smallfry on 23/8/2013 at 21:04
:) thanks!!! I was REALLY proud of myself that game. But after the dust settled and only rooks + queens were left I was feeling pretty clueless. I thought maybe I could win with my pawns. I can't believe I didn't see that checkmate at the end :/ Great game!
faetal on 29/8/2013 at 12:57
FYI people - things have slowed down a bit because there is a significant time zone conflict between Mopgoblin & Littleflower. I've suggested that they try to ring-fence a time period per day to try to get a few moves in (rather than 1 or 2) in order to speed things up a little. But rather than start suggesting that people withdraw from the tournament, I assume everyone is happy to wait for things to go to the next round?
Gryzemuis on 29/8/2013 at 13:44
I'm very sorry about that. And it is quite frustrating, tbh. I did everything I can to try and speed up the game. I wake up earlier than normal, just to try to give Mopgoblin a few more hours to get some moves in, before he goes to sleep. I am a night-person, so if Mopgoblin would make a few moves when he wakes up, I'm ready to play. (8:00-13:00 AM NZ-time is 22:00-3:00 my time). Doesn't seem to matter, he only makes moves between 21:00 and 23:00 NZ time. But some days, he doesn't even make a single move in a day (like saturday, monday and today).
I obviously don't have the patience to play chess.
faetal on 29/8/2013 at 14:34
No one needs to feel bad - there's no money riding on anything and I'm sure people are happy to wait. It's just more exciting if things move in a more linear fashion time-wise.
SubJeff on 29/8/2013 at 16:20
The time difference between me and Piggy is really big too. We're on the second game and it's coming to a head!
Nuth on 29/8/2013 at 20:08
I can see how the slowness of play could bother some people, but I don't mind waiting for my next game to start.
Maybe set a 1 day(or even less if possible) time control for the next tournament though?
faetal on 30/8/2013 at 10:48
I'd consider it but only if it doesn't dissuade people from playing. We only have 8 players, which is really the minimum you want for a tournament, since you need semi-finals to get excited.
It's ok that some of the games take a while, just wanted to check there wasn't some way to speed it up without inconveniencing anyone.
mopgoblin on 31/8/2013 at 13:13
Yeah, sorry about the slow moves (which are entirely my fault) - the combination of timezones, me being not terribly confident at chess, and life generally getting the better of me are slowing things down quite a lot. I'm gonna try to keep up with things a bit better, but I'm also willing to resign/withdraw/whatever if it gets too annoying for others, so let me know if it's getting to be a bit much, yeah?
Gryzemuis on 31/8/2013 at 13:49
The first game is over (black won).
Second game is under way.
One suggestion for future games. When one side has a material advantage, it is in his best interest to trade pieces as much as possible. I had the material advantage (after move 11). And you helped me a lot by initiating the trading of pieces at every opportunity you got. The less pieces on the board, the less chance of introducing complexities. And the simpler the positions get, the easier it is for the winning side to convert his material advantage into a full win.
We're playing at a much faster rate now. That's good, but don't feel rushed. The opening is already off the beaten track, so we should spend a little more time thinking about it. But it would be nice to get a few moves in every day.
Robert4222 on 31/8/2013 at 14:08
I'ts been a while since the last time I've played chess, I think I was like 9 or 10 years old. I sucked (hard) in overall, but that's because I always played with medium and expert players, though I've never been good at any competitive games, they're not really my cup of tea.
