Forums

Stalemate needs to be abolished...

Sort:
uri65
Kens_Mom wrote:
Monster_with_no_Name wrote:

Getting rid of stalemate has many deep, subtle and interesting (probably not your strong suit) ramifications.

Exactly, so why try to bring about such an upheaval that would ultimately change a completely functional game into something completely different?  Isn't simply creating your own variant a much better and practical alternative than trying to alter something already established?  I'm repeating myself verbatim from the other thread, but if you truly want to get rid of the stalemate rule, creating a variant would be the right way of showing the merits of abolishing stalemate to the "nay-sayers" that think it would ruin chess.

If abolishing stalemate is truly an improvement to the rules, the no-stalemate variant would naturally become more popular than the current chess and eventually replace it as the mainstream chess.  I'm sure that's how the current rules were established centuries ago.

+1

I am not a big specialist in chess variants, playing only Fischer Random and Bughouse occasionaly. But it's an interesting fact that the variant with stalemate=win either has never been created or has near zero popularity. IMHO it means that the idea is not appealing to general chess public at all.

blake78613
Yereslov wrote:

Either learn how to mate or quit chess.

Avoiding stalemate is basic knowledge.

Even amateurs know how to avoid it.

Give me a break.  You are a class D player who twice in a row fell for the Blackburn Shilling Gambit .  You have never faced a player who knew how to play for a stalemate.  The great Samuel Reshevsky fell for stalemate traps twice in his career, and you couldn't begin to fill his shoes.  Until you have side stepped stalemate traps set by an expert like Larry Evans, it is rather presumptuous of you, to say you know how to avoid them.

nameno1had

I think I am going to start a thread called:

"Why players who think they are good, mess up and end games with a stalemate"

AlCzervik

Make sure you put it in "off-topic".

nameno1had
TMIMITW wrote:

Make sure you put it in "off-topic".

It would have been funnier if you said to yourself...nah...it wouldn't matter...it will be an off topic, regardless of whether it is put into the general chess discussion forum...

Would it offend you if I put it into general chess discussion?

I hope it does. That is where I will put it, if I decide to make it. You could try to argue it isn't relevant there, but it is clearly a legitimate topic for general chess discussion.

Monster_with_no_Name
Kens_Mom wrote:
Monster_with_no_Name wrote:

Getting rid of stalemate has many deep, subtle and interesting (probably not your strong suit) ramifications.

Exactly, so why try to bring about such an upheaval that would ultimately change a completely functional game into something completely different?  Isn't simply creating your own variant a much better and practical alternative than trying to alter something already established?  I'm repeating myself verbatim from the other thread, but if you truly want to get rid of the stalemate rule, creating a variant would be the right way of showing the merits of abolishing stalemate to the "nay-sayers" that think it would ruin chess.

If abolishing stalemate is truly an improvement to the rules, the no-stalemate variant would naturally become more popular than the current chess and eventually replace it as the mainstream chess.  I'm sure that's how the current rules were established centuries ago.

This is a bit contrived of you.
Your saying "go off, invent your new rules, play it on your own, leave us alone, dont mention it again, and *when* its popular then we'll play it"

Yes, under those conditions its not gonna catch on though is it.

If the rule is better it should be the main version, not a varient.

Why are you so afraid of this... why cant the stalemate chess be the variant.
If the new variant replaces it, original chess wont disappear into the ether.

AlCzervik

It will be funnier if you put it in off-topic.

nameno1had
TMIMITW wrote:

It will be funnier if you put it in off-topic.

It would be more heavily trolled...not necessarily funnier...

Here_Is_Plenty

Or all stalemate threads could be switched to "help and support".  They strike me as a cry for help.  Personally when I wanted locked up I just started drawing crazy diagrams and acting paranoid, I didnt do anything really crazy like tamper with the immutable laws of the universe, such as stalemate.

Monster_with_no_Name
Estragon wrote:

No, his plan is to win support by insulting people and generally showing what a stupid child he is.

Dont make foolish comments, and I wont call you fool. Simple.

If you read over the lengthy, detailed, insightful, witty, world changing, precice, genius magnum opus in post #16 (I have to also give credit to blake for some of its contents)

(which was published by the worlds most prestigous and widely read chess magazine)

and compare it to an idiots post (say #18)..
I think youll find it in your heart to forgive me.

Kens_Mom
Monster_with_no_Name wrote:

This is a bit contrived of you.
Your saying "go off, invent your new rules, play it on your own, leave us alone, dont mention it again, and *when* its popular then we'll play it"

Yes, under those conditions its not gonna catch on though is it.

If the rule is better it should be the main version, not a varient.

Why are you so afraid of this... why cant the stalemate chess be the variant.
If the new variant replaces it, original chess wont disappear into the ether.

Yes, that's pretty much what I'm trying to say, but no one is afraid of change here.  However, what you're suggesting is a huge change: you're trying to change the core game play rules of chess.  That's on the level of trying to change how the pieces move, or changing where the starting position of the pieces are.  All I'm saying is that you should slow down, because otherwise you'll face so much opposition that you won't make progress.  You'll only make new enemies and make the situation worse.

 

I'll ask again:  Isn't simply creating your own variant a much better and practical alternative than trying to alter something already established?

nameno1had
Kens_Mom wrote:
Monster_with_no_Name wrote:

This is a bit contrived of you.
Your saying "go off, invent your new rules, play it on your own, leave us alone, dont mention it again, and *when* its popular then we'll play it"

Yes, under those conditions its not gonna catch on though is it.

If the rule is better it should be the main version, not a varient.

Why are you so afraid of this... why cant the stalemate chess be the variant.
If the new variant replaces it, original chess wont disappear into the ether.

Yes, that's pretty much what I'm trying to say, but no one is afraid of change here.  However, what you're suggesting is a huge change: you're trying to change the core game play rules of chess.  That's on the level of trying to change how the pieces move, or changing where the starting position of the pieces are.  All I'm saying is that you should slow down, because otherwise you'll face so much opposition that you won't make progress.  You'll only make new enemies and make the situation worse.

 

I'll ask again:  Isn't simply creating your own variant a much better and practical alternative than trying to alter something already established?

People tend to prefer choices and deciding for themselves...

Monster_with_no_Name
Kens_Mom wrote:

I'll ask again:  Isn't simply creating your own variant a much better and practical alternative than trying to alter something already established?

Originally stalemate was a win, so if we're going with established rules we should have stuck to that one. Arguing for the established rule because its established is.... Ill let you finish the sentence.

Kens_Mom

I should also add that you wouldn't necessarily know if no-stalemate is better than the current rules until you've tried it, which is another reason to just start your idea out as a variant.  Changing the official rules of chess, only to revert it back again because it didn't work well is not very efficient.  Test it out as a variant with a good number of people for a few months and see if you still like having no stalemate.  There's no harm in that.

theoreticalboy
Monster_with_no_Name wrote:
If you read over the lengthy, detailed, insightful, witty, world changing, precice, genius magnum opus in post #16 (I have to also give credit to blake for some of its contents)

(which was published by the worlds most prestigous and widely read chess magazine)

(to their eternal shame)

Kens_Mom
Monster_with_no_Name wrote:
Kens_Mom wrote:

I'll ask again:  Isn't simply creating your own variant a much better and practical alternative than trying to alter something already established?

Originally stalemate was a win, so if we're going with established rules we should have stuck to that one. Arguing for the established rule because its established is.... Ill let you finish the sentence.

Like I said, the rules probably changed because the current one became more popular than the original one.  You should do the same: make no-stalemate popular.  Making your own variant is not a bad place to start.

 

Also, I'm not saying that the established rules should not change because it's established.  I'm saying that you haven't provided sufficient reasons to warrant this huge change to a system that works perfectly fine.

nameno1had

If it isn't broke, why try to fix it?

If you don't know how to use it, I suggest reading the instructions...

Kens_Mom
nameno1had wrote:

If it isn't broke, why try to fix it?

If you don't know how to use it, I suggest reading the instructions...

He knows how to use it.  He just doesn't like how it works, so he wants to change it.

nameno1had
Kens_Mom wrote:
nameno1had wrote:

If it isn't broke, why try to fix it?

If you don't know how to use it, I suggest reading the instructions...

He knows how to use it.  He just doesn't like how it works, so he wants to change it.

If someone finds something user friendly, they won't want it changed. The reason anyone wants the stalemate gone is because, they can't mindlessly try to play totally offensively, without consequense.

That's actually funny, that they don't realize their own play is too offensive for them....lol

To all of you who want the stalemate gone, you are offended more by your own play than the rule. If your play never put you in the situation, you wouldn't care.

Don't you see what your tactics, you put on a pedistal get you, without the other parts of chess that are required? You play in an unbalanced manner.Try some defense and positional play.

Using a less narrow minded strategy, so you can see all of the benefits of prophylactic chess thinking while you play, is far better than using one facet of chess, that will not get you past this simple problem.

IOliveira
Kens_Mom wrote:
II-Oliveira wrote:

Kens_Mom is right. If we accept NamelessMonster's suggestion, than King vs King is not a definitive draw. One king can capture the other.

Whenever the position occured the players would make really fast moves until one's clock run out, or perharps one of them blunders and let his king be captured by the other king. That would be interesting to watch.

Assuming that it's standard time control (>60min per player), it's probably more likely that a draw would be determined by 50 move rule or 3 fold repetition before either player's time runs out.  However, this doesn't make the situation any less ridiculous.

Yeah, you are right again, with 60 min most of them could claim 50 move before time is over.

However, it makes me wonder, if a game of 15 min per player wouldn't look like bullet chess from the begining. After all, a player that saves 3 min more in the middle game could run the oponent out of clock in otherwise drawn endgames.