OT: Chess

[Harbour Dog]

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.

It's a process! As long you enjoy the grind that comes with improvement, you'll start to see those steps happening.

Starting out, do lots of puzzles and play other people when you can! Computer errors are so random that it can be difficult to learn from.

As @Grey Sky said, chess.com is an excellent tool and forum to learn from.

 

[Harbour Dog]

I know it sounds ridiculous, but whenever I decide to do something with chess, I ask myself "Am I focused for battle?"

If the answer is yes, I play games. If no, I'll do puzzles or endgame drills or something.

You shouldn't be playing any games faster than 10min starting out, and it's essential for improvement that you don't make 'hopeful' moves. Have a reason for your moves as much as possible.

You don't have to be correct, just be putting active thought into what you're doing. It is a bit draining, but it makes a huge difference to how quickly you learn.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

It's a process! As long you enjoy the grind that comes with improvement, you'll start to see those steps happening.

Starting out, do lots of puzzles and play other people when you can! Computer errors are so random that it can be difficult to learn from.

As @Grey Sky said, chess.com is an excellent tool and forum to learn from.

One of my hobbies is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is very cerebral and difficult. Steep learning curve and you tend to get annihilated often, early in the process. I've always heard people saying that BJJ is a lot like chess. I totally get it now. They are very similar. For me, when I start a game of chess, I feel very overwhelmed as there are so many possibilities. As the game progresses a good player will back a lesser player into a corner, slowly and methodically before it all manifests in a check mate. There is no willing your way to victory, either you have the thousands of hours of practice under your belt, or you will be exposed and you will lose. The "grind" really is what it's all about in BJJ, and clearly in chess too. I look forward to it!

 

[Harbour Dog]

One of my hobbies is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is very cerebral and difficult. Steep learning curve and you tend to get annihilated often, early in the process. I've always heard people saying that BJJ is a lot like chess. I totally get it now. They are very similar. For me, when I start a game of chess, I feel very overwhelmed as there are so many possibilities. As the game progresses a good player will back a lesser player into a corner, slowly and methodically before it all manifests in a check mate. There is no willing your way to victory, either you have the thousands of hours of practice under your belt, or you will be exposed and you will lose. The "grind" really is what it's all about in BJJ, and clearly in chess too. I look forward to it!

That is a fantastic analogy and an excellent mindset to come in with!

The best way for you to help with that feeling of being overwhelmed is to figure out which openings get you into positions that you're comfortable playing, and then specialize in them! Eventually you learn common responses from your opponents and can answer them more quickly and more safely, getting you into familiar middle games with more time on the clock.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Agreed. If you pick 3 openings you like (One White, 2 Black - One KP, One QP) it makes it easier to get more familiar with them.

Jiu Jitsu > All forms of Karate

 

[Ben Grimm]

"Carlsen offers an explanation to Tari after their game.

GM Magnus Carlsen is the new leader at the Altibox Norway Chess tournament. The world champion outplayed his compatriot GM Aryan Tari in round eight and is now a point ahead of GM Alireza Firouzja, who lost the armageddon game to GM Fabiano Caruana. GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda held GM Levon Aronian to a draw and then won the armageddon game. With two rounds to go, Aronian is in third place. Wednesday is a rest day; the pairings for Thursday are Firouzja – Carlsen, Duda – Caruana, and Tari – Aronian." Norway Chess Round 8: Carlsen Overtakes Firouzja

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

Hey, I'm a fan of another team but like chess a lot. Is it ok if I participate in this thread?

BTW Carlsen lost at slow chess yesterday or the day before, breaking his 125 game unbeaten streak.
Will post both Adgamator and Ben Finegold's YouTube coverage when I can do it easily.

Can't wait for the Candidates to resume in a few weeks. Radjabov is disputing the results because he opted out due to covid. MVL was his replacement and is tied for the lead through 7 rounds.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Hey, I'm a fan of another team but like chess a lot. Is it ok if I participate in this thread?...

Of course. This has become HF's Chess thread. Thanks for making a good post. The player MVL is tied with is Nepomniachtchi,I.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Hey, I'm a fan of another team but like chess a lot. Is it ok if I participate in this thread?

BTW Carlsen lost at slow chess yesterday or the day before, breaking his 125 game unbeaten streak.
Will post both Adgamator and Ben Finegold's YouTube coverage when I can do it easily.

Can't wait for the Candidates to resume in a few weeks. Radjabov is disputing the results because he opted out due to covid. MVL was his replacement and is tied for the lead through 7 rounds.

I think Radjabov's dispute has already been rejected. Now he is considering legal action against FIDE.

Regardless, I'm very excited for the Candidates to start back up! The break may lead to a huge shift in momentum.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

Of course. This has become HF's Chess thread. Thanks for making a good post. The player MVL is tied with is Nepomniachtchi,I.

Yeah I know Nepo is tied with him. IIRC MVL beat Nepo in round 7 to tie.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

I think Radjabov's dispute has already been rejected. Now he is considering legal action against FIDE.

Regardless, I'm very excited for the Candidates to start back up! The break may lead to a huge shift in momentum.

I expect Ding Liren and Wang Hao to play a lot stronger in the 2nd half. Their ability to prepare was compromised by covid. Especially Liren. His poor performance in the 1st half of the tournament was surprisingly bad.

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

Carlsen loss videos:






Fabiano is having a bad tournament for his standards(he's 4th/6) . He might lose his spot as World #2 by the end of the year. Idk if he can beat Carlsen even if he won the Candidates again. They'd probably end up drawing the slow games and Carlsen winning in rapid again.

Would be nice to have an American world champion that isn't a nutjob. Unfortunately, idk when we're going to get a super GM as strong as Fabiano again.

 

[Ben Grimm]

"The moment Firouzja blundered vs. Carlsen.

Carlsen Wins Norway Chess With Round To Spare As Firouzja Blunders In Pawn Endgame

GM Magnus Carlsen secured victory at the Altibox Norway Chess tournament one round before the end. The world champion won his standard game with GM Alireza Firouzja, who blundered in a basic pawn endgame. With one round to go, Carlsen is now four points ahead of Firouzja and so he has secured himself of the first prize of 700,000 Norwegian krone (63,803 euros/$74,746). GM Levon Aronian and GM Fabiano Caruana are still in third and fourth place after they won their armageddon against GM Aryan Tari and GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda respectively. The pairings for the final round are Carlsen – Aronian, Caruana – Tari, and Firouzja – Duda." Carlen Wins Norway Chess With Round To Spare As Firouzja Blunders In Pawn Endgame

 

[Ben Grimm]

"The FIDE Candidates playing hall in Yekaterinburg in March 2020.

BREAKING: FIDE Candidates Tournament Postponed Until Spring 2021

The second half of the FIDE Candidates Tournament has once again been postponed per an announcement today by FIDE. The event was planned to resume November 1, 2020, but the second wave of the pandemic has made it impossible to organize the event now. On September 8, FIDE announced that the tournament was going to resume on November 1 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, was named as a reserve hosting city in case the coronavirus pandemic situation in Yekaterinburg prevented the tournament from being held there. Today, it became clear that the tournament cannot take place in November after all. According to FIDE, the concern about the well-being of the players during the pandemic is the main reason for the postponement. However, another bottleneck is the situation with the Chinese participants." BREAKING: FIDE Candidates Tournament Postponed Until Spring 2021

 

[Harbour Dog]

"The FIDE Candidates playing hall in Yekaterinburg in March 2020.

BREAKING: FIDE Candidates Tournament Postponed Until Spring 2021

The second half of the FIDE Candidates Tournament has once again been postponed per an announcement today by FIDE. The event was planned to resume November 1, 2020, but the second wave of the pandemic has made it impossible to organize the event now. On September 8, FIDE announced that the tournament was going to resume on November 1 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, was named as a reserve hosting city in case the coronavirus pandemic situation in Yekaterinburg prevented the tournament from being held there. Today, it became clear that the tournament cannot take place in November after all. According to FIDE, the concern about the well-being of the players during the pandemic is the main reason for the postponement. However, another bottleneck is the situation with the Chinese participants." BREAKING: FIDE Candidates Tournament Postponed Until Spring 2021

Nooooooo

 

[aufheben]

Still play occasionally but what I just could never wrap my head around is pawn tension. I always take them when I shouldn’t and leave them when I should take them. It just got infuriating how abstract the concept feels to me.

I mean I get it, like exchange pawns to open up an attacking lane or develop a piece, but I just can’t see it clearly.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Still play occasionally but what I just could never wrap my head around is pawn tension. I always take them when I shouldn’t and leave them when I should take them. It just got infuriating how abstract the concept feels to me.

I mean I get it, like exchange pawns to open up an attacking lane or develop a piece, but I just can’t see it clearly.

Honestly, I think that my understanding of pawn tension is several hundred points lower than my rating.

I've just gotten so accustomed to my openings that I can "feel" when it should be broken and when it should be left. A lot of the time, I'm not sure I can describe why I should, but I know that breaking it at certain times will create comfortable positions, and waiting too long will make things cramped.

 

[Ben Grimm]

"Carlsen made his final move but then stopped the clock vs. Aronian.

Having already secured victory, GM Magnus Carlsen ended his Altibox Norway Chess tournament with a loss to GM Levon Aronian, who came third in the tournament. GM Alireza Firouzja finished in an excellent second place as he defeated GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the standard game. GM Fabiano Caruana finished his event with an armageddon win vs. GM Aryan Tari. Before moving on to the final round recap, it's interesting to check the standings table that includes only the standard games. As it turns out, Aronian was only "beaten" by Firouzja and Carlsen in the armageddon games. Without those and with a normal scoring system, he would have tied for first with the best Sonneborn-Berger score. After his win against Firouzja in the penultimate round, one of the things Carlsen said was: "Certainly I had many experiences like this. I lost two rook endings against Levon for absolutely no reason. It's part of the growing process." As if he had jinxed his game in the final round, Carlsen ended his tournament with a loss, in a rook ending, against Aronian. Adding "for absolutely no reason" to that would be too much, but he did have a draw shortly before the end." Norway Chess Round 10: Firouzja Fires Back, Carlsen Finishes With A Loss

Excluding the Candidates I consider Caruana and Aronian two of the top five players of their era.

 

[Ben Grimm]

I'd like to see The Polgar Variant someday. Here's a game Judit Polgar vs Garry Kasparov (2002) Ladies First where Kasparov plays the Spanish Game: Berlin Defense (the same defense Kramnik used to beat him for the World Championship Kasparov - Kramnik Classical World Championship Match (2000) ). l'Hermet Variation Berlin Wall Defense (C67) and she beat him.

 

[Harbour Dog]

"The Queen's Gambit: A Netflix Series Where The Chess Is Done Right

The Queen’s Gambit is a seven-episode series, debuting October 23 on Netflix. Set in the Cold War-era, it is a coming-of-age story that explores the true cost of genius: that of Beth Harmon, a highly talented female chess player. Initially, The Queen's Gambit was supposed to be a film. Allan Scott acquired the rights to Walter Tevis's novel some 30 years ago and had different directors working on it, the last being Heath Ledger who died in the middle of preparing the movie. Soon after he finished working on Godless (a successful American Western drama that was created in 2016-2017) Scott Frank got the idea to turn The Queen's Gambit into a miniseries. "Netflix fell in love with the idea and said yes to it," said Frank." The Queen's Gambit: A Netflix Series Where The Chess Is Done Right

I'd like to see The Polgar Variant someday. Here's a game Judit Polgar vs Garry Kasparov (2002) Ladies First where Kasparov plays the Spanish Game: Berlin Defense (the same defense Kramnik used to beat him for the World Championship Kasparov - Kramnik Classical World Championship Match (2000) ). l'Hermet Variation Berlin Wall Defense (C67) and she beat him.

Already on my watchlist haha

 

[Kaners Bald Spot]

"Gibraltar To Host Women’s FIDE Grand Prix Instead Of Its Annual Chess Festival

The final stage of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix will be held on January 17-29, 2021 in Gibraltar. The announcement came shortly after the organizers had canceled its annual chess festival. The Gibraltar tournament will be the fourth and final leg of the Women's Grand Prix, which was supposed to be held on May 2-15, 2020 in Sardinia, Italy. The coronavirus pandemic made that impossible. So far, three tournaments were played in the series: in Skolkovo (September 2019), Monaco (December 2019), and Lausanne (March 2020). At the moment, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina leads the series, having played in all three tournaments. She won't be playing in Gibraltar because all players play only three of the four legs." Gibraltar To Host Women’s FIDE Grand Prix Instead Of Its Annual Chess Festival

Speaking of women's chess, did Judit Polgar ever qualify for the candidates?
I can't seem to find anything on the internet. It would be a huge deal if a woman ever qualified, if Polgar never did.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Speaking of women's chess, did Judit Polgar ever qualify for the candidates?
I can't seem to find anything on the internet. It would be a huge deal if a woman ever qualified, if Polgar never did.

Pretty sure she did in the early-mid 2000s.

They were messing with the structure a bit back then, and I think Kasparov was still refusing to play under FIDE, and held a title of his own design.

So it may have not been considered to be exactly a 'Candidates Tournament'.

Also, I may be completely wrong and she never did qualify!

 

[Harbour Dog]

Found it! Looks like she got in as an alternate.

FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 - Wikipedia

 

[NORiculous]

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.

Get a book on chess tactics and keep doing the book till you can solve all the puzzles in under 30 seconds (memory is fine).

Do the same thing with about 2000 puzzles and you should be at the start of calculating ok. (So keep going to get even better/faster).

After a while, you can start the books all over and the couple few you don’t remember will really sink in this time around.

You can also eventually study pawn endings where you calculate them completely to the end, missing no subtleties.

gl

 

[NORiculous]

Still play occasionally but what I just could never wrap my head around is pawn tension. I always take them when I shouldn’t and leave them when I should take them. It just got infuriating how abstract the concept feels to me.

I mean I get it, like exchange pawns to open up an attacking lane or develop a piece, but I just can’t see it clearly.

You might want to read Pawn power in chess.

Kmosh has a few weird ideas in how to present the pawn structures but once past his weird vocabulary, the ideas are excellent.