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[jchap]

Kasparov and Short are playing a blitz/rapid match after the announcement of a new chess series with many of the top players.

The two games played so far are great with Kasparov playing ultra aggressive chess. The conclusion of game 2 was especially amazing. We don't get to see Kasparov play much anymore so this is a joy.

http://livestream.com/accounts/3913412/BattleoftheLegends

Edit: In game 3 Kasparov had a big advantage but forgot it was blitz and let his clock expire.

Game 4 was very nice with Kasparov sacrificing a pawn early and getting a dominant rook attack on the h-file. Again very pretty chess.

 

[RadioHammer500]

Vishy has had a great tournament so far at Gashimov Memorial 2015


going into the final round,however is going to be hard.. he is still half a point down against Magnus

Magnus is white against Mamaedov

while Anand has to deal with Caruana with black..

 

[jchap]

Yet another completely unnecessary blunder by Carlsen's opposition today. Congrats to Carlsen though. Sole first with +5 in this field is insane!

 

[daydream]

Yet another completely unnecessary blunder by Carlsen's opposition today. Congrats to Carlsen though. Sole first with +5 in this field is insane!

Case-in-point for our discussion earlier, pretty much.

Next big tournament (after the Team Championship is over) will be the next GP in Khanty-Mansiysk (May 13-27), fyi.

 

[jchap]

Short is getting demolished against Kasparov. 6 wins to 1 with one draw and Kasparov's one loss was him getting flagged in a winning position before he was used to the time control. I almost feel bad for Short although its really refreshing to get to see Kasparov's ultra aggressive style again. A match between him in Nakamura would be epic.

Final score... 8 wins, 1 loss, 1 draw. But the style of the wins. So brutal.

I don't think many players in the Top 10 could have demolished a top 50 active player like Short in that way. Short just returned from winning a tournament in Thailand so he isn't in too bad of form.

 

[RadioHammer500]

how far are we from solving chess?...with the power of supercomputers now a days..do you think in maybe 10-15 years chess will be solved?

 

[jchap]

how far are we from solving chess?...with the power of supercomputers now a days..do you think in maybe 10-15 years chess will be solved?

We are not even remotely close to solving chess. I believe that as of 2013 they have solved all 7 piece endgames. A complete 8 piece solution might not be finished in our lifetimes. Beyond that the problem grows exponentially and is far beyond the current scope of computers as we know them.

It takes 140 TB to store the 7 piece solution.

 

[RadioHammer500]

sometimes i wonder how Magnus would do against some of the chess players in New York...couldn't they do an opening that might suprise/throw Magnus off guard?

 

[m_shortpants]

I usually play chess on chess.com after work while I wait for traffic to die down, but I suck.

Today I got a guy down to king vs my king, queen, and some pawns. I know you're supposed to keep the queen at an L and corner the king, but I fucked it up and got a stalemate. Must be the 5th time. I suck.

 

[RadioHammer500]

I usually play chess on chess.com after work while I wait for traffic to die down, but I suck.

Today I got a guy down to king vs my king, queen, and some pawns. I know you're supposed to keep the queen at an L and corner the king, but I fucked it up and got a stalemate. Must be the 5th time. I suck.

im on chess. com lets play

 

[daydream]

Updated the news section.

Anyone try his/her hand at the current set of puzzles? Didn't see any discussion on those since I swapped them in. jchap maybe?

 

[RadioHammer500]

so far Magnus is 3/3 in 2015 tournaments

this Norwegian knows how to place chess

 

[jchap]

Updated the news section.

Anyone try his/her hand at the current set of puzzles? Didn't see any discussion on those since I swapped them in. jchap maybe?

I got the intermediate solution rather quickly

Spoiler

(The light squares around the white king are very weak)

but I can't figure out how to make progress on the advanced one. My initial strategy was to get the pawn to h5, the knight to g6 and give mate on h8 with the rook but that is easily stopped by annoying queen checks and threats to the rook. In fact in any line I can think of there are so many checks to calculate that it makes it difficult to find progress. I don't see many forcing moves at all. I don't think there is anything black can really do either though if white is careful. There were a few situations where the queen can check in such a way that the a pawn actually can roll forward if one is careless with their king and rook.

 

[daydream]

I got the intermediate solution rather quickly

Spoiler

(The light squares around the white king are very weak)

but I can't figure out how to make progress on the advanced one. My initial strategy was to get the pawn to h5, the knight to g6 and give mate on h8 with the rook but that is easily stopped by annoying queen checks. In fact in any line I can think of there are so many checks to calculate that it makes it difficult to find progress. I don't see many forcing moves at all. I don't think there is anything black can really do either though.

Spoiler

There's no win in the advanced puzzle but only one setup to hold the draw. Chucky didn't manage to do it. What's your first move for the Intermediate one?

 

[crazygambit]

For the beginner one:

Spoiler

1.Nf3. He can't take the knight because of 1...Nxf3 2.Rxe8+ Qxe8 3.Nf6+ Forking the King and Queen. Defending with 1...Qe7 doesn't help and 1...Qc7 again runs into Nf6+ forking King and Rook. So Black is losing the knight 1...Ng4 covering f6 also fails since after trading rooks, White just takes with the pawn

For the intermediate one I think I see what the tactic is supposed to be, but I have some doubts on move order. I need to think more on it.

For the advanced one:

Spoiler

I don't see a clear win for White. The King looks trapped, but I can't find a mate and the Queen is scary with so much open space. If it were a game I would play 1.Ra3 which I think might hold the draw, since I don't see a way for Black to make progress and with the Rook on a3 the Bishop protects everything.

 

[RadioHammer500]

If Magnus gets 2900..i think I would cry

 

[jchap]

Fabiano Caruana is switching back to the US chess federation. The US team is absolutely stacked now with 3 players near 2800.

Also the FIDE GP starts today with a spot in the candidates on the line. I would like to see Naka win it.

 

[daydream]

Man, the Tomashevsky - Grischuk game today was thrilling.

 

[jchap]

Here is a video of Magnus playing 3 amateurs blindfolded with time control. Pretty cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmXwdoRG43U


In the GP it was almost a perfect day for Naka. Dominguez got a draw in a lost position but everyone else he needed to lose did. Should be an exciting last 3 rounds. I want Caruana and Naka to qualify for the candidates.

 

[daydream]

I want Caruana and Naka to qualify for the candidates.

Your (and my) wish was granted!

 

[daydream]

That was quite a tournament we witnessed in Norway. The WC playing horribly, Topa winning the event as a last-minute addition to the roster. Exciting stuff. Also, four players are in the 2800 club atm.

 

[jchap]

Caruana is back at 2800 as well. Ratings inflation is on.

The game the other day by Wei Yi was a beautiful king hunt. The subtle queen moves after the sacs to control the king were very impressive.

 

[G-Fex]

Ok so I got into chess just last week or so. All started from playing Warhammer Regicide then it went into a deep obsession with the game, I started immediately signing up for a premium account on chess.com and bought a book and even ordered a electronic board. I love chess and just starting out I'm having fun playing so many games with the cpu.

 

[oreomunsta]

Hey guys! I wanted to try out the beginner challenges posted in the OP... but I can't figure out why I keep ending in a draw even though I think I pulled a checkmate. Could someone help me out? In the challenge of checkmate with a king and queen, I get the computer's king to a4, with my king at c4 and queen at c3. As far as I can tell, that king can't move, so why is this a draw?

 

[RandomExpletive]

Hey guys! I wanted to try out the beginner challenges posted in the OP... but I can't figure out why I keep ending in a draw even though I think I pulled a checkmate. Could someone help me out? In the challenge of checkmate with a king and queen, I get the computer's king to a4, with my king at c4 and queen at c3. As far as I can tell, that king can't move, so why is this a draw?

"If a player is not in check but has no legal move, then it is stalemate, and the game immediately ends in a draw." - Checkmate

 

[oreomunsta]

"If a player is not in check but has no legal move, then it is stalemate, and the game immediately ends in a draw." - Checkmate

Wow... So, I shouldn't be closing in on the king if I want to pull a checkmate? Thanks for the reply, by the way

 

[Erheller]

Wow... So, I shouldn't be closing in on the king if I want to pull a checkmate? Thanks for the reply, by the way

You want to close in on the king in a way that lets your opponent have legal moves until your final move. With the endgame puzzles, it might help if you figure out the mating position first and then analyze how you can force the king into that position.

 

[oreomunsta]

You want to close in on the king in a way that lets your opponent have legal moves until your final move. With the endgame puzzles, it might help if you figure out the mating position first and then analyze how you can force the king into that position.

So in the king and queen take king example, is the best strategy to just corner the opposing king and force it into a corner on the board? I got that to work, but I don't really see too many other possibilities with the pieces I'm given

EDIT: Ok, I see that you can indeed get a checkmate without using a corner

 

[MidnightPass]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFHvH9FtACg

here is the trailer for the upcoming Bobby Fischer movie

 

[G-Fex]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFHvH9FtACg

here is the trailer for the upcoming Bobby Fischer movie

Looks really good

 

[MidnightPass]

do chess historians consider Bobby to be the greatest player ever or Kasparov? thats something i would like to know

 

[Emarv]

do chess historians consider Bobby to be the greatest player ever or Kasparov? thats something i would like to know

I often hear Bobby referred to as the greatest "natural talent ever" but not necessarily the best ever.

 

[MidnightPass]

I often hear Bobby referred to as the greatest "natural talent ever" but not necessarily the best ever.

so in terms of raw talent he was the best..but in terms of achievements, he wasn't the greatest

is that the gist of what your getting at?

 

[Prez]

I'm starting to get into chess, may even join a chess club. I'll get a decent quality foldable vinyl board. Also, is a chess computer more fun than playing on a PC?

 

[daydream]

I'm starting to get into chess, may even join a chess club. I'll get a decent quality foldable vinyl board. Also, is a chess computer more fun than playing on a PC?

there's not much to be gained by playing against the computer either way (unless you wanna internalise a specific opening line by playing it over and over again, for example) but if you really wanna do it, playing on a pc is more convenient while a chess computer has the benefit of the physical board

then again, a chess computer is slower and you can just set up the moves on a chess board while you're playing the engine on a pc

joining/visiting a chess club or at least online chess are way better options, though. since you're starting out, you're probably gonna set the strength of the engine to a low level and you're just going to get a bunch of nonsense moves from it that a human of the same strength wouldn't make

in short: seek out human opponents, playing against the engine is for opening and endgame exercise

 

[Prez]

there's not much to be gained by playing against the computer either way (unless you wanna internalise a specific opening line by playing it over and over again, for example) but if you really wanna do it, playing on a pc is more convenient while a chess computer has the benefit of the physical board

then again, a chess computer is slower and you can just set up the moves on a chess board while you're playing the engine on a pc

joining/visiting a chess club or at least online chess are way better options, though. since you're starting out, you're probably gonna set the strength of the engine to a low level and you're just going to get a bunch of nonsense moves from it that a human of the same strength wouldn't make

in short: seek out human opponents, playing against the engine is for opening and endgame exercise

Thanks, right now I'm really enjoying the challenges on Chesstempo. Maybe anyone on GAF would like to play and teach me little?

 

[daydream]

sinquefield cup starts tomorrow, killer line-up as always

carlsen, caruana, naka, topa, sasha, vishy, giri, mvl, aronian, so

 

[jchap]

Really looking forward to this event. Its been a while since Norway. I wonder if the bad performance has motivated Carlsen.

 

[daydream]

the first round couldn't have gone any better, all decisive results

shocking performances from carlsen and caruana especially, the latter played a really bad game

 

[daydream]

even with my KID bias and whatnot, i think it's safe to say that naka played a brilliant game today, fantastic attack

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1800188

if he had found 29..h3+!!, it would have been one for the ages

 

[Prez]

even with my KID bias and whatnot, i think it's safe to say that naka played a brilliant game today, fantastic attack

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1800188

if he had found 29..h3+!!, it would have been one for the ages

I'm not seeing why that would be such a good move. What would happen after 30. Kxh3?

 

[daydream]

I'm not seeing why that would be such a good move. What would happen after 30. Kxh3?

it's very hard to see

29..h3+!! 30. Kxh3 Rf2!! (cutting off the King from g2 and threatening mate by way of Ng5+) 31. Bxf2 Qxf2!! (the point) 32. Nxf2 Nf4+ 33. Kh4 Bg5++

naka said he saw similar ideas in other lines but missed the particular move rf2 in this variation, and he was actually upset that he did despite his crushing performance. seeing naka and topa on #2 and #3 in the live rating atm is really great, few players in the top 10 carry on the artistic side of chess in a more convincing fashion than them

 

[Prez]

it's very hard to see

29..h3+!! 30. Kxh3 Rf2!! (cutting off the King from g2 and threatening mate by way of Ng5+) 31. Bxf2 Qxf2!! (the point) 32. Nxf2 Nf4+ 33. Kh4 Bg5++

naka said he saw similar ideas in other lines but missed the particular move rf2 in this variation, and he was actually upset that he did despite his crushing performance. seeing naka and topa on #2 and #3 in the live rating atm is really great, few players in the top 10 carry on the artistic side of chess in a more convincing fashion than them

Thanks, I get it now though it should be 33. ..Bxf2++ since black's bishop can't go to g5 (knight on f4 is in the way).

 

[daydream]

Thanks, I get it now though it should be 33. ..Bxf2++ since black's bishop can't go to g5 (knight on f4 is in the way).

nope, the bishop is still on h6 in this line, 29..Be3 was the inferior move chosen in the game (mainly inferior for missing that beautiful shot, it's still utterly winning)

 

[Prez]

nope, the bishop is still on h6 in this line, 29..Be3 was the inferior move chosen in the game (mainly inferior for missing that beautiful shot, it's still utterly winning)

Oh right! Makes perfect sense now.

 

[jchap]

Was a good game. Naka sure knows the KID. When I saw the h3 mate I was blown away.

 

[daydream]

that svidler/karjakin match sure was something. lots of decisive results but also a heck of a lot of blunders

in other news, i booked my ticket for the blitz and rapid world championships which will take place here in berlin starting saturday. i'm really, really excited to see the elite players in person*, should be great. the ticket for the whole event was only 15€, too.

*i've already seen the likes of shirov and karpov in baden-baden during a bundesliga match

 

[jchap]

that svidler/karjakin match sure was something. lots of decisive results but also a heck of a lot of blunders

in other news, i booked my ticket for the blitz and rapid world championships which will take place here in berlin starting saturday. i'm really, really excited to see the elite players in person*, should be great. the ticket for the whole event was only 15€, too.

*i've already seen the likes of shirov and karpov in baden-baden during a bundesliga match

I take it the blunders were from fatigue from such a long event. I was really hoping Svidler would pull it out and I still can't believe he blew all the good chances he had to clinch.

 

[daydream]

I take it the blunders were from fatigue from such a long event. I was really hoping Svidler would pull it out and I still can't believe he blew all the good chances he had to clinch.

oh yeah, definitely. and you have to feel for peter, although he secured his spot for the candidates (which was his aim, initially) so i'm sure he'll recover swiftly

 

[jchap]

World Rapids are going on right now. Round 3 under way. Carlsen had a very pretty sacrificial win in round 3 and Salem had a wild game against Anand. Rapid is my favorite time control because you see lots of new positions.