WhiteTower: You can classify me as one of those programmers.

I don't think I have ever introduced a new bug while fixing an old one. (Usually I introduce MANY new bugs while fixing an old one...)

I've been known to introduce a new bug without fixing the old one ;-)

Fencer: Thankyou for this enhancement. I look forward to seeing a game in which it applies. This will save a lot of unnecessary discussion about poor sportsmanship and the like, I'm sure.

i'll miss the sportsmanship discussion...but apparently, it is still an issue with bid fixing in ponds.

thanks filip, working flawlessly now :)

redsales: I will miss the sportmanship discussion too, especially from those who dont play too low rated players fearing they should lose rating

Andersp: Ah, I don't think that issue will go away!

Andersp: Well we have two of the four problems resolved, but until there is a more realistic rating system, people who chase ratings will clsuter at the top and play each other rather than risk losing a lot of points in a single game. But once this is fixed and the cube is implemented, ther will be a lot of very happy people, I know!

pgt: I have a different solution to the ratings problem: play 3-wins matches. It would be good if we could hold tournaments of such matches.

alanback: Yes, I've begun to do that with some of my regular opponents - we even play 10 wins matches. (It would still be better with the cube and a decent rating system though )

The rating system, while not the best, is not as bad as all that. Remember that the ratings have bunched up as a result of the luck in the game, and as such the expected winning %age between players of differing ratings should be accurate.

In other words if a player is still rated low with this system, they must be terrible indeed and you should lose points if they beat you.

As evidenced by there being 400 players (about half) above 2000 in backgammon now, yet I'm at around 20th place with 2200.

In chess there is about 700 points between 10th and the player half way down.

This indicates that backgammon is indeed partly influenced by luck.

Hypergammon is even more bunched, considering the number of games played.

I would like mentioned when was BKR racalculated there were less than 15 people with BKR higher than 2100. Now there is 25 such players...

lukulus: Funny! I just counted 192!

lukulus: Oops, I forgot write it is in Hyperbackgammon

And one more thing: In chess tournaments winner and players with same ammount of points as winner dont loose rating. So, in case BKR will be counted on the end of tournament (or section) this rule will be aplicable and higher rated players can play much more tournaments.

lukulus: I didn't understand that at all.

Also in Hypergammon the top rating is 2200, and 60% of the players rated (about 300) are above 1900.

lukulus: Me neither.

OK, I will try again:)

There was mentioned chess rating isnt good for backgammon. Chess rating is calculated after tournament. And winner (or whatever else w/ same ammount of points) cant lose his rating. Say, there is tournament where is playing player A w/ rating 2100 and thre other players w/ ratings around (B, C and D) 1900. Player A must earn 75% of points to save his rating. Say players ABC beat player D and rest of games are draw. Then player A has 2pts, so he is losing rating. But due to rule mentioned above he is losing nothing.

I suggest implement this rule to protect higher rated players.

lukulus: This is in effect for individual games I believe. This site calculates after each game, since tournaments can take years and it would render ratings meaningless if the site waited for the end to calculate.

Backgammon Tournament.

Click Here

Are there any plans of making finished games available for download in a format recogniced by gnubg?

frolind: Yes.

Fencer: Great! What format?

frolind: I don't know any formats. Someone must give me a description.

I've looked around for precise definitions, but couldn't find any. But the jellyfish match format (*.mat) is very human readable, and could be learned by example. On http://www.nbgf.no/matches/ we have some matches in mat format. If anything is unclear, the matches are also available in html format with board images. If you need more, I'll send you some. If there is any situations unaccounted for, I'll send you some with those situations. gnubg is good for testing. And also for playing matches and exporting them in mat format for more examples.

Jellyfish .MAT format is the best of cource! For specification of it, don't try, i have looked in the past for one, without success.....
But it's very easy to understand the way it works, which is very simple, by looking some games. I will try to write the description of .MAT format if you are lazy.......

Pythagoras: That would be really helpful if you write the description.

why did black resign in this game?

there are also some reversi games for BrainKing04 in which the opponents resigned

but why did white (brainking04 himself) resign in this game?

Hrqls: Black (wayney) resigned because he was a cheat. He was kicked out of BrainKing for rating manipulation.

BrainKing04's involvement is suspicious, especially with regard to his games with bigboss. Five games, all resigned by bigboss before the first move.

Reversi 8x8
10th Oct
29th July a
29th July b
23rd July
21st July

playBunny: ah i didnt know about wayney .. i think brainking04 is quite suspicious as well

Hrqls: It was wayneys turn with 2 checkers on his 1-point and nothing else. It's a 100 % win for wayney.

Sorry, mixed the colors up. Now that's a suspicious resignation...

frolind: lol *nod* .. i had to look 1 move back as well to fully realize it :)

wayney had been banned from the site several months ago. Time has come to do the same with BrainKing04 [both of them are LongJohn, of course].

Fencer: Who's LongJohn?

playBunny: He was banned from the site a long time ago due to several reasons.

Any volunteers who would test this option with me? I don't want to release it until at least several games are played and most of the situations checked.

Fencer: I'd love to test it. So glad to see the cube!!

Fencer:

BIG BAD WOLF: I meant "any volunteers who are not already testing since yesterday".

Fencer: Here, here...:)

Fencer: I'll test it with you.What do i do next?

Carl: Wait for an invitation.

Fencer: Coool. Count me in.

I'll be glad to test, and i will play quickly.

i'd love to!

yes please, i'd love a game with teh cube

Fencer: Please include me in the test!