English Chess Forum

That (happily hypothetical!) would make me dream of the chess equivalent of procedural penalties in bridge

You also have to remember all the time lags involved here. 3 weeks from jab to a vaccine doing anything, and a fair while from exposure to ending up in hospital. Looking at that second article, Chile basically got hit by a wave maybe two months before having enough vaccination to really control it. ...

As to what is 'a reasonable suspicion', I believe that Mr Martynov has said that if the FPP considers the probability of cheating to have occurred to be 51% or higher then it should disqualify the player. I had heard that referenced before, but not from what I would call a reputable source. Are we ...

Nick Ivell wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 02, 2021 9:37 am

I know very little about bridge, so can I please ask: what IS self-kibitzing?

Joining as a spectator to a table you're playing at so you can see all four hands.

Bridge Base Online can't ban spectators, and I guess its just hard to catch it when its all going through a website.

I have a question for those that know something about the statistical matching methods used to compare players' moves with engines' best n moves. Is there some allowance made for opening preparation being made in events which have moved from otb to online, particularly where long time controls have...

I note Ali Mortazavi has tweeted yesterday about cheating in chess, if anyone is interested. Yes, shows no fear and openly names the player who allegedly cheated against him in the Bunratty Online Blitz. Ali wonders what’s the point if they aren’t real consequences for cheating? He suggests that th...

Naturally this leads to the conclusion that the processes used are therefore not free of flaws and innocent players may well be getting chucked out of tournaments and having their reputations trashed as a result of this. I thought it was known that the statistical methods used can throw up false po...

The wrinkle this time is that Osmak has volunteered for a lie detector test to prove her innocence. Lie detectors make even the dodgiest computer cheating detection algorithms look like paragons of reliability :) (So does a fair bit of much more credible forensic science, in fact.). Although 5 game...

Nice review

I presume there must be a typo somewhere in this bit - probably the 'and Nxg6' bit?
"and the idea is for black to play a quick …c5 followed by …Nc6 at the cost of allowing Ne5 and Nxg6."

From the Torbay Chess Congress website "On a positive note, we are planning to hold the 2021 Congress on Armistice weekend (12th - 14th November). We hope to start accepting entries for the 2021 Congress around the middle of 2021. On a negative note, don't plan too deep. This event won't happen. We...

And as I keep saying, those players already exist. its just that they have only ever played online up to now. Change that, somehow, and a healthy future for OTB chess is assured. The numbers aren't kind though. With the leagues as they are, we need to find replacements for around 80% of the active ...

Impressive records :) They definitely fit my impression - the Woodhouse (top division of the Yorkshire league) has seemed to add very few new long term players over the time I've been playing in it. Mostly from people moving in/post retirement than juniors as well. 4NCL 3N isn't that different. Manc...

I'm intrigued by how the grading bands have evolved over time, and a bit unsure what should be done with them. For a historical perspective, the three time periods for the competition in a table, converted: Old School : Open, U2100, U1950, U1800, U1650. 1st Change : Open, U2050, U1900, U1750, U1600,...

I don't think this type of book is going to be published any more (overtaken by computer databases). I suppose the concept of a "book move" still exists, but it will be spread over several specialist books. As for "main line", do we suppose that should be defined as the most popular move, regardles...

The nice thing in this case is that it is a victimless crime, as all parties involved are responsible for causing irreparable damage to the game I am happy to see all of them lose out. You do have to wonder what sort of people are playing actual money for this "fat Fritz" if it is based on stolen c...