Opening Cheating

It's allowed to use a database in your "online" games (days per move).

Here we go, again.

Yes, I was speaking strictly about "correspondence" chess, not live ones, however, my question still lingers...

Hey books are allowed also. I think this hurts the most.

There's no real question, lingering or otherwise.

"Turn-based" (or "online") chess on this site is a modern reincarnation of the old "postal" or "correspondence" chess. Research has always been a major part of correspondence chess. Databases are not just "in the rules", but a big part of the game in this format.

I would say 80-100% are made from database or some sorts.

The basics of opening theory are known on most levels of chess. Also, the English opening you mentioned is one of the most common openings I encounter (besides kings pawn and queen's gambit).

There are probably many people who understand and/or recognize these openings but have difficulty in other parts of the game. Hence: a low rating (I believe opening knowledge doesn't do very much for your playing strength). Even otb I notice players of all strengths have a surprisingly decent opening knowledge. I think databases are rarely involved.

Move 7 or 8?

I usually follow games from my database for 20 moves or more. In my highest rated win on this site http://www.chess.com/echess/game?id=77094496 I did not make one single move myself. When my opponent chose to resign I was still following a game from my database and that was on move 22.

Database use is what makes correspondence chess so attractive for me! I also do appreciate it, when my opponents use a database themselves. This is no cheating. It's a great learning tool.

Equal chances. Everybody is allowed to do the same.

bean_Fischer wrote:

I would say 80-100% are made from database.

Way too much work...

I have no particular problem with my opponents in online games doing this if that is what rocks their boat but the idea of making someone else's moves twenty times and then having my opponent resign strikes me as demeaning (not to say dull). It is a bit like watching someone play a one armed bandit. He or she pulls the arm, the machine whirrs and clicks, lights flash and then it is time for the player to pull the arm again. You can't help asking whether the person is playing the machine or the machine is playing the person.

Hm, to me it is anything but dull. I have spent a lot of time and effort in creating my database which is much bigger than any single database you could buy anywhere in the world and keeping it up to date.

Using the database is not just picking the first move the database will show. It's much more than just going for the best win-loss-draw statistics or the greatest elo average or anything like that.

Picking the right move does take some time and thinking. Also I will always try to understand the purpose of each of the moves. It is much more like getting a larger scope of valid candidate moves and being able to explore the consequences of each choice before you have to commit yourself to one option. As I said before, a great learning tool!

I thoroughly enjoy it. And while I don't remember every opening line later on, my general opening knowledge does improve and my understanding for openings is certainly getting better this way.

On a side note: Does a victory like the one I mentioned above make me proud? No, not really. But neither does a victory where I found each move myself. I don't see correspondence chess as a competition so much, but more as an entertaining and fun way to learn, to exercise and to get better. The reason I play is, because I want to get better at otb chess and this way it is more fun than just studying from books alone.

Edit: I forgot to mention, that more often than not, a database will help you beyond the point where you (or your opponent) strayed from book moves or previous games. You just need to go back to the last move that is still found in the database and study the games that branched off differently from your game, to learn about general strategic plans in that opening (or middlegame). It will help you to find out which piece belongs where and what tactics might be hidden in the position. You will also benefit from this in the long term, because it will increase your understanding of the differences that arise from playing the one alternative move or the other.

It seems like a good idea. Where do you keep you own database?

I keep it on my local harddisc. And I use Chessbase 10 to run it with. I only play chess from my home computer and don't use any mobile devices, so the database is always accessible for me.

This is not chess. If someone, or something else is picking your moves for you, youre not playing chess.

Following the DB moves blindly, without making the effort to understand them, is a great way to get a winning middlegame and lose it.

I do not use any DB in CC, but I also use sideline openings where errors do not matter much (ie NOT the Najdorf Sicilian, for instance). Someone might follow the DB and get some advantage against me, but he will still have to win the game afterwards.

your not using your brain if you use a database..therefore you could put it in a different categorie and call it  BRAIN DEAD CHESS

I agree with you wholeheartedly that blindly following database moves is not going to get you anywhere. The trick is to use the database right. Then and only then is it a great way to learn openings (and maybe even middlegame plan-finding). And this is exactly what makes correspondence chess so valuable. You can play games with just your brain anywhere all the time. At your local chess club or just with friends, family members and coffee house players. It's a different kind of chess entirly.

Only if you're not using it right.

Recently I try to find a position from databases. After searching for an hour, I can't find it.

But hey I know the theory of the position very well. I find the correct move no longer than 10 min.

The reason I can't find such position is because it is a well known trap with slight variation. And no matter how much effort I do, I can hardly find it, because the trap is well known.