OT: Chess

[DaveG]

Lol no. I'd be thrilled to get to NM at some point. Even that would take a lot more time and dedication than I currently have to study the game more in-depth.

 

[Ben Grimm]

The top 4 Carlsen, Ian, Giri, and Svidler are in the semis! Svidler is a former #4 in the world, his peak rating was 2769, and he's an eight time Russian Champion. Here's a great Queen's Gambit Declined: Barmen Variation (D37) game by former World Champion Kramnik:

Peter Leko vs Vladimir Kramnik
Legends of Chess (2020) (rapid), chess24.com INT, rd 4, Jul-24 0-1 Peter Leko vs Vladimir Kramnik (2020)

 

[Ben Grimm]

"Legends of Chess: Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi in the zone
8/1/2020 – Both Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi won the first sets of their semifinal matchups in three games (each set consists of four rapid games and an Armageddon in case of a tie). Carlsen defeated Peter Svidler, while Nepomniachtchi beat Anish Giri. The semi-finals are played to the best of three sets."

I hope Carlsen and Ian don't dominate the semis too much so it will be more interesting.

 

[Harbour Dog]

"Legends of Chess: Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi in the zone
8/1/2020 – Both Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi won the first sets of their semifinal matchups in three games (each set consists of four rapid games and an Armageddon in case of a tie). Carlsen defeated Peter Svidler, while Nepomniachtchi beat Anish Giri. The semi-finals are played to the best of three sets."

I hope Carlsen and Ian don't dominate the semis too much so it will be more interesting.

Svidler playing the English with an early e4 push was music to my ears. Show me how to play my structures boys!

 

[blue425]

Possible unpopular opinion - I prefer 960.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Learn From The Best: Leela Chess Zero The Troll

Starting at 20:00, computer gains sentience??

 

[Harbour Dog]

Possible unpopular opinion - I prefer 960.

I think it would definitely be an unpopular opinion haha

I enjoy 960, and I think it is excellent for tactical vision. But I enjoy being able to immediately learn from my positional mistakes and to build on my opening knowledge a bit easier.

I enjoy watching Grandmasters play either variation with the same interest though. It's nice when they are also completely out of book right away, and we aren't watching computer prep for 15+ moves.

 

[Ben Grimm]

HD, Dubov and Nakamura are back!

"Ding Liren and Hikaru Nakamura kicked off the semis of the Magnus Carlsen Tour closing tournament with impressive wins. Ding defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in Armageddon, while Nakamura also reached the tiebreaks against Daniil Dubov but managed to secure victory without needing to play a sudden-death decider." MCT Finals: Ding impresses, beats Carlsen

"The Finals of the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour are taking place on August 9-20, with a prize fund of US $300,000 at stake and US $140,000 reserved for the winner. Day 1 of the semifinals saw Ding Liren and Hikaru Nakamura taking the lead over Magnus Carlsen and Daniil Dubov respectively (see the full report!). Action kicks off at 16:00 CEST (14:00 UTC, 10:00 ET)." Magnus Carlsen Tour Finals: Live!

 

[Ben Grimm]

Anand's a chef!

These are 2 articles, one about an amateur competing with the pros and one about a team winning gold at 2 straight Olympiads that I found interesting. I hope you guys do also.

"Amateur versus professional: a theoretical duel

In the mid-1970s Helmut Pfleger, who today, August 6, celebrates his 77th birthday, was one of the top 50 players of the world. But he was a doctor by profession and despite all his successes in chess he always remained an amateur. So he often had a hard time against the professionals when it came to opening theory. Nevertheless, in a theoretical duel against one of the greatest opening experts of the time, he won one of the most important games in the history of the Chess Olympiads." Amateur versus professional: a theoretical duel

"Throwback Thursday: Armenia’s back-to-back Olympic golds

Known for their team camaraderie, Armenia obtained back-to-back gold medals at the 2006 and 2008 Chess Olympiads, played in Turin and Dresden respectively. Levon Aronian, Vladimir Akopian, Gabriel Sargissian and Arthases Minasian played in both events, with Akopian and Sargissian getting undefeated scores on both occasions — and individual gold medals in 2008." Throwback Thursday: Armenia’s back-to-back Olympic golds

 

[Ben Grimm]

"Throwback Thursday: The Saint Louis Chess Club hosts its first US Championship
8/20/2020 – What has already become a landmark in the world of chess, the Saint Louis Chess Club, opened in July 2008 and hosted the US Championship for the first time in 2009. A 21-year-old Hikaru Nakamura won his second national title that year, scoring 7 points in the 9-round Swiss. Robert Hess, then 17 years old and not yet a grandmaster, and Alexander Onischuk (FIDE rating: 2649, Peak rating: 2701 July 2010, Bogart) shared second place a half point behind." Throwback Thursday: The Saint Louis Chess Club hosts its first US Championship

 

[Harbour Dog]

Just broke 1700 Blitz rating for the first time! 1800 is the goal that I have set for myself; edging ever closer.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Congrats! Did you notice how I had one old Nakamura story on the last page followed by a new one on this page?

I did not

Hess and Nakamura look so young in those pictures! I'll give it a read; thanks!

 

[Harbour Dog]

HD, if you're a Tal fan you may want to check out The chess games of Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu . He's pretty aggressive. I like this Sicilian Defense: McDonnell Attack. Tal Gambit (B21) game from his youth.

Love me the Black side of the McDonnell Attack; Tal Gambit!

I'll check out some of his other games.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Standings after Round 7

Rk.	Name	Rtg.	Nt.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	TB	Perf.
1	GM	Nepomniachtchi,I	2774		4.5	7	0	½	½	1	1	1	½	3.00	2876
2	GM	Vachier-Lagrave,M	2767		4.5	7	1	½	½	½	½	1	½	3.00	2877
3	GM	Caruana,F	2842		3.5	7	½	½	½	½	½	0	1	2.50	2765
4	GM	Grischuk,A	2777		3.5	7	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	2.50	2774
5	GM	Giri,A	2763		3.5	7	0	½	½	½	½	½	1	2.00	2776
6	GM	Wang,H	2762		3.5	7	0	½	½	½	½	1	½	2.00	2776
7	GM	Ding,L	2805		2.5	7	0	0	1	½	½	0	½	2.00	2668
8	GM	Alekseenko,K	2704		2.5	7	½	½	0	½	0	½	½	2.00	2682

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

"FIDE announces that the Candidates Tournament will resume on November 1st

9/8/2020 – The Candidates Tournament 2020 in Ekaterinburg was started when the corona pandemic had already spread around the world. However, after seven of 14 rounds it was interrupted and postponed to an indefinite date. In a press release FIDE now announced that the Candidates Tournament will resume on November 1, 2020, probably in Ekaterinburg, or alternatively in Tbilisi." FIDE announces that the Candidates Tournament will resume on November 1st

 

[Harbour Dog]

A date for the resumption of the Candidates' tourney is awesome news! Can't wait to see if Nepo and MVL are able to keep the strong push going.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Agreed. The Altibox Norway Chess will be a nice warm up for it. After Caruana tied Carlsen in classical last time it will be a shame to not get a rematch. I've been concentrating on three openings, the Accl. Dragon, the Alapin (or c3 Sicilian), and the KID. I hope to see them played at one of the two tourneys.

I'd like to see all three of those openings as well. Recently found a blatant inaccuracy I was playing early in the Black side of the Alapin, and having the top players pound the correct move sequence into my head would be nice.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Who are the 5 highest rated players ever?

Magnus Carlsen (2889.2)

Garry Kasparov (2856.7)

Fabiano Caruana (2851.3)

Levon Aronian (2835.5)

Veselin Topalov (2826.5)

 

[Ben Grimm]

Norway Chess: Carlsen, Caruana and wooden boards

"World numbers one and two will participate in the over-the-board Altibox Norway Chess tournament starting Monday. Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana will be joined by Armenian star Levon Aronian (pictured), Polish number one Jan-Krzysztof Duda, wunderkind Alireza Firouzja and local representative Aryan Tari. No matchup will split the points evenly between the contestants, as an Armageddon decider will follow each and every drawn classical game." Norway Chess: Carlsen, Caruana and wooden boards

Excluding the Candidates, I think Aronian is a top five player in his era. How many games will the bottom half of the draw win?

 

[Ben Grimm]

"Carlsen and Caruana had drawn their 19 previous standard games.

Norway Chess Round 4: Carlsen Finally Overcomes Caruana Again

After they had drawn their previous 19 classical games, GM Magnus Carlsen defeated GM Fabiano Caruana in round four of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament. ... The last time a game between the world numbers one and two had ended decisively was at the 2018 Norway Chess tournament when Carlsen beat Caruana with the white pieces after 77 moves. Back then he started with 1.e4, but this time it was 1.d4, and a 4.Qc2 Nimzo-Indian came on the board. Straight from the opening, the players went for an endgame with rooks and one knight each, where the only difference was three pawn islands for Caruana and two for Carlsen." Norway Chess Round 4: Carlsen Finally Overcomes Caruana Again

 

[Ben Grimm]

"Duda defeated Carlen in round five.

Norway Chess Round 5: Duda Ends Carlsen's Unbeaten Streak

GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda achieved a tremendous upset in round five of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament. The Polish grandmaster, who hadn't won a game yet, defeated GM Magnus Carlsen, thereby ending the world champion's unbeaten streak of 125 classical games.

Caro-Kann Defense 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 Re8+ 9. Ne2 h5 10. Be3 Nd7 11. O-O-O" Norway Chess R5: Duda Ends Carlsen's Unbeaten Streak

 

[Ben Grimm]

Firouzja tops the standings.

Norway Chess Round 6: Revenge For Carlsen, Firouzja Grabs Lead

GM Alireza Firouzja is the new leader of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament with four rounds to go after beating GM Aryan Tari in round six. GM Magnus Carlsen took revenge for his loss to GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda and beat the Polish GM swiftly. GM Levon Aronian was close to beating GM Fabiano Caruana for the second day in a row but ended up losing what was the most spectacular game of the round." Norway Chess Round 6: Revenge For Carlsen, Firouzja Grabs Lead

 

[Harbour Dog]

"Duda defeated Carlen in round five.

Norway Chess Round 5: Duda Ends Carlsen's Unbeaten Streak

GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda achieved a tremendous upset in round five of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament. The Polish grandmaster, who hadn't won a game yet, defeated GM Magnus Carlsen, thereby ending the world champion's unbeaten streak of 125 classical games.

Caro-Kann Defense 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2 Re8+ 9. Ne2 h5 10. Be3 Nd7 11. O-O-O" Norway Chess R5: Duda Ends Carlsen's Unbeaten Streak

I watched this game live. Carlsen deserved it; he played some dubious moves early on, and had also done the same against Tari the day before. It's almost like he was pushing it as far as he could to see what he could get away with and still not lose

 

[Ben Grimm]

I watched this game live. Carlsen deserved it; he played some dubious moves early on, and had also done the same against Tari the day before. It's almost like he was pushing it as far as he could to see what he could get away with and still not lose

Agreed. He's so good he gets bored. Colorful shirt by Aronian below. Tari as Black played the rare

Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defense (C63) 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

today. White wins 43.7%!

"Aronian lost on time in the armageddon.

Norway Chess Round 7: Firouzja Maintains Lead As Aronian Flags

With a bit of luck, GM Alireza Firouzja maintained his lead at the Altibox Norway Chess tournament after GM Levon Aronian lost on time in their armageddon game in round seven. GM Magnus Carlsen was under pressure vs. GM Fabiano Caruana but survived the standard game and drew the armageddon as Black. GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda scored his second win in a standard game, this time vs. GM Aryan Tari, who played the Delayed Janisch/Schliemann." Norway Chess Round 7: Firouzja Flags Aronian, Maintains Lead

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

Man I suck. Still very new but I always make such boneheaded mistakes. I'm sure it's a massive hill to climb to get good at chess. Hoping to get there one day. I've been playing on the "Social Chess" App.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Man I suck. Still very new but I always make such boneheaded mistakes. I'm sure it's a massive hill to climb to get good at chess. Hoping to get there one day. I've been playing on the "Social Chess" App.

Hang in there. Puzzles help pattern recognition and playing against AI on low levels is a good way to practice and gain confidence before playing people. This is a good place to play www.chess.com