ErictheRed wrote on 05/01/12 at 14:41:28:


.....no.

You seem to be trying to muddy the waters here by suggesting that looking up theory between games is about the same as during the games,  which is obviously completely false. One is complete and absolute cheating, the other is completely and absolutely fair and legal and allowed(if potentially cheap depending on the level you're doing it at). There is no question about it.   
 
I have on a few occasions done the latter (between games) just to find a particular puzzling move, however I don't do it on a constant basis and also the opponent will usually try to rematch immediately. I also wonder if there's much point in doing it since I would probably forget it again later anyway. 

You then try to further excuse your cheating by talking about how it was never done on an official basis or for money and how you "think it happens all the time". 
  
Cheating is a terrible thing. It betrays a trust, makes a game worthless for the opponent and... everyone hates cheaters. Cheating is cheating, whether it's on a stupid scale (computer moves) or looking up the move from your new repertoire book you would know in the future. Whether it's for money or not matters little, unless it was mega-bucks you were referring to. 
 

Focusing on the game while playing blitz is so 20th century, or something.

Hmm, taking a minute out of a 3/5-minute game because you have to fix something to eat right then ...

Markovich wrote on 05/01/12 at 13:01:58:

Well usually the time control is 5 minutes or more, so it isnt that fast. Plus walking away at the right moment is worth more than a rook.

That post recalled me of  a time when people beating me had to be cheaters. Of course it was frustration, but this milestone is perhaps shared by many players. As people often wonder when they reach a phase, here are, in my view, frequent stages of chess development :

- I am so gifted at chess, they must be cheating if they beat me ! damn cheaters...
- these idiots don't understand chess, all they do is swindling !
- the Age of Rating : I am **** (and certainly worth 200+)
- me, myself & my style : compared to players with similar [wannabe] rating, i have much better positional judgement, but keep falling for traps time and again. And of course : "I was winning..."
- me, myself & my repertoire: if this guy has an improvement on the critical Anand-Topalov line, i am lost for sure. (alt: my analysis says Caro-Kann is a draw after 34...Nh6!!, so next week i switch to Najdorf. oh, i also drop 1.any because it doesn't give enough winning chances)
- ok, my book says I have equalized! draw ? draw ??

<this is an important fork : at this point you can embark on long,"serious" games or decide to seek glory in online blitz. In the latter case you'll develop unique abilities such as : a taste for "system" openings (or juste repeated opening moves), a desire to swap every possible piece, a special rook ending technique allowing to grab several pawns per second, an inner alarm telling when the game will be decided on time, at which point you can play tactically (ie random sacrifices) or positionally (ie just moving one piece, usually knight or king). Let's see typical next steps in case you want to keep playing chess>

- this guy is stronger than me (= has better rating), so I will avoid theory in order to level chances (= he's nothing without his books).
  [so wrong, yet so common. A case when the need for an excuse leads one to weaker play]
- When I took the pawns he had nothing, but later on i blundered...
- he only plays boring positions, i didn't even feel like winning...
- I had no idea what to do, so i launched a pawn attack...
- at this point, i was running short of time (a way to warn your audience for the upcoming moves -- one problem with chess is that you have few excuses for poor play, so this one is going to be a loyal friend) 

<after this comes another breakthrough in your chess life: you & the chessboard start to be friends, and you are less prone to destroying yourself in equal positions. Now your opponents start making mistakes before you do, and after a long swindling phase it's your turn to become swindled more often. You don't grab or defend every unimportant pawn, and gather some experience in middlegame gambits (those with no names), good/bad/idle pieces and endings.You get a sense for when you must do something or do nothing. Against your peers you need to find good moves, and reasons for a move to be good. On your opponent's time, you ponder what can be achieved with your position. You can find many theoretic moves without having read them in a book. Compared to titled players, you notice that you find most tactical shots, yet their play is consistently better in quiet positions. on the other hand, your computer tells you that they often make inaccuracies, even blunders. so they're not gods after all! that gives you enough motivation, and finally... >

Willempie wrote on 05/01/12 at 08:22:32:


I salute your quickness of mind.  The way I play speed chess, 30 seconds is worth a rook.

I used to get upset about the online cheating but once I started to realize my rating there was essentially meaningless and I was there to improve my chess (and have fun) it became easier to accept that those people using assistance were not compromising what I was there for.

So, like I mentioned earlier in this thread, I expect it, accept it, and realize its part of the online chess experience.

Since I am still active otb and that is my main focus I can deal fine.  BUT if I was living a more sedentary life and the net was my only resource to play I am not so sure I would be as tolerant.  I have my own engine and if I want to play it I can so when I go online it is disappointing when one wants to test their skills against other people in their rating range and they encounter weird and suspicious behaviors.