Postal/Correspondence Chess

Wait until you try playing overseas games if you live in the USA - postcards are now $1.00 to every nation except Canada & Mexico - they're "only" $0.75 to our neighbors.

I used to play CC back in the Paleolithic (or Mesozoic, I forget which) Era before PCs or the Internet and compared to online/server chess it sucks ass, big time. Even playing chess by email is inferior to playing via a server IMHO. BUT, Keres among others got their start by playing "good old-fashioned" snailmail chess...Igor Bondarevsky (USSR) and Ulf Andersson was (Igor)/is (Ulf) GMs in both OTB and CC, Hans Berliner (USA) was a CC WCH and OTB IM.

As paranoid as we are of terrorists these days, I'd be a little leery of passing a set of chess moves on a post card lest the NSA and Dept. of Homeland Security decide that it's some kind of secret code and you're plotting an "event."

"Mr. President, we obtained some hints about a planned assassination on your person via a postcard disguised as a Correspondence Chess notation."

"Nuke Finland."

"But ..."

"NUKE FINLAND!"

lol

Using the ICCF notation would be more interesting, they are going to have a hard time guessing what that mean. (Unless they play chess)

Example: 1. 5254 5755 <--  1. e4 e5

Interestingly, correspondence chess has been used by spies in the past. But why would spies bother with correspondence postal chess in these days of the internet and being able to read your email anywhere, including while driving away from people who may want to kill you? 

So, after all... Anyone wanna play postal? Message me!!! 

Because the NSA is monitoring all online communications?

No, not ALL online communications.

Just those of our enemies.

No, really. It's true. I read it on the internet. 

Everything you read on the internet is true. It has to be.

Plus, they said that was all they were doing. And why wouldn't they tell us the truth?

I tryed postal but, it proved to be a psychological disadvantage to me. My opponent was doing time in a Texas prison and he needed the games to make his days go by. I liked it at first but as the time went by. It really was a downer on my patience. When you have to wait nine to fourteen days for a move, you can analize yourself into a dark place. But I believe that there is no replacement for deep analysis. Online chess at a pace of three to four days suits me to a tee. And if you have never played blitz chess, it can also have a positive effect on your game.     

Yes, that's why I no longer play 14 day per move games here, because some people were actually taking the full 14 days to make a move.

I don't know if you are looking for international people or if you are even still looking but I have been looking to play correspondence chess with people from different parts of the world.
I live in Moscow and am tired of playing only Russians.
If anyone is interested let me know. 

Here is my adress for everyone interested.

Urb. Valle Arriba Heights

Calle Alamo BF13

Carolina, Puerto Rico 00983

We can play both games at the same time. Send the white move and I reply with my first move of each color.

Thanks!!

Sounds cool, I'll send a postcard with a move and a picture. If anyone else is inspired to go slow then send a picture postcard to me and I'll reply. 'Trouncer, Studio one, One hundred and seventy nine (this can be written numerically - I'm avoiding search engines) Barkly St, St Kilda, VIC three thousand one hundred and eighty two (again this should be written numerically)

Sweet remembrances for me : around 1950 I played as a schoolboy in a match Amsterdam-Rotterdam by post, and as soon the Dutch Giro Transfer Bank was re-installed after the war, we paid ten cents to the opponent with the move on the form ; and the other sent back the ten cents with his answer.     Far cheaper than postal stamps.    An idea for a regular bank transfer nowadays, most transfers are free ? 

Rumpelstiltskin, I sent a postcard with 6 games, three of which I have made the first move on and three that you can start (so we play black and white). I figure the postage is worth it for playing 6 games and getting postcards back from far flung places. I didn't have enough space on the card to explain that I promise not to use computers to analyse (but I will look up opening videos, opening books and databases to help me learn). No more electronic post from me on this topic - I look forward to the gentle world of snail mail.

Perfect!! :)

I did send a postcard but no reply. I'm writing a blog at www.chessluddite.com that has stuff about correspondence chess, particularly postal correspondence chess.

Hi everybody! If any of you still wants to play correspondence chess, let me know! I will be glad to play it!

I tried postal but, it proved to be a psychological disadvantage to me. My opponent was doing time in a Texas prison and he needed the games to make his days go by. I liked it at first but as time went by. It really was a downer on my patience.