Hi Stephen,
Well, the tournaments vary, as do time controls. Most of the time, though, the
tournament will be a swiss style. Most of the tournaments on usbca_chess,
ftp-chess, and skype_chess will have 30 moves in 60 minutes for time control.
Olivier’s tournament uses game/1:45. Most everything is done via skype, either
direct skype connection or skyping into a chatroom. Moves are spoken aloud to
each other. The player receiving the move is expected to repeat themove back to
ensure that what was heard is the same as what was spoken. When you state your
move, rather than saying, for example, e4, you would say echo 4. The TD always
posts a set of rules at the start of each tournament to all players, and those
rules will include the preferred alliterations (is that the right wordf?) Most
TD’s prefer that there be a third-party timekeeper present for each game, and
they will prefer, generally, that both players maintain a written record of a
game. The posted rules will include any tolerated variances, there, as well.
But it’s really pretty straightforward. The TD will post the pairings and
amount of time for the round. Then, each player sets out to establish a playing
schedule with his or her opponent. It really runs rather like a face-to-face
tournament except that you’re talking via computer rather than sitting across a
table.
USBCA will run at least one Round Robin, usually, and at least one 960
tournament, usually. I will usually run a Round robin on ftp-chess, as well.
USBCA also runs an annual correspondence tournament, meaning email. Oh, yes,
and ftp-chess runs a realtime annual Ladder tournament. USBCA and blind-chess
run annual correspondence Ladder tournaments.
I forgot to mention, to participate in USBCA tournament activities, you’re
expected to be a dues-paying member. Dues are a thumping $15 US every two years.
The only thing that’s a bit squirrelly, in my opinion, is the plethora of
ratings. I have a separate rating for skype_chess, Ftp-chess, usbca_chess,
TournoiSkype. And none of them correspond to my US Chess Federation rating.
(Grin) But, if that’s the worst we have to deal with, I don’t think it slows
anybody down.
You should have seen Olivier’s announcement for TournoiSkype 21, now entering
sign-up phase. Skype_chess has also just posted it’s new sign-up info. Let me
know if you’re interested in subscribing to any of the lists I’ve mentioned.
Reply directly to Olivier for his tournament and directly to Pankaj or to
skype_chess for that one. Look for a contact request from jim.thoune67 on
skype. I’ll send it out the next time I’m on there. Let me know if I left
anything out.
All the best,
Jim T
From: usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Stephen Thacker
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2017 11:50 AM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: Some Questions About Shredder
I’m interested and do have skype, my address being chessman99701 but can you
fill me in how it works first because I wouldn’t want to break the rules even
though I have no vision whatsoever, but Mr Murdue will tell you his experiences
I’m sure about playing with blind players (his good experiences I mean).
Cheers, Steve
From: JT
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2017 6:46 AM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: Some Questions About Shredder
Stephen, If you’re interested in some realtime games, may I invite you to join
the next USBCA tournament, when Curtis gets it organized, and/or the 21st
French Skype Tournament, which Olivier is currently organizing. The ftp-chess
tournament currently running has two more rounds to go, but Skype_chess may
well be starting another tournament fairly soon, although I haven’t seen an
announcement.
All the best,
Jim T
From: usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Stephen Thacker
Sent: Sunday, February 12, 2017 6:57 AM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: Some Questions About Shredder
Hi JT, I must be about the same strength as you, I have had good games with
Shredder and I have had draws in the past against people three hundred points
and more above me so I/m just looking for practice and some guidance and yes, I
do use the take back button often and also see what the machine would do by
reversing the colours often. Cheers, Steve
From: JT
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2017 10:44 PM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: Some Questions About Shredder
Hi Stephen, and All,
As long as your conversation is germane to the subject of chess, this is the
right place to converse.
I, too, find Shredder has helped my game. Not because of relying upon the
computer’s analysis, but because I don’t use a chessboard when I play Shredder.
I force myself to concentrate on the position, using my finger on the screen of
my IPhone to help me orient myself to the layout of the board. I don’t use the
clock; I do use the Take Back feature. Incidentally, I find that Shredder rates
my games regardless of whether I have used the Take Back feature. While I’d
like to say that my 1700 rating, per Shredder, is indicative, it would have no
bearing in fact, quite obviously Because I use Take Back. But these exercises
with Shredder have helped me study how a position evolves and how the
adjustment of a move here or there changes that evolution. Unless you have a
club handy, well seeded with strong players, I can think of no better training
ground for someone who really wants to improve his or her game. Now, I shall
sit back quietly and wait for my gratuity check to arrive from Shredder! (Grin)
Cheers,
Jim T
From: usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Stephen Thacker
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2017 1:55 PM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: Some Questions About Shredder
i, I’m not sure where to send questions/replies, so forgive me if this is the
wrong place, but I’m not worried whether or not the computer strength is too
high, I’m using the computer to broaden my chess experience and learn and
Andrew will tell you I sometimes do the expected like against him at Llandudno!
From: mordue andrew
Sent: Saturday, February 11, 2017 4:32 PM
To: usbca_chess
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: Some Questions About Shredder
Hello folks.
I'm a bit late getting to this discussion but Jim has just answered some of the
original questions perfectly. I just want to amplify a point. Yes, you can set
the playing strength of various apps/programs to something nearer your
approximate playing strength. Clearly playing something rated at 2600 isn't
going to get you anywhere so resetting is sensible to a practical degree.
However, as you reset you also alter some of the evaluation programming hence
there will be hiccups as Jim clearly demonstrated with his underpromotion.
Chess is a game that is a primarily a contest of judgements. Computers can get
it wrong just as easily as humans. The best example I can quote is when I was
analysing an IBCA Olympiad game from a few years ago. My computer suggested one
line where Black took a Pawn and evaluated it as about +1.25 in Black's favour.
In fact because Black was a Pawn up meant he was losing. His extra Pawn blocked
his primary line of attack and he had no counterplay. The two humans involved,
both strong and experienced players, appreciated this which is why White had
sacrificed the Pawn and Black had refused to take it. Excellent judgement by
both but poor by the computer.
I haven't been posting much recently due to personal circumstances. However, I
do hope to post an annotated game shortly. In that game there is at one point a
computer evaluation of +3 to White even though the material is even. A simple
comparison of each of White's four pieces, including the King, to its
counterpart shows that each White one is clearly more active. An evaluation of
+1 to either side is usually a clear indication of who is better. At +3 I'd be
looking for winning lines.
Any questions or further observations welcome.
Regards,
Tyson
On 11 February 2017 at 15:54 JT <hazelnutt2001@xxxxxxxxx
<mailto:hazelnutt2001@xxxxxxxxx> > wrote:
Hi Evan & Jim H, and everybody else!
As far as setting time control on FICS, Jim H, you are right, you cannot set
time control based on number of moves. You can only set it for the entire game.
Jim Slagle worked out that you can approximate to the 30/60 time control we use
in our tournaments by setting game/1200 (that’s seconds) with a delay factor of
90. If you avoid taking a particularly long time on a move, this will generally
work. The other thing you won’t get, though, is remaining time once the game is
over. Well, more accurately, what it will give you as remaining time is pretty
meaningless.
As to the Evaluation numbers in Shredder, I finally figured out that if it
shows a + sign, it means white’s advantage. If it does not show the +, it means
black’s advantage. The number itself approximates pawns. For example, if
Shredder shows +1.29, it means that white has an overall advantage of roughly a
pawn and a quarter. It calculates based, not only on material equality, but
also on positional factors. It seems to be generally fairly accurate, as far as
I can tell. However, do not always take Shredder at his word. I was playing
Shredder, and I reached a point where I could promote a pawn. Yaaahooo! I
observed that if I promoted to a queen, he got some counterplay, but if I
promoted to a knight, I would promote with check, and, after he made the only
move he could make, I would fork his king and queen. Shredder told me he
thought I’d made a bad move when I promoted to a knight. And he was playing at
something like 1450 rating strength. I told him to shut up and continue. Two
moves later, when his king and queen were forked, he resigned. So, As Master
Ross has pointed out on more occasions than one, computer analysis is not
always to be believed.
I’ll tell you what, though, I’m loving Shredder. Are you guys using it with an
auxiliary board or are you just using the phone screen to help orient yourself?
All the best,
Jim T
From: usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[mailto:usbca_chess-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Evan Reese
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2017 9:15 PM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: Some Questions About Shredder
Hi Jim,
Well, after playing, and resigning, from two games, Shredder now says my ELO
rating is 996, and that it will reduce its playing strength from 1396, where I
experimentally set it from its default of 1400, to 1196. I’m done for tonight,
but I’ll see if I can tell the difference in its playing strength when I try a
game tomorrow.
I’m having a lot of fun.
Evan
From: Jim Homme
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2017 10:04 PM
To: usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:usbca_chess@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [usbca_chess] Re: Some Questions About Shredder
Hi Evan,
I'll take a stab at some answers. The numbers you talk about represent the
evaluation graph. It says who is ahead and how far it thinks they are ahead.
I don't understand how to read it. You can turn it on and off in the Settings
tab.
As for finding help, you can see Help in the Info tab. Almost at the bottom you
will see a link to a page of frequently asked questions and answers, and
another one to the web site of the deveeloper, where you can read more help.
As for how it said what opening you were using, it probably either contains the
ECO table of openings or looks it up. For more info
on that, google encyclopedia of chess openings or see Wikipedia about chess
openings. You can also see much of the same information at Wiki Books.
If you are interested, you could also get another chess game for your phone
called ChessWise. It has some different features than Shredder has. For playing
games, I like Shredder best. For checking out openings and end games, I like
Chesswise the best. The paid version of ChessWise lets you play using your
member profile on the Free Internet Chess Server, FICS, if you have one.
Unfortunately, though, the last time I checked, you couldn't set every time
control our group uses. I could be wrong about that, though.
Thanks.
JimWhen it says "This game can still be rated," I am unsure what that means.
On Feb 10, 2017, at 8:28 PM, Evan Reese <mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:mentat1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > wrote:
Hey Guys,
I just played my first game against Shredder. I went twenty moves before I gave
it up. But I’m going to start another one here in a minute.
I think I could get hooked on this app pretty quickly. I know it’s not the same
as playing against a human, but it’s a lot of fun and there are no points on
the line, as well as being great to be able to take moves back and get hints if
I want.
I just had a few questions.
Firstly, does anyone know what this Evaluation number means? It seems to change
every time I look at it. Currently it says Evaluation 3.68 after my 20th move.
Also, is there a manual for this program that explains the various features? I
hit the About button and the Info button, but I didn’t notice any kind of
documentation. For example, I played White in this first game, and I did not
consciously try a specific opening because I don’t know any, but here it says
Opening C26. How did it get that if I wasn’t playing an opening? Another
example of a question would be that it says at the bottom right of the screen,
“This game can still be rated. Image.” Does anyone know how to activate that
with Voiceover. It doesn’t appear to be a button. I just brought up a Ratings
screen, and it says zero games and zero ratings, so how do I get it to start
rating me. Can I get an ELO rating from it?
Thanks for any advice.
This is truly a great app, and extremely accessible with Voiceover.
Evan
