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April_Fool_at_ChessBase[Subject Thread] [Add Response]
George Duke wrote on Tue, Mar 22, 2016 04:23 PM UTC:
In the aftermath they will explain it aright to the Pawns around the world. Let's do a retrospective of April Fools at ChessBase. This first of April traditional prank is of worldwide importance. They at ChessBase, 1924-founded f.i.d.e. stand-ins, are stewing about another one right now at Plymouth Mass. (oh no that's Chess Café) well wherever they are New York or Hamburg, a way to swindle the people again in about ten days. Here is 2014 April 1: <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/breaking-news-world-championship-2014-in-norway">Oil_Rig</a>. So what about the other recent April Firsts in follow-up before the big heist this year?<p> And add our rejoinder to each past April Lie. This was our response to the one above of year 2014, that in fact <b> ChessBase is an Oil Rig</b>: <a href="http://www.chessvariants.com/index/displaycomment.php?commentid=31909">Cousins</a>.<p> So what ridiculosities did they come up with in 2015, 2013, 2012...?

George Duke wrote on Tue, Mar 22, 2016 06:34 PM UTC:
Over the years ChessBase admits it is more difficult for them to prank the world on Fools Day, 2012. But then two years later they came with brilliant self-describing Oil Rig.

George Duke wrote on Wed, Mar 23, 2016 05:33 PM UTC:
In 2010 there were three fishy stories, so which two were full-fledged red herrings? That was their game then and now: <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/which-was-our-april-fool-s-prank-">April_Fool</a>.

George Duke wrote on Thu, Mar 24, 2016 09:32 PM UTC:
<a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/chebase-training-enhancements-an-april-1st-hoax">Hoax</a> -- they were cards at ChessBase in 2009 too.

George Duke wrote on Fri, Mar 25, 2016 03:37 PM UTC:
News Flash. <b> Oil Rig ChessBase to leave the Chess industry.</b> Good riddance? <p> The reason was scrutiny over the more than century tie of Little Chess with Big Oil and, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3506565/Rockefeller-Family-Fund-hits-Exxon-divests-fossil-fuels.html">Exxon</a>, today after 150 years Rockefellers have left Oil. Standard Oil and peewee "standard chess" started in the 1880s. The Oil Rig ChessBase contrivance, in league with formalization and casting out variants, got what it wanted: superificiality and simplemindedness and mindless Catechism so very dogmatic. Should we applaud? No way because moribund Simple Chess on teenie 64 is still obviously perfect to kick around. What other rigid custom is riper for ridicule in rejecting all but trivial change in century(ies) since f.i.d.e. institutionalization against heretics?

George Duke wrote on Fri, Mar 25, 2016 10:48 PM UTC:
<a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/the-april-fools-prank-that-was-and-wasnt-040413">Jokes</a> -- filling in the years, the trick of the Simpleminded set in 2013 was sainthood for Robert Fischer. Expect <b> Oil Rig ChessBase </b>to be counting the last seven days to this year's April 1 stunt, or else it would be breaking with this one longstanding tradition.<p> Fischer deserves sainthood, after all, because with Capablanca 60-70 years earlier he broke out of the box seeing their hopeless position in favor of computer-challenging opening book-innovating CVs.

George Duke wrote on Mon, Mar 28, 2016 04:54 PM UTC:
On the way to "Hilaria."<p> The tradition may as well end this year, the way the Rockefeller Foundation got out of oil this very week on the Sesqui-centennial -- <a href="http://www.alternet.org/environment/rockefeller-family-fund-divest-exxonmobil-says-oil-giant-morally-reprehensible">Right</a>. ChessBase and F.I.D.E. know there are spectacular ways to improve the Rules -- just as immoral Exxon knew of climate change. Ten years ago they were already complaining self-referentially, <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/chebase-no-more-april-fool-s-jokes">No_More_Fools</a>, what a chore it is.<p> Notice in the photo Shirov intensely plays Kriegspiel, a 120-year-old CV. When they dip into CV waters, they cautiously keep all the pieces and little board. That's because they are devoted to Simplicity and want masses to observe the same Catechism, applauding on cue.<p> Last year for the smart-alecks it was deep:<a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/google-tooth-you-must-be-kidding">Tooth</a>, <a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/google-tooth-the-latest-in-wearables">Google</a>. <p> The same goofies brought us <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2006/sep/30/chess.gdnsport31">Toiletgate</a> in 2006, the same year above they say it helps cheating.

George Duke wrote on Tue, Mar 29, 2016 07:43 PM UTC:
ChessBase made occasion for themselves to retract this laugher in year 2007: Lasker. These Fools Jokes are awkward way comedically to capture their undeserved authority, and the humor tries enforcing a class divide that is actually the exact reverse of what they think.

That covers about half of them since the millennium. In larger topics, at all of Chess Café/Base/Games they don't care any more that every available Chess program trounces Carlsen, and indulge Carlsen bragging he does not read books etc. Peculiarly they dished out three CVs in one year only, 2014, namely Tandem Pawn, Option Chess, and Switch Side Chain. They then saw the myriad possibilities as too much for conforming academic intellects. The history of Chess is even taboo, but do not put it past them to make it an April 1st hoax. Hey that's it, let's anticipate what the Joke will be for this Friday the 1st! Tomorrow it will be announced what the latest yearly Scandal will be by sheer educated divination. After all, it is easy to fathom cheap minds, where for instance, inclusive of the OrthoChess lot, Seirawan does not know Rook-Knight and Bishop-Knight precede Capablanca, or Kasparov such ecologically ignorant apologist for rampant capitalism.

So not just matter of waiting til Friday the 1st how the sordid tradition again plays out.... Based on past performance of their own narrowmindedness, in advance what will the funny Chess Comeback Kids (reflexively of Anand's name) print actually this time of Fools hogwash?


George Duke wrote on Thu, Mar 31, 2016 03:58 PM UTC:
Artificially intelligent Turk died in 1854 at the Philadephia Chinese Museum fire. Gradually exposed as Hoax, Ben Franklin had played Turk and E.A.Poe wrote about him, displayed from 1770s von Kempelen's invention. <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2015/08/20/the_turk_an_supposed_chess_playing_robot_was_a_hoax_that_started_an_early.html">Automaton</a><p> What will <b>Oil Rig ChessBase</b> publish as this April 1 Prank? They will not do another recent fixation on gadget like 2014 oil rig and 2015 miniature dental computer. The title or topic of tomorrow's Prank has initial letter 'S' in its two keywords. (safe bet about 1 in 10?)<p> It is interesting that promoters of the Turk's performances were certainly thinking Artificial Intelligence during 1780-1840: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21876120">The_Turk</a>. In terms of ecologic values, Humans are unintelligent. One of the recent Go-Computer articles headlined "Still Think You Are Better than AI?" Unknown by techies biologists use the same wording: <a href="http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/human-intelligence-versus-whales-and-dolphins/">Low_Order</a>.

George Duke wrote on Mon, May 2, 2016 05:14 PM UTC:
<p>The live event site Chess24 mentions May Day: <a href="https://chess24.com/en/read/news/chess-may-day">MayDay</a>. Relevance is that both April 1 and May 1 are rare world-recognized holidays. <p> Unconnected with Chess24, Chess Base has annual spoof for April 1, and it was predicted here well beforehand that their title and topic would start with the letter<p> <b>S</b>, and they did in <b>'S'</b>uper-Car, <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/a-bmw-i8-super-car-for-sergey-karjakin">Sergei_Wins</a>; and in<p> 'S' of <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/cbm-170-a-symphony-on-board-and-unheard-melodies">Symphony</a>; and in '<b>S</b>'tudies by Benko for the occasion: <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/april-fool-it-was-the-trump-problem">Studies</a>, well they left out the word studies in headline of that part.<p> Then Oil Rig ChessBase followed up with another typically cheap treatment of Capital-S, <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/post/shogi-the-japanese-form-of-chess">Shogi</a>, acting as if they know something about Shogi and not mentioning a single heterodox piece. Their CV repertoire consists of Xiangqi and Shogi in name only, so once in a while trying to seem cosmopolitan and not provincial; but it is heresy to even look at the different boards or pieces. For example, what is ramification of staying square in Shogi 9x9, actually the third most popular CV size? They have no idea, no opinion how to configure let's say Western Pawns on 9-square.</p>

George Duke wrote on Thu, May 19, 2016 04:10 PM UTC:
The Chess Capitol of the World: Not_Paris_London_Moscow.

George Duke wrote on Fri, Mar 31, 2017 12:34 PM UTC:

April spoof at Chessbase in a few hours, anyone thinking of outdoing them please feel free  putting it here.  See past examples in this thread from a match on an oil rig to Martian chess.  Make up an archaeological find of Neanderthal game artifacts or something. Chessbase April Fool to follow here for sure once they swink everybody again.


George Duke wrote on Sun, Apr 2, 2017 07:52 PM UTC:

ChessBase must be reading Chess Variant Page because instead of a "swink" it's a "swindle." April_1. After 12 or 15 years this is their first departure from fake news on Fools Day. (Actually, not having looked in detail yet, expect one of the puzzles to be rogue or insoluble.) Swink means to swindle in the midwest but it's not here: Swindle? Also appropriate is Liars_Chess.

Wait a minute, isn't this one fishy? F.I.D.E. Arguably also the three top world holidays recognized in the most countries are April 1, May 1, and January 1(near the solstice), since other religious holidays are regional.


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