Find Vote Chess Opponents

If the members of this club want to play vote chess then please provide me with a team who will accept the following conditions:

a) The opponent must have a minimum of 3 players on their team by the end of the first move or we will abort the game. We do not play vote chess against individuals unless they are titled or are rated higher than 2200.

b) Time control = 3 days per move

c) The opponent plays Black The game begins 1.Nf3. If enough people want to play a 1.e4 variation of the KIA we can accommodate with a preset position.

d) Having agreed to these conditions, KIA inc will send the challenge at the time of our choosing.

Please do not suggest teams to me that might be interested for me to contact.

Please provide only a team that has already agreed to these conditions.

Ok, I’ll contact those Caro-kann groups and see what they say.

To explain:

I created this club eleven years ago and I have always managed it myself except for two years while Hector Perez ran it. It was created to be a learning club, not a competitive club, and I intend for it to remain that way. I have provided information and we play vote chess as a classroom where we can all learn from each other.

The primary source of Vote Chess games has always been the Open Seeks list. During the past couple of years Open Seeks has become tragically overrun by children and trolls and this has led to abuses and a bizarre set of circumstances wherein it is nearly impossible to find a decent opponent.

The only solution I know of is to challenge specific clubs. I have done this in the past and it is usually a very time consuming process.

I am not so interested in the KIA anymore, but I do still drop in on the games and participate to some degree. In all of my clubs the VC games have always been more for the members than they are for me. That has always been my policy in all my clubs. When I participate, it is generally to stimulate participation from the other members or to address a specific issue.

This new problem with Open Seeks has put me in the position that I simply do not want to spend the time it takes to provide VC games. I could simply close up shop but that might not be fair to those who still want to play vote chess in this club, and I want to be fair to them. So I am making this offer, that if the members can find the opponents we need, then I will continue to start the games. Otherwise, when the current games are finished, the club will simply become inactive, but will remain as a resource.

So, to a great degree, it depends on what you members want.

I do not want to make anyone into Admins. However if enough interest is shown in finding VC opponents then I might reconsider.

I posted the offers in both Caro groups. If we get no response, I might try some some French groups.

I know what you are talking about... It is way harder to find a good opponent than it used to be.

From the groups where I am admin and responsible for vote chess, I think
https://www.chess.com/club/team-hungary---magyar-sakkegylet
and
https://www.chess.com/club/french-defense-fanatics
could be a good choice. Both would be interested in games from time to time.

This group is not too active any more https://www.chess.com/club/caro-kann-players
I think it should be merged into https://www.chess.com/club/caro-kann-cutthroats

Although both has/had a great vote chess team, nowadays the second one is more active.

How did you post offers in their clubs?

It’s easy. I joined the group posted the question and conditions in their Notes. 

Cricket is right though, only one of the groups appear to be active, Cutthroats.

I guess the 1.e4 c6 2.d3 starting position would be appropriate. Breyer variation I think it’s called.

NM Bramblyspam, member of Cutthroats, posted “KIA gave us a really good game last time, one of the best vote chess games we've had. I'd be happy to give them a rematch.”

Is NM Bramblyspam an Admin?

You have to contact an Admin. Copy and paste the conditions I presented above and send it to an Admin, or to several Admins and wait for a reply.

No, but he is one of the most active vote chess players in the team.

Ok, admins. Got it.

Well, it was good of him to say that.

Not to brag, but my teams usually give a good performance because we have good open discussions and exchange of ideas. And because we don't allow bullying, offensive language or behavior. We encourage cooperation and friendliness. We don't have to agree or like each other, but we have to get along.

My point was that he's not an admin, so he can't do anything to help us get a game started.

The Cutthroats have six SAs and one Admin. In the past, with clubs similar to this, I have been known to send a message to each of the admins all at the same time, to let them know we're serious, and hoping to get a good response. I usually skip the admins who haven't been online for a long time.

Update, I sent friend requests to all the Admins, to be able to send them messages. 1 accepted, Samad, and I sent him a message.

Samad1 said, “Hi, the conditions are fine.”

Ok, that game can begin tomorrow, Sep 2.

@Sunbolt - I am going to promote you to Coordinator so that you can create and send the challenge. But don't send it until tomorrow.

We need a start position which guarantees we can play a KIA and our opponents can play a Caro-Kann. The standard Caro-Kann is 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5. We want a KIA, so instead of 2.d4 we play 2.d3. We also want for it to become our turn on Fri Sep 5th. so that our games do not interfere with each other.

So the start position will be after 1.e4 c6 2.d3. You will need to come up with a FEN for that position and a name for the game. Have you ever started a Vote Chess game before? If not I will be glad to walk you through it.

If they accept the challenge tomorrow it will be their turn tomorrow and our turn on Fri Sep 5th. If they don't accept tomorrow you will need to contact them.

Okay, it’s 11pm and close enough for tomorrow. “Cutthroat Corporate Challenge” sent. I figured out the whole Vote Chess thingy with a little trial and error. Only applicable position I could find was 1.e4 c6. I figure we respond 2.d3 and take it from there.