What do correspondence players do with their time?

Former world champion of correspondence chess, Hans Berliner, says you should work on every move for 3 hours. I'm sure some players spend even longer on a single move. What do players do with all of that time? I'm sure their method differs depending on the phase of the game. Have any correspondence players written about their process in detail?

Back when I cared I probably spent around that much time on every move.  In the early stage of the game, I'd be all over FCO and Chess Opening Essentials trying to figure out how I wanted to steer the opening.  That plus videos on youtube and here on chess.com.  And of course I'd be comparing results from several databases even though I knew they probably had little relation to my game.  As the game progressed a little further I'd start watching master level games that had the same position. HIARCS is great for that although it's a pain waiting for large DBs to load. Even though many of the games I'd be watching would go down different roads, some of the plans would be similar.  Eventually of course you run out of book and there are no more games to follow.  Now it's time to start obsessing over the analysis board and copy/pasting line after line into the notes.  Amazing how when you think you have every possibiity covered your opponent comes up with something you didn't think of.  All in all, it was a lot more like a day researching a paper at the library (yeah, i'm old) than playing chess. I wasn't having much fun.  Now I mostly just troll the forums and pretend I'm helping people.  Your mileage may vary...

I don't think that's the case anymore.
Most people (such as myself) simply play correspondence because that's the only type they can play because of work and other stuff.

I had a routine.

I would never move the first day of receiving my opponent's move. 

In the opening, I would check the databases and books, and review move orders. I would also check the latest chess news to see if there are any new games in the line.

I tend to play main lines, so most of my games follow precedent for 10-20 moves. 

I check the tactics and typical placement of the pieces. The chessbase function which shows piece probability (showing what squares the pieces tend to go to) is an excellent tool for this! I don't trust single games unless they are recent CC games played between masters. 

Once I'm completely away from all known precedent, I still check the database for ideas and plans. I also try to follow plans that have been outlined in books. This research really does take quite a bit of time. 

When I receive a move I do a quick check and write down some initial variations. I go back and analyse for 20 minutes without moving the pieces, then I enter the variations. I go back over the variations and pay special attention to ridiculous looking forcing moves, and moves that look like they're hanging pieces. 

By that point, I usually have decided which move I want to play. I then take a close look at my analysis from my opponent's perspective, really trying to find ways to refute the idea. 

When I'm satisfied, I make my move. I never broke down exactly how much time per move this all took, but with only ~10 games going at a time, this took up a huge amount of time. 

I have all but given up playing correspondence now though, and stick to vote chess.

Back when I was playing correspondence we were still using snail mail and postcards and my " database " was whatever informants I had plus opening books and NIC year books .... it was a lot of work but it was my safety net when I couldnt play enough OTB chess to feed my thirst for chess ... 

I´m new in chess and have started practicing it first with the daily games. You guys help me a lot with your comments. Thanks a lot.

Possibly of interest: Modern Chess Analysis by Robin Smith

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233707/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review442.pdf

It was a lot more fun way back when

Waiting for the postman to bring the days moves. The thrill when that black and white postcard from East Germany turned up  3735 he has played a Sicilian !!

Sending off for Shakmaty bulletins or some other obscure source to try and catch opponents out in undiscovered lines.   Hunting for novelties, back when there were hundreds to discover.  

 Knowing it was a battle of the minds, with no fear your opponent might cheat.  

Happy days

What I do in my time: check the openingdatabase (this is actually allowed for daily chess). Further I analyse a lot by just calculating. If this is inconclusive I'll have to spend some more time doing a detailed analysis of the position. This analysis also takes into account all the more subtile positional traits of the position. And even then sometimes you just don't know which plan is better and you'll just have to choose on luck or intuition, if that exists in chess. But of course after the game is finished, you can use an engine to analyse the game.

My method for playing correspondence chess is less labor intensive during the game itself. I only refer to opening encyclopedias if I'm fairly unfamiliar with a particular opening variation. Since I have a very narrow opening repertoire, this doesn't happen too often. I don't do any other research of any kind while the game is still in progress. I want to do my own thinking all the way to the end of the game. Only after the game has finished, do I do the type of work described by others. I've always felt that this is a better way to learn.

Curious if in this day world correspondence chess championship still exist.

Hi there.

I´ve decided to spend some money on chess books. I´d like to get tips as to which books to purchase.  At first 1 for openings, 1 for tactics/midgames, 1 for endings and 1 for strategy.

What would you guys suggest ?

Thanks.

http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html

https://www.mongoosepress.com/excerpts/OpeningsForAmateurs%20sample.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2010/1/30/a-brief-review-of-carsten-hansens-back-to-basics-openings.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627031504/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen76.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_the_Chess_Openings.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626173432/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen128.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/FCO_Fundamental_Chess_Openings.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093123/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review756.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf

Some possibilities at various levels:

Winning Chess Play, Tactics, and Strategies by Yasser Seirawan

http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner

Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/Shop/Images/Pdfs/7192.pdf
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1949)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
50 Essential Chess Lessons by Steve Giddins
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708100833/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review534.pdf
Chess Strategy for Kids by Thomas Engqvist
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Strategy_for_Kids.pdf
Starting Out: Attacking Play by James Plaskett
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101549/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review467.pdf
Simple Chess by Michael Stean
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf
Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf
Chess Secrets: The Giants of Chess Strategy by Neil McDonald
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092313/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review620.pdf
Chess Strategy for Club Players by Herman Grooten
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101926/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review696.pdf
Chess Training for Post-beginners by Yaroslav Srokovski
https://web.archive.org/web/20140712013538/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review945.pdf
Chess Strategy: Move by Move by Adam Hunt
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093249/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review890.pdf
How to Reassess Your Chess (4th ed.) by Jeremy Silman
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708095832/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review769.pdf
Understanding Chess Middlegames by GM John Nunn
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627012322/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen154.pdf
Winning Pawn Structures by GM Alexander Baburin (1998)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140718055446/http://chesscafe.com/text/wps.txt
Understanding Pawn Play in Chess by GM Drazen Marovic (2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708110136/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review249.pdf
Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess by GM Drazen Marovic (2001)
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/books-of-many-flavours

Various endgame study possibilities discussed at:

http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/endings-endings-endings
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/the-end-game-comes-before-we-know-it
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-all
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708103149/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review594.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105702/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review645.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708234309/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review704.pdf
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
Before buying any particular book, I suggest going to the publisher site to see if it is possible to view a sample.

How is the championship being held ? It should not use database or engine.

Bit of topic, but for the openings I would suggest"better chess openings" by Jef Kaan. Here you can buy the ebook version: http://www.lulu.com/shop/jef-kaan/better-chess-openings/ebook/product-23030032.html

I was playing on my tablet at a local bar last week, and I did put some Ready for the World's "Oh Shelia"  along with   "Heat of the Moment" by Asia on the digital jukebox.  

Computers have totally ruined chess. My last event was about ten years ago when a person with the handscrawl of a retarded child and a lifetime 1300 USCF rating slapped me off the board in both games like I was playing my IM friend.