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Question : Why are Mates in 2 puzzles (usually) more difficult than Mates in 3 ?

White to play and Mate in 3...

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whenever i see GM play they pretty much always exchange pieces and open up the board it seems. whenever i play on chess.com it seems like my opponent and i never seem to get pieces off the board lol.
 
ecemleafs said:
whenever i see GM play they pretty much always exchange pieces and open up the board it seems. whenever i play on chess.com it seems like my opponent and i never seem to get pieces off the board lol.
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You can always exchange pieces - just make sure you know what your pawn formation will look like when you're done.

Most players avoid / hate end games. Why?

There are sooo many options and those empty squares tend to float / blind you. Calculating gets (literally) impossible and mistakes are easy to make - one wrong move and you're done.
 
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Bogart said:
If you had to pick one of these, who is a future WC?

1. Ding, Liren
2. Wang, Hao
3. Wei, Yi
4. Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi
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Um.... 5. Magnus.

You never know because I would have never picked Nepo as Magnus' challenger in November.

If I HAD to pick one of the above, it would be Ding.

Ding has the best classical game and, if it went to tie breaker, the best active game.
 
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D02 Queen's Pawn Game
D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
B47 Sicilian
The Petroff.

Rapport hasn't played any crazy openings so far.

Shak won (QGD) and moved ahead of Giri to #8 in the live ratings. I meant to mention he may be slightly underrated by casual fans. 5 draws and Pragg won.
 
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You guys mind if a Leafs fan joins this thread?

I'm getting back into chess quite a bit, mostly for my son, when he's older I want to teach him what I've learned.

Right now I mostly play on Chess.com, I'm anywhere from 1350-1500 depending on the week(lol).

Has anyone purchased any of the subscriptions chess.com offers, or is it better to just use all of the free resources already available online.

My biggest weaknesses would be...

>Not playing with enough time, I only play 10 minute games and I feel at my level that's not enough time for calculations or spotting tactics.

>I will find a way to butcher a winning end game, not so much when up a piece but a king/pawn end game, again this is probably because of only play 10 mins.

>When to break through the center
 
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X66 said:
You guys mind if a Leafs fan joins this thread?

I'm getting back into chess quite a bit, mostly for my son, when he's older I want to teach him what I've learned.

Right now I mostly play on Chess.com, I'm anywhere from 1350-1500 depending on the week(lol).

Has anyone purchased any of the subscriptions chess.com offers, or is it better to just use all of the free resources already available online.

My biggest weaknesses would be...

>Not playing with enough time, I only play 10 minute games and I feel at my level that's not enough time for calculations or spotting tactics.

>I will find a way to butcher a winning end game, not so much when up a piece but a king/pawn end game, again this is probably because of only play 10 mins.

>When to break through the center
Click to expand...

welcome! My secret: the leafs have always and will always be my second team. Soooooooup!
 
I’m still kinda shocked that Van Foreest got the draw on Magnus today. Then again, when he’s on, that kid is something!

I kind of agree that Magnus almost needs to loose the crown to have a fire lit under his ass again. Still, it’s been a fantastic tournament so far!
 
X66 said:
You guys mind if a Leafs fan joins this thread?

I'm getting back into chess quite a bit, mostly for my son, when he's older I want to teach him what I've learned.

Right now I mostly play on Chess.com, I'm anywhere from 1350-1500 depending on the week(lol).

Has anyone purchased any of the subscriptions chess.com offers, or is it better to just use all of the free resources already available online.

My biggest weaknesses would be...

>Not playing with enough time, I only play 10 minute games and I feel at my level that's not enough time for calculations or spotting tactics.

>I will find a way to butcher a winning end game, not so much when up a piece but a king/pawn end game, again this is probably because of only play 10 mins.

>When to break through the center
Click to expand...
I'm a Leaf guy so if you have to go, so do I. :)

As for your weaknesses...

1) Chess.com does have "correspondence chess" - you can play one move every day / 2 days / 3 days / etc.

It would give you a chance to work on your end games without a ticking clock.

2) End games are a bitch. There is no way around it.

The number one phrase you hear at tournaments is...

61t2as.jpg
-

...usually said by someone who just blew a winning position.

Look at what happened to Nepo in his 6th game with Magnus. He goes into the end game with a SLIGHT disadvantage. For hours Magnus tortures him and turns a SLIGHT advantage to a win - and Nepo is one of the best players in the world!

After that, Nepo was never the same and Magnus swept.

3) When to break thru is never easy. It doesn't have to be the center. Just concentrate on where your opponent is weak.

Or sac a piece and see where that goes. Again, if you are playing 10 minute chess, a sac can go a long way.
 
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Brief Candle said:
I kind of agree that Magnus almost needs to loose the crown to have a fire lit under his ass again.
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I believe Magnus is slightly autistic - his memory, his ability to calculate, his personality. I'm not sure what kind of effect that will have on his game, and on him personally, as he ages.

But, before his game starts to deteriorate, I hope he is challenged and he's forced to bring his a-game. I hoped that challenge would come from Fabi but Fabi's weak active game always allowed Magnus to play for a draw in their World Championship.

Nepo was never going to be that guy.

Let's hope someone comes along before it is too late.
 
X66 said:
You guys mind if a Leafs fan joins this thread?

I'm getting back into chess quite a bit, mostly for my son, when he's older I want to teach him what I've learned.

Right now I mostly play on Chess.com, I'm anywhere from 1350-1500 depending on the week(lol).

Has anyone purchased any of the subscriptions chess.com offers, or is it better to just use all of the free resources already available online.

My biggest weaknesses would be...

>Not playing with enough time, I only play 10 minute games and I feel at my level that's not enough time for calculations or spotting tactics.

>I will find a way to butcher a winning end game, not so much when up a piece but a king/pawn end game, again this is probably because of only play 10 mins.

>When to break through the center
Click to expand...

I have the second highest subscription on chess.com, which is something like $3-$4 a month, I believe.

I would pay that much for the analysis tool alone, much less the unlimited puzzles. It also allows you to watch so many lessons a month too, but I don't take advantage of that.

I'd definitely recommend getting a subscription. The difference between being able to use the analysis tool once a day vs. at will is pretty huge!
 
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ORRFForever said:
I'm a Leaf guy so if you have to go, so do I. :)

As for your weaknesses...

1) Chess.com does have "correspondence chess" - you can play one move every day / 2 days / 3 days / etc.

It would give you a chance to work on your end games without a ticking clock.

2) End games are a bitch. There is no way around it.

The number one phrase you hear at tournaments is...

...usually said by someone who just blew a winning position.

Look at what happened to Nepo in his 6th game with Magnus. He goes into the end game with a SLIGHT disadvantage. For hours Magnus tortures him and turns a SLIGHT advantage to a win - and Nepo is one of the best players in the world!

After that, Nepo was never the same and Magnus swept.

3) When to break thru is never easy. It doesn't have to be the center. Just concentrate on where your opponent is weak.

Or sac a piece and see where that goes. Again, if you are playing 10 minute chess, a sac can go a long way.
Click to expand...

Awesome tips, glad I'm not alone in that endgame fight! As for your third point, that was something I was very guilty of before, I'd trade strong knights for weak bishops because I got obsessed with the bishop pair concept, but man a good knight can be quite annoying and I was throwing them away.
 
Harbour Dog said:
I have the second highest subscription on chess.com, which is something like $3-$4 a month, I believe.

I would pay that much for the analysis tool alone, much less the unlimited puzzles. It also allows you to watch so many lessons a month too, but I don't take advantage of that.

I'd definitely recommend getting a subscription. The difference between being able to use the analysis tool once a day vs. at will is pretty huge!
Click to expand...

Thanks, I think I will pick it up then, glad it has helped you!

I hit my first ever smothered mate the other day, and I owed it all to the tactics from the app!

Of the famous mates I've hit smothered once and greek gift 4-5 times, so many more to check off lol.
 
X66 said:
Awesome tips, glad I'm not alone in that endgame fight! As for your third point, that was something I was very guilty of before, I'd trade strong knights for weak bishops because I got obsessed with the bishop pair concept, but man a good knight can be quite annoying and I was throwing them away.
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Kick it up a notch, my friend, and sac that minor piece (bishop or knight) for a pawn (either to break up a pawn formation or to force the King out of position) and see where it leads in a 10 minute game.

Keep the position complicated(!) and see if you can get that minor piece back - while ruining your opponents position. You'll be surprised how often it works.

:)
 
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Bogart said:
You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one. Tal​
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My favourite (I think it was) Tal quote (but I can't find it anywhere) :

"If your opponent attacks 2 of your pieces, give him a third."

In other words, keep it complicated and give your opponent an opportunity to screw up. Sooooo true.
 
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