Actually I think it's a really bad thing for people to use the database for specific moves in a game.
Ideally the database is something you explore after your game...or to study openings and variations in general, not to use against your opponent's specific move?
That's not the accepted vision, AfafBouardi. Perhaps you personally feel that way (and your not alone in that) but database use is allowed during correspondence play. Frankly, for me it's a large part of the fun, it allows me to get to know difficult openings. And a link from ongoing games would facilitate database use, but I have no strong opinion on that matter.
I this were to be implemented, people would conclude that constantly using databases during the game is considered a good idea. As blindly following databases can easily be bad for your game, perhaps it shouldn't be encouraged?
I don't mind people using the database during games. I think of Chess.com games as a learning forum...though there are those who do not. Yet...I agree with Scarbiac in that I think using the database for specific moves is probably a crippling habit.
I like to join a theme tournament generally and then before it starts look up two or three main variations for the opening and play the openings on my Winboard a few times...it's purely rote memorization which isn't really good for deep chess understanding...but I've memorized plenty of openings 10 ply in this way.
Afaf, a few observations:
1. You should have a repertoire as restricted as possible. So, memorizing plenty of openings is perhaps not the best thing.
2. Each opening has a central idea. Let's say the French: Black must undermine White's center with c5, White should go for a kingside attack, where he has more space. This is what is important to memorize and understand for an opening.
costelus.
1. At what point does one need to create a repertoire? I don't think I'm good enough to have one yet.
2. I would love to know this about each opening. Where I am currently, we don't have access to any chess books ( I bought the 3 awful ones that I found) so I have to rely on pieces of internet chess articles so it's very very frustrating. :)
Huh? Using a database is standard and universally accepted practice in correspondence chess.
I have seem some sites implementing an "easy database". And it's ALREADY in this site (game explorer), so the site might as well make the link directly clickable and directly searchable from the game itself.
Afaf, my opinion:
1. As early as possible. Stick to a restricted sets of opening and try to play only them. Of course, as your playing strength increases, you will start looking for longer, more complicated lines in that opening.
2. I don't like too much the books devoted exclusively to one opening. Many times, they end up exploring myriads of variations, without summarizing the main ideas. For a start, wikipedia is a good source (especially "general considerations"):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Defence
Sticking to the same small repertoire for your whole career sounds wrong to me. First, you need to find out which openings you like, and you won't know that right away. Second, it's boring, and that probably means you won't be as concentrated as you could be after you've played the same openings for a number of years.
I'd say, below 2000 (OTB), play everything and don't care about the theory too much, you can pick up the ideas by playing over a lot of GM games; above 2000, pick a repertoire but keep refreshing it every few years.
Sorry for taking the thread off-topic...
Sticking to the same small repertoire for your whole career sounds wrong to me. First, you need to find out which openings you like, and you won't know that right away. Second, it's boring, and that probably means you won't be as concentrated as you could be after you've played the same openings for a number of years.
I'd say, below 2000 (OTB), play everything and don't care about the theory too much, you can pick up the ideas by playing over a lot of GM games; above 2000, pick a repertoire but keep refreshing it every few years.
Sorry for taking the thread off-topic...
I couldn't disagree more. Most people will never reach anywhere near 2000 OTB, so you think anyone that's not a NM (at least) shouldn't bother to put together an opening repertoire?
On-topic, I agree that the one feature this site is missing over competition, from my experience, is link that brings you to the game's position in the site's database.
I think in correspondance games it should have an option that you select/agree to that either allows outside materials or not. That way the game is differentiated between a learning game and a competititve battle of the minds game.
I think in correspondance games it should have an option that you select/agree to that either allows outside materials or not. That way the game is differentiated between a learning game and a competititve battle of the minds game.
But what defines outside materials? I play the KG if my opponent reponds with 1...e5. At the same time, I'm always learning more about the more complicated lines, and looking into various variations. So would you say that every game I play is a 'learning game'?
Two thumbs up to this request! By total fluke, I was just making the same point on another thread. Forgive the self-quotation:
"Game Explorer is huge too, but I won't use that significantly till it's integrated with e-chess. As it stands now, I've got an e-chess interface that shows me the FEN for the current position and a Game Explorer that can't take FEN as an input. The upshot is that the FEN is really just an invitation to go to a different website and look it up, if you're studying opening lines..."
Replace that FEN with a link to the position in Explorer (or make the FEN itself a link, whatever), and I'd be very 
I think in correspondance games it should have an option that you select/agree to that either allows outside materials or not. That way the game is differentiated between a learning game and a competititve battle of the minds game.
I won't name the site, but there is a chess site which I've seen with this feature...it indicates whether 1. Books or study materials allowed. 2. Databases allowed. and 3. Chess engines allowed. And people can tick off the applicable when creating their seek.
Actually I think it's a really bad thing for people to use the database for specific moves in a game.
Ideally the database is something you explore after your game...or to study openings and variations in general, not to use against your opponent's specific move?
correspondence chess is like OPEN BOOK EXAMS , in these types of exams the questions are made in a way that by just recording whats in the book doesnt lead u to the right answers but the understanding of the topic...now
1.the idea in learning an opening or making a self repertoire is to make u reach A MIDDLE GAME THAT U R FAMILIAR WITH , this is the main essence of openings repertoire...so whatever no of openings u know , they all should lead to middle game that u know how tp proceede and build ur plans from that point
2. using database mainly helps to guide u if ur opponent is trying to deviate u from ur FAMILIAR ground , is how to return back (as much as possible) to ur main ground again by exploring different variations....
for example if u play the sicilian dragon , and u know that ur opponent plays closed siciliant , u can use accelerated dragon or hyper accelerated dragon to later on try to transpose
3.the above process in relying on database is not endless , after some time u will have ur own memorized manuevers but after u did it frequently using the databases
to make a long story short , if used wisely as an aid to learn , it works as a map in a city u visit for the first or second time
I think a direct link to the game explorer is a great idea. I think an upgrade to the game explorer database would also be a good idea. It's not the greatest Db around.
The databases on chess.com aren't very useful unless you're a paying member. ou can only look a few moves ahead for free.
please don't ruin this site like so many others have done by adding kinks to databases during a game. the only thing it does is allow those with low self esteem to cheat and win games. databases our useful tools after a game to analyze your mistakes but to allow players to use them during games is just disaster for the honest players no need to spoil a good thing
please don't ruin this site like so many others have done by adding kinks to databases during a game. the only thing it does is allow those with low self esteem to cheat and win games. databases our useful tools after a game to analyze your mistakes but to allow players to use them during games is just disaster for the honest players no need to spoil a good thing
Are you suggesting that players who use databases are cheaters? Certainly sounds that way.
A direct way to access and bookmark the chess database (from the opening explorer) from the games is needed to save an immense amount of time during the games. Especially for those who have tons of games at one go.
Databases are always available for everybody, and everybody ALREADY has access to them. It's not like it should be one big secret.... Tons of external database websites and chess.com own internal facility exist. So why not just make it directly linkable from the games?