Feature Request: Correspondence Reflection Time Tools

[DimEyeChessGuy]

One more question then: how would HCE know about the email? Will you paste the email into the game? Into the database?

It wouldn’t. There isn’t any need for that in my opinion. Remember I’m advocating a manual input system instead of automation.

So the user receives the email, opens the game. Goes to last move. Enters the new move. Pushes the kb shortcut to create a correspondence move dialogue (this is done for every move both sent and received). Complete the required dialogue and save.

Wash, rinse and repeat.

[mrudolf]

My idea was to be able to paste email into current game. This was the move and timestamp will be updated automatically and the game will be marked as correspondence game. This may change the format of email used by email the game and as far as I know the manual configuration won't be necessary.

Do I miss something?

[DimEyeChessGuy]

No. I’m open to new ways to approach the same problem. We WILL need the ability to override and manually input data though.

A simple example would be dealing with vacation time, etc.

So long as we have the ability to manually override, how we get to a functional correspondence handler is wide open.

[mrudolf]

If you want to edit something manually, wouldn't you do it in the email?

[DimEyeChessGuy]

No? I’m not sure what I’m not communicating here. I’m ALREADY manually creating an email. I want HCE to track the reflection time and create an appropriately formatted email for me.

That will remove the bulk of the manual stuff. HOWEVER, the information being tracked in HCE needs to be able to overwritten and entered manually for a myriad of possible reasons that arise during a correspondence game.

[DimEyeChessGuy]

I apologize for my inability to clearly communicate what I’m after here.

If we can just get close to the functionality laid out in the CB links, minus the logging in to the servers, that would be awesome.

[mrudolf]

I imagined something like this:

1. You paste a new game from correspondence server email.
2. This is recognised and automatically marked as correspondence game.
3. Every time the game changes, you just paste the content of email into the current game. This updates main line and time stamps.
4. Every time you make a move, you just select Email the game. As HCE knows this is a correspondence game, it automatically creates the email in appropriate format and fills the fields it can.

It is a long time since I played a correspondence game, so does it all make sense?

[DimEyeChessGuy]

I imagined something like this:

1. You paste a new game from correspondence server email.
2. This is recognised and automatically marked as correspondence game.
3. Every time the game changes, you just paste the content of email into the current game. This updates main line and time stamps.
4. Every time you make a move, you just select Email the game. As HCE knows this is a correspondence game, it automatically creates the email in appropriate format and fills the fields it can.

It is a long time since I played a correspondence game, so does it all make sense?

That makes sense... however:

1. What happens when I'm white and it's the first move? There is no email to paste. I need the ability to manually set up.

2. What happens when my opponent doesn't follow the format rules for their email (super common)? I need the ability to manually enter the information (both moves and timestamps)

This is an example screen capture of a move I received from an opponent just this morning.

I think this would be pretty useless to pasting in to HCE.

I can keep going on reasons we'd need to be able to do things manually too. But I won't belabor the point.

I hope this helps clarify...

[mrudolf]

That makes sense... however:
1. What happens when I'm white and it's the first move? There is no email to paste. I need the ability to manually set up.
2. What happens when my opponent doesn't follow the format rules for their email (super common)? I need the ability to manually enter the information (both moves and timestamps)

I feared that standarisation is rare in this world.

Anyway:
1. Isn't there any empty PGN for you to paste to avoid enetering everything including time control manually?
2. If you need to enter everything manually, how HCE is going to help you? Maybe then it makes sense just to create an email in correspondence format but with some fields empty (like time, if it cannot be calculated).

I would love to hear from other correspondence players. If this is going to be useful for more than one person, we need something that is flexible enough while avoiding too much UI changes (each added dialog makes the app more complicated, needs to be tested on various screen sizes, translated into all supported languages etc.)

[DimEyeChessGuy]

I feel like we've lost the thread here. My original request stands.

I would like to re-request the HCE add functionality that will help TRACK REFLECTION TIME FOR CORRESPONDENCE GAMES.

I've posted links to how Chessbase handles this. That, alone, is my request. All the other stuff and automation was not/is not part of my lobby. Just the facility to manage reflection time for correspondence chess.

[DimEyeChessGuy]

I would love to hear from other correspondence players. If this is going to be useful for more than one person, we need something that is flexible enough while avoiding too much UI changes (each added dialog makes the app more complicated, needs to be tested on various screen sizes, translated into all supported languages etc.)

This is why my request was for reflection time controls ONLY. That was it minimizes the impact to the program and it is useful for ANYONE playing Correspondence Chess.

[Frank Rahde]

I am playing on ICCF server. I make my moves there. I have copied the database of my tournaments from there, imported it to HCE Pro and manage the games in HCE Pro, where I analyze and comment my games. I don´t need Correspondence Reflection time functionality, because the server does it for me.

What I want to suggest to DimEyeChessGuy is to play correspondence games on ICCF server! It is comfortable.

[DimEyeChessGuy]

I am playing on ICCF server. I make my moves there. I have copied the database of my tournaments from there, imported it to HCE Pro and manage the games in HCE Pro, where I analyze and comment my games. I don´t need Correspondence Reflection time functionality, because the server does it for me.

What I wanted to suggest to DimEyeChessGuy is to play correspondence games on ICCF server! It is comfortable.

Correct. As I mentioned above, this would not be for server based correspondence. This is already handled by the server. This would be for email/postal games.

[DimEyeChessGuy]

What I want to suggest to DimEyeChessGuy is to play correspondence games on ICCF server! It is comfortable.

I have some USCF games ongoing through the ICCF server (I've also played ICCF games (centaur games) on there as well - incredibly boring and not my cup-o-tea). But I also enjoy the email formats (Golden Knights is only postal or email). Id love to have HCE Pro (which I'm now invested) support that like CB does.

[Frank Rahde]

That makes sense... however:

1. What happens when I'm white and it's the first move? There is no email to paste. I need the ability to manually set up.

2. What happens when my opponent doesn't follow the format rules for their email (super common)? I need the ability to manually enter the information (both moves and timestamps)

These extra rules sound complicated.
Why do you don´t need an email to post your first white move?
It would be better when your opponents would follow the format rules for their emails. If not you could adjust their emails via Text editor before you import it by hand into HCE.

I´am afraid there are no much other correspondence chess players which are HCE users and would like the same email feature you do requested here. The programming effort must be worthwhile.
Perhaps mrudolf can implement your feature, if it can be hold simple.