Author: Bruce Moreland
Date: 15:29:13 06/04/98
I wish folks would use the titles they win, without embellishing them, and I wish they would state they year that they win them, unless they won them this year. The most recent example is the inside last page of the USCF magazine, "Chess Life". This is a Virtual Chess 64 ad that claims that the program was "1996 & 1997 world microcomputer chess champion". Let's say that you participate in a sport, and that you are good enough to win a world championship title. Then you do the same thing the next year. What does this imply about you and about your competition? It implies that there is a gap between you and the competition. So the ad leaves the reader with the idea that Virtual Chess is better than the competition. But the problem here is that Virtual Chess was not the "world microcomputer chess champion" in either of those years. The 1996 world microcomputer chess champion was Shredder, and the 1997 world microcomputer chess champion was Junior. The reason that they can say "champion" is that there was a title given in both of those years to the highest finishing *professional* chess program, this was the "world professional microcomputer chess champion". This is an extremely important distinction. In 1997 the highest finishing professional program was Virtual Chess, who finished second overall, and in 1996 it was also Virtual Chess, who finished in a tie for 5th through 7th. Fritz was 7th on tie break points, there was a playoff, and Virtual Chess won. But the ad does not say "world professional microcomputer chess champion" in one very prominent place, it says "world microcomputer chess champion". This is misleading, and I have to believe damaging to those who really won these titles in those years, and damaging to others who have programs that are in the same league with Virtual Chess, and in fact may have finished higher than Virtual Chess in at least one of these tournaments. I ask that people who win titles please make use of the titles responsibly and accurately. Those who have won less restrictive titles do not need to have their reputation eroded by others who conveniently forget to insert the appropriate restrictive adjective. bruce
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