Originally posted by nuggzydid you try the FAQ?
just joined and never heard of a "siege"...?
oooh - i just did and got lost and did not find sieges ... oooh.
... as a desperate measure i clicked on "sieges" ... and it told me everything .... but its point form was not 100% friendly to the uninitiated.
p.s. sieges are only open to subscribers .. you too can be one 😉
I personally think that sieges are a waste of time anyway.
You join a queue and it takes FAR too long before you get a chance to play in it.
For example, I joined a "7 day timeout series" on the 25th Aug 2004 and I am still at the end of the queue.
http://www.redhotpawn.com/siege/siegequeue.php?siegeid=10
What if by the time it is my time to play, I am on holiday for a couple of weeks and I get timed out? I would have waited (probably a total of 2 or more years by the time I get to play) for nothing.
I am leaving mine there for this siege game to see if it was worth the wait, but after that I doubt I will be joining any more sieges.
Basically, you join a queue for a board. When it eventually starts you play white against the current holder. If you win, as the current holder all your next games are as black. Draw a game and you lose your board, so the challenge is for Black to play to win. I quite like it for that because you cannot think draw even in closely contested games, in which case you've got to play for small advantages and the better endgame. An obvious strategy for white is to choose drawish openings and quickly simplify into an even endgame. Black doesn't have that luxury.
I joined a 1/3 queue and after a couple of months got in. Currently reigning champ on 1/3 purple board. It's not a big deal, though - I might get bored after a while and resign early to give someone else a go.
Suppose it is the time controls for the siege I have chosen. Anything with a timeout of 7 or more seems a bit impractical.
The seige I am in, one game with 30 moves can be potentially as long as 60 weeks.
If every game in the queue lasts that long, then I could be waiting another 11 and a half years before I get a chance to play! 😕