10 Feb '08 16:41>
I'm a newb, and want to subscribe to either one of the two. Right now I'm thinking RHP, but I have a few worries. The goal is to practice to become a better player all around.
RHP Pros:
-Correspondence style fits in a lot better with my lifestyle than ICC does. (On ICC about half the time I get disconnects or my wife/dog screwing me up).
-Correspondence offers deeper analysis which may be good for my growth as a player.
-Most ICC are blitz games anyway and RHP offers blitz too.
-Can do RHP at work!
-Forums are cool.
-A lot more modern than ICC and seems to have a friendly environment.
RHP Cons:
-I worry about cheats (not accusing anyone -- I don't have nearly the sophistication to determine whether an engine is playing or not, but clearly it would be easier to cheat in correspondence).
-Use of opening databases/books might stunt my growth as a player (I could be completely wrong and they might actually help me, who knows?)
-The idea is to prepare myself for OTB play at the club level, would correspondence be an effective tool for this?
-Site is kinda slow for me for some reason (not a big deal really).
So basically what I'm looking for is for someone to refute all my "cons", at least the first three. And any other comparisons between RHP and ICC.
RHP Pros:
-Correspondence style fits in a lot better with my lifestyle than ICC does. (On ICC about half the time I get disconnects or my wife/dog screwing me up).
-Correspondence offers deeper analysis which may be good for my growth as a player.
-Most ICC are blitz games anyway and RHP offers blitz too.
-Can do RHP at work!
-Forums are cool.
-A lot more modern than ICC and seems to have a friendly environment.
RHP Cons:
-I worry about cheats (not accusing anyone -- I don't have nearly the sophistication to determine whether an engine is playing or not, but clearly it would be easier to cheat in correspondence).
-Use of opening databases/books might stunt my growth as a player (I could be completely wrong and they might actually help me, who knows?)
-The idea is to prepare myself for OTB play at the club level, would correspondence be an effective tool for this?
-Site is kinda slow for me for some reason (not a big deal really).
So basically what I'm looking for is for someone to refute all my "cons", at least the first three. And any other comparisons between RHP and ICC.