The Kibitzer Catches a #Chess Cheater at ICCF

Dr. Tim Harding writes in his Chess Cafe column that he has caught what appears to be a correspondence chess cheater on the ICCF server: 

During the search for unwanted duplicate games, one of the things I do is to check identical games where player names differ. The ones of more than trivial length are examined individually. One name figured prominently in this "clip database".
Let us call him Mr. Fifty Percent, because of the effect of his practices, which I shall shortly explain: they guarantee a fifty percent result in all games where he does this. Of course you cannot win tournaments by scoring fifty percent but you can increase your rating if the opponents are higher rated than you, and that seems to be the main point of the exercise.
I leave it to you to decide whether what he did is cheating. It is actually amusing in a way - though some of his opponents may well not agree.

(...)

Say you are rated 2200 and in a tournament you have opponents A and B, rated 2340 and 2350. Against one you have white and the other black. You may be happy to score fifty percent against them. You could think that you might well do worse and fifty percent guarantees a rating improvement.
So when A opens 1 d4, say, you open with that move against B. You don't reply to A until you get B's move back. Say he replies 1...Nf6.
So you play 1...Nf6 against A and when he answers 2 c4 you play that against B and wait for his reply, and so on.
By proceeding in this way, you effectively do not have to pit your brains against either A or B. Instead, without knowing it, they play each other and you end up with either two draws or a win and a loss. 

Sears Has LOST My Business

#Sears @searsdeals #SamsClub . 

I will never go to any Sears store for anything ever.  Ever.

The latest episode (there have been others, this is merely the last straw) wherein Sears has screwed me over involves tires for the mini van.  I don't half-ass the mini van.  This is what my wife drives.  The Michelins that have been on the van for the last several years were wearing out with one approaching bald status.  Back on 30 April 2010 while I was having a flat repaired I asked for new tire estimates.  Of the tires they carry I chose the BF Goodrich TAs since I've had them before and was more satisfied with them than the Michelins being replaced now.

It seems they were not in stock and would have to be ordered from Michigan.  And, I was getting a reduced price since BF Goodrich was phasing out this tire.  This was fine with me.  The Sears Auto guy said they would be here in a few days and that I would receive a call when they arrived.

Two weeks later...  No one had called.  So, today (14 May 2010) I walk in the store and ask about the tires.  Turns out they had been here since Tuesday or Wednesday of last week - a week and a half ago - but no one had called because their phones are down.  Now that is very plausible and understandable.  The phones in Nashville were out for almost a week following the Nashville Flood on 1-2 May 2010.  However, land line service was restored last Saturday (8 May 2010) and cell service was restored several days before that.

I asked if anyone had thought to use a cell phone to contact me on my cell (which is the contact number they had).  That received blank stares from both the counter clerk and the manager.  The manager stammered something about not using personal cell phones...

I was told that the tires could be installed upon payment of the balance due (~$200.00) on top of the $349.44 deposit I had payed back on 30 April.  That is, of course, assuming they could find the stored tires without computer assistance and could take payment without the computers...

I asked for my deposit back.  "Oh, no problem!  Except, our computers are down..."  They referred me to the the Customer Care place on there website...  Now, they had the receipt in front of them.  They know the amount.  The guy that took my money two weeks ago is right there saying he took the money.  They have enough money in the store to give me a refund.  But they can't/won't since their computers are down.

So, I get home and call the number (800.549.5405) on Sears' web site.  After explaining the problem to several representatives - each of which instructed me to call the store where there are no working phones - I finally was put on the phone with "Kirsten" who stated her title is Manager On Duty, Customer Retail Care. 

WooHoo!  Someone that can help!

Not so much, it turns out.  Kirsten said she placed an email order for the store manager to call me.  Remember, this is the store that has no working phones.  And no working computers.  I asked Kirsten how the store manager that has no working computer to retrieve the email was going to receive the email.  The basic information behind this question seemed out of Kirsten's grasp.  It is understandable then how the basic reasoning of my next question failed to penetrate her thought process... 

"How will the store manager contact me if his phones do not work?"  Kirsten replied that she was emailing the manager to contact me by phone.  "He has no email or phone," I explained again.  Kirsten again stated that she had emailed the store manager (on computers that do not work) to contact me by phone (via a phone system that does not work).

Right.

So I call Sam's Club.  They quote me a price more than $150.00 LESS than Sears for BF Goodrich TAs which turn out to be the newer model.  And they can have them on the van within the hour.  "Just bring it in and we'll take care of you."  And I did.  And they did. 

I've done business with Sears these last ten or so years because they tell me I can expect superior service for the price they charge.  I happily paid the price to get that service.  Sears has failed to deliver, and in fact, their service quality is below that I receive at places they say are inferior.  Sears will NEVER get another penny of business out of me.  In my line of work I have cause to recommend automotive choices to a lot of people, especially tires.  I have sent a lot of business Sears' way.  No more.  I'll do everything I can to make sure everyone I deal with understands just how bad Sears' service is.

#Taser Update

-Family Sues Police, Taser Manufacturer Over Death

COLUMBUS -- The family of a Miami University student who died after police used a taser on him is suing both the city of Oxford and the taser manufacturer.
The lawsuit filed by the family of Kevin Piskura states police were not properly trained in using the taser and the company misrepresented the facts about the dangers of the device.

--2 officers in Taser incident back on job

Two central Indiana police officers suspended after allegedly slapping and shocking an unruly 10-year-old boy with a Taser gun are back on the job.
Martinsville police Capt. William Jennings and patrolman Darrel Johnson were reinstated with limited desk duties Monday by a city disciplinary panel, pending the results of a Morgan County Sheriff's Department investigation.

--Questions swirl around unexplained Taser death

More than a month after Jaesun Ingels died when Midlothian police used a Taser to subdue him, his family can only wonder why the 31-year-old perished in the early morning hours of March 10.
The Riverdale parolee claimed a past checkered with violence and drug use, and he had a penchant for fleeing authorities. But Ingels' family struggles to comprehend how a late-night traffic stop left the otherwise healthy man dead in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store on Pulaski Road.

--Vigil Held 1 Year After Fort Worth Taser Death

The spot where community leaders, friends and family of Michael Jacobs Jr. gathered for a vigil Sunday in Fort Worth was the same location where he was shot and killed by a charge from a Taser stun gun one year ago.
"They hit him with the Taser and he was on the ground shaking," said Jacobs' father, Michael Jacobs, Sr. "They didn't realize he wasn't breathing."

The #Redskins Tackle Dilemma

One of the things that has perplexed Redskin fans all off season has been the Offensive Tackle situation, that is, the lack of viable starting Tackles on the roster.  Common wisdom is that one of the Tackle spots will be solved by the #4 pick and that the other will be a free agent veteran.  All things being equal that would be the case.

It isn't.

One would think that the Offensive Tackle question would be addressed by mass signings as has the Defensive Line question.  The Skins have signed and acquired through trade an entire defensive front even without Albert Haynesworth and therein lies some clues as to the strategy in Ashburn.  One mammoth clue: Haynesworth.  They want to move him.  There has evolved a quiet bidding war of sorts between his former team and his former coach.  The Lions are interested in Haynesworth in addition to the Titans.

That all sounds nice but the Lions' interest presents a speed bump on the road to assembling a line to protect new QB Donovan McNabb.  The Lions, if they acquire Haynesworth, will take an Offensive Tackle instead of Defensive Tackles McCoy or Suh.  The Lions pick ahead of the Skins at #2 and want Okung to protect second year QB Stafford.  And Tampa has also been looking at adding one of the top Left Tackle prospects at #3 instead of one of the two big name Defensive Tackles. 

That would leave the Skins either going elsewhere with the #4 pick or reaching for an offensive tackle.  And that leaves the Redskin strategy to form an offensive line in tatters...  The Skins are left walking a fine line between getting value for the disaffected Haynesworth and making sure they get the player they want with this year's #4 draft pick.

Germany Supports Karpov

#chess . 

Former World Champion GM Anatoly Karpov has been nominated for the FIDE Presidency by Germany.  Germany joins the French and Swiss chess federations in nominating Karpov for the World Chess Federation's top job.  The USCF has already passed a resolution supporting Karpov in his challenge to Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

USCF Endorses Karpov

#chess #uscf . 
From the USCF's website:

CROSSVILLE, TN-- The USCF Executive Board unanimously voted that the USCF will support GM Anatoly Karpov in the upcoming FIDE election for President, to be held in October 2010. A full statement from the Board is expected shortly. 

Well, that's good. Now, if they'll do something about the abusive idiots they allow to post on their message boards - and influence governance  - who seek to ruin other peoples' lives with stalking-like attacks... I might re-join.

They got rid of Susan Polgar and Paul Truong, and I applaud them for that.  However, the USCF powers-that-be stopped there and didn't go far enough.  There's more house cleaning to be done.  One is running again for an Executive Board post.  Perhaps a little more attention to what is happening within the Federation and a little less on world events might help...  To be sure, Ilyumzhinov is a scoundrel and needs to be eradicated from FIDE.  However, there are several Ilyumzhinov wannabes who need eradication from USCF's house.  Git'er done, folks, or a lot of us ex-members will remain ex-members.

Previously: About Time - Karpov to Seek FIDE Presidency

Has It Been A Year, Already?

#tnguns .
WizardPC points out that it has been a year since Ben Goeser was gunned down at a local Nashville sports bar and links a video tribute on YouTube.

When we posted on this story a year ago Nikki Goeser wrote to us of the horror of seeing her husband killed in front of her: "If I could have been allowed to carry my gun (because I do have a permit) perhaps I could have saved him. People that have gone through proper training, background checks, registered their weapon and have the permit should be allowed to carry a concealed gun for their own protection as long as they are not drinking alcohol. Just remember....when seconds count, the police are minutes away. Bad guys don't care about Laws. Let good citizens have the ability to protect themselves and their families. I never want anyone I love to be a sitting target again. Never again. Please, help wake these lawmakers up. I need your help. If there is anything you can do for me....please do this. Do this for Ben."

WWW.BenGoeser.com has been established to "assist families finding themselves in a similar situation. Nikki began the fund knowing that Ben would want her to help others. The pain one goes through when a loved one is taken so suddenly, so violently is immeasurable! The ABSOLUTE last thing they should have to worry about is how they will survive financially. Ben was always bringing people together, making everyone feel as though they were family. We can all come together and make a huge difference in the lives of families coping with such extreme loss. This fund is a Big Ole' "Ben Bear Hug" from above. Through his fund and your help he will always be here to do his usual...lend his helping hands."