GameKnot: GameKnot related, What's new on GameKnot (minor changes)

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GameKnot related: What's new on GameKnot (minor changes)

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chess_avenger
07-May-10, 18:45

Database

I am not sure if it has changed because I am subscriber at the moment however if this is true it isnt a 'good' restriction. Better would be something like subscribers can download the database(s). Add more for subscribers and leave the non-subscribers alone. I dont mean to sound harsh but thats the best I could put it.

myrydin
08-May-10, 00:29

I have to agree with heinzkat and chessnovice; while I can fully understand the rationale behind making the site more attractive for players who subscribe, I do not think it is right to give premium members an unfair game play advantage. I think that there ought to be a clear divide between site privileges and game tools such as the DB.

nyctalop
08-May-10, 04:18

The GK database is pretty limited in itself because it stops at move 20, which in some lines just
isn't enough. It's also a bit dated because it lacks recent games, so in critical lines you'd have to
use an external DB anyway. If you're going to charge people to use your DB, at least get it to
modern standards. There is no reason in paying for something inadequate when you can get free
access to better databases online.

There was a time, a few years ago, when there were draconian restrictions on all non-premium
members, which effectively lead to a cleansing of the site. I just hope this isn't the first step in a
second pogrom.

I understand that running a site needs money but it also needs people. Limiting yourself to
premium subscribers can only back-fire in time because fewer players means less competition,
less competition means more people leaving to other sites and sooner or later you end up with an
empty chess site.

maca
08-May-10, 04:43

...

But I thought that the DB used to be restricted to three moves for non-subscribers? Or was that just the Personal games DB?

Regards,
MaCa.

Gameknot.com
08-May-10, 09:49

Thank you everyone for your feedback.

Limiting the games database to the first 8 moves for free members is not as big of a deal as some of you might think, for several reasons. First of all, the database should be used very carefully and if you are blindly taking its suggestions, you are making a big mistake. It only provides statistical information and should always be used as a secondary research tool, in conjunction with your own brain, that should make the final decision. Secondly, chess has a lot of possible moves, so the tree that represents all moves grows very quickly, and even if you have millions of games in the database, by the 9th move, most of the time you are down to a dozen of games that followed the same path (or a hundred, if you are lucky). And that is just not a statistically significant amount of data to rely on at all. However, the vast majority of hits to the games database are past the 8th move, so by only allowing premium subscribers to go deeper, we are reducing the load by quite a bit. While we do hope that this might bring in a few more premium subscribers, the main reason for this limitation is optimizing our resources. In preparation for the new features we are planning to introduce later this year.

nyctalop, you seem to have a lot of resentment towards GameKnot. I'm not sure what we have done to upset you so much, but I sincerely apologizes. And can only hope that all the new features we have been continually introducing all these years that both free and premium members have access to, will win you over eventually.

kingdawar
08-May-10, 10:03

"Please subscribe to a premium membership to have full access to the chess database (past the first 8 moves)

» Subscribe"

Why not limit the database only for non-registered users instead... and advertize with full access when registering an account/logging in?

The thing after move 20 has been bugging me for some time already... otherwise the DB is pretty good - just like the whole GameKnot site these days, working slicker than ever before

"you seem to have a lot of resentment towards GameKnot."

It's called feedback!!

Gameknot.com
08-May-10, 10:05

To illustrate my point, here's a quick experiment you can try -- begin from the starting position, and always select the second most popular move. You'll be down to less than 10 games by the 5th move in both the World database and GameKnot database, and you won't even reach the 9th move with either -- no data.

kingdawar
08-May-10, 10:18

To illustrate the 20-move point, check out this game after move 20. axb3, a popular variation indeed in the Najdorf...

gameknot.com

GameKnot Database 136 games
World Database 47 games

I'd really be interested to know how those games developed further (in any sort of way). But there's no possibility at all to see them :/

After Black's move 20. ... axb3: No moves found in the database...

You can say that it's not practical anyway, but if the crowd is moaning about it... there must be some kind of practical value to it. A demand you can satisfy by adjusting a couple of parameters!

On the positive side, when will these databases be updated again with new fresh games & statistics?

nyctalop
09-May-10, 02:43

gameknot_com, I have been using this site since 2002 or 2003, I don't remember. I think it's a
great site and I've tried almost all the other ones available, even the Facebook one, and still I
have to agree that yours is the best run and most visually pleasing.

The resentment you think I have with Gameknot.com stems out of a few disappointments,
particularly of a time when you went out of your way to make the site almost unusable, limiting
access to just about every feature of the site for non-premium members of the site, I resigned
all my games and deleted my account, like a lot of other people, I bet. Or another time when you
closed my account because my browser, which I still use now by the way, blocked the
commercial banners for some reason.

Still despite of these unpleasant experiences, I'm still here, simply because of the quality of your
site. I still don't quite agree on the manner of which you treat non-premium members but I
cannot change it, simply complain about it and when it goes too far, leave.

coopershawk
09-May-10, 13:14

Heinzkat

For one of them see

game

kingdawar
31-May-10, 19:05

960,442 games in GK Database

That's +38,454 since the last update

kingdawar
01-Jun-10, 13:25

1,068,335 games in GK Database

That's +107,893 since the last update (yesterday?)

kansasjayhawk
01-Jun-10, 14:31

Gameknot.com is right about not using the databases as a blind tool; you'll find games with gross blunders in them. I still do like using them for getting the "feel" of variations. Plus, I've come across some fascinating games using them.

kingdawar
28-Aug-10, 18:28

Some visual changes to those blue bars

kingdawar
06-Sep-10, 14:52

Possible to browse your received private message per page

kingdawar
15-Sep-10, 15:23

New favicon gameknot.com

kingdawar
18-Sep-10, 07:46

45,597 extra games in GK Database

"This is a database of 1,113,932 chess games played online on GameKnot since 2000. Only games between players rated 1600 and above are included in this online chess games database. Unrated games, games that ended by time-out or in less than 10 moves are excluded. It can be used as a chess opening database or an opening book."

kingdawar
18-Sep-10, 07:48

And more importantly the lines go deeper than move 20! All the way down to move 40.

kingdawar
18-Sep-10, 21:07

Rivals

Instead of "win/loss/draw" table, the new page "rivals"...:

gameknot.com

black_cat_hamlet
19-Sep-10, 00:31

Funny how that's worded...

Since 'rival' is a synonym of 'enemy!'

I have 11 pages of enemies on Gameknot... hmmm.... I'm going to need more bullets

maca
19-Sep-10, 11:02

Chess Rivals...

That's a nice feature. Thanks, GK!

Regards,
MaCa.

kingdawar
27-Nov-10, 14:46

The mouse-hover player stats have been slightly expanded and some old links to clunky pop-up pages have been smoothened. (i.e. this page gameknot.com will soon not be available anymore as it has been replaced by the updated F.A.Q. entry 29)
faq=29 gameknot.com

kingdawar
12-Dec-10, 06:04

I don't know for how long this rule has already been in effect, but it's worth mentioning: if a user times out 5 games in one mini-tournament he will be automatically withdrawn from that mini-tournament

cyberknight999
21-Dec-10, 05:14

Time remaining to move...

The time remaining on each player's clock is now on each game page below the player's name
and rating.

joak
23-Feb-11, 07:39

TEAM GAMES

You are now able to set your max. team games to zero!! THANK YOU.

perdurabo
23-Feb-11, 19:27

Has the layout of games pages been changed or have I messed up some of my settings?

It seems that I can no longer see my moves list, the chat and my game notes at the same time. There are tabs and I can only see one at a time.

If this is a new design for the site I'm sorry to be as honest to say that I absolutely HATE it.

Is there any way I can switch back to the way it used to be?

I just want to be able to have moves list, chat and game notes visible at the same time without having to click tabs.

Besides I think that the new design increases the danger of somebody accidently posting his game notes in the chat window.

Sorry to be so critical; just my honest opinion.

markb56
23-Feb-11, 23:35

I'm not sure how you could see the moves list, chat, and notes window simultaneously with the old layout (unless you have your screen turned sideways). I always had to use the scroll bar to look below the horizon once the games notes window started pushing the game board down. I've been whining about this problem for the last couple of years and it looks like I finally got my wish. Thanks GK.

eloq
24-Feb-11, 00:58

Moves/Chat/Notes

Also I'd like to see both move list and notes at the same time. But now if I have notes, I don't see moves without clicking tab bar. If I could choose, I'd like the move list to be default. My quick solution was to stop using notes and now I'll always get move list in active games.

kingdawar
24-Feb-11, 04:25

I think it works out better in "midnight sun" than in the classic GameKnot layout

ed_norton
24-Feb-11, 06:17

Moves/Chat/Notes

I like the old style much better. The recent changes feel cumbersome what with having to click back and forth between applications and the notes/ chat boxes are much too small. I know I am not the only one who composes small essays when chatting with friends over the GK chess boards.

Is it possible ( if wishes were knights) to perhaps be able to have a default option where a player could select the old style?

Thanks
ed_norton / Team Monkey Wrench

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