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In the old days (hmmm...how old is old :) chess tournaments went on for months...in some cases...things like the Montreal Open for example...today...we live in a very fast paced world...news appears as it happens on our T.V. screens...the internet tells us about stuff that happened seconds ago....
So...FIDE and others decided that active chess...fast games...so that the busy player could get his or her chess fix in a day...would be the chess solution...however...reality shows that active chess has never really caught on...
I realize to play a good game of chess, you must spend time analyzing the important positions...but why is it that speed chess is more popular than active chess...
Is there a time control that would better suite the busy man schedule?
It is not immediately apparent to me that active chess is not a solution. My experience with holding active, regular, and blitz events in Victoria is that an active time control fits in well with the natural time usage of new and "amatuer" players. Certainly, attendance at our active tournaments rivals that of our local "slow" tournaments (e.g. the Jack Taylor). (although it took a few tries for the attendance to build up)
In my opinion, many organizers have not given much effort towards setting up active events so part of the issue of why there aren't as many active as slow tournaments is because they haven't been promoted.
One bias is that the current existing chess crowd has been raised on slow and blitz and so asking them for their preference amounts to a sampling bias. But newcomers are perfectly happy with active time controls. Those of us who were raised on 40/2, then 20/1, 20/1 etc. really have a skewed view of what amount of time is enough for a decent game.
For me personnally, active combines the worst of blitz (not enough time to think properly) with the worst of slow chess (takes too long) but I adjust according to what is required for organizational purposes. I find G/90 +30 sec to be not nearly enough time for a game when playing someone of my own strength but it sure does make playing a 5 round weekend event a lot easier!
I would also suggest to organizers that they might think of 9 round active events such as the BC Active Championship organized by Luc Poitras. It is a surprisingly interesting format. If you mess up in a game, it's not all over, just live with it and move on to the next game.
Is there a time control that would better suite the busy man schedule?
I find that being busy doesn't seem to have much to do with time controls. I know plenty of busy people who prefer blitz, and plenty of people who prefer slow chess, like 5-6 hour games. And also know idle people who like either, or both.
To fit proper blitz tournament you'll usually need 7 rounds, and this could take 2-3 hours total. A slow chess tournament takes 2.5 - 3 days. An active will easily take a full day.
Personally I hate active, even though I can do okay in it. It's too slow to have fun and fool around, and it's short to take seriously and give it your all. At the same time, the intensity required to play active well seems higher than long chess, in the sense that you'd be playing 5 games in one day, hardly without getting up during games. In slow chess, you can recognize the critical moments, stroll around, take a small break, come back, focus...
As for what FIDE at some point proposed (making a 1 hour with 10 seconds increment time control), I am glad it fell through and no organizers supported it. Even if it were to get media attention, it's considerably cheapen the standards of the game.
Who's complaining? Trying to change this could be as dangerous as fixing something that may not be broken.
In recent years I have come to prefer active tournaments to classical tournaments. I used to enjoy spending an entire weekend playing chess, but that's all in the past and these days I get more enjoyment from one-day tournaments. I guess you could say I have become more of a recreational player... but I do like to compete once in awhile and an active tournament has just the right blend for me.
Here in BC we are fortunate to have a first-class organizer like Luc Poitras to give us our "fix" of active chess every few weeks!
Basically, 1 minute games are speedy and exciting. You can just play over and over. Good times. Long games are leisurely and intellectual. Just sit around, think about some stuff. Active games have NOTHING. You can't think for very long, and you don't get the rush from bullet games, either.
Would much rather spend a few days every now and then to play in a tournament with decent time controls. Or, if I'm playing just for fun, I'll play speedy games. Like, am I going to sit around for hours playing a game of scrabble? No. I play 3 minute games. It's intense.
In the old days (hmmm...how old is old :)
So...FIDE and others decided that active chess...fast games...so that the busy player could get his or her chess fix in a day...would be the chess solution...however...reality shows that active chess has never really caught on...
Larry
Hi Larry, here is my reaction and opinion on active chess and blitz chess in Canada as compared to the Netherlands.
This could be true in Canada.
This is not true in The Netherlands. Active chess (15-30 minutes) is very popular. Blitz chess (5-10 minutes per ame) also receives very strong support from grass root levels all the way to the national level. And lightning chess (1-2 minutes) is also popular.
Chess clubs in the Netherlands have similar programs, geared towards the development of a complete chess player. There are annual tournaments for long games (90 minutes sudden death), there is the club championships for rapid play (open and closed), and for blitz play (open and closed). The officers of the club recognize the changing needs for their club members.
(IN the GTA, i play in 2 chess clubs- the Brampton chess club-Tuesday and the MIssissaua Chess club -Thursday, so i do not lose my speed).
I have participated in international blitz tournaments in Dordretch, The Netherlands, where the top boards include the UZbek Kazhimzhanov (sorry for the spelling) , Leok van Wely, etc - becasue there is corporate sponsorships and the prizes offered are very generous.
A small chess club in The Haue offers € 500 first prize (about CAD 750) for a rapid tournament for a registration cost of only € 10 (about CAD 14.50) and this includes a lunch packet of 2 sandwiches, juice and an apple or banana).
This is why you can see a GM (van den Doel) playing with IMs and FMs.
There is not much corporate sponsorship in Canada. In the Netherlands, it is a way of life.
Here is the link to the KNSB (Kingdom of the Netherlands Schaak Bond =CFC )
Year after year, the annual chess tournaments are just repeated with amazing efficiency. For example the 2010 list of tournaments from Jan -Dec is already available before the end of 2009.
Such a small country but very organized in chess !!
Each organizer already know his schedule. Unlike here in Canada, like Ontario, Ottawa tournament organizer has to avoid conflicts with Hamilton tournaments. Venue availability.
Last edited by Erwin Casareno; Sunday, 7th March, 2010, 12:40 PM.
Is there a time control that would better suite the busy man schedule?
Larry
Game in an hour is probably the minimum for a reasonably good game. It gives you time for four games in a day so if you break your tournament up into groups of 16 or 20, a clear winner may emerge at the end of the day. About half my tournament games are played at this time control. It is perfect for a tournament game at the local club which closes at quarter to nine. If you get started by six thirty you have a few minutes to analyse the game afterward. The only drawback is that if you get too used to that time control you don't use enough of your time in slower time control games.
Active chess is better than no chess but 30 minutes does not seem like enough time for a serious game. Blitz chess is like junk food for the mind. I know that its not good for me but it is too enjoyable to give up.
In the old days (hmmm...how old is old :) chess tournaments went on for months...in some cases...things like the Montreal Open for example...today...we live in a very fast paced world...news appears as it happens on our T.V. screens...the internet tells us about stuff that happened seconds ago....
So...FIDE and others decided that active chess...fast games...so that the busy player could get his or her chess fix in a day...would be the chess solution...however...reality shows that active chess has never really caught on...
I realize to play a good game of chess, you must spend time analyzing the important positions...but why is it that speed chess is more popular than active chess...
Is there a time control that would better suite the busy man schedule?
Larry
One recreational day on a weekend preferably Saturday (keep family day on a Sunday) and at any time control with 30 second increment (with all moves must be written) at least 4 rounds.
I agree with Vlad; if there were one day tournaments with game in 1 hour I would very likely play in them. I just do not have the time for full weekend tournaments at the moment.
I try to keep sharp by playing some blitz from time to time, on the web and casually. If there were blitz tournaments more often in Ottawa that would be great.
The Toronto results with regualr blitz tournaments are not particularly encouraging. Bayview Games Club ( Vlad Dobrich ) has been holding them every Saturday for months now, and he usually gets less than 10 players out - and it is right on the subway system ( and Toronto is supposed to have lots of chess players ).
I don't think Montreal's experience with them has been all that great either.
So I'm not sure there is much Canadian demand for regular Blitz Tournaments.
In Montreal there is a demand for (at least weekly) blitz tournaments - all that's needed is someone to volunteer (or for a very small fee) to run them. There are sites available (Chess and Math, and the FQE area at the Big Owe) for nothing or minimal charge. (at one time I ran 5 of them weekly - but no more).
Cafe Pi can handle monthly tournaments - but weekly is asking too much (too many non-tournament customers and other activities).
The Toronto results with regualr blitz tournaments are not particularly encouraging. Bayview Games Club ( Vlad Dobrich ) has been holding them every Saturday for months now, and he usually gets less than 10 players out - and it is right on the subway system ( and Toronto is supposed to have lots of chess players ).
I don't think Montreal's experience with them has been all that great either.
So I'm not sure there is much Canadian demand for regular Blitz Tournaments.
Bob
what's the cost for the regular blitz tournaments at the bayview games club? more than $10 (approximately the cost of going to the movies) would be prohibitively expensive i would think...
We have a single speed trmt. a month in Montreal at the moment. Even so, yesterday's only drew 13 people. The organizer didn't even show up, so I got it rolling myself. While I'm always open to a good blitz tournament, we can get our speed chess fix in our living rooms if we want.
What I can't get at home are more serious events. But, I rarely have an entire weekend to give up. I would like to see G/30 trmts., 5 rounds lasting a single Saturday; from 10:00 - 18:00. I don't care if they're rated or not. Perhaps a mix of rated / unrated to see what works best.
I personally prefer swiss-system to groups of comparable ratings. The groups aren't always equitable and, if you do well, you'll hit the top guys anyway.
So ... semi-serious, 1 day finishing by 6:00 p.m. I don't care about winning cash prizes either.
what's the cost for the regular blitz tournaments at the bayview games club? more than $10 (approximately the cost of going to the movies) would be prohibitively expensive i would think...
The registration fee is $ 27 per tournament. These days, Vlad offers free cup of coffee and 1 donut - to new and first time participants.
Regular participants from the SCC is my favorite = David Southam.
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While I'm always open to a good blitz tournament, we can get our speed chess fix in our living rooms if we want.
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