Chess Forum / General Topics / February 2004

I've been out of chess for a long time.  Are USCF ratings earned now
comparable to ones earned 30-35 years ago?  (My brother-in-law said
that below the 2000 level, USCF ratings are very inflated compared to
what they used to be, but I don't know if he is right.)

but the real question is
and

The following sites are making extensive use of SPYWARE:
www.chessanytime.com
www.instantchess.com
In addition to that the 1st site may persistently activate low-level BIOS

Greetings all!  AVALAR IS NOT THE C.A.T.
    I don't know who Avalar is, but somehow they've esablished
a link on google as the Chess Artifacts Terminal. They are not!
They've taken my usenet letter of introduction and plagiarized

Awwwww.  Two trolls in love.  They found each other.  Look how cute
they are filling this NG with all their love and emotions for each
other.  I have to admit........it is touching.
EZoto

Mark Weeks has finished his fifth and final article comparing and
contrasting online play sites:
       http://chess.about.com/library/weekly/aa04a24.htm
I found his assessment fairly balanced, although the services were often

Can Shirov finally score a full point from Kasparov today.A pawn up at this
point.Is it going to be enough to score the full point?Rooting for you Shirov.

I am curious if any one knows why the move sequence 1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Qf3
is called the Goldman (Spielmann) variation of the Caro-Kann?  I cannot find
any references to Spielmann (or Goldman, for that matter) having ever played
it.  The earliest game I have is Smyslov-Flohr, 1950.

Does anyone have any suggestions for books
with as many of the following features as
possible?
1. Aimed at kids or beginners

See, here I was sailing away on the Spanish main when this John Mcnab
fellow comes up to me & sez Capt. Micky - "I honourably request the
relievement of your command". Sez I to him, over my dead body squire,
devil take the hindemost & your wife is sharkfood too, whereapon upstart

Dear Group,
   In my continuing effort to improve my chess game, I've started to
look at several chess books.  Sometimes I get an answer right away.
Other times it takes me a second look.  Other times I just don't get

Dear Group,
   I have a chess clock that has a wooden case.  It isn't one that
can easily be taken apart.  Where do I go to repair it?
Tushar Mithaiwala

You think the organizers of this tournament was happy with this
result?  This wasn't just a draw.  It was an obnoxious draw.
EZoto

Looking for free chess database program, which you can also use to analyze
games?  Here is an excellent article defending the merits of SCID along with
an engine like Crafty.
   "Free Chess Software for Serious Players" by Tom Rowan

I hope this doesn't sound too gauche, but what was wrong with Tal's hand?
I notice that the deformed hand rarely shows up in photographs - was Tal shy
about it?
Alan