The thing I don't like is premium automatic vacation time. It does not seem fair.
Old Thread: IMPORTANT Change Coming to Vacation Use!
Sort:
ilmago wrote:
........Within the framework of time control and vacation time given, each player can play his moves when he can and when he wants to, and when his time schedule allows it.
However I initiated a game with a maximum of 2 days per move. If his time schedule requires more than 2 days per move then he shouldn't have accepted. I can understand vacation time for genuine vacations, but this just seems like a deliberate ploy to accept games with a stated time per move knowing full well that there is no intention to adhere to such a time limit.
Jantar, both the time per move and the vacation time are part of the agreement on what the time restrictions are.
chess.com vacation is first of all the time off playing Online Chess games. Real life vacation is the days or weeks off work. Sometimes, these vacation definitions coincide.
But do not forget that people are playing chess in their free time. Playing chess IS their vacation! The times when they have to work most will be the times when they need to take vacation off playing chess most. So often, the two kinds of vacation will even tend to exclude each other.
Please see this game below. Right now the person on vacation has 39 minutes left for this game, but once she comes out of vacation, countdown for time out will start from 24 hours. This is what I found a bit strange. However it can be justified because she is losing 1 day of vacation every time she goes on vacation - so one may view it as if she really went for a long vacation.
However it does strike you as strange when it happens to you first couple of times and made to think "what's happening?" - only to to realise that with new rules, it makes sense.
http://www.chess.com/echess/game.html?id=31673136
I think this new 1 Day Minimum Vacation Rule is great (but with a few minor setbacks) n has the following inferences (at least,it's how I see it):
1) Firstly,it defines clearly what 'Vacation' is suppose to mean here ie time off from making our moves in our online /correspondance games. It's also a kinda 'forced' now which is good too as 'All Work/Chess Playing n no Play/Vacation ,makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl !
2) it also defines for us what is meant by Vacation Abuse' ie using it to manage one's overloaded games or making moves on selected games where one seem to be winning only or not making moves when one is online but choosing to do other things instead.
However,I think it actually sort of 'backfired' on some/a section of the 'Abuser Whinners' as it now slows things down rather than speed them up as one has to wait a full 24 hours/1 day before his/her opponen'ts next move if they set their Vacation Status on. ( ie assuming most people do not want to waste their vacation days/get penalised for resetting their Vacation Status within that period) .. hehe
..and I think it implies that having too many/overloaded games is not encouraged here as there r complications in managing them .. this is good too except I think there r players( d exception rather than d norm) who r actually capable of handling them if they r allowed to do so n r given the help/appropriate adjustments needed to do so.
(Btw,I wonder what's a logical/managable no of games for the average player ... 20-50 maybe or less ? )
3)All 1 day/move online games now becomes automatically 'No Vacation allowed ' games.(will only affect those who play them)
... juz my opinion ( hope I got it rite)
... Incidentally,I'm writing this comment cuz I juz put myself on Vacation n hv nothing better to do here (no moves to make in my online games) for the next 24 hrs .... hehehe ....... nope,juz kidding !
Btw,think we shld still be allowed to log in when on Vacation cuz there r other things one can attend to like adminstrate yr Groups,check msgs,email,etc ... can't see why this can be cosidered any form of abuse ... sort of a 'responsibility' act ! )
Kikyo_Sushi wrote:
3)All 1 day/move online games now becomes automatically 'No Vacation allowed ' games.(will only affect those who play them)
That's an interesting idea. But because of the change, many people won't start any new 1-day games. But they still have ongoing ones, which can take very long when the opponent is often on vacation or moving slowly. So something must be done with the people who are losing vacation time because of joining games BEFORE the change.
Kacparov wrote:
Kikyo_Sushi wrote:
3)All 1 day/move online games now becomes automatically 'No Vacation allowed ' games.(will only affect those who play them)
That's an interesting idea. But because of the change, many people won't start any new 1-day games. But they still have ongoing ones, which can take very long when the opponent is often on vacation or moving slowly. So something must be done with the people who are losing vacation time because of joining games BEFORE the change.
Pfff! ONLY 531 games in progress and moaning already! 
Kacparov wrote:
Kikyo_Sushi wrote:
3)All 1 day/move online games now becomes automatically 'No Vacation allowed ' games.(will only affect those who play them)
That's an interesting idea. But because of the change, many people won't start any new 1-day games. But they still have ongoing ones, which can take very long when the opponent is often on vacation or moving slowly. So something must be done with the people who are losing vacation time because of joining games BEFORE the change.
Well for the next few months all my online games will be 1-day games.
Yes but you aren't away as much as me and you don't have as little vacation...
I have only 3 1-day games atm, but I think there is still one tournament with the next round to come. And I don't plan on withdrawing because it's already like the 3rd round and I had to play a lot to get that far...
Kacparov wrote:
Yes but you aren't away as much as me and you don't have as little vacation...
I have only 3 1-day games atm, but I think there is still one tournament with the next round to come. And I don't plan on withdrawing because it's already like the 3rd round and I had to play a lot to get that far...
Playing, just for you:
.
Yeah I know my number of games is now small, but it's not THAT small! :-)
Aug 24, 2010
0
#253
Kacparov wrote:
Yes but you aren't away as much as me and you don't have as little vacation...
I have only 3 1-day games atm, but I think there is still one tournament with the next round to come. And I don't plan on withdrawing because it's already like the 3rd round and I had to play a lot to get that far...
I withdrew from one out of my 50 tournaments, just because it got ridiculous. It was 3 days/move, 100 people, 2 people per round. Basically single elimination. Also, the next round was going to be against 2600+ opposition, if you know what I mean.
Aug 24, 2010
0
#254
ozzie_c_cobblepot wrote:
Also, the next round was going to be against 2600+ opposition, if you know what I mean.
Not much point banging your head against computers, eh? 
Aug 24, 2010
0
#255
Say, Prawn, where'd you find your giant violin? Yours spanned 3 finger-widths!
Aug 24, 2010
0
#256
Cystem_Phailure wrote:
ozzie_c_cobblepot wrote:
Also, the next round was going to be against 2600+ opposition, if you know what I mean.
Not much point banging your head against computers, eh?
Well that's a different topic - I think that engines have a big place in opening theory and development. For example, I was looking at a position recently, with GM annotations, where the GM gave the played move a '?', and recommended instead a different move, and said the position was just +/=.
Me, being a patzer, I saw a move white could play but figured that black was ok.
Nope.
The almighty Deep Rybka 4 said that my move gives white just over a pawn of advantage, in an equal material position. A quick look through the lines, and it turns out that white is actually winning material in all variations.
Can't really blame the GM, as books are FILLED with variations, and in pre-computer days, you just couldn't put in the effort to check them all. You probably had an analysis session, tape recorded it, and then paid someone to transcribe it. If you played your cards right, you could get someone to do it for "free", in exchange for the GM lessons they were getting.
I think one problem with books is that they always have a preconceived point to make. Take the title - "Play the Caro-Kann!". You think he's going to give lines which bust black? Nope. "Play the Latvian!", same thing. When it comes to the really critical lines (because let's face it, the Latvian isn't played at high levels for a reason), they'll bail out with "unclear" or "with chances for both sides" or something.
So not to plug a specific book or something, but I really like the way that Jon Speelman wrote "New Ideas in the Caro-Kann Defence". He introduces each chapter with several priceless pages. He doesn't "take sides", so to speak. He is much more unbiased than your typical author. Plus, he's obviously a super GM, so that helps.
Cystem_Phailure wrote:
Say, Prawn, where'd you find your giant violin? Yours spanned 3 finger-widths!
It's the same violin.
Say, where did you find your giant-handed model?
it is very good ....
nice decision against the loosers...
Aug 25, 2010
0
#259
Just curious-- is there any effect of this new vacation treatment that can result in time being added to the amount of time left for a move? I have a 3-day-per-move game where I made my most recent move on Monday the 23rd (today is the 26th). My opponent was shown as on vacation briefly the following day, but not since. Yesterday he was shown as still having 2 days and 4 hours left to move. Right now, he is shown still having 2 days and 18 hours left to move. His remaining time has increased by 14 hours since I last checked a day ago, so that after 3 days since my last move only 6 hours total is shown elapsed from his alloted time even though he isn't on vacation.
Anybody else seeing odd effects like this?
Of course people can be logged in to chess.com while being on vacation in their Online Games. Analyzing chess games in order to make moves requires a different kind of effort than reading forums, writing messages, etc. ...
I would say do not get impatient about people logged in while being on vacation. They will come off vacation and continue to play in their Online Games as soon as they want to spend their time doing so.
By the way, this is the greatest advantage of playing correspondence chess: Within the framework of time control and vacation time given, each player can play his moves when he can and when he wants to, and when his time schedule allows it.