Team Guideline Amendments

Hello team. I am sending this message to all of you about a characteristic trait we all have probably been taught. That characteristic is INTEGRITY. My message about this is pure and simple. I want every member of this team to acknowledge and apply it to their game play as individuals for the collective good of this team. With that said also, I am pledging to all of you as the creator and leader of this team that I will always do my best to exemplify that characteristic of integrity as well as all other good characteristics of honesty, loyalty, and respect for brother and sister assassin and sniper teammates. Integrity is defined as doing what is right, even when no one else is watching. At all times. Now to the meat and potatoes of this message, I know that there are members of this site who talk about the chess engines like Rybka, Fritz and all the others out there that seem to be out there for chess analysis and all, but as the leader of this team, I do not use nor do I advocate the use of them. At least not for studying certain positions in a a game that is not yet fully completed. So here is the first amendment I am putting into law and expect my admin and future admins to abide by, follow and enforce.

Amendment 1:

There are to be no using of chess engines of any kind in this team. At least not during any game to see what the computer "program" shows being the best move in that particular position. If you use the program to analyze the game after it is finished and their is a final result, then I don't care. However, if you believe that you need to use chess engines to play the game of chess, (especially for this site that has its own computer analysis program which I do not consider to be a chess engine), then you should not be playing the game of chess at all until you learn how to be the kind of player that fully understands that with all things in life, things worth being good at doing means that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and just as importantly, it is also good to know that some battles are best known not for whether you win or lose, but if you are able to accept the fact that at times it is best to call a truce. Also known in chess as the "draw". There is true respect in knowing when to go for the win, accept the loss if you can sensibly see that your position is hopelessly lost and to also mutually walk away knowing that if a draw is the final result of the game, you may not have won, but at the same time nobody loses either. There are to be no members of this team who should be using chess engines to play chess. Ever. And yes, I do strongly believe that there are members on this site that use chess engines to play their games. Whether anyone on this team believes the same as I do or not is of no concern to me either way. I know it is a matter of personal belief or opinion. All I am really saying is use your brains when you play your games for this team. If you want something to help you study a position during a game on this site before making a move, use an actual chess set with its chess pieces. If I get any kind of report from anybody else on a team who happens to be our opponent telling me that they suspect anyone on this team of cheating or using any kind of chess engine like Rybka, Fritz or anything like that, I, as well as my admin MCTMike will conduct our own private investigation on the matter concerning the accused member of this team. If anyone is suspected of cheating, they will have their opportunity to first either claim their innoncence or guilt. If anyone suspected does not deny the charge against them, that will not scar them as members of the team. Nor will it reflect negatively in my eyes either. All I expect is honesty. However, if anyone on this team who is accused of cheating claims that they did not cheat, I as well as my admin, will begin our investigation to find out the truth. I am issuing this warning and I will not repeat myself on this matter that if the accused, claims they did not and then and my admin and I find out from the staff of chess.com that they did, that team member will be barred from this team indefinitely. This is the only warning according to this first amendment. 

More amendments are to follow in the next few days. Carry on and play smartly Assassins and Snipers.

Erik