I'm finishing off my my last tournament. After that I'll stop playing daily games in standard format, and possibly stop playing daily games altogether (maybe except a 960 game here and there).

The reason is that there's always this lingering doubt in my mind about some games. Games like this one, or this one leave a bad taste in my mouth. It's not necessarily because they cheat all the time, but they always find good move in key moments. Because of that doubt, I don't feel like playing anymore, especially with these people. Sometimes I still try (if it's a team match as I don't want to let my team down), although it is usually fruitless. Like here. If it's not a team match, I just give up.

What is interesting about some of these people, is that I think they are careful enough not to do it all the time. It depends on the situation. Sometimes they may deliberately let up and throw a silly mistake. They may even let you off if the game is inconsequential. But when they need to, they can really squeeze, and you have no chance. You'll feel like playing against someone maybe 300 rating points above the nominal rating.

The flip side of the coin is that when I play well, and win, sometimes I also wonder if my opponent feels the same way about me. I do hope they realize I try very best to check and analyze every situation for the win, and that the numbers should bear me out. But still, it's human nature, and I don't know.

Altogether, it means daily chess has become less enjoyable. If I win, I don't enjoy it as much. If I lose, I'll have doubt in my mind, at least for some games. And these games take so much time.

If I feel like some chess, I'll probably just log in and play some blitz. People can still cheat with blitz, but it's much harder, and therefore it's a lot less common. Plus if someone cheat, I'll just lose 10 minutes of my life, as opposed to days and days with a daily game.

pdrive