MALEKOHTUNIKUD KINNITAVAD SEDA, ET 2 + 2 = 5

Maletajad, kes reklaamivad, et malemäng arendab mõistust, ei oska ju arvutada. 

Põhikooli matemaatikaga on raskusi. 

Igatahes oskavad nad vist loendada ainult kaheksani, sest kummalgi vastasel on algseisus laual kaheksa etturit.

Nii oli see rahvusvahelise maleföderatsiooni FIDE hääletamistega - nende reeglid on niivõrd segased, et nad kas tahtlikult või kogemata ei saanud ise ka aru, millise "häälteenamusega" nad 2022. a. otsustasid, et seoses Ukraina sõja algusega tuleb Venemaa maletajaile kehtestada spordisanktsioonid. 

Mis enamus see oli ja millest see oli enamus, jäi täiesti arusaamatuks ja muutus vastavalt vajadusele pidevalt. 

Hiljem viis seesama häälte lugemise algoritm (või selle puudumine) 2025. a. selleni, et korraga võeti vastu kaks erinevat resolutsiooni, milles üks teatas, et sanktsioonid Venemaale tühistatakse, teine aga, et ei tühistata. 

Matemaatikaga pole sellel erilist pistmist, sest arvutuste tulemus peab poliitiliselt õige olema. 

Hiljem süüdistati vale tulemuse saamises reeglite rikkumist, ent reegleid rikuti ka õige tulemuse saamisel ja juba aastal 2022.

Äsja sain seoses maletajate matemaatiliste oskustega järjekordse üllatuse osaliseks.

Nimelt saatis FIDE Online Arena mulle ootamatult kirja, milles selgitas tiitlite omandamise uusi reegleid.

Kirja alguses teatati, et seoses reeglite reformiga on laekunud palju nurinaid. 

Ent mina pole FIDE-le mitte mingisugust protesti saatnud seoses tiitlite omandamise reeglitega. Samuti pole ma varem kuulnudki mingisugusest "reitingureformist".

Samuti teatati kirja alguses, et nurinad on põhjustatud sellest, et inimesed pole uute reeglitega veel harjunud. 

Seejärel tutvustati neid uusi reegleid. 

Paraku oli selles kirjas kogu tekst matemaatiliselt kirjaoskamatu, kahemõtteline ja vastuoluline, kohati otseselt vale. 

Kui ma sellele kirjale oma kommentaaridega vastasin, sain ma vastuseks ainult automaatvastuse, mis sisaldas täpselt seda sama vigast reeglite kirjeldust. 

Kui saatsin eraldi kirja, tuli samuti automaatvastus täpselt selle sama vigase tekstiga.

Nüüd on FIDE Online Arena vist juba tuhandetele maletajatele saatnud matemaatiliselt täiesti vigase selgituse uutest reeglitest. 

Küllap on paljud saanud selle kirja juba mitu korda. 

Võib kujutleda, kuidas selle institutsiooni postkast on täis e-maile, mis püüavad selgitada, et uued reeglid on arusaamatud ja tekst mitteloetav. 

Iga kord saadab see institutsioon automaatvastusega täpselt selle sama esialgse vigase kirja. 

Sisuliselt on minule juba kolm korda paari päeva jooksul saadetud kiri, mis teatab, et nüüd on uus reegel, et 2 + 2 = 5; ja kui ma sellest reeglist aru ei saa, siis tuleb see sellest, et ma pole uute reeglitega veel harjunud. 

Niipalju siis sellest müüdist, et maletajatel on palju mõistust. 

I PROTEST FIDE ONLINE ARENA DECISION CONCERNING GAME CANCELLATIONS

Unfortunately, I am practically forced to make my recent letter to the FIDE Online Arena support team public. The reason is that I have repeatedly signalled to that chess platform about their shortcomings through different channels, such as a letter to the support team or a public post on their social media site. I have never received a single comment, not a single word. Now, however, I received a notice that my ability to play has been temporarily restricted because I have cancelled some chessgames. 

As a result, I wrote a letter to the support team and shall publish it here on my blog below. 

I Protest FIDE Online Arena Decision Concerning Game Cancellations

Recently, I received the following notice:

“Game start paused due to recent cancellations.”

My ability to make a challenge was paused for 10 minutes.

I have to stress that the FIDE Online Arena does not have the feature “rating difference,” “rating range,” or whatever it is called. Unlike all other major online chess platforms, the FIDE Online Arena does not allow players to automatically reject opponents with very low ratings compared to the challenger.

Currently, my rating is approximately 1750, and I did not make a move in a game against an opponent with a rating of approximately 1200. The reason is evident: praxis has shown that if I win against such an opponent, I receive 0 rating points; if I lose, I lose 15 or 20 rating points.

It is also not the case that I often dismiss the opponents with a much lower rating than mine. Quite to the contrary: during my previous session, I played approximately 10 games against opponents with a much lower rating, usually earning only 1 or 2 rating points. I spent approximately 4 hours and earned about 15-20 rating points. 

Finally, someone with a rating of approximately 1500 played with astronomic speed and precision, and I lost my first game in that session. I sent a report about a possible use of a chess engine and ended that session. In a few minutes, I lost all the rating points I had earned in 10 games over 4 hours.

Today, I also already played one game against a player with a rating of approximately 1200.

There are other compelling reasons the player might not want to play against a given opponent, unless it is a tournament game. While these do not concern the present case, generally, it too often happens that the player thinks to know that the opponent is a chess engine user or has the tendency to unsportsmanlike behaviour. 

I have to note that I have written to the Support Team about similar issues before, but I have never received any feedback.

Unfortunately, I have to inform you that, as long as the current, uncommon practice of the FIDE Online Arena persists, I shall not make any public lobby challenges on that online chess platform. 

All this does not mean that I do not appreciate many excellent features of the FIDE Online Arena platform.

Sincerely yours

Jüri Eintalu 

I Have Received an Answer

As of now, I have received the first official response to my complaints about the FIDE Online Arena system, which, among other things, does not allow setting rating-difference conditions for challenges. 

I am not entitled to make that answer public. 

However, I quote one phrase from that response:

“... we are already working on creating rating filters.”

FIDE ONLINE ARENA LOST CONNECTION

Today, I tried to play some games on FIDE Online Arena. 

Just as several years ago, suddenly, that Arena "lost connection".

FIDE Online Arena - connection lost

It happened in the section "World Chess". 

It's important to note that my internet connection was stable and did not drop during the game. 

Also, I did NOT switch the windows during the game. And I had only one window opened.

Moreover, I was able to surf on that Online Arena. Finally, I was able to go back to my game. Unfortunately, it still warned me that I had "lost connection".

Worse, the site demanded I "reconnect." However, what is the sober method for "reconnecting," and where is it explained? The only official explanation I later found from the Support section did not help:

Press "reconnect"

So where is that "Reconnect" button to press? If it was visible, it did not work at all.

Note that this Online Arena asks for 50 euros annually to obtain an official FIDE online rating and other comfortable services.

Of course, I shall not pay a single cent for that service.

Today, I played only two or three rated games in the "World Chess" section. In the second one, a low-rated opponent seemingly used a chess engine during the game. In the last one, I lost the game due to Online Arena's beautiful features.

Please reconnect with yourself if you want. 

I do not need such chess platforms (there are several such platforms) that arbitrarily declare that you have "lost connection".

Goodbye