It's been a slice...

[David Ottosen]

Re: It's been a slice...

Your reply was ignorant and offensive.

My original response required no replies at all. It was simply for anyone I know who might wonder what I thought of your retirement. I find it preferable to simply not commenting or becoming a "I wonder what he thought" trivia question.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: It's been a slice...

So, Gary, will you now have more free time to post on ChessTalk? :p

I always have time for Chess Talk. It's unique. Sometimes I get the feeling every screwball who ever pushed a pawn enjoys refreshing discussions with me. :)

[John Coleman]

Re: It's been a slice...

I've been turning down invitations to play in decent level correspondence events including the Pan Am Teams.

So, Gary, will you now have more free time to post on ChessTalk? :p

[Gary Ruben]

Re: It's been a slice...

Your post was ridiculous and unnecessary.

Your reply was ignorant and offensive.

[David Ottosen]

Re: It's been a slice...

If you misunderstood the intent of my post or the organizational differences of the chess organizations, I can understand that.

Ok - definitely misunderstood this part.

Otherwise I'm at a loss to understand your post and the nastiness it conveyed.

Your post was ridiculous and unnecessary.

[Zeljko Kitich]

Re: It's been a slice...

I'm mathematically challenged. You gotta problem with that?

(Humanities student here)

No because you have never claimed to be a scientist. :):)

[Paul Beckwith]

Re: It's been a slice...

How is this for some wacky weather anecdotes...

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/Jef...?entrynum=2012

[Vlad Drkulec]

Re: It's been a slice...

I'm mathematically challenged. You gotta problem with that?

(Humanities student here)

As long as you refrain from lecturing me on economic and financial issues while making claims that a graduate of a grade eight math program clearly shouldn't make, I don't have a problem with that.

[Jean Hébert]

Re: It's been a slice...

No, the reality is correspondance chess has been rendered meaningless as a competition by technology. This has been true for at least 15 years but probably longer.

Funny how easily many people can confuse the way they see and understand things with what they call "reality" instead of "my reality". Referring to "reality" is probably the weakest argument someone can come up with.
I have lost interest and stopped playing correspondance chess quite a long time ago for different reasons. Yet I would not call something that still give people (I dont care how many) pleasure and challenge them "meaningless". Nowadays correspondance chess is being played with powerfull tools. So what ? The ones better able to combine their own skills with that of the powerfull tools still deservedly come up on top. Garri Kasparov who certainly knows a thing or two about chess, believes in and promoted this man-machine partnership as a viable type of competition, aiming at closing in on playing "perfect chess" .
Has running and other types of races been made "meaningless" because of the technology called motor cars ? Not a century ago and not now. We simply
continue to race, whatever the means.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: It's been a slice...

No, the reality is correspondance chess has been rendered meaningless as a competition by technology. This has been true for at least 15 years but probably longer.

Ruben frequently compares correspondance chess with otb chess using what most would call a fraudulant approach. By allowing this exercise to go on otb chess players risk seeing their own competitions seem trivial to the outside world, including legitimate sponsors and prospective players.

I came up with a great analogy some time back. Rotisserie baseball is to major league baseball as correspondance chess is to world class otb chess. If someone is an extremely good rotisserie baseball player, they have the skill of knowing the players well and probably by association understand the game of baseball very well. However, it does not make you a capable and strong major league baseball player. You might be both, but you better be on that field playing if you are making the claim.

I've noted there are a few older gentlemen on this site that give correspondance a fair bit of credit. However, try explaining the concept to today's young people, see how far you get. A more relevant question than is correspondance chess relevant ( its clearly not ) is can otb chess remain relevant moving forward. Holding onto relics like correspondance as competition may ironically be the recipe to regulating all forms of chess to hobby status like other board games. And veteran chess players will be the last people understanding this.

What would a retirement party be without a visit from Hazel's father?

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: It's been a slice...

No, the reality is correspondance chess has been rendered meaningless as a competition by technology.

Dance with the star ;)

Anyway, technology transformed analyses and a moves' transmission (mails>emails>servers). Meaningless - - there more useless activities in the world, like playing poker :p

[Peter McKillop]

Re: It's been a slice...

"Stand up for red, blue, and gold."

What's the next line?

[Garvin Nunes]

Re: It's been a slice...

He always did seem mathematically challenged judging from his comments on the economic side of things that usually just make him look kind of dim most of the time.



Well to be fair he did put down my chess playing ability, as well, and it is clear that I am a much better player than he is even when I am having a bad day.

I'm mathematically challenged. You gotta problem with that?

(Humanities student here)

[Duncan Smith]

Re: It's been a slice...

chess.com blooms with this form (it is called Online chess, while 1, 5 min etc - Live chess ), thus "dying" is just premature.

No, the reality is correspondance chess has been rendered meaningless as a competition by technology. This has been true for at least 15 years but probably longer.

Ruben frequently compares correspondance chess with otb chess using what most would call a fraudulant approach. By allowing this exercise to go on otb chess players risk seeing their own competitions seem trivial to the outside world, including legitimate sponsors and prospective players.

I came up with a great analogy some time back. Rotisserie baseball is to major league baseball as correspondance chess is to world class otb chess. If someone is an extremely good rotisserie baseball player, they have the skill of knowing the players well and probably by association understand the game of baseball very well. However, it does not make you a capable and strong major league baseball player. You might be both, but you better be on that field playing if you are making the claim.

I've noted there are a few older gentlemen on this site that give correspondance a fair bit of credit. However, try explaining the concept to today's young people, see how far you get. A more relevant question than is correspondance chess relevant ( its clearly not ) is can otb chess remain relevant moving forward. Holding onto relics like correspondance as competition may ironically be the recipe to regulating all forms of chess to hobby status like other board games. And veteran chess players will be the last people understanding this.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: It's been a slice...

maybe you can answer it yourself?

The organization involved is the Canadian Correspondence Chess Association. I have had a life membership since sometime in the 1980's. They are the correspondence national association in Canada and are recognized by the international federation.

The CFC is simply not involved. I'm not a member of the CFC.

Now possibly you could answer a question. What possible objection could you have to me announcing my retirement from competive correspondence chess on a message board where some of the participants either currently play correspondence play or hold international titles in correspondence chess?

If you misunderstood the intent of my post or the organizational differences of the chess organizations, I can understand that. Otherwise I'm at a loss to understand your post and the nastiness it conveyed.