Fritz 16 - He just wants to play!
Fritz 16 is looking forward to playing with you, and you're certain to have a great deal of fun with him too. Tense games and even well-fought victories await you with "Easy play" and "Assisted analysis" modes.
With the November updates of Fritz ChessBase and the Playchess Client, two new ratings have been introduced: Pool Bullet and Pool Blitz (for short "Bullet", "Blitz"). The old Bullet and Blitz ratings are now called "Classic Bullet" and "Classic Blitz".
The new buttons in the Playchess Windows client software — also available on the web
To clarify, this is not some new chess variant based on the game of pool, but is a reference to a massive pool of players. The central concept and change behind it is the inability to handpick your opponent. One of the flaws of the classical system is that it allows players to handpick opponents, while the new system means that any player who chooses to play a Pool rated game has no idea who the server will pair them with.
So what about the old ratings? They are now called Classical ratings, and can be still played. In fact, it is perfectly possible to mix a game with one player playing Pool rated and the other Classical. If the server finds two players with the same time control and within each other’s ratings, they will be paired regardless. The difference is of course that the player who chose to play a Pool rated game will have their Pool rating modified, while the player who chose a Classical game, will have their old Classical blitz or bullet rating.
To start a game with the new Elo category, simply click on one of the three handy buttons!
Alternately, if you start Fritz 16, the splash screen has a variety of options. You can just click on the time control you want, and it will enter Playchess and immediately register you for a game.
All other seek buttons and menus invite to classic Bullet/Blitz.
So what is the practical difference, and when should one prefer one over the other? The Classical ratings will continue to work normally of course, and they allow choosing an opponent, perfect if you want a match, or to tailor the time control to something with an increment. Pool will include all this as well as other Pool players and is best suited for a quick game, or quick gameS with an S. You don’t care who you play so long as you get a quick game against someone within your rating range.
John L. Sullivan, the great Irish-American boxer, was the first gloved World Champion, famously knocking out Jake Kilrain in round 75 of a scheduled 80-round bout in 1889. During a promotional tour, he is said to have entered a tavern where he loudly proclaimed, “I can lick (beat) any sonofa***** in the house”. When you enter Playchess for a Pool rated game, think of yourself as John L. Sullivan.
John L. Sullivan, the first gloved boxing World Champion | Photo: Library of Congress
To sum up:
If you use the same seek functions as before (Classic buttons) nothing will change for you. The pool ratings are an optional addition.
Thank you for playing on playchess.com!
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