Change or Die

[BB+]

No one can say that Silvio Danailov is uncontroversial.
Chess Should Either Change or Die

I recall during the 3rd M-Tel Masters tournament you told me something that stuck in my mind for a long time: “Chess should either change, or die. There’s no third option”. Now, as President of the European Chess Union, the ball’s in your court. How, in your opinion, should chess change so as not to die?

A few things need to change. Firstly, Sofia Rules should finally be introduced into all tournaments, so there are none of the 14-move draws we’ve seen in a series of events. And if there’s a deliberate three-fold repetition in a position where it’s still possible to fight, the arbiter should penalise the players with a zero on the score table. Secondly, the football points system used in Bilbao and London – three points for a win, one point for a draw – should be introduced everywhere. And finally, we need to reduce the time control. A game should last no longer than four hours. The 30 seconds a move increment (and any increment in general!) should be abandoned. That’s essentially deprived fans of the enthralling spectacle of time trouble.

In addition, all tournaments need to be placed on a commercial footing. We can’t allow all sorts of sites to steal the text of games or “pictures” from the organisers, who’ve spent money on all that. All of us: organisers, players, trainers and journalists should realise that chess, in order to survive and develop in the world as it is nowadays, has to be stricter and more professional.

[Uly]

We can’t allow all sorts of sites to steal the text of games

Is there a precedent of text being "pirateable"? And what if I run an engine match and by chance reproduce the same game, can really the series of moves be something that can be "stolen"?

[tomgdrums]

We can’t allow all sorts of sites to steal the text of games

Is there a precedent of text being "pirateable"? And what if I run an engine match and by chance reproduce the same game, can really the series of moves be something that can be "stolen"?

Hmmm. That is interesting!


To me it would seem annotations to the games would be what need to be protected. OR maybe the games are protected for a month or something.

I am VERY against pirating and such (as can be seen from other posts by me on other sites) but chess needs to be careful.

In music chord progressions are NOT eligible for copyright protection. Melody and rhythm together...are (and lyrics---but not song titles)

So that is why I can see the annotations and analysis being copyright protected but not the games.

Very interesting.

[Uly]

It's going to be ridiculous if one can't post an interesting position from a game to a forum to discuss it because it'd be "stealing". If something like that ever happens it would hurt chess more than helping it, IMHO.

Hopefully he was just referring to annotations.

[Friedbert]

All I know: There is no copyright on chess games.
There has been a discussion some years ago about this issue.
I think GM Hübner was involved.

[BB+]

There has been a discussion some years ago about this issue.
I think GM Hübner was involved.

There was some discussion a few years before that.
GMs Lasker and Steinitz were involved.
General history of chess copyright

There is hardly any first-class professional who, on the average, has earned more than the wages of a common laborer and, on the other hand, there are thousands of occupations in which thousands of times more money is made with thousands of times less expenditure of real intellect ... It is gravely preached that men of talent and genius, who happen to be born without a golden spoon in their mouth, should enter the public chess arena in a starving condition merely for the entertainment of thousands of rich people all over the world who only ought to pay their money to incapable critical chess pirates and their publishers. - Steinitz

Mr Lasker is not to be allowed to rest for long on his laurels, and has been challenged to defend the championship against Mr Janowsky. It is understood he is ready to do so when certain questions of copyright are settled. This seems the latest maggot in the brain of chessplayers, or rather of their business advisers. The managers of the late tournament are responsible, since they set the example, although certain influential members of the committee knew there was no such thing as copyright in chess games. In any case, there is certainly no such demand on the part of the public as would justify the preposterous notions entertained by some people as to the monetary value of a game even when played by one or more champions.

[Cubeman]

He makes some good points, the scoring system is good but don't like the 3 fold repetition = 0 points for both sides. The draw result is enough of a penalty if the winners in other games are getting 3 points.Also going back to sudden death is backward, who is the chess being played for? The players or spectators? I truly don't think chess will ever become a spectator sport.

[Bo Persson]

All I know: There is no copyright on chess games.
There has been a discussion some years ago about this issue.
I think GM Hübner was involved.

Right, the game score is considered a piece of fact, what actually happened. You can't copyright facts.

[Hood]

is written engine a fact ?