|
This was a fun game.
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2021 03:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 11, 2024 23:54 |
|
|
I have finally cracked 1600 on chess.com puzzles  Maybe I will break through 1000 in games soon.Me trying to solve puzzles: Well, Qa4+ is obviously no good because that's covered by the white knight. Qa5+ and Qd4+ are the other two viable choices. If I do Qa5+, white does Kb8. I don't really see the continuation there. It looks like white is in a bad spot but I can't quite figure out what to do next. That's probably the right move. Okay, let's look at Qd4+. Hmm. White's king can escape to two squares there. It's not obvious which square white's king should follow, but either option doesn't really let me do much. Let me just double check the rest of the board. No, there's no tension anywhere else, no material advantage to be gained elsewhere. I must check the king. Ok, it's definitely not Qd4+, so by process of elimination, there's just one option left. Qa4FUCK
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2021 07:11
|
|
|
fisting by many posted:I have finally cracked 1600 on chess.com puzzles Oh good, it's not just me. I'm 1500 in puzzles and 1200 in games. Me solving puzzles: His king is exposed on the diagonals so there must be a way to build a series of checks that will lead to an advantageous exchange. Me playing chess: Hahahaha centre pawns go brrrr
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2021 07:22
|
|
|
My puzzle rating is 1996 and my blitz rating is like, 900. Chess is a weird game.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2021 12:34
|
|
|
It’s a good idea to hit the custom puzzles and slide the rating range to around blitz level to build up the quick pattern recogn. The high rated puzzles are fun, but they don’t drill in much that can be of use outside of long time, for me at least. I still miss some low rated motifs, but I can tell I’ve improved and can immediately spot some others.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2021 19:20
|
|
|
What's good for pattern recognition are the puzzle rush/storm modes where you do as many as you can over 3 minutes. Most of them are real low level like knight forks, double attacks, mate in 2-3 but there are some real common patterns that you learn and draw your eye right away, like when a queen can develop out to the edge of the board, checking the enemy king and winning an undefended piece in a double attack. I do the puzzles on lichess and live around 2200. I've briefly hit 2300 once or twice but get really bad streaks where I get down as low as below 2000. One thing I really like about the higher level puzzles is you get a lot of endgame stuff and it reinforces a lot of basic ideas in endings. The lichess puzzles are drawn from player games and I must say I don't always understand the rationale behind the preferred moves. It's one thing if your imprecision misses a forced mate because you were busy winning a queen or rook, but it's not always obvious to me why one sequence of moves that seems obviously "winning" is better or worse than another.
|
|
#
?
Jun 17, 2021 19:38
|
|
|
Zwabu posted:The lichess puzzles are drawn from player games and I must say I don't always understand the rationale behind the preferred moves. It's one thing if your imprecision misses a forced mate because you were busy winning a queen or rook, but it's not always obvious to me why one sequence of moves that seems obviously "winning" is better or worse than another. Yeah, I've run into this as well and I'm guessing it's because it's just a computer harvesting these puzzles. I usually analyze these puzzles with an engine and find out that the winning sequence leads to an advantage much further down the line.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2021 05:14
|
|
|
chesstempo.com is nice because after the puzzle you get a comment section where all the weird ones get explained as soon as you're done. It's also been around for so long that their database is very good with the tags and ratings at this point, creating custom problem sets is behind a small paywall tho.
|
|
#
?
Jun 18, 2021 10:41
|
|
|
Puzzle type position that just arose in a game of mine:
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 04:31
|
|
|
Zwabu posted:Puzzle type position that just arose in a game of mine: That's a nice one. I assume it's Rxe6, followed by Bxd5 next move?
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 09:28
|
|
|
Walh Hara posted:That's a nice one. I assume it's Rxe6, followed by Bxd5 next move? Correct.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 12:33
|
|
|
jvilmi posted:chesstempo.com is nice because after the puzzle you get a comment section where all the weird ones get explained as soon as you're done. It's also been around for so long that their database is very good with the tags and ratings at this point, creating custom problem sets is behind a small paywall tho. I'll second this. I also love the occasional heated arguments people can get into about classification of problems in the comments section. People on the internet can get angry about pretty much anything.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 12:50
|
|
|
Walh Hara posted:That's a nice one. I assume it's Rxe6, followed by Bxd5 next move? Qxd5 is stronger. You either win more material, or successful trade off all of black’s pieces.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 13:14
|
|
|
Can't quite see either exchange. After Qxd5 how do you keep them from being up a queen?
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 13:48
|
|
|
Good point keep talkin posted:Can't quite see either exchange. After Qxd5 how do you keep them from being up a queen? No no. Rxe6 Rxe6 Qxd5, then either queens exchange and bishop for rook, or Rd8 and something similar
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 13:54
|
|
|
Good point keep talkin posted:Can't quite see either exchange. After Qxd5 how do you keep them from being up a queen? The most trying line is 1.Rxe6 Rxe6 2.Qxd5 Rfe8 3.Re1 c6 4.Qxe6+ Rxe6 5.Rxe6 and black can't move the queen anywhere safe.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 13:58
|
|
|
Aaaaaaah
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 14:01
|
|
|
A thing to keep in mind in lines where you win an extra piece is that white's extra pieces absolutely suck. The R on a1 and the B on b2 are doing nothing and have no obvious prospects. White should still be able to consolidate and win, but you have to be a bit cautious about lines that leave black, despite down a piece, much more active and therefore effectively playing with more pieces for a short time.
|
|
#
?
Jun 19, 2021 14:09
|
|
|
Aggro posted:My puzzle rating is 1996 and my blitz rating is like, 900. Chess is a weird game. Going to 4th or 5th this notion. I just entered 1700 puzzles and just got into the 900 club. I did gain 300 points in puzzles in one month after taking a month to get 100 points previously.
|
|
#
?
Jun 20, 2021 09:38
|
|
|
i think earlier in the thread someone suggested 15 l 10 time format for beginners playing rapid rather than 10 minute no increment, and i just wanted to throw out a thank you, that switch has made my games feel so much more enjoyable does anyone have tips for improving board vision? in my last couple of games i've spotted a move that gives me a good advantage (stuff along the lines of taking a free pawn while also developing, or nicely shutting down my opponents attack in a game where i have material advantage) only to realize after playing the +1 move that my opponent had just flagrantly hung a piece and i could have just been completely winning instead. it feels like i spend a good amount of time thinking (on average i'm probably spending 25-50% more time on average than my opponents), and i'm fine at spotting potential threats across the entire board. in the low level puzzles that feature simple hanging pieces i can spot them quite easily, but over the board i get tunnel vision. it seems to happen the most when i'm focused on tension in the central pawn structure and my opponent does something stupid on the wings rated 1050 rapid and 1905 puzzles on chess.com if that gives any indication of my skill level
|
|
#
?
Jun 20, 2021 21:03
|
|
|
Advice I've heard is to search breadth first, not depth first. That is, pick 2 or 3 candidate moves and do some light analysis before deeply diving into a line.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2021 06:32
|
|
|
https://lichess.org/uGVqOSlv/white Still learning but I managed to do a game where the engine said I had no blunders. Sometimes I can't figure out how to beat wild attacks like this but it worked out for me pretty well this time.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2021 07:16
|
|
|
Nice job seeing the knight sac rook take pattern at 7.
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2021 15:57
|
|
|
xposting from the VR thread https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDqxSbIWu8g
|
|
#
?
Jun 22, 2021 19:41
|
|
|
So I started playing a couple days ago, and I see there's this database of games on chess.com. Are there any particular chess players whose games make a good study object for a newbie? Or should I just pick one at random.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2021 12:25
|
|
|
Paul Morphy is the classic. He was the first "modern" chess master, and you can see his plan, clarity of thought, and use (or even invention) of the strategies that make the foundation of chess. Tons of good books out there about him. Modern masters may be more sophisticated, but in ways that are basically useless to people learning the game.
|
|
#
?
Jun 23, 2021 12:53
|
|
|
Ok I started watching annotated Morphy games by some russian guy on Youtube. Really good. Btw what's a good app for collecting and organizing your favorite games both on desktop and mobile? I realized both tempo chess and chess.com don't have the game database in their mobile apps, or at least I couldn't find it. Desktop-wise I found chessbase, but there's probably some open source app out there which does the same thing for free.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2021 09:44
|
|
|
is there a name in chess for seeing that a move is bad but only a split second after you've made it? I seem to be doing that a lot lately
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2021 10:28
|
|
|
Doccykins posted:is there a name in chess for seeing that a move is bad but only a split second after you've made it? I seem to be doing that a lot lately That's called "playing chess".
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2021 10:32
|
|
|
busalover posted:Ok I started watching annotated Morphy games by some russian guy on Youtube. Really good. Btw what's a good app for collecting and organizing your favorite games both on desktop and mobile? I realized both tempo chess and chess.com don't have the game database in their mobile apps, or at least I couldn't find it. Desktop-wise I found chessbase, but there's probably some open source app out there which does the same thing for free. Lichess studies are a free, web-based way to do it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2021 17:55
|
|
|
Captain von Trapp posted:Paul Morphy is the classic. He was the first "modern" chess master, and you can see his plan, clarity of thought, and use (or even invention) of the strategies that make the foundation of chess. Tons of good books out there about him. Yes. The two players who best represent the classical fundamentals are Morphy and Nimzowitsch. Morphy was really the first person to come up with what we consider normal opening development. Just making sure that you bring out your pieces so you can do stuff with them. When the opera game is taught it's in the context of the importance of opening development. Nimzowitsch developed and systematized a lot of the basic classic principles in My System. I don't know about looking at any of his games specifically, but the book is very easy to read and understand. He's considered a bit obsolete at the elite level these days, but he's still good for stuff like learning to take advantage of doubled pawns or which pieces you want on which squares.
|
|
#
?
Jun 24, 2021 18:28
|
|
|
Maybe my brain is broken from trying to understand stalemate, but why isn't this stalemate? It's listed as 0-1 for Tal (Riga 1949).
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2021 12:02
|
|
|
Stalemate doesn't mean the king can't move, stalemate means there are no legal moves left for a player.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2021 12:12
|
|
|
Oh. Aha.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2021 12:15
|
|
|
It's good you're checking out Tal. His games are wild and entertaining. I can't say I took in much from the ones I played through, but I enjoyed them. His style is to just go hard and sac pieces to crack things open, whereas I play more positional and if I'm sacrificing, my main concern is "how am I loving this up??" So his games are neat to me! If you're interested, look up stories about him. He was a really interesting character. Very hard drinker all his life born with a lobster claw-like deformity of one of his hands. Super lovable and funny guy that everyone seems to have stories about.
|
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2021 14:40
|
|
|
 How does White win a pawn, and the game, by force? Ka5. The important elements are that the staggered pawn formation means that the d4 and d5 squares are a force field that Black's king may never enter. The only legal pawn move is g5 which loses that pawn. So with Ka5 Black's king must abandon the defense of the c pawn after which he may never return to it, or yield the g pawn. White will promote on either the c or g file and win the game. So after Ka5 Black is in zugzwang, where the compulsion to move forces him into a losing position, a very common idea in endings. Of note, in the actual game I made a bad move instead of Ka5. I moved g3 instead which allows Black to draw with ...Kb6, after which White's king must give way and no headway can be made (now White is the one who must sacrifice the g pawn with the only legal pawn move). But Black didn't find that move and I wound up winning anyway. I made the bad move because I was fixated on the idea of locking up the pawns on the g and h files so that Black would lose material with advance of the g pawn. But, aside from my not fully seeing the situation with Black being able to regain position with ...Kbg6, I should have considered that g3 was a move I could have held in reserve since Black's h pawn was locked up anyway and g5 was Black's only legal pawn move with or without my pawn move. Zwabu fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Jun 25, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2021 18:04
|
|
|
former glory posted:If you're interested, look up stories about him. He was a really interesting character. Very hard drinker all his life born with a lobster claw-like deformity of one of his hands. Super lovable and funny guy that everyone seems to have stories about. Yeah I just stumbled over this quote while looking for his birth date quote:“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.”
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2021 15:20
|
|
|
what are some good ideas for black, when whites goes straight into the maroczy bind with: 1. e4 c5 2. c4 ?
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2021 18:56
|
|
|
Helianthus Annuus posted:what are some good ideas for black, when whites goes straight into the maroczy bind with: So there are basically two sorts of set ups you want to be thinking about from the black side. One is where white is going to eventually play d4, and turn it in to a standard Maroczy. The other is where they will play d3, and try to keep the position closed. As black, then, you want to play something that can deal with either. A common, flexible approach is to prioritize a set up is to first put your knight on c6 (white will usually play Ne2, to avoid committing to either the d4 or d3 lines), and then g6-Bg7. Pushing g6 usually makes white commit to d3 or d4, since once you've got Bg7 in white can no longer push d4. If white goes with d4, you will usually want your kingside knight on f6, and your centre pawns on e7 and d6. Your plan will usually involve putting your queen on a5, one or both rooks on the c-file, and attacking the c-pawn with a6-b5. Between your queen on a5, your bishop on g7, and your rook on c8, you should have good pressure on the c3 square. Note that white will have usually played b3, to defend c4 here, weakening c3. If white goes with d3, you will usually want your kingside knight on e7 rather than f6, because there are a lot of positions where you're going to want to be pushing your f-pawn to f5 (this can be either an offensive or defensive manoeuvre, depending on the position). One plan is to try and break the centre with d5 though that can be a bit risky: white can sometimes push their pawn to e5 and get great control of the kingside. Another, safer plan is to keep your pawn on d6 (ready to counter in the centre if white commits too hard on the kingside) and again look to break with the queenside pawns. It's worth noting that playing the Marcozy is fairly challenging for both sides. Don't worry if you feel a bit lost because, at your level, your opponent probably doesn't have a good grasp on the situation either. The most important thing is to not panic, and not lock pawns. If your opponent is playing e4-c4 chances are they want a closed position where they can pawn rush you; keeping an un-locked position means you can more easily meet an attempted pawn rush on the wings by breaking in the centre. Which, incidentally, is how you always want to deal with pawn rushes on the wings. Hand Knit fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Jun 26, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2021 20:02
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 11, 2024 23:54 |
|
|
Hand Knit posted:So there are basically two sorts of set ups you want to be thinking about from the black side. One is where white is going to eventually play d4, and turn it in to a standard Maroczy. The other is where they will play d3, and try to keep the position closed. As black, then, you want to play something that can deal with either. thanks! next time, i will try to get my kingside bishop fianchetto'd. in the game, i thought i was supposed to get my knight to an outpost on d4, but it got traded away almost immediately, and it was unfavorable
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2021 20:24
|
|