# 2010 SDMB Chess Championship
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [May 7, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681 "2010-05-07T21:18:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/1 "2010-05-07T21:18:55Z")
In honor of the FIDE World Championship match, I thought it’d be fun to run a swiss-system tournament here. Maybe even start a league. I know that **glee** is our resident expert, but I like to think I’m not so bad myself. Once we get a good idea of the number of players, we can try to figure out a way to structure a tournament.
Who’s game?
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### Author:  [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/2 "2010-05-07T21:22:48Z")
I’m not great, I don’t suck, so I’d be up for it. Just don’t expect too much.
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### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/3 "2010-05-07T21:57:56Z")
I used to be ok but I haven’t played since I graduated college. I’d be up for getting whooped by one of you guys.
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### Author:  [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)
#### Post date: [May 7, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/4 "2010-05-07T23:23:27Z")
I’ll fodder.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2010, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/5 "2010-05-08T06:35:13Z")
Ante-post betting is **glee** first and the rest nowhere, but I guess I could give it a try. I’m already registered at gameknot (as **gil-gandel** ) if that helps.
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### Author:  [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2010, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/6 "2010-05-08T06:59:57Z")
> [@Malacandra](#):
>
> Ante-post betting is **glee** first and the rest nowhere, but I guess I could give it a try. I’m already registered at gameknot (as **gil-gandel** ) if that helps.
Ah, but I have a secret power that he lacks - the power of the username! If you name yourself after a topic, you automatically win all threads related to it. 😛
But seriously, I have a big advantage over **glee** in this tournament…unlike him, I’ve registered.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2010, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/7 "2010-05-08T13:38:14Z")
I’m interested.
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### Author:  [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/8 "2010-05-08T16:17:54Z")
OK, I signed up at gameknot under **ChessicSense** (no space). If you have a real life ELO or USCF rating, you should post that too, so that I can attempt some fairness at seeding.
Any votes for Swiss System vs. Round Robin?
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/9 "2010-05-08T16:21:19Z")
I’m interested.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/10 "2010-05-08T16:54:39Z")
I registered as **maserschmidt**. My USCF went back and forth around 1900 some years back, but I have no idea where it would be now.
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### Author:  [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/11 "2010-05-08T17:06:12Z")
Registered as hamletsdmb. I don’t have a USCF rating. I thought “Don’t Bring Me Down” was OK, but “Shine a Little Love” had waaayy to much synthesizer.
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### Author:  [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)
#### Post date: [May 8, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/12 "2010-05-08T22:43:01Z")
I’d think about it. I’ve edwardthehead over at gameknot as well. I haven’t played in a long time, and I think I was about a 1200 when I did. GameKnot tells me that I was a 1252.
I’m sure that I’m much worse now.
While we’re at it, is there a good chess program? I had a copy of Chestmaster, but it doesn’t work well on Vista. I tried Fritz I think and hated it. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything but play games with it, and it would play more as a tournament then just games.
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### Author:  [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/13 "2010-05-09T02:39:38Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#):
>
> While we’re at it, is there a good chess program? I had a copy of Chestmaster, but it doesn’t work well on Vista. I tried Fritz I think and hated it. I couldn’t figure out how to do anything but play games with it, and it would play more as a tournament then just games.
I have a theory that all chess programs stink unless you’re a serious player. I used to have a serious chess engine (Chess Assistant) but I found it so complicated that I wasn’t too heartbroken when it stopped working. I used to have Chessmaster as well, but the problem was how it dealt with the issue of level: I’d set it to play around 2000, and what it would do was gradually outplay me until it realized it had gotten ahead, and then say to itself “oh shit!” and let me take a piece. Really annoying.
My kids have a program called Fritz & Chester that has some nice learning modules and three levels of play. It’s okay, but cartoonish.
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### Author:  [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/14 "2010-05-09T02:41:50Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#):
>
> a copy of **Chestmaster** , but it doesn’t work well
“I’d ask it to recommend a move and it’d reply ‘bench presses’.”
Seriously, though, I think Chessmaster X is where it’s at. I personally can’t stand Fritz. It’s way too complicated to use. I don’t have any ideas for how to fix it with Vista though.
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### Author:  [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/15 "2010-05-09T04:05:49Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#):
>
> I used to be ok but I haven’t played since I graduated college. I’d be up for getting whooped by one of you guys.
If it’s a Swiss or round-robin format, you’d have to be up for getting whooped by a whole bunch of 'em.
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### Author:  [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/16 "2010-05-09T07:58:26Z")
I suck. I can’t predict more than a move or two ahead, and I’m usually left resorting to protecting valuable pieces. Sometimes I have minor strokes of decent play, so I’m down for participating.
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### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2010, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/17 "2010-05-09T08:35:27Z")
While we’re outlining the manner of our poor play…
I’ll admit to playing conservatively, relying on defensive play in the middle game to clear the board after I gain a piece advantage. I’m just more comfortable in an end-game environment, and I don’t have any openings memorized. I see in others some dynamic play when the board is cluttered that I just can’t emulate yet.
If you want me to be bold and reckless on the way to a win, put a board next door and play me at bughouse.
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### Author:  [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2010, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/18 "2010-05-09T08:49:44Z")
I’ve not played for a while, but I’ll try my luck\* and limited mad skillz. I’m **ceejayoohyeah** on Gameknot.
- Not that I believe “luck” as any say in a game of chess.
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### Author:  [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/19 "2010-05-09T15:43:17Z")
> [@spark240](#):
>
> If it’s a Swiss or round-robin format, you’d have to be up for getting whooped by a whole bunch of 'em.
Does this post mean you’re playing?
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### Author:  [@Cort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cort)
#### Post date: [May 9, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/20 "2010-05-09T15:46:12Z")
I’m definitely game. Count me in please 🙂
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