Random play makes me go 'thank you, bye'

Its chess, omg!!! Pieces are the same, they move same way, they promote the same... what is the problem?

I like playing white cuz it allows me to play more gambits. I need to play black, as I need to improve my defending, as I get careless in many of my games.

All this discussion of people who do not like the change reminds me of one of my friends. We played table tennis for some time, and we invite my friend David to play few games with us. So after some time, I see that he is not that good when ball is on his forehand side. So next time I'm serving, I serve ball to his forehand side, and he DOES NOT MOVE. He just let the ball pass. I serve again, and he again just look at it and let it pass.

What are you doing, I ask him. - I dont know how to hit ball with forehand. - Will you at least try to hit it? -No. - So you are just going to let every forehand ball go and not move? - Yes. -????

Same guy, new situation. We play video game, D.O.T.A. where you lead a hero, and we play mode where when you die, you get new random hero. David tactic is to keep dying till he gets one of 5 heroes he knows how to play with (5 out of 70+ heroes there are in game). 

That is just lying yourself. I had hard time finding random color games in live, and I support this move by chess.com. Its just like any other sport on Earth. One gets the ball, other must defend.

Good point Streptomicin, save your breath though, these children are not listening.  

The situation is the opposite -- you are supporting players be dictated to keep switching colors (aka "grow a pair and man up"). Maybe I'm talking rubbish to an 2100 player.. but you've already figured out some things about this game so why care about what works for some beginners trying to pick up the game.

Why not go all the way and compare this prefferance to work on a certain color with someone insisiting on doing all the hitting in boxing? (see: demagoguery)

p.s. ret, give a look at the propaganda page on wiki to get a little more creative with what you're doing.

p.p.s. other than the "competition" dogma, the arguments to dictate colors seem to be drying up. No one on the "good change" side seriously addressed the statistics issue or the learning issue.

I fixed your post.

I'm not sure what you mean by the statistics issue, but if you really really really learn best by playing only one color, then play all the unrated games you want as just one color. If you are just learning,than rating shouldn't matter anyway. But why let people continue to play only one color, and mess up the stats for everyone else?

Good point.

Ret: hey, bring it on :D cheers

I've looked through the entire thread for an answer from you to that question. All I can see is you saying something like "finally, a worthy point" and then completely changing the topic and never answering.

So I'm not really all that sure this accusation of troll is wrong. But I have an open mind, I'm willing to be corrected, either by you pointing me to any genuine attempt at an answer that you've tried to make and I've somehow missed, or an answer now. What'll it be?

That's the thing. No one's statistics is messed up by this. If you think that 80% play white, you're dead wrong. There's only a few percents differentiation from the 50-50.

p.s. addressing the learning issue through mockery, even if you're funnier than Richard Pryor, isn't helping the discussion.

p.p.s. SchuBomb, I believbe there was a relevent response in the last paragraph of that comment. I can understand how some people would disagree on that point. No one can really argue the unfair to everyone point, though, as a reason to force players to switch colors.

So you did attempt, my apologies. But it's not a point. You have given no reason as to why you don't want to play unrated games, only just given some random hypothetical about someone deluding themself into thinking they have a 1300 rating, which is a complete non-sequitur.

Tell me, since you are, by your own admission, just learning, what does it matter that your white chosen games are unrated? What do you lose? The change of rating, letting you have an extremely inaccurate view of your own skill, and finding people of similar inaccurate skill estimates? A somewhat valid point, in a way, but don't you think that's appliccable that since you're already aiming to skew the statistics by taking the most advantageous side, that this method of play should be unrated?

Or, taking your own words, since you only like to play black when you're prepared for it, doesn't that make you unprepared for regular chess play like all chess players are used to, white alternating with black? Shouldn't that make you unworthy of any rating change?

Stats are messed up by this, and I never said how many folks there are that just wanna play white. 

An explanation of why this messes up stats was given in another thread, but I can't find it now, so I'll recap here. First, the ratings are a measure of your relative chess strength, measured against the rest of the community that the ratings are measured in (all of chess.com players, in this case). Next, the player with the white pieces, even at your level, has a slight advantage (that obviously doesn't mean that you can always turn that into a win, but it's still and advantage) due to having more tempo (time).

When you or anyone plays only (or even just mostly) games as white, this gives them a consistent advantage over their opponents. The rating system is designed to measure the strength of one's play at BOTH colors, so, when you play as only one color, your rating is inaccurate (read, higher than it should be). This inaccuracy is then passed on to your other opponents, who are either 1.) losing to a player who's rating is inflated, therefore losing more rating points than they should; or 2.) beating a player with an inflated rating, thus gaining more rating points than they should. This inaccuracy is then passed on to THEIR opponents for the same reason.

This is why the staff here made this change, to protect the entire community from some players who have falsely inflated ratings. It really only takes a few players doing this to mess everyone up.

Don't slam the door on your way out!!!  You are not a premium member so you have not put in any money to support the site so you have suffered no damages, write when you find work!!  bye bye....just thinking outloud

Such passion over this issue, which at first I thought was no big deal, either way.

I guess the argument against being able to picking only 1 color for unrated games only is simply the fact that your opponents are less likely to try as hard during unrated games.  But if it is not to be, so be it...not.  

As far as the arguments of black and white pieces moving the same...true enough, but learning systems/structures/themes as black or as white definitely depend on playing a specific color.  

As far as this site not going that route, I am losing as both black and white so it doesn't matter to me in particular, but having mapped out my eternal chess study plan, I can see how certain particulars that were once offered then taken away can earn the angst of those who depended on those features as part of their training.       

I reckon anyone who get unduly anxious about the other colour is simply chicken.

Buh bye...

So long, it's been a real pressure meeting you   

I think we should give JameshTheTroll his wish - a poll asking who thinks people should be able to play white every game.

Step 2 would be to set it up so that everyone who votes "Yes, I should be able to play only the white pieces" are allowed only to play each other, thus getting what they want and leaving the honest players to play chess.

That would solve the problem.