Chess - classic or dud?

My dad was a bit more cunning than Ned's. He made sure I didn't beat him at age eight by not teaching me until age 11. I think I was 16 when I beat him for the first time and we've only played together a few times since.

That would make a gambit all the more effective.

A couple of people in my band are excellent chess players. On our last out of town gig they were telling me about the latest Kasparov/Deep Blue Jr. thing, that shit is fascinating.

Now Go, on the other hand, that I like. I wish I was a lot better at it, but it has an organic beauty that chess just doesn't. Less logic, more intutive. And it looks sexy and elegant.

I can think of a few people who might have something to say about that one...

I love chess, and wish I had more talent for it; the taste of success I've had at a handful of tournaments is enough to make me want more, but alas, I'm not a visual thinker, so that limits me severely. Still, I'd like to get a master's rating someday; judging by the difference between my rating now, and the one I had when I started playing tournaments, I'm about two-thirds of the way there. I haven't played a tournament in several years, though, and I suspect the advent of Internet chess is hitting the world of OTB (over-the-board) tournaments pretty hard...

1. e2-e4 e7-e5
2. g1-f3 g8-f6
3. f1-c4 d7-d5
4. e4xd5 f6xd5
5. f3xe5 d5-f4
6. o-o d8-g5
7. e5-g4 f8-d6
8. f1-e1+ c8-e6
9. c4xe6 f7xe6
10. d2-d3 g5-d5
11. g4-e3 d5-g5
12. g2-g3 o-o
13. e3-g2 f4-h3+
14. g1-f1 f8xf2++

Go is very beautiful to play. Your mind is expanding two ways at once (defense/offense), yet the board and pieces form a minimalistic pattern and the clicking noises as you make a move are so peaceful.

classic. I've always meant to join the chess club at uni but ILX stops me.

Searching for Bobby Fischer is one of my fave movies evah

Or just the giant pieces in general that they have someplaces in Europe. They are fun to play with.

Also in "Alice Through the Looking Glass"

And also all the many different kinds of chess sets like civil war pieces or other themed sets are classic:

http://www.war-art.com/images/f602.jpg

http://www.sapart.freeserve.co.uk/aa.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/dovshuk/jjppga/krig11.jpg

http://chess.com.ru/img/opposition-13.jpg

(From the Weekly World News, May 24, 1994)
MOSCOW - Doctors are blaming a rare electrical imbalance in the brain for the bizarre death of a chess player whose head literally exploded in the middle of a championship game!
No one else was hurt in the fatal explosion but four players and three officials at the Moscow Candidate Masters' Chess Championships were sprayed with blood and brain matter when Nikolai Titov's head suddenly blew apart. Experts say he suffered from a condition called Hyper-Cerebral Electrosis or HCE.

"He was deep in concentration with his eyes focused on the board," says Titov's opponent, Vladimir Dobrynin. "All of a sudden his hands flew to hi temples and he screamed in pain. Everyone looked up from their games, startled by the noise. Then, as if someone had put a bomb in his cranium, his head popped like a firecracker."

Incredibly, Titiov's is not the first case in which a person's head has spontaneously exploded. Five people are known to have died of HCE in the last 25 years. The most recent death occurred just three years ago in 1991, when European psychic Barbara Nicole's skull burst. Miss Nicole's story was reported by newspapers worldwide, including WWN. "HCE is an extremely rare physical imbalance," said Dr. Anatoly Martinenko, famed neurologist and expert on the human brain who did the autopsy on the brilliant chess expert. "It is a condition in which the circuits of the brain become overloaded by the body' own electricity. The explosions happen during periods of intense menta activity when lots of current is surging through the brain.

Victims are highly intelligent people with great powers of concentration. Both Miss Nicole and Mr. Titov were intense people who tended to keep those cerebral circuits overloaded. In a way it could be said they were literall too smart for their own good."

Although Dr. Martinenko says there are probably many undiagnosed cases, h hastens to add that very few people will die from HCE. "Most people who have it will never know. At this point, medical science still doesn't know much about HCE. And since fatalities are so rare it will probably be years before research money becomes available."

In the meantime, the doctor urges people to take it easy and not think too hard for long periods of time. "Take frequent relaxation breaks when you're doing things that take lots of mental focus," he recommends

So was it any good? I saw the preview, but I thought maybe it would be difficult to get much on-screen drama about chess.

have you seen Rosenbaum's review?

I had a brief chess phase when i was a kid during which i played in tournaments like those shown in the movie (i think waitzkin may have been at them), but in the lowest division and i don't think i ever won more than one game - at best, i think i got a rating in the 1300s. fun stuff, but i think you need to start reading about chess and memorizing tactics to get anywhere and i didn't have the patience or the interest.

I used to be fairly good at Othello, which I guess is kind of "Go, jr." Now Go, I have always found very aesthetically appealing, but I've never played it. Chess seems sort of ugly to me somehow. It's not just the pieces, since I've seen that I like (especially those from Man Ray or Arp, or whoever it was that designed those chess sets you see Marcel Duchamp sitting next to.)

(not work-safe)

I've started playing a Facebook version of chess with a friend lately, and I'm getting better. (Where better = very slightly above totally clueless.) I know some ilx people used to play on RedHotPawn.com, and I much prefer that interface to the Facebook one. For instance, on Facebook, there's no submit button -- all moves are final. And some other stuff that makes it more difficult for a beginner.

Anyway, who still plays? Dan Perry is schooling me pretty good right now (I had him a pickle a few moves ago, then I blew it big-time).

What version is it? Hit me up on it if you'd like.

I am pretty bad at chess if only bcz I cannot concentrate lately. I was pretty good when I played it a lot but not HS chess club levels. My boyfriend is so paranoid that if he leaves the room I will mess up the pieces that I have to take a digital camera photo while he's there to compare. It's the one 'trust issue' he has.

I am very bad at chess - I like to be aggressive, 'trade pieces' etc. and it never works out well.

Do not really understand the whole 'openings' thing about chess - doesn't that mean certain moves are basically scripted and both sides should know how to counter? Is black always on the defensive in that case?

The version Bobby Fischer made up where the back pieces are semi-randomized seems interesting.

yeah, so does naziism

i havent played in years but yeah openings are 'scripted' to a longer & longer length the higher you go; typically yes black is going to be on the defensive but can counter white in ways that make him unfamiliar; immediate & simple ex being the sicilian defense (instead of e4-e5, e4-c5). some opening variations run into the teens & twenties amongst the really really schooled guys.

Yeah the dude I've been playing is better at thinking about chess than I am, just more experienced, but I've been studying the common openings and defenses and he hasn't, and he didn't even realize that's what I was doing. He'd be like, "Wow... you're defense in very enviable right now." Yes, well. Of course my middle game is a mess.

Should read "Your defense is very enviable" etc. Oh, typing.

Kenan pwns this app.

Best first two books about chess (in this order)

1. http://www.amazon.com/Right-Way-Play-Chess/dp/1585740462

2. http://www.logicalchess.com/resources/lc/

http://i.somethingawful.com/inserts/news/images/diamondchess.jpg

Kenan pwns this app.

Oh, I do not, either. You just have it out for your own king. Which is very egalitarian of you, and I applaud your ideals.

I promise to be a benevolent ruler to your people. Here's proof: last game I captured your king while killing only a single pawn of yours. Your officers, your queen... they will all be treated well. Here, have some mead.

my favorite chess-endgame problems no longer work online. they were interactive, which i loved. so i'm back to the sort that you have to stare at.

i'm julesb74 on redhotpawn if anyone's playing on there. after playing some facebook chess, i like redhotpawn sooooo much better.

Bobby Fischer dead (not going to say RIP due to his anti-semitic ranting- is that mean?):
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7195840.stm

Sorry, ignore this, just seen RIP thread!

I started playing again using the Chess.com app on Facebook. Someone should play me:

http://apps.facebook.com/chessfb/?page=create_game&challenge_to_id=1273496841

If anyone with an old animus against me wants to play: I have been playing suck-ass chess lately. I'm very rusty. So hit me up!

Did I ever mention I was the New South Wales under 16 champion in 1986? But now I'm very rusty, any patzer could beat me.

I have never really played chess and now my gf's brother is challenging me via facebook. I don't even know the rules or basic tactical ideas. He's super competitive at board games (he nearly fucking wet himself when he won at the last minute at Settlers the other week with a timely development card reveal); how do I not get my ass kicked?

Post moves here and the ILx collective will help you destroy him.

Yes, we could have a poll on each move.

It will be like Gary Kasparov vs. Big Blue that giant flying cock.

^^^ (xp)

btw loled at this, is this the primitive version of "i'm white btw"?

One of my better games of chess (I'm black):

― A Nairn (moretap), Thursday, March 13, 2003 12:51 AM (5 years ago)

ilxhivemind would try some awesome attacking shit then fuck up at the end get mated by three pawns.

been pushin pawns iirc

I'm not that good at it. I just can't think well in the spatial terms that sem to be required for the game. But chess is obviously classic. I'm just dud at it.

^^ otm. i have a really nice wood and brass set - was a birthday gift - that is packed away somewhere ar the parents' place.

www.redhotpawn.com challenge kenjuggle thx

signed up and challenged you. had never heard of the site before. chess is fun, but i hate losing* and i am so average.

*interestingly enough i am a good sport in every game, but with chess. i don't know, it's an insult to my intelligence or something.

ah i finally realized it's correspondence chess. not that i have any problem with that, though i really achieve best results against fast players in fast games.

i try to play as quickly as i can as much as my work day can allow

i've already adjusted to correspondence chess rhytm heh :)

should not make chess moves while drunk haha

No more Alcoholic Chess, then.

I play it a bit on Facebook, but I am frustrated by my tendency to make stupid mistakes.

Norweigan prodigy Magnus Carlsen is new chess champion

.. the misspelling is courtesy of the BBC headline (*mutter* falling standards... not like in my day... hell in a handcart...)

http://i.imgur.com/1of1eKB.jpg

anyone want a game? chessworld.net

Not ready yet, sorry. Just playing Shredder these days.

Classic because

http://youjivinmeturkey.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/knight-moves-1992.jpg

fyi I don't like the cut of that Carlsen kid's jib

anyone have any good videos/tutorials for white lines after a fried liver attack? i can consistently execute the attack but then the king will go e6 and i'll get flustered and make mistakes (esp bringing my queen in to try and capitalize on the knight sac). if king goes e8 or g8 (latter consistently a quick checkmate) not so much trouble but how do u take advantage of the e6 move protecting the knights?

The Chess.com app has some good training exercises around this.

this account is excellent for gambit traps, dirty tricks in gambits etc: http://www.youtube.com/user/gunj17

there's probably a few instructive MatoJelic videos too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKsNX_c1KTw

there's parts 2 and 3 as well. essential for white to look out for

been following the WC clash on Mato Jelic's channel - Karjakin takes the lead against Carlsen after 8 games. a high level of play but it's been fairly risk-averse. karjakin has been exceptionally solid though. wonder if anyone else is paying attention

i've only just been keeping tabs but haven't read any of the games yet -- which one is the best so far?

not this one, weirdly, although it's the only win. i think game 3 approaches minor classic status:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw4isqxghPo

Ty lj, I enjoyed that! Will subscribe to his videos. Karjakin is a cool mofo to defend like that.

yeah that was v impressive forcing a draw down a piece against the best player in the world

fuck me game 12 is probably the most mind-numbing thing i've seen, they'd better serve up a hell of a tiebreaker

Carlsen finishes it with a lovely queen sacrifice. The flashiest moment in all 12 games and 4 rapids, and it came at the end

(He was already going to win, a point ahead and far stronger in a game Karjakin had to win)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJrm-Iio8vI

have u seen this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd8p9RpfFs0&index=2&list=PLl9uuRYQ-6MAxJYuWm6Lq0frtLZkwmQK2

i mean the app tho that video is lol

video not working but is that 'really bad chess' if so yeah as soon as I clear some space on my phone then I'm getting it

it's 'play magnus' and u get to pick different ages so he plays magnus at age 5

omg

lmao that video!

owned lil magnus

people who trashtalk on chess.com are the lowest form of human life

http://imgur.com/hjkr0YF.jpg

Any thoughts on this? The computer rates my move (Bd4) a mistake in favor of Bc4 but why would Black move Nc6 next and not just grab my Bishop w/ fxe5 and then I'm down a bishop? I feel like I must be missing something here.

because then your surviving bishop takes on e6 and he's in a world of shit

yeah i just saw bc bxe6 is checkmate if not Nc6

*they're

sorry for gendering your opponent

they can block with the knight but they're losing the knight and the game p quickly thereafter

or not exactly mate (he can still go Kd7 to block, then i guess Bxd7 check so at the very least you come away w/ the knight

or what u said

Let's play. What is the best social media chess app?

chess.com imo

I just signed up for chess.com. I'm M4rteauSansMaitre (4=a). I could probably add a game or two. I'm rated 1072 on redhotpawn so am nothing special in terms of chops.

I taught my fiancee some basic strategy less than a year ago and she can kick my ass now.

i'm ilxmordy. also not fantastically rated. 1200 in 15|10, 1050 in 10min blitz.

or not exactly mate (he can still go Kd7 to block, then i guess Bxd7 check so at the very least you come away w/ the knight

― Mordy, Sunday, January 22, 2017 8:25 PM (thirty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

nah you can't take with the bishop, it all goes wrong p quickly

take with the rook, hence

... Nd7

Rxd7 Nf6

Rxg7+ Kb8

Bd5

and I'm backing White I think

I've been playing for a few months and am pretty terrible (1068 & on an awful losing streak right now), hit me up if you fancy 3-5 day games, (I usually manage more than one move a day but can't guarantee it), I'm ledgr.

For anyone like me who's been absolutely abysmal every time they play (I'm hyper-aggressive and just start trading pieces), the lichess.org training is great.

woohoo I just played (as acoleuthic) and won my first 10-minute game! it was a blunderthon

the nice thing about knowing yr rating is the ecstasy when you beat someone rated fairly higher than you (i beat someone near 1400 in 15|10 today as black, tho tbf he was blundering like crazy so i assume he was tired actually the engine says he made no blunders - just 3 mistakes and 1 forced which makes me feel even more awesome) - of course the downside is when some 900 scrub beats u and you're like OK NO MORE POT WHILE I PLAY RATED GAMES.

fuck, this will kill my time stone fkn dead

Just sent requests to youse guys
my nick is the same as here

:)

Just played my best game yet, including a (declined) queen sacrifice and no obvious errors, against a guy who'd just beaten me then added me as a friend and asked for a rematch. Suckerrrr

(there was also a rook sacrifice but by then I was about to promote two pawns so he should have really resigned)

Woah avatars. Rad.

i'm happy to play any ilxors but i def prefer time limit games to multi-day ones. if any one wants to add me - i'm generally free for a game most evenings and 10 min blitz or 15|10 or some variation are my favorite formats. i find that a huge key to developing my skills in chess has just been developing my concentration and over a few days i always end up losing the plot. whatever consideration i had on monday i've forgotten by thursday and oops just blundered away a knight :/

nb if you can get a multi day game w/ someone who is willing - they can be good if you both agree beforehand that studying lines during the game is okay (as long as you're not literally using an engine) and i've found that's really helped me w/ openings i'm not super comfortable w/.

speaking of - what openings do u guys like to play? i've been exclusively playing king's pawn as white and scandi as black for the last 6 months.

These days,
White: King's pawn
Black: French defence

But I used to always respond with King's pawn as black too.

i have not studied much french defense but i find that in my rating bracket scandi transposes into french defense fairly often. white should be taking d5 but at least 30% of the time they respond to scandi w/ e5 which i reply to w/ c5 which is at least getting fairly close

i am a scandi liker as well, though i haven't played in ages and am quite bad

https://i.imgur.com/t3pmMoF.jpg

There are/were a couple of pro hotties out there, it's true...but thinking about them wont help anyone's game any

mfw higher ranked player than me 8+ points ahead loses bc of time

https://i.makeagif.com/media/10-03-2015/cvkHBj.gif

chess.com imo

prefer chesstime

people who trashtalk on disconnect from games they're losing on chess.com are the lowest form of human life

chess is classic for the fact that both players are allowed precisely the same resources, must follow the same rules, and can see every move made by their opponent. the only structural inequality is that one player gets the first move. after that it is all applied knowledge.

at least that is the superficial truth about chess. behind that simple phrase "applied knowledge" lies a whole universe of inequalities, based on intensive study of chess problems, memorization, and training. the more rarified the level of play, the more it resembles world-class athletics, where in athletics you must be endowed with the exact body type your sport demands and then train it endlessly, while in chess it is a particular type of mental acuity that one must possess and train for hours each day.

The only games that would be truly egalitarian by your definition are based purely on chance, e.g. Snakes and Ladders.

And even there, there are probably structural inequalities based on eyesight and language skills.

But I mean, definitely. My fiancee basically spent time studying every day after I showed her how openings work and is becoming fearsome less than a year later.

winning a foot race is all about being faster than the other competitors. that is true on its face. the myth is that being good at chess is all about being smarter than your opponent. it isn't. this is what I was trying to address.

it's certainly not a raw intelligence - i know ppl who are v good at chess who don't have a dazzling intellect in other areas, and ppl who are brilliant in their fields and who play crappy chess. there are other important skills involved; memory for sure, pattern recognition, concentration (this is probably the biggest deficit for me - i often want to read something while i'm waiting for my opponent to move & i really should be spending that time thinking about the game bc time is precious but i lose focus), visual intelligence (being able to visualize the board how it looks several moves later - i frequently get caught out trying a sequence and not realizing that 3 moves ago i did something that freed up an additional defender for my opponent that i forgot to account for bc when i calculated the moves i didn't see that eg moving that pawn would give his bishop access to the square in question), etc.

Oh yeah, it's definitely a skill that requires training/practice.

P. sure I'm fucked in both ilx games.

people who trashtalk on disconnect from games they're losing on chess.com are the lowest form of human life

Going 'on vacation' when you're 12 points down is a pretty low move too *raises eyebrow at matt dc*

Oh yeah, it's definitely a skill that requires training/practice.

btw, ledge, I like yr dn

i just played chess super high last night with my roommate and although it was my first game in years i played really well! i lost, but i was really aggressive and was able to frustrate him a few times and put him in some tough spots. chess is fun!

trying to see the board a few moves ahead is really challenging and fun, and when you're able to do it right it feels so cool

Going 'on vacation' when you're 12 points down is a pretty low move too *raises eyebrow at matt dc*

― brekekekexit collapse collapse (ledge), Saturday, February 4, 2017 6:32 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

8 moves into our game he's walked straight into a knight/bishop fork and gone mysteriously quiet

Who's in for brackets for the 1st annual ilx masters championship? submit thy nicks and let's set it up

sure - ilxmordy

you know mine

ah go on then, ledgr

btw, ledge, I like yr dn

knew there had to be some aristophanes fans in this place. n.b. that is all i know of aristophanes.

I dunno if it's just on Android or whatever but the Chess.com app is an excellent tutorial resource but its UI makes it awful for actually playing games.

I believe in uncertainty too much to be good at chess, I find it hard to visualise a few steps ahead because my brain keeps saying "but you have no idea what move your opponent will make". Obviously being able to visualise multiple scenarios would be helpful but that's where lack of concentration comes in. I only really enjoy chess played at speed.

Redhotpawn and chess.com are good that way since the 'Analysis' feature lets you actually try out different scenarios before moving.

What's involved with the ilx masters championsip? Are these live games?

I dunno, just putting it out there

I guess with only about six of us here, a tournament is probably more trouble than it's worth.

That said, I've lost against sund4r and ledgr so far! : )

almost as satisfying as successful fried liver

http://imgur.com/a/StjSP.jpg

http://imgur.com/tBRcCPm.jpg

i think i've got u sund4r

my game against calstars is going perhaps even worse than my game against matt dc is going well

Paul Morphy would often play exhibition games without a rook and win though so I just gotta channel that

My queen is invading Mordy's personal space

i don't think we're playing a game

I mean Imago. Sorry!
Mordy, I tried to challenge you a couple days ago but got a system error

try again!

Must...not...take on... a new activity

Count me in for the tournament. I'm ilxwtev on there.

i think i've got u sund4r

Probably true. I'm mostly hoping to last as long as I can, especially compared to our blitz game.

unless i'm missing something i think it's mate in 2 moves

possibly 3 if u sac a piece to delay

Yep, go for it.

calstars has helpfully handed back a knight, ty

Love you guys but I have to unbookmark this thread if youse going to talk through moves here.

(This is coming from someone who is too chicken to play in an ilx tournament tbf)

What's your nick?

I'd probably be interested in a tournament, depending on what the terms are.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgc_LRjlbTU

i'm now wtevilx on chess.com if the tourney goes ahead.

so far we've got :

ilxmordy
wtevilx/ ilxwtev
MarteauSansMaitre (potentially)
acoleuthic
myself

come on lurkers, show thyselves

Is it bad to play while drunk / distracted by butts? Oh well, I solider on.

i play stoned sometimes - it generally doesn't work out too well

Word. Sometimes I can't help it tho

Anyone live in NY? I want to start a weekly thang

The drunkest I ever got was playing that game (I was sucking right from the opening move and I ended up drinking most of a 26oz bottle of Southern Comfort). They almost called the police because they thought I was missing. I was actually in a bathroom in the Brandon University science building basement with my head in a sink. I don't think I've played chess since.
― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, March 12, 2003 5:45 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA59n9ZYIWg

I played a bunch of grade school kids last week who have a chess coach and play on iPads. I bested a 7 year old but a 9 caught me. It was also cool to play with physical pieces in real time rather than virtually with day long breaks or whatever.

Were you in a bar with kids?

Chess With Friends random just messaged me to say "I just had a bong, this game is going to be interesting".

I love the bong and the chess but they really don't mix well

calstars I am going to decline your challenge - I am giving up chess, for a while at least. I just can't stop making stupid, fatal mistakes. I was cruising to a victory in my last two games and I threw them both. Also my partner is getting annoyed at the amount of time I spend staring at my phone and chess was a big part of that, not that I can't find plenty of other reasons.

Matt DC just lost his game against me by abandonment. Summer sun and chess are a bad combination

I am absolutely shit at chess, don't know why, always have been

i have been teaching my niece (9) to play: she still hasn't quite mastered all the moves so i am currently able to beat her still but have been reassuring her this phase will not last long and i will slump back into my comfort zone of never having to master pawn endgames because my startlingly bold and disorientating sacrifice was as usual a hilarious blunder

she is much more competitive than me -- i am bad at games bcz i don't really care whether i win or lose -- but she is also less patient and more distractable than me

(ie the last game stumbled to her loss quite quickly bcz she wanted to play a not-very-successful variant of snap which she had invented)

Matt DC just lost his game against me by abandonment. Summer sun and chess are a bad combination

The Chess.com Android app is fantastic for lessons and problems etc but as an actual game it's terrible, I stopped noticing whenever someone had made a move.

Patience and distractibility are definitely a problem for me. Whether it's stumbling blindly into a trap I should have noticed or impulsively falling into one I was well aware of but momentarily forget about, I can't sustain the cautious and deliberative mindset required for *every* *single* *move*.

And then there was the time my friend thought I was playing a masterful endgame, when in fact i was painfully and nervously mapping out every single eventuality, and then forgetting the results after each of his moves and doing it all over again. Didn't exactly make me think I was a natural.

xp notifications are a bit flaky but if you open the app it's pretty clear...

I'd like to think Matt's motivation died a death when he ran into a fork on like move 5 :p

ledge no problem dude, maybe in the future

Aargh, I timed out on our 24h game when I was driving to Canada all day. Might accept your challenge or start another on the weekend. (Today is another travel day.)

dud

I'm up for a 24h game - cajunsunday. I'll add you lot on chess.com.

I've watched a few John Bartholomew videos and now I'm ready to take the world on.

If anyone's on Chess With Friends though hit me up - vastly prefer that interface.

meanwhile in the geopolitics of games that matter:

No website, without exception, may carry a live stream of the go match between Ke Jie and AlphaGo https://t.co/zy6q5RFmHt

— Ministry of Truth (@Mini_Truth) May 23, 2017

OK, I have wifi on the train so challenge accepted.

After awhile I just like to go on the offensive. Much fun

Crap, timed out on another game. Sorry, cajunsunday. (You would have probably won anyway.)

Cajun beat me

Ah I didn't know that was you Sund4r. Good game! Sorry you timed out.

Up +7 vs this 900 level schlub but he insists on playing it out

https://www.chess.com/news/view/death-match-returns-to-settle-internet-feud-2173

this is the event of the decade

Transforming a chess match into some wrestling type death match with foul language and "rivalry" to "entertain" people sounds like the worst thing ever. Give me Fischer vs Spassky any day of the week.

you don't watch their videos clearly :P

Correct. Merely read the rumbling announcement and saw the "explicit content" image. I'm old fashioned when it comes to chess. Got a video link for me to see why I should bother with these jackasses? :-)

My ranking on chess.com has fallen precipitously to a shameful 1000

This girl from NYC schooled me via same side knight advance in 3 moves to target king or queen, covered by same side bishop in one move. Fuckin deadly

I tend to avoid chess nowadays because it makes me feel so fucking dumb :( My rating went down to 950 over the years. It's not dumbness per se, rather that I do not play enough. That and alcohol probably.

Not making any excuses but I've learned the hard way that while I love to play while drinking, it's a bad idea if you care about your ranking

Yeah. Thing is I played chess best during my uni days, playing in the cafetaria, on the steps or in town, cafes. Drink was always there. The two have become intertwined.

i did some informal testing and my rating was a full 100-200 points lower when playing baked

I'm at around 1000 now, which is good for me.

tfw when you're up against someone worse than you

I was up 21 against this one dude and he insisted on playing it out...

I've been trying to play in a more conservative, defensive way, but it just doesn't suit me

Anyone tried 4 player chess on Chess.com? Looks pretty fun. Here's a video of Tal Baron playing it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSH0kWcxqL0

Haven't tried

I always play with a 1day timer but I tried a real-time (5 min) game last week and just got destroyed.

5 min is insanely hard. 10 min is still very challenging but at least actually manageable and I can still run out of time

I play a lot of 10-minute. It may have helped my long game but probably not much, judging by the errors I still make

Also, while four-player chess is very interesting to me, who the hell crowdfunds a crushed laptop lol

watching finegold vs williams rn, simon's letting his country down something rotten

tfw your opponent's ranking increases by 100 + points during the course of your game

Rating now at 1001
I play every day but it’s still apparently amateur hour over here

Classic!

I had the most frustrating game yesterday. Did really well to get up a piece and a pawn, but then managed to blunder two pieces as I was trying to finish him off, and then lost pretty quickly.

Those days I’m framing my games like I’m just waiting for a weakness in my opponent and then exploiting it. Waiting for the other guy to fuck up...a column of pawns, an unprotected piece..

tfw when you come back from an early deficit (my opening game is awful) to be a real contender, +10

+15

Mated that shit

Back to 1000
Proud = me

Nice! Well done. I'm trying to get my Blitz score back over 1000.

What strategy do you go for in the opening btw? Whenever I start trying a new opening my rating ends up dropping about 100.

scandi black, v conventional king's pawn white

https://www.wsj.com/articles/chess-novice-challenged-magnus-carlsen-1510866214

not sure where else to post this, but this guy is pretty fascinating

thx for sharing

“I hope you at least keep an interest in the game, because it’s very interesting,” Magnus said. “I wish I could learn it new.”

<3

Thanks Cajun

To answer - no set strategy
I’ve visited a page with the classic openings
Didn’t do much for me. Seemed kind of obvious?
Oh well, I’m happy to not read music , it’s not about that

I'm on fire today. Got my highest blitz rating (1116).

my opening game is just knights for days

Some Kazakhstani dude just took my pawn en passant and at first I thought it was an error in the code..

fabiano caruana has won the right to challenge carlsen for the world title -- he's the first u.s. contender since fischer in 72:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/an-american-will-play-for-the-world-chess-championship/

Ugh, I just lost a second game on time. Was 12 points ahead this time. I guess it's just not a good time to be playing correspondence.

Wanted to take a break for awhile but only lasted 2 days til I jumped back in.

Yeah S I think you lost our last game on time ( as opposed to you probably winning by mate eventually)...

Why don't you try 14 days? Give yourself a bit more of a cushion?

I won with a bit of a dirty trick here lol: https://www.chess.com/daily/game/190758208

Can’t decide to be zen or not. Like golf

Mated someone ranked +100 and up 40 points in the last few weeks, word up

Nice work. Have you figured out En Passant out? It took me about 3 months to work out that rule lol.

Yeah for sure. I’ve only had the chance to use it against someone else once since I learned what it was, and jumped at the opportunity just because

Ten Fiddy

this is a dumb question but what is the best site to get started playing online/get a rating etc

chess.com or lichess are your two best options

chess.com - Kevin look me up, you’ll get your first win I’m sure

I'm MarteauSansMaitre. I think I'm ready to try playing again.

have any of you found any books useful for improving your game?

Bobby Fischer's book covers a lot of basics well.

game 5  👍🏻

beautiful

prepared drawn positions are beautiful?

😂#CarlsenCaruana pic.twitter.com/3wqIU9Uito

— Chess.com (@chesscom) November 15, 2018

Ok Lars

Someone please do a big blunder. That's all we ask.

nah, that would be lame

what we need is for someone to find the outlandish machine move that would have won like 3 of these games

Tie Break games played today at 3pm GMT (watch live online!)

tiebreak match will be played with time control 25 minutes for each player for the whole game, plus 10 seconds of an increment for each move, starting from move one.

If the first tiebreak match of four games ends in a tie, the players will play a new match of 2 games with time control 5 minutes for the whole game, with 2 seconds of an increment for each move
(I think they try this up to 5 2-game matches) If this end in a draw then..."ARMAGEDDON!!!"

sudden-death Armageddon match is where white has five minutes and black has four minutes and both will receive a three-second increment after the 60th move.
If that game is drawn, black will be declared the winner.

first 12 normal time control games all ended in draws:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/world-chess-championship-2018-carlsen-caruana

I hate that it will be decided by tie break games. Either add five more matches or declare that there is no winner this round imo.

Will still watch it tho.

The tie break should be 100 bullet games imo.

I was amused to learn the 1984 championship went 5 months and 48 games before ending inconclusively.

The format I liked best I think was 24 games, where the current champ needed 12 points and the challenger needed 12 1/2.

underway:

https://www.chess.com/wcc2018

the twitch chat is good if you want to see ppl posting "draw" over and over again

Looks like Carlsen's winning. He's 1.24 up according to chess24.

Magnus taking forever here

making him sweat

yeah but it's still exciting bc he's let 5 or so minutes burn off his clock when there seems to be two obviously winning moves - Rxd4 and Bxe6

maybe he's trying to figure out if Rxd4 line will mate?

there we go some action

magnus up 1 pawn after that damn

In its favor, I must say that rapid chess is more fun to watch for a punter like me.

xp Caruana has unconnected pawns too, Carlsen should be able to pick him off

this looks like a draw to me but idk obv what these guys are thinking

rook endgames are usually draws at this level iirc

feel like magnus probably should've been able to win idk and now his time is becoming an issue i'd think

Weirdly, this is happening across the street from my flat and you’d never know unless you were looking carefully for the venue.

this twitch stream is entertaining because you get the feeling that the GM thinks the IM is talking a little too much and saying a lot of dumb stuff lol

ended with a blunder

caruana resigns game 1

who are the GM and IM k3vin?

IM daniel rensch, GM robert hess

is it possible to filter out all the idiots and only get their commentary?

RIP caruana

Brutal!

rapid chess = teh real chess

Magnus is the champion!

That last game was pretty fun.

RIP wee fuck

Carlsen is so much better at playing fast that it makes sense they were suggesting he was trying to get it to the tiebreaks
Their current rating:

Carlsen
Classic - 2835
Rapid - 2902
Blitz - 2939

Caruana
Classic - 2832
Rapid - 2766
Blitz - 2767

https://2700chess.com

in other chess news. i got a pretty checkmate today.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DtHhbyjWkAAfXgL.jpg:large

while that is pretty I'm intrigued to see your opponent's excellent/good/inaccuracy/mistake/blunder ratio, and what happened to his g pawn

actually, you have all 16 pieces so his g pawn must have fallen on the g file, with queen intruding after too-hasty development of knight (rip, presumably with the mate) and bishop

ergo noob city

is this how u do cheesbrahs

Yes you're right. Good detective work! He lost a pawn and a piece on the g file and a couple of pawns in the middle.

I'm calling this the cajunsunday immortal.

ah no. posted the wrong image. oh well!

https://wansteadandwoodfordchess.club/index.php/61-magnus

magnus is a bro

: )

ale for the champion

The Speed chess championship final between Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura is happening now.

https://www.twitch.tv/chess

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dx6xUfMWkAAawtz.jpg:large

I’d like to blame it on my penchant for playing while drinking, but my rating seems to just get worse and worse, now flirting with mid 900s, falling from around 1100 when I started playing daily maybe a year and a half ago. But the game is so real.

I don’t have any inclination to stop playing though. Maybe I’ll get down to true beginner level soon and can rebuild my foundation from scratch

down to 930! I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but hey

too much focusing on attack at expense of defense?

i'm somehow getting worse the more i play. maybe i'm more aware of how bad i am

1 step back 2 steps forward is for sure a thing in chess i find when i'm a losing streak it helps to start being more attentive, think more about whether i'm hanging any pieces, think more about possible checks and captures, and just slow down in general. nb i have lots of clock problems when i play ymmv.

In the openings - develop your minor pieces, don't do too many pawn moves, don't bring out your queen too early, castle early.

streaks are a thing in chess, for sure.
I also I tend to lose the first game of the day. It's almost a law.

Yes, I am aggressive. That’s how you win, right?

Attack can be the best form of defence, but from a solid base as per cajunsunday's post

These days I’m just trying to have a bit more fun with it. Like jumping into a multiple move exchange just to see what interesting positions can emerge

Which is also good in that you get more space on the board to play with hopefully

starcraft > chess

Starcraft vaguely like real time chess

starcraft is great but not better than chess

been playing backgammon lately, a lot, for some reason. Maybe i no longer believe in brains just in FAITH

:P

I'm hooked again I think. I played everyday for a couple of years, 25 years ago in college.
I estimate my rating to have been 1400-1450. We had some strong players in the club who were
very helpful. One guy was rated 2400+ and was always top 2 or 3 in Wisconsin. I think I'm back to
over 1300 again, but I'm confident that's going up, although slowly I'm sure. I know now to study more
endgame and tactics now. Back then everybody wanted to memorize the opening moves.

OMG the tools that are available now. Just all those videos on youtube alone. I like the St Louis
Chess Club's channel the best.

Chess.com has to be the greatest website ever. The new interface for going over your games is so cool.
You can go back and see all your mistakes and the better moves in about 5 minutes. The puzzle rush for tactics
practice is also great.

This could be trouble for my free time.

Just won a 10 minute blitz game and am on top of the world

Recently reached 1k after a long time
You’ve come a long way, baby

I beat that Korean entity btw

https://youtu.be/zIE3CFNpZ5Y
Cavett v Fischer

That Fischer video is so cool.

In other news: The Candidates has started! The Giri Vs Nepo. game is looking pretty interesting - neither player has castled after 18 moves.

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/fide-candidates-2020/1/1/1

Hurrah! Chess has the undivided attention of a sports-obsessed public

Magnus Carlsen commentating too. Awesome

Yes its cool that Magnus is commentating. His company bought the chess24.com website, so he can do what he wants I guess.

Giri having to lose the game to draw it as things stand. Magnificent defence from the zen master

Oof though, wow - Nepo finds it!

Ding is in trouble against MVL. Could lose 2 games in a row!

Slight advantage against Caruana for Ding today. He needs the win

Caruana has just gone for a complicated line that hands Ding a clear advantage if he plays it well. Exciting!

Not ideal for Caruana to have to move the king to F2 in the first 10 moves!

Oh wait. Ding is playing white. I'm confused.

Ding now clearly winning!! Defended Caruana's preparation like a beast

Pretty much over now. Caruana's a Bishop down with no counter-play.

bit disrespectful spinning it out that long tbh

Nepo leading the tournament. Would be a good challenger for Carlsen; he wouldn't win of course but there might be some fun games

I think Nepo has a pretty good record against Carlsen so it could be interesting. I still think Caruana will come through in the end - he's got experience winning the big tournaments.

6th round, Nepo in a winning position against Ding

FIDE stops #FIDECandidates

Official announcement - Starting March 27, 2020, Russia interrupts air traffic with other countries without indicating any time frames. In this situation FIDE President decided to stop the tournament.https://t.co/bnDDJhFuiG pic.twitter.com/YYo3SMidqj

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) March 26, 2020

They're taking everything away from us lads

ffs this has been keeping me going

Sad times!

maybe we can just give it to MVL lol

They're taking everything away from us lads

― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, March 26, 2020 11:10 AM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

ffs this has been keeping me going

― strangely hookworm but they manage ream shoegaze poetry (imago), Thursday, March 26, 2020 11:27 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

Magnus tasted what it was like to have the world's eyes on chess, and liked what he saw

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/magnus-carlsen-launches-online-chess-super-tournament

As a non-expert, I'm curious how they're going to prevent cheating in an online tournament like this. Wouldn't it be extremely easy for someone to use a computer to suggest moves? Or would that be easy to detect?

they will probably have to reveal everything in their room and share screens etc. odd behaviour can be easily detected by ppl who play a *lot* i think?

also there's the matter of pride and reputation, these people don't want even a cloud of suspicion over them.

also, if someone went through a tournament playing computer first and second choice moves with the occasional suboptimal that maintains advantage then idk there'd be questions

enjoying hikaru’s rapport with the streamers

Candidates is on again and Fabi has already sacked 3 pawns and a piece

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/fide-candidates-2020/8/1/1

Ok they have the same number of pieces now at least. Must have been an inbetween move!

anyone watching the World Championship match at the moment? Looks like Carlsen is edging it

I'll tune in, but this (who is doing better) is one of those things I cannot possibly have an opinion on. Pure spectacle

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/carlsen-nepomniachtchi-world-chess-championship-2021/1/1/1

judit polgar and anish giri arguing is all part of the fun

me, an idiot: 'nepo is up a pawn, he must be winning'

oh that's absolutely my level too, but that's why the theory chat is so fascinating

game 6 looks like being more exciting

and is

carlsen dicing with the clock to unveil something that could be spectacular

but nepo has blundered under pressure to help

aaahhh the counterblunder!

Now its a bullet game.

magnus won it, then lost it, and may be winning it again now. what an epic

wooooow

GAME OVER

136 moves

awesome

gg

that was p epic. caruana completely blew it

Spoilers!

you might say that nepo fought amazingly for a draw that did him no good either. why did he do that? because he's a model pro obv

chess makes me so very sad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJyP7PE6tbE

Ignore the terrible music. Nice sporting moment. Feel bad and great for both of them. Really love Nepo, hope he gets another shot at some point

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzx0ic1DPy8

Bit late on this one, but here's the best piece of chess related rage-bait you'll ever see

has hans changed his accent ? interview makes it seem like he’s gone off the deep end

GM and chess author / Youtuber Daniel Naroditsky died at age 29

Some background. It's pretty sad.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/covid-youtube-twitch-american-people-b2849698.html