Anyone play?
I've been learning the game for over 25 years.
Love it.

I used to play every night after leaving the studio
I keep trying to get back into it but struggle to find the time
Plus my game has got week which annoys me no end

I played a lot when I was younger but not much lately. Occasionally, I'll fire up the chess computer!



I also used to really enjoy playing Battle chess!

lol - holy hell you're old I had one of those all in one play-the-computer things way back when.

I haven't played for many years. Used to semi-regular with a friend, we were both respectable I think but nothing great. Frankly I doubt I would have the patience for it now (or it's just laziness, too much brain strain to try and analyze all the possibilities).

LOL! Yeah, I just turned 55 a few days ago.

That battle chess program was released shortly after the VGA and super VGA graphics cards began to be manufactured. I remember how impressed I was by the quality of the graphics and a couple of decades later, how awful it looked compared with the new Nvidia cards.

BTW I was looking to see what other chess programs were out and ran across Game of Kings, a newer version of the famous Battle Chess. It was made by Interplay and now you can still get it from Steam.

Interplay
Battle Chess: Game of Kings™ on Steam

I play every day. I can beat patzers but most people with half an idea clean me up

I had 1 or 2 of the PC chess games back when, Chessmaster 2000 or whatever. That was the last time I played any chess, really. One was kinda neat because it ranked you and you could play against "real" people ie they had a name and face and desc of their playing style and chess ranking, including that whiz kid (Josh something I think?).

been playing chess 50 years...had the chess computer in the 80s and could beat it on highest level but my game is not so hot now....since discovering Go, I prefer to play that.. still play the odd game of chess...Go holds my concentration better!

CS:GO?

Go is another strategy war game invented by a chinese emperor who wanted to use it to teach military skill for his nephew or son...Chinese call it Wei gi...Koreans called it Baduk...

only since last year a computer became strong enough to beat a human...computer was developed by google....

its off putting to play at first and you will get beat and beat but then the zen of it starts to play with you...it's different from Chess; more lateral thought process...anyone play go?

Oh I thought you were talking about CS:GO...the terrorist/ counter terrorist first person shooter game first developed as a mod of Half Life back in 1999 or so. Twas a good game back in the day, but I haven't played it for a while.

As for chess...you'll find me on the noob friendly 'Spark Chess', beating patzers. I used to play on chess.com for years...but they got too...too business-like...everything smells like a trap...like the 'e' version of person A asking you for directions while person B steals the wallet from your back pocket.

No but it looks like Othello on steroids.

I used to be goodish, lost against the junior NSW champ many times. LOL
Now my son plays lechess and others and beats me 9 out of 10 . He is getting very good. Studies it as much as I study audio.

Now that we are on the topic of chess, I'll be posting pics of my chess collection soon.

Argh, I have too many collections!

I really need to learn shogi

chess.com is a great site to learn and play. You can be a member for free, but you can also pay a little and get access to lesson videos and more extensive tactics training. There's a good app too so you can play just about anywhere, anytime.

If anyone wants to play, pm me and I'll give you my chess.com handle. Maybe a little Chesslutz sub group. Custom boards with mics for the pieces

chessbase.com is a great site, and requires payment after trial. I played for many years and taught my kids when they were super young; both are now in their teens and beat me more often than not. One of them plays Go too, and he quickly and completely obliterates me in Go.

I have a hard time taking online chess seriously. There's nothing quite like sitting down at a board with someone you've never played with, and learning about how their mind works on a step by step basis. Two advanced players can learn about eachother without ever saying a word. Amazing.

I use online chess as a means to experiment.. and I've learned that 90+% of people who play chess online have absolutely no idea how different of a game, black is.. and consequently, play as black the same way they'd play white. This almost certainly results in people only playing as white, and many rejecting all potential rematches (to preserve their rating) ..(which means nothing )

You should never bring your queen out early playing as black, unless your opponent has brought theirs out. <A great rule of thumb to follow!

I've been making it a point to strip black players of every piece before mating them when they play black like white. And I tell them why right around the time they can't retreat their queen any further. Blacks job is to be passive aggressive.. waiting for the opportune moment to cease whites progression, and turn the tide of momentum! And in the event that black simply cannot stop whites momentum.. white wins majority of the time (between two equally great players)

Although I do favor the late Bobby Fischers aggressive style.. and my favorite opening as white is a variation of kings knights gambit (although its technically considered a form of bishops opening).. I do not agree that hyper aggressiveness as black is the way to defeat an equally good player as white. I do, however, believe that tactical sacrifice is immensely Important for both roles. I will happily sacrifice half my board for a checkmate, and you'd be surprised how often that happens- when my opponent is worried about point value

I absolutely agree that you need to sit down and play "analog" chess as much as possible, but I'll disagree about the the 90% of online players point. There's some good players out there and plenty of games anytime day or night with players all over the world. The rating system makes sure you're playing reasonably matched players. If you want to move up, you've got to study and practice.

Of course there is no substitute for playing in person. And for young players there are excellent chess clubs and some excellent and well organized tournaments which are highly advised; one of my sons went that route for several years, and his progress was impressive.

Nonetheless, there are some monster players on chessbase. I've used that site for several different trial periods after purchasing programs over the years for computer based play. If I was serious about chess I'd still probably subscribe for when I am tired of being clobbered by players in the park.

Edit: If another person is not available and the computer is the only choice, there are boards that connect to computer programs and allow at least a rough approximation of playing a "real" game. One needs to move the opponent's pieces, but for some, including me, this is better than a completely virtual experience.
DGT USB e-boards

When I play Chess, it's usually Muddy Waters.

The rating system is only as good as the players who take it seriously. First of all.. many sites (including instantchess.com chessfriends.com chess.com etc) have soooo many players who do not play as black. Period. As in.. their rating doesn't reflect their ability to play 50% of the game

Obviously I don't mean everybody.. however I can safely say with confidence that 80% of the games I attempt to play online as white, are aborted by the other player because they were randomly selected to play black. Unfortunately, instantchess.com gives players up to 4 moves to determine whether they prefer to play a particular game or not.. and I can't even tell you how many times I've seen a 1900+ rated player quit on the 3rd move once they've realized I'm no pushover. To boot, many of the players who I've seen do this (sometimes I see the same player repeatedly commit this cowardice move) are very high ratings. I've used a 1400 throwaway public account to destroy 2000+ players, and I've lost on a 1900 account to someone with a 1100, playing some of the best chess I've ever seen out of a random low rated player.

Rating means as much as you want it to.. (just like much else in life)..

I would just personally rather not assume any predisposition about the stranger I'm about to play against, based upon any pre existing figures.
I think I would much prefer it if there were a site where you could keep ratings hush hush til after you've played the person at least once. Nothing worse than potential matches being scared away by some silly number after your name.

...hmmm.

I can only speak for chess.com, which I'm a member, but the rating system is pretty darn accurate.

I hover around 1550-1650, and this is after thousands of games.

I consistently beat anyone below 1500, regardless of color, and every once in a blue moon I'll beat an 1800, but generally speaking, I lose consistently to anyone over 1700.

That the site has tens of millions of members, and this includes most of the world's best grandmasters, the rating system is pretty solid, IMHO...

Yes, and your experience of 'custom' can and will cause you to have a predisposition that you should lose to anyone over 1700 for a good long time coming.

All I'm saying is that there are players out there on your favorite sites that rating has no bearing upon. No matter your ratings, there will always be poorly rated players who are skilled and just messing around; and high rated players who slip up because someone's rating caused them to severely underestimate their opponent. There are in fact players with 1900+ ratings who never play black. Now.. if your rating is 2000, but you declined every game as black.. is your rating actually 2000??!?������

Honestly, this is the first I've heard of this. Not saying it isn't true, just that I've never heard it mentioned in the chess forums etc. I've been on chess.com for about 7 years (1450 rating). When I see a player abort, it usually seems like they were higher rated and didn't want to risk the point loss.

If a player gets to an 1800 rating never playing black, then you still have to play against an 1800 rated player when you play that person. It doesn't really affect you. It's only the integrity of the other player (and I agree that wouldn't be his/her actual rating). There's cheaters out there too who use engines while they're playing you. The nice thing about chess is you can put all that aside and focus on your own journey. For all of the flaws of online chess, I feel the benefits outweigh the cons. It would be impossible for me to have played the thousands of legit games I've played on a real chess board with my opponent in front of me with a clock in the last couple of years. If I was unaware of the fact that my opponent was cheating or only plays as white, I'm still a better player than I otherwise would be (and I'm still average so how sad is that lol).

I started using a dgt board when I was working a lot and it seemed the only time of the day I could ever play was in the middle of the night. Without the board connected to a computer I would not have played as much, and I would not have progressed to as strong an elo.

The databases available to online and computer players can do a lot to help players improve. Playing in person is necessary, but the computer tools are strongly advised IMO.

Also, playing black is fun. And playing someone who never plays black is a nice challenge; he/she still needs to win and they might not.

I completely agree with you. Online chess is an incredible tool that I've been utilizing for more than 20 years now. Just like online poker, there is no cleanup. Online poker offers roughly 7 hands per every real hand you'd be dealt in person.. I'm sure we get a few games in online in the time it'd take for an 'actual' game of chess in person.. I've found that people tend to play more slowly and carefully in person.. but that's not to say there aren't careful players online, by any means! Chess was literally the first thing I was doing online when my father decided to get dialup

As I previously said, it's a means to experiment for me. A carefree means to try out your wildest imagination on a Chess board.

This is totally random, but is anyone else blown away by the fact that fischer passed away at 64, with 64 squares on the chessboard?

You guys have inspired me to try again. So, I fired up the chess program on my Mac, and I lost in about 8 moves. Maybe I'll do it again someday.

My son spent a few years as a professional poker player. As in, 50 hrs per week, had an actual income, lived totally off it. He divided the poker world into two camps - tourists and professionals. The tourists would walk in and give their money to the professionals, and the professionals would end up dividing it more or less evenly, because between people who understand the odds, poker is genuinely a game of chance. Your actual job is as an entertainer. You want the tourists to come in and feel good about handing you their money.

There's only one way to go, and that's up. You'd quickly improve, especially with the database books etc. available on computer programs. So if I ever see a "kafka" online I'll be sure to stay away.

Poker is too tough a game for me. I had a friend who partially paid his way through college by playing poker; though he was a big fish in a small pond, he's long since moved on to bridge and still brings in some nice change.

I've been getting back into chess lately. I'm pretty stoked about it, I ordered a new chess set. I have plenty of boards so I just ordered the pieces.



Here's a close up of the pieces.