Search found 65 matches

by wulebgr
Sun Feb 12, 2006 5:49 pm
Forum: Puzzles and Game Comentary
Topic: Game Commentary : Beware This Trap !
Replies: 9
Views: 40851

abiodun wrote: but for now my game is not good enough to allow me to appreciate the nuances of this Semi-Slav ...... :shock:
Even so, from our experience elsewhere, I'd say your game is a good deal better than mine. :wink:
by wulebgr
Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:15 pm
Forum: Puzzles and Game Comentary
Topic: Game Commentary : Beware This Trap !
Replies: 9
Views: 40851

I don't like 4...Nc6, although I realize it has been played by players far better than I'll ever hope to become. 4...Nf6 or 4...e6 both look more promising to me as the black player. 5...dxe4 also looks bad to me. while 5...e6 seems playable. By the time we get to move 9, 9...e6 appears just about t...
by wulebgr
Sat Dec 31, 2005 9:50 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Stupidity blooms even in the desert
Replies: 21
Views: 34288

Re: Stupidity blooms even in the desert

I have won games that lasted many months (for the stupid delay of resigning) and in the end adding a few or 0 points because my opponents mysteriously had lost a lot of points in a match where they were defeated. I have stubbornly resisted resigning in a clearly lost position because my opponent ha...
by wulebgr
Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:33 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: A sad note about Jeff Jones...
Replies: 36
Views: 81904

Jeff,

I've enjoyed our conversations. One of the highlights of my time on this site was playing in a Closed Spanish thematic that you organized, including the pair of Marshalls we played.

Thanks.

Wulebgr
by wulebgr
Mon Nov 14, 2005 3:09 pm
Forum: Books, Software, and Websites
Topic: Apple computers
Replies: 1
Views: 14231

by wulebgr
Mon Oct 10, 2005 10:58 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Hammerschlag / Fried Fox Opening
Replies: 11
Views: 24297

Just for kicks, I played a couple Fried Fox blitz games this evening. This one shows how fast things can go bad for black: [Event "rated blitz match"] [Site "freechess.org"] [Date "2005.10.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Wulebgr"] [Black "gallileo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A00"] [WhiteElo "1575"] [BlackElo "1...
by wulebgr
Mon Sep 19, 2005 2:44 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Siliconthelion?
Replies: 6
Views: 13476

My point was not that cryptic. It is simply that chess engines are here to stay. I really don't care and I half expect my opponents to use them. I seriously believe the majority of them do. No one is fooling anyone. You’re welcome. I also don't spend any time worrying about whether my opponents use...
by wulebgr
Sun Jul 17, 2005 8:20 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Its almost that time again :)
Replies: 3
Views: 9418

I like playing thematic in openings that I don't play every day. As I play 1.d4 more often than 1.e4, and only trot out 1.e5 against 1.e4 a minority of the time, either of your 1.e4 e5 openings pleases me for the thematic.
by wulebgr
Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:27 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Opponent refuses to move
Replies: 12
Views: 22292

We could compile a list of such players, and organize a group of players who systematically avoid them (although such avoidance might be difficult with the challenge structure as it currently exists).
by wulebgr
Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:48 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Opponent refuses to move
Replies: 12
Views: 22292

you can wait 50 days.

I've had to do that several times. Just start a few more games, and you'll quickly forget about it, then one day you'll notice your rating shot up a few points.
by wulebgr
Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:46 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: 400 wins!!!!!
Replies: 2
Views: 8235

Congrats mic. Looking through my database, I find that our one previous game was a real struggle.
by wulebgr
Thu Jun 23, 2005 11:12 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: hello and suggestions
Replies: 3
Views: 9135

Welcome, and congratulations upon your quick success. One comment of caution and advice: many players on this site play too many games too fast. Limit the number you play, and play slowly. This is a correspondence site--well played games take months to finish. If you want loads of quick games, try F...
by wulebgr
Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:40 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Finally...1500 wins!!:)
Replies: 14
Views: 25624

Finally, after 16 1/2 months on the site, I've earned my 100th win.

My record is 100/45/24 (w/l/d).

I doubt I'll ever reach 1500 at this pace.
by wulebgr
Wed May 18, 2005 2:45 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Next opening for our thematic!
Replies: 7
Views: 16077

I'd be tempted to enter a Classical French thematic, which is unfortunate, as I have too many games going right now at the other sites where I play.
by wulebgr
Tue May 10, 2005 12:26 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: when to resign?
Replies: 16
Views: 28470

It seems from previous discussions on this subject that some players view it as a question of "never giving up no matter what" and that attitude can win a game, well in odd cases your opponent will blunder back as bad as you did*, but unless you start thinking differently you will most likely face ...
by wulebgr
Mon May 09, 2005 1:58 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: when to resign?
Replies: 16
Views: 28470

When you are hopelessly down material it is a decisive disadvantage and unless you realize that and resign you won't learn from it and develop a sound positional understanding. Yes. but "hopeless" ultimately rests in the perception of the player with the disadvantage. Hopelessly down material could...
by wulebgr
Sat May 07, 2005 9:52 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: when to resign?
Replies: 16
Views: 28470

This issue comes up every few months in every chess forum. What is your hurry? If your opponent elects to stop moving, the game will time out, so just wait. If your opponent elects to play until checkmate, then you need only find the quickest mate. Courteous players resign when they are at a decisiv...
by wulebgr
Wed Apr 27, 2005 10:38 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Finally...1500 wins!!:)
Replies: 14
Views: 25624

It takes awhile to earn 1500 wins. I've been here a bit over a year, and I am optimistic that I will gain win #100 from m1114615667, which began moments ago.
by wulebgr
Tue Apr 26, 2005 7:37 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Rating history
Replies: 9
Views: 17931

Nice work Greg.

I started playing turn-based chess here, now play at a half-dozen sites. Many of these I quit after a few games, but I keep starting new games here, and the site keeps getting better.
by wulebgr
Fri Feb 18, 2005 2:04 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: King & Bishop vs King
Replies: 5
Views: 12010

FIDE Rule 9.3 The game is drawn, upon a correct claim by the player having the move, if 1. he writes on his scoresheet, and declares to the arbiter his intention to make a move which shall result in the last 50 moves having been made by each player without the movement of any pawn and without the ca...
by wulebgr
Sun Feb 06, 2005 7:06 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Time Out Poll
Replies: 12
Views: 23707

The timeout problem here is no worse than other sites.
by wulebgr
Sun Jan 16, 2005 9:35 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Ratings
Replies: 22
Views: 36893

Here I use the Elo rating system which is the same ... [snip] Ratings here aren't inflated accross the board, the last time I computed the average of all of the players on the site the average rating was about 300. ... [snip] The net effect is that the players to play regularly here get inflated ra...
by wulebgr
Sat Nov 27, 2004 9:52 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: so which browser r u using
Replies: 15
Views: 26779

I switched to Firefox when RSS feeds became available here on SlowChess, but I still use Internet Explorer from time to time because Firefox has poor support for pdf files and seems to function poorly at ftp sites.

The RSS feeds help a lot when I have too many games, as now.
by wulebgr
Sat Nov 27, 2004 9:48 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Other correspondence chess sites?
Replies: 8
Views: 15767

The limits at some other sites become less restrictive, or go away completely, after a player completes a set number of games. GameKnot has restrictions even for paying members--but these are 100+--non-paying members are limited to twelve, and only the after a certain number of wins. At some of the ...
by wulebgr
Sun Nov 21, 2004 2:10 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: The world champion plays here
Replies: 20
Views: 34586

Theoretically mail chess should be stronger than standard chess controls :shock: . [snip] And there is still more. How to prevent the use of chess software (the only thing I can come up is with reduced amount of time to move). I know at least a case where is very suspicious. You cannot prevent the ...
by wulebgr
Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:42 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Stuck in 2000 - Rating prison.
Replies: 6
Views: 13051

chessonly wrote:Hey whats the logic behind the rating floor anyway ?
For the player hovering at his or her floor, the rating reflects past achievements.

For all of his or her opponents, it can serve to reduce the effects of sandbagging.
by wulebgr
Fri Oct 29, 2004 9:06 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: email notification
Replies: 2
Views: 7633

If you use RSS feeds, or log in every day (or nearly so), it is unnecessary traffic through the internet. But if you check your email more often than you log in, it could be necessary. It can be nice to know what move your opponent has made before you log in, but again RSS feeds are quicker and slic...
by wulebgr
Wed Oct 27, 2004 9:31 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: thematic is posted now!
Replies: 1
Views: 5783

and the thematic is progressing well, except that medex and raghavreddi have made no moves

Do we need to wait another 14 days before everyone gets their four free wins from these posers?
by wulebgr
Tue Oct 19, 2004 11:00 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Live Championships
Replies: 1
Views: 6153

Most of the Leko-Kramnik World Championship Match was carried live on chess.fm (all would have been, if not for an accident that befell Tony Rook). To see the game(s), you follow chessfm on ICC. You can do that as a guest, membership is unecessary. More often than not, there is some event happening ...
by wulebgr
Sun Oct 10, 2004 9:05 am
Forum: Puzzles and Game Comentary
Topic: World Championship Match
Replies: 1
Views: 11061

I'm watching. I cannot understand people's hostility to Kramnik. He's disappointing as a world champion, mostly because his tournament results have been mixed. But he is an exciting player. His comments after losing game 8--"it was good to lose in this way, because it was a beautiful game" not only ...
by wulebgr
Sat Oct 09, 2004 3:51 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: New Thematic
Replies: 6
Views: 12644

timely

I might be tempted, although I generally avoid thematics.
by wulebgr
Mon Oct 04, 2004 8:35 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Pronunciation of chess names
Replies: 20
Views: 41720

Maroczy (MAR-ot-see), Geza - Hungarian Grandmaster

I googled "pronounce Maroczy" http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/ ... onounc.htm
by wulebgr
Mon Oct 04, 2004 9:01 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: The world champion plays here
Replies: 20
Views: 34586

As for the silent one (who may not even read these forums for all I know), even if kasimzhanov is Kasimdzhanov, the FIDE champion, he's still a poser because the FIDE world champion title is tainted by the format of the tournament. Kasimdzhanov is world-class, but he is not a super-GM. Rustam Kasim...
by wulebgr
Fri Oct 01, 2004 9:37 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: What's in a name?
Replies: 2
Views: 8046

What's in a name?

Net-Chess, having become SlowChess appears to be in the process of becoming Net-Chess again. The latest updates on the site use the old name.

Net-Chess is too generic. SlowChess captures the essence of correspondence-paced play.
by wulebgr
Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:42 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Using Chess-Engines
Replies: 25
Views: 48604

Re: Using Chess-Engines

So please stop worrying about the use of a chess-engine of your opponent. If you’re the better player your opponent won’t have a chance to win against you. BTW having played against many of the top-rated players on that site I can say that you'll have to subtract between 400 and 600 rating points f...
by wulebgr
Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:33 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: The world champion plays here
Replies: 20
Views: 34586

Interesting squabble neric and juselton! I checked the stats for both of you posers, and found impressive credentials. You two ought to play a match; I'll watch. As for the silent one (who may not even read these forums for all I know), even if kasimzhanov is Kasimdzhanov, the FIDE champion, he's st...
by wulebgr
Tue Aug 31, 2004 10:49 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: producing a JPG "image" of a chess position
Replies: 4
Views: 10405

Many chess programs can create image files (.jpg, .gif, .bmp) of the current position, although I'm not certain I would call these "screenshots". The pictures created are the chess position only, not the game and frame (all the windows) that you see in a screenshot. I use Chess Captor ( http://www.c...
by wulebgr
Tue Aug 31, 2004 12:31 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: How many minutes do you spend on a move here in SlowChess?
Replies: 6
Views: 13909

How do you use Fritz to create training exercises, Wulebgr? Thanks Ram In the game window: Tools--Analysis--Full Analysis; check the box labelled training. Fritz will not find a training exercise in every game, but often it will find several. In the database list in Fritz, ChessBase, etc, games wit...
by wulebgr
Mon Aug 30, 2004 3:43 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: How many minutes do you spend on a move here in SlowChess?
Replies: 6
Views: 13909

People are playing much too fast. These games are not blitz games, but most are treating them just like blitz. The number of gross blunders is extremely high for "correspondence chess". Exactly. I only race through the moves when playing familiar openings, or when the game is proceeding along predi...
by wulebgr
Sun Aug 29, 2004 2:33 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: a few questions
Replies: 8
Views: 16118

You are provisional through 25 games, or 20 (?)--search through the FAQ and Forums, there are lots of discussions. Average rating is the average rating of your opponents (I don't think those that time-out before move ten count). The ratings here are terribly inflated. I'm 1500 USCF, 2300 here. You c...
by wulebgr
Sun Aug 29, 2004 2:02 pm
Forum: Chess News
Topic: The latest news on Fischer is available here:
Replies: 2
Views: 17264

Re: The latest news on Fischer is available here:

read the rest of the story and follow this bizaar saga Seems to me that you attacked Greg on the Fischer matter, deploying claims (including ads for your site) that assert your journalistic credentials. Yet, your creative spelling combines a word for a street market with one denoting the strange. F...
by wulebgr
Sun Aug 29, 2004 1:20 pm
Forum: Chess News
Topic: Fischer summary.
Replies: 5
Views: 25429

Apt summary Greg. You do a particularly good job of clearing up a lot of confusion on the process of deportation--something the media often distorts because they quote Fischer without thinking about his complex webs of self-deception. His every statement must be checked on several counts--anti-Semit...
by wulebgr
Fri Aug 20, 2004 1:03 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: The world champion plays here
Replies: 20
Views: 34586

The world champion plays here

Here on slowchess, I found a player named Kasimzhanov. His player info states he lives in Uzbekistan.

His record here so far 56-1-0 w-d-l

Is this player the FIDE world champion, or just a poser using a clever handle?

See http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1789
by wulebgr
Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:59 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: What is your favorite Opening as White?
Replies: 33
Views: 55075

The Benko Gambit is alive and well! leveretthouse (2043) - Wulebgr (1932) GCS 20 0 GCS, 12.08.2004 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.g3 Bg7 8.Bg2 axb5 9.0-0 b4 10.Nb1 0-0 11.Re1 Nbd7 12.e4 Ba6 13.Qb3 Qb6 14.Nbd2 Rfc8 15.Nc4 Bxc4 16.Qxc4 Ng4 17.Nd2 Nge5 18.Qc2 c4 19.Nf3 b3 20.Qb1...
by wulebgr
Wed Aug 11, 2004 10:50 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: What is your favorite Opening as White?
Replies: 33
Views: 55075

When black answers the English 1.c4 with 1....e5, you het a reversed Sicilian. The Dutch resembles a reversed Bird's opening. An acquaintance a few years ago who was good enough for a chess scholarship to college played Bird's throughout high school, but shifted to the English in college (where he f...
by wulebgr
Fri Jul 30, 2004 10:26 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: How do I decline a challenge to play.
Replies: 3
Views: 8549

You timed out in most of your games in m1090199045, but you also won three games. If you have cannot handle many games, only join matches with fewer players and/or fewer games per player.

Read the information at the start of the challenges page--once matches begin, they cannot be stopped!
by wulebgr
Thu Jul 01, 2004 10:48 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: When to Resign
Replies: 28
Views: 46259

Resign when the position and the play of your opponent makes clear that a loss is imminent.
by wulebgr
Tue Jun 08, 2004 1:53 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: Ratings inflation
Replies: 7
Views: 17415

When I create a database of all my completed games, which includes those that timed out, ChessBase calculates my performance rating 200 points lower than the SlowChess calculator. No doubt different formulas are at play, but I suspect that the average rating of those who time out is the key differen...
by wulebgr
Thu May 27, 2004 7:30 pm
Forum: General Forum
Topic: 3 or 4 moves a week?
Replies: 5
Views: 13629

Try 7+1 4 players, 1 game
by wulebgr
Tue May 25, 2004 10:36 am
Forum: General Forum
Topic: rating inflation
Replies: 19
Views: 34185

When I create a database of all my completed games, which includes those that timed out, ChessBase calculates my performance rating 200 points lower than the SlowChess calculator. No doubt different formulas are at play, but I suspect that the average rating of those who time out is the key differen...