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Will chess.com ever cater for slow players?

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gaereagdag

Hello. I am way, way too old for blitz. I cannot play bullet at all. I only play 3 time limits: 60 30, 45 45 and 90 30. Or 4 time limits if you count turn chess. I will admit that turn/correspondence chess isn't my bag though.

When I click on "live chess" I only see wall to wall bullet and some games of 15 10.

So for me as a paid member I am here for the videos, chess mentor and other learning aids. I do my chess "playing" on another chess site.

I find it to be an odd combination of two things that [1] so many materials are devoted to becoming a strong player and [2] chess.com turns around and says "here's wall to wall bullet" so "all you have learnt is going to be in this!"

If you put me in charge of chess.com for a month I would:

[1] create a new chess live room with just slow time limit games in it. I would set taht room so that any time limit faster than say 15 10 was not settable.

[2] advertise the above as a respectable place to choose to enjoy chess.com. You don't have to ve a "bullet head".

When I said in an earlier post that I would be 1400 at blitz even if I ever got top 2800 at a long time control, I meant it!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you.

Buddhalove

Have you tried correspondence games?  These games are slow as molasses.  You can take anywhere from 1 to 14 days to make a single move.  

I would suggest checking it out if you are interested.

gambiteer12

You could try joining a group which runs slow tournaments such as the Dan Heisman Learning Center.

jwhitesj

Dan Heisman Learning Center group is all about players who want to play slow chess.  You should check it out.  They have slow time control tournaments, and Dan Heisman is active in the discussions there with lots of tips.

zebraleg

I was wondering this as well, thinking where are the slow games, 15 min games being the longest on the site seemed weird. i figured there has to be someone who wants game 60 or more. i was thinking there has to be a group for this, so thanks for letting me know of Dan heisman's group. are there other groups besides Dan's or is there a dearth of slow groups (if so maybe i will start one).

enhorning

I agree... 15|10 is about the fastest I feel comfortable playing, and I would love to see some slower options being offered as standard options!

kohai

The longest live chess game you can play is 120|60

Click on the top New Game tab above and to the left of the graph, use the presets drop down and select 'Custom'. This then allows you to enter the timed game you want.

enhorning

Also, offering a couple slower options as standard options instead of having to select them as custom would encourage people to play at those slower time controls.

 

I'd suggest 30|15, 60|30 and 120|60 as three suitable slower options.

Vivinski

hmmm, seems like it's supply and demand though isn't it? If lot's op people wanted to play long time control games, they would.

Chess.com isn't forcing anyone to play blitz or bullet, but I agree with you, there's is litlle demand for long games

zebraleg

the point ppl were circling around is preset options might entice more ppl to play those longer controls. i have no comment on this, don't think it would change much. i think Kohai maybe misunderstood as I am no computer whiz or internet surfer, but knew from day one i can set any time i want with a custom option (and I think the majority of users know this, even the not-so-computer-savvy). but on other sites when i set of game60 or more i just hang around on the seek graph forever, no one picking it up or perhaps not scrolled over enough to even see my seek. best way to set slow games up is with a group. the original "If I ran site for a month" comment misses the whole point of freedom to play the game as you'd like. i don't see why it bothers ppl if there are seeks in the bullet or blitz area, ignore them. use your settings and preferences to adjust the site your needs. can't think of anything constructive for Kohai or staff on this, seems nothing is wrong with the time control options. The i want more long games or place to find them is up to the users to organize.

MSteen

Scenario #1: Player goes to a chess club for an OTB tournament. Everyone there is there to play 3 rounds of G/60 (Quads). He turns off his cell phone. Everyone else turns off their cell phones. The rounds begin. It is totally silent, with some gradual whispering halfway through as the games finish and the players gather around the coffee pot and cookie tray. Seven hours later he picks up his equipment (and hefty cash prize, of course) and drives home.

Scenario #2: Player tells his wife/parents he's going to be tied up for 2 hours with a G/60 game. No talking or disturbance allowed. The game begins. "Did you feed the cat?" "Is your homework done yet?" "Have you seen my car keys?" "These dishes aren't going to do themselves, you know." "When's that game going to be over?" "I thought you promised to take me to a movie." "My mother's coming at 6:00 for dinner and I need you to peel the potatoes." "Are you still playing that stupid game?" "I'm doing a load of wash; do you have any dirty underwear?" "Judge Judy is on; I thought you liked watching Judge Judy." "Chess, chess, chess--at least if you liked porn I might get something out of it." Thus the popularity of 15/10 as the slowest time control you're going to get.

Cryptochess

chess.com allows any time control. The market apparently demands quick time controls. 

You would probably be better served trying to organize something on the forums or such then hoping to find a long game. 

EyeAm

I'm glad I found this thread. Maybe I'm the only one [and am easily amused], but MSteen's last lines of his message had me laughing so hard I was crying. A great pick-me-up during the day, thanks!

Dan Heisman Learing Center is indeed trying to change the equation on chess.com. It is encouraging slower games thru special forums in swiss and quad formats, and includes other initiatives, such as Mon Nite games organized thru the forum chat, and a League Tournament organized by chess teams.

I guess it's supply-demand, and maybe slow games will always be in the minority here. But we do what we can to bring more players into the light, and less disturbance in the force. I recommend giving DHLC a look, if you haven't already.

apawndown
MSteen wrote:

. . .Scenario #2: Player tells his wife/parents he's going to be tied up for 2 hours with a G/60 game. No talking or disturbance allowed. The game begins. "Did you feed the cat?" "Is your homework done yet?" "Have you seen my car keys?" "These dishes aren't going to do themselves, you know." "When's that game going to be over?" "I thought you promised to take me to a movie." "My mother's coming at 6:00 for dinner and I need you to peel the potatoes." "Are you still playing that stupid game?" "I'm doing a load of wash; do you have any dirty underwear?" "Judge Judy is on; I thought you liked watching Judge Judy." "Chess, chess, chess--at least if you liked porn I might get something out of it." Thus the popularity of 15/10 as the slowest time control you're going to get."

Good point.  OTB chess provides a 'protected environment' (usually!) for longer games, whereas  getting much past a half hour or so without distraction in internet  games just ain't gonna happen for most of us.  But 15/10 isn't the the only option.  I've got my own custom setting on 20/10 and, while I may have to wait a bit,  usually get a game (I'm thinking of upping that to 25/10).   

The point is, if you want to really buckle down to a 'quality'  chess game,  enter an OTB tournament or join a club.  Meanwhile, accept the fact that the "standard"  controls here (really "rapid) mean more errors,  less depth in strategy,  etc.,  but you can still play some decent-quality games. 

For me,  a chess game at any time control (except bullet! Too old for that!) is fun.  And isn't that the whole idea?

fianchetto123
linuxblue1 wrote:

Hello. I am way, way too old for blitz. I cannot play bullet at all. I only play 3 time limits: 60 30, 45 45 and 90 30. Or 4 time limits if you count turn chess. I will admit that turn/correspondence chess isn't my bag though.

When I click on "live chess" I only see wall to wall bullet and some games of 15 10.

So for me as a paid member I am here for the videos, chess mentor and other learning aids. I do my chess "playing" on another chess site.

I find it to be an odd combination of two things that [1] so many materials are devoted to becoming a strong player and [2] chess.com turns around and says "here's wall to wall bullet" so "all you have learnt is going to be in this!"

If you put me in charge of chess.com for a month I would:

[1] create a new chess live room with just slow time limit games in it. I would set taht room so that any time limit faster than say 15 10 was not settable.

[2] advertise the above as a respectable place to choose to enjoy chess.com. You don't have to ve a "bullet head".

When I said in an earlier post that I would be 1400 at blitz even if I ever got top 2800 at a long time control, I meant it!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you.

BULLET IS AWESOME!!!!

slow games are boring (unless OTB) and nobody wants to play them online, so they don't put as much attention into the people who do. right?