Edit - this is now the Intermediate puzzle it looks like.
Reading above,
black's position here is profound sadness. I figured Nf6 was better than h6 for black, because white could also follow with Rxe6 which looked like a dumpster position to me, lol
Yeah, I love Joby but he overextended a bit with long castling, for sure. Hou and Chucky are also looking good. That's three White wins right there, potentially.
Check my exchange with Zhao for the solution to the puzzle.
I don't have much time to play anymore, but I've been using an Android app called tactic trainer to do puzzles while I walk to work or when I have a little time. I've been doing it for a month or 2 and I feel I've improved a lot.
Even when I get them wrong, now I usually see the idea behind it, even if I choose a lesser alternative. The program keeps track of your score and gives you an estimated ELO. I started at 1800 and now I'm about 1900 after a little over 700 puzzles. My actual playing ELO is well below that though. Especially today, since I haven't played in a while.
As for the puzzles in the OP:
The first one I'm confident is:
1.Rxe5 and then the fork by 2.Nf7. If Black is to play then 1...Qxg5, 2.Qxg5, Nf3, so it's a similar theme.
The second one is a lot harder and I'm not completely sure, but I'll explain my thinking:
First the objective is to remove the queen from the protection of e6 1.Nb6 threatening queen and rook.
After 1...Nxb6, 2.Rc7. It doesn't matter if he takes the rook or not, he can't continue to protect it with the queen. So 2...Qxc7. (we'll look at 2...Qe8 later, since it's a little different).
Now 3.Qxe6+. The king can only escape to g7 or h8, but both end the same way. 3...Kh8.
3.Qxe6+ Kh8, 4.Bb2 Bg7, 5.Bxg7, Kxg7 and then Rxe7+ after the queen takes it's the same mate as before.
If 3Qxe6+ Kg7 4.Bb2 Kh6 5.Qh3+ Kxg5, 6.Qh4+ Kf5, 7.Qf4#
Now what if he just doesn't take the Knight with 2...Nxb6, but moves the queen instead, sacrificing the exchange.
Well we're not here to win the exchange, we're here to win, so don't take the rook!
2...Qb7, 3.Qxe6+ (we accomplished our purpose without even having to sacrifice the Knight) Kh8, 4.Nxd5 (to stop Nf6, not win material. It's a little slow, but I can find no defense for black) Bg7 (to stop Bb2) 5.Nf7+ Kg8, 6.Nh6+ (double check) Kf8 7.Qf7#
I think I've covered all the major variations. If this was intermediate I don't really wanna look at the advanced one yet. I found the first move pretty quickly, but the rest of the variations took me a while. I honestly don't know if I would have found it at a game.
I hope I didn't miss something basic and completely embarrassed myself. I'm at work so I can't cheat by looking it up on a computer.
In Smith-Morra and many Open Sicilian positions the d5 knight sacrifice is really interesting. Those interested should definitely check out the book: Mayhem in the Morra. Aside from being very instructive, it is written in a humorous fashion. There are many better (not unsound) examples in the book.
Thanks for the book recommendation. The Smith-Morra is my favorite gambit. It's too bad not many people at my level play the Sicilian defense so I rarely get to use it.
I was looking through a database once for Smith-Morra games and came upon some games by Matulovic. A GM level player using this gambit. They are a thing of beauty. It's hard to keep up with the sacrifices, just great. Definitely look them up if you can.
Happy to say that you were absolutely on point and the first one to find the best variation for White. That tactics training is paying off, for sure. If you try your hand at the Advanced one, keep in mind that you're simply looking for the best move for Black (no "to win" in the requirement).
This reminds me that I should probably include a tactics site like Chesstempo in the OP. I don't use tactics sites myself since I prefer working with books and a board. They're very popular, however, so I'll probably have to include one. I will also recommend some literature for tactics once I expand that section of the OP.
Happy to say that you were absolutely on point and the first one to find the best variation for White. That tactics training is paying off, for sure. If you try your hand at the Advanced one, keep in mind that you're simply looking for the best move for Black (no "to win" in the requirement).
This reminds me that I should probably include a tactics site like Chesstempo in the OP. I don't use tactics sites myself since I prefer working with books and a board. They're very popular, however, so I'll probably have to include one. I will also recommend some literature for tactics once I expand that section of the OP.
Great! I did feel sharper in the few games I've played since I started using the software. The advantage it has is that it's just so damned convenient. I can just pop it out and it's ready with a new puzzle. I don't have to look them up or sit down on a computer. I even get a few knocked out in the toilet. Plus it's free (though it has advertisements that really use up your battery), I should probably pay to remove them...
I know you can usually be critical of Carlsen's openings but the one he played today is truly bizarre. It's something like a Leningrad Dutch but with weakening of the queen side and no plan to play the usual e5 break... I'm a big fan of the Leningrad system but I've never seen the plan that Carlsen used today.
It's been a while since I've played but maybe I should get back into it. Reading/studying games is so time consuming though. I think I'm halfway through The Art of Attack in Chess but I'm sure I've forgotten most of it by now.
For the intermediate tactics puzzle: I would try
Rxe6 and perhaps follow it up with a knight sacrifice at h7
It's been a while since I've played but maybe I should get back into it. Reading/studying games is so time consuming though. I think I'm halfway through The Art of Attack in Chess but I'm sure I've forgotten most of it by now.
For the intermediate tactics puzzle: I would try
Rxe6 and perhaps follow it up with a knight sacrifice at h7
Rxe6 maintains a winning position but it can't be considered a puzzle solution, I'm afraid (since you'd still have to find a series of accurate moves). The solution, like I hinted at, features a double deflection that ends things on the spot. I give out partial credit for answers like yours, though.
Rxe6 maintains a winning position but it can't be considered a puzzle solution, I'm afraid (since you'd still have to find a series of accurate moves). The solution, like I hinted at, features a double deflection that ends things on the spot. I give out partial credit for answers like yours, though.
After that move I don't think it's a winning position any longer. Again, doing this without computer aid, so I may be missing something, but:
1.Rxe6 Nc7 2.Re4 since otherwise the queen would be lost. After trading queens white's attack on the kingside is pretty much over and the ending seems about even.
Edit: Thinking about it a little more, I was wrong. White has better moves than that against Nc7, so black would play something else.
So, no I wouldn't give partial credit to that, since it throws away a winning position. Edit: I was wrong. It's not that bad.
As for the advanced one, I'll give it a look right now. I looked at it yesterday for a while, but don't have a move yet. It doesn't seem like there's an obvious move for black there.
Another great round. Chucky killin' it, clear leader now. Game of the round goes to Liren, though, since I'm biased in favour of KID wins. And it's no easy feat, anyway, to play such a game against one of the biggest active KID proponents.
Also, I just realised why the Intermediate puzzle is so easy, ha. I put a rook on e1 that shouldn't be there (White would be up a piece, anyway, so there'd be no urgency to the puzzle). Apologies! Now there's really only one correct solution since White would have problems otherwise, being down the exchange and all.
So the ones who got (puzzle solution spoiler)
the double deflection Nb6 and Rc7
can rest easy, everyone else should revisit the puzzle.
Rxe6 maintains a winning position but it can't be considered a puzzle solution, I'm afraid (since you'd still have to find a series of accurate moves). The solution, like I hinted at, features a double deflection that ends things on the spot. I give out partial credit for answers like yours, though.
Oh, I didn't see your hint since I didn't want to spoil the answer for myself. But now that the e1 rook no longer exists, I think I need it.
Nb6 NxN
Rc7 QxR
Qxe6+ Kh8
Nf6+ Kg7
Bb2+ Kg8
NxR++
might be it? I'm having trouble finishing the mate if black responds to Qxe6+ with Kg7 though. Qf7+ is met with Kh6 and that seems like it buys black enough time to escape the mating net.
This would be a bit easier if I had a chess board in front of me instead of trying to memorize where all the pieces are. People who can play blindfolded astound me.
The advanced one seems really hard. Unlike tactic puzzles there's no way to be sure you got the right answer.
I'm thinking 1...Rde6 threatening to take the Knight and then gaining the 7th file. He can play 2.Bxf6 and you just wasted a move, but that trade should be good for black since the knight is very passive and the bishop quite strong. After 2.Ne5 I would just trade the rook for the 2 pieces.
I'm not sure about this at all, but it's what I would play in a match.
Oh, I didn't see your hint since I didn't want to spoil the answer for myself. But now that the e1 rook no longer exists, I think I need it.
Nb6 NxN
Rc7 QxR
Qxe6+ Kh8
Nf6+ Kg7
Bb2+ Kg8
NxR++
might be it? I'm having trouble finishing the mate if black responds to Qxe6+ with Kg7 though. Qf7+ is met with Kh6 and that seems like it buys black enough time to escape the mating net.
This would be a bit easier if I had a chess board in front of me instead of trying to memorize where all the pieces are. People who can play blindfolded astound me.
You are right, though your finish was a bit different from mine. You can look at my answer to see how it would go on your question.
The idea is to work out all the combinations on your head before you make the move. It's not like you can try out different moves on a game, so having a board wouldn't make a difference.
I believe that the best move in the Advanced puzzle is
...Ne4+. After fxe4...dxe4 Black ends up in what seems to be a strong position. Unless the White Knight or Bishop move the White Bishop is immediately (Or, in the case of 3. Ke3, various paths result in Black trading its Knight and Bishop for White's Knight and d2 Rook ) lost to the d6 Rook. I'm not going to cover ever permutation of Knight/Bishop moves, but best as I can tell all lines result in Black either up material, with a Bishop over a Knight in an open endgame, with a passed Pawn, and/or otherwise in a better position than White.
Of course, I'm years and years out of practice, so I'm probably missing something obvious.
Okay, thinking about the intermediate puzzle some more and
I guess the black king can't truly escape with Kh6 since Bc1 protects the knight and threatens mate with Qxh7. Kg4 just delays the mate by one more move since white can follow up with Qh3#
The idea is to work out all the combinations on your head before you make the move. It's not like you can try out different moves on a game, so having a board wouldn't make a difference.
Good point and my tendency to avoid doing everything in my head is surely holding back my improvement in the game. Also, totally forgot "#" is mate and not "++" until I read your post. It really has been a while since I've looked at chess critically.
On that note, is anybody here partial to descriptive notation instead of algebraic? I like how the symmetry of P-K4 applies to both sides vs using e4/e5 for essentially the same move. But hardly anybody seems to use it aside from older chess texts. Oh, and apparently, "++" is mate in descriptive. Guess I mixed the two notations up. :x
The advanced one seems really hard. Unlike tactic puzzles there's no way to be sure you got the right answer.
I'm thinking 1...Rde6 threatening to take the Knight and then gaining the 7th file. He can play 2.Bxf6 and you just wasted a move, but that trade should be good for black since the knight is very passive and the bishop quite strong. After 2.Ne5 I would just trade the rook for the 2 pieces.
I'm not sure about this at all, but it's what I would play in a match.
1..Rde6!? 2. Nc5 hitting everything. ..Re2+ is forced. 3. Rxe2 Rxe2+ 4. Kg3 Nh5+ (two pieces are hanging so Black has to force the white King up to win the g- and h-pawns) 5. Kg4 Ng7 6. Bxg7 Rxg2+! 7. Kf5 (7. Kh3?? Bf1 Black wins) ..Kxg7 8. Nxa6 Rxb2 9. Nc5 Rxh2 Black has three pawns for the piece but a lot of them are very weak. The a- and d-pawn aren't long for this world and 10. Nd3 prepares to jump into e5 to pick up f7 or, in the case of 10..Rh4, help break up Black's KS by way of 11. f4!. That position is probably just lost for Black.
Keep looking!
Oh, and having a board helps immensely with visualisation. Even top players work with a board at all times, especially for serious analysis and thought. Of course you don't execute the moves before playing it out in your head but since you're looking at a board in a game situation, it does in fact make a huge difference.
I believe that the best move in the Advanced puzzle is
...Ne4+. After fxe4...dxe4 Black ends up in what seems to be a strong position. Unless the White Knight or Bishop move the White Bishop is immediately (Or, in the case of 3. Ke3, various paths result in Black trading its Knight and Bishop for White's Knight and d2 Rook ) lost to the d6 Rook. I'm not going to cover ever permutation of Knight/Bishop moves, but best as I can tell all lines result in Black either up material, with a Bishop over a Knight in an open endgame, with a passed Pawn, and/or otherwise in a better position than White.
Of course, I'm years and years out of practice, so I'm probably missing something obvious.
You're on the right track but your answer is too vague to be considered a solution, sorry. After all is said and done, Chess is very concrete and tactics training especially.
Okay, thinking about the intermediate puzzle some more and
I guess the black king can't truly escape with Kh6 since Bc1 protects the knight and threatens mate with Qxh7. Kg4 just delays the mate by one more move since white can follow up with Qh3#
Good point and my tendency to avoid doing everything in my head is surely holding back my improvement in the game. Also, totally forgot "#" is mate and not "++" until I read your post. It really has been a while since I've looked at chess critically.
On that note, is anybody here partial to descriptive notation instead of algebraic? I like how the symmetry of P-K4 applies to both sides vs using e4/e5 for essentially the same move. But hardly anybody seems to use it aside from older chess texts. Oh, and apparently, "++" is mate in descriptive. Guess I mixed the two notations up. :x
Like I wrote in my reply to crazygambit, setting up the position on a board is actually the healthiest and most effective way to do it. Just don't make any moves before working out a solution. Both '++' and '#' are fine for mate, descriptive or not. As for my personal preference, I find algebraic infinitely more practical. Descriptive has a retro charm to it, at least, but it's widely fallen out of fashion.
And yup, you figured out the solution.
After 3. Qxe6+ a combination of Nf7+ and Bb2+ will mate depending on where the King goes. The double deflection was the actual puzzle part of it, anyway, so I consider the puzzle solved if the first two/three moves are found. At that point, you'd just go "etc." among Chess players since it's obvious that mate is coming.
You're on the right track but your answer is too vague to be considered a solution, sorry. After all is said and done, Chess is very concrete and tactics training especially.
Fair enough and yeah, I'm well aware. I'm just lazy when it comes to writing things out.
In any case:
Following ...dxe4 the following are possible lines with the Bishop and Knight for White. I've already covered why other options are not valid due to Rxd4 putting Black up a Pawn and in a strong position.
For Bishop options: Any move along the a1-h8 diagonal immediately loses the d2 Rook to ...e3+. Be5 threatens the d6 Rook, but ...e3+ still works as the White King is either forced to the g file, allowing the Pawn to safely promote after ...exd2 or moves onto the e file in which case ...exd2+ requires another King move answer that either again allows promotion or allows Rxd3 to escape the Bishop's threat and either check the King (after Kxd2) or protect the d2 pawn.
As for Bishop moves along the a8-h1 diagonal, everything except Bc5 can be answered by ...Bxd3, which threatens ...Rf6+ followed by various dances around the board until mate or Black otherwise ends up in a winning position. Or maybe I want exd3 instead. I'm a bit rushed right now so my thoughts are a bit mixed up. I'd go into detail (and would cover the rest of the possible lines) if I didn't need to head out right now. I'll try to do that later.
To save you a bit of time - discussing Chess positions (whether it is for analysis or in the context of a puzzle) usually follows the format of both sides exchanging lines (which can include some comments and branching paths of note) that represent what the person making the argument would consider best play for both sides.
So, in this case
you didn't have to type out the whole deal (not saying you can't, of course, just some advice if you wanna save time). It would have sufficed to suggest 1..Ne4+ 2. fxe4 dxe4 and now a Knight move since it's obvious that any Bishop move loses the Nd3 in some way.
I think if you found the first move so easily, I can safely assume that you're not a beginner and that you calculated all the Bishop moves pretty much instantly so you don't have to type it out for me if you wouldn't otherwise.
If you're beginner, though, and want to document your thought process that way, that is totally fine, of course!
White wins a pawn in that case after recapturing and 6. Rd5! (after g4) nicely prevents Bb5, making the loss of the a-pawn imminent. Black would always have some drawing chances due to opposite coloured bishops but he's fighting for his life, with two pawns down. So, take another look at the position after
White wins a pawn in that case after recapturing and 6. Rd5! (after g4) nicely prevents Bb5, making the loss of the a-pawn imminent. Black would always have some drawing chances due to opposite coloured bishops but he's fighting for his life, with two pawns down. So, take another look at the position after
reject the Rook and play 4. Kg3 (or even 4. Ke3) and there's no way to keep up the attack. White would be winning the extra piece. Certainly some practical compensation for Black but in the long run, the material will show.
I used to play competitively as a child, but once my parents started talking about getting an actual teacher and more serious shit I decided I didn't want to continue. Didn't help hearing that my female brain just wasn't as good as a boy's so.
reject the Rook and play 4. Kg3 (or even 4. Ke3) and there's no way to keep up the attack. White would be winning the extra piece. Certainly some practical compensation for Black but in the long run, the material will show.
I used to play competitively as a child, but once my parents started talking about getting an actual teacher and more serious shit I decided I didn't want to continue. Didn't help hearing that my female brain just wasn't as good as a boy's so.
Yikes! Well, no time like the present to get back into it. Not even kidding, obviously having a teacher is the best way to go about things but there's enough (free) resources out there to get quite far without spending a dime. And Women's Chess is only getting more popular.
Rxe6 maintains a winning position but it can't be considered a puzzle solution, I'm afraid (since you'd still have to find a series of accurate moves). The solution, like I hinted at, features a double deflection that ends things on the spot. I give out partial credit for answers like yours, though.
Not sure what you mean by Nf6. It's White's move so that'd be illegal/impossible.
For the advanced one, I can say that
your answer is incorrect. Black loses a pawn after 2. Ne5, attacking both c4 and f7.
To save you a bit of time - discussing Chess positions (whether it is for analysis or in the context of a puzzle) usually follows the format of both sides exchanging lines (which can include some comments and branching paths of note) that represent what the person making the argument would consider best play for both sides.
So, in this case
you didn't have to type out the whole deal (not saying you can't, of course, just some advice if you wanna save time). It would have sufficed to suggest 1..Ne4+ 2. fxe4 dxe4 and now a Knight move since it's obvious that any Bishop move loses the Nd3 in some way.
I think if you found the first move so easily, I can safely assume that you're not a beginner and that you calculated all the Bishop moves pretty much instantly so you don't have to type it out for me if you wouldn't otherwise.
If you're beginner, though, and want to document your thought process that way, that is totally fine, of course!
Haha, less a beginner (I played competitively for at least 10 years and took individual lessons from a GM for several years) and more that I've been largely away from chess for the last decade and a half (Algebraic notation still used ++ for checkmate then, so this whole # thing throws me a bit ). That and, uh, being good at rambling and not so great at writing.
In any case,
the possible Knight responses from White after 2. ...dxe4:
ThatGuyAgain has already explained why any Knight moves to the left are clear losers for White, so all that really needs to be looked at are moves to the right.
3. Nf4...gxf4 is so obvious it doesn't need further discussion. 3. Ne5 leads to ...Rxe5 4. Bxe5...Rxd2+ which puts White in a position where it can't prevent promotion without taking a material loss.
This leaves 3. Ne1 as the best response from White. This is answered by 3. ...e3+ forcing 4. Bxe3 followed by 4. ...Rxd2 5. Bxd2...Re2+ 6. Kg3...Rxd2 which results in Black having traded a Knight for a more powerful Bishop in an open endgame, with White's Knight doing nothing at the edge of the board, and Black with the ability to start picking off Pawns. 6. Kg1 is not tremendously different looking a few moves ahead, but generally White will want the King more forward and open at this point in the game.
Haha, less a beginner (I played competitively for at least 10 years and took individual lessons from a GM for several years) and more that I've been largely away from chess for the last decade and a half (Algebraic notation still used ++ for checkmate then, so this whole # thing throws me a bit ). That and, uh, being good at rambling and not so great at writing.
In any case,
the possible Knight responses from White after 2. ...dxe4:
ThatGuyAgain has already explained why any Knight moves to the left are clear losers for White, so all that really needs to be looked at are moves to the right.
3. Nf4...gxf4 is so obvious it doesn't need further discussion. 3. Ne5 leads to ...Rxe5 4. Bxe5...Rxd2+ which puts White in a position where it can't prevent promotion without taking a material loss.
This leaves 3. Ne1 as the best response from White. This is answered by 3. ...e3+ forcing 4. Bxe3 followed by 4. ...Rxd2 5. Bxd2...Re2+ 6. Kg3...Rxd2 which results in Black having traded a Knight for a more powerful Bishop in an open endgame, with White's Knight doing nothing at the edge of the board, and Black with the ability to start picking off Pawns. 6. Kg1 is not tremendously different looking a few moves ahead, but generally White will want the King more forward and open at this point in the game.
It's not a super strong position for Black, no, but it is, in my mind, the best Black can do from the starting situation and I assume that is why the puzzle is to find the best move rather than to find a winning move.
It's not a super strong position for Black, no, but it is, in my mind, the best Black can do from the starting situation and I assume that is why the puzzle is to find the best move rather than to find a winning move.
I considered doing so last night, but that would be against the spirit of the exercise. That said, I'm pretty certain that, given my proposed first move for Black, the rest of what I'm saying is the optimal followup. If I'm wrong it's because I'm wrong at the start...which I suppose would be fitting for someone that always had trouble with openings due to her dislike of book memorization.
You guys found the best line for Black, nice job! After 1..Ne4+, the best Black can achieve is equality (maybe even a tiny advantage) if White defends correctly following the line you guys gave. If Black doesn't go for that combination, he will be significantly worse off. Not straight-up losing but definitely having a hard time trying to equalise. So yeah, puzzle solved!
I will update the OP with new exercises on the weekend.
Haha, less a beginner (I played competitively for at least 10 years and took individual lessons from a GM for several years) and more that I've been largely away from chess for the last decade and a half (Algebraic notation still used ++ for checkmate then, so this whole # thing throws me a bit ). That and, uh, being good at rambling and not so great at writing..
Nice to have another experienced player on here! Chess is not exactly like riding a bicycle (in terms of competitive form) but with some effort, it's not too hard to get back into the swing of things. May I ask which GM you took lessons from?
Nice to have another experienced player on here! Chess is not exactly like riding a bicycle (in terms of competitive form) but with some effort, it's not too hard to get back into the swing of things. May I ask which GM you took lessons from?
You could and I'd be unable to answer because names and myself are historically not on the best of terms (I can't even remember the names of most of my grade school teachers). That said, in thinking on this (and maybe looking over lists of recorded GMs *cough*), I'm starting to recall he was actually an IM and not a GM. I do know with certainty that he was at least an IM. Sorry for the confusion on my part, it probably morphed in my head over the years to be bigger than it really was.
Also, since I've been out of chess and the methods of teaching it, is there a reason for not including a Mate in X puzzle or two in the OP? I mainly ask because I feel those are easier to conceptualize for a less experienced player and because they tend to have a clear answer. They also obviously can have the drawback of being a bit too guiding, though, since the end goal is pretty clear.
I am very tempted to move this to the gaming side, but I won't because some people will complain, even though 90%+ of my games over the last decade have been displayed on a video screen, i.e. a video game.
My father is a grandmaster. I am good, but not great, and will never be as good as him, at least in this particular regard.
I am very tempted to move this to the gaming side, but I won't because some people will complain, even though 90%+ of my games over the last decade have been displayed on a video screen, i.e. a video game.
My father is a grandmaster. I am good, but not great, and will never be as good as him, at least in this particular regard.
Even then I'd include it. I'd throw sports in there too. However, the "gaming" side is really intended to be video gaming side, so I suppose I can't argue these last two.
Interestingly, the other context where I here "gamer" is in sports. "He's a real gamer" refers to players who are very on-the-ball in their particular sport. Since, you know, sports are games.
Also it would be nice if we could make a GAF tournament or something. Though it might not work out if there's too much disparity in player strength.
What site do you guys use to play? I've been looking for something free, with rated games and decent time controls (I like stuff like 20 + 5 or 15 + 15), not a fan of blitz and since I'm playing on a notebook I need the extra time per move to compensate for the trackpad slowness or I'm doomed in the end game.
Also it would be nice if we could make a GAF tournament or something. Though it might not work out if there's too much disparity in player strength.
What site do you guys use to play? I've been looking for something free, with rated games and decent time controls (I like stuff like 20 + 5 or 15 + 15), not a fan of blitz and since I'm playing on a notebook I need the extra time per move to compensate for the trackpad slowness or I'm doomed in the end game.
Also it would be nice if we could make a GAF tournament or something. Though it might not work out if there's too much disparity in player strength.
What site do you guys use to play? I've been looking for something free, with rated games and decent time controls (I like stuff like 20 + 5 or 15 + 15), not a fan of blitz and since I'm playing on a notebook I need the extra time per move to compensate for the trackpad slowness or I'm doomed in the end game.
Could be interesting, although at this point I honestly have no idea where my play level would be at since on the one hand I played a lot and was certainly decent back when I actually played but on the other that was long ago and what minimal opening knowledge I was forced to learn is basically gone.
If you guys wanna do a beginner tournament, I'd be ok with handling pairings/results. As someone who's participated in forum community tournaments in the past, my recommendation would be 15+0 as time control. I think it'd be acceptable to leave the chess site on which the game is played open to the players. Again, I would recommend something like FICS, though, which would be the easiest to have pre- and post-game chat with, analyse afterwards, all that fun stuff. Alternatively, if you don't want to download the client, I think chess.com would be an adequate option.
I guess raise your hand if you'd be willing to participate in such a tournament. No ELO restrictions, I'll just leave it up to you to judge if you're a beginner or not.
Nice game by Carlsen today. The g6 mistake by Aronian was subtle... at least to me.
I had a first today as well. In an online game I managed to mate with a king side castle after chasing the white king all the way to the back rank. Sometimes I am annoyed when people refuse to resign in hopeless positions but on this occasion I got a good laugh out if it. O-O#
