PLAYCHESS LOST MY GAME

Recently, I criticized the chess platform Chess King Play. Among other things, that platform lost one of my wins against a player with a high ELO. I did not see a notation of that game while the result was recorded, and, accordingly, my ELO was increased. The support team never answered my complaint. I abandoned that platform.

Now, I was playing on the Chessbase's platform Playchess. 

If you pay for it, it has some comfortable features. For example, if you enter Playchess through your Chessbase program, all the games played will appear directly on your computer in Chessbase without you needing to download them.

Unfortunately, not all.

Today, I achieved an ELO higher than 2050. Suddenly, a player with an ELO around 1400 accepted my challenge to a rapid game. That was some grandmaster or, instead, some bastard using the chess engine during the game. That opponent played exceptionally quickly and precisely. Its opening preparation turned out to be the best of the day. In a rapid game, I lost a lot of time. I do not know the opening theory. 

I lost the game. I lost about 30 points of ELO.

I do not know the username of that player. I do not remember the game except for the first ten moves.

While Playchess decreased my ELO, that game does not appear on my games list. Playchess has lost that game, and it has disappeared.

These are clear signs of manipulation.

Someone creates an account to decrease someone else's ELO. That account has a very low ELO. It plays against a chosen opponent using the chess engine. The account owner also has another account with a high ELO.

It is probably some admin of the platform, as it was able to delete the evidence.

So why should I continue to pay for such services?

And isn't it sick to use such manipulation to get revenge for a lost game? Is winning in a chessgame really so all-important?

Post Scriptum

A few days later...

When the time comes, I will not renew my subscription to Chessbase.

The only reason I subscribed was that I started playing on its Playchess. Playchess does not even record the games if not paid. No downloads are allowed, either. 

Unfortunately, even in the paid version, some games are lost.

Today, two games disappeared. The system announced that it failed to save the games:

Playchess failed to download the game

Fortunately, these games are still on Chessbase on the internet. Because of some technical mistake, they were not downloaded to my local computer's Chessbase program. I had to download the games manually.

But one game that disappeared earlier (I wrote about it above) has vanished altogether.

The other reason is that cheaters are not ruled out. 

I am pretty sure that today and yesterday, some of my opponents used chess engines during the game. They played very fast and, as my computer analysis shows, almost without any mistakes. During the game, the rhythm of their moves was also robotic. Human players take a pause when facing a surprise. And so on. 

How do you explain if a player with the ELO 2200 makes perfect novelties in two rapid games in random openings, improving the mistakes made by correspondence chess grandmasters?

There is one more problem. I do not know how to switch off the chat on Playchess. 

It is interesting to note that precisely those players playing very fast and without mistakes (as the computer analysis shows) disturb the opponent with improper remarks like "Why do you not move?" etc. You are in a zeitnot, and your opponent has wasted only one minute from fifteen. And he disturbs you with such comments.

Later, one of these players accused me in the chat of being impolite because I did not answer his comments during the game. He knew I was in serious zeitnot!

So, why is the option of turning off the chat not salient, and why cannot I find it?

Why should I pay for such services?

Today, I had some nice games. It is always a pleasure to lose a chessgame to a resistant opponent who plays human chess, makes some mistakes, but finally wins by masterfully exploiting your blunder.

More Technical Mistakes

It is very interesting. On my computer, in the Chessbase program, the file with my Playchess games was inaccessible for a while. 

Chessbase program cannot access the Playchess file

Later, it contained a large number of chessgames that did not belong to me. Finally, it started to include only my games, but some were still missing.

What else does the Chessbase program upload and download from the users' personal computers without their consent and knowledge?

BREAKTHROUGH

On the platform Chess Mail, where the chess engines are prohibited, I had white pieces against Telemaque in correspondence chess. I thought I had a winning position but could not break through. The opposite-coloured bishops were on the board, and my opponent had built a fortress. 

Making the move 1 Ra5-a1, I gave up my hopes of breaking through on the queenside by making some sacrifices.

I was ready to offer a draw if my opponent plays 1...Kf5-e6.

Suddenly, my opponent made a grave mistake 1...Kf5-g4??

It is White to move and win. 

And do not say you will win if you make the second-best move in that position. Whatever the chess engines are telling you.

White to move and win

In the present post, the Apronus chess software was used.

YOUR STRONGEST POINT MIGHT BE WEAK

Black to Move

My opponent on Playchess did not do it.

Check your solution on Apronus:

A SICK OPENING VARIATION

In the Two Knights Defence, after the moves

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 e5 d5 6 Bb5 Ne4 7 Nxd4 Bc5

the best move is 8 Be3, neutralizing Black's active bishop c5. 

The move 8 0-0 is also sound, defending the pawn f2 and providing White equality. 

In turn, the sharp move 8 Nxc6!?, ignoring Black's attack on f2, is generally considered invalid. However, my chess engine shows that the position is still equal. 

Two Knights Defence - 8 Nxc6!?

It is interesting to observe how chess theoreticians have described the move 8 Nxc6 leading to enormous complexities:

Playing devil's advocate...

    - Flear

8 Nxc6!? is obviously a critical response, but White comes under a dangerous attack. The position may be defensible but White should have both prior knowledge and iron nerves.

    - Pinsky

In principle no one in their right mind will go in for the variation 8 Nxc6...

    - Beliavsky & Mikhalchishin

Unfortunately, the variations provided by the theoreticians are so complex and lead to so non-standard positions that I cannot memorize them. It even seems to me that not only must White be sick when choosing such a sickening variation, but Black must be sick too, allowing to choose it.

For example, after the moves

8 Nxc6 Bxf2+ 9 Kf1 Qh4 10 Nd4+ c6 11 Nf3 Ng3+ 12 Kxf2 Ne4+ 13 Ke3 Qf2+ 14 Kd3 Bf5

 15 Nd4 Bg6 16 Rf1 Qxg2 17 Ke3 cxb5=/+

the following position is on the board:

Two Knights Defence - 17...cxb5

White's king is in the centre of the board. However, according to chess engines, and contrary to the statements of many theoreticians, Black, who has sacrificed a piece for two pawns, has merely a slight advantage.

From the databases, I found only two games with that position:

Nilsson - Bergstrom 2014

In that game, both sides made several mistakes in a tactical battle around White's king, stuck in the centre. 

In the game

Broszeit - Schleef 2020

White managed to quickly get rid of the central pawn e5, covering White's king, and Black got a mating attack.

Then, let Kasparov and Karpov play a hundred games from that position. 

I do not even remember how to arrive at it. And I do not understand it either. I have no idea of how to think in such positions. 

Is there any chess theory for handling such irregular positions? Are there any principles to follow? What is the cognitive value of playing such a position? 

Indeed, in the game 

Nikolaos - Alexandros, 2011

Black decided to avoid that position and forced a draw by repetition:

Nikolaos - Alexandros, 2011

In the present post, the Apronus chess software was used.