Author: Rolf Tueschen
Date: 03:47:52 07/03/04
I just read SMK's first report (unfortunately only in German) of the actual Wch in Israel. Honestly under the impression of these news I can't understand even less the debate here about Crafty and its not-existing hardware advantage. SMK writes that one can't improve the strength of SHREDDER just by some genial ideas in these last days before the tournament, the organization of the hardware is the most important aspect. Actually for the first time he had his transec computer at home in Germany in a climatized room of the company. It were a quad-opteron with four 2.0 Ghz processors and "a lot of memory". He would log in to the computer with his notebook in Israel. From a science view I have a question. Look, in the early days of such computerchess tournaments in the USA we already had that same situation. The room-filling machines stood where the companies had their central bureau and somewhere in two rooms of a university all the best programmers and some chessplayers gathered and had fun or spent much blood, sweat & tears... That was in the 60ies, so the internet communication was a bit reduced compared to today's possibilities. While Bob Hyatt in 1986 had still the situation that he personally was present but his CRAY was well playing in the USA. 18 years have passed since then and we are now connected by such a good medium so that we could talk with one another as if we were participating in the old day university meetings. This would be the normal thing to do because the 60ies are gone and out of the young programmers became professors with kids and families. Wouldn't that be totally normal if we would play such tournaments on the internet? With the best available computers just gathering in a room or two in ICC? That would be the scientifically most reasonable thing to do. But from these old days of computerchess we have a completely different sort of experts, either from chess the World famous David Levy, International Master, who's leading the ICGA which is holding the actual Wch, or from the business of chess, namely a company in Germany like ChessBase and its chairman Friedel or Wüllenweber. The company holds alone three of the leading programs, JUNIOR, SHREDDER and FRITZ! Now these two forces, ICGA and ChessBase, have economical interests and they believe that only through live tournaments in real life could make enough money. Also, programmers like SMK are under contract by ChessBase for instance, he makes more money with Pocket Fritz than with Shredder. All IMO of course because there are no public numbers. I can't still understand it. In the tournament "hall", usually a little room in a university department, there are no more than two or three veritable spectators, I know that because I was there in Paderborn, the rest is all programmers and friends so to speak. Most of them very young with exception of the few professionals or businessmen who are now close to 40 or even older. The organizers like Levy or arbiter vdHerigh are close to 60. IMO it simply makes no sense to avoid the internet with its broad distribution where hundrerds of people could attend "live" such a tournament. They can even talk together. From all over the World. While there is often not even a possibility to be connected with the internet from the tournament hall. What is with Graz one could ask. Yes, of course, ChessBase made a connection via webcam and the internet crowd could watch how a GM, organized by ChessBase, commented the games, but such a webcam of course did NOT transmit the famous game between Shredder and Jonny where Shredder won a whole point through forfeit of the Jonny author in a dead drawn position!!! Nothing was broadcasted about that scandal. Also later no interviews about it. We must face it: the live tournament allows sponsoring companies to control the reports about the event while in the internet the whole communication is free! The chessgames stand in focus. In a live transmission we see what the company decided to be transmitted. And that is what it's all about, it's about control. Of course the internet (like the ICC) does also cost money. But there the public aspect of such tournaments is in focus. For a low fee you can personally attend and communicate with all the other spectators. In Graz we could only listen and see what ChessBase found worthwhile. The same will happen in Israel. So we have a clear battle to expect in the future: the internet with its democratic possibilities for many spectators and their communicative needs and the mere profit interests of a single company that controls the informational flow and if neccessary does also censor what spectators worldwide should better not see live. Of course the internet allows also a structural control, and the technology of say ICC is also economically exloitable, but in the center we have a democratic communication. While what ChessBase in close relation with ICGA is doing is the more autocratic, one-sided and controlled flow of censored information. We shouldn't wait. We should be interested that such big tournaments are organized on the internet without being censored. Without ridiculous "ideosyncrasies" by the arbiter or attending ignorants. So that we all, we are hundreds and thousands over all, could attend such events! We shouldn't accept that a private company tells us what we should find interesting, when it's not the whole truth! Well, the whole truth is a bit questionable as such because we will always have to rely on the seriousity of people, and people make mistakes, this is all true, but I don't want to be manipulated by the private economical interests of a private company, so that the most important scandal of an event remains completley unknown for days and weeks. GENS UNA SUMUS
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