Chess is the most interesting game that has ever been devised. It has an infinite variety of strategy and tactics, an inexhaustible number of situations in which you can overcome your opponent - or your opponent can outwit you. Once you leave a recognised book opening, you can say that it is very likely that you and your opponent are in a position that no two players have every encountered before.
Chess has an unusual feature: it can be played by correspondence, the moves being sent to and fro by post, perhaps by opponents who are a great distance apart. Correspondence chess has special advantages in Australia a land of great distances and sparsely settled areas, and ever since it was first played on an organised basis in 1929, the number of active players has remained healthy.
The Correspondence Chess League of Australia, abbreviated CCLA, administers correspondence chess in Australia. It is affiliated to the International Correspondence Chess Federation (ICCF), which, in turn, is an autonomous organisation within the Federation Internationale des Echecs (FIDE), the governing body for world chess. The CCLA organises games, tournaments and championships among its members.
Whether you are a master player, or whether you have just learned the moves, you can get a good game at correspondence chess! All players are rated into classes, and most games are arranged between players of approximately equal rating. There is plenty of opportunity, by means of automatic rating adjustment, to move upwards or downwards from one class to another, and so to meet new players whose strength is appropriate to your latest results.
WHY PLAY CORRESPONDENCE CHESS?
There are many reasons, any one of which might apply to you. There are country players who cannot find suitable opponents any other way; there are those whose hours of work or other obligations prevent them regularly meeting other players; and there are those who simply would sooner play at home. There are many people who prefer correspondence chess to any other kind. Some players find that their over-the-board games are marred by blunders, which they can avoid because of the ample time available for considering the moves, and the opportunity to try various possibilities by moving the pieces around the board. Many others, of course, are active over-the-board as well as correspondence players, and the quickest way to improve one’s over-the-board play is to play by correspondence. In correspondence chess you can look for the strategies and combinations that only the masters can find rapidly enough for cross-board play, and thus learn, in part at least, to find them more rapidly yourself.
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO START?
Australian experience is that the most satisfactory way to play correspondence
chess is in the small tournaments which are called General Tourneys. At present
the following kinds of General Tourneys are conducted by the CCLA:
- Five player tourney - one game against each of four, opponents;
- Four twotourney - two games against each of three opponents (one game as White, one game as Black);
- Knockout tourney - intended for players too busy to play several games at once.
Players are paired in an elimination “knockout” series, two games at a time (one game as White,
one game as Black).
- Email tourney, typically five player – one game against each of four opponents, with transmission
of moves being by Email.
If you feel that playing in these types of tourneys involves you in too many
games or the tourneys last too long, a lesser number of “friendly games” can be arranged.
Special tournaments can also be arranged by request. All games are ratable unless the tournament
conditions preclude this or the players themselves request that the games not be rated.
HOW LONG DOES A GAME LAST?
Most games played by post take between six months and a year. Email games may be completed in three months or less, Very long games can last up to two years. A player who plays in one tourney every year is an active player.
HOW DO YOU SET ABOUT PLAYING?
The Games Starter (a CCLA official) posts “scoresheets” to the players in a tournament, one scoresheet for each game. The sheets show the names and addresses of the players, the name of the event, the date it commenced and the name and address of the Director of Play (the CCLA official in charge of the event) plus other details for the players. The moves and clerical details are recorded in the columns provided. Clerical details cover the dates of receipt and despatch of moves, and total time used by each player. Write down your move and post the scoresheet to your opponent - no other explanation is necessary. On average, you will receive your opponent’s reply in about a week or so. For Email tournaments, the Games Starter sends the Email addresses of the players to each competitor. The moves and clerical details are then recorded and transmitted by Email. You will see that you need to know the “notation”, or how to write down your chess moves, and a guide to chess notation is given in this booklet.
DOESN’T POSTAGE COST A LOT?
Work it out. For a five-player tourney you will average four stamps a week. For a four-two tourney, three stamps.
HOW MUCH TIME HAS TO BE SPENT ON THE GAME?
That’s up to you. You may choose to be a rapid player, spending only a few minutes over each move. Or you may choose to ponder for hours. The longer you spend, the better the results will be, but it’s up to you to choose the style of play from which you will extract the greatest interest.
IS THERE A LIMIT?
You must not average more than three days of your time per move, ie. 10 moves in 30 days, 20 moves in 60 days, etc. The rate of play for Email games is four days per move average, ie. 10 moves in 40 days, etc. Time taken by letters in transit does not count. The details of the time limit and other rules are set out in the rule book and other hints to players which are sent to all members.
DO YOU PLAY OUT OF THE BOOKS A LOT?
Again, that’s up to you. You are permitted to consult any book during the course of the game, and if your rating is in the higher classes you will do so. But in minor classes you may prefer never to open a book. It’s up to you to choose the style of play which suits yourself. Computers of any kind should only be used for reference purposes - the same as a book or periodical. They should not be used for analysis. However, the CCLA does permit computer-assisted tournaments, the details of which are specified at the start of the tournament.
IF I’D LIKE TO HAVE A GO, WHAT’S NEXT?
Fill in the application form, which you may have received with this booklet. If you don’t have one, write to the Secretary, CCLA, GPO Box 2360, Sydney, NSW, 2001.