Correspondence Players ONLY!!!!!!

Thinking more... I would not travel to a country so corrupt that they would lock me up for saving another man, so the question is moot.

If I was kidnapped and forced into the situation, I would run out, save the man, and then jump off the cliff because my life would be pretty much f'd at that point.

If I cheated at online chess, I'd have a much higher rating than ~1400 on here.  Frankly I don't see what the point is.  I play because I love the game and I want to get better at it, plus if I win then I know it was because of my own brain power, not my computer's processor power.  I like to play chess because it makes me use my brain, as evidenced by the cobwebs flying out of my ears.  If I really wanted to watch two computers play each other at chess, I could make that happen.

Now I admit that I do use the analysys board quite a bit, which is cheating myself a bit because I need to be better able to visualize the moves & exchanges on the board rather than being able to move the pieces around, which would help me in OTB play.  However, the analysis board is perfectly legal for use during play, otherwise chess.com wouldn't have it.

Thanks Brah for your support.

I use engine and database assistance for my correspondence games...but then, I only play ICCF, where this is completely legal.

I use a chessboard.(...but i suppose it is illegal these days...)

I use a brain

On occasion I use game explorer or a database if my opponent hits me with an opening unfamiliar to me. To get the idea behind the opening.... Usually, we're out of book in a few moves anyway. Most of the time I don't need to though. I never use an engine illegally. My goal is to improve my game. Cheating would hinder that goal. It's of no use to me. I use engines to play against, and to analyze finished games.

All I care about is getting better. That's why I spend money on books and bought a subscription here. I'm not looking for a thrill of artificially increasing some arbitrary number. That gains me nothing. It wouldn't increase my chess knowledge. Not to mention the ethical side.....

I know that some folks cheat on here. Everyday Chess.com boots a number of them. Though I don't believe I've played against a cheater yet on here. If I do run into one and lose, so be it. Perhaps I will learn something from that game anyway.  That's how I look at all my L's. Learning experiences. There is no ego involved....Learning more about the game, improvement, those are the only goals worth pursuing.

Peace

Using game explorer in correspondence chess is not consider cheating, by the website.

I don't really like this practice, this is why when i learn about it I decide to resign all my current games, now I am playing 960 only, wich doesn't have game database at all, or so I think.

Latly I have being reviewing my position about this game explorer tool, and kinda coming out to the conclution that I can be OK with my oponent doing this, if i finally convince myself of this, then I will come back to playing regular chess.