So, you think you're so smart, huh? Think you've got what it takes to be a champion?
Prove it, tough guy (or gal). Prove it -- on the chessboard!
This is the first, preliminary call to form an online chess tournament for Daily Kos. I'm hoping to field a bracket pool like the NCAA tournament.....only instead of watching basketball on TV, you'll be playing chess.
We can also use this diary to plan out some of the logistics of the tournament. Beneath the fold, I'll lay out what I had in mind for things like the host website, schedule, match-ups, possible PRIZES for winning, and the like -- but please feel free to offer your suggestions as well.
To lay out my idea, I'll present this diary as series of questions and answers.
Also, to entice you to join, I present as an offering that rockin' 80's hit song "One Night In Bangkok" by Murray Head, in the mp3 player.
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HOW WILL THIS TOURNAMENT BE SET UP?
First thing's first: This will be a FREE chess tournament. That means no charges or fees to enter. It will be normal, regular chess games -- no crazy or fancy rules.
Next, we can set it up here, and in open threads. If you are interested in participating, please let me know in the comment section that you'd like to join. Recs for this diary will not be necessary, though they are definitely appreciated.
I will then start compiling an e-mail list for the tournament, assuming that your e-mail addresses are listed on your diary pages -- if they aren't, please provide them as well.
HOW MANY KOSSACKS CAN JOIN THE TOURNAMENT?
As many as possible! The more the merrier. It would work out perfectly if we had an NCAA tournament-sized number like 64, but I'd settle for 32 or even 16.
If there's a "strange" number like 40 or 45, we can work out a system of giving random Kossacks some first-round byes. Yeah, I know that's not ideal, but I'd rather not exclude anyone from playing if they really want to.
WHICH WEBSITE WILL HOST THE TOURNAMENT?
The website I was thinking of was Chess Cube. It's a pretty cool site which allows you to play chess with any user in the world for free. It runs on Flash animation, it looks neat, and it keeps a record of all of the games you play so that you can review and study up for your next match. The reason I like this website (over one like Yahoo Games) is because you won't get bombarded with invitations to play some random user while you're in the middle of a game. If you're playing someone, that's the only person you have to worry about. I've also noticed that users frequently get kicked off of Yahoo Games because of server errors, which is pretty annoying.
Chess Cube does require you to sign up for an account before you can play, but it's free. In fact, most online chess websites require you to sign up before you can play a match. If you're concerned about things like spam, I'd suggest creating a free Hotmail e-mail account that you won't use for any other purpose -- though I haven't gotten any spam from them.
If there are other online chess websites which you think would work better for this tournament, please suggest some in the comments.
WHAT OPERATING SYSTEM WILL WE NEED FOR USING CHESS CUBE?
I ran it on my home computer (Windows Vista using Firefox), and it worked just fine. According to the Chess Cube FAQ, it should run on most operating systems and browsers, though please let me know if there are technical problems.
HOW WILL THE MATCH-UPS BE SET?
Before the tournament starts, the match-ups will be set randomly. Once I find out how many Kossacks are in the tournament, I'll draw names from a hat to set up the brackets. Another neat thing about Chess Cube is that you can set it up so that the players will be randomly selected during each game to determine who plays white and who plays black. You can think of it like a coin toss.
If we need to set up some first-round byes to accommodate extra players, those players will be randomized into the tournament first.
WILL THE MATCH-UPS HAVE TIME LIMITS?
Yes. I think it's better this way for a few reasons. One, it will keep everyone on their toes and give the matches some spice. Two, it will keep users from taking forever on deciding on their next move. Three, it will allow you to spend no more than an hour or two on each game, then you can get back to the more important stuff in your life. And four, it's kind of a safeguard against cheating -- yes, it's easier to cheat online than in person (by using books, or strategy guides, or illegal software programs), but having a time limit greatly decreases the chance that you'll have the time to use these things. Chess Cube is also pretty adamant in its rules against cheating.....so, just don't cheat. You're on your honor.
That said, I haven't decided on a time limit yet. 90 minutes? 60 minutes? 30 minutes? Fewer? We can discuss that. Whatever we end up deciding, it should be the same for all matches.
WHEN WILL THE MATCHES BE SCHEDULED?
Well, I guess I'd leave it up to the players involved in each match to find a common schedule that works for them. I'd personally recommend that we run our matches on Saturdays and Sundays for a couple reasons. First, you'll probably have more free time because it's the weekend. But second and more importantly, Chess Cube may not run on the computer in your office or workplace because of things like firewall restrictions. Plus, you don't want to get caught at work playing chess, do ya?
I think it'd be best that all matches in each round be completed within one week (no more than 7 days), so that we can keep things moving. If there are scheduling difficulties, we can always make arrangements for each player involved.
HOW WILL WE KNOW WHO WON EACH MATCH?
I was hoping you could help me there. Basically, I was thinking you would e-mail me the results when you're finished.
I'll also be happy to post periodic updates throughout the tournament. If you send me the move lists too (which Chess Cube records), I can maybe post some "highlights" from some of the matches.
ARE THERE ANY PRIZES FOR WINNING THE TOURNAMENT?
At the moment, no. Bragging rights and the right to call yourself the DKos Chess Champion of 2009 are at stake for now.
But, if there's a strong enough push to include a small prize, we can talk about that. Maybe a T-shirt, or something like that.
WHAT'S THE POINT OF THIS? THIS DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH PROGRESSIVE POLITICS.
Well, the first reason I play chess is because it's FUN -- which, for me, is also one of the reasons I like to blog. Chess is a great mental exercise, and I think it'd be cool for someone to wear the title of DKos Chess Champion 2009 (you can even put that in your sig line, or something).
Second, funny pootie pictures don't have much to do with progressive politics either, but I love those too and I always like seeing them.
Third, chess can give you a little stress relief. Lots of great diaries go up each day that can make you pretty angry -- and they're of course useful. But a game of chess can serve as a nice little diversion. Chess beats stress.
Last thing.....you'd be surprised at how chess and politics have intertwined throughout history. The late Bobby Fischer won a much publicized world championship match against the Russian legend Boris Spassky in 1972. Since this was during the Cold War, Fischer's victory served as a sort of symbolic triumph for the U.S. Fischer would also, sadly, become a lightning rod of controversy for his anti-Semitic comments later in his life. Champion Garry Kasparov, well-known for a series of matches against the super computer Deep Blue in the late 1990's, retired from professional chess in 2005 to focus on politics, leading a political opposition to Vladimir Putin.
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So with that, I invite any and all interested chess players to take on the rest of Daily Kos. Again, let me know if you're interested by leaving a comment, or you can e-mail me at the address shown on my diary page. Suggestions for modifying or improving the tournament are also welcome. If you'd like to help me organize it, please e-mail me and we can talk.
Cheers, and happy chessing.