Thursday, February 07, 2008
The Comcast Money Game
(2)
My preoccupation with Civilization III this week has resulted in the usual: not much chess, and fewer interesting links. I did play a few games, however, and my rating increased somewhat but is still in the 1300s. Comcast claims that these ratings are ELO ratings (the international rating system used by the USCF and other countries). We shall see. I am an 'A Player,' which means that my 'Over-The-Board' chess rating is between 1800 and 1999. My highest rating ever was about 2020. Complicating this is the fact that these (Comcast) games are played at the rate of 'one in one:' (one move in one minute,) whereas OTB ELO ratings are based on a time limit per game (usually two hours for 40 moves). The skills involved vary somewhat: in OIO you not only have to play the game, you have to watch the time. If you fail to make your move in the allotted one minute of time you lose even though you have a won position. This is very foreign to a USCF player who is used to the two hour limit, and who is also familiar with '5 minute chess' where each player has 5 minutes to play the entire game no matter how many moves it takes. IOI is new to such a player, who must take life's interruptions into account much more than otherwise. As I have said before, IOI is a game for losers, designed by losers. Or to be more precise, Comcast IOI is a game for advertisers, designed by advertisers. It is, at bottom, a money game.
My preoccupation with Civilization III this week has resulted in the usual: not much chess, and fewer interesting links. I did play a few games, however, and my rating increased somewhat but is still in the 1300s. Comcast claims that these ratings are ELO ratings (the international rating system used by the USCF and other countries). We shall see. I am an 'A Player,' which means that my 'Over-The-Board' chess rating is between 1800 and 1999. My highest rating ever was about 2020. Complicating this is the fact that these (Comcast) games are played at the rate of 'one in one:' (one move in one minute,) whereas OTB ELO ratings are based on a time limit per game (usually two hours for 40 moves). The skills involved vary somewhat: in OIO you not only have to play the game, you have to watch the time. If you fail to make your move in the allotted one minute of time you lose even though you have a won position. This is very foreign to a USCF player who is used to the two hour limit, and who is also familiar with '5 minute chess' where each player has 5 minutes to play the entire game no matter how many moves it takes. IOI is new to such a player, who must take life's interruptions into account much more than otherwise. As I have said before, IOI is a game for losers, designed by losers. Or to be more precise, Comcast IOI is a game for advertisers, designed by advertisers. It is, at bottom, a money game.
