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Subject: Re: How can we ever have Regular(non GM)tourneys on the net when comps exist

Author: Steve

Date: 00:19:46 11/02/99

Go up one level in this thread


On November 01, 1999 at 20:35:05, Charles Unruh wrote:

>On November 01, 1999 at 20:13:09, Dann Corbit wrote:
>
>>On November 01, 1999 at 19:56:01, Charles Unruh wrote:
>>
>>>How can we ever have Regular(non GM)tourneys on the net when comps exist.
>>>People are always talking about how the internet is the future of chess.
>>>However how can anyone reasonably trust ones opponents.  They can use books,
>>>computers, even assistance from stronger players.  I'm cheated on so much on the
>>>net that i don't even play on ICC or FICS, i just look.  Besides from what i can
>>>see playing many blitz games does NOTHING to improve your game.  For example
>>>Mindman on FICS a real life 1600 uscf player when he started on fics 3 or 43
>>>years ago.  Around the time he started he maintained a 1600-1750 internet
>>>rating, now after 13000 games! his rating has dropped to 1300(steady) internet.
>>>This guy is actually a PH.D so it's not because he's a moron either
>>It seems that the possible explanation you are looking for is computer cheaters.
>> This is one possible explanation.
>Actually i wasn't relating that to cheating, just that playing tons of games
>doesn't necessarily improve your game.
>
>It is also true that players abiltity tends
>>to degrade somewhat over time.  In any case, you can only improve your game by
>>playing against better players.  I think computer cheating is pretty bizarre,
>>since the rating means nothing anyway.  Suppose you played against nothing but
>>deep blue, disguised as "patzer_player" elo 1000.  Of course, you would get
>>whupped again and again, but the powerful engine would reveal the weaknesses in
>>your game.
>
>As for reveling the weakness of your game, it could however and unfortunately
>this is rarely the case, for the strange reason is that on icc amd even in real
>life bad play is frequently rewarded with WINS, thus since it is extremely rare
>that people really get down and analyse their game, the pattern of bad play
>frequently continues and becomes engrained in the thought processes resulting in
>a 1600 player losing 300 points after playing 13000 games.
>
>  So even then there is a hidden benefit.
>>
>>I don't think that the internet is going to replace OTB tournaments.
>
>I don't think it should either but that is just what MANY claim.
>  I don't
>>think anybody believes that.  But it is a good place to find a fun game, isn't
>>it?  And if you play against a cheater, that's just part of the risk.  They have
>>sold their integrity for the hollowest imaginable victory -- a fake rating that
>>does not even matter.
>
>Fake rating matters to the people who are cheating.  I HATE to do it, but i
>reffer to Robert Hyatt, i was once asking something about why would a GM care
>about an internet rating, and the answer was something to the effect that "They
>do".  So saying that an internet rating means nothing to you has no bearing on
>what it means to someone else regardless of how they get it.  About 4 years ago
>a friend of mine created an account on fics, cheated to get the rating up to
>2600, then played a bunch of games against himself as an unregistered player to
>wipe out all signs of the games that had been played so that no one could test
>for computer play.  He still logs on as the 2600 player from time to time as
>this unknown 2600 player and BASKS in the glory and he feels great!

The GLORY?  It's a game.  Who cares what his rating is?  To tell you the truth,
I see a rating of 2600, and my first thought is that this person is probably
spending far too much time on chess to accomplish anything important in life.



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