Mind Sports Olympiad

[Paul Cooksey]

Talking of Mind Sports, anyone going to this excellent event? http://www.boardability.com/

Er, if there is a rapid play chess tournament on Saturday, yes. But I am failing the initial test of understanding the website. Can someone clarify which chess events are when? Also, are all entries on the day?

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Thank-you. Diving Chess here:

http://www.boardability.com/game.php?id=diving_chess

Chess events here:

http://www.boardability.com/game.php?id=chess

[Paul Cooksey]

Thanks Christoper, although I could not see the answers to my questions on that page.

It does amusing award several sub-200 players the GM title, and have a list of IMs including several FIDE GMs, including Soviet Champion Lev Psakhis and John Nunn, who we established previously is not an underachiever.

[LozCooper]

It was also a surprise to see that Danny Gormally is allegedly Swiss

[Ray Sayers]

I was mystified by the site.

I am used to something like: this day, play x games at y times.

I guess I failed the Mind test.

[Kevin Thurlow]

Do they publish somewhere their title regulations? Perhaps it is an answer to Stan Vaughan in USA. http://stanvaughan.com/default.aspx for anyone who's interested.

[Maxim Devereaux]

Do they publish somewhere their title regulations? Perhaps it is an answer to Stan Vaughan in USA. http://stanvaughan.com/default.aspx for anyone who's interested.

Thanks for bringing Stan Vaughan to my attention. Can't think how I haven't come across him before.

I spent a very illuminating and entertaining half hour googling and reading all about this self-deluding egoist and fraudster.

[Ray Sayers]

Surely this is a spoof?!

There's a picture of a book - 'Paul Morphy - Confederate Spy'!



PS omg he is for real! Better not say more in case he sues me!

[Alex Holowczak]

Do they publish somewhere their title regulations? Perhaps it is an answer to Stan Vaughan in USA. http://stanvaughan.com/default.aspx for anyone who's interested.

Thanks for bringing Stan Vaughan to my attention. Can't think how I haven't come across him before.

I spent a very illuminating and entertaining half hour googling and reading all about this self-deluding egoist and fraudster.

He doesn't have a wikipedia entry. So despite his alleged ego, he still hasn't really made it yet.

[Ian Thompson]

Do they publish somewhere their title regulations? Perhaps it is an answer to Stan Vaughan in USA. http://stanvaughan.com/default.aspx for anyone who's interested.

Thanks for bringing Stan Vaughan to my attention. Can't think how I haven't come across him before.

I spent a very illuminating and entertaining half hour googling and reading all about this self-deluding egoist and fraudster.

I wonder if I am one of his opponents in the "In 1988 I set the new world record for the most simultaneous correspondence chess games, playing 1300 games at one time."

If so, the claim is a bit misleading. I started a game against him on 1 April 1988. The game lasted 3 or 4 moves, until the Tournament Director informed me that he had been replaced in the tournament by a new player. Shortly afterwards, I received a letter from Mr. Vaughan asking if I'd like to continue the game as a friendly. I declined. He'd been removed from the ICCF tournament because the US correspondence chess federation had banned him for reasons unknown to me, other than that he was in dispute with them over something.

Regardless of that, how could he possibly know that no-one else has played more than 1300 games simultaneously, other than it being an implausibly large number?

[Maxim Devereaux]

I wonder if I am one of his opponents in the "In 1988 I set the new world record for the most simultaneous correspondence chess games, playing 1300 games at one time."
<snip>
Regardless of that, how could he possibly know that no-one else has played more than 1300 games simultaneously, other than it being an implausibly large number?

Perhaps because it's completely impossible, at least to play decent correspondence chess. At that time, I guess pretty much all correspondence chess was still postal. Let's say an average of 6 days per move, which I am led to understand (having never participated in such) is at the upper end of time limits. Let's throw in another week of postal transit time too, just for good measure (though his opponents would have to be in some pretty remote places for this to be an *average* I'd say), that's 13 days.

That means that in order to play 1300 games, every day you would have to decide on your move in 100 games. If you don't go to work, and do nothing other than play chess and sleep, let's say 16 hours a day of chess, that's 960 minutes, or a little under 10 minutes per move per game. The level of analysis you would get to in 10 minutes (given you are pretty much going to be seeing this game afresh every 13 days, and not remember your previous analysis) would not be very deep, so I expect any serious correspondence player would take you to the cleaners. The generally available level of computer chess assistance in 1988 was also not very high. Certainly I don't think that, unless you ran 100 computers simultaneously, you would have derived much benefit in correspondence chess from using the computer over so short a period, apart from some blunder-checking.

Maybe he could have done it if he was satisfied with a 50% score, and just played his opponents off, one against another, in pairs. Then you don't need to think at all, just check up the corresponding game. You might get screwed by postal delays at some point, but it would give you a chance of making it.

[Ray Sayers]

Wow, he must have deep pockets.

At today's 2nd class post costs:

36p for 2nd class mail
Say, 35 moves per game on average

That's 36 x 35 = £12.60 per game

Multiplied by 1300 games = £16,380

That's real dedication!