[blind-chess] Re: Proposed game help rule revision

Hi Lewis,
Aha, now if only one person replies to 1. e4 with 1. ... h6, that does show it isn't popular. But what if that one person won the game, and it shows a 100% success rate?
Once you get past the first move or two it seems that multiple move choices have had 500 or more people play that response.
The games in the site's database are, in my ignorant opinion, from "theme" tournaments where the sponsor sets up a tournament and each player must play a certain number of pre-determined moves, so that they get a good sample of games with that variation. It does not mean that variation is necessarily more popular than an alternative. Still, for a beginner or even a "club player" it is a good learning tool
And that's my point: a learning tool. If one is playing a friendly or tournament game by email, there is the sporting element and there is the learning element. Folks have said they do not have the time, or want to spend the time, studying a great deal. Fine, a site like this can give you some meaningful ideas in ten minutes, and you get to learn to play an improved game of chess.
In a book by Grandmaster Edmar Mednis that I have been reading, he recommends a three-part approach to improving one's game: Play frequently against players of equal or greater skill; replay and study your own completed games to find ways you might have done better; and study annotated games or other published material. He says just playing games isn't enough - you will just stay at yoru current level of skill.
Someone posted a few weeks ago that he (or she) had only an hour or so per day to devote to chess, so how to improve? I think in that case "study" would need to be in the mix somewhere, and let's face it - there really are not as many learning opportunities available to a blind person as there are to sighted folks. So make use of what tools are there.
But if I am the only one who feels this way then fine, go with what the majority wants. 

Rod
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