Blog GilaChess

Not chess but Starcraft 2.

Just to show what top Starcraft 2 players earn compared to chess. Also this is one of the qualifying rounds for the coming World Championship in China.




Why I am posting this when the World Chess Championship is hours away?

It's a good opportunity to compare Chess and Starcraft 2 levels are when it comes to broadcasting the live games to the masses.


Chess
Agon Limited who are the official partner of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) are fiercely defending their rights to boradcast the World Championship. As can be seen from my email with Agon rep, I was denied access to place even the widget to show the game on my website. Take note it's only the game. No commentaries. No video or image of the chess players in New York. I know my websites are "not significant" but alieanating small sites is not really helping their cause.

Sure, you can still follow live (without buying the subscription from Agon) with commentaries from Chess.com and Chess24.com but these two sites will not have access to see the players themselves due to Agon protective stance on broadcasting. Incidentally, Agon has lost the court case vs Chess24.com in the Russian courts.

Starcraft 2
All live events for Starcraft, especially big events like the World Championship is open to EVERYBODY via twitch.tv live. Big difference compared to chess.

Of course the reason for this is simple. Blizzard has figured out how to support their media broadcasting using sponsors and other channels. I guess chess has to take the road of trial and error to find the correct formula to get chess out the masses. Frankly I feel that telling smaller websites their not significant enough and suing other chess websites is the way to go.

Note: The above video is 2 weeks ago (delayed telecast?) but when it was first shown it was live on twitch.tv


Those who want to follow the World Championship live tune in around 2am according to the Agon World Chess Championship website.

For someone who loves tech, I find it is easier to cheat in chess than in Starcraft. For example it's too easy to cheat online with engines and I have to admit I have beaten many stronger players with controlled use of engines even with cheating detection on  in several online playing site. That's not to say I condone cheating.

It's just frustrating to control the cheats because for one simple fact.

It is just too easy to cheat!

I rarely play chess nowadays online or over the board,

Even over the board it is quite easy to cheat.

The big difference that competitive StarCraft involves a large audience, even between only 2 players. Cheating is harder because dexterity skills is called for and no engine can help in out thinking your opponent. If all of a sudden the player is making some move counters that looks like he can see his opponent builds and moves, it will look quite suspicious indeed. In chess too there may be suspicion if a weak chess player is suddenly beating higher rated players consistently. But that is based on results and can only be seen after a few games and checking the moves against an engine.

That is not to say there is no cheating in Starcraft. They too can get help in the form of communication but counter measures such as ear phones and ear plugs are mandatory.

Of course strict enforcement like no electronic device on your person can be a good cheating deterrant but that's quite taxing on the organisers I think. Metal detectors. Really?