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Correspondence Chess
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How a gang of amateurs bested some of the strongest players on earth By Howard Sandler, Ph.D. and the Chessgames.com World Team
Vietnamese woman living in Alaska, over a correspondence world champion. presented to the GM. Members can also a lawyer from Toronto, a polymath To understand their success we need to vote to offer or accept draws, actions which ) from Ireland, an accountant from look at the role of computer analysis in require a simple majority to approve. Dur- India, a scuba diver from Brazil, an elec- the rapidly-evolving world of correspon- ing the game, the World Team privately trical engineer from Virginia, a biologist dence chess (CC). After that, we will look discusses its strategy and analysis to help from Norway, and over 5,000 others make at critical moves in each game in an reach a consensus on the strongest plan. up the Chessgames World Team. They attempt to perceive how the World Team Under this format, the World has played six are all chess fans who registered in Chess combined human intuition and com- games to date: two with correspondence games.com’s series of massive online con- puter evaluations to steer the games to GM Arno Nickel (win, draw), and one each sultation games known as the Chessgames victory. Finally, we will speculate about with 2008 U.S. Champion GM Yury Shul- Challenge, that pits the members of the the future of CC as well as the Chess- man (win), 15th Correspondence World website against famous grandmasters games Challenge. Champion 1996-2002 Gert Jan Timmer- (GMs). Is it even possible that such a The format of the game is straightfor- man (win), 13th Correspondence World loose confederation of amateurs could ward. The GM makes a move within a Champion 1989-1998 Mikhail Umansky hold their own against strong opposi- specified time control, usually two or three (draw), and WGM Natalia Pogonina (draw). tion? Apparently so: The World Team days per half-move. The World Team votes Let’s take a whirlwind tour through these has a record of three wins, three draws, democratically, with each member voting for modern masterpieces of collaborative chess. and no losses—all against very strong one move. The move that gets the most Our story starts on August 18, 2006, players, including a scintillating victory votes is actually played on the board and when the Chessgames World Team played
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its first move, 1. e4, against Correspon- dence chess and over-the-board chess that time, he has been one of the top dence GM Arno Nickel. Among his many are nowadays two extremely different dis- American players with an outstanding successes, in 2009 GM Nickel finished ciplines, more so than ever, because performance at the 2001 World Open clear first in the Simon Webb Memorial (a correspondence players in contrast to (tied first), and wins at the 2006 U.S. category 15 event) against a field of 12 of over-the-board players have full access to Open Championship and the 2008 U.S. the strongest correspondence GMs in the computer engines and databases.” Championship. He also is generous with world. According to the Chessgames co- Neither the World Team nor the GMs his time in support of U.S. chess at all lev- founder Daniel Freeman, “Nickel was blindly played the moves generated by els. Once again, the outcome of the game chosen as the first opponent precisely their computers. In fact, the key move in was to be found in the many human because of his success in defeating com- the World Team’s first game against GM moves that were made by both sides. puters, especially his convincing victory Nickel was generated by human intuition, Although the World Team played over the monstrously strong cluster com- and only later was it checked thoroughly “human moves” 17. ... f4 and 25. ... Qf7! puter, Hydra. We had every reason to by computers. Let’s take a look. (neither was the computer’s first choice), expect the World Team would lose, but the move that perhaps best illustrates learn a valuable lesson in the process.” the need for an overarching human strat- Mr. Freeman’s opinion soon changed, The World versus Arno Nickel egy was played in this position: when he witnessed the World organize “Brave New World” itself and ultimately defeat Nickel: “The word challenge had reversed its meaning: ++++ Yury Shulman versus The World it wasn’t so much the members we were “Not a Care in the World” challenging, it was the grandmasters!” +++kp Controversy about computer use was p+pr+p+ +r++k+ present from the start, and as computer chess engines have become more and Pq+p+Q +++pp more powerful since 2006, these com- +P++ p+l++ plaints were voiced more loudly in each successive game. Even before the World’s +++R+P ++Pq+ game with Nickel began, lengthy debates P++PK PpR++ emerged about whether computer assis- tance was necessary or appropriate. Why ++++ +n+++P did such strong reactions against com- White to play L+PL+ puter-assisted correspondence games continue to surface? Many team members It is White’s turn to play, and the move ++Q+K recall the days when correspondence 36. b4! quickly ended the game. (The pawn After 35. h3 chess was played on postcards, so their is immune to capture: 36. ... Qxb4? 37. reactions were generational. Other mem- Qd8 mates in a few moves.) Today’s chess In this complicated position, the World bers had played chess at online chess engines are able to take advantage of played a move not even in the top ten clubs, where computers are the lowest multi-core computers to find moves like computer candidates: 35. ... h6! The move and most loathsome form of cheating. 36. b4!, but in 2006, relatively few World created a sort of Zugzwang (especially However, members more familiar with Team members had computer engines of when followed by another non-computer computer-assisted correspondence chess such power. Those that did were rarely move, 37. ... Kh8) which GM Shulman pointed out that the computer’s evalua- able to delve 10 moves deep, even in was not able to overcome. Shulman took tions were often useless (in the opening overnight runs. The move came as a his defeat with grace and humor, saying phase), flawed (in closed positions), or shock to GM Nickel. After the game was that “You really did show wonderful team- artificially cut off (the horizon effect). over, he praised the choice of 36. b4 over work. When I heard about group forums They emphasized that to be successful it going into a complicated rook ending with … I was shocked how serious my opposi- took people to provide overall strategic 36. Qd8: “Practically speaking, I think tion is! … I will be happy to answer your guidance, and that blindly following the 36. b4 was the stronger move, as it left questions, if you do not mind advice from computer’s advice every move would not Black without any defense, whereas the someone whom you beat so flawlessly.” be a winning strategy. rook ending would have complicated As GM Shulman noted, the World Team The World Team was fortunate to have things unnecessarily, as the white rook is had an amazing ability to organize itself a member known as “RandomVisitor” who not well placed in front of its own pawns.” in order to best use the talents of all of its consistently provided a backbone of analy- (posted on February 11, 2007). GM Nickel members. The development of a forum sis with his high-end equipment and had kind things to say about the World system for analyzing variations and dis- engine. His analysis gave the World a Team’s strength as well. Shortly after tributing the work of the computer strong start as it branched out in many the game, he wrote “... in order to illus- analysts, the willingness of those with analytic directions. There is an art to trate on which level this very complicated chess engines to run analyses for those using the computer well: winning requires game has been played, I would suggest, without such resources, and the ability of computer analysis to be skillfully inter- that White managed to play on a 2700- the World to merge human input with woven with human intuition. All serious 2800 level (ICCF Elo), while Black played computer output all combined to make correspondence chess players are accus- about 200 Elo points weaker. ... One can the team both effective and enjoyable. tomed to this art. The strength of the GMs only congratulate the World Team for (even Shulman and Pogonina, who do not this fine achievement.” The World had the white pieces again ordinarily play correspondence) lies in in its third game, this time against the their keen instinct of when to regard their The Chessgames World Team’s second 15th World Correspondence Chess Cham- own judgments higher than the com- game was against GM Yury Shulman. pion, GM Gert Jan Timmerman. The puter’s numerical evaluations. GM Nickel GM Shulman was born in Minsk, Belarus, pressure of playing against a player of commented, “Well of course, correspon- and moved to the USA in 1999. Since Timmerman’s reputation raised the inten-
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Correspondence Chess
sity level of the game and presented a puters are of little or no value in opening World Team. This situation may explain challenge to the ability of the World to analysis. It may also be because many some of my moves—like h2-h3. ... I don't maintain its cohesiveness. Fortunately, a people sign up for the game, vote for their know if after that I really missed a win. You number of team members stepped up to favorite opening moves, and then disap- suddenly started to defend very accurately, keep the peace and all was well. Once pear when the opening doesn’t go as they and all my analysis ... led to either drawn again, it was a non-computer move by the wished. These circumstances conspire to or dubious positions.” World Team that allowed it to win the make it very difficult for the World Team The draw in the second game with GM Exchange in this position: to sustain a coherent opening strategy. Nickel was a wake-up call for many on the In the Arno Nickel rematch, one key Chessgames World Team, as it signaled human move came early. In this position: that the World was not invincible, espe- The World versus cially to a strong CC grandmaster who Gert Jan Timmerman was willing to take chances to win. This “Dead to the World” Arno Nickel versus The World set the stage for the World’s fifth game, “World Peace” played against the 13th World Correspon- ++++ dence Champion, Mikhail Umansky. In r+qk+r 1995, Umansky won the World Corre- +++kp spondence Championship, then in 2004 nrp+r+p+ +p+llppp he scored clear first (leading by two whole p+nppn+ points) in the ICCF 50 Years World Cham- p+pNp+ pion Jubilee, an invitational tournament P++nP+ ++++ that included all living former ICCF world +NP++ champions. The World knew that it was ++LPP in for an arduous battle. P++P +NLP+ The World Team had the black pieces PPPQ+PP against a man known as “one of the most +RR+K creative players in the world, similar to Kasparov in CC,” according to GM Tansel After 30. ... Na6 +KR+L+R After 10. Be3 Turgut, one of the leaders in the 24th White played 31. b4! (echoes of 36. b4! World Correspondence Championship. in the game against GM Nickel), a fasci- The Chessgames World Team’s deci- Umansky’s creativity kept the team off balance as he played a number of non- nating gambit in which the pawn can be sion to mix things up with 10. ... h5!? was engine moves, and the team did not keep taken three ways, and yet Black is des- wise given that GM Nickel hoped to avoid pace. One member lamented, “we are tined to lose the Exchange. After 31. ... complications so as to keep the draw in hand. By move 22 or so, however, many doing less and less thinking on our own,” Nxb4 32. Bxe4 fxe4 33. Nd7 Rb7 34. Nc5, the as they increasingly relied upon the com- on the World Team thought that the game World went on to win an interesting puters to just keep the position level. This was already lost. Fortunately, the World endgame. For those who have further was perhaps exacerbated by the schedul- played another “human move” that proved interest in this game, Tryfon Gavriel ing, in which the tail end of the Nickel (kingscrusher) has an excellent video critical in eventually securing the draw. rematch and the opening of the Umansky analysis on YouTube at youtube.com/ In this position: game overlapped. The World was happy to watch?v=kXRV8AdQKCw. accept Umansky’s offer of a draw after his 36th move in this position: The World Team’s fourth game was a Arno Nickel versus The World rematch against GM Arno Nickel. This “World Peace” time, however, Nickel understood just Mikhail Umansky versus The World how seriously he needed to take this +r+k+ “It Takes All Kinds” game in order to win. Before the game, he +l++pp wrote, “In my first game against the World ++r+k+ Team I just tried to play interesting chess pqppnr and expected the success might come +p++Q +pl+p sooner or later. Now I know, the World +p++Q+ Team is excellently organized for deep +NP+p analysis, especially when it comes to a +LP+P+P pLq+p battle of bits and bytes. Here we can say P++RP the World Team is a monster with 99 PP+R+P+ eyes: it will find everything hidden deep +K+R++ ++++ down in the ocean of variations. Time to P+PP+ change strategies! I will eagerly wait for After 23. Bb3 the rematch and, with White, try to sur- The Chessgames World Team offered to +++K prise the Chessgames World Team with a trade queens with 23. ... Qc5! Nickel could Final position completely new approach.” not allow 24. Qxc5 dxc5 where the pawns If the World has an Achilles heel, it’s the would capture either a knight or a bishop. That happiness was short-lived. The opening phase. Perhaps exploiting this After the transition to an interesting queen, chess community was shocked and sad- vulnerability was the “new approach” that rook, and pawns ending, the World Team dened by the news that Umansky had Nickel mentioned, and indeed, the World agreed to Nickel’s offer of a draw accom- passed away in December, 2010. got off to a rough start in the opening of panying his 42nd move. After the game, The World Team’s sixth and most recent the rematch. The opening seems to be a Nickel wrote “... I did not want to take any game was played against WGM Natalia consistent weakness because of the format risks, because it would have been a very Pogonina. Pogonina is not only among the of these games. This may be because com- bad feeling to lose a second time to the top women playing chess today, she is
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also a great promoter of chess around the flipped a cyber-coin and played the stan- nina game, like this spoof of The Who’s world. This game got off to a rocky start dard book move 10. Bf4, not the “Pinball Wizard”: over a disagreement between the World computer-preferred move 10. a4. Many of Team and Pogonina’s husband/manager the top analysts on the World Team Ever since I was a young boy Peter Zhdanov, who saw no harm in being regarded 10. a4 as the stronger move in Hustling chess on the playground a member of the World Team while the that position, and suggested that this From Soho down to Brighton game was in progress. This led to some was exactly what lost White’s opening I was the best around harsh words being exchanged, including advantage. Despite the level nature of I ain't seen nothing like him Zhdanov’s calling the World Team “space- the game, the World still managed to gen- He’s the best by far bar masters”, a pejorative term that the erate some excitement by playing 44. Nd6 That chess-playing-dumb kid World later adopted as a badge of honor. to reach this position: Sure clicks a mean spacebar. Happily, differences were reconciled and the game got underway on schedule. What is the future of computer-assisted After that initial controversy, this game The World vs Natalia Pogonina chess? Many suspect that draws will presented even more challenges to the “Flat Earth Society” abound as the computers get faster, the World Team. First, the system of analy- engines get stronger, and the human sis forums had been stretched beyond +Q+++ input becomes less important. There is its limits during the Umansky game under another view, however, that is best the pressure of increasingly greater +++pk expressed by ICCF GM Tansel Turgut. reliance on stronger and faster engines. +pNlp+ His approach is to sacrifice a pawn, or the One member commented that the serious Exchange, or both, for long-term posi- contributors might be jeopardizing their +n++ tional advantages. He then presses those marriages. Second, Pogonina’s prefer- advantages to wins against those who ence of a time control of one half-move per r+++P follow computer engines that struggle to day undermined the World’s main +q++NP understand these positions. It will be dif- strength: its ability to organize itself. ficult for a large team to vote against Finally, the World Team struggled to inte- ++PK+ high-ply computer lines, but if Turgut is grate an influx of new members into its ++R++ correct, this will be the only way to suc- ongoing structure. Fortunately, team member Jeremy Pflasterer developed cus- After 44. Nd6 ceed against a strong GM who has a high tomized online software to help, going level of positional understanding backed Although the rook on d1 is unprotected, far beyond the core features offered by the up by his or her own computer resources. 44. ... Qxd1 was not the end of the World. website itself. Although many versions What lies next for the World Team? of this idea had been proposed, Jeremy Play continued 45. Ne8+ Kf8 46. Nxf6+ and The latest GM to accept the challenge is stepped up and made the idea work, with Pogonina soon was compelled to return Armenian-born grandmaster Varuzhan a product called the Online Analysis Tree. the material with 61. ... Rxf2+, forcing a Akobian, now one of the strongest play- It is a Wikipedia-inspired website that draw. The World Team recognized the ers in the USA with a USCF rating of anyone can edit by adding nodes and perpetual check and offered a draw on the 2705. The game is scheduled to begin comments to an analysis tree. It has the next move. on August 10, 2011, when Akobian potential to become a significant organi- The World Team is not composed makes his first move. Anybody can reg- zational tool for team play. entirely of diehards who devote hours ister for the game right now, for free, at each day to the game. To the contrary, Chessgames.com. With teammates like The game against Pogonina proved to there are many enthusiasts who follow the OhioChessFan, RandomVisitor, and you, be odd in many respects. On the 10th game less closely, and even those who the World is ready to face whatever chal- move, the votes for 10. Bf4 and 10. a4 don’t believe that they have invested lenges lie ahead. . were exactly tied, 164 to 164. Here was enough time to cast an informed vote. the position: Nonetheless, even the non-voters identify Footnote / Acknowledgement: with the World and root fervidly for its The World vs Natalia Pogonina success. Member David Zechiel explained, This article could not have been written without the generous help of teammates like Marcelo Adaes, “Flat Earth Society” “I’m sure there are many more like me who enjoy the battle, check in often, and Larry Crawford, Mark Elzey, John Jerz, Benjamin Legaspi, Gerry McCarthy, Brian McLean, Jeremy take a small measure of pride when the r+lqrk+ Pflasterer, James Satrapa, Jim Schwar, Greg Sheehan, World wins or draws. … I always enjoy it and Dave Zechiel. Special thanks go to Peter Spizzirri p+nlppp when a member of the team throws out and Daniel Freeman for their support. This article is a new idea for consideration: if the move dedicated to the memory of the best teammate pp+pn+ has potential, you can almost hear the anyone could have: Rinus. ++p++ gears grinding as computers all over the 1. Game versus GM Nickel: +PP++ globe search out the position looking for chessgames.com/1426491 hidden nuance in the new move.” These 2. Game versus GM Shulman +++NP non-voting members play much needed chessgames.com/1443541 roles, such as educating the World Team 3. Game versus GM Timmerman: PPQLPPLP about the etiquette of offering a draw, or chessgames.com/1464744 RN+R+K summarizing the main ideas recently 4. Rematch versus GM Nickel After 9. ... Nbd7 posted with flair and levity. When emo- chessgames.com/1501785 tions run high, some members ratchet 5. Game versus GM Umansky Thankfully the rules had foreseen this down the intensity by injecting some chessgames.com/1531174 possibility: In the event of a tie vote, the humor into the discussion. One mem- 6. Game versus WGM Natalia Pogonina software breaks the tie by selecting one ber, OhioChessFan, created a huge chessgames.com/1589895 of the moves at random. So the software number of song parodies during the Pogo-
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