I ALSO ABANDON THE CHESS PLATFORM ICC

I shall leave the Internet Chess Club platform.

As some of you may recall, I recently announced my decision to discontinue using the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS) platform.

These two chess platforms are very similar. The main difference is that the FICS is free while the ICC is a paid service. The ICC is pretty expensive. I got it at a discount but only used it for a few months.

The reasons for leaving these chess platforms are also very similar, except that the justification is amplified in the case of the ICC’s paid service.

Why did I cancel my subscription to the ICC?

There is no one to play with

There are too few users on the ICC. Almost everyone prefers to play blitz or bullet, while I like to play rapid or classical games, at least 15 minutes per game.

There are not enough challenges on the ICC, and my challenges have rarely been accepted. I have managed to play only one or two games daily on the ICC. The opponents have almost always been with a lower rating than mine. I already know them by heart and know exactly when someone uses the chess engine during the game.

The chat is unacceptable

While waiting for the game, looking at what is happening in the chats is natural.

Unfortunately, the chat is self-destructive, which allows abuse without leaving a trace.

The abuse is constant and systematic. Always some McCarthyist political instructor, the thought police is present, who distorts what you say, makes personal attacks, presents false accusations and false ascriptions and slanders you in your face.

For example, before my last participation in the discussion, I was suddenly accused—and entirely out of context—that I did not know the definition of “genocide.” Unfortunately, I know the definitions of “genocide” as a philosopher who has written some essays on that matter.

Today, I started the discussion by remarking that it did not look democratic that Putin was elected president of Russia for the fifth time. The political instructor intervened and added that Putin was a murderer, etc. I believe I was pretty neutral and objective. However, when I did not agree with everything he had to say, he accused me of being a supporter of Putin, etc.

Excuse me, but why should I pay money for such a chess platform that upholds direct political propaganda, demagoguery, and slandering where no real discussion is ever possible?

I can get the brainwashing for free every day. So why pay and sponsor unintelligent and immoral propagandists?

It may sound illogical. Unfortunately, it is very logical: 

As a philosopher, I recommend that chess platforms not allow general discussions. Such discussion forums suppress debate and promote pure political propaganda and brainwashing.

The ICC interfaces behave like a spy program

There are various interfaces to the ICC and its outdated web page. 

“Mobialia” is a comfortable interface that can be used on both the ICC and the FICS. Unfortunately, it is not trustworthy. Once, it failed to show me the chessboard and did not allow me to abort the game either. 

“ICC for Windows” is a new interface with rich features. It is the only option I found to change my flag from the US flag to my country’s flag! During the game, you can use the comfortable full-screen mode. It automatically downloads your games to your computer.

Unfortunately, about 20 or 40 of my games have disappeared. It turns out that the ICC maintains only 20 of your last games. I switched to the “ICC for Windows” too late. And even if the ICC keeps all of your games on the server, finding how to access them takes work.

However, the worst thing about the ICC is that my computer’s clipboard is ruined after using “Mobialia” or “ICC for Windows” on the ICC. 

I have checked it: it happens if and only if I play or discuss on the ICC or FICS. At it, “ICC for Windows” is only for the ICC.

I cannot imagine why the clipboard is involved at all. The ICC has not declared it takes over the user’s computer anyway.

Goodbye, chess Gestapo!

So how can I enjoy playing chess if I am afraid that I will be insulted and slandered on the chat or that, after the game, I have to restart my computer or even recover the Windows registries?

I ABANDON THE CHESS PLATFORM FICS

I shall leave the chess platform Free Internet Chess Server.

First of all, there is no one to play with

Almost everyone prefers to play blitz or bullet. Only some players agree to play rapid or slow games. The number of players interested in rapid or slow games is not big enough. If you want to play with time control 15 minutes per game or slower, usually there are no challenges, or your challenge will not be accepted.

Sometimes, you must wait hours before someone accepts your challenge for a rapid game. 

It is particularly so if your rating is above 2000.

Sometimes, the system ignores your "formula" and gives you an opponent with a rating above or below the limits you had fixed.

One of the players on FICS has an abnormally high rating. If that player is a grandmaster, I know his name but will not reveal it here. Considering that only a few players have high ratings, that player must always win to keep an exceptionally high rating. I suspect the player is an admin and uses chess engines during the games.

FICS Chat is abusive

When waiting for challenges or for your challenge to be accepted, you look at the discussions in the chat.

Interestingly, the Free Internet Chess Club members discuss everything in the Politics chat, including the chess candidate tournament. 

It is even more surprising that when you enter the Politics chat, some members ask whether you are interested in politics.

Unfortunately, you cannot freely discuss politics on the FICS Politics chat.

You think you are talking about politics with chess players who consider themselves intelligent. Instead, you regularly speak with the same anonymous governmental political instructor. 

If your opinions or even questions do not match with the Western compulsory narrative, you will be constantly targeted in an abusive way.

Your arguments will not be refuted. Instead, everything you say will be distorted and wrongly interpreted. The context will be changed. The unacceptable argumentum ad hominem will be used. Personal attacks will constantly appear.

The political instructor, a thought policeman, will constantly observe whether you have joined the chat. As soon as you enter the chat, the political instructor joins it. The political instructor is probably one of the admins of FICS.

Anyway, the FICS has not de-platformed that nasty person.

The political instructor attributes you with various motives and beliefs and sometimes even explicitly declares that one suspects you of being a criminal.

A symmetrical answer would be to declare that you suspect that this person is a paedophile, corps-eater, etc.

Sometimes, the political instructor makes some explicit extremist announcements.

Once, that person declared that all philosophers should be jailed.

The McCarthyist political instructor even goes as far as to personally target you absolutely outside the context. For example:

YOU:

"Hello! It's nice weather today!"

POLITICAL INSTRUCTOR LOGS IN:

"You may talk about the weather, but a week ago you expressed stupid views about the Ukrainian war."

(Then, the political instructor will misdescribe your views.)

Then, someone accepts your challenge, and the chessgame starts. You are supposed to play chess right after some totalitarianist Stalinist maniac has seriously insulted and slandered you.

Your game's notation and result will be recorded, but the chat is self-destructive. The evidence of abusive behaviour will be eliminated.

It is not freedom of speech. Instead, the FICS is hosting some info-terrorists who are seriously damaging others' freedom of speech.

Mobialia chess interface

The best chess interface for FICS is probably Mobialia Chess. It is sufficiently laconic so that nothing disturbs you during the game.

Unfortunately, once, it failed to show me the chessboard and did not allow me to abort the game either.

Because of unknown reasons, Mobialia also has an Android app for mobile phones. It is pretty useless as most players play blitz, and correspondence chess is excluded from FICS.

Mobialia's nice feature is tactics problems. I like it as the problems are chosen from the games of great chess masters.

However, Mobialia behaves like a spy program. It hangs your clipboard. 

Mobialia can be connected with FICS or ICC (Internet Chess Club). To change my account, I need to insert my password using the clipboard. Unfortunately, Mobialia has taken over my clipboard, and to be able to use it, I have to switch off Mobialia and restart my computer altogether.

A TECHNICAL MISTAKE ON ICC

I just lost a game because the Mobialia interface did not show me the chessboard, and I could not abort either. If this happens again, I will cease playing on ICC (International Chess Club)!

Here is the "game". Without seeing the board, I accidentally hit some pieces....

[Event "ICC 15 5"] [Site "Internet Chess Club"] [Date "2024.04.14"] [Round "-"] [White "Nanomaster"] [Black "sedsak"] [Result "0-1"] [ICCResult "White resigns"] [WhiteElo "1914"] [BlackElo "1787"] [Opening "Modern defense"] [ECO "A40"] [NIC "QO.17"] [Time "15:55:29"] [PlyCount "4"] [TimeControl "900+5"] 1. d4 g6 2. d5 Bg7 {White resigns} 0-1