♟️Chess

[teal furnace]

i love watching rapid. its not as slow as clasical but i can still follow (compared to blitz/bullet)

[teal furnace]

did i ever ask about the general oppinions of you legens on chess960?

i feel very drawn to it tbh

but hardly anyone plays it so i never get a game

[tardy finch]

Chess960 is a completely different game with a different skill set required to push forward. No openings work, you can't prepare beforehand. Everything happens on the spot, you evaluate the position live at the same time as your opponent and more likely than not, neither of you has been in this position before.

It's complete chaos and I'm all for it.

[teal furnace]

saaaaame

[tardy finch]

Magnus decides to not defend title -> eventually a teenager takes it(Gukesh)
Magnus not allowed to defend Rapid title due to pants -> immediately a teenager takes it(Volodar Murzin)

Next thing we know, Magnus slips in the shower and new teen Magnus arises.

[teal furnace]

checks out

[dusky hull]

we really got a new years day gift with how the world blitz championship ended. im not gonna spoil anything because honestly the games were cool and the outcome was cool. happy new year, kings and queens

[teal furnace]

man i couldnt believe it lmaooo

seems like i joined the chess world in the correct year to engulf all the drama

[hard pagoda]

Absolutely livid that I blew this position when playing as white. Was pissed off I let my pieces get forked and completely forgot to just keep on attacking. What’s the right move?

[tardy finch]

Just woke up so still not at full capacity but I really like ||Nc7+ because if ignored, that is mate, and if not, exd6 can win the exchange, to which if Black caves in, I would line up the h rook on e1 and look to win the trades on e7, pushing for mate||. Even if I have the right idea, move order is important and I am not sure mine is correct.

[hard pagoda]

Exactly what I played and it eradicates your advantage

[tardy finch]

Give the coffee some time so I can be stupid faster

[hard pagoda]

Well I’m reassured you made the same mistake as me: you without coffee and me without much thinking time

[tardy finch]

Nah, I'm just stupid

Forgot to get back to this during the workday so I am checking it now, and as I said, move order is important. Straight up ||exd6||, no need to delay. Explanation in spoiler below:

||Black cannot possibly go after the pawn as it is protected AND if White lands the dsb on e6, this is pushing into checkmate territory(although this is just a tiny bit different from the pawn being there). However, if Black does NOT capture the pawn(let's say Black plays cxb5), then Nc7+ is readily available AND the e file is now open so rooks can join.
Naturally, "what if Black captures the knight?"... well, rook joins immediately - Rhe1+. Three ways to block - both bishops and queen. Obviously, blocking with the queen would make this pretty easy, just capture it and have a nice day, the trade went our way. Also, pretty sure there is a mate somewhere once the queen is off the board as Black is far behind in preparing defense. So what if dsb blocks? Qxg7 and I start devouring the back rank AND threaten mate at every step due to the dsb being pinned now. Note that this also closes off Black's queen from that side of the board so it's really a no-no. In both of these the d6 pawn is a MAJOR asset so further emphasis on why that move needs to appear on the board ASAP.
Third possible way to block is by sacrificing the lsb on e4. To which, you don't need a flashy response, you just need more pressure - Qxd5. Since Black captured the knight and not the bishop, now practically everything is being choked - I literally cannot see a meaningful move for any of Black's pieces in this position so it's a slow and painful suffocation.
So, as we have established, after exd6, Black cannot afford to capture the knight as that leads to everything being pinned or checkmate being threatened; cannot capture the bishop because this threatens mate through promotion (and even if you don't spot that, White wins Black's queen). So let's dive deeper into what happens if Black captures the pawn instead, Bxd6:
Black is still screwed. The e file remains open for White and Black cannot even castle due to the dsb being on d6. I am not even sure what Black would play, no move seems useful.||

I kind of understand Pert's walls now, this was a great exercise in finding the weak point and exploiting it through torturing the opponent. The attack literally rolls forward on its own if you find the first move but justifying it takes a bit of thinking.

[hard pagoda]

Yup. Good wall!

I think it’s a bit of a lesson in “just don’t let up”. The key problem with Nxc7+ was not that it loses a piece: the piece was already lost. The problem is that it gives black time, and with Qxc7 it also gives the black King an escape

[hard pagoda]

Why can’t I play like this all the time?

(Or, more accurately, why can’t my opponents blunder a minor piece on move 6 in an open game all the time?)

Next game up much less simple but still zero fuckups

I’m stopping now before I spend the rest of the day making multiple blunders. I’ve clearly used up all my concentration for the day

[dusky hull]

when you're on a roll, don't stop until you hit your natural end

[tardy finch]

99% of chess players quit before their immortal game

[tardy finch]

Yo, where the puzzles at

In this position, Black is ... unwell. Position is looking grim, 3 pawns down, two passers, so final efforts in an attack. In the game, White blundered under pressure and in this precise position played g3 which leads to mate in 6 and "Thank you for the free win" in chat.

Assume f3 is played instead. What would your plan be and why does Bxf3 NOT work
P.S. Don't get me wrong, it's still bad for Black. Gets worse even. It's more of an exercise in spotting hidden tactics. Bxf3 revolves around one such.

[hard pagoda]

Bxf3 doesn’t work because the Queen is now defending the g2 checkmate square

(But I can’t see a better plan, I still think Black’s in trouble)

[tardy finch]

While this is true, there is a different reason why it doesn't work. I'll give you a hint - Bxf3 loses a piece through force.
As for Black being in trouble, if played perfectly, yes. If not, Black actually has legitimate fighting chances, even while being 3 pawns down. It's mostly about locking the position with less pieces than your opponent is using.

If you are willing to explore how Black can fight back, I can set it up on Lichess.

[hard pagoda]

||yup there’s the eventual queen/bishop fork after h3||

||still looking for other ways to attack. Can’t see how to get the dsb involved. Think I’d try and push the h pawn instead?||

[tardy finch]

||If White plays perfectly, there is very little you can do, you will get squeezed into a loss as Black. Qf5 and wait for a possible blunder. A passive pawn move like a4 or h3 is not it, so round two of waiting in those cases with Qd3. Ng3 chasing you out is also possible and leads to Qd3.
The d4 and e3 pawns are your entry and if White doesn't defend them, you better be nearby to quickly capture and threaten an attack. With the queen at d3, you can support a fork on d4 once the e3 pawn moves forward, you can somewhat assist in stopping the passing pawns and you get to bully White's clock through checks on d1 if Ng3 was played.
Assuming the continuation to be f3, Qf5, a4. Qd3, then White is up but has to wait for the win, can't rush it. If, for example, a trade of queens is offered through Qd2, Qb3 is imminent(you can't stop those pawns if you trade the queens) and pretty much force a5. This gives you time to somewhat involve the dsb through Bf8. Naturally, there would be variances in your continuation depending on what White plays but in the exchange so far, you more or less force the right reaction from White, in exchange for enabling your own pieces.
Worth noting, after Bf8 if White doesn't react to the upcoming Bxb4 in advance, then the advantage is almost gone. In fact, offering another queen trade through Qb2 is this time favourable for Black as after Qxb2, Bxb2, Bxb4 you have activated both bishops, stop both pawns and even though you are down a pawn, you have a solid chance of fighting back.||

Point is, play this against the computer(or Pert), you are screwed. Play it against a human opponent... maybe not so much.

[dusky hull]

I AM NOT A COMPUTER

I AM SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE

[teal furnace]

holy moly theres been some traffic here

[tardy finch]

You're right, computers don't shittalk me for playing 1. e4 😔

[teal furnace]

imagine not being a D4 connessoir

[hard pagoda]

Fucking d4. I hate you guys.

Although learning a bit of the Budapest gambit has really helped me mess with the 1100 rated Queen’s gambit enjoyers

But I’m generally terrible against the London

[tardy finch]

Execute the bishop, easy game

[hard pagoda]

Details please

Also, I wish chess.com did an opening explorer based on games of people around your rating. Like, if I play the Budapest, what responses am I most likely to see?

[tardy finch]

Alright, so the London starts with d4, dsb to f4 then some other developmental moves to support those two pieces and the nearby squares. The goal is to have a closed game. Very little opening theory involved, can be played against almost anyone. Also, highly suggesting passive play on both sides.

This usually means two things:

1. You can break that by being aggressive as Black and disrupt the comfortable development. Usually easy to execute by setting up a trap for the dsb that got out super early. Gets weaker when you go higher in rating. If you want to see games at the highest level with the London, I strongly suggest Richard Rapport.
2. Set up a defense as well then break in the center. This would usually be QGD, an Indian style defense or some Slav resemblance. All of those would love to trade a piece for the lsb which in general is a key piece in the London while also being a nuisance for those defenses.

So yeah, execute the bishop. Which one depends on what you aim to achieve but the lsb is providing an absurd amount of control while being comfortably safe in the back. Ruin its day, throw a horse at it.

[tardy finch]

Lichess. Just try their explorer, you'll see what I mean.

Here's some ideas to try and get a feeling what is best against a confirmed London player:
1..e5 -> London denied, also immediate win if White premoves, which sometimes happens at low rating
1..Nf6 -> setting up the Indian defence and you don't commit to anything permanent yet
1..d5, 2..e6 -> securing some okay control in the center and you know the lsb is forced to get involved
1..d6, 2..e6, 3..g5 kicks the bishop back but isn't really the best and requires White to not play Nf3 in the opening... Which is kind of how White expects to play the opening.
If the center is passive at the start and you don't plan to castle kingside, you can create a pawn storm for another chance to trap the dsb. High commitment, puts you behind in development and doesn't necessarily work at high rating but it is an option to make White uncomfortable.
Alternatively, a safe approach is setting up in fewer moves than White. The Indian defense was mentioned for a reason, that requires 4-5 moves to get to a comfortable spot, the complete London setup goes for 7(although you don't have to go for it every game). This allows for 5..d6, 6..c5, putting pressure on the d file and getting into the fun part of the game. In some cases, you can even try to "lock" the lsb out of the game for a while.
P.S. c5 is generally a good response as it also comes with Qb6 once the dsb is no longer defending the b2 pawn. You can even play it early but keep in mind that a lone queen is nothing more than an ankle biter.

[dusky hull]

in my experience, the most testing variation aginst the london is 1. d4 Nf3 2. Bf4 d5 3. Nf3/e3 c5

just dont make the mistake a lot of beginner players will make in this system which is to push c4. many players think that by taking away d3, theyve accomplished something, but now the center is easier to undermine and you lost the ability to capture on d4.

basically you're telling white "okay, you can have what you want, but im going to be the one who has the initiative" as your claim to the center is slightly more powerful than white's. obviously its only 3 moves in but black should have great chances. by committing c5, it opens up the dark square pathway for the queen which means Qb6 is an option, hitting white's undefended g pawn since the dsb was developed so early.

there are even tactics in the position. after Qb6 if white plays Qc2 black can offer a full bishop with Bf5 and if white captures the free bishop then Qxb7 and now white's rook hangs

[tardy finch]

You mean 1. d4 Nf6

Seriously though, while there are many.. MANY ideas you can use, realistically you can't have a plan set in stone. Your opponent might even bail on the London. Who says the exact move order must be kept? By going d4 into Nf3 White isn't committing to the London just yet and still has other options to do. Sometimes it might be some complete bullshit. Point is, each move has a trade off. You achieve something but give up something else. Keep track of what the plan at least seems to be and you will know where to strike.

A different perspective would be, what if your opponent plays 1. Na4? You have no plan prepared so you lose? Nah, you just punish by playing reasonably. The plans above are not really counterplays to the London and only that, they are good reactions to what your opponent is allowing with their opening.

[dusky hull]

yea that

[tardy finch]

Had to wait for raid to be over so I can pull up Lichess. I find this to be a good example of both how playing a counter blindly can backfire and why understanding the purpose behind moves matters.
This pretty much revolves around what was listed earlier as possible moves, however, Black in this situation is down a rook/knight depending on the upcoming moves. You can try to spot why.

What was the difference you might ask? Move order to the right. Opening move order has neither side committing hard so it's realistic. It's only after Bf4 that Black reacts. Might take a bit to spot as it's not the most important piece in the London but the Queen's knight moved to c3 and not d2 - this gives up the pyramidal structure but by itself it isn't a bad move, not at all. However, it serves as a response to the aggressive Qb6 - because now Qxb2 is suddenly a blunder. The correct move from Black in this situation would be c4, completely locking down the center (as per White's request) and taking space away.

Some things to note - the Lichess database shows a6 and Qxb2 to be the two most popular moves by far in this setup. While a6 is keeping things tense, literally 1 in 4 players would fall into the Qxb2 bait. Only serves to prove that humans are not computers and London players will be able to play the same "trap" over and over again. At the highest level, you will see a sharp change to c4 being the most popular move with a6 and Bd7 being closely behind - now suddenly showing that a vast majority of the players are suddenly not taking chances.

To drive the point home, the most common continuation after 5..c4 (outside of pro play) is 6.Rb1 Bf5. Congratulations, you slammed the brakes in time, only threatened Qxb2 and now have control over the d3 square before White's lsb has landed there. You deny that square and now block a large part of what the London does. In the 4 GM games that this exact variation was played, the score is 2-1-1. Lichess players tho.... Black is fine.

[teal furnace]

test 1-2 https://www.chess.com/game/computer/203239149

i dunno if this link works
its borked on my phone

but this might be one of my best 960 games against a computer

[teal furnace]

seems like its borked

maaaaaaan

[tardy finch]

Says you won, I believe it

But yeah, games on chess.com can be weird, better to export PGN

[teal furnace]

i did win but it didnt get the correct pieces i thiiink

like when i try to open it on my phone it shows the 960 game played with classical piece positions

my king roaming arround big time

thats the PGN

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "?"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Link "https://www.chess.com/game/computer/203239149"]

lmao

[tardy finch]

The fuck

[teal furnace]

man i play one (1) game with my old ipad

and its like my first good 960 game against a above 1k bot

I WIN

and its just lost

[tardy finch]

If you got to experience the PEAK of 960 which is actual long castling, then the game was not for naught.

If not, go play again lol, shit is hilarious

[teal furnace]

if my opponent lets me

i will have a LONG castle

[tardy finch]

https://tenor.com/bOSqF.gif

[teal furnace]

i didnt

[hard pagoda]

Wait is this King to g8 castle?

(Never played 960)

[teal furnace]

ye its normal castling rules from wherever pieces end up

in 960 the pieces are put on the board in a random order with some basic rules like 2 opposite colored bishops

but castling for either color puts the two pieces in the usual spots like in classical chess
so if i short castle my king wil ZOOOOOOM all the way to g8

[teal furnace]

sad day for my 960 career
did a double botez gambit into loss

we go againe next day

[teal furnace]

omgomgomg

Check out this #chess game: richyvee vs nitingarg796 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/130509638357

very proud of move 12
he fell into my trap and i won a rook for a pony

[tardy finch]

I love getting half a castle for the price of a horse

Big biznis

[teal furnace]

it was worth trying vs getting my bishop locked up and eaten

[tardy finch]

I will be honest - Nxf6+ was legitimately THE BEST move there. However, I am curious what your plan was against Qxf6?

Hint: You are still winning.

Hint #2: ||That knight is more fucked than a prostitute in an off-day.||

[hard pagoda]

I’m sorry but we need to talk about openings. Why play c4 when opponent hasn’t played d5? Switch into something else. And then 3. Be3 ? You’ve just caged your e pawn and as a result your wsb.

2. c4 wasn’t “bad” strictly. But if the opponent is willing to yield you the centre, fucking take it. 2.e4 just screams obvious to me.

3. Be3 on the other hand is actively horrible.

Black should follow with d5 and then you’re just in queen’s gambit declined but you misclicked a bishop move…

Anyway. I got 3 moves in and had to rant. Will look at the rest now and then come back to openings.

Ok. Next rant comes at 6. Nb5

I’m playing black, I see that, I just kick it with a6 and thank you for giving me a completely free pawn development move while you retreat your knight. What was the point of this move? It generates no real threat and is easily kicked. It’s a complete waste.

Instead, look for moves that develop new pieces, gain space, or control the centre. Probably move the bishop on e3 to allow the e pawn into the game. Or g3 to allow a bishop fianchetto.

8. Bg5. 👏

And 9 too. Having a bishop on the edge of the board can feel weak but this one can’t be kicked and stops a king side castle so is pretty cool.

I feel like you were very lucky with 12…. Rxf6. But well done for capitalising

18. Ne5 is bad. You’re up, don’t take chances. Trade off pieces and move to the end game. Bxc6

I think this is a lesson in chess I’ve only learnt recently

Delayed gratification.

You’ve got a pin, or a fork, or a discovered attack. Anything like that.

Don’t automatically cash in straight away if you don’t have to. What other moves can you make happen first? Even if it’s just force a trade of some pieces because you know you’ll be up on material soon

Applies to 18, but most obvious example of this for me is your move 14. You had no need to take the room with bishop. Rook was still pinned on the Queen so there’s no rush. I’ve not spotted the engine’s Nd2 and I don’t really understand why it’s better but I love Ne5. Discovered attack on that h file Knight. If black trades knights on e5 then you take with pawn and now it’s no longer a rook for a bishop but it’s a rook outright.

Wall of text distilled to a single tip; just because you can make a material winning capture, doesn’t mean you should. If the same opportunity will still be there next turn, there’s almost certainly a better move you can make in the interim.

(Obviously, this is the blue parse guy giving the green parse guy tips. Listen to asiano and pert, not me.)

[tardy finch]

Lmao I'm a grey parser then

[dusky hull]

my brother in christ you played a game against me where you dropped an average cenitipawn loss of six

"grey parser"

thats like as close to perfect as anyone could ever feasibly get

[tardy finch]

I do not use that metric so I can't evaluate if that's an actual achievement. You might say it is but I just don't understand it like that.

It's like telling me your car does 40 miles for a gallon, I use liters per 100km normally so that's a lot of conversion to get a sense of what you are saying.... centipawn loss of six, bet I can lose six pawns easily

[teal furnace]

uh there isnt much thought from my end

I pretty much only ever play D4 - C4 as white and C6 - D5 as black

sometimes I deviate if strictly nessecary but as long as it isnt i'm happy playing those two "openings" and focus on my midgame/endgame

I dont know what I gought about E3 but i had some idea.. but yes going back, not able to recall it its a bit dumb to lock my center pawn

NB5 was a gamble

people - including me - are bad and sometimes move their queen and dont spot Nc7
he kicked my knight back so i wasted a move

i was lucky with 12.. but its what happens at 500 elo
but yes at some point those lucky things stop happening🤣

18 was a sacrifice
i give up my bishop
block so queen can take
not much thought just wanted to take it safely with queen

like bc6 i get a horse and he gets my bishop

i got his other horse and he gets the same bishop

[teal furnace]

ya I'm aware of said concept but I did not see what i could get in short term so I just just took it before my opponent can manouver out

[hard pagoda]

This was another thing I noticed (from both you and your opponent). You're moving phenomenally quickly for a 20min game. Take your time my friend 🙂

or play blitz

[hard pagoda]

I think that it's the same as saying, in 16 moves, you'd give up one pawn vs the perfect computer moves.

but let's just do chess.com blitz rating. I'm 1200. @teal furnace is 550. (ok, honestly I think of myself as a green parser, but I didn't want to tell Richy he's a grey parser)

I'm expecting at least 1800 out of @dusky hull given his walls of text

[dusky hull]

pretty much, but its not a 1:1 thing. keep in mind that positions are more than just material but the value of the pieces. you can acquire centipawn loss without having lost any material on that particular move if that move deteriorates your position. when you see +3, it means white is up 300 centipawns whether it is in pure material or positional advantage (due to dynamic piece value). according to lichess documentation, a good centipawn loss average is around 20. if you're hitting single digits you're playing engine-like moves and are playing an absolute masterclass of a game--or at the very least, your opponent is blundering so badly that all of your moves are blatantly good and do not incur centipawn loss

so when i say that asiano blew me away with a centipawn loss of 6, it means he was playing perfectly damn near the whole game. i was getting cremated in that game

this was the final position of the game against asiano where I was black. a novice might look at this position and say "whats so bad? black has equal material and the bishop pair, AND a passed e pawn. plus white has a knight on the rim"

yea. until you really examine the situation. my LSB is fucking useless and has no pathway to entry. my DSB is not much better; ideally it wants to get on c7 and claim that diagonal but if my bishop lands on c7, notice it is only protected by the queen, so overloading tactics happen reaaaaaal quick.

i have a rook on the semiopen g file, but there's no atack for me. no breakthrough I can hope for. the only pawn break in the position is the h pawn which i cant utilize because its shielding my king. my f rook is almost useless; once his bishop lands on h6, my rook has no future.

my passed pawn is also useless because his DSB is easily blockading it meaning i cant use it at all. and that knight on the rim? that's the nail in the coffin. that knight has big plans of coming to c3 to e2 to f4 where it becomes an absolute knightmare, pressuring d5 and possible ideas on g6, hoping to take advantage of the h pawn pin.

i have zero counterplay. all i can do as black is wait and hope he messes up

so yea, it was a crazy display of understanding. i was outplayed the entire time, genuinely

[teal furnace]

trying to. but usually theres not a lot i can caluclate effectifely, but i'm trying to improve.

wouldnt say I played phenominally quickly. I was eating during that game even 🤣 but usually my opponents play instant moves.
i get flamed at least once a week that I should stop thinking and just play.. to which I usually reply that if they want instant moves they can just, as you said, play a shorter time control

[dusky hull]

just won a game in this position on move 9. black greedily took the seemingly hanging c4 pawn. find the best move for white that wins on the spot.

hint: ||queen aligned with the LSB||
honorable mention: ||Nc3 is winning, just less so than the best move.||
answer: ||Nf4 crushes black because the discovery proves fatal for the queen as she is now trapped. Qd5 and Qe6 are no longer possible due to the knight, all the dark squares are covered by the pawns, and all the other light squares are protected by the queen, knight, and bishop (and technically rook for a2)||

[tardy finch]

You made an innocent person cry on move 9. Hope you are happy.

[teal furnace]

is it Nc3?

almost

ah yes. || i forgot about those two escape squares up there. in my mind Nc3 is trapping the queen. but theres still the route up north of course.||

[tardy finch]

hop on chess
really enjoy a tough game
feel like I'm finally out of the performance hole I've been in for the past week
check analysis, engine calls me stupid

Why is the fish so rude

[teal furnace]

love it when you play a fucken banger game and analysis tells you you hung your queen 3 times but your opponent didnt notice it

[dusky hull]

Still not a bad move as you win a knight

Just not as winning as what you saw after

[teal furnace]

yeeee

[hard pagoda]

I just insta ignore anyone who starts chatting mid game. I’m here to play chess. Chat is only there to say GG at the end

/spoiler message:before scrolling down, Nf4? Queen doesn’t have an escape square

[teal furnace]

nice spoiler

[hard pagoda]

WTF have I done there

[teal furnace]

[hard pagoda]

Anyway I’ve no scrolled down and I’ve not spoiled anything that wasn’t

I didn’t actually spot the pawn fork after Nc3 initially so I was about to ask why it was winning…

[hard pagoda]

Happens to me so often

Particularly at my rating. “I won that game, I think I played nothing worse than inaccuracies”

Fish: no, your opponent was just slightly more fucking stupid than you are.

(Nothing worse than inaccuracies is enough to draw or win most games at my rating)

Also, started playing bullet recently and man I SUCK. 300 points behind my blitz rating. Feels like everyone has vastly superior opening knowledge and I’m just deep in a time hole by move 10 every game

[dusky hull]

I don’t play bullet at all

Well that’s not entirely true

There was a 3 week period I played bullet because I met someone in a videogame who exclusively played bullet and we played against each other a bunch in that interval

She was 2100 bullet and decimated me every game

I won maybe 2 out of every 10 games

Bullet has a super neat extra principle of psychological warfare incorporated into it that I was not prepared to wage

[tardy finch]

Certain bullet openings work just because the counterplay is thinking and you don't have the time. I'll gladly watch someone play bullet but fucking hell, it's too fast for me

[hard pagoda]

I was hoping playing bullet would improve my blitz

But right now I think it’s just making me a moron

[dusky hull]

the opposite is true

longer time formats improve your blitz

the better chess you can play, the easier blitz becomes as your intuition grows and becomes more accurate

[hard pagoda]

Makes sense

I’ll give that a go because bullet can frankly sod off

[tardy finch]

Another one walking towards the light that 10+3 is

[hard pagoda]

This was just straight 10mins

But Lord please let me play every game like this

Check out this #chess game: morelamen vs FigTree4 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/130980632715

@teal furnace Nice example in here about what I was saying with don’t just take the free material. My move 18 I could just take the free rook (it’s game over anyway whatever). But (unusually following my own advice) looked for better moves first and found the c2 pawn.

[dusky hull]

its not too often anymore that i do full reviews of my games in here, but it has been awhile. I think its worthwhile to explain my thoughts as they could be insightful. As this was an anonymous game, i have no idea how strong my opponent actually was, but judging off of the opening and the fact that no pieces were outright blundered, I'd say probably between 1000-1200. here's how this game went:

moves 1-4: fairly standard English theory. 4... Bd7 is a bit rare, but still occurs in about 10% of these positions, so not an absurd move.

moves 5-6: just like i preach about fundamentals, develop toward the center and castle the king

7. common theme in the reverse sicilian style English is to surge forward with the d pawn, breaking in the center. in like 95% of cases, black should respond by trading in the center, but in this particular position a5 is slightly preferred by the engine for a reason that will establish itself soon.

8. my opponent didn't capture, and unless you have a specific reason against it, if your opponent lets you get d5 in the English, you should play it. it already has plenty of support and while it does blunt your LSB, it also severely restricts black's movements and in this case even came with tempo.

9. while e4 from my opponent is never a real serious threat, i find that people really hate to play when they're cramped on space. the more claustrophobic my opponents' positions, the more likely they are to make a mistake. thats why i play it myself. plus maybe eventually down the line i want to play c5 to break his pawn chain and it would be nice if my d pawn was supported by another pawn.

10. Be3. why e3 when there are 2 other potential development squares (d2 and g5)? notice that the center is locked up. now i want to take as much space on the flanks as i can. developing my bishop to e3 allows it to have vision over to the queenside and the kingside simultaneously. this square allows the bishop to assist in the pawn push or hitting targets on both sides of the board. on d2, it assists the kingside but not as much the queenside since my knight blocks the diagonal. on g5, it only assists the kingside and is at risk of being kicked away with h6, and i never want to trade for the knight on f6 which currently has no good squares.

11. b4. as mentioned, the center is locked and i control more space, so the plan is simple: take space on the flanks. b4 takes away c5, a critical square for the black knights. it is worth noting that h3 first is also fine as it comes with tempo, however it does allow a5 to be played if the bishop captures. still fine for white, but now the QS plan is likely off.

12. Qd2 to connect rooks, add a defender to the undefended knight, and set up a queen bishop battery. i couldnt really tell which square was best for the queen between d2, c2, and d3 and apparently i picked the weakest option, but you'll see that the eval bar barely changed.

13. Rfc1: probably a strategic mistake. I should've carried on with the original plan of pushing flank pawns for space. this wastes a bit of time and there's no guarantee the c file will open up or present a target. not a terrible move, just not in the plan.

14. a3 to meet a5. clearly we do not want to capture bxa and mess up our pawn structure plus give up control of c5. and if black ever opens up the file and trades, we're happy to trade rooks on a1 (yet another reason why Rfc1 isnt too great if i have to end up recapturing on a1 anyway and move the rook again)

15. h3. why now? again, lets look at the position. the center has remained closed. i have taken sufficient space on the queenside. although i don't necessarily have a breakthrough planned, I don't need one. I'm happy to just improve my position with all the space that I have. my opponent, lacking space, will have to be creative and work harder to improve his position. h3 now begins the plan to work on my kingside.

16. black does not trade. if black did trade, then i just have more space and eventually I will break open the position and enjoy the bishop pair. since they did not trade, NOW I play Nh4, aiming to get in Nf5. the difference is since e3 forced the bishop to decide between trading or running to h5, now the bishop can't trade on f5, so Nf5 is much stronger. from my opponent's point of view after Nh4, he needs to understand that his position is much more unstable than it looks. prophylactically moving Bd8 so Nf5 doesnt come with tempo, or Nh7 giving the dsb a square to run would've been key here. Instead, Qb7 is played, I suppose connecting rooks. This is what I meant about claustrophobic positions inducing errors.

17. Nf5, clearly, as it comes with tempo on the dsb and is a much better square for the knight. black's ONLY move to kinda stay in this is Rfe8, defending the bishop. After a trade on e7, black has nothing to really play for and white has all day to improve the position, but at least the game continues. However my opponent retreats Be8, and now there are serious issues.

18. Bxh6! Blacks forces are helpless against the attack. Black gave us a target and we are now exploiting it. Best for black, as hard as it is to humanly do, is to simply ignore the death of a pawn and play defense with Ne8, trying to protect the g pawn. Every other option for black is worse, including what black played: gxh6, accepting the sacrifice.

19. Qxh6. Now the battery that was set up reaps the benefit as the queen joins the assault, threatening Qg7#. Even if black defends with Ne8, white simply would play Qxh5, regaining the piece and in a dominant position. Black's king is busted and white controls space everywhere on the board. Its only a matter of improving piece activity for white until black resigns or loses massive material avoiding mate.

It is worth noting that before you commit to Bxh6, although it might be screaming in your face to play it, you should try to calculate all the variations that black might reply with just to make sure you are actually winning. For example, what if black does play the best defense of Ne8? then you'd need to continue with your assault and desperado Bxg7 Nxg7 Qh6 Nxf5 exf5 and although temporarily down a piece, black will not be able to keep his lsb regardless what he tries. (This is not the only answer to Ne8, but it is the most aggressive.)

I hope this was educational on some level. https://lichess.org/kP1UYl9A/white#1

[teal furnace]

[dusky hull]

:)

[teal furnace]

Check out this #chess game: richyvee vs Julioruz66 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/122316270524

[hard pagoda]

Clean

You gave Julio a swift death. There’s honour in that.

But I do not understand these people playing 10min chess games like they’re 2|1 bullet.

I had one today. I was playing like garbage in a 5min game but my opponent was making every move in 1-3sec. So I knew I just had to hang on and he’d blunder me the win eventually

Sure enough black played Rxb6 in this position and resigned two moves later:

He had 4mins left on the clock. I had 2.

Took 3 seconds to pick the move that blundered the game

[tardy finch]

I was playing around with a queens gambit response and got to this funny position. Black to move, what do you play? Pert, how do you smash it afterwards?
Hint: ||It's a trap||
Hint 2: ||Where is that bishop looking?||

[dusky hull]

Hmm. Without looking at your hints I have the first two moves but I’m not finding a finisher

Idk here’s what I got so far

||Qxb7+ pretty obvious. Can’t block with pieces because Nc6 is too strong so king runs Kf3. Then Nd5 opening the f file for the rook and also stopping bishop capture check.|| but I’m not seeing what after that. Probably white plays something like ||Nxe6|| to create threats again but I’m legit stuck after this. ||Nc6 hits the queen|| but I don’t see what to do after that

Idk you got me, I’m pretty stumped

The hints did not help 😭

Idk I guess open king open f file fairly active knights, black is probably fine but I’m not seeing the KO or anything like that

@tardy finch tell me the answer when you log on

Oh and for anyone else who is wondering why I said the first move is obvious, ||the rook is not free. If Qxh1 then Nxe6 and black resigns. Queen can’t reenter the game easily and whites attack is too fierce, threatening mate and the rook.||

Also ||Kf3 because going to the d file aligns with the rook so the bishop actually is hanging, and going to the back rank is met with Ne4 threatening mate. Blacks attack happens faster. So Kf3 is forced||

[tardy finch]

I will assime that was ||Qxb2+|| which is correct. From there, you pick your own path but the essence is ||you need the queen near the lsb so Nxe6 wouldn't work ... or you can block the idea through Nfd5 which you spotted.|| While technically both ideas work, I am a fan of the first one as it allows some aggression too - ||Rxd4, then Qxd4 is almost forced as the Qb8+ line ends up trading knights equally. So after Rxd4, Qxd4, Qxb3 is the only sensible move and White, being a bit behind in material is forced to activate the rook which can currently happen only on the c file as d gets shafted by Nfd5 later on(and allows Qc2 for mobility)||. After getting to this scenario, Black, who got to this position through major idiocy, is now somewhat comfortable - a bit ahead in material, both kings are bad but White has fewer pieces available to sit on defence. Oh, and after ||Rc1 as the last move from White, Ncd5 is kind of a natural idea to follow. While the rook and queen can respectively enter the back ranks, this only improves Black's position. If both go on offense, Qd1+ becomes available and that can quickly spell doom for White. To avoid that, White would have to prepare a spot to hide, meaning that g3/g4 has to appear on the board, practically only giving Black time to do the Kf7 hop to safety OR step on the gas and push the now passing a pawn||.

P.S. I would like to apologize for the confusion caused although it seems to not be much. I posted the wrong picture from my phone
In the actual position I am describing in this comment, the knight is not on b8 but on c7. The continuation of ||Rxd4|| does not make sense without ||Ncd5|| available. Revisiting my comment for the purpose of answering Pert, in THIS position ||Nd5|| is the only actual response for the reasons you listed. I would still argue that it is best for White to play ||Nxe6|| anyway as ||the queen is defending mate therefore the bishop is not actually free, trap repeats.|| This pretty much forces the response of ||Nc6|| for which you also had the correct idea. From there, White can force Black into the same pattern of playing reaction moves. The line would be ||Qc5, Ne5+, Kg3(Ke4 is dead lost after Nf6+, you'll see why), Nd3, Qc2(offers queen trade and defends against Qxf2+), Qe5+ and after returning the king back to f3 where the whole check sequence started, you have a choice between Qf6+ and hope White fucks up or Nxf2 to suggest a knight trade with you getting an extra pawn on top of cutting the four pawn chain that White had on the king side.|| Effectively gets to the same idea of defusing the attack and moving to a better spot but through a longer, more tedious process and this is very prone to mistakes from Black.

[tardy finch]

As for how we even got to this position, I was experimenting with an idea that is surprisingly popular at lower ranks - accept the queen's gambit, then try to defend that pawn with all three of a, b and c. Normally, this is a terrible idea as you fall behind in development - investing the b and c pawns you can probably get away with but a is just too much. Interestingly enough, the whole "defend the pawn" idea has been played even at high levels, just without the investment of a6 which usually occurs at low ratings. Most recent game showcasing that is between Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa(hope I didn't butcher the names) in 2024. ||It was a draw||

[teal furnace]

tbf i played quite fast in the game too

[hard pagoda]

At low rankings the Budapest gambit is a winner every time. At my level you rarely get the instant win that you see on the meme videos, but you do get an advantage in development and no material loss

[tardy finch]

The Budapest Gambit has seen high level play too and still works, just with some slight alterations. Check Richard Rapport for what is pretty much a masterclass at it. He's also the most entertainment you can get from watching chess imo so win-win.

[hard pagoda]

It’s one of my favourites. It has multiple advantages:

• I don’t have to play the Queen’s gambit declined which always leaves me feeling trapped for space
• It’s structurally sound but also has plenty of traps for people to fall into
• it’s not well known so people fall into those traps

[tardy finch]

Try the Grunfeld and leave White feeling at a loss for useful moves. Biggest challenge I faced in trying out the Grunfeld was NOT committing to capturing for a long time. I just wanted to start trading pieces. Don't. Wait. Let White fuck it up in their own. You'll hold.

[dusky hull]

i completely disagree with this recommendation lol

if you're not already like a 1700+ player, the grunfeld will be damn near impossible for you to play well

the engine eval tells you that the position is equal but thats only if you understand the intricacies and goals of the opening, which can be really unintuitive especially if your opponent takes you out of preparation

[tardy finch]

Can't take me out of preparation if I have none

And while I agree with the general idea, I got the impression that we are talking about Queen's gambit responses. I will be daring enough to say that before 1200 the whole opening theory of White would be "push two pawns, capture with bishop" - nearly enough of a monkey brain to not even be able to create an unintuitive trap on purpose.

Until 1700, well, people now have better opening preparation, yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean you are suddenly in trouble. Queen's gambit is a simply powerful opening that makes a general approach more useful than a full commitment. Get some tips, understand the idea behind White's moves, play to satisfy your needs now rather than your opening plan's needs. Your position doesn't suffer enough from playing the Grunfeld that you would be fucked for picking it imo.

[hard pagoda]

Every queen’s gambit player learns the accepted. And then at 1000 or so they’re forced to learn the declined. Anything that isn’t one of those two openings will likely get them in trouble until well after 1200.

And I like to have as few opening ideas in my head as possible. Scotch, Sicilian, Budapest. That’s basically it.

But I’ve seen a lot of Caro-kann recently when I want to play Scotch so I need to figure out something useful to counter that.

I tend to play d4 e5 but I don’t know if that’s “correct”

[dusky hull]

If you ever want carokann tips, it’s pretty much my exclusive weapon against e4

Incredibly solid opening, however, not without a few drawbacks

[hard pagoda]

What’s the response to it you most dislike?

[dusky hull]

by far my most uncomfortable version of the carokann is:

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qe2 or Bd3, both annoying.

there's also a slightly different version where the e knight retreats to g3 as opposed to defending it and then Bc4 lands. the 2150 at my chess club uses this particular variation against me and I hate it. I'm constantly defending the entire game.

position from the first line

position of the sideline. note that g6 is the top engine defense for black but c5 and h5 are both literally just as good instead of g6. no matter what black plays, that Bc4 always comes

both of these set ups give white great attacking power. technically, with engine-level play, black is always fine. but i promise you it never feels that way. never.

it also doesnt help that I almost never get to practice against these variations since 90% of e4 players will play the advanced variation of the carokann, so I have the most practice there. I have inconsequential amounts of practice against this set up, which means my odds of defending it go way down

[dusky hull]

I would like to add, specifically to this line where you get Qe2 instead of Bd3, there is a forced queen trade line that black can opt into, but of course the issue with that is you're getting queens off the board, so your odds of getting a winning position as black go way down. You're basically offering a drawn endgame by turn 6. This is why top players do not usually play this Qe2 line and if they're going for this slightly suboptimal version of the carokann, they'll play Bd3.

[dusky hull]

On the contrary, this is a dream position for the carokann (ignore f3, i have no idea why my opponent played that. probably to keep my knight out of e4 but it was never gonna go back there). black's carokann checklist in most advanced and exchange variations are:

1. safe king
2. sufficient control over c4
3. a minority attack with a/b pawns to create weaknesses

white will have an incredibly hard time holding everything together here (and 2 moves later my opponent blundered Re3)

[hard pagoda]

Ooo I really like this one

But what forces 3… dxe4

Black has other moves, no? I’d think Bg4 very likely

[dusky hull]

There’s a fairly long theoretical line after 3. …Bg4 as opposed to taking on e4 where best moves for black give you this position which is effectively a worse version than the regular advanced. White doubles f pawns on purpose to gain the g file for attack. Yet again, with perfect play, black should only be a little worse, but look at white’s attacking potential. Bishop pair staring at the kingside, open g file for the rook, and f4 f5 is always a looming threat if black isn’t careful.

No matter how you slice it, this variation of white playing both knights out and leaving the pressure on the e pawn is called the two knights attack for a reason: no matter what black does, black will come under fire. This is why it is uncomfortable for me—and probably 99% of chess players. No one wants to be stuck defending.

To anyone reading: if you are an e4 player and hate playing against the carokann, the 2KA is a surefire way to pressure them. Another sideline alternative is the fantasy variation which I only recently have gotten much better at playing against.

[hard pagoda]

Thank you. Will give it a try next time someone plays c6 against me

[hard pagoda]

Is there a way to force the chess.com bots to start with a certain 3 moves? Not sure I’ve found it.

Ah found it

[dusky hull]

Wouldn’t know because I don’t use paywall websites

[hard pagoda]

Ah I don’t mind paying for some of their features. Although when I signed up I didn’t realise how good lichess was

[dusky hull]

Convinced myself to attend a chess tournament starting tonight

I feel like ass but I gotta try to get my USCF rating up one way or another

Wish me luck

[void bramble]

You haven't specified which kind

[dusky hull]

Which kind what

Like time format?

[hard pagoda]

GL!

[void bramble]

of luck

[dusky hull]

Lmao

The good kind

I beat a young woman who wasn’t technically USCF rated but was rated in a different federation around 1500-1600

She put up one hell of a fucking fight.

She exhausted all of my time. I was sub 50 seconds going into a king and pawn endgame. Crazy great job from her to survive the attack and make it to the endgame

[void bramble]

I wish you good luck

I guess for the next one

[dusky hull]

me: feeling good about a hardfought victory, thinking I played pretty well overall

the fish: you rube, you absolute fucking buffoon

[hard pagoda]

I want to thank you for this. Doubling my f pawns when castled king side always has me terrified. I’ve never thought about using it as an attacking opportunity with the rook until you posted.

And here’s the first chance I got to put the idea into practice

Check out this #chess game: xbophades vs FigTree4 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/131815228441

(Yes, I’m a cretin, I missed mate in 3, but it didn’t matter)

TSL: helping hunters win chess games since….

[tardy finch]

Which kind ass do you feel like

[dusky hull]

nice game

i have two comments for you to elevate this

1. as a beginner, as both white and black, you really shouldnt block your c pawn against a d pawn opening. you always want to be able to play c5/4 (sometimes c6/3, but mainly c5/4) to challenge the center. so Nc6, you'll notice the engine went from slightly in your favor to slightly in whites favor. also Qd7 to break the pin isn't advisable since your knight is still pinned to the queen instead of the king. this could go really wrong for you. it didnt here, but better players will see Qd7 and think "yippee!"

2. the idea to use the g file for attack is usually best once white has already castled kingside as now they play into your advantage of having that file open. after 13. ...Kh8, white is under no obligation to castle kingside. in fact, if it were me, I'd castle queenside here, saying you might have the g file, but its not going to matter if i storm the pawns up to your king

like this is just one example line after 0-0-0 where its really apparent that you're not actually getting to utilize the g file and white is surging forward towards you. save the Kh8/h1 maneuver for when your opponent has committed

[hard pagoda]

Definitely not sure what I was thinking with Qd7 - probably because I was trying to avoid doubled c pawns.

Will keep the advice about c pawns against a d file opening in mind too. I tend to be super focused on central pawns forward 1 or 2, knights out to c/f 3 or 6, and bishops out then castle. Anything that doesn’t fit that exact pattern is uncomfortable for me.

[hard pagoda]

(I say that, but I play Sicilian as black every time someone opens with e4)

[hard pagoda]

How did the tournament go @dusky hull

[dusky hull]

It’s one round each Monday for 3 more Mondays

I won round 1 so am currently 1/1

[hard pagoda]

Gotcha

[cyan elm]

Up and coming chess superstar currently undefeated for the tournament

[tardy finch]

Bout to go there in jeans, play bongcloud and walk out 2/2

[dusky hull]

I’m taking the half point bye. This flu has fucked me up and I still have to travel for work tomorrow.

[teal furnace]

botez gambit

into forking rooks

into resign

my fav mid game tactics played by my opponents (960 game)

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/132345622299?tab=review&move=39&tab=review&classification=greatfind&autorun=true

played quite poor tbh
not up to speed

[tardy finch]

This one isn't really a puzzle but an invitation to study. White just played a move that at first glance isn't so bad, we just trade some pawns, right? This actually gives Black a bit of an edge with perfect play. There are multiple ways this can go wrong for White, leading to a winning advantage for Black. Try to spot some.

REMINDER: There is no forced mate, there is no guaranteed win. Just tactics. Position is about -2 so just look for multiple purpose moves.

[hard pagoda]

||I can’t be sure on the next move but there’s two things I’m looking at:

1. the pair of knights. Get King in to f7 (not h7 due to discovered check) and then the f4 knight is a bit more tied down. But then Ne5+ so I’m not sure it’s this. So I think I like my second idea more:
2. that wsb looks pretty punchy. Get the Queen in to c6 and you’re threatening checkmate or a discovered attack (rook on queen) of white makes any mistakes on the d5 square.||

How am I doing?

[dusky hull]

You have a stronger move still

[tardy finch]

Just to give feedback:
||1) Ne5+ and you'll go to exactly where you were. You just allowed Qg6 and a free move for White.
2) Qc6 is not an actual threat. The mate is covered by the knight on f4. Also, the rook on queen attack is a fatal trap. After Qc6, Re3(legit best move for White), dxc4 you are hit with the brilliant Qxd8!
Capturing the queen back with your rook allows for a royal fork with Ne6. Not capturing the queen is, well, rook lost.||
As you can see, White can definitely fight back. Create threats faster.

[hard pagoda]

Oooo.

||Ba6 ?||

||also explored e5 but I see no value there||

[dusky hull]

Why did you discount e5

[hard pagoda]

Well now you say that I have no idea because it’s obviously winning a pawn. Ffs

[hard pagoda]

Nothing more satisfying than a !!

[tardy finch]

Wins more than a pawn actually. But yes, it's the right start

[hard pagoda]

Puzzle time from my game. Not a challenging one but I was happy to spot it with <2mins left in a previously tight game

[tardy finch]

||Nxd6||, then you move the mouse to instantly decline the offered draw

[hard pagoda]

Ha. At my level they play on for a bit first…

[tardy finch]

Yeah, okay, ||Rxc2+, Kh1||, then stalk the draw gambit

But you got the point. And I am glad you spotted that as this is a rather tight one.

At this point, I say you fight Pert to the death

[dusky hull]

???

[tardy finch]

Two men go in. One king gets out.

[hard pagoda]

Just had another game where I thought I played really well. No major mistakes, no major missed opportunities.

Fish: ABSOLUTELY NOT you were -3.40 and your opponent blew it. Twice.

[dusky hull]

For those who are keeping up with my adventures (I do not presume any of you are, however) I won round 3 as black tonight. Nice Arabian mate in 21 moves. If there is any interest, I will post a study of my rounds with annotations. I do so anyway for my own improvement, but I can make a copy and put it here if anyone wants it.

This now puts me at 2.5/3 (I took that half point bye in round 2 due to illness/travel). One more round next monday where I face off against one of the two leaders of the tournament--they're playing each other tonight and I play the winner in the final round.

[tardy finch]

So next week we get NM Pert?

[dusky hull]

God if only

I flub too many basic endgames to ever be an NM. Fuckin endgames.

[hard pagoda]

do NMs actually play endgames? they certainly never checkmate

(never, is, of course, an exaggeration)

[hard pagoda]

I always play Scotch as white if I can. Positions like this one arise quite often

I played Qxd7+. Can anyone explain why the fish gave me shit for that move? Says I should have played Qb3.

I know my Queen is more active but surely forcing the loss of castling rights is worth something?

[dusky hull]

Loss of castling is usually most beneficial when the king openness can be exploited, or when the king is attracted to a square where it can no longer defend a weak target (such as the f7 pawn). In this case, what does it accomplish to draw the king to d7? In fact, it might even help black, allowing his rooks to be connected more quickly, perhaps allowing one to assume e8 to target your pawn. I don’t necessarily see trading as a disastrous move (not sure what the engine says) but any pressure you were mounting is lost. If you consider the position after Qb3, you still have a highly active queen targeting two weaknesses and black still has worse pieces. Trading good queen for bad queen only helps him salvage a worse position.

Tldr piece value is based on the position and your queen is better than his. Trading only serves to remove that advantage.

[hard pagoda]

Gotcha. And yeah it was +1.50 vs +0.3 or something so not extreme. I swear in the past I’d have got that as an inaccuracy but the chess.com game reviews are being particularly harsh on me at the moment and gave me a ? for it

[dusky hull]

I think it also depends on the resulting position. Like if you go from 10 to 7, clearly it didn’t change the fact that your position is so dominant you can afford to not play the ideal move. But going from 1.5 to basically 0, you’ve lost all initiative.

Just a guess, I’m not sure if that’s correct

[hard pagoda]

Had another similar one today and I think you’re right

I also think this might be rating dependent

Chess.com game reviews are much harsher now I’ve crossed over 1200 and stayed there for a bit

Fortunately at my level these mistakes don’t decide games unless you make multiple. It’s a mix of outright blunders or in the better games 2/3 move tactics

Oh and they did give me a !! for a Queen sac today

[tardy finch]

Nowadays sober me can put up a fight in the endgame but I need drunk me to win the middlegame. Staying on top of the inebriation curve is one hell of a challenge and the pocket vodka gambit is banned in official tournaments

Soo.. endgames and chill tonight? I got some angry juice...

[dusky hull]

Might take you up on that. I found out who I’m playing in round 4 and subsequently what color I’m likely to have, so I’m gonna be prepping like mad these next few days

I have a feeling I’m in for a real fight against this guy. Anyone who enters a tournament unrated and goes 3/3 is likely quite strong.

[tardy finch]

Says the guy who effectively did that. You pick time and place.

[teal furnace]

only green moves yahooooooooo

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/133393147987?tab=analysis&move=47

[dusky hull]

i legit thought i was having a stroke when i saw move 2 recommendation from the engine was 0-0-0

[teal furnace]

ahahaha

[dusky hull]

then i noticed the board and was like oh right

[teal furnace]

i tried playin normal chess but i got gapped massively

ah whoops

https://www.chess.com/game/live/122926550274

[tardy finch]

I yelled "DUDE WHAT ARE YOU DOING" at my screen before realizing Richy is playing as Black in the 960 game 😐

[tardy finch]

Realistically, you hyperfixated on specific parts of the board instead of evaluating the dangers. You missed multiple opportunities which was in large part due to time trouble. Your opponent did the same, so you actually had a possible comeback. Would have been a lovely forced mate in ... uh... 17? moves but even without it, look at the board at move 30. Your opponent has literally a single piece attacking you. Two other pieces are not even developed and the king is vulnerable. Your pawns are leading a glorious attack. The only logical way for your opponent to break even is:
A. A Hanging piece that can be picked up with the queen.
B. Constant checks.
Is everything defended at that point? Most certainly. What are the possible checks? Let's examine.

Qb4 -> block with your queen and offer to trade Black's only active piece. While the engine sees Qb4+, Qd4, Qxd4, Kxd4 as the best outcome, it is still looking grim for White. Bishop can't move, rook is locked, king is open to an attack mentioned below. Just to clarify, in the game you blocked with the bishop, which isn't wrong. The problem arose in the move before that.
Qc6+, Qd4+, Qe3+ are all direct queen blunders and don't need to be addressed. Which means your opponent currently doesn't have a way through your defenses. Therefore, we need to attack. Pushing the lone d-pawn is not quite that as it creates a lot more trouble for us by:
1.Allowing the queen to access the entire 6th row which immediately opens up a check we didn't discuss - Qg6+. That is not even the scary move.
2.The enemy dsb which was locked behind bars suddenly has an open diagonal due to our d-pawn not being in the way. So now Black is given access to the only saving move - Bc5.

But let's look at d7 again. The idea was (hopefully) playing Rc8+ afterwards. How else can we do that? We need a move that doesn't compromise our defense and helps reach the c8 square.
Which piece have I not listed yet? Your lsb. Bg4 is a knockout.

This is not just weaving the web in which we will capture our victim, this is a move so ungodly based it is actually preparing a piece of history in front of our own eyes - the opera mate. The combination of Bg4 and Rc8 locks out every single square except for one - e7 - and that one is currently being covered by our d-pawn(which also keeps the enemy dsb in jail). Only thing Black can do is try and desperately defend against the gigachad attack you just started but even then, it's effectively just throwing pieces at you and trying to trade queens.

But as we have learned, we don't need a queen to mate. That rook is all we need and it is in fact, all we have left after the dust settles.

I know you didn't have the time to see all that in the game. But use this as a pattern recognition exercise and a good lesson to wait and think instead of directly react. That game was yours, you just had to reach out and take the win. 🙂

[hard pagoda]

Holy schmoly

[teal furnace]

love it when someone gets the great move

[hard pagoda]

It’s more the “your worst moves were ‘good’”

[tardy finch]

Today I had a beautiful squeeze ruined by the fish

"YoU cOuLd HaVe WoN iN fEwEr MoVeS" well fuck you too

[tardy finch]

Here's a little challenge for y'all. Pert said something about endgames so it's an endgame puzzle. Should Black accept the rook trade and why? Did White blunder or is that a genius move? Give it a good thought - while the answer is a 50/50 to get right, the reasoning is not so obvious.

[hard pagoda]

||unless I’m miscounting that’s a terrible blunder from white. Black gets an a1 queen before white king can get over there to stop it||

||ah balls. Ignore that. White is getting b8=Q++||

||so now I’m looking at whether black can take the b pawn and then push, forcing the white king to take on b1, then black king to the e5 pawn before white gets back. And I think that doesn’t work either.||

||conclusion: don’t take the rook exchange. But I don’t know what else to play||

Off to check with fish now

[tardy finch]

Fish might surprise you 🙂

[hard pagoda]

||bugger||

||so I was thinking the right things, but forgetting that black can pull the white king just as far from the pawns without wasting the final pawn move||

[dusky hull]

I won round 4, finishing the tournament undefeated with a score of 3.5/4. Also, as I beat the previously undefeated leader of the tournament, this means I won my tournament.

My final game was won in 18 moves--95% accurate and only one inaccuracy. I'm pretty proud of myself. I'll make a copy of the study soon once I finish annotating the final game.

Next tournament won't be for a little bit, but this is certainly progress. Still many mistakes made and lots of improvement to be had, but overall I'm pleased with how I played.

[left glade]

[dusky hull]

As promised, here is a study of the games from this tournament which includes all of my own personal annotations and calculated lines. If you happen to find it useful, fantastic. https://lichess.org/study/nVnN3CeN

[teal furnace]

how the fuck does one find DxC6 here

it seems like one of my "unnessecary pawn trades"

like aight get the fucker off the board

also maybe i dont see it but was this classical? like 90minute per player?

[dusky hull]

yes this was classical. time format was 75 mins + 5s delay on each move.

[dusky hull]

to find dx, one has to be flexible with attack plans. the purpose of dx is after bx (or even Bx), the d pawn is a liability in black's camp. white will switch the focus of the attack to d6 (and d5 if necessary to blockade the pawn further, but as you see, the c and e pawns do that tremendously well already)

i was dead focused on f4 because its always the tool i rely on to break through in the English

but what I shouldve realized is as soon as I was allowed to get d5 and e4 in, this is more of a kings indian defence structure, so dx should have been on my radar. that was a blindspot the entire game.

[teal furnace]

ooh nice nice

[cyan elm]

@dusky hull do you have a rating

[dusky hull]

after my first tournament i had an official uscf rating of 1174 going into this one. with a 3.5/4 maybe ill get to 1350 once the ratings refresh.

just gotta grind a few tournaments and then my uscf should be a little more accurate, but im more than happy with 1300s after only two rated tournaments.

assuming the schedule remains intact, my third tournament will be at the end of march. 5 rounds as opposed to 4 and 90m as opposed to 75. unfortunately I know in advance I'll have to miss a round and take a half point, but i think its still wortwhile to attend

[cyan elm]

Look at ma boi go

[tardy finch]

I refuse to believe Pert is 1300, he's kicked my ass way harder than that. MORE TOURNAMENTS!!!

[dusky hull]

I might’ve even overestimated getting 1300. I forgot that the girl I played was only rated 800 despite having a 1500ish playing strength because she was part of a different federation

So I probably won’t get as many rating points for this tournament. Oh well. My next tournament should be a good chance to seriously impact my rating if that’s the goal.

[teal furnace]

pert giving 1800+ vibes NGL

[dusky hull]

We will see lol. Ask me how my next tournament finishes in April.

[dusky hull]

One of my favorite variations to play in the carokann is the Tartakower variation if white opts to go into it. the reason its quickly becoming a favorite is because it is one of the few lines of the carokann where the objective is quite clear: kill the white king.

From a fundamental level, understand that black intentionally doubles f pawns to provide a secure king and an open center where the bishops can shine. But this is double edged, because if pieces get traded, the endgame pawn structure is losing for black. The solution? Attack.

This isn't my most accurate game, but pay attention to the timestamp at move 19: I had to address something and went from 2:20 on the clock to just 37 seconds. Luckily, against an uncastled king, we only needed 25. Sac the knight, then sac the rook. If any of you ever look into the carokann, check out the tartakower. https://lichess.org/q4rWpADp/black#1

[teal furnace]

anyone arround for a 960?

https://link.chess.com/play/YYYbHG

[tardy finch]

...still around?

[teal furnace]

am now

[tardy finch]

Quick one?

Barely staying awake at work

[teal furnace]

can one play two at once?

then yes

or does chesscom bug then ?

[tardy finch]

You can play as many games as you want at the same time but I recommend just one so you can focus

[teal furnace]

i'm in a 10|0 now

can play after if you want

[tardy finch]

Sure, ping me

[teal furnace]

they resigned

@tardy finch inv comin

dunno why one would resign after blundering a pony when its an even game
but hey

[tardy finch]

They love their horses

[teal furnace]

i'm gonna make it 15|10 bcs its my fav format

https://link.chess.com/play/Oj1vwr

they resigned when it was +2 for me
they prolly saw a very deep M36 that i missed

bruh

i cba

already hung a pawn

Man how did I miss F1

[tardy finch]

...I wasn't actually checking the chat here but that last game was quite something

[teal furnace]

ya that one was nice

the others i threw too early to admit

asiano vs richy
lets resign on move 1
https://www.chess.com/game/live/133715354341

saccing a queen is a brilliant move?
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/133715357835?tab=analysis&move=18

botez gambit accepted
https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/133716544045?tab=analysis

finally i am able to play chess
https://www.chess.com/game/live/133717153087

[tardy finch]

Ok, got a breather. Love how in chess 960 you can get an inaccuracy on move 1

[teal furnace]

XDD

[tardy finch]

Got more time to kill? We can also end it on a good game.

[teal furnace]

i do have more time but ya i think i'ma play some sniper elite before i have to go to rehersal

but we can butt heads some other time

was fun

[hard pagoda]

https://link.chess.com/play/iM9WfH

daily chess anyone? Obviously trust based that I’m not going to end up playing the fish…

[tardy finch]

You want me?

I was going to post a puzzle

[hard pagoda]

Sure, anyone. Or multiple!

[tardy finch]

Ay, sure

[hard pagoda]

Learning opportunity rather than anything competitive

[tardy finch]

The puzzle though:
There is a single move that makes sense for White and that is Rxe4, there is not even a debate about that. I want to bring curiosity to something else though. A lot of people here, in my opinion, play reactively. Therefore, a lot of people here, would feel obliged to play Nd2 which loses hard to Qxh3. So, assume Qxh3 is coming either way. Just imagine that is the next guarranteed move. What do you play and why?

[tardy finch]

If you want to learn, poke @dusky hull . I am simply an alcoholic who sometimes sees the game on the spectrum.

[teal furnace]

whens perturb hours?

[tardy finch]

Demon hours for us EU people

[teal furnace]

i wanna get owned by perturb sometime aswell

[tardy finch]

But for you, subtract 6 from your local time

[teal furnace]

aight so its 0440pm at his time

where pert

[tardy finch]

Probably cursing his coworkers for being lazy bastards and leaving all the actual work to him when it's the most stupid ass thing known to man

[dusky hull]

https://tenor.com/view/tired-r2d2-starwars-fall-gif-16033716

[tardy finch]

Close enough

[dusky hull]

Me rn after everything randomly broke at work and we suddenly entered defcon 1 red alert deploy the national guard

4 hour tech conference call and things are still fucked

[tardy finch]

https://tenor.com/b190c.gif

what the fuck did you do

[dusky hull]

Dude I wish I caused this

I wish it was as simple as me being that guy

I wasn’t even that guy

[tardy finch]

Don't let your wishes be simply that. Just fuck shit up worse

@hard pagoda What we playing, angy juice is kicking in

[hard pagoda]

||errr Ng5 and thanks for the free Queen?||

[tardy finch]

||Rxg5 and thanks for free knight||

[hard pagoda]

But you said Qxh3 was the guaranteed next move… have I misunderstood the question?

[tardy finch]

Okay, yeah, I probably should have laid that one out. If the queen move is coming and you plan on countering it the hardest... yes, you are correct. Let's add an additional layer which is "Qxh3 is not premoved". I like your thinking, you are on the right track and you are probably the type of player that abuses the meta to its fullest but let's for this one example assume that there might be a hiccup in the way.

[dusky hull]

i need to not look at a computer right now. we can play tomorrow if you're free

[tardy finch]

Nowadays chat is dead so no need to edit the original comment but @hard pagoda bested me in my own game therefore I am changing the rules like a salty participant should. If Qxh3 is blatantly hanging the queen, Qxh3 will not happen.

[hard pagoda]

||well Kh2 breaks the pin and defends the pawn directly. But then you’re still losing the knight, just to the pawn this time. Ok you’ve just made clear that it’s not that.||

[tardy finch]

Sort of a hint: ||look for a move that would draw with perfect play||

[hard pagoda]

I can’t see any way of making that happen at the moment. Will sleep on it

[tardy finch]

Knighty knight

[teal furnace]

maaaybe ya

[dusky hull]

i know you're looking for ||Nh4|| but there's also ||g3|| for what its worth

[dusky hull]

@cyan elm rating went from 1174 to 1284 lol. i suppose 1300 was too hopeful. oh well.

[cyan elm]

easily after next tournament

[dusky hull]

Yea. Not too concerned with rating as much as I am with just getting more comfortable in an OTB tournament setting. I’m sure my rating will catch up eventually with more tournaments.

Hope you’re doing well my liege. Ilysm

[cyan elm]

Been a pretty busy fella lately but lowkey am tempted to casually get back into chess

Also ilysm

[tardy finch]

I mean, yes, engine is probably even going to show a very slight edge in the Qxh3 scenario but that would be mostly due to ||Black not going after the pawns right away so White has the time to patch up the defense||. Game is drawn either way, if anything, White can untangle pieces a little better but doesn't have Black's attacking opportunity.

[teal furnace]

Check out this great move: https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/133892942773?move=28&tab=review

stumbling to success

[hard pagoda]

Gz on the win, but I am really struggling to see why a simple mate in one is “great”!!!

[teal furnace]

no clue either xdd

Check out this #chess game: richyvee vs sunnykumar14062004 - https://www.chess.com/live/game/133892956175

this was a proper game

[tardy finch]

Because it was the only move that "worked" - everything else was losing

[dusky hull]

@teal furnace im free for a little bit if you wanted to crank out a game. just fixing lunch rn

[dusky hull]

Back to work I go

[hard pagoda]

Qxh8# ?

[tardy finch]

To my knowledge, it is illegal to fly the queen over the g7 pawn

[teal furnace]

ty for the holler but i was at taekwondo class

[hard pagoda]

Fucking hell I’m a moron

But thank you for doing the takedown so politely!

[dusky hull]

All g. Just ping me whenever you wanna play and I might be around

[teal furnace]

I'ma chill a bit and play sniper game

but on the weekend i will have time

[left glade]

[teal furnace]

when ur arround today @dusky hull

[dusky hull]

Okay well I definitely wasn’t awake at 5am my time

But depending on your hours we might be able to sneak a game in for you

[dusky hull]

I’m going to get belligerently high so if you still want to chess this is your moment

[teal furnace]

ahahahahahaahah

well i am about to drive home from work

soooo thats a no for now

[tardy finch]

Why are you at work at this time on Saturday

[teal furnace]

gotta earn those dollars

and bcs I was off work wed, thurs, and friday

[hard pagoda]

Ignore all of this game apart from the first 8 moves or so. I blundered left right and centre and played like an absolute buffoon (I’m going through a run of this which has cost me 100 rating points and soon my phone is going to get flushed in a fit of rage)

But, want to focus on the first 8-10 moves. White plays a very unorthodox opening. Doesn’t attack the centre, doesn’t castle early, doesn’t develop minor pieces.

Basically does everything “wrong”.

How is black meant to capitalise? What did I miss?

Check out this #chess game: kalaboka vs FigTree4 - https://www.chess.com/game/123241877848

[hard pagoda]

(My general expectation with weird openings I’ve not seen before is that they’re traps so I try and focus on principled chess rather than attacking them and becoming a TikTok meme)

[dusky hull]

okay so every time this question comes up, I've usually answered it in the same way, but im not sure that me hammering into you "just play foundational chess" is going to matter in this particular instance when your first 7-10 moves were in fact entirely based on principled chess.

When you're playing against weird--and sometimes even outright bad--openings, using principled chess as your guidelines can help. but what they (and I include myself in the "they" here) often don't talk about is that if you are so strictly adhering to "principled moves" you might lose sight of moves that would immediately show why the opening is poor. and sometimes by missing those moves, your opponent's position actually becomes very solid very quickly.

so instead of necessarily looking at just your moves and what you mightve missed, lets instead look at your opponent's moves.

1. a3 off the bat obviously a weaker move than anything that claims central control. a3 in a vacuum isn't a bad move because often black will be threatening to put a piece on b4, but without that threat, a3 is a time waster. i like that you claimed the center with d5.

2. d4 your opponent doesnt want to let you have complete central control. Here's your first real opportunity to say "a3 was dumb". There's no knight on f3. he also hasnt played c4 because instead of c4 he played a3. this means your center is not under threat and his center is not defended. striking immediately with c5 would 100% have been my go to. His next move after c5 is either dx, losing control of the center, or some move that defends his pawn. this is to say, either you're winning the center, or you're winning time because hes defending. but Nf6 is fine. principled. defends your center.

3. b4 as soon as i saw this the first time on chesscom without eval i thought "a5 has to be the top move" and then in analysis later it 100% is. here you played Nc6, i imagine because you want to develop and also pressure the d pawn, but we've talked about this before: in most circumstances, you do not want to block your c pawn in d pawn openings. your c pawn is for attacking the center. leading with the knight allows white to solidify and now its going to take time for you to move your knight and get your c pawn thrust. the reason a5 was better is because you're immediately challenging his exposed line. if he plays bxa, you're thrilled. doubled a pawns? who wants that? and if he plays b5, hes overextending. to solidify, he'll have to play a4 which frankly you could just play yourself. so you see here how this was a moment to seize a little bit of initiative.

4. Bb2 makes sense. defends d4, develops, shores up the dark square weaknesses he created on the queenside. top move from the engine is Bg4 but its hard to see why without the knight on f3. but the second best move? still a5, still challenging that loose pawn chain. i dont hate Bf5 at all. again reasonable.

5. h3 is a bit of a waste of time again. doesnt come with tempo, doesnt do anything to develop, doesnt fix the queenside issues. this is why once again the idea of a5 is the top recommended move. engine is telling you "go make weaknesses". but e6 is totally fine.

6. e3 solidifies the center until some e pawn pawnbreak later in the middlegame. once again a5 because none of the moves hes making are addressing the loose pawn chain. while Bd6 makes sense, I am wondering about Ne4 -> Nd6 rerouting to control his primary breaks of c4 and e4. but okay Bd6, makes sense.

7. c4 lands, hes attacking your center and possibly threatening c5. I still think Ne4 or dx. here's my thinking Ne4 attacks f2 which is weak since he hasnt castled. You might have Ne4/Qh4 potential. dx seems reasonable because you've already played e6, so his lsb coming to c4 isnt as big of a deal now. i do not like castling here because you're just getting clamped spatially. if he played 8. c5 instead of Nf3, you'd be in a really tough spot.

So you see that principles exist to help guide you and guide your thinking, but that doesn't make them absolute. Knowing when to break principles is precisely what allows you to play the game. Looking for moments like a5 to just ask your opponent "so what are you gonna do about this?" is how you equalize or seize opportunities. I know this was a lot of text and it doesn't exactly answer "how" you spot these ideas, but if your opponent plays weird moves, chances are they're weird because they're breaking principles. And if they break principles, sometimes you have to break them too to punish them

If i were you, my biggest takeaway at the 1100 level is stop blocking your c pawn in d pawn openings.

Just don't do it anymore. You'll win like 10% more of your games just by not blocking your c pawn in d pawn openings.

also, last little note: notice that despite not necessarily punishing white's slow opening, following principles did bring you to an almost even position anyway. that's why these principles exist and thats why for anyone below 1000, the answer is strictly to adhere to them.

[hard pagoda]

Got it

(And I did read the rest of the wall too)

For now, I’ll make that change, and stick with principled chess in other circumstances

One change at a time

[dusky hull]

Absolutely

One change that gets implemented consistently is literally the improvement process.

[teal furnace]

[dusky hull]

around 900 level endgame puzzle

white to move, only one move wins

answer: ||g5, although black defends the square twice, is the solution. regardless how black captures, white is left with either a passed f or h pawn which will queen before black can.||

[hard pagoda]

Phew, got that in a few seconds

[void bramble]

Ay I did it

[dusky hull]

Achievement Unlocked: Conscientious Objector--win a game of chess without capturing a single piece. https://lichess.org/sQtoxjnr/white#1

[teal furnace]

[hard pagoda]

Your opponent spotted f6 just a fraction too late, I guess?

[tardy finch]

Even if they found Bf6 at the end, that wasn't going to save it, position's cooked

[old blade]

https://lichess.org/Ix5K8BVz#0

one of the funniest things i played

[tardy finch]

Nothing friendly about this match, poor lad got rekt

[dusky hull]

Based lichess user

[old blade]

I don’t use it tbh. Just wanted to do a match with a friend that doesn’t use chess.com

But like forced en-passant into castling-mate. Will never live to see that high again

[dusky hull]

Never mind I hate you

[dusky hull]

(This was nice)

[old blade]

😦

[dusky hull]

All of you have been brainwashed by Big Chess to use chesscom. I want to be your liberator. Follow me to the promised land.

[tardy finch]

To be fair, just yesterday I introduced a pal to Lichess and he found his way to chess com in his own today. Superior domain name ...

[dusky hull]

to be fair, stinky gross UI and paywalls

And worse engine eval

[tardy finch]

Genuine question, where is the "worse engine eval" coming from? Is chess.com limited in depth?

I can agree with the rest though

[dusky hull]

Chess com depth was 17 for a loooooong time, AND it was running an old version of SF. When I say old I mean lichess was on 16 and chesscom was on 11

It might have changed since I haven’t bothered to look recently but why would I ever see if they caught up when lichess has 17NNUE on demand

[tardy finch]

Alright, fair, I can take your side on that (still worth checking though)

But even with all that ... domain just takes precedence, sadly

I regularly open lichess during breaks at work, even if just to watch bullet games at the highlight. Chess.com surpasses only, AND SPECIFICALLY, in how easy it is to find randomly

Yo, any of you up for a game?

[dusky hull]

Im about to smoke so yes

[tardy finch]

Aight, hitting the bottles so in 15 minutes we can have a banger for everyone to watch

[dusky hull]

“Everyone”

0 spectators

[tardy finch]

That's not how you do it

@here
||Azor ban hammer on the way||

[dusky hull]

Why would you do this

Why have you chosen this

[tardy finch]

Ain't no sacrifice big enough for securing a victory over you

[dusky hull]

alright set up a 10 0, im going to the bathroom

[tardy finch]

https://lichess.org/Kk9Ve4rK

If you ain't Pert, I'll know

[dusky hull]

alriught

[tardy finch]

I felt I was losing at the end so thanks for accepting the draw

[dusky hull]

you gave me the exchange and it wasn't even -1.0

[tardy finch]

That rook felt dead

[dusky hull]

if you play Bd6 instead of Bd4 you're playing for a win

[tardy finch]

One thing I have learned about myself is that the castled rook ends up being more or less useless in the way I play

[dusky hull]

engine actually just wants c6 right away even over Bd6 slightly

either way you're the one pushing

[tardy finch]

I would need to go back and check. Yes, this looked like the right move but then again, also felt kind of wrong for ... unknown reasons

I didn't feel I could force you into a place where I can beat you up

[dusky hull]

that was a really good spot on your part that you could enter this line

I saw that I was winning the exchange and totally ignored my dark square problems

i think that was a pretty creative continuation

[tardy finch]

But also reliant on nearly perfect play, which I didn't end up achieving

We agreed to a draw but I am marking this as 0.7-0.3 in your favour.

[dusky hull]

i think that just comes from honing your intuition. like if Bd6 comes with tempo on the rook and solidifies your passed pawn

idk all the same you created an interesting position out of the board which at move 14 looked to be a pretty boring IQP

[tardy finch]

You're welcome, my idiocy can prove to be entertaining at times

Aparently Boris Spassky died an hour ago. A legend gone but new ones are on the rise.

[dusky hull]

oh that fuckin sucks

[void bramble]

Why is today's chess.com puzzle || promote to bishop instead of queen? ||

[left glade]

||if you promote to queen and he makes the Kg4 move it's stalemate if you would Qxh1||

[void bramble]

ty

[dusky hull]

This puzzle combines a tactical motif with a common mate pattern. White to move, find the mate in 3.

answer: ||Nf6+, recognizing the g pawn pin. Kh8 forced. Then, the required move: Qxh6+. Only move gxh6, opening up the g file so the rook can deliver an Arabian mate Rg8#||

[hard pagoda]

Ezpz

Although sadly I can only imagine the satisfaction of delivering a mate like that in game

[dusky hull]

Nah it’s very possible. It’s just about recognizing the patterns. This is why my coach (and previous coach) were such sticklers on consistently doing puzzles and rehearsing common mating patterns

I believe in you

[tardy finch]

Tbf it's quite the dopamine hit when you first manage to apply something you've only seen in puzzles to an actual game

Sadly, in my case I was having a friendly match with a kid and just HAD to take the opportunity and felt so good for ... Like a minute, then noticed how defeated the kid looked, had to give him a draw the next game

[hard pagoda]

You’re a terrible bully

😉

I got pin, fork and skewer in a single game today which was fun. The 3+ move mating attacks still elude me though 😞

[dusky hull]

For this next post, I want to test you guys a bit more than usual, if you're up for it.

Your first task is to take a few minutes and try to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of each side (this can mean relative piece strength, overall development, pawn structure and pawn weaknesses, king safety, etc.) Once you've considered as much as you feel is necessary, answer the question: which side is doing better?

Your second task is to decide on what move to play in response to Qb6. Part of improving as a chess player is evaluating the resulting board states from crucial decisions. There are actually 2 moves white can play that are both nearly equivalent in evaluation, but result in slightly different board states. There are also a handful of moves that might look good, but aren't as strong as the 2 aforementioned. This will lightly exercise your calculation, but also it will test you to see if you can correctly evaluate your options.

answer 1: ||white is better here. this should be evident by more centralized pieces, a firmer grasp on the center, and only one real pawn liability (d4). white is also clamping hard on the d6 square while keeping blacks bishop pair terrible. black, on the other hand, has terrible pieces stuck behind the pawns, has a backwards c pawn, and all pawn breaks are very hard to make happen.||

answer 2: ||The two strongest options for white are either c5 or Be2 unblocking the queen's defense to the d pawn. As mentioned, there are a myriad of other moves where white retains a small advantage (ex: Bxf8 winning the exchange but then Qxd4+ and that exchange wasn't really worth giving up the excellent bishop).||

[cyan elm]

Damn this is a really interesting position

[dusky hull]

explanation: ||c5 is potent as it comes with tempo on the queen, but also it firmly solidifes an outpost for the knight. after c5, Nd3 is coming and black has no answer to this. black's position is getting choked of all life.

Be2 is also just as strong, but does leave a little room for error. You have to be able to spot the following: Be2 b4 c5 Qa5 Bxa6 Qxa6 Bxb4 and now white is up a pawn. notice that c5 lands in this line as well, but it is used to force a LSB trade.||

[dusky hull]

woodsy in the chess channel

[cyan elm]

Lowkey tempted to start playing again

[dusky hull]

breaks are always good and life gets in the way, but if you enjoyed doing it then do it again when the time is right

after my next tournament im gonna take a break regardless how it goes

ive been putting in hours of studying each week and i can feel myself getting burnt with all the other stuff i have to do

[tardy finch]

This was a generally weak game from Black but I think there is something to learn either way. If you find the questions easy, good for you. If you actually thought for a bit, don't feel ashamed, play rapid and get into the habit of thinking head.

This position is part of what is known as the Busch-Gass Gambit and it is ... kind of rare. I would dare say it falls under the "bullshit openings" category but everyone can feel free to prove me wrong. The goal of the gambit is to get to a sharp position and prey on White's limited knowledge. This failed. After Nxe5, weirdly enough, Black went for Nf6 which gives time to play the safe(and hated by the fish) Nd3 on White's side. This invites the naughty Nxe4, followed by the seemingly not-so-interesting Qe2 knight pin. Why is the move Qe7 a blunder?
Bonus question: Why does castling for Black lead to an equal position?

To clarify what kind of rare means, according to Lichess, there are merely 5 games at the highest level that went into this gambit with 4 out of them being a win for White and the fifth being a draw. As for games played on Lichess, just 0.42% explored the first two moves of the gambit. This isn't something you should expect to see.

[hard pagoda]

||Queen and knight are the only things defending the bishop. f3 means black loses the bishop or the knight. And castles is an even position because if Qxe4 then Re8 pins queen to King, white's going to have to block with the Knight and then lose it to d6 (I guess?)||

[tardy finch]

||f3 is the correct reasoning and precisely what happened in the game.
But for the castling, you are almost there. If you block with the knight, you are actually giving Black time which means that instead of politely asking for your knight with d6, Black might play Nc6 and put even more pressure on it. Even d5 is something to consider due to how poorly we would've developed because of moving the knight so much.||

Hint for the castling trap: ||Do you have to capture that knight? And if you do, do you really need that queen?||

[dusky hull]

Saw this on Facebook. Wouldn’t say it’s particularly hard but it’s a neat position. White to move, mate in 1. Take everything into account.

[hard pagoda]

||godammit every single piece is pinned. Fortunately so is the black dsb. Qb5#||

[dusky hull]

Attaboy

[tardy finch]

This is how Discord displayed it so I spent a good amount of time wondering why Nc6# isn't a thing

[dusky hull]

Fairly simple puzzle. Just had this in a blitz where i caught my opponent in a trap earlier and went up a piece. Black refused my offer of a "free" knight on f5 because if Qx, there's Bh3 with a royal skewer. So black instead chooses to challenge the knight with the rook. What is white's best move in this position?

Since white is up a piece here, there's a lot of moves that are still winning, but the challenge is to find the best one.

[hard pagoda]

||Re7 traps the queen, right, given that the skewer threat isn’t gone||

[dusky hull]

that's correct, good job

[hard pagoda]

Took me a little while. I’m historically weak at spotting opportunities like this.

[hard pagoda]

Can someone explain the Scandinavian to me please? I see a lot of e4, d4, exd4, Qxd4, Nc3, Qd8

And I really don’t see the point from Black’s PoV.

Sure White doesn’t have pawns in the centre but they have a Knight already developed and the next turn. You’ve just given them an extra turn of head start.

Ok chess.com does at least confirm this isn’t mainline but I see it a lot. I wonder if there’s some trap black is hoping I’ll fall into and with Nc3 they just give up

[dusky hull]

@tardy finch your time to shine lol

I can give you a brief overview of what black aims for and a few of the lines I know, but asiano plays or played the scandi way more than I ever have

[tardy finch]

The point is you don't learn theory because it's scary

Realistically, Qd8 is safe but as you stated, you don't develop shit. Your only "achievement" is the open diagonal for your bishop which... Isn't really that much. Since your development has zero threats and, currently, zero commitment, you can double down on playing defense and setup something on the kingside rather quickly, then follow up with Nbd7 to fortify even more. The e pawn has been slaughtered, so there's a tiny bit less pressure coming onto your short-castled king.

Now, if you want to have fun... Two concepts:
1.Keep the queen active
2.Long castle(Pert originally inspired me for that one)

As long as you don't get baited into a queen trap, you can safely maneuver with her, develop towards your queenside and start a pawnstorm as soon as White castles short. Your main issue will come in the form of White claiming d4 because you have little to no way of contesting it and a strong counterattack will build from that one square.

Even in this variation, this is mostly a non-committal opening. It's safe, lazy and rather easy to play. You can check some other variations (a common idea is pressuring White's knight on c3) but there's hardly anything sharp.

[tardy finch]

Took me a bit but I realized you might have wanted White's PoV on this lol.

You can claim the center pretty much for free. d4 is hard to contest from Black. If the queen stays in, you can develop with tempo on her unless she moves to the side; in that case, develop normally and only start threats on the queen if once you have 2-3 pieces ready to go. No need to rush. If Black is on the attack(rare to see an aggressive Scandi player but not impossible), simply be smart about what they have to offer in that attack. Forcing trades can quickly extinguish the attack as Black is already behind in development.
Also, as White, try to avoid opposite side castling, unless Black left you a juicy open diagonal on the king. A fair bit of the time, c6 will appear on the board, followed by long castle and then Black just... Forgets about it. That's something you can punish really hard with some bishop coordination.

And, finally... I mean, you don't have to play into the Scandi... e4, d4, e5. Bonjour.

[dusky hull]

Lord asiano has spoken

[teal furnace]

Check out this #chess game: Magnuspasclarsen vs richyvee - https://www.chess.com/live/game/136506592888

todays game is a study on how you can get your opponent to resign despite having a completely winning position

enjoy

[hard pagoda]

Erm. Why did he resign?

I enjoyed the chess.com puzzle today.

||I will retire happily from chess when I win a game by under promoting||

[void bramble]

I finally understood why || I wouldn't make a queen || without asking someone here

[dusky hull]

It’s not as uncommon as you think. It happens in about 3% of all ||promotions|| using the lichess database as your sample set

I’m not saying that’s frequent but it’s not like one in a million. Don’t retire :)

[tardy finch]

There was an actual video going over what would be the most rare and unique move in chess, statistically speaking. Then the database showed completely different results

[dusky hull]

I remember watching that. It was a good video. Unfortunately same limitation of only being able to use lichess data because chesscom is an evil moneygrabbing corporation that doesn’t allow any public API usage but whatever

[tardy finch]

You hate on chess com at any given opportunity and I admire that devotion

[dusky hull]

https://tenor.com/view/always-have-been-always-will-be-tracy-jordan-30rock-forever-and-ever-now-and-forever-gif-21884305

[teal furnace]

prolly because he blundered his queen and failed to take my blundered rook

aka tilt

[tardy finch]

Recently we talked about the Scandinavian and how evaluating trades is the key to punishing a premature attack. So here is a relatively easy puzzle - why is Ne4 a mistake?
Medium level puzzle: How does Black salvage after ||Nxe4|| and keep a manageable disadvantage?
High level puzzle: Why is ||Kxe2|| shit(assuming ||everything up to medium was played||) and how does Black punish that exactly? Not in moves - those would be fairly obvious - what is the idea to be maintained throughout the midgame?

[hard pagoda]

||Nxe4, Qxe4, f3 wins a bishop for a pawn||

||Bxe7. the pawn fork is now gone so Black can look at Qxe4. Assuming white defends the e4 knight then the black bishop runs away and nabs the c4 pawn in the process? Actually now this is looking quite good for black. ||

[tardy finch]

So, regarding the first line, YES. Fair trap, admirable.
Regarding the second - there are three ways to ||defend the e4 knight||. Only one of them maintains a noticeable advantage for White.
P.S. Technically four ways, if ||you go into the high level puzzle||.

[teal furnace]

i think i had my first brilliant against a bot

https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/computer/248421525?tab=review&move=15&tab=review&classification=brilliant&autorun=true

or rather
its my first brilliant ever
but against a bot

[tardy finch]

What's up with chess.com's daily puzzle

There's like 5 mates and none of them are considered the right move?

[old blade]

its april fools

every legal move is mate

well except one 😉

which is the solution

Solution:|| Rc6+ unpinning the enemy Rook so it can capture your Bishop on h7 that would checkmate you ||

[teal furnace]

ahahahah thats clever

[tardy finch]

BRUH

Although, considering that chess.com has a history of not accepting mate in one as the best move, this is probably a decent workaround

[teal furnace]

oh god

I looked at this puzzle for like 5-10 minutes

i would have NEVER found this

maybe if i pressed "hint"

but on my own no

[hard pagoda]

I am 100% getting reported for cheating today

Rest assured there was no actual cheating.

Check out this #chess game: glennergy vs FigTree4 - https://www.chess.com/game/136965626514

[tardy finch]

Nah, excellent game on your end

I'd report your opponent for tunnel vision

[teal furnace]

beautiful checkmate

[teal furnace]

so today i was sent this sticker

happy pert?

[tardy finch]

Judging from his last game, yes, he is.

[dusky hull]

that picture is so off putting i am actually in awe

but yes i did have a really good game just recently

[teal furnace]

oh yes

person who sent it to me knows i enjoy a good sticker

but to this one i replied with

"man this is cursed"

😂

[hard pagoda]

New favourite early game mate. Boys and girls don’t do this…

Check out this #chess game: FigTree4 vs shlokshaurya - https://www.chess.com/game/137127427386

I’m sure that every chess player at my level (including me) is conditioned to ignore rooks until they’ve moved away from a, h or f (if short castle) files. There’s just this default assumption that they’ll be covered by a pawn

So moving those pawns out (and ideally trading them) early in the game really screws with people.

(Within reason of course. I don’t think I’d suggest moving the h pawn if you can’t castle queenside, for example)

[tardy finch]

I'll admit

That was unexpected

This was two very different stages of "Wait, what?"

[hard pagoda]

What was the first stage? My f4 move? Engine didn’t love that but it didn’t think it was trash either

[tardy finch]

Nh5 as opposed to Nxe5 was the first one. Then I saw the mate in one and moved to the next stage.

[teal furnace]

any freestyle chess tournament enjoyers?

[hard pagoda]

Ah yeah I’d love to know why he didn’t play Nxe5. It’s what I was expecting. He even spent some time thinking about it too

[hard pagoda]

All gone very quiet in here. Any tournament play coming up @dusky hull ?

[dusky hull]

Unfortunately I had to skip the tourney I was planning to attend. I was okay with missing 1/5 rounds but something else came up so I would’ve been missing 2/5 rounds and to me it just wasn’t worth it at that point

I still will try to do a tourney soon but my schedule has to allow for it and rn my schedule is quite busy

[dusky hull]

In this game, I blundered an exchange earlier during the middlegame and my opponent traded down into an endgame because he incorrectly assumed the material advantage was enough to win him the game. However, it is actually white who is winning.
While I'm not asking you to find particular moves here, see if you can just rationalize why white is winning despite being down the exchange. It's a good exercise in position evaluation.

[tardy finch]

#1 reason - "eval said so"

But going with the highlights left to right:
||1. While Black's a and b pawns are connected, they stand no chance of promoting. White doesn't even have to commit to anything there to stop them.
2. B rook is awfully stuck.
3. Speaking of rooks, Black's rooks cannot get to an open file, nor force one to open easily. Even attempting to do so comes with a loss of tempo.
4. D pawn isn't going anywhere and will get captured later if Black commits to a plan consisting of multiple moves with no threats in-between.
5. Black's king is stuck. F8 assists in trying to open the e file, except that will also lose the pieces that would have used it and gives up any pawn assistance. H6 just asks for a mating net to be woven. H8 combines all downsides of the other two.
6. The way I see it, the first one to try and break through the fgh pawn structure, will be the one to lose control of it. So not much good there either.

It's not that Black doesn't have material but from this position there's no way I can see it put to good use. Everything would require a few moves to shuffle pieces which just gives White the initiative. And guess what - it's White's turn to move. Since the only piece I gave some recognition was the king, I would immediately force the issue and play Re7+ so that Black is forced to put it in an unfavourable position.||

Still, worth mentioning that while White is probably winning, I am doubtful it is by such a big margin that it can be converted into a guaranteed win. Position is probably +1? Unless I missed something...

[dusky hull]

Yea that’s all pretty accurate.

Although you are underestimating the advantage.

With best play this is around +3.5

This is an example of how material is only as important as the situation on the board. Black’s situation is quite dire once you recognize all the points asiano made.

[hard pagoda]

So… how does white capitalise? I can see how black isn’t winning. What I can’t see is the attack to take advantage.

White -
Can’t move the bishop, as that’s what’s looking down the rooks.
Can’t move the d pawn as it’s what protects the bishop

I’m guessing Re6 or Re7+?

[dusky hull]

Several good moves but Re7+ is best. Activate the rook, start to target the h pawn (or take it if black plays Kf8/g8). The d pawn will fall whenever you want it to. The win condition for white is the passed d pawn. The white king will escort the pawn up the board while the bishop and Rook on the 7th rank greatly limit what black can do about it.

[tardy finch]

I found it hard to believe that the advantage was that great so I had to look into it again. Apparently after Re7+, the only response that doesn't dig you deeper in is .. immediately giving up the h pawn. Playing Kh8 instead to try and defend it(for example) can be met with just a leisurely king stroll. AND IT FUCKING WORKS

||If the d rook stays in place to cut your king off from going all the way to the g file, then you just push your d6 pawn. If the rooks move to possibly gang up on your bishop, your king is a sufficient defender on c5 but can become a fucking menace on c7, effectively showing every other piece in the area who's boss.||

[dusky hull]

Yea in the game my king made its way to c7, pawn to d7, and he was helpless to stop promotion which would’ve traded down into me being up a bishop. It was quite a comeback from an earlier mistake, but it wouldn’t have been possible had I not taken steps to make his life difficult. The f4 f5 g4 maneuver came after the blunder, as did my king activity. Sometimes you just have to be an asshole and say “prove you’re better than me” because often times they can’t.

Hence the advice I give everyone which is don’t resign

[dusky hull]

so i stumbled upon this chess website that has a lot of different chess games on it. one of them is called guess the opening where it operates like a wordle sequence. you just make guesses as far as what the moves are. helps to build your repetoire and memory of the sequences

heres my first attempt

the website is chessboardmagic/com if you want to check it out. i only just found it today so i havent played around with all the stuff in it

[hard pagoda]

Oooo this is fun

I failed badly even on 3 move version

Hmm apparently that last move I didn’t know is the most common variation. Saves doubling the kingside pawns I guess. Learned something!

[tardy finch]

I really want to enjoy this better version of chessle but I keep getting openings like "Madagascar: Hamster variation" or shit like that

Oh, and of course, the mandatory "make sense of this unimaginable mess"

[dusky hull]

ez lyfe

oh my god you can make it 10 moves

i have to try.

[tardy finch]

I actually figured it out on guess 5. Not realizing c4 can be played by either side was almost my downfall.

[tardy finch]

Also, what in the god damn FUCK is this opening?!

[dusky hull]

Petrov Damiano var

Petrov is also known as the Russian opening in some chess books

they're synonymous

[tardy finch]

My manager is called Damiano Petrov(no joke, that is his actual name) so it's not synonymous to me

[dusky hull]

well that went terribly

took me 5 guesses to even get the opening let alone the variation

surely its a spanish. surely its a sicilian. surely its a french. surely its a carokann. surely its a scandinavian.

nope, modern defense fuck you

[tardy finch]

Have you considered guessing popular opening moves in the first guess, even if they don't contribute to an actual opening?

[dusky hull]

[tardy finch]

e4 e5 d4 d5, all in one swoop, fuck it
throw some knights in
those bishop seem like they can pin a knight that wasn't played
slap a c pawn for a sicillian/english

[hard pagoda]

I’m gonna play 6move version while you fucks do your 10move shit…

[tardy finch]

I genuinely feel 10 is easier than 6. Way more information.

I just started a 6 move game and by the second guess I am lost. Right, I got the first 4 moves. There's like 10 possible variations that (in the upcoming move) don't contain the rest of the moves I tried. GG.

[hard pagoda]

WTF is this?

I’ve never seen the Benoni

Let alone the Weenink

[tardy finch]

I summon thee @dusky hull

[dusky hull]

huhwhat

its a thing yea. usually just a surprise tool white employs to take black out of benoni prep. black won't get the large queenside hes used to, but white loses the advantage of holding a large center which is generally viewed as better than the large queenside that black gets

basically what ends up happening is that DSBs come off the board and white has a 3v2 on the QS but that's really the only actual advantage white gets out of the opening. Not necessarily ideal.

didnt know it was called the weenink variation though. that's new to me lol

[hard pagoda]

Been chasing that for a long time. Still losing way too many games to blunders but winning more with good tactics

[dusky hull]

hey man thats genuine progress

im proud of you

keep it up dude

[hard pagoda]

1300 next. But I need to figure out how to stop blundering in 5min games

[tardy finch]

Honestly ... play 10 min games for a bit

[hard pagoda]

Yeah my 10min score is like 150 points higher….

[tardy finch]

Here's a simple one that doubles as an example why you should focus on principles rather than a set in stone opening.

First 5 moves were textbook material. Then h5 happened for no reason. Then two bishop moves that could've been avoided. And finally, Bg5 from White that wasn't acknowledged by Black(due to the knight having two pawn defenders) and a trap was sprung.

Find the idea that gives White the upper hand.

[old blade]

kind of having trouble to find something gamewinning here
Bishops takes knight followed by d5 was my first thought but i feel like you are looking for something even stronger

[tardy finch]

I never said winning. Your guess is correct.

Black's failure to notice that the bishop is trapped after d5 is swiftly punished by removing the key defender(f6 knight)

If you are having a game winning advantage in the first 10 moves, you likely played a sick gambit and it paid off with interest

[old blade]

i mean is it trapped? its knight for bishop trade or am i missing something

[tardy finch]

What follows d5? Play it out.

[old blade]

d5 - Bf5
KxBf5 - QxKf5

or is it:
D5 - Bf5
Bb5 - C6
dxc6 - Kxc6
Qf3 overloading blacks queen?

[tardy finch]

You can do better than Kxf5. Bb5 creates a nasty pin that requires immediate action.

Option1: block with knight -> d5 captures and you are immediately up a piece
Option2: block with c6.Ba4 and Black is suddenly out of moves with development being highly questionable. In order to kick out the bishop, you invite White to reinforce the d5 pawn on both sides - Bb4 then Qf3 afterwards.

White rushes ahead in development even if there is no actual advantage in the pieces present. Black just gets a blocked rook and knight so use the tempo appropriately. Castle long, capture the c pawn to get control over the d file, move the knight to a better spot. Your plan ahead is easy to execute while Black is going to struggle to organize a decent defense.

The actual piece capture will happen later down the line

[old blade]

yeah that looks way better for white

[hard pagoda]

This is getting silly. Are they on some different elo system or something?

[dusky hull]

No

You’re just performing better in rapid for likely a variety of reasons. It is common for one to be higher rated in longer time formats until you start pushing the gm level where it will vary.

I’d wager you’re either utilizing more time which is improving the quality of play, or there is a placebo effect of more time = less time pressure so even if you aren’t utilizing the resource, you’re playing as if the clock isn’t an issue.

[hard pagoda]

Anecdotally, it seems like my opponents make way more blunders in 10min than 5min games. That’s probably unlikely, so I’d guess I’m just much more likely to spot them in the longer format. Probably because I am using the time better.

[hard pagoda]

Caro-Kann experts. e4 c6 Nf3 d5.

I just played e5 as white in game.
Cos why not. Looked afterwards and it’s definitely not a book move. But the fish had it had the best move.

What am I (and the fish) missing?

Never mind. Bit of googling says this is a book move. Just not a common one

Oh! It’s Nf3 that’s uncommon

[dusky hull]

It’s a very very slight inaccuracy because if you play Nf3 that early chances are you should just commit to the 2 knights attack with Nc3

2 knights attack is quite frustrating for black if black is unprepared and believe me when I tell you that below 1500 they will be unprepared.

[hard pagoda]

It’s time I expanded my opening repertoire beyond the Scotch and the Sicilian isn’t it….

[tardy finch]

Mate, I've been playing Italian/Scandinavian all my life

Today I decided to brush off the dust and play some games, apparently my time management is suffering hard but since over the weekend I'll be playing OTB with no clock, that's good enough
And you can bet it will be Italian every fucking game

[hard pagoda]

I figure if I learn some other opening as black. I’ll know what to do when players use them when I’m playing white.

[hard pagoda]

1454 now. 200+ elo diff to my blitz score. 10min games making me look good at chess 🤣

[dusky hull]

Yea that’s pretty accurate. If your blitz is at its peak, I’d wager your rapid will max around 1550

[hard pagoda]

But I swear bullet players just aren’t as good

[dusky hull]

Bullet is pseudo chess

It’s like arcade chess

Bullet is opening knowledge meets mind games

[hard pagoda]

Check out this #chess game: FigTree4 vs Franchutri - https://www.chess.com/live/game/138003165768

This was latest game that got me >1450. Criminal opening from black

[dusky hull]

That bishop sac was… unnecessary

That was a very drunk Scandinavian

[hard pagoda]

The Blackburne-Klusterfuck gambit, as it shall henceforth be known

(Courtesy of chess.com)

[dusky hull]

Yea I mean I’m sure like with every gambit there’s probably a way to play it but I can tell you that way is not saccing the bishop on g4 for one pawn when there is no attack happening

[hard pagoda]

Yeah. I did panic a bit wondering what weird trap I’d fallen for

[dusky hull]

The winning the game trap

[hard pagoda]

Maybe he was hoping for 9. Nxd4 and then when I played g4 his plan went out the window and his mind with it.

Bit offended by this. Still don’t see much wrong with d3

Oh I see it now. If he’d taken Knight before playing Nd4 I would indeed have been in trouble.

[dusky hull]

Yea I think personally I’d just get rid of the knight on c3. Nd4 adding pressure to your pinned f knight isn’t super comfy. Your lsb doesn’t have a clear purpose elsewhere. And you have the added benefit of if he retakes with the queen you have Ne5 which either he blunders a piece or you force queens off the board, retain a much nicer pawn structure, and are up a pawn. Proooobably winning for white or at least close to winning.

Castling is probably also fine but still allows Nd4 which means you have to retreat your lsb regardless so you just allow him slightly more active play. Probably fine though.

Oh nvm I was looking at the game 2 moves earlier. You don’t have Ne5

I still would have played Bx though. Just me personally.

[teal furnace]

man i havent played a proper game in ages

cant wait to get back into it coming next week

finally some chill times to enjoy games

[hard pagoda]

Dunno WTF is wrong with chess.com’s charts, but the streak continues

I still don’t understand this blitz versus bullet thing @dusky hull

Are you saying you’d expect any ~1500 bullet player to be ~1200 blitz?

[dusky hull]

No

I’m saying I’d expect almost 1200 blitz players to be around 1500 rapid

Not sure when we were discussing bullet aside from me calling it arcade chess

[hard pagoda]

Oops. I didn’t mean bullet

Let me start again

Are you saying you’d expect any given 1200 blitz player to be 1500 rapid?

[dusky hull]

Most, yea. There will be exceptions and the range will vary but yea most people will be about 200ish points stronger in rapid than in blitz

That determination will begin to change as you start getting into the higher Elo, but up through about 1800 that’s usually the case

[hard pagoda]

But then how can my percentiles differ so widely? 96% rapid vs 89% blitz

[dusky hull]

Because the max ratings in blitz will be higher than the max ratings in rapid. The odds of a victor emerging from a game of chess substantially increase inversely proportional to the time control. That is to say the more time you both have, the more likely a drawn outcome can emerge. Since a decisive outcome is more likely in faster controls, ratings are more inflated in this regard, and that means that your rating comparative to those that are more inflated puts you in a lower percentile

Your percentiles will likely never actually match up unless you are an elite player

[hard pagoda]

https://chessgoals.com/rating-comparison/

I’m still confused but you’re definitely right

[dusky hull]

Yea it’s a known phenomenon. The tldr is in general longer time control = better quality of chess = higher rating

[hard pagoda]

Yup. Although I am a little better than average on rapid for my blitz score

[dusky hull]

Ya there will be variance. That’s to be expected. Don’t worry about it or even your rating for that matter. A common trap in any competitive game is to focus on your rank (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to my friend talk about how close he is to gm in overwatch). Understand that your rating is a reflection of your skill, not the other way around.

Just keep improving :)

[hard pagoda]

Sure. But it’s ok to say “I want to get better at chess and I’ll know if I have when my rating improves”

And to do that, I need a decent baseline

[tardy finch]

It's kind of besides the point as it's a completely different setting but still...

This weekend I unknowingly played a GM level player. And got to a draw(don't ask me how, it felt like a Christmas gift). Which wouldn't have been possible in the slightest with time control as his longest move took 20 seconds while in the endgame I regularly took more than a minute.

Longer time control indeed allows better chess.

As a consequence of that I am likely retiring as nothing can possibly match that experience.

[dusky hull]

You get a pgn?

[hard pagoda]

Gz @tardy finch

[tardy finch]

Over the board game

But it was a long stall over queen vs 2 rooks

Can try to recreat from memory in the morning

[dusky hull]

I told you your potential was higher than mine. There’s no scenario im drawing against a gm

Well done dude

[tardy finch]

To be fair, I was losing

He literally gave me the draw, I didn't earn it

[hard pagoda]

https://www.wowhead.com/news/checkmate-grandmaster-chess-transmog-and-mount-coming-in-patch-11-1-7-376774

Finally our worlds collide

[tardy finch]

I just wanted a bishop tmog with a sniper rifle. This will do

[teal furnace]

found this one

one of the few random internet puzzles i couldnt figure out

even tho the solution seems rather simple

||Qb1||

||pawn takes and promotes||

but its too late

||Ra8 mate||

[teal furnace]

i hope this wont be too annoying to get
bcs I do want to have those mogs

[hard pagoda]

Today’s lesson in chess

Gave my opponent a free rook when there was absolutely no need to rush

Fortunately he was under time pressure so didn’t take it

Bullet dodged

[tardy finch]

I once made good use of my opponent premoving the opening. Simply played a stupid pawn move that was easy to avoid, premove occurs, capture, gg

Can't quite find the clip but there was a hilarious exchange between Dina Belenkaya and Ben Finegold where he had to checkmate with knight and bishop and started premoving over the board towards the end

[hard pagoda]

Yeah I’ve been tempted to trap people like that before in the past

But I know if I spend too long thinking about the right move to counter their pre move, they’ll cancel the pre move

[tardy finch]

Some would. Most wouldn't premove the damn opening 😂

[old blade]

"Bullet dodged" or more like you played bullet

[dusky hull]

been a minute since my last puzzle for yall

so heres a two-parter

just had this position where i misplayed something in the opening and was worse until my opponent played Nb5.

1. find the move I played that made my opponent resign and figure out why he resigned
2. for extra credit, after finding the move I played, find the best move for white which surprisingly keeps white in the game and goes to show why you shouldn't resign

answer:

1. ||Rxb5. What does the sacrifice do, exactly? well QxR is pretty much forced, and then that allows the other rook to swing over to the b file, but with tempo on the queen. Queen has to move somewhere, and then you realize that the rook and the bishop coordinate an attack on b2. The knight is covering d2 so the incoming B+ cannot be met with Kd2 and forces Kb1 which is then met with Nc3+ (now that the pawn has been eliminated). White will either give up the queen or get checkmated or both.||

2. ||A resourceful player as white will see that all is not lost. Although the advantage is gone, white has a really powerful way to keep the game going. After Rx, Qx, and Rb8, white has the very tricky a4 (c4 same idea, nearly as good), so after RxQ axR now white has two connected passed b and c pawns supported by the bishop pair. Engine gives this as equal because although black is up material, at least one bishop is going to be spent babysitting the two pawns.||

Being honest I did not see the resourceful move before my opponent resigned, but once I saw it, I was thinking aw fuck that woulda sucked.

@teal furnace a lesson in never resigning :)

[tardy finch]

I checked this and although I saw the idea in 1), I was imagining a slightly different order. Guess it's analysis time so I can figure out why it doesn't work.

As for 2)... This is indeed resourceful but I'm not sure it's practical. ||Pawns look somewhat stoppable. Annoying, yes, but they can and will be stopped.||

[dusky hull]

Well that’s exactly why it’s equal

Because they can be blockaded but likely never actually captured

[tardy finch]

So the point is the material you are up is forced to stay behind and block them? That... Still doesn't convince me but since there's no immediate threat on either side, I guess that's fair. Will check in analysis as well.

[hard pagoda]

Been bouncing between 1470 and 1495 for aaaages on rapid

Could never break 1500

And today I do because some poor guy was struggling with Kazakh internet. Abandon after 3 moves

MASSIVE anticlimax but here it is

I feel like an abandon within 10moves should just be treated like an abort, as long as it was all book moves.

But then I’d just quit every time someone played the Grand Prix attack.

[teal furnace]

huuuuuuuge

[dusky hull]

Big congrats buddy. Keep it up.

[hard pagoda]

Poggers

Pretty sure I know exactly which match that was

🤔

[tardy finch]

I love that the evaluation is fair. Instead of saying "u stoobid, this blunders mate in 165", it is just "opponent is sus, we'll write it off as a mistake"

+cheating in a game of wits is pathetic

[hard pagoda]

I assume having one blindingly good game isn’t enough in its own right to get you penalised - must be multiple instances right?

[teal furnace]

easy +8

[dusky hull]

It depends. Sometimes the cheating is so blatant that it can be detected in one game as it is a stark contrast to previous level of play (ex: Dr Lupo scandal). Other times yes it can take multiple games to detect

[tardy finch]

Chess.com have claimed multiple times that they generate what is effectively "player DNA" - it's like a historical analysis of what moves you would be picking in different situations. How exactly that one works is a mystery (and sounds like BS to me) but the idea behind it would be that you are expected to exhibit certain behavior at certain points in the game because that is simply who you are.

Naturally, you will deviate from that sometimes. Maybe you were in post nut clarity and had an excellent game, maybe you were intoxicated and played terribly. That is also expected to happen to a certain extent. But if you are historically playing like shit and suddenly started picking all top engine moves with 99+ accuracy overall... Yeee, you're busted

That's why years ago when the topic of GMs cheating was hot(due to a fellow Bulgarian being suspected of hiding a computer in his shoe, likely true) it was also discussed how often a player would have to cheat. A novice would have to check the cheating engine almost every move because most of the time the way forward would be unclear to them.

But a GM cheating may have to check 2-3 specific moves and play the rest himself. Which is a fair bit scary.

[hard pagoda]

My player DNA:

• Only knows two openings
• Pretty good in an end game
• Loves a discovered attack
• Prone to Botez Gambits

Today I completely ignored a perfectly game winning Rook/King fork because I am obsessed with long castle discovered attacks on queens. Fortunately after O-O-O opponent played O-O so I got the game ending Nxf6+

[hard pagoda]

(Oops, forgot to post the position with the text!)

[tardy finch]

Hey, twinsies

[teal furnace]

tripletsies

exept for the endgame part

[teal furnace]

ANYONE HYPED FOR

NORWAY CHESS ??????????????????

WILL GUKESH D BEAT THE #1 IN THE WORLD MAGNUT CARLSEN?
WILL HIKARU FINALLY RESIGN FOR THE 3RD TIME THIS YEAR BCS HE LOOSES ONE (1) GAME?

WILL WE SEE AN UPSET IN THE WOMANS GAMES?
WILL JU WENJUN LOOSE TO ANNA MUZYCHUK?

theres funfact a game who plays in the zone of chernobyl and theres a character thats also called muzychuk
thats why i'm a fan of anna

[tardy finch]

Memes aside, I can see that happening. With a round-robin format, Anna may pull ahead through the art of not giving a fuck

[teal furnace]

ahahahaa

i honestly dont follow womans chess too much
Like i watched the championship match but i barely know any other plays besides wenjun and muzychuk

anna winning norway chess would be brilliant tho

[tardy finch]

I just want Nurgyul to stop throwing

[teal furnace]

i will tell her if i see her

man i am so hyped for round two today

i've never been big on watching sports but something when watching bigger chess tournaments tickles my brain.. i assume for the first time in ages i experience the excitenment of those events :D also its easy to follow on the side.. like specially the classical games you can just throw on a chill game like idk... currently i play Anno 1701 and you can follow the games on the 2nd screen without missing anything

[hard pagoda]

I find watching chess really hard. I’m not good enough that I can understand anything that they’re considering/contemplating. and then the commentators say “x will have a game winning advantage after move y” and I’m there going “wot? They’re a pawn down and I don’t see any obvious moves.”

[tardy finch]

There was one with Judith Polgar that I absolutely loved. Computer shows +1.2 evaluation, White to move. While the players are thinking, she takes the time to show what she would've done "back in the day". Plays like 10 moves in analysis, position ends up at +2.0. Returns to original position, evaluation is now +1.8. She literally just looked at the board and found the better line in seconds. Even if the difference is marginal, that is still quite the flex.

[teal furnace]

i find it a bit hard too watch bcs the games simply are long and it takes like half a day to watch one game and of course when i look at a position where a GM thinks for 8 minutes i cant pretend to understand what hes doing

but its just nice to watch on the side when doing other things and cheer for the ppl
or rather hope the 3 guys i dont like loose

i wish there would be more rapid games tho

like unironically my fav time to watch chess this last year was HANDS DOWN the rapid portion of freestlye chess

where they played like 25|0 or whatever it was

its a game you somewhat understand
it has a followable lengh

man ... aaaa

i want rapid games back

[teal furnace]

hoooooooow tha fuck did ||hikaru win this armageddon||

[tardy finch]

Guess I have something to look forward to tomorrow, I missed that game

[hard pagoda]

Someone in here promised me 1550… nearly there. Now I need to work out how to get better next.

(I haven’t suddenly got that much better in 30 days. I was just only ever playing blitz before)

[tardy finch]

Fun little example of why material doesn't always matter as much.

Black traded knight+bishop for rook+pawn. Technically, material is equal.
There is no hidden mate or super secret tactic. Just try and figure out what comes next, multiple moves work. Then think again, is the game really equal?

||To those of you who immediately screamed Nxc7, slap yourselves on the wrist with Rac8.||

[dusky hull]

Hahah I’m glad your spoiler addresses it because I was gonna write a bonk comment

[dusky hull]

oh, guess i never really answered

theres really only two moves that appeal to me:

1: ||Qd3 preparing f4, taking more space, using the tempo on the queen||

or 2: ||Bb5 exploiting black's light square weaknesses. once the bishop lands on c6, it effectively controls all of black's queenside and limits the rook activity||

theres probably better but if you asked me to play intuitively without any deep calculation, those 2 moves would be on my mind instantly

[tardy finch]

I'll just say, one is a clear winner over the other if you think about it. To rephrase the "challenge" - is there anything Black can do about it
||The answer is NO but one can take the time and analyse why Black is actually in a bad spot even though material is equal.||

[dusky hull]

probably option 2 then

just explaining what i found intuitive for me

[hard pagoda]

Check out this #chess game: FigTree4 vs aladinhooh - https://www.chess.com/game/live/139043892042

would appreciate thoughts on this one.

Ignore me blundering a pawn in the opening (I spotted the discovered attack on the queen from Bb4+ just in time, but also a move too late)

Also ignore my opponent blundering mate at the end.

What I’m interested in is what ideas you folks would have been pursuing as white in the middle game. Because I had nothing

[tardy finch]

For what it's worth, here are my thoughts on the matter:
1.Move 12, I wouldn't capture. It's not a bad move, it's just unnecessary. Leave the pressure in, make Black waste a move on this. You haven't castled, dsb and queen at starting positions, rooks completely isolated. If there is no immediate gain from capturing, develop.

2.Move 17ish, just as a reference. Position is even, you've traded off the exact same pieces, kings are safe. You felt you had nothing because there is nothing. So time to create something. This is the moment where one would look for opportunities, exploit weaknesses, etc. You kind of already did that by opening the door to the mate blunder. If not for that, I would've gone after the a and c pawns so that I can create a passed pawn.

[hard pagoda]

Taking on move 12 was a conscious decision to get isolated doubled pawns. But in retrospect you’re right, it wasn’t necessary given the pin on the Queen, could have done it later

[tardy finch]

This beautifully tight endgame was thrown by Black after playing Rh5. Try to figure out why.
For Pert: what would you do if that was Re4 instead? I don't know either, just curious.

[dusky hull]

You have to activate your rook

Only way to hold against the outside pawn

Retreating to a1 and swinging the rook out is the only thing I see that would allow white to keep playing

The pawn dsb construct blockades the c pawn which white can use as a shield. b5 and c4 might get traded off but white probably wants to avoid that since b5 is the main win condition given that it promotes on a dark square.

Outside of that, idk. Endgames are hard, definitely the weakest part of my game. I wouldn’t be surprised if you threw this to an engine and it said my idea was wrong.

Hope you capitalized off of the Rh5 blunder in the game though. Very clearly winning for white in the pic you posted.

[hard pagoda]

||Bd4+ Kc2 (forced), b6+ Kxb6 Rxh5, black resigns||

[teal furnace]

asiano casually calling the anna win

insane

[tardy finch]

[teal furnace]

ok its not over but how the fuck did magnut turn this arround

i have been watching the last two hours and i did not see that coming

i thought he'd just play a quick draw and enjoy the evening

nooooooo

well

not full no

but sad

[teal furnace]

bro

the norway chess twitch person is not holding back

(it was an interview in norwegian language)

[dusky hull]

Are y’all watching this magnus Arjun Armageddon

Holy fuck magnus

Damn Arjun you’re insane

[teal furnace]

ahahahaah

i was watching it

but i dont think he cared atall

or either of them

[tardy finch]

So. This position is drawn but has a trap laid. White decided to spring that trap and played fxg4.
Step 1: Find the best continuation for Black.
Step 2: Figure out which of White's pieces is most important in the resulting position and a plan to go after it.
Step 3: Since I know you love endgames, develop a plan to go after White.

You might think this is WAY too deep. At Step 2, evaluation is already -4.0. 20 moves later it's -10 and waiting for White to resign.
Those 20 moves followed these same steps. Try and see how far you get, I assure you this is doable.

[hard pagoda]

||I definitely can’t figure all of this out without setting up a board, but the obvious downside of white’s position is that black now has a passed e pawn. Need the f pawn to support that so we’re either taking g4 with the knight or pushing the f pawn. Pushing the pawn puts the e pawn backwards and lets white g and h pawns get strong so I’m taking with knight. Mainly because then white has to do something about the Ne3+ fork threat.||

If I’m on the right track give me a thumbs up and I’ll look at what comes next

[hard pagoda]

||at the very least black is getting the h2 pawn so definitely Nxg4. Then I think e4, a6 and b5 are the pawn moves you want to make - the wsb bishop is ultimately what’s going to stop you promoting. Likely need a rook defending the f file pawn||

||finally: I’d be quite keen to find a way to open up the d file, preferably before white’s king gets over to the action, so maybe c6 pawn sac?||

[tardy finch]

||a6 and b5 work against you as you are giving the bishop some playroom. c6 sac will requires some preparation as after Nxg4, Rd3(stops the fork), c6, well .. I'll just capture as White. The d-pawn will only be an asset if you let it be. Keep it an obstacle.||
P.S. Let me rephrase that, it is still correct just not for the right reasons - ||a5 and b6 give the bishop playroom. a6+b5 gives White time to sneak the rook over to d3 then h3 which is just perfect as when b5 arrives, bishop can go to e2(b3 is still valid if White prefers attacking on that side). Preferable to a5+b6 but half the advantage is gone.||

[hard pagoda]

ok so I have the right start but need to figure out the continuation.

||after Rd3 I'll go Nxh2. It might be greedy pawn grabbing it secures the advantage. Still pretty sure pushing e4 to glory is the right way but having the h pawn as a second threat is a nice backup.||

[tardy finch]

And just to complete the idea - ||so far you have fxg4, Nxg4, Rd3, Nxh2. In comes Rh3 anyway. What do you do about it and how do you respond in the event of Rxh7?||

[hard pagoda]

||the rook was on 3rd rank was there to stop me doing Ne3+||

[tardy finch]

You cannot do that move in the line I listed.