2016 Candidates Moscow 10-29 March

[Paul Habershon]

What is the difference between the Agon/Candidates position and Sky Sports/Premier League football? Thinking aloud, I suppose the BBC can broadcast the football score and describe what is happening during a match but cannot use live pictures. I guess the crux is that chess spectators need only the moves, not the manner in which they are physically played.

[NickFaulks]

I will visit the Agon site

I shall follow on Chessbomb, assuming their Wikileaks approach works. I don't see why it shouldn't.

I haven't watched Test cricket for years because I refuse to pay money to Murdoch. You know what? It's hasn't damaged ny quality of life as much as I had expected, and I have forgotten why I used to find it so important. If Agon are successful, it may turn out that the same is true of watching chess.

[Roger de Coverly]

What is the difference between the Agon/Candidates position and Sky Sports/Premier League football?

Quite a lot. Sky do not attempt to prevent discussion of games in progress or prevent external sites reporting match events as they happen. Being a board game, chess has evolved a very concise and computer friendly means of recording the moves played which anyone discussing games in progress may wish to employ.

[JustinHorton]

I will visit the Agon site

I shall follow on Chessbomb, assuming their Wikileaks approach works.

Or indeed assuming that ther Wikileaks approach needs to work, and isn't (a cynic writes) the invention of an invisible friend...

[NickFaulks]

Personally, I don't see any point in asking that question. Who are Chessbomb anyway? I've no idea, I just know that I like them.

[JustinHorton]

Don't worry, if they get asked who their invisible friend is, I shall be doing I am Spartacus even if I'm not.

[Mick Norris]

Seven figures in dollars, which has already been reported.
And Google knows exactly the size of the audience -- they wrote the metrics, which is why they are working with us. They know the audience for these events is in the tens of millions. They have measured it, not us. It is not just the "hard-core" players and the kids in schools.
You only know your own little block and you confuse that with being the rest of the world. You are parochial.
And thick headed. Maybe that makes you a good chess player, but it makes you rotten at understanding the world you cannot see and touch with your own hands.
Like I said, good luck to you. I really am done. It is a waste of my time and energy.

You're really not a nice person, are you?

Anyway, you have convinced me not to visit the AGON website during the match

[MartinCarpenter]

I'm not sure if the official website will dominate - the simple act of requiring a log in (presumably with some sort of registration) is onerous enough in and of itself to deter a good chunk of the potential audience for this sort of thing.

[JustinHorton]

You acknowledge that any breach, threatened or actual, of this Terms will cause irreparable injury to Company, such injury would not be quantifiable in monetary damages, and Company would not have an adequate remedy at law. You therefore agree that Company shall be entitled, in addition to other available remedies, to seek and be awarded an injunction or other appropriate equitable relief from a competent court restraining any breach, threatened or actual, of your obligations under any provision of this Terms. Accordingly, you hereby waive any requirement that Company post any bond or other security in the event any injunctive or equitable relief is sought by or awarded to Company to enforce any provision of this Terms

From the Terms and Conditions. Can anybody explain to me what this means?

[NickFaulks]

the simple act of requiring a log in (presumably with some sort of registration) is onerous enough in and of itself to deter a good chunk of the potential audience for this sort of thing.

You have to assume that they are intending to abuse that somehow, otherwise why bother?

[MartinCarpenter]

You mean on these lines?

"Further upgrading of the broadcast and the website on the whole requires knowledge about our users, means you. Therefore we would like to know the geo location, statistics, ages and the whole lot."

That would be fairly valuable information to advertisers (chess fans being relatively well off on a population basis) but their chances of getting chess fans to actually put detailed real information in just to watch a tournament must be fairly tiny.

Thankfully - as just tested - all it actually asks for (despite the spiel above) is an e-mail and they don't (emperically verified!) do any verification beyond basic format checking. So I presume that 99% of people using the site will just stick a fake e-mail into it. Anyone who doesn't do that for this of emphemeral event certainly should!

The T&C look to be great fun, somewhat hard to believe that some of them could possible stick. Fairly sure there are protections vs what you can sign away by agreeing to T&C in at least some places.

[Ray Sayers]

Well, I tried to use the official site, like a good little boy, and it says the page can't be displayed. What a great start!

[JustinHorton]

Don't worry Ray, I can keep you up to date if needs be

[Ray Sayers]

That's very kind, thank you. But then Agon will sue you. I will just stare into my blank screen for a few hours, then I will be motivated to go and buy a BMW.

[Brian Towers]

Thankfully - as just tested - all it actually asks for (despite the spiel above) is an e-mail and they don't (emperically verified!) do any verification beyond basic format checking. So I presume that 99% of people using the site will just stick a fake e-mail into it. Anyone who doesn't do that for this of ephemeral event certainly should!

I think there is a site which will give you a free, temporary (lasts for about half an hour) email address that will also get around initial registration and leave you junk-free after the event.