V.Bazhenov.

Closed world

          Advantages and disadvantages of chess competitions in Internet as opposed to traditional tournaments in chess clubs, where the opponents meet each other at chess boards “face to face”, succeed in many instances advantages and disadvantages of Internet itself – the worldwide electronic network, in which chess players “meet each other” and play “on-line”.

         The experience of carrying out of chess competitions in Internet discovered a number of obstacles for carrying out of serious tournaments with participation of professional chess players. The main systems problems that appear during an organization of Internet competitions are listed below:

 

1.     Insecurity of organizers and chess players caused by actions of dishonest participants of a competition.

 

Organizers don’t have technical possibility to control every particular game, when numerous chess players, taking part in a competition, are in different cities, and often even in different countries. At that dishonest participants have an arsenal of possibilities for deception of opponents and organizers, for example:

 

-         use of computer programs during the game;

-         replacement of a participant by another, more strong chess player both in the course of a tournament and during any game;

-         assistance in particular moves (of chess players that are in the playing room or with the help of different devices in a distance);

-         intentional interruption of connection;

-         “virus attacks” to IP addresses of opponents or organizers, other infringements connected with application of IT.

 

It may be said that existent organizational and technical systems of carrying out of chess competitions in Internet arepregnable because they are open systems. First of all such systems are open for intentionalinfringementon the part of dishonest participants.

 

2.     Unequal technical conditions of chess players.

 

Chess players that participate in Internet competition use different computers and operational systems, different monitors, different mice, they have different providers. At the crucial moment of the game, for example at playing in time-trouble, such differences may give to one of the players a decisive advantage. For example, a chess player who uses a touch-sensitive screen instead of traditional mouse gets an advantage in speed of moving of pieces at electronic chess board. Technical re-equipment of a chess player also becomes possible during a tournament. On the other hand undeserved disqualification of a chess player is possible in the case of considerable deceleration of signal transmission in Internet in a particular (sometimes decisive) game.

 

Continual technical progress inhigh technology and also practical impossibility to regulate technical requirements to playing places in Internet make the system open for technical re-equipment and prevent organizers from providing equal conditions for players.

 

3.     A number of problems are determined by the “structure” of modern Internet itself. It’s just because numerous particular “parts” of Internet are unstable and poorly protected from outside interference.

 

In case of interruption of connection during a game that occur through the fault of intermediate provider (but not through the fault of a participant) there is nobody to hold a demand against in case of chess player’s “technical loss”, as there may be more than ten providers responsible for connection of two opponents, routes of information in Internet are quite random. Organizers who also can’t find out through the fault of whom an interruption of connection has occurred (they have no appropriate means of control and contracts with intermediate providers aren’t signed) blame on the participant. There is nobody to hold a demand against because of one simple reason: “Internet belongs to nobody!” On the other hand in view of Internet transparency organizers and chess players are almost not protected from an intentional “crack” or “virus attack” of playing server (also of IP addresses of chess players) by Internet “hackers” that may lead to disruption of competition.

 

And we have to state again: the system is unstable and pregnable, because it is opened.

 

JSC “Intellectual Games”under the auspices of the ACP is working out a commercial project, the purpose of which is a creation of closed worldwide playing network.

 

The project is based on the technical decision on patent application of Russian Federation № 2003125911 (of the 26^th of August 2003) “Means of transmission and processing of information during competitions in the sphere of intellectual games between remote players and the system for its realization”.

The idea of the project is to create a closedspecialized Network (further NETWORK), that admit carrying out of competitions of any format between remote opponents that are located at different points of the globe when a number of obligatory conditions are satisfied:

 

1.     Transparency

 

Competitions take place in stationary chess clubs, each provides specially equipped playing rooms for spectators. Spectators can watch a competition not only in their club, they can also control a situation in other clubs “on-line” with the help of video techniques, get any information about the course of a tournament at informational indicator panels.

 

2.     Means of a tournament control.

 

The tournament is controlled in every place where chess players are present (in every club) “on-line” from one computer center that is managed by the organizers and includes:

 

-         Testing of chess players, spectators and club staff in playing rooms for having electronic devices;

-         fingerprinted identification of every chess player before the game and identification by video image during the game;

-         video control of every chess player to follow the rules of competition;

-         video and also audio control of rules and regulations of competition in playing rooms of all clubs.

 

3.     Equal technical conditions for all players.

 

-         setting of a single standard of technical equipment of clubs and playing places in the clubs;

-         equipment of clubs that are included in the NETWORK with dedicated links that have equal capacity;

-         connection of all the clubs of the NETWORK to one provider that would be presented in all countries and would be responsible for high-quality functioning of the whole NETWORK.

 

4.     Unified system of technical protection of all clubs that are included in the NETWORK.

 

5.     Legal protection of competitions that are carried out in the NETWORK.

 

-         long-term contracts with clubs that are included in the NETWORK;

-         long-term contracts with organizations that work with the NETWORK and provide connection services;

-         insurance of the NETWORK equipment and competitions that take part in the NETWORK.