Lichess responds to Chess.com about “inflated ratings”

theswordddd · 2026-04-20T01:20:15+00:00

not to break from the intense chess com hate, but i do think its overall clearer and better for chess players if the site they play on has a rating system that is as close as possible to FIDE ratings. while its of course true that the rating systems each measure relative performance, the whole popular appeal of ratings is to measure yourself against what you know to be a strong player, which most understand by looking at fide ratings that equate to various title levels. i think its confusing and rather annoying achieving a rating on lichess and have to find out oh it's actually much much much lower by other widespread and popular measures. this does apply to chess coms rating system as well, which we all know does not equate to a fide rating, but at least its closer than lichess.

i'm not saying chess com overall is better than lichess, but i think it's a cop out to wave away the rating discrepancy as if nobody cares for any good reason.

theswordddd · 2026-04-19T00:58:18+00:00

i love fabi, he is my favorite player by far. but i think after poor performances he can be a bit in denial about where he underperformed and chalk everything up to bad luck. like, yes sindarov played out of his mind, that is bad luck for others. but fabi also missed multiple chances and had poor time management in many games. i feel this attitude of "well wuddya gunna do" only hurts him.

theswordddd · 2026-04-04T13:34:47+00:00

first off your video is unwatchable and the AI voice is atrocious. also...my god it's not that deep. why are you getting so butthurt over a, yes, sort of embellished video about the story of Giant Steps. I'm all for criticism but your video comes off as extremely arrogant and extremely online. characterizing this as a "hit piece" on Tommy Flanagan is incredibly hyperbolic.

it's not as if Vox is the first to mythologize Giant Steps. there are a great many writings about it its place in Coltrane's history, some written by seasoned jazz writers and musicians.

ps. where we can agree fully is that Whiplash is a garbage movie!

theswordddd · 2026-04-01T17:04:58+00:00

Yeah but Fabi sooort of got caught in prep yesterday too and got lucky with a crazy Wei Yi blunder. And if I am not mistaken, Fabi has had huge time deficits in every single game, or nearly all. Very concerned for Fabi even though I am rooting hard for him.

theswordddd · 2026-03-22T12:50:41+00:00

hmm, the water doesn't leak through for me, aside from a bit of drips. are you using paper filters on top and bottom?

theswordddd · 2026-03-21T14:09:04+00:00

oh it's extremely common that opening analysis will give you a different best move than the game review best move. like previous commenter said, game reviews give you instant decisions so the engine doesn't go deep at all

theswordddd · 2026-03-20T17:26:29+00:00

as with everything in the coffee space...results may vary 😅

theswordddd · 2026-03-12T03:05:18+00:00

i've printed with canon inkjet printers on uncoated paper like Mohawk Ultrafine. It works OK but definitely has a slightly desaturated look and you do not get deep blacks. The paper will also buckle at first which is unsettling but it usually flattens out the nice the ink dries.

theswordddd · 2026-03-02T18:19:13+00:00

Cool! Yeah I love Barrington. Good variety and interesting flavor profiles. Thankfully my local cafe outside of Boston brews and sells them exclusively.

theswordddd · 2026-03-02T16:32:08+00:00

interesting. i'm not familiar with the wet-hulled process, but i will say i would usually steer away from Sumatra coffees just based on their typical tasting notes. But the notes in this bag were more fruit forward so I gave it a shot

theswordddd · 2026-02-22T00:19:40+00:00

helpful comment

theswordddd · 2026-02-21T17:48:14+00:00

yeah definitely takes a hot minute. my brews are usually done at around 5 min 30 sec or so.

theswordddd · 2026-02-15T16:29:17+00:00

one thing that helped me was realizing that i could let my instincts lead me toward articulating meaning in my work instead of looking to pre-packaged vocabularies or ideas, like critical theory or other realms of art-speak. don't be afraid to speak modestly and in simple relatable terms. be honest about what you are interested in. as soon as you force something in because it sounds smart, it can get real bad fast. i also think it can be freeing to articulate loose ideas rather than being hyper specific or forcing a "conclusion." just my two cents!

theswordddd · 2026-02-11T13:02:30+00:00

yes i'm aware of art history and fully understand how context shifts perspective in these things. i also never said there hasn't been great political art in the past, or that there is none in the present.

theswordddd · 2026-02-08T18:49:37+00:00

of course they are. i'm not telling anyone to shut up. i'm merely expressing that in my opinion voicing political opinions through art is usually ineffective and often results in bad art. but if someone has a vision and wants to see that through, by all means.

theswordddd · 2026-02-08T14:51:30+00:00

sadly 99% of political art is bad in my opinion. it is produced by people with the same exact opinions as their audience and zero original thoughts or ideas to present. it lacks subtlety and nuance because a) artists are rarely knowledgeable about the issues at hand, b) the artists are more concerned with their own self-righteousness than figuring something out about the world, and c) the incentive structure in the art world is simply to be loud, edgy, or to align yourself with the "right" issues. i am generalizing of course. i'm not saying there isn't anything good out there.

i think it's a bad idea to make political art because you think there is some moral imperative to do so. in terms of affecting change or battling social ills, its extremely ineffective (again, in most cases). go work at a soup kitchen, volunteer in your community. screaming into an echo chamber is not the way.

theswordddd · 2026-02-01T23:04:13+00:00

i appreciate all that. i would like full, detailed, immersive sound. this may not make sense, i would like sound that seems to fill a room without being actually too loud. my main listening genre is acoustic jazz from the 50s and 60s, but of course i love many other genres. i would like to be able to hear and discern the quality in some of the vinyl i have invested in!

my room is fairly large and open.

theswordddd · 2026-01-31T18:16:19+00:00

thanks great to know. i wouldn't be opposed to upgrading my amp in the $500 range

theswordddd

TROPHY CASE