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Subject: Re: I think it's ok...

Author: Mike S.

Date: 06:04:40 05/30/02

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On May 30, 2002 at 08:25:40, Harald Faber wrote:

>(...)
>To ignore that there are endgames with mate or catching pieces in >50 moves
>makes FIDE also out of real life like the Catholic Church and the Pope
>(although they do not have much in common with chess).

I think FIDE doesn't ignore (as there were exceptions, temporarily), but has
decided so on purpose: It is a matter of definition. What is a *won game* (with
emphasis on "game"), and when should it be declared as drawn (i.e. because of
too long maneuvring, where nothing "substantial" happens)?

There are two things, which are not necessarily the same:

(1) The (theoretical and technical) possibility to force a mate, no matter how
long it takes against best defense, and

(2) to include that into the definition of a won game by the rules, even if it
needs more than 50 moves without pawn move or capture.

I support the FIDE decision to remove the exceptions. It reflects the charakter
of chess basically being a *game*, not a scientific experiment in the first
place (at least not when played over the board; endgame research is another
issue). It has also practical advantages... the list of exceptions would be long
and growing, with cases which need 200+ moves.

mfg.
M.Scheidl



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