Hey Everybody --
I think it is time for another discussion about vote chess.
The good news: We haven't lost any of our "Vote Chess World Cup" games yet. You can see the games here:
http://www.chess.com/votechess/game.html?id=23893
http://www.chess.com/votechess/game.html?id=23895
http://www.chess.com/votechess/game.html?id=23939
More good news: The admins for 3 of the 5 teams in our group did a horrible job and lost many games by default (Hungarian Chess Group, Chess Team Holland, Team MonteNegro). So we could potentially advance by only winning one game and drawing one game. Here are the current standings:
Group F (4 games per team)Team Estonia = 1/1Team Ireland = 1/1Hungarian Chess Group = 0/2Chess Team Holland = 0/2Team MonteNegro = 0/4
The bad news: We are severely outmanned by the other teams. There have been many moves where only 1 player has voted! Often it has been me, but I just traveled to the USA for 2 weeks and also missed some moves. Thanks especially to lavrentius and Drikhen for keeping things going!
The opposing teams each have 20/25 or more players and we only have about 7 or 8 players.
We also got off to a bad start when MikaSinia joined our team. If you remember, he joined CHESS.COM just before the start of the World Cup and then immediately began offering much advice on the direction of our games. Unfortunately, he disappeared after only a few moves and now his account was closed. I had a bad feeling about him from the start and should have immediately deleted him from the team, but that's not my style.
Here's a few more recommendations on best practice:
Don't vote RESIGN until at least move 40. Honestly, if you want to resign, just leave (or ignore) the game. The other players can continue without you. There's no reason to discourage them unnecessarily.
Strong players (e.g. > 2000): If you don't have a lot of time, please make your move and ALSO POST IT in the comments. We (the other players) trust you and want you to lead the game. However, we don't have your experience and skills, so if you make your move without posting it, there's a chance we will outvote you with a weaker move.
Strong players (e.g. > 2000): Please don't abandon us if you start down an unusual line. We might not have the necessary skills to continue on our own where you lead us.
Weaker players (e.g. < 1400): We're happy to have you with us but make sure you're not trying to lead the team. Don't ever make a move that hasn't been discussed by the other players.
In general, we need more discussion and more analysis. If you have time, look at the archive for this game we lost recently (http://www.chess.com/votechess/game.html?id=23581). Now that the game is over, you can also view the discussion by the opposing team, and it is clear how they beat us: By discussing and analyzing the positions as a team.
Overall, I think we have a chance to win/draw at least one game if we apply ourselves. Let's work together towards victory (and not leave the fate of Team Estonia to just one American ).
Please post comments below if you have any more ideas.
Cheers and stay warm!
Gary (garbo999)