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AMcHarg King
Joined: 19 Nov 2008 Posts: 623 Location: Livingston, Scotland
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:42 am Post subject: |
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admin wrote: | Stuart Blyth wrote: | I did not play in the Sam Collins' all-dayer, but I remember people who had saying that it was something of an experience! |
I was one of the arbiters, I remember doing the last round draw with my eyes closed! |
It was that easy huh!? |
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Adam Raoof Knight
Joined: 06 Jan 2010 Posts: 10
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admin Site Admin
Joined: 09 Jan 2007 Posts: 1386
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 11:56 am Post subject: |
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AMcHarg wrote: | admin wrote: | Stuart Blyth wrote: | I did not play in the Sam Collins' all-dayer, but I remember people who had saying that it was something of an experience! |
I was one of the arbiters, I remember doing the last round draw with my eyes closed! |
It was that easy huh!? |
No I was that tired |
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AMcHarg King
Joined: 19 Nov 2008 Posts: 623 Location: Livingston, Scotland
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:34 pm Post subject: |
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admin wrote: | AMcHarg wrote: | admin wrote: | Stuart Blyth wrote: | I did not play in the Sam Collins' all-dayer, but I remember people who had saying that it was something of an experience! |
I was one of the arbiters, I remember doing the last round draw with my eyes closed! |
It was that easy huh!? |
No I was that tired |
I know.
I can't imagine playing Chess all night... keen! |
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GN King
Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 415
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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Stuart Blyth wrote: | Yes, I doubt there's a consensus; maybe economic necessities will build a consensus over the coming years!
I quite like three games on the Saturday, but it can be a bit tough going, especially the last one of the day!
I think I like the National League best of all: two decent (or not, as the case may be!), long games, and you only have to give up one day of the weekend. I think I maybe raised the possibility of holding a congress over two or three weekends, single day each weekend, which I like personally, but seem to recall it wasn't that popular an idea. I guess in a larger country, with greater population density (and no recession) it's possible to try out a range of formats at different congresses to see what suits, but maybe harder in Scotland? |
I think you are spot on that this is why SNCL is so popular. It would be interesting to see if an indivdual event requiring just 1 day of your weekend and spread out over, say, 4 weekends over course of the season would have similar appeal?
I know in past I was pretty much against 3 games in a day and shorter time controls but I have to confess that internet addiction and ever increasing non-chess commitments mean that the shorter games in fewer days format definitely gets my vote these days.
btw - does internet chess make you a better player? On the plus side it gets you the practice games in I suppose and you can experiment with new ideas and find out the common responses etc. OTOH, though, hours vanish playing mindless games on auto pilot. I am increasingly finding that when an opponent takes more than 5 minutes thinking OTB I start losing patience and wonder if I should go find something less boring to do instead. I am sure my concentration powers were better before internet chess was invented! |
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Stuart Blyth King
Joined: 11 Sep 2008 Posts: 209
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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@GN
Yes, I think with most people playing quicker chess, then three slightly shorter games in a day might become more popular. I wonder if the "congress-spread-over-two-or-three weekends" idea might also prove more popular with younger chess players as well - maybe it's easier for a teenager to give up a day than a whole weekend? Or maybe, only those who are really into chess play congresses anyway, and so are quite happy to play whole weekends! But, yes, given the National League's popularity, it does make you wonder if the same idea might work in congresses. It would be a sort of half way house between weekend congresses and those local ones that run on a weekday evening over five weeks.
I don't know if Internet chess helps you improve. I agree with what you're saying (twice in a single post!) I think we imagine we do improve, but for me personally, I don't think I take it seriously enough to improve. Maybe it's like anything (reading opening books, doing tactics, whatever) - if you use it properly and are committed, it will help you improve, but if you don't, then you'll not see much difference. |
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HughBrechin King
Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 201 Location: The moral high ground.
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think blitz can really make you much better, but it's a good way of keeping sharp. You're asking for trouble if it's the only practice/training/study you do, but there's definitely a place for it. Plus, it tends to be fun, which is important.
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I think you are spot on that this is why SNCL is so popular. |
This is probably true, but - referring briefly back to the Scottish discussion - probably also at least part of the reason that we don't see our strongest players at the SNCL very often. I'm beginning to become slightly worried that 'large entry' and 'strong entry' may not be compatible goals. In cases where we're talking about a FIDE-rated tournament like the Scottish, a lot of players get less happy when they're unable to prepare separately for each round. |
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robin moore King
Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 164
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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Hugh,
What's this prepare stuff? Does everyone not just make it up as they go along like me? |
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Mike Scott King
Joined: 01 Feb 2007 Posts: 676 Location: Edinburgh
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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"Prep" is where you work on a specific opening but your opponent then plays something else. |
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Alan Jelfs Queen
Joined: 31 Mar 2007 Posts: 81
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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I play internet chess at gameknot.com which is pseudo-correspondence, i.e. measured in days per move.
Of course, when online I usually take only about a minute before deciding my move anyway
I find it useful for trying opening lines before I play them OTB, which I still regard as proper chess. I gave up online blitz several years ago.
I find online tactics sites useful, too, though of course in a real game there is no flashing icon saying "Black to move and win".
I like the SNCL because of the 2 games a day. There is one downside to only 2 games a day though - I remember once at the West Championships in Clarkston, I chucked a piece one morning after about 11 moves and had to wait around 4 hours for the next round.
Personally, I consider the SNCL to be a strong league. Is the reason some clubs don't enter because they would have to start in the bottom division? I can't see a fair way around that, though.
The draw in the SNCL is known in advance so you could prepare for both games, assuming you know the opponents' board order. _________________ Chess Club - the first rule of Chess Club is you don't talk about Chess Club. |
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Alex McFarlane King
Joined: 13 Mar 2007 Posts: 413
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:57 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: | The draw in the SNCL is known in advance so you could prepare for both games, assuming you know the opponents' board order. |
It could be a rule that team lists have to be posted on the noticeboard 48 hours in advance.
Any deviation would result in a £10 fine used towards the purchase of sensory boards. |
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Phil Thomas King
Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 758
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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admin wrote: | AMcHarg wrote: | admin wrote: | Stuart Blyth wrote: | I did not play in the Sam Collins' all-dayer, but I remember people who had saying that it was something of an experience! |
I was one of the arbiters, I remember doing the last round draw with my eyes closed! |
It was that easy huh!? |
No I was that tired |
I was arbiting that day. With severe time pressure to finish on time the start of play was a frantic rush and I said to a couple of players before round 1 something like "take a set and clock set up the pieces and just wait for your opponent to arrive"
They both took the advice and waited - in different rooms.
Unfortunately they were meant to play one another
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