OK How many are using 365chess.com or equivanent??

So I keep entering tournaments and the players at all levels seem to ne following one train or another from something like http://www.365chess.com/opening.php.

What;s the deal? Are you? Noooooo?

It must be said, 365 was pretty clunky in its initial phase, but now it's turned into a pretty useful site!!

So, thanks, whats the point, is is about winning, or learning? I confess, I use it, because everybody else seems to be, but it takes some of the fun out of it.

I always get on it via google, when searching for GM games for example, some of the games presented on 365 are not on chessgames.com. Never really used the opening explorer you linked to, but that seems pretty slick now too.

Since using databases is a normal part of correspondence chess you could try to play strange moves so that you chart new waters.
This may not be to every ones taste but it is at least an option.

Originally posted by JS357
So, thanks, whats the point, is is about winning, or learning? I confess, I use it, because everybody else seems to be, but it takes some of the fun out of it.

What better way to learn book lines than to play some of them in your own games and see what happens in the middlegame?

Database use is central to the appeal of correspondence chess. I don't use 365 or other online databases except NIC Base. Rather, I maintain databases on my computer. Ofen the most important guide is my collection of my ~20,000 losses, including 133 here at RHP.