WORLD PEACE.

Was that realivent at all? Could you explain? Im pretty sure Chess.com would win a war with ICC

Purcellnell--I will be happy to answer your question and if it is not complete or you have more questions please let me know.

I am quite serious about chess--while I do not play any more I write chess reviews, do chess research and help various authors. 

I play fiv (5 0) on ICC with random pairing which is the most accurate "blitz" game on the Internet. I find the interface excellent ( I know live chess is working on better design) and the ratings accurate. I tried some 5 0 here and have given up.

I enjoy the serious threads and always offer to help if possible but there are too many "juvenile" type forums,answers and such which after the first few become annoying. For instance last I looks on the quiz, almost 30% of the people did not know what OTB chess was.

I originally liked the forums and questions but have stopped looking and reading many. Look for instance "I am a boy" an other such wastes of time.I belong to two groups which are actually quite good.

I also tried a tournament and that was OK and some of my recent turn based games are good. 

My daughter uses the site (she is 9) and it is good for her. For me if I am going to pay $100 a year I would spend my money buying a different service. I think Erik and team have built a nice site with good features but aimed much more for novices.

The tactics trainer is a nice feature but I have several such tools which I use regularly on my computer. My own personal database of games ( or even ChessBase's) is what I use for my opening works so those features are not necessary.

I also do not like playing more than 4 or 5 games at once so bigger ( or more) tournaments offer me no value. Chess Mentor is a good tool but not how I train and I have the older DVD's

Why do I keep on the site? I am a chess addict, I enjoy the occasional game and I do enjoy the intelligent or thoughtful chess threads

Does my answer make sense?

aansel,

Thanks - yes, that was helpful. 

Neil