Most games are not won in the opening. I've found that great majority of my games leave theory very early and text moves that are not the main line are not necessarily bad, the reason why X is recommended could be very subtle and only relevant at the master level. Since starting to play CC games at various sites I've finished about 150 games, only three of whitch I've won because my opponent decided to go for a sharp and theorethical line (two in Traxler Counter-Attack and one in Marshall Attack) and choosing a variation that simply looses. In these openings the first mis-step is often fatal. Winning a game while still in theory isn't fun and fortunately it doesn't happen often.
My motivation for using a database is not about getting a good rating - I want to learn the openings I've played for past years a little deeper so that I'd play better OTB. By playing a CC game and reading an opening book I sort of "live" the book and remember the lines better than just when playing through the variations on a chess board.
Using a database is only beneficial for learning if you first analyse the position yourself, only then read what the theory suggests. Very often I would have played the correct move anyway as they are most often very logical; all openings are about activating your pieces and limiting the activity of your opponents pieces.
I've found that I remember much better my own games than the games I've read in books. The 2-3 months I've played CC has already helped me OTB, even though an OTB game might leave theory earlier I still recall something of the ideas and plans I had when playing similar line in a CC game. Also many CC games that I play today are played without a help of opening books or database for the simple reason that I know already how the line goes.
Still, there is much more to a game of chess than just the opening.
- bahus
Originally posted by LanndonKaneonly if you're willing to learn to play better chess. if so, you'll learn your openings better and get an intuitive feel for what kind of moves are good. and your games start to look like chess instead of fumbling in the dark.
Since they are allowed on the site, and my goal is to get to 1500+, and my opponents may be using them, I am wondering if I should use them too.
but it takes some work, like everything else in chess, and you'll gain from little to nothing if you're not prepared to sweat a little.
I would guess all serious CC players use them, at least occasionally. casual blitzers here probably won't bother. depends on what you're after, really.
Originally posted by XanthosNZhere Xanthos, so whats amiguity?
What, how can there be amiguity? A database is a database, an engine is an engine. The first is allowed, the second isn't.
Endgame Tablebases are a special case. Partly because they can only be accessed by an engine and partly because they allow for flawless play with no actual thought. They aren't allowed.