Settings and Time Controls

I see that there is a settings for accepting challenges based on rating. I wish there was a setting based on the number of games your opponent is playing simultaneously. I would prefer to never under any circumstances have to play someone who is playing 1000 games. Heck, I'd rather not play anyone who is playing more than 100 games. The fact that this can happen and in the case of a subscriber you could be additionally doomed by them taking the vacation option to prolong their games way beyond the time controls inherent in the game and/or tournament that you signed up for is a real site-killer for me. If I had correctly understood how this works I would have never paid for this site! Why not require vacations to be booked 1 month in advance, set an upper limit for games, and strictly enforce time forfeits? (No skulls will grow moss on my watch.) I wanted to be on the site because I relish the opportunity to actually think about my moves - and I wanted the same from my opponent, not someone trying to set the world record for most games played simultaneously. Please set an upper limit or allow me to defend myself from these jokers thru my settings!

Originally posted by TerrierJack
I see that there is a settings for accepting challenges based on rating. I wish there was a setting based on the number of games your opponent is playing simultaneously. I would prefer to never under any circumstances have to play someone who is playing 1000 games. Heck, I'd rather not play anyone who is playing more than 100 games. The fact that this ...[text shortened]... ly. Please set an upper limit or allow me to defend myself from these jokers thru my settings!

Not sure if i understand you correctly;
you are mad because some ppl take less time to make moves then you do? Wouldnt this result in a bigger chance for you to win? why be mad?

I dont think many will support your idea, but if you are serious you should take it to the site ideas forum.

No! I'm mad because the site rules make it impossible for me to avoid playing people who are guaranteed to take MUCH more time to make moves than me (or anyone else) because they are playing 1000+ games at the same time. These same people can use the vacation rules to stretch a game WAY BEYOND the time controls for the game. If the site will not LIMIT the number of games people CAN play then at least let me choose NOT to play those people!

Originally posted by TerrierJack
I see that there is a settings for accepting challenges based on rating. I wish there was a setting based on the number of games your opponent is playing simultaneously. I would prefer to never under any circumstances have to play someone who is playing 1000 games. Heck, I'd rather not play anyone who is playing more than 100 games. The fact that this ...[text shortened]... ly. Please set an upper limit or allow me to defend myself from these jokers thru my settings!

before you play your first move against any player you can check both the time control on the game (pick 1/0 if you wanna play quick) and the current game load of your opponent (click thier name then the "xxxxxxx's public games" link on the left hand side).

you need never play a game against anyone you dont want to or under time controls you dont like - just delete the game if you dont like the settings etc

at worst it is two clicks to check this info so i dont see the development time being worth it.

the vacation thing you are just going to have to live with - you may even appreciate it when YOU need it.

You have that choice if you are playing 1 game. But in a tournament you can be matched against someone who is playing 1000+ games - can't the site protect me against that? Add it as a condition of the entering?

Originally posted by TerrierJack
You have that choice if you are playing 1 game. But in a tournament you can be matched against someone who is playing 1000+ games - can't the site protect me against that? Add it as a condition of the entering?

Some of us take only a few games because that allows us to think about our moves over several days. A player with 1000 games, on the other hand, must move at blitz speeds just to make the time controls in their games. If anything, they will play much faster than the old-school CC player who is used to spending several days on a single move.

Not really sure what you need 'protection' from. Players have a right to manage their time as they see fit, within the time control.

The point is that I would rather not play against people that are playing blitz - if I wanted to play blitz I wouldn't be on another site playing blitz. It is a waste of my time to analyze and work on a game for 3 months when I know my opponent will either inevitably time-out or will play so superficially that they are bound to blunder. I really don't care whether I win even one game here - I care whether I am being challenged to improve. Ratings and wins mean nothing to me - my time is invaluable.

Originally posted by TerrierJack
The point is that I would rather not play against people that are playing blitz - if I wanted to play blitz I wouldn't be on another site playing blitz. It is a waste of my time to analyze and work on a game for 3 months when I know my opponent will either inevitably time-out or will play so superficially that they are bound to blunder. I really don't ...[text shortened]... am being challenged to improve. Ratings and wins mean nothing to me - my time is invaluable.

I think you have a valid point - I agree almost completely. 😏

Originally posted by TerrierJack
The point is that I would rather not play against people that are playing blitz - if I wanted to play blitz I wouldn't be on another site playing blitz. It is a waste of my time to analyze and work on a game for 3 months when I know my opponent will either inevitably time-out or will play so superficially that they are bound to blunder. I really don't ...[text shortened]... am being challenged to improve. Ratings and wins mean nothing to me - my time is invaluable.

OK, so take as many games as you can get against high-rated opposition, if you really want tough games. No need to hate on the blitzers for playing the game in a form they enjoy.

Please don't get me wrong - I have nothing against any other player! I just want the site to help me play the way I prefer against opponents who are like-minded. Those who prefer playing blitz from the bottom of a swimming pool wearing oxygen tanks are welcome to do so...

Hello, i am new here and i found it complicated. i don't understand how to play here. When i was in my (League site) i saw this site publishing there. So i tried to register in here and now i try to play but the opponent is not moving. there are days (3 day, 7days) what does it mean? my opponent will move in 3 days after my move? (((((((((((: i want to play 10 minutes if possible but dunno how to set time and to have opponent so quickly. thx in advance

Originally posted by Ysa
Hello, i am new here and i found it complicated. i don't understand how to play here. When i was in my (League site) i saw this site publishing there. So i tried to register in here and now i try to play but the opponent is not moving. there are days (3 day, 7days) what does it mean? my opponent will move in 3 days after my move? (((((((((((: i want to play 10 minutes if possible but dunno how to set time and to have opponent so quickly. thx in advance

Hi,

This is a correspondence chess site. Depending on the time controls a game could take days, weeks or months. If you find the right opponent, and agree to a quick game, it is possible to finish it in 10 minutes, but you cannot force this. For this you should visit other chess sites.

For example a game with 3 days timeout and 0 days timebank, means that an opponent has to move within 3 days after your last move, or else you can win on time (the decision is yours, the site does not do this automatically). And each of you get this 3 days after every move!

The timebank is an additional number of days, that you have as an extra buffer when you move slower than the time-out period. However, the timebank can only be used once, when it reaches zero, it stays zero

It is also possible to have games with zero time-out, and N days of timebank. This guarantees that the game is finished within 2xN days.

But I suggest that you read the help and the faq (links are at the bottom of every page). Hopefully they explain things better than I do.

Hope you enjoy the site, if you decide to stay, that is.

Originally posted by Ysa
Hello, i am new here and i found it complicated. i don't understand how to play here. When i was in my (League site) i saw this site publishing there. So i tried to register in here and now i try to play but the opponent is not moving. there are days (3 day, 7days) what does it mean? my opponent will move in 3 days after my move? (((((((((((: i want to play 10 minutes if possible but dunno how to set time and to have opponent so quickly. thx in advance

In the beginning it can be difficult to find responisve opponents.
Look at a players profile to check how active he is (when was his last move, and how many moves this month, how many games has he going on).
You could also send a personal message to a person before you invite him for a game, this will give you more guarantee that a person actually has the intention to play here.

To find a player, look at the player tables.

I don't quite understand why number of games matters. Suppose I have 2 opponents. Both with ratings similar to mine. First has 10 games, second – 1000. I really don't have any preferences here. With both of them I will have more or less equal games. For me ratings is important, not number of games.

Originally posted by iru
I don't quite understand why number of games matters. Suppose I have 2 opponents. Both with ratings similar to mine. First has 10 games, second – 1000. I really don't have any preferences here. With both of them I will have more or less equal games. For me ratings is important, not number of games.

@iru - Less than 20 games and the players rating may seem erratic. After 20 rated games the ratings settle down properly.


@Ysa - there is the option to play blitz games on this site:

http://www.playtheimmortalgame.com/blitz/blitzchess.php