USCF Chess coming soon from Interplay! (repost)
Meghan Jenks (Interplay)
Please let me know if you'd like more info. :)
Meghan
=====================================================================
Meghan S. Jenks mje...@interplay.com
Interplay Productions - By Gamers. For Gamers.
.oO http://www.interplay.com Oo.
CHECKMATE!
U.S.C.F. CHESS FROM INTERPLAY
ONLY GAME TO OFFER OFFICIAL U.S.C.F. RANKING
(Grandmaster chess engine challenges all skill levels)
IRVINE, Calif._ The Kasparovs, Fischers and "Big Blues" of the world
had better guard their kings with care. Endorsed by the United States
Chess Federation, the most highly recognized chess organization in the
United States, U.S.C.F. Chess is the only CD-ROM chess game in which
players will be able to receive an official national ranking from the
U.S.C.F. which can then be used to compete in a tournament. This
November, with Interplay's superior, intuitive chess engine and
user-friendly interface, people of all ages and skill levels will soon
enjoy the benefit of learning this classic strategy game via Windows
95 based PC's and 100% compatibles. With an extensive library of
famous games, over 200 tutorial exercises, gorgeous SVGA graphics, and
the choice of playing in 2-D or 3-D, U.S.C.F. Chess provides the
ultimate challenge and learning tools for every chess player.
"For players to receive an official ranking from the U.S.C.F. by
playing our game is a significant milestone," said Interplay producer
Brian Christian. "This feature will allow gamers to compare
themselves to the best chess players in the nation and even let them
enter a tournament with an official U.S.C.F. ranking. This has never
been done before and Interplay is proud to be affiliated with such a
prestigious organization."
New features are abundant in U.S.C.F. Chess including a "save"
feature which records gameplay and will then replay it at the end of
the game at the touch of a button. The "switch sides" feature is an
excellent learning tool for all skill levels as it allows the player
to play the computer's side when the player is stuck, to find out how
the computer would handle the player's situation. Players have the
ability to customize the playing level and skill of the computer to
accommodate beginner level players.
New to the chess game genre are the "speed bar" and "speed buttons"
which take the place of traditional pull-down menus. Using fun icons
and bubble descriptions, different options are at the gamer's
fingertips including speed chess and force move to speed up gameplay.
Other options include new game, take back, switch sides, 2-D/3-D,
pause, quit, etc. With six 2-D and five 3-D chess boards with
coordinating chess pieces, including Egyptian, Gothic, Alien, Staunton
and a simulated newspaper set, U.S.C.F. Chess brings an elegant and
sophisticated new look to chess games.
Another highlight of U.S.C.F. Chess is that the gamer is able to
load and watch famous games from Grandmasters such as Bobby Fischer.
The player also has the option to choose which personality style
(Kasparov, Karpov, Fischer, Tal, etc.) the engine will be playing:
offensive, aggressive, etc. The engine will move according to the
perimeters of that personality's playing style - like playing against
the Grandmasters themselves.
U.S.C.F. Chess will be available from Interplay on CD-ROM for
Windows 95 based PC's and 100% compatibles in November 1997.
Don C. Aldrich
>IRVINE, Calif._ The Kasparovs, Fischers and "Big Blues" of the world
>had better guard their kings with care. Endorsed by the United States
>Chess Federation, the most highly recognized chess organization in the
>United States, U.S.C.F. Chess is the only CD-ROM chess game in which
>players will be able to receive an official national ranking from the
>U.S.C.F. which can then be used to compete in a tournament.
Why do I think the "NM" title just got cheaper?.... D'ya think
someone with too much time on his hands will get his "rating" by
matching Fritz or MChess against the Interplay machine in the comfort
of his own home?
==Dondo
"He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous."
Julius Caesar, Act I, Sc. 2.
Komputer Korner
I don't think Mindscape of CM5000 fame will be shivering in their boots.
Except for the instant game replay icon and 200 tutorials, there isn't much
here that I am impressed with.
--
- -
Komputer Korner
The inkompetent komputer
If you see a 1 in my email address, take it out before replying.
Please do not email both me and the r.g.c.c. at the same time. I read all
the postings on r.g.c.c.
Meghan Jenks (Interplay) <mje...@interplay.com> wrote in article
<342af5c1....@snews.zippo.com>...
Komputer Korner
No worse than Bloodgood's rating over 2600 while he has been in prison for
20 years. Didn't you know that chess federations are no longer in business
for the members? They are in business to make money for their employee
raises and their executive travels?
- -
Komputer Korner
The inkompetent komputer
If you see a 1 in my email address, take it out before replying.
Please do not email both me and the r.g.c.c. at the same time. I read all
the postings on r.g.c.c.
Don C. Aldrich <do...@skypoint.com> wrote in article
<34235356...@news.skypoint.com>...
da...@taic.net
In rec.games.chess.computer Meghan Jenks (Interplay) <mje...@interplay.com> wrote:
: U.S.C.F. Chess is the only CD-ROM chess game in which
: players will be able to receive an official national ranking from the
: U.S.C.F. "For players to receive an official ranking from the U.S.C.F.
: by playing our game is a significant milestone," said Interplay producer
: Brian Christian.
Finally. The ultimate devaluation of USCF ratings.
Just how does the USCF plan to assure that the "official" USCF
ratings obtained by playing a computer program at home are in any valid?
Robert Hyatt
da...@taic.net wrote:
Personaly, I hope (and assume) that this is nothing but pure "BS"... It
makes no sense, seems ill-conceived, with lots of problems and no real
merit. On the other hand, considering that, it is probably true. :)
mig
On 21 Sep 1997 23:03:35 GMT, hy...@crafty.cis.uab.edu (Robert Hyatt)
wrote:
>: Just how does the USCF plan to assure that the "official" USCF
>: ratings obtained by playing a computer program at home are in any valid?
>
>Personaly, I hope (and assume) that this is nothing but pure "BS"... It
>makes no sense, seems ill-conceived, with lots of problems and no real
>merit. On the other hand, considering that, it is probably true. :)
>
I read about that a long time ago. I thought they'd given up on it, as
perhaps they should. I think the original plan was to allow players to
receive an initial ranking only, for first timers. While the potential
for abuse is still there it's not like people are going to benefit
from having a master friend (or another program) artificially inflate
their initial rating.
Of course the possibility of using this system to enter class tourneys
sandbagged is more of a challenge, but not much different from
unrateds doing the same. I'd imagine TDs would not allow players with
these computer-achieved ratings to win class prizes in their first
tournament.
If that is true then perhaps it's an excellent way to increase the
USCF member base by encouraging the thousands of casual players to
take up tournament play. Or it may just be a big pile of crap waiting
to hit the fan!
saludos, Mig
-------
We are not interested in the possibilities of
defeat; they do not exist. -- Victoria
-------
REMOVE SBLOCK TO MAIL ME
da...@taic.net
In rec.games.chess.politics Robert Hyatt <hy...@crafty.cis.uab.edu> wrote:
: da...@taic.net wrote:
: : In rec.games.chess.computer Meghan Jenks (Interplay) <mje...@interplay.com> wrote:
: : : U.S.C.F. Chess is the only CD-ROM chess game in which
: : : players will be able to receive an official national ranking from the
: : : U.S.C.F. "For players to receive an official ranking from the U.S.C.F.
: : : by playing our game is a significant milestone," said Interplay producer
: : : Brian Christian.
: : Finally. The ultimate devaluation of USCF ratings.
: : Just how does the USCF plan to assure that the "official" USCF
: : ratings obtained by playing a computer program at home are in any valid?
: Personaly, I hope (and assume) that this is nothing but pure "BS"... It
: makes no sense, seems ill-conceived, with lots of problems and no real
: merit. On the other hand, considering that, it is probably true. :)
Coming from a USCF that created a financially unsound Life Member
system and gave away the store with its website, why shouldn't it also
remove the last reason why people (who are not sandbaggers) play in
tournaments?
Makes perfect sense.
Robert Hyatt
mig (m...@satlink.com.nospam) wrote:
: On 21 Sep 1997 23:03:35 GMT, hy...@crafty.cis.uab.edu (Robert Hyatt)
: wrote:
: >: Just how does the USCF plan to assure that the "official" USCF
: >: ratings obtained by playing a computer program at home are in any valid?
: >
: >Personaly, I hope (and assume) that this is nothing but pure "BS"... It
: >makes no sense, seems ill-conceived, with lots of problems and no real
: >merit. On the other hand, considering that, it is probably true. :)
: >
: I read about that a long time ago. I thought they'd given up on it, as
: perhaps they should. I think the original plan was to allow players to
: receive an initial ranking only, for first timers. While the potential
: for abuse is still there it's not like people are going to benefit
: from having a master friend (or another program) artificially inflate
: their initial rating.
: Of course the possibility of using this system to enter class tourneys
: sandbagged is more of a challenge, but not much different from
: unrateds doing the same. I'd imagine TDs would not allow players with
: these computer-achieved ratings to win class prizes in their first
: tournament.
I think this is actually part of the process. No class prizes for
anyone that earns an initial rating "guestimate" playing this
software. In retrospect, this is likely a good idea, because it is
certainly better for a new player to enter his first tournament with
some idea of an initial rating, rather than with nothing. Seedings
are very important in Swiss events with large numbers of players and
small numbers of rounds. This can only help those. Unless the abuse
gets out of hand. But even abusive cases can't really hurt a tournament
as far as prizes go...
: If that is true then perhaps it's an excellent way to increase the
: USCF member base by encouraging the thousands of casual players to
: take up tournament play. Or it may just be a big pile of crap waiting
: to hit the fan!
: saludos, Mig
Could be either of course. But it sounds reasonable up front, after
studying the idea.
Mark Glickman
: Just how does the USCF plan to assure that the "official" USCF
: ratings obtained by playing a computer program at home are in any valid?
I've been mostly out of the loop on this one, but it was
passed by me once awhile ago. I believe the deal is that
players could get a rating using the Interplay program, but
this rating would be provisional based on 0 games. In
effect, the player would be treated as unrated when it comes
time to actually rate a real event in which he/she first
competes. In the context of the new rating system (which
should be implemented soon - haven't we heard that before?)
there will be virtually no effect on the player's post-event
rating nor on his/her opponents' ratings. The only real
consequence is how a TD decides to pair such players when they
enter their first tournament.
So, on par, it's not as detrimental to the rating system
as it may first seem.
- Mark
--
Prof. Mark E. Glickman tel: (617) 353-5209
Department of Mathematics fax: (617) 353-8100
Boston University http://math.bu.edu/people/mg
Meghan Jenks (Interplay)
This concern was brought up to me in email recently, and I asked the
game's producer about it. This was his response:
"We can set the computer at a specific rating using the USCF
algorithm. We achieve this in a number of different ways. The player
would set the computer to play at a specific rating and if he beats it
he will be able to print out a rated certificate with that rating on
it.
He will be able to play in a tournament with that rating. So how do we
stop the sand bagging? Well if a person comes into a tournament with
a 1200 rating but plays chess at a much higher rating in reality, then
he or she will be disqualified. We are not trying to encourage people
to cheat to receive a rating so they can enter a tournament at a
rating that suits them; we are trying to get people interested in
joining the USCF and playing in the USCF sponsored events.
A person can use the certificate one time and one time only to enter a
USCF sponsored event."
Meghan
=====================================================================
Meghan S. Jenks mje...@interplay.com
Interplay Productions - By Gamers. For Gamers. alt.games.interplay
www.dragonplay.com www.interplay.com www.macplay.com
Syed Yusuf
Free
Internet
Chess
Server
(telnet 164.58.253.13 5000)
makes F.I.D.E and USCF (and all "pay-for-rating") a moot point
--
Syed Yusuf http://www.uidaho.edu/~yusuf921
"Only a brave person is able honestly to accept, and fearlessly to face,
what a sincere and logical mind discovers." -Rodan of Alexandria
Hello
Perhaps someone will play Crafty or MChess or some other program with a
learning function against the Interplay program, and put up a WWW site with
busts of its opening book. That should let me achieve master level pretty
fast. Gosh, me a master. I can't wait.... ;)
Roger
Robert Hyatt
Meghan Jenks (Interplay) (mje...@interplay.com) wrote:
: This concern was brought up to me in email recently, and I asked the
: game's producer about it. This was his response:
: "We can set the computer at a specific rating using the USCF
: algorithm. We achieve this in a number of different ways. The player
: would set the computer to play at a specific rating and if he beats it
: he will be able to print out a rated certificate with that rating on
: it.
: He will be able to play in a tournament with that rating. So how do we
: stop the sand bagging? Well if a person comes into a tournament with
: a 1200 rating but plays chess at a much higher rating in reality, then
: he or she will be disqualified. We are not trying to encourage people
: to cheat to receive a rating so they can enter a tournament at a
: rating that suits them; we are trying to get people interested in
: joining the USCF and playing in the USCF sponsored events.
: A person can use the certificate one time and one time only to enter a
: USCF sponsored event."
Also, the rating is an estimated rating anywhere. The typical non-rated
player gets seeded at the bottom of the rating ladder anyway in a normal
tournament. So what if his rating from the program is lower than what it
should be? It would still be higher than the default=0 rating he would
start off with without an estimate of any sort. And after one tournament,
he gets a normal provisional rating anyway and the computer program
"certificate" would never be used again for that player... seems to be
ok to me, after seeing how it is intended to work...
: Meghan
Roy Schmidt
James Garner (da...@taic.net) wrote
> Coming from a USCF that created a financially unsound Life Member
> system and gave away the store with its website, why shouldn't it also
> remove the last reason why people (who are not sandbaggers) play in
> tournaments?
And here I thought the best reason to play in a chess tournament was to
have fun. Silly me. Now I see:
Top Ten Reasons to Play in a USCF Chess Tournament
by Roy Schmidt, with contributions from the cynics in r.g.c.p.
10. Have fun
9. Socialize with other chess players
8. Play some challenging games
7. Learn something about chess
6. Learn something about myself as a chess player
5. Try a new idea in "serious" play
4. Slam some duffers
3. Grab some rating points
2. Build my ego
1. Make some money
> Makes perfect sense.
Yeah, so it does, if you have a rather low regard for chess players.
============================================================
my reply-to address is: schmidt at ust dot hk
============================================================
Roy Schmidt, Assistant Professor | Go
The University of Science and Technology | for
Clearwater Bay, Hong Kong | Go!
http://www.bi.ust.hk/~schmidt
Dan Thies
On 21 Sep 1997 17:41:45 GMT, da...@taic.net wrote:
>In rec.games.chess.computer Meghan Jenks (Interplay) <mje...@interplay.com> wrote:
>
>: U.S.C.F. Chess is the only CD-ROM chess game in which
>: players will be able to receive an official national ranking from the
>: U.S.C.F. "For players to receive an official ranking from the U.S.C.F.
>: by playing our game is a significant milestone," said Interplay producer
>: Brian Christian.
>
> Finally. The ultimate devaluation of USCF ratings.
>
> Just how does the USCF plan to assure that the "official" USCF
>ratings obtained by playing a computer program at home are in any valid?
They'll only be used for seeding unrateds, from what I've heard. This
has been in the works for a long time.
To me, this seems like a great way to attract more players to
tournament play, and to USCF membership. The last weekend swiss I
played in had only 18 players - hardly a great sample for rating
purposes.
Dan
da...@taic.net
In rec.games.chess.politics Dan Thies <rt...@wt.net> wrote:
: > Just how does the USCF plan to assure that the "official" USCF
: >ratings obtained by playing a computer program at home are in any valid?
: They'll only be used for seeding unrateds, from what I've heard. This
: has been in the works for a long time.
A long time, eh? How come no one here has posted anything about
it? Didn't see it in any minutes of board discussion (unless I am
mistaken). Who cut this deal?
da...@taic.net
In rec.games.chess.politics Roy Schmidt <sch...@anti-spam.com> wrote:
: James Garner (da...@taic.net) wrote
: > Coming from a USCF that created a financially unsound Life Member
: > system and gave away the store with its website, why shouldn't it also
: > remove the last reason why people (who are not sandbaggers) play in
: > tournaments?
: And here I thought the best reason to play in a chess tournament was to
: have fun. Silly me. Now I see:
It is to have fun. But quite a lot of players try to improve. And
they measure their improvement (quite appropriately) by the way their
ratings change. Therefore, they get upset when the meaningfulness of a
rating becomes diminished.
mig
On 23 Sep 1997 15:12:07 GMT, da...@taic.net wrote:
>: They'll only be used for seeding unrateds, from what I've heard. This
>: has been in the works for a long time.
>
> A long time, eh? How come no one here has posted anything about
>it? Didn't see it in any minutes of board discussion (unless I am
>mistaken). Who cut this deal?
>
Ye olde "if I don't know about it it didn't happen" argument, eh?
Interplay and the USCF promoted this idea several YEARS ago, both in
Interplay documentation and press releases and, I believe in Chess
Life. (I heard about it and don't have access to any top sekrit files
anywhere, so there you go.)
I'm sure they're very sorry for not notifying you personally.
saludos, Mig
--- "Chess is ruthless: you've got to be prepared
to kill people." - Nigel Short, in the Observer, 1991
da...@taic.net
In rec.games.chess.politics Tim Mirabile <t...@mail.htp.com> wrote:
: mje...@interplay.com (Meghan Jenks (Interplay)) wrote:
: So the rating is based on one game? And only if it's a win, with none of the
: losses considered while trying to beat it?
Why make things difficult for the "quick food" American crowd, who
want instant satisfaction? Previously, if you wanted to know how good you
were in comparison to "real" players, rated players, you actually had to
interest yourself in USCF chess, and learn how to play in a tournament,
and go play. Then, once you'd expended the effort, and maybe lost 3-4
games but ACTUALLY WON a REAL GAME(!), you ould think, hey, tht was fun,
let's play again.
Now, however, you can get your "USCF Rating" with home-made fries,
and then watch some TV, and not spend all the effort to go to a tournament
after that. Having to pay *another* $40 (Hey, I already spent $XX on this
damn "USCF RATING PROGRAM", why should I have to spend another $40 to join
the USCF, and then another $40 for a tournament [or make that $280 for a
Goichberg fund raiser]).
This will help Interplay, and hurt USCF some more.
: I think this product will appeal to those players who wish they could
get a : rating, but don't want to do it "the hard way" - by joining the
USCF and playing : lots of tournaments. Now they won't have to.
I just got to the end of the message, and saw you had said
practically the same thing. This is my take as well.
Tim Mirabile
mje...@interplay.com (Meghan Jenks (Interplay)) wrote:
>This concern was brought up to me in email recently, and I asked the
>game's producer about it. This was his response:
>
>"We can set the computer at a specific rating using the USCF
>algorithm. We achieve this in a number of different ways. The player
>would set the computer to play at a specific rating and if he beats it
>he will be able to print out a rated certificate with that rating on
>it.
So the rating is based on one game? And only if it's a win, with none of the
losses considered while trying to beat it?
>He will be able to play in a tournament with that rating. So how do we
>stop the sand bagging? Well if a person comes into a tournament with
>a 1200 rating but plays chess at a much higher rating in reality, then
>he or she will be disqualified.
Not necessarily - I think there would need to be some evidence that the
sandbagging was deliberate. It's certainly not unheard of for a 1200 player
experience rapid improvement and start scoring some big upsets without any
cheating at all.
>We are not trying to encourage people
>to cheat to receive a rating so they can enter a tournament at a
>rating that suits them; we are trying to get people interested in
>joining the USCF and playing in the USCF sponsored events.
>
>A person can use the certificate one time and one time only to enter a
>USCF sponsored event."
I think this product will appeal to those players who wish they could get a
rating, but don't want to do it "the hard way" - by joining the USCF and playing
lots of tournaments. Now they won't have to.
--
Long Island chess -> http://www.webcom.com/timm/ TimM on ICC and A-FICS
Webmaster, tech support - Your Move Chess & Games: http://www.icdchess.com/
brucemo
da...@taic.net wrote:
> Now, however, you can get your "USCF Rating" with home-made fries,
> and then watch some TV, and not spend all the effort to go to a tournament
> after that. Having to pay *another* $40 (Hey, I already spent $XX on this
> damn "USCF RATING PROGRAM", why should I have to spend another $40 to join
> the USCF, and then another $40 for a tournament [or make that $280 for a
> Goichberg fund raiser]).
>
> This will help Interplay, and hurt USCF some more.
Maybe, maybe not. I'm not a big lover of the USCF, for reasons that are hard
to define. I didn't like Fidelity, and the USCF was basically Fidelity's
marketting arm. This is probably an irrational reason to not like them,
since this is ancient history, and I was in college at the time and hated
everything.
I looked at the September issue of Chess Life, and I liked it a lot. Perhaps
things have changed.
Anyway, what you are saying might be true, and it might not be true. If
someone buys an "ordinary" chess program, how does that get them interested
in the USCF? There's no connection between the program and the organization.
Maybe some people will buy this program and it will get them thinking about
the USCF, and they will join the organization, find out about their local
chess club, or whatever.
I don't know.
bruce
da...@taic.net
In rec.games.chess.politics brucemo <bru...@seanet.com> wrote:
: Maybe, maybe not. I'm not a big lover of the USCF, for reasons that are hard
: to define. I didn't like Fidelity, and the USCF was basically Fidelity's
: marketting arm. This is probably an irrational reason to not like them,
: since this is ancient history, and I was in college at the time and hated
: everything.
Somehow, the USCF always gets suckered into doing others'
biddings. And we all know the story of how the Fidelity computers got
their "2100" ratings.
Misty
On Fri, 19 Sep 1997 22:00:10 GMT, mje...@interplay.com (Meghan Jenks
(Interplay)) wrote:
Aside from the ability to give you ratings good for tournament play.
What is the difference between this and CM5000? Am not trying to be
"smart" Just would like to know whether or not to spend my money on
something I already have.
>Please let me know if you'd like more info. :)
>
>
>=====================================================================
>Meghan S. Jenks mje...@interplay.com
> Interplay Productions - By Gamers. For Gamers.
>
>
>
>CHECKMATE!
>U.S.C.F. CHESS FROM INTERPLAY
>ONLY GAME TO OFFER OFFICIAL U.S.C.F. RANKING
>(Grandmaster chess engine challenges all skill levels)
>
>
Tim Thompson
In article <608m2l$9...@news-central.tiac.net>, da...@taic.net writes:
[ ... ]
> It is to have fun. But quite a lot of players try to improve. And
> they measure their improvement (quite appropriately) by the way their
> ratings change. Therefore, they get upset when the meaningfulness of a
> rating becomes diminished.
But I have to wonder if this particular scheme really does that. As has
already been noted, the certificate is a one-time deal, and is usable only
by new unrated players. How does this have anything more than a minor effect
on ratings or the rating pool?
--
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/8851/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Thompson, Timothy.J...@jpl.nasa.gov
NASA/JPL Terrestrial Science Research element
Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer.
Atmospheric Corrections Team - Scientific Programmer.