Author: Fernando Villegas
Date: 07:50:39 05/04/98
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On May 04, 1998 at 08:12:23, Jouni Uski wrote: >From different SSDF posts I get the feeling, that probably SSDF will >stop their ratinglist service soon! And persons like Ossi Weiner and Ed >Schröder are speeding up this by their childish attacks against SSDF! >Additionally also some SSDF person have lost their computer chess >interest (I am myself as interested as 15 years ago!). >Let's hope that SSDF still manages at least two additional years! And >they need our all support... Hi: It is my feeling that if SSDF is doomed or it will be soon is not because Ed or Ossie broadsides, but because it is or will a victim of the same forces that are producing everuwhere, in this field, a lose of interest or at least a radical change in the quality of interest. You can verify that one after another specialized magazines has been disappearing and the reason is the same: chess computers are not anymore a novelty, the ABC of the issue is widely known and also the strenght of even average programs is such that to list them lose importance. Let me do some sociology of this field: in the 80's a lot of people, now mature but then in his 10'2, 20's or 30', found in chess computers an exciting field of interest both for his chess and for his scientific inclinations. They knew nothing of it, all was sheer marvel. Then magazines appeared and got a public telling them how these machines worked; besides each new computer -then mostly computers, not software- and each advance in strenght they brought was as dramatic as an improvement from 1450 elo to 1600 is. And then from 1600 to 1700, then to 1800. That was something very akin to us, players of the same strenght, in average. The interest produced that people like that in SSDF was engaged in that work, between others things. But look at it now; he have got older, machines are running at level far above us as average and so the imporvement in strenght are, for us, academical.It is not difficult to undesrtand that after 20 years examining programs a moment comes when you are absolutely exhausted and you have lost interest.The fact that Rebel of Fritz is now in the top of the list has not the same hot interest that when Mephisto got the edge over Fidelity in the 80's. Passion is over or has changed. For us, average customers, the problem is not anymore which program is enough strong to give us a good ganme, but which of them brings this or that frill we are interested to learn FROM the computers. There is a great change in this world of chess computers and so old institutions are doomed. Magazines, SSDF list, companies, kind of customer, all is changing. Fernando
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