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 Confessions of a "cheater".My particular problem is the management of "on-line" chess. You see, many chess websites offer an "opening explorer", or something similar to a database of moves that have been played. That practice is consistent with the rules of correspondence chess. They conveniently offer the player with a list of moves played in that particular line. It is allowed, but the abuse of it is dangerous to a player who is serious about improvement, like me. Let me be specific. I am a very good tactical player and once through the opening phase, I can compete with the best. My specific problem is getting through the opening phase. Once I get through an opening, I can compete with the best. Without a good knowledge of a particular opening, I can get into a difficult position quickly. Scrambling in the opening phase is messy and I can be intolerant and impatient. I will quickly look for tactics to gain a better position, but usually against a strong player, I fail. The “Opening Explorer” on most sites will get me through the opening. Yet, it is too easy too look at the moves and play them. I am not retaining that info and therefore, I am simply playing what someone else says and I am not learning. I believe it would be advantages’ to play what I think and THEN look at what was a better play through a “post-mortem”. Mikhail Tal said, “I do not learn from winning” and I completely understand that message. I want to play what I personally “think” and then “look up” what I might have played. I believe I can learn more and eventually play better as well as retain more ideas. Finally, my rating “on-line” is bloated because of my poor practices and complete misunderstanding of how to manage a “real” rating. By over using the “opening explorer”, or whatever the site calls it, I have achieved an on-line rating of around 200 points higher than my USCF rating. Sure, I have other excuses of not performing well in Tourneys, i.e., as a caregiver, I have little to no time to study, but that does not change my desire to marry the two positions (on-line ratings and USCF ratings). Of course, I would like to continue to play those levels of players that I think I CAN compete with, but first things first. I have got to be real… I will no longer use the “opening explorer” or “database” or whatever. I do intend to play what I think as I would OTB. I will probably play less games but “look up” what I should have done. Bring it on! Enough said. Hope you understand. Feedback appreciated! joe |
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solascriptura 31-Jan-13, 04:21 |
At best I play here with the "Real Time Chess" thing, which is helpful, but again, it just is not the same as OTB competition. One of the things I do is save some of my games from Real Time Chess and share them on a blog. One of the options we have in the Analyze mode is save as Web/HTML code which you can paste into a blog and it will display a chess game. unacanta.blogspot.com Anyway, glad you shared, thanks Joe! Blessings, Len |
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yon_cassius 31-Jan-13, 07:44 |
I use the "Opening Explorer" until my opponent moves away from it, or I'm uncomfortable with the move. It would be better if I understood the moves that I'm playing, but for the time being I'm hoping to gradually move from: playing one of the moves suggested (and always sticking to that one until it is refuted), to remembering the moves but checking that I'm "remembering" correctly, to not needing to check (but still not necessarily understanding). Sometimes I make clever moves and sometimes I make stupid moves. When I started playing online Chess I found I was generally getting smashed to pieces in the opening through lack of opening knowledge. I intend (for the time being) to restrict myself to as few openings as my opponents will let me. As White I would almost always play 1. e4 and if my opponent plays 1. ... e5 I'll almost always respond with 2. f4; as Black I'd respond to 1. e4 with 1. ... e5 so I need to know the King's Gambit... Best wishes, Nick |
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chess4thin, you are not a cheater at all ! We are protected by 5th Amendment of our constitution, that is, " Don't incriminate yourself." That is beside the point. As long as you are following the rule, there is no cheating. In GK you will see Game DB = Game Data Base near the submit button. Game DB are opening moves of GK players compiled by GK. You will see the statistics of particular move on how good is that move. I am not ashamed to admit that I often check GK-DB. You can either abuse or good use of that GK-DB. We all have to learn from books, coach, by playing etc. For me it is a tool to improve my opening repertoire. Cheating is not new in any king of sports or games especially when there is a big prize money. Look at Lance Armstrong who won Tour De France bicycling 7 times. Finally, he admitted that he used steroids and cheated. If you go into the above link you will find how chess players cheated in chess tournaments. For your amusement please read my " How to become internet chessmaster." in this club forum. |
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tipsyjourneyman 01-Feb-13, 08:42 |
Now, I suppose, C4H , you could use the Dbase but explore the less common lines as long as they are still posing a benefit for black or white. This will get you off the Dbase sooner, engaging your brain, BUT also move your opponent off the Dbase sooner. If you try to just play here and beat your opponent whom you must assume IS using the Dbase, you may be on a hiding on to nothing. However, end of the day, DBase or not, nothing changes the fact you have the luxury of several days per each move here, but only a few minutes in OTB. The chess here is purer in that it is more analytical but it is not "real" chess. All ratings here are inflated, the greater the rating the greater the extent of inflation, one need only look at the surfeit of 2000 ranking players on this site to see that. Though as AK points out those rankings in some cases may rather be a representation of the players' chess program than the player! My advice, if you have the ability to play OTB regularly and wish to improve your OTB play, well, then, you'll have to play more OTB! Cheers TJ |
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Well said TJ I think OTB is the purest form of chess. I found it fascinating to watch the Masters play where they where deep in analysis. I almost feel as though Internet chess has changed the atmosphere of play. Not good, not bad...just different. I must adapt my discipline to learn, practice, develop experience and progress. I remember excelling in school when I had a well disciplined teacher and expectations. Left to my own, I rarely knew how to excel. I am sure age has nothing to do with it...at almost 60, I wonder how I ran up and down the field during our college soccer matches. I am employing a think/play now, look up later approach to internet chess. Sure, I expect to get trounced by many players and my internet rating drop. But, in the long run, watch my progress! |
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dronai 12-Feb-13, 07:21 |
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tipsyjourneyman 13-Feb-13, 02:35 |
A good post but... |
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dronai 13-Feb-13, 03:05 |
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tipsyjourneyman 14-Feb-13, 03:44 |
Polite correction "Learned men are the cisterns of knowledge, not the fountainheads." ANYWAY, on the topic of accretion I'm going to switch to an astronomical theme and reiterate that it was a stellar ( ) post dronai and I look forward to many more!!!! -TJ |
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I agree with the discipline of study. Great educators had to learn and practice the different learning styles to help their students succeed. Students have different styles (preferences) of learning. Whether visualization, listening, reading, writing, etc., is used, the best learning environment begins when you start combining those means. So, if I "studied" (set up a board to analyze, write down my candidate moves and even possible lines, look at a complete game or two, chose the best move, play, then look up the database will enhance my learning experience. You know, I should probably add annotating? What say you? joe Osmosis is really a scientific term relating to the flow of fluids through a semi-permeable membrane. With respect to learning, it means a gradual, often unconscious process of assimilation. The term has been applied to "sleep learning," but I'm using it in a broader sense here to refer to "unconscious learning." Article Source: EzineArticles.com Learning by osmosis is a bit of a misnomer. Osmosis refers to something being equalized, such as the amount of salt in solution on two different sides of a penetrable membrane. You won't learn by simply having a book under your pillow at night. But you can learn by watching. Basically, shutting up, watching, listening and grasping what others are doing. Then, later ask questions about why. People learn by all sorts of methods - traditional school rooms, rote memorization, teaching, and watching/listening. The latter is the closest to learning by osmosis as you are absorbing what life offers you. According to the dictionary.com..........see note number 2! os·mo·sis [oz-moh-sis, os-] Show IPA noun 1. Physical Chemistry, cell Biology . a. the tendency of a fluid, usually water, to pass through a semipermeable membrane into a solution where the solvent concentration is higher, thus equalizing the concentrations of materials on either side of the membrane. b. the diffusion of fluids through membranes or porous partitions. Compare endosmosis, exosmosis. 2. a subtle or gradual absorption or mingling: He never studies but seems to learn by osmosis. |
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tipsyjourneyman 15-Feb-13, 17:11 |
*****rant warning: for all those who dislike rants please skip this section************ So this message to all who have contact with the legion of shyster conference speakers who possess little more than a headset microphone, "gentlemen Cs" in their online business degrees and a knack of grabbing whatever kewl terms they can find from the net to obfuscate the fact they talk so much but say very little who are, by accretion, destroying the English language, can you kindly inform these people to use "learn by accretion" instead. That goes double for any who have contact with journalists that are just as responsible for the destruction of English. Or maybe just get them to stop talking crap in the first place!!!! I mean its bad enough that science teachers have to correct misconceptions picked up from movies and video games, let alone science terms getting misused by the general populace with such gay abandon online dictionaries begin repeating them! ************rant ends******************************************* Anyway back to Joe's post about learning styles. The crux of his argument, that there are different learning styles and individuals have different preferences for these styles BUT learning is most effective when multiple styles are combined is absolutely spot on. We all will have our preferred method of learning, but anyone who is dedicated to learning and study of any discipline should still intermingle these with less preferred methods. The same can be said of anyone who is dedicated to teaching any discipline. Some students prefer essays. Some prefer posters. When a poster is set for all students, however, even though the essay student may score lower than the poster student, BOTH students benefit from the task, just as surely as both benefit from writing an essay on the same topic even though essay student will outscore poster student. The reason is not due to that nonsense called "multiple intelligences" which is little more than a myth, but because we have one intelligence which can, and should, be employed in different ways. -TJ |
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osmosis = monkey see monkey do. IMHO, the two are somehwat similar. Monkey see, monkey do a saying that originated in Jamaica in the early 18th century and popped up in American culture in the early 1920s. The saying refers to the learning of a process without an understanding of why it works. Another definition implies the act of mimicry, usually with limited knowledge and/or concern of the consequences.[1] The saying probably originates from the folklore of Mali, West Africa, made well known by Esphyr Slobodkina's retelling, which she calls Caps for Sale (A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys and Their Monkey Business). There are also various other versions of this folk-tale, such as The Hatseller and the Monkeys by Baba Wagué Diakité, set in Mali. Monkey See Monkey Do has become so popular that a new series based on the saying, has been produced which is interactive with young children. Produced by HiT Entertainment, the TV series is shown on PBS Sprout where it has grown to be among the first three positions, Disney Latin America shows the show and another 100 countries.[citation needed] Jazz singer/songwriter, Michael Franks used the saying as the subject and title of his song "Monkey See - Monkey Do", for his 1976 album, "The Art of Tea". |
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dronai 15-Feb-13, 18:35 |
Over Analysis |
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Curiosity will kill the cat if you overanalyze ! |
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Cat's demise! You must have some well developed time-management principles in your arsenal. Can you share what guides you through clock management? Looking forward to your thoughts! joe |
