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/* brucec@tektronix in haddock:net.games.ches */
/* ---------- "Chess Computers" ---------- */
> Chess Computers Ruined My Life
> 
> I used to be a 'chess fanatic', tournaments, postal matches, radio
> matches, a tournament director and organizer, newsletter editor, etc.,
> etc.  But then around 1978, these cheap chess computers started coming
> out.

Bruce, to me, a chess fanatic is a person who loves to play and study
chess.  Whether the moves are conveyed by mail, radio, or whatever,
it's the moves that are important, not the conveyance.  Directing
tournaments, editing newsletters, being a chess federation official,
etc, are commendable activities and they have nothing to do with
chess, the game.  Organizers often have to choose between organizing
and playing.

You grieve that tournament cheaters consult their chess toys now, along
with their books.  This doesn't change the game one whit, it just
annoys tournament players and directors.  How often does this happen?
Rarely, I imagine.  I never notice it, and I play in a few tournaments
a year.  A player certainly can't run off after every move (even at
30/90).  If a player had the time to do so, he would certainly arouse
suspicion.  A cheater could always consult a friend if he cared to, the
availability of resources really hasn't changed much.

I'll agree that computers can help cheaters.  I just don't think that
your arguments support the implied assertion that computers hurt chess.

	Andrew Tannenbaum   Interactive   Boston, MA   617-247-1155