PlayChess Engine Room

[Marc Greenhaw]

PlayChess Engine Room

First of all I just wanted to introduce myself to the readers of this forum. My name is Marc Greenhaw and I go by the nick (Overpoint) in the engine room at playchess. I am based out of Dallas, TX and I have been playing chess now for 15 years. I play both as a human player on playchess and in the engine room with a program. I enjoy seeing two computers battling it out, and the amazing moves they can come up with to win a game that as a human you would of never thought possible.

I have been playing at playchess now for about 9 months. When I first started in the engine room it was hard to get anyone to reply to you. As a new comer to that room I felt almost rejected and very few people actually replied to me when I asked for help or if anyone knew where to get a good book. After being on there roaming around for 3 months looking for a good book I ran across Kevin Frayer , which many know there and is a very highly respected man who creates very strong books. He was very helpful to me during a time, I almost decided to walk away from the engine room, because I did not know how to make books or update them for that fact. Right away, I started having communications with Kevin over emails. After knowing him for only 1 day, he sent me a book he was about to release on his site (frayerchess.com). The book was called chimera Pro c, and days after receiving that book I hit 2780 Elo on playchess engine room with a Quad Q6700, which at the time was a bit outdated, because the I 7’s where released already. Kevin Frayer has been an absolute mentor for me from day one. He was willing to reach out and help someone he barely knew in this very competitive engine chess room. He immediately sent me to his website to read articles he had written on how to create opening books from scratch. This was a great foundation for a new comer at this hobby. Kevin has helped many other players in that engine room and still helps anyone that needs help. Kevin has over 30 years of experience in computer chess and book making and does not hesitate to help others, when many in that room do not want to share with others how to make opening books or what setting to use with rybka to achieve stronger play as if, keeping it a secret. This is where Kevin stands out from most, he is willing to share all he knows to better improve the chess community and keep it more competitive.

The other reason I am writing this article is to inform the readers of this forum that playchess is not all that , it is perceived to be. Having played at playchess in the engine room now for about 10 months I can say it’s a very hostile environment. The hostility does not come from the players themselves, it actually comes from the sysops that monitor the room. They are quick to mute someone without truly understanding the situation and seldom explain to the person why they got muted. If one wishes to express their true opinions of how they feel in that room or how they dislike what is happening, they will quickly get muted.

If you come to a forum and express your dislikes about playchess you are immediately harassed by an undercover sysop by the name of (kibitzbot) who will then mute you and all your accounts at playchess. Keep in mind the complaints expressed by many of the players in that engine room are not written on the playchess engine room chat, they are mainly written here and at other forums, yet you will get muted for what you post here at playchess. I currently have my account muted (Overpoint) because I told them in the room I disliked the treatment they were giving to me and many other players. I did not mind abiding by rules , but what I did not like, was certain players in the engine room breaking the rules and it being ok , but for others they will mute you in a heartbeat. One example is, some players on there are allowed to run Macros which is a bot that kibitz all games currently being played and grabs each one and saves it , for that person later to do as he wishes with the games, more then likely create a huge database and make opening books from it. Well, the problem here is , others are not allowed to this but yet we see the Playchess favorites do it daily. I feel that the sysops in the engine room are very authoritarian, and very unfair in their treatment to the players on there. I do not at all feel they are there to actually help you, and I say this from personal experience. I asked a sysop on there for help and he replied in the main lobby chat, GONE. I said, “ok thx for the help”. There are lots of other examples I could name, but the point here is, we need equal treatment in that room with a positive sysop working for them. I must say I do not experience this treatment when I play as a human in the main playing hall at playchess, only in the engine room. The sysop in the main playing rooms don’t harass you like they do in the engine room.

I think that a lot goes unknown or tolerated in the engine room because it’s a much smaller room with only 150 players logged in at its highest peak. I hope that in the near future most of these issues will be resolved and that the engine room will once again be a smooth and equal treatment room for us chess engine players to enjoy without the authoritarian harassment of the sysop that run that room.

Marc Greenhaw

[M ANSARI]

Sorry to hear about your experience but either things have really changed in the last couple of months or I have simply been extremely lucky. I stopped logging on Playchess engine room much due to the frustrations of my poor internet connections, but the time I frequented that place it was a bustling, active and fun environment. I never noticed any hostility and everyone was extremely friendly and helpful. As for Sysops, to be honest I cannot remember one single case of mistreatment. Of course I know about the fact that they are very strict about clones being used and pirating of software, but I really cannot blame them for this as it can cause that site legal issues and ethically it is also wrong.

Anyway I do plan to get back on as soon as my fiber optic connection gets finalized hopefully this month. Hopefully things are not as bad as you describe. With regards to how to make a book to stay competitive on playchess, you can find a lot of information on the internet and Frayerchess is of course one of those sites. Check out also www.superchessengine.com and www.spaghettichess.com and www.sedatchess.com. Of course there are many other sites but this will give you good information.

[Harvey Williamson]

Anyway I do plan to get back on as soon as my fiber optic connection gets finalized hopefully this month.

I look forward to seeing you in the engine room!

[gerold]

Hi Marc
I think i read this post in the other good forum.
I have never had any problem like you are
referring to.

Best and Happy New Year from Van Buren, Mo.

Gerod.

[kingliveson]

Welcome Marc,

Well, the issues with playchess.com is well documented going back a few years. The nepotism you mentioned does not bother me as much as the rude behavior from the sysops. Customers are treated like filth. The sysops tend to be classless and unprofessional.

Franklin

[Chessmichi]

hi

its not the full history but i look what i can do.

cheers
micha

[Richard Allbert]

I find the service in general poor.

It's a shame, because the interface is really good.

It would be great if they would allow engines other than Chessbase engines in the Main playing hall - there's no point in running my engine in the engine room vs Rybka / Stockfish all the time.

So I use the ICC. Friendly, helpful, and lots of opponents of similar strength for my engine.

I've sent repeated emails to Chessbase over the years, and never had a reply.

Richard

[Harvey Williamson]

The Sys Op Training/Bootcamp for 2010

[Damir]

Harvey,

Are you saying that CB sysops are Chinese ?
No wonder freedom of speech is very limited....

[Chessmichi]

hi harvey

i go not in the bootcamp! never!



NEVER!!!