How About a Nice Game of Chess?

[Player_Zero]

Right. Here's the thing. I wanna' play some chess and I thought some other people might like to as well. I thought it might be nice if I started an amateur chess dealie for all the wonderful playgrounders of the world. Maybe start a tournament if there's enough interest.

Now, you're sitting there saying 'why, I'm horrible at chess, this obviously isn't for me' and that's where you're wrong. Firstly because everyone else will be horrible at chess and secondly because the idea is to get better and have fun.

Chesspark.com (www.chesspark.com/) is a pretty handy website for playing chess which allows different game setups and chat and whatnot and this would be my personal preferred medium, but alternatively there's always play by post.

Also, if you're a chess pro or soemthing similar then I would prefer that you tell me so before you beat me into the ground doing otherwise would be most discourteous. :smalltongue:

But I'm sure with enough interest we could accomodate every level of skill barring grandmaster and whatnot. :smalltongue:

So, wanna' play some chess, learn the game, have fun an' play with your good ol' friend Player_Zero? Well, I suppose there'll be other people to play with as well if you're particularly adverse to that last bit...

[Vavaara]

Color me interested :smallcool:

[Destro_Yersul]

I like chess, though I'm on at odd times for most of the world (England excepted. I work night shifts, y'see) and I'm not great at it. Probably have to be PbP for me, though if you're on at the same time I am...

as a side note, I should be asleep right now. But I'm not, because I don't want to be.

[Player_Zero]

Yes... Timing... Hmm... This needs proper scheduling. I shall attend to that once we have enough sign-upees. I can go without sleep for some time indeed, though my game may suffer from it. :smalltongue:

But yeah. I'll work out a proper timing dealie for people if they provide me with a range of times or days they can attend.

[Thufir]

I'm interested. I play chess quite a bit, in my local league and congresses. I have an ECF grade of 132. At my best, I'm better than that, but I'm woefully inconsistent at times.
I've just signed up to chesspark with the username Thufir.
Timing-wise, I'm in England, and can do pretty much any sensible time if I'm given advance warning.


I can go without sleep for some time indeed, though my game may suffer from it.

Well, I once won a game in the county individual championships having been up for 34 hours by the time we finished, but it's easier when you're properly awake.

[Player_Zero]

Yes. ECF. I totally understand. :smalltongue:

Naturally you will have to give us tips to make it fairer. :smalltongue:


...LFM chess group. Got heals. No chess skill or experience required as we will be levelin' learning the game by killing boars playing it.

...I feel dirty...

[Destro_Yersul]

But boars only give, like, 2xp!

:smallbiggrin:

I'm certainly not BAD at chess, though I'm not great either, and it's been a while since I've played.

[MeklorIlavator]

I'd be interested as well, though i'm really only a casual player.

[Myatar_Panwar]

Man, I havent played chess for years. Would love to participate. I used to be pretty good... playing against my parents. :smallwink:

So yeah, would love to; FYI I am a very casual player and live in California, though I am just a schoolboy and thus am currently not tied down by...anything, as it is currently summer vacation, also thus would perfer a non-pbp post game if possible.

[Player_Zero]

I'd be interested as well, though i'm really only a casual player.

That's the beauty of it. You don't need to play well or know the game as long as you want to play. Learn the game and have fun. With a DON! (http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Don)

[Triaxx]

You'd be surprised by the number of people that fall for the idiot's gambit.

[Thufir]

You'd be surprised by the number of people that fall for the idiot's gambit.

Idiot's gambit? I've never heard of that one. At least not by that name. What is it? Pray tell.

[Carrion_Humanoid]

I shall partake

[Siosilvar]

I have to say, with the title, I half expected global thermonuclear war.
But that's another story.

I'll think about it.

[UglyPanda]

I'm fairly bad and my skill level varies highly depending on time of day, appetite, and how much soda I've had recently. I'm in.

[Eita]

I'm in. This reminds of the games I played on another forum I frequent.

[Player_Zero]

Idiot's gambit? I've never heard of that one. At least not by that name. What is it? Pray tell.

Are you sure he wasn't thinking of the Fool's Mate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fool%27s_mate)? 'Cause noone falls for that. Lotsa' people fall for the Scholar's Mate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholar%27s_mate) at amateur level, mind you.

Well, so far that's a motley gang of eight to ten people right there. :smallsmile:

And those are: Player_Zero, Destro_Yersul, Thufir, MeklorIlavator, Myatar_Panwar, Carrion_Humanoid, UglyPanda, Eita. And a couple of indefinite answers from Vavaara and Siosilvar.
Where Thufir and I are working at GMT time, Myatar_Panwar and Vavaara at GMT -8 and MeklorIlavator at GMT -5. I think anyway, Daylight Savings is hard to work out... I think we're at GMT+1 or something... But yeah, 5 hours behind and 8 hours behind I think...

So far Thufir is Thufir on Chesspark and Player_Zero is Player_Zero... Might avoid confusion if you use your forum names on Chesspark too.

If you would be so kind as to post your timezone, availability and preferred choice of play that'd be swell.

[Winterwind]

I'd participate too. Even though I am, well, let's say 'lacking in experience' (by which I mean 'sucking horribly'). :smallwink:

One hour ahead of you, Player_Zero, preferred time would be in the evenings (can go fairly late into the night, if necessary)

[Destro_Yersul]

I'm on PST, so I think you end up being around 8 hours ahead of me. However, as I noted, I work night shift. meaning that I'll be awake still at 6am here, which works out to 2pm over on the British Isles. 6am is my 6pm.

I'm available most of the time from that point onwards, and on my days off pretty much from 9pm here onwards to 10am. sometimes I can get myself up earlier.

As for play.. untimed? rushing makes me careless, and I'm damn well going to rush if there's a clock ticking down.

[Player_Zero]

Just to note, Chesspark lets you choose what kind of time limit you put on a game. An hour is usually enough to finish a game with, but you can set it on very long as well if needs be.

If enough people want to play by post then I'm not opposed to setting up some sort of arrangement for that however.

[Dallas-Dakota]

I´m in.

The Netherlands, pretty much from middays to night.

Quality.... I got into provincial championships. That´s as far as I ever got.....
I don´t use ´named strategy´s. Just like knots. I make make them up myself.

I´l try and register at this chesspark as Dallas-Dakota.
Edit, done, registered as Dallas-Dakota.
Is one of you online now? And up for a match of chess? It´s been a looong time since I played...

Edit, losing rather badly against Player Zero now.

[Player_Zero]

I'll give ya' a game now if ya' want. I'll be on in a sec.

...I don't think I won that because I'm better at chess, though. :smalltongue:

Rather lucky I feel.

[Fostire]

Registered at chesspark as LordRod im GMT-3 and either i suck at chess or everyone i play with is really really good at chess.

[Destro_Yersul]

Anyone else want a game right now? I've got about an hour before I should head off.

[Player_Zero]

I'll give ya' a game. I'll be on chesspark in a sec. Got a username?

I'm on now.

[Destro_Yersul]

Same as here, right down to the underscore.

[Player_Zero]

...You have to log on to play. :smalltongue:

Go on the 'Play Game' bit.

[UglyPanda]

I'm on Eastern Standard Time, able to play between 7:00 PM and 12:00 PM. I'm not sure what that is in GMT. User name here is same as there.

[Destro_Yersul]

Had to download the desktop thingy, cause I kept disconnecting from the web one.

I think you might have disconnected for a second there at the end, which is why it caused you to resign. For the record, Player_Zero SHOULD have won there, if not for technical difficulties. Close game though. We were both down to a handful of pawns and one of the long range pieces each.

[Player_Zero]

Good game. Hope to have more like it. :smallsmile:

Now, I've just noticed the 'Add friends' button on Chesspark. Might make things a bit easier. I'll go ahead and add everyone mentioned so far.

Just for note, I believe EST is five hours behind GMT.

Let's see, we have people at GMT -8 and GMT +1 currently. So, since the evening time is probably going to be preferrable for most people I believe the best way to do this thing is for me to pair people up and set negotiable times on the games. Then switch partners depending on how often people want to play. How does that sound?

Naturally that wouldn't stop you arranging other games.

[Cynan Machae]

I would play. I'm fairly decent player, but my skill tend to drop a lot when I play online. I'm GMT-5 and can't play during weekdays due to work. Evenings/nights and weekends are fine.

[averagejoe]

I'm game. I've been playing for awhile, though never overly seriously. I honestly have no idea how I might rate against anyone else, though I suppose I'm strong enough.

Edit: I'm GMT -7

[RandomLunatic]

Color me interested. Name there is the same as here.

I used to be really good at chess-about 8 years ago. It has been 2 years since my last game, and I have for gotton a lot since. Still, I like to think I am pretty good.

With my computer's technical difficulties and my ever-changing work schedule, my availability is essentially random. If you see me on, drop me a line.

[Thufir]

I just remembered something. Check out the cake I got for my 20th birthday:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k63/Razor-Sharp_H7/2008_05290007.jpg
White to play and mate in 2.

[Player_Zero]

Chess cake looks delicious AND educational.

Also, since there were no complaints then I'm gonna' go ahead and pair people up just to get people playing. Stay tuned for some sort o' schedule.

[RandomLunatic]

Puzzle Answer

This one was tricky, because it does not start with giving check...

1 QD5

And now Black has three choices: 1 ...KxG4 2 QH5++ or 1 ...KG2 QxE4++, or 1 ...KxE2 2 QD1++.

[Thufir]

Correct! I'd say you could eat the cake now, but we ate it all within about 2 hours of that photo being taken. And this was several months ago. And I can't transfer cake over the internet.
You can imagine eating it, if you like. It tastes delicious.

[Murska]

I play chess very rarely and barely know more than the moves, but hey, if I happen to remember this in some point in the future, I'll join. GMT +2, Finland.

[Player_Zero]

Now... I've arranged you by timezone and what you decribed your ability as, trying to match timezones and ability level, but this is obviously going to cause a few missmatches, so bear with me while I work out which matches will provide the most interesting games.

The standard time will be aimed at the evening slot since most people have work during the day, so unless you've stated that you can't make evenings or whatnot then you may find yourself with an inappropriate time. In which case you should PM me. As I say, this is a work in progress.

And remember, it's about learning the game and having fun. Winning is all well and good, but it's only half the game.

Oh, and if you could PM me a record of your games with other playgrounders that'd be most useful for setting up games.

Current matchups:


Destro_Yersul + Player_Zero
Suitable play time: Whenever ya' want, I'm on the computer ALL the time.

Vavaara + Myatar_Panwar
Suitable play time: 7:00 PM, both work on the same timezone.

UglyPanda + Winterwind
Suitable play time: 6:00PM/7:00PM as Winterwind works one hour ahead.

MeklorIlavator + LordRod
Suitable play time: 6:00PM/8:00PM as LordRod works two hours ahead.

dallas-dakota + Eita
Suitable play time: Unknown since timezone is not known.

Thufir + RandomLunatic
Suitable play time: Unknown since timezone is not known.

Cynan Machae + averagejoe
Suitable play time: 7:00PM/6:00PM as Cynan works one hour ahead.

Siosilvar + Carrion_Humanoid
Suitable play time: Unknown since timezone is not known.

And since we've got an odd number of players at the minute I'll also play Murska at a negotiable time.
Now, them's the people who will play each other. Pending comfirmation.

This should occur within a couple of days. Hopefully I haven't missed anyone or done something stupid there.

People who i don't know the timeszones for are:

Randomlunatic unknown
Carrion unknown
Siosilvar unknown
Eita unknown

And as such haven't factored those in.

[imperialspectre]

GMT -8 (California), soon going to GMT -6 (Alabama) to return to school and such. I'm not bad, but don't play as much as I used to.

I'll go register on chesspark, same name.

[RandomLunatic]

Oh, should have mentioned that.

East US, GMT -5. If I do not work, between 11 and 9 local is best.

And mmm, cake.:smallsmile:

[Calamity]

Hmm, I'm interested, but my computer-time is very sporadic (sp?) at the moment.

I'm in the same timezone as you, PZ (yeah I know you don't like being called that, it just easier :smalltongue:). So I guess that should make it easy for you to work out.

I'm registering now, same username hopefully....

EDIT: Yes, I did get the same username. So I'm still Calamity

[Murska]

And since we've got an odd number of players at the minute I'll also play Murska at a negotiable time.


Actually we already did, kinda. What was it, 1 win 1 loss 1 tie each?

I also played against D-D and lost every single game.

[Player_Zero]

I think it may've been two wins to you. Intriguing really, since I beat dallas and he beat you... Maybe I was just playing better against him... Oh well. :smalltongue:

Also, just because things generally have to be said twice: it would be helpful if you could send me a record of games against other playgrounds to gauge abilites so that people are matched suitably.

I'll revise the list and matchups tomorrow, but until then I urge you to sign up to chesspark with your forum name and add all the other playgrounders in the thread to your friends list. Observe games, play games, have fun, try not to beat me too bad. :smalltongue:

[Winterwind]

Registered on ChessPark as Winterwind (yay, for once a place where some bastard didn't grab it away from me beforehand! :smallbiggrin:).

Won't have time to play earlier than on Sunday, though. :smallfrown:
Unless maybe tomorrow... mhh, will have to see yet...

EDIT: Okay... how does one add people to one's friend list? The FAQ claims there should be some button with a plus icon for that purpose at the friends list; assuming the friends list is what appears when one clicks on 'My Friends', no such button exists for me. Quickly skimming their support forums didn't give any insight either. Umm... help?

EDIT2: Alright, downloaded the ChessPark client. That solved above problem.

[Triaxx]

Hmm... Fool's Mate is the real name then. *makes note* I went with mine since the opponent has to be a real idiot to fall for it.

Using the Bishop works well, though it's more difficult to pull off.

[Dumbledore lives]

I'd really like to play and I'm available after 3 Pm on weekdays and almost all the time on weekends. I think I'm GMT +12. New Zealand is pretty much the opposite side of the world as England. So in England if it's 10 at night it will be 10 in the morning tomorrow. I'm pretty good at chess, and back in Kansas our team was on of the top 5 in the state. I've played quite aa bit recently, and I think I'm pretty good.

[Cynan Machae]

You don't fall for a Fool's Mate. You force it to happens :smalltongue: There is no way it's gonna happens even vs the worse player in the world. Scholar's mate is another thing, tho.

Anyway, registred on ChessPark, I'm CynanMachae also.

[Murska]

Well, I beat D-D twice but neither of us was really playing at top efficiency. I'm way way too tired.

[...Pirates?]

I'll give this a go, just registered to ChessPark as Pirates? (not aloud full stops it seems). I'm on GMT, and I'm pretty bad.

[u-gotNOgame]

ooo, chess... its probably been about a year since i've played last but im all for it. My dad and I used to have some good often ending in ties or one person edging out the other quite slightly. but my skill has no doubt diminished since then, so i would call my self Average at best. ill register under UGNG probably as its shorter and easier to type.

-UGNG

EDIT: i registered under UGNG i'll probably be on mostly during weekends, during the week i have many things going on

-UGNG

[Player_Zero]

Hmmm... Perhaps some sort of ranking system would be better, where we all just add each other as friends on chesspark (since noone seems to object to using it) and then come on when we can spare the time, playing people of a similar level. How does that sound, then?

Seems a bit easier than arranging times and I think we have enough people now to ensure that a game isn't that hard to find between playgrounders.

I could try an' match you up to a suitable opponent if you really want, but I'm sure you can just by playing other playgrounders whether they're appropriate or not for your level.

Also, if anyone wants a game against an idiot then I'm your man. :smalltongue:

[Winterwind]

Hmmm... Perhaps some sort of ranking system would be better, where we all just add each other as friends on chesspark (since noone seems to object to using it) and then come on when we can spare the time, playing people of a similar level. How does that sound, then?

Seems a bit easier than arranging times and I think we have enough people now to ensure that a game isn't that hard to find between playgrounders.

I could try an' match you up to a suitable opponent if you really want, but I'm sure you can just by playing other playgrounders whether they're appropriate or not for your level.Frankly, I would prefer that - my freely available time can be fairly irregular at times, and I prefer to do things spontaneously; I wouldn't want somebody to have me assigned and then to have to wait for me for days. Spontaneously arranged games seem much easier to organise anyway.


Also, if anyone wants a game against an idiot then I'm your man. :smalltongue:I admit I'm still kinda scared of a total blamage - I have never played in any chess clubs or studied chess openings, so I fully expect to be bashed horribly. But I guess that's the only way to improve. :smallbiggrin:
(Wow. This must be how all the new players in StarCraft felt :smalltongue:)

[Eita]

Sorry about that, GMT -6.

[...Pirates?]

May be a stupid question... How do you add friends?

Edit: Nevermind... Worked it out!

[Saithis Bladewing]

Aw man, I read this title and thought it was going to be about War Games. Disappointing.

[Cynan Machae]

(Wow. This must be how all the new players in StarCraft felt :smalltongue:)
Haha :smallwink:

And yea, I think it can work out good that way.
A list of all the usernames on Chesspark would maybe help tho. I think I added everyone this morning.

[Player_Zero]

People I have added:

uglypanda
calamity
cynanmachae
dallas-dakota
imperialspectre
ugng
winterwind
destro_yersul
lordrod
murska
pirates?
randomlunatic
thufir

So, add them. Tell me if I've missed you out.

[Calamity]

People I have added:


calamity


Odd, because I've added you too, and it still says pending approval.

[Kizara]

I used to be very good at chess when I was younger, nearly unbeatable. Although it was almost all casual, excepting the school chess club briefly.

Haven't played more then a dozen games in 6 years now.

Would be fun to give it another go. I'm generally always up for a good competitive strategy game, and chess is the grandfather of them all. :)

[Player_Zero]

Odd, because I've added you too, and it still says pending approval.

I could see you on a little while go. I said hi and you ignored me.

LET IT HANG OVER YOUR HEAD FOR ALL TIME.

[Calamity]

I could see you on a little while go. I said hi and you ignored me.

LET IT HANG OVER YOUR HEAD FOR ALL TIME.

I didn't get the message. How could I reply to it?

[Player_Zero]

With your the powers of telekinesis.

Also, I'm getting mighty sick of people saying 'oh, I'm crap at chess', and then beating me horribly...

[Calamity]

Also, I'm getting mighty sick of people saying 'oh, I'm crap at chess', and then beating me horribly...

At least I was honest about it and lost awfully.

[...Pirates?]

At least I was honest about it and lost awfully.

Me too! I made some terrible mistakes, and player_zero beat me twice.

[Recaiden]

I really am bad at chess, but i might be interested in playing.

[DraPrime]

I really am bad at chess, but i might be interested in playing.

Same here.

[Player_Zero]

Then go ahead and join chesspark, add us an' play. Simple as that.

If ya' can't get it to work I can find an alternative.

[Lyndworm]

I've added a bunch of you guys under the name Lyndworm.

I love chess, but was never very good at it. I just played my first game in years with some random guy on Chesspark. I made some mistakes, but I beat him. Maybe absence makes the mind grow stronger. :smallamused:

I'm GMT -6 with a random schedule, but with a little forewarning I can show up at pretty much any time.

Thanks a lot, Zero.

Zack

[Eldariel]

Added the game and logged in. Once I'm back from Rome, I'll try and play the lot of you; GMT+2 Zone with lots of night time games. My ELO rating is around 1600, but I'll probably play like a 1500 nowadays, so look accordingly.

[Kjata]

Alright i joined and added you guys.

[Murska]

(Wow. This must be how all the new players in StarCraft felt :smalltongue:)



If only I'd be good enough at chess to totally crush you... :smallbiggrin:

[Raistlin1040]

Cool, I like chess. I'm alright, I used to play for a team in elementry school, qualified for state in 5th and 6th grade (Didn't go because I was out of town) I *was* ranked, but I haven't played in tournaments in 2-3 years, and I can't remember what my ranking was.

Raistlin1040's the username.

[SirSigfried]

Add me too acct. name:Libertarian_SDR

I am a fair chess player, but out of practice.

GMT -5

[Studoku]

I'll play.

I used to be good when I was 11 but I haven't played much since then.

[Lyndworm]

The site is no longer allowing me to play. I'll try the download at a later time when I have access to my own computer.

Zack

[Player_Zero]

Not seeing a lot of people on... Maybe I don't go on the times you guys go on, but I can't help but feel that interest is waning.

How am I supposed to become the king of pirates if I can't play a mean game of chess?

There also seems to be a problem with recognition of people being online... I still have several people still 'pending approval' and I;m not sure if I know when they're online or not.

[Murska]

I'm on quite often.

[Calamity]

Not seeing a lot of people on... Maybe I don't go on the times you guys go on, but I can't help but feel that interest is waning.

How am I supposed to become the king of pirates if I can't play a mean game of chess?

There also seems to be a problem with recognition of people being online... I still have several people still 'pending approval' and I;m not sure if I know when they're online or not.

Well some of you don't even show up online when you are and there's no approval pending. :smalltongue:

[Murska]

Okay, RandomLunatic just beat me horribly three times, I won once cuz he somehow decided to sacrifice me a queen and one draw in the end to finish up.

[Vampiric]

I play! and played Player Zero, and had my ass thoroughly whooped and handed to me on a platter, twice!!

I'm on there as Vampiric.