and received a message saying, you are outside the rating range, this has been false.

The rules of this site have actually allowed me a method of getting in, but that automated message has not been updated.

That is extremely poor and has now left a very sour taste in my mouth.


Bahadir Ozen    (2025-11-18 13:32:10)
Clarification of Rating Groups

Mr. Ulises Pineda,

I read what you wrote. I understand and agree with you. However, you're missing a crucial point.

The FICGS website doesn't charge any fees for entering tournaments like the ICCF or other sites. And we know that the world is currently dominated by a capitalist system. Mr. Thibault's efforts shouldn't be discounted here. As correspondence chess players, our numbers are small, anyway.

There's a lot of effort involved, and you can contribute through e-points or donations.

At the end of the day, think about it this way: FICGS offers a free marathon service, and we're debating whether it should be 20 or 40 km...


Ulises Pineda    (2025-11-19 06:45:16)
Clarification of Rating Groups

I'm contributing with my moves and participation in the platform, I also don't ask for money to the site owner to see my moves or to start new games, because it goes both ways, without players like me participating, the site would die, if someone gets a very sour taste in their mouth that they stop participating, it's the beginning of the end.
The players are needed, is the site needed? We're already playing a game in another place, Ozen, I see you making conditional moves over there that you can't send here, so what's the advantage of playing over here instead of playing over there?
At the end of the day, I come here because of the players I can face here, that only play at FICGS, so it's the only way. If they happen to leave because of some circumstances, then the site becomes pointless.
FICGS is its players.
FICGS needs the players more than the players need FICGS.
Gratitude goes both ways, I don't feel appreciated because the site's owner hasn't even replied here, because I'm just another useless player and if I left someone else would come to replace me, perhaps someone that buys tickets.
If I'm not valuable, if my games and move contributions are meaningless perhaps I should stop creating new games around here, there's other places that are completely free, have more features, and don't let players pay to get in higher rated tiers.


Bahadir Ozen    (2025-11-19 08:46:16)
Clarification of Rating Groups

Mr. Ulises Pineda,

Of course, you're valuable. The time you spend, your actions, and your interaction enrich both me, the players, and the site. Thank you for your efforts.

It's clear that each site has its own infrastructure and process. Yes, we play on a different site, and there can be conditional moves there. But FICGS's games also go to the Corr Database, and they're respected. We can say it's a proven platform.

You're right about the ticket issue being annoying. In that case, the paying player has a slightly greater advantage.

I agree with you in the long run, but the person who keeps the site "usable" also puts in the effort. Perhaps a different update on this rule will be forthcoming.


George Jempty    (2025-11-20 22:23:26)
Clarification of Rating Groups

I guess I "opened a can of worms" by exercising the rule regarding the ability to enter a higher rated group. But in my case specifically, my future rating is now over 2200, so I personally believe there has been NO HARM DONE. But I intend to continue to use this rule, for instance to enter >=2300 tourneys, if/when I get to 2250, there are already five entrants, and I pay the requisite e-points. I didn't outsmart anybody, I just found the necessary rule at https://ficgs.com/membership.html#tickets. A button or some other mechanism however would be a great idea


Scott Ligon    (2025-12-04 18:31:57)
Too many groups for tourneys

I agree, though I may be biased. My rating has never been high enough to get into the 2400+ tourneys, and currently isn't high enough for 2350+, unless maybe I could get a ticket once it fills up most of the way, or however that works. Seems like there just aren't enough active players at those rating levels. Interestingly, I noticed that two of the four players currently signed up for the 2400+ Rapid have never played a game on this site.

I wonder if there were more players a long time ago when the current tournament structures were set up, so those tourneys were getting filled regularly. But over the past few years the fields have thinned.


Garvin Gray    (2025-12-09 18:40:17)
Too many groups for tourneys

The issue is not so much with rating bands, it is difference in ratings of the groups.

400 points in the groups is ridiculous. A 2500 player is not going to be the first to join a group when they know that a 2150 can also join that same group.

But once again, just like a lot of issues on this site, I have brought these issues to Thibault attention, some changes have been made, but the main issue of what you see now still remains.

Just like the rest of the issues that have been discussed, if Thibault does not agree, discussing the issue is a waste of your time.


George Jempty    (2025-12-09 18:49:13)
Too many groups for tourneys

a) I agree about the rating bands and b) I wouldn't be so harsh about Thib, he maintains this site by himself


Garvin Gray    (2025-12-10 01:59:32)
Too many groups for tourneys

I am not being harsh on Thibault at all. I am just stating a fact in regards to these discussions. For there to be progress, the site owner has to be willing to embrace the suggestions.

Without this, the conversations are just that.

I guess I am just burnt out and scarred. Having been through too many of these same discussions over the many, many years and they all end up in the same place. The rubbish bin.

And it does not have to be this way. It is true that Thibault does run this site on his own, but he could appoint three moderators or other such people to handle these decisions.


George Jempty    (2025-12-10 21:00:22)
An indication for draw offers

I do appreciate your responses Garvin as I'm not as experienced on the site, more "on and off", and mostly off, at that ;)


Garvin Gray    (2026-02-13 02:36:18)
Is rating just a number on this site?

I am taking this comment from the chat to this forum for further discussion.

In my opinion, this statement is false. On this site, your rating is not just a number. Your rating dictates which tournaments you can enter and most importantly, when you enter a class/rapid group tournament, or a wch tournament, your rating dictates your chances of success.

Example: If you have made it through to the round robin final and you are the seventh seed, this means generally there is about 50 rating points between the top seed and the bottom seed.

But with TER being used as the first tie break, if you are the bottom seed, you have to win the group outright. Any ties and you are done. And so forth if you are the sixth player by rating for anyone higher.

The top seed in that group, who could only be the top seed by 1 or 2 points, in effect gets draw odds against the field. That is such an enormous advantage that it can not be understated how much of an advantage it is.

I think it is now so clear that your rating on this site is not just a number. It dictates everything about your playing experience. From which tournaments you can enter, to how you progress in the wch cycle and if you can get tickets to higher level tournaments.


Garvin Gray    (2026-02-19 04:56:14)
Is rating just a number on this site?

So much discussion in the chat bar, but as soon as I take it to the forum, all I get is crickets.


Ulises Pineda    (2026-02-21 04:30:18)
Post-tickets FICGS

Nobody has joined the FICGS__CHESS__RAPID_M__000182 waiting list or the FICGS__CHESS__RAPID_A__000321 waiting list. Everything feels emptier and the guy that has bought the most tickets on the site is going to let all his games run out of time...

What have you done?


Ulises Pineda    (2026-02-21 04:35:44)
Is rating just a number on this site?

It became just a number after tickets were introduced.

I could easily have been 2400 if tickets were promoted from the beginning and I bought them whenever it was possible, even though I would have been playing at the same level.

For rating to matter you can't just let players play in the next tier, there's the strong 2400 players that got there beating others on their tiers or lower, but now there'll be 2400 players that bought tickets and drew their games of that tier, making it be just a number.


Garvin Gray    (2026-02-22 07:45:14)
Is rating just a number on this site?

There are two types of tickets.

The first kind is when you win a lower class/rapid event and that qualifies you to enter the next higher rated event, but you have to wait until five players above the rating cut off have already entered.

This system was introduced to get tournaments started as each tournament would sit for months waiting for seven players who had ratings above the rating cut off to enter.

And then Thibault has extended the system to pay to enter, where you need to be 50 points lower than the rating cut off.

As has been said previously, one of the biggest issues is not either of these concepts, it is the difference in the rating bands for entering a tournament.

When a tournament is 2200 to 2600, no one who is rated 2500 is going to enter that event when 4 players who are rated between 2200 and 2300 have already entered.

I have already proposed a solution to this, but once again Thibault will not embrace change and we are stuck with what we have.

And I am going to say this directly. Those who are playing on here are growing increasing frustrated and how it is being run.

From TER, to rating bands, to tickets and many other issues, nothing changes.

And I think quite a few of us are reaching the point of walking away. I certainly am.

There is no point continuing on when the site owner will not change anything anymore. The only option left is to leave.


Thibault de Vassal    (2026-03-13 23:17:02)
Post-tickets FICGS

The long answer:

FICGS story is a quite simple & classic one, the reasons why it's declining are quite obvious, and unfortunately the solutions aren't. A bit of story:

1. Luckily, FICGS.com was created when there were a demand, just after IECG stopped... It grew very quickly, and I was in a rush to code it (FICGS was the very first dynamic website I ran from A to Z), there were ideas from everywhere. FICGS.com was the shortest domain name available, but not a so good one. Quite hard to remember, hard to tell, not clear for search engines (unlike chess.com which is a perfect one). Maybe it was a mistake to choose it, I can't tell. Either it meant "Free Internet Chess Games Server" or "Free Internet Correspondence Games Server", so I added another game, Go (Weiqi), to FICGS, which is a quite heavy decision: After that, FICGS is not only a chess server anymore.

2. A few years after, there are several thousands players (a few hundreds active). The number of new players slowly decreases month after month but a few sponsors come. Obviously, the way I coded FICGS made it more and more difficult to fully update from a PHP version to another one, or to change it in deep. Even now, I'm not sure to regret it though cause I couldn't have done it differently, so it is what it is. At this time, chess.com was less interesting than FICGS (my taste), but success is already here thanks to a perfect marketing formula: best domain name & pay for options. On the contrary, I chose to keep FICGS completely free.

3. Chess engines explode, correspondence chess continues its evolution (human's thinking decreases in moves decision), finally I add another game that is in a hype: poker texas holdem. New sponsors come, I still play correspondence chess myself but now I play another game even more: Google. FICGS also extends this way and it works in some ways. At its peak, FICGS is about the 32,000th most visited website worldwide. But the number of players continues to decrease, Android & phones started to change the landscape already. Chess.com released its app and added probably its best feature: a quick Stockfish analysis with evaluation & explanation for each move (which is excellent for blitz games but quite a non-sense for a correspondence chess website).

4. The number of players suddenly declines very quickly, I react by creating FICGS apps for Android, a dozen apps... On some apps, you can play against the machine, virtual opponents, chess 960, blindfold & so on. But the way to maintain it is not easy at all for many reasons, but the main one is that Google (Playstore) constantly change technical things & rules. After a few years, I even have to completely remake it, losing what was acquired. And some apps still fail to re-appear at Playstore, that's why I just made the APK files available to direct download. But these applications confirm something clear: blitz is more fun and attracts much more players. Changing rating ranges for correspondence chess tournaments or championships formats won't be a solution for this.

5. FICGS is now 20 years old! Internet completely changed over the years but it survived longer than Messenger, Skype & many other great services. If you look at many websites, new versions of their modern interfaces are often worst (bugs or options) than previous ones. FICGS was never perfect, maybe even clear, but at least it remained coherent. Now Google (just like all major services) is mainly governed by AI, sponsors left - that does not change anything, FICGS will continue to run. I created other websites, but none so far successfully helped in a way or another to solve the problem we encounter here: how to increase the number of correspondence chess, Go or poker players again? If FICGS becomes a pure correspondence chess site again with a brand new interface, I'm quite sure that wouldn't change anything or almost. I might be wrong of course, but according to me, this is a deep problem, connected to society evolutions, computers, phones, our attention, time, even health & so on... In my personal case, I wish to play correspondence chess again, but still cannot find the time to do it. Finally I have no idea what internet will look like within 5 years, but FICGS will be there. Maybe an AI will find a solution soon ^^ Meanwhile, I received many ideas to improve FICGS and I have to thank you very much for this. Few ideas were released for reasons I explained here (but new ones are always wecome), I hope you'll better understand it by reading this.


Have good games & take care!


Paul Guralivu    (2026-04-03 08:40:09)
Is rating just a number on this site?

In terms of Tournament Rating range:

what can be done... like in IECG/LSS create 2 tiers of tournaments...

the current one where we have 2200-2600

and create another system: 2200 - 2400
2500-2600

(same for all the other categories)

Best regards,
Paul G.


George Jempty    (2026-04-15 13:53:53)
Is rating just a number on this site?

Hello, I'd not responded earlier because I'd taken 45 days leave to begin the year, largely because of frustration around these very sorts of things. Even the 2300+ players do not enter 2200+ tournaments. It's not even because I want to keep drawing 2300+ players to inch my rating up, it's because I want the competition, to enrich my opening repertoire. Enriching my repertoire is the only reason I'm around here anymore, but not for long, not now that I've settled on 1.d4 and 2.g3


Thomas Cranshoff    (2026-04-16 13:42:19)
PGN

Not one particular, new on this site and just wondering. Thank you for answering


George Jempty    (2026-05-28 12:45:46)
Cheating / Forfeiting

See, this is the sort of response that has led to my disillusionment with this site. These players, Pech, Pechova, Mach, etc. SHOULD BE BANNED. I have hated playing against them this several months.




There are 8 results for site in wikichess.


Thibault de Vassal    (2407)
c4

The English Opening is the fourth most popular opening move in chess. White begins the fight for the center by staking a claim to the d5 square. Common responses are 1...e5 (which can lead to positions similar to the Sicilian Defence but with opposite colors), 1...c5 (the Symmetrical Variation), and 1...Nf6. Also perfectly playable are 1...e6 (often leading to a Queen's Gambit Declined after 2.d4 d5) and 1...c6 (often leading to a Slav Defence after 2.d4 d5, a Caro-Kann Defence after 2.e4 d5, or a Reti Opening after 2.Nf3 d5 3.b3).

The English is a very flexible opening. Although many lines of the English have a distinct character, it often transposes into other openings. If White plays an early d4, the game will usually transpose into either the Queen's Gambit or an Indian defence.

The English derives its name from the English (unofficial) world champion, Howard Staunton, who played it during his 1843 match with Amant. It fell out of favor (the opening was notably disdained by Morphy), but is now recognized as a solid opening that may be used to reach both classical and hypermodern positions. Botvinnik, Karpov, and Kasparov all employed it during their world championship matches. Bobby Fischer created a stir when he switched to it from the King's Pawn against Boris Spassky in 1972.

============

Contributors : Thibault de Vassal


Thibault de Vassal    (2407)
d4 Nf6 c4 g6 Nc3 Bg7 e4 d6 f3

The Sämisch variation often leads to very sharp play with the players castling on opposite wings and attacking each other's kings.

According to Chessbase, white chances are about 60%

============

Contributors : Thibault de Vassal


David Grosdemange    (1912)
e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6 Bb5 a6 Bxc6 dxc6

There is a question as to which pawn you should take the bishop with. Let me clear this up. White will now take the e pawn.


* white won't take the e-pawn (because of Qd4!-/+) , but white has a majority on the king-site (4 against 3) , when black's majority on queen-side isn't really effective , because of the doubled pawns .


============

Contributors : Tim Bredernitz, David Grosdemange


Ron Keyston    (1522)
e4 e5 d4 exd4 c3 dxc3 Bc4 cxb2 Bxb2 d5 Bxd5 Nf6 Bxf7+ Kxf7 Qxd8 Bb4+ Qd2 Bxd2+ Nxd2

Considered drawish at the top-levels, but interesting at the club level. White has a 4-2 pawn majority on the kingside, while Black has a 3-1 majority on the queenside. Also the two-sides have opposite-colored bishops.

============

Contributors : Ron Keyston


Gavin Wilson    (1400)
e4 e6 d4 f5 exf5 exf5 Bd3 Nc6 Ne2 d5 c4 Nb4 O-O Nf6 Bg5 Nxd3 Qxd3 h6 Bxf6 Qxf6 cxd5 Bd7 Nbc3 O-O-O a4 a6 Rfe1 Bd6 Qc4 Rde8 b4 Kd8

The king was feeling the heat on the c-file opposite the White queen.

============

Contributors : Gavin Wilson


Telmo Escobar    (2055)
e4 c5 Nf3 d6 d4 cxd4 Nxd4 Nf6 Nc3 e6 Be2 a6 O-O Nbd7 f4 b5 Bf3 Bb7 e5 Bxf3 Nxf3 b4 exf6 bxc3 f5 Qb6+ Kh1 cxb2 Bxb2 Qxb2 fxe6 fxe6 f7+ Kd8 Nd4 Nc5 Rb1 Qxa2 Qf3 d5 c4 Qxc4 Qe3 Rc8 Rbc1 Qb4 Nxe6+ Kd7 Nf4 Qe4 Qh3+ Kc7 Ne6+ Kb8 Rb1+ Nb7 Qb3 d4 Rf4 Qc6 Rxd4 Be7 Rc4 Qd7 Qg3+ Ka7 Qe3+ Kb8 Qf4+ Ka7 Qf2+ Kb8 Rxc8+ Rxc8 f8 Bf8 Nf8 Qd3 Qb2 Qb5 Qa1 Qd3 Ne6 Qc3 Qa6


and draw after 43...Qc1+ 44.Qf1 Qxf1+ 45.Rxf1 g6. For some reason now the site doesn't accept the move "43...Qc1+" (nor "43...Qc1").
============

Contributors : Telmo Escobar


Normajean Yates    (1858)
e4 e5 Nf3 f5 Nxe5 Nc6 Qh5+ g6 Nxg6 Nf6 Qh3 hxg6 Qxh8 Qe7 Nc3

Any thoughts on this line? Someone played this [8. Nc3] against me at another correspondence-chess site, and I am ie Black is already in serious trouble after 8. Nc3 fxe4 9. Be2 Nd4 10. O-O. I don't see any counterattack by black!

I mean latvian-fraser is supposed to be in crisis, but is the old main line [ie until black's 7th move] so bad? Or did I blunder? No, I didn't blunder - except by choosing this line [or, except by playing the latvian ;) ]

PS: I (black) managed to win that game because it was no-engines and white got overconfident, but that's another story :) ] For the curious, here is *that* story:

NN v Normajeanyates
chess.com corr no-engines 2008
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nxe5 Nc6 4. Qh5+ g6 5. Nxg6 Nf6 6. Qh3 hxg6 7. Qxh8 Qe7 8. Nc3 fxe4 9. Be2 Nd4 10. O-O Nxc2 11. Rb1 Nd4 12. d3 Nxe2+ 13. Nxe2 exd3 14. Nf4 Kf7 15. Nxd3 Bg7 16. Qh4 Qe4 17. Qxe4 Nxe4 18. Be3 d6 19. Rfe1 Bf5 20. Red1 Re8 21. Rbc1 c5 22. b3 Nc3 23. Rd2 Bxd3 24. Rxd3 Ne2+ 25. Kf1 Nxc1 26. Rxd6 Nxa2 27. Bxc5 Bf8 28. Rd7+ Ke6 29. Rc7 Bxc5 30. Rxc5 Rd8 31. Ke2 Rd5 32. Rc7 Rb5 33. Rg7 Kf6 34. Rd7 Rxb3 35. Rd2 Nc3+ 0-1

============

Contributors : Normajean Yates


Weglicki Slawomir    (2130)
e4 c5 Nf3 e6 d3

============

Contributors : Antonio Palacios, Weglicki [Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.10.25"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Węglicki Sławomir"]
[Black "Węglicki Sławomir"]
[Result "*"]
[TimeControl "40/5400+30"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 *








FICGS : site ,   Wikipedia : site ,   Dmoz : site ,   Google : site ,   Yahoo : site




When you absolutely don't know what to do anymore, it is time to panic. (John van der Wiel)

Chess is the gymnasium of the mind. (Blaise Pascal)

Chess holds its master in its own bonds, shackling the mind and brain so that the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer. (Albert Einstein)




Back to FICGS , Wikichess




[Chess forum] [Rating lists] [Countries] [Chess openings] [Legal informations] [Contact]
[Social network] [Hot news] [Discussions] [Seo forums] [Meet people] [Directory]