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Irony Be My Shield posted:Idk I feel like any time a major piece is guarding against a backrank mate (which this basically is with one extra step) you should be on the lookout for opportunities to deflect it away. Comes up reasonably often, especially if your opponent is lower rated and therefore less likely to realize this is a weakness. yeah in this case you need to notice the a3 bishop securing f8 because after re8 the rf8 rook blocks and without the bishop if you take him the king takes back. So it's like a 2-step back rank and that's not instantly obvious, at least to players at my level (bad)
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Nov 17, 2023 22:46
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Every time I do 1000 puzzles I recognize one more pattern instantly in a game situation. All I need to do is 50,000,000 more puzzles and I could be a titled player.
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Nov 17, 2023 22:50
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jesus WEP posted:i will never stop playing first move of every puzzle on vibes alone 
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Nov 17, 2023 22:54
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I'm telling you, if I ever get a situation with a sacrifice that leads to Smothered Mate I am SO on it
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Nov 17, 2023 23:19
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Leperflesh posted:lichess puzzles through the website show the history of the game so you can see if you really want to, but in the app you don't see it and the chess.com puzzles don't seem to show a game history. Really on any website it's not a big deal because if you want to know if you have castling rights you can just touch your king and see if castling is a legal move.
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Nov 18, 2023 01:02
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Woodpecker No. 70 White to move in a position we've all been in roughly a million times:  Initial computer evaluation +0.54. Given correct answer 9. Bxf7+ Nxf7 10. Bxe7 Re8 11. Bh4 dxc4 (computer evaluation +0.52). Given alternate answer is start with 9. cxd cxd 10. Bxf7+ etc. (computer evaluation +0.45). My incorrect answer 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Bxh7+ Kh8 (+0.57). My thought process was that I always want that Knight gone, and either way I'm giving up a Bishop. Eval aside, I guess with no pawn on h7 I'm better off with a dark Bishop since the light Bishop has already "done his job?" Or just after it's all sorted out, having a Bishop on h4 is just a lot better than having one on h7 that leaves the Queen a target (or I have to get the Bishop back home and give up a tempo. Hmm.
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Nov 19, 2023 18:00
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I think the problem is that after Bxf6 black can play Nxf6 and the position is equal.
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Nov 19, 2023 18:21
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Huxley posted:Woodpecker No. 70
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Nov 19, 2023 18:25
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Oh duh, see. That's exactly the kinds of mistakes I make. I'll spend a minute calculating Bishop takes, then they take back with the Knight, which is obvious but I never thought about, and I'm stuck. I guess that makes these good puzzles for me. Bxf6 Nxf6, o-o dxc4, Bxc4 and it's 0.0. Huxley fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Nov 19, 2023 |
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Nov 19, 2023 18:50
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Better than me! I saw Bxf6 Nxf6, and figured the trick of the position was to figure out a way to play Bxh7 without Nxh7 following, so I did… [Variant "From Position"] [FEN "r1b2rk1/ppqnbppp/2p1pn2/3p2B1/2PP4/2NBPN2/PPQ2PPP/R3K2R w KQq - 0 1"] 1. Ne5 Nxe5 2. dxe5 Qxe5 3. Bxf6 Bxf6 4. Bxh7+ And that's all well and good, this is a reasonable continuation, I didn't misread the board. But the problem is my goal was totally wrong— this position isn't actually good for White. I knew there would be no immediate attack, but I figured it was a persistent weakness. But the computer seems to figure there's not actually a weakness there, so White just brilliantly traded a center pawn for a rook pawn for no reason. Whoops.
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Nov 19, 2023 20:54
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Might pick up the book though. It's really interesting and refreshing, and probably very helpful, to have the goal of some puzzles be "ok you're +0.4, make a bunch of moves and try and stay +0.4"
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Nov 19, 2023 22:19
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It's interesting. The idea is you're supposed to pick a set of puzzles (the first 222 in the Easy section, for instance) and do them timed and scored. Then give yourself 2-3 days off and start the same set over from the beginning. The idea is you use spaced repetition to lock in certain patterns (like remembering the Knight covering the Knight in that exact QGD setup, but also just in general) by seeing them over and over. The book prescribes running through the whole set 7 times, aiming to halve the time spent (and dramatically raise the correct%) each run through. You can do this with any set of puzzles, of course, but I just really like the paper stock and print clarity of this particular publisher. I'm currently 72/222 in, I've spent almost 4 hours, and am getting 60% correct. I'm also timing each puzzle and if I hit 5 minutes without a clear solution I just write down the move I would make in a real game and move on. The solutions so far have been interesting. The one above was "find this move to keep your narrow advantage." One was "I bet you found this 3-move combination fork, and so did Capablanca! But it was wrong and he ended up drawing because [wild defensive maneuver]. The correct solution is literally any move other than that one." One was, "congrats on finding M2, did you notice moving that piece hung M3 for them? Correct answer is bringing your Queen back to defend." It's also known for being tough in the intermediate/expert puzzles. Here's the first intermediate puzzle (Woodpecker 223): Black to Move  Hamppe—Steinitz, Vienna 1859 21. ... Bxd4+ 22. Kh1 22. cxd4 Qh2#; Or 22.Rf2 Qh2+ when the crucial h2 pawn can be taken as both white pieces are pinned. 22. ...Rxg3 Black won a piece and soon the game. Here's the first advanced puzzle (Woodpecker 985): White to move  I'm not going to type this one out, but nearly every answer in the advanced section is this long. Probably a good set of positions for an intermediate to do loooong full evaluations on. 
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Nov 20, 2023 00:31
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Reminds me a bit of the Chess Tactics Pro app, especially in how difficult they are compared to Lichess / Chesscom sub-2000 puzzles. The easy ones on that app are sometimes easy but sometimes what I'd call tricky, the immediate ones require a lot of thought. You get a small amount for free (150 easy, 100 intermediate, 50 hard) plus daily puzzles. E: I got the intermediate one in your post pretty quickly, the advanced I studied for a few minutes. Looked at the only immediately forcing move (bishop) first but couldn't make it work. I settled on the actual solution as my first move but couldn't work out all the variations, but it seemed like it had to be right. But in real games, relying on my gut feel in positions like those goes wrong as often as it goes right. regulargonzalez fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Nov 20, 2023 |
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Nov 20, 2023 02:03
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Huxley posted:It's interesting. The idea is you're supposed to pick a set of puzzles (the first 222 in the Easy section, for instance) and do them timed and scored. This sounds like my kinda style. Although I was thinking about getting the big Polger book instead and approaching it similarly. I think I can only get one book from Santa.
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Nov 20, 2023 05:08
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Hey everyone, just a reminder: it's the last week to sign up for the main round of trad games secret santa! I feel like there's probably a lot of interesting chess boards or chess books you could get for the suggested $40 gift amount.
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Nov 21, 2023 00:41
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I'm 2300 rated chesscom puzzles and 2200 lichess puzzle. Meanwhile I'm hardstuck 500 elo on chesscom because my brain is addicted to speed and I play nothing but 3m blizz and take no time at all to look for tactics. I tried getting into rapids for a bit but always end the game with 8m+ on the clock. Maybe I should make some kind of checklist and force myself to go over all points every turn.
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Nov 21, 2023 07:16
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Mikojan posted:I'm 2300 rated chesscom puzzles and 2200 lichess puzzle. Meanwhile I'm hardstuck 500 elo on chesscom because my brain is addicted to speed and I play nothing but 3m blizz and take no time at all to look for tactics. So I think the advice here is to play classical and talk out loud though every move, then review every game afterwards
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Nov 21, 2023 14:13
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crossposting from the nodevember threadfart simpson posted:board game binge
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Nov 21, 2023 14:52
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from one of my 5 minute blitz games: black to play and win. answer: Rxb2+ Ka1 Rxb2+ Kb1 Ra1# wow, too easy, right? i found the first move, but i somehow spent 28 seconds on the next one without noticing mate after Rxb2+ or that my bishop was hanging and played Rb4+ instead, blundering the bishop. so what happened? what was i thinking about for those 28 seconds? quite simple: i spent that 28 seconds thinking about my next meal and about drinking more coffee  . this is a major factor limiting my chess improvement: i will never convince my brain that moving these silly little horsies and castles is more important than feeding my face hole.
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Nov 21, 2023 15:59
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fart simpson posted:crossposting from the nodevember thread cool! soil looks a little dry tho -- was the last move in this square-pot-with-dead-plant to d8 checkmate?
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Nov 21, 2023 16:01
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Helianthus Annuus posted:cool! soil looks a little dry tho -- was the last move in this square-pot-with-dead-plant to d8 checkmate? u can figure out which piece is which if you realize which famous game it is
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Nov 21, 2023 16:15
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 Sometimes even at the mediocre Elos you still get beautiful endings (black to move)
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Nov 22, 2023 23:53
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Control Volume posted:
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Nov 23, 2023 00:11
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jesus WEP posted:looks like Rxb2+ Ka1 Rbtake your pick# Its not quite mate in 2
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Nov 23, 2023 00:16
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Well after the rook moves back revealing the check, white can throw a symbolic block with bc3 but that’s about it, no?
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Nov 23, 2023 00:23
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jesus WEP posted:looks like Rxb2+ Ka1 Rbtake your pick# ya seems like ..Rxb2+ Ka1 Rb-anything-but-3-cause-you-hang-your-knight-or-1-cause-you-hang-your-rook+ Bc3 Bxc3# or is there something faster i'm not seeing
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Nov 23, 2023 00:51
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There is something else white can block with.
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Nov 23, 2023 01:06
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Control Volume posted:
rxb2+ ka1, rxc2+ bc3, bxc3 kb1, rb2#? i'm not sure if there's something cleaner i'm missing. real nice general demonstration of why an unobstructed bishop pair in the center of the board is usually going to be better than two knights kind of near the opposing king
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Nov 23, 2023 07:48
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Control Volume posted:Its not quite mate in 2  i have bad vision
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Nov 23, 2023 12:15
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GhostofJohnMuir posted:rxb2+ ka1, rxc2+ bc3, bxc3 kb1, rb2#? White can respond with Ka1 to your last move
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Nov 23, 2023 13:59
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Yeah but you can then just move your rook somewhere on the file right
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Nov 23, 2023 14:05
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rb2+ ka1 rc2+ kb1 rb8+ looks like it’s mate after the bishop/knight block E: ah wait, that just hangs a rook
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Nov 23, 2023 16:22
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Nov 23, 2023 17:24
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Control Volume posted:
Best I can do is mate in 5: 1 ... Rxb2+ 2. Ka1 Rxc2+ either: 3. Kb1 Rb2+ 4. Ka1 Rb8+ 5. Bc3 Bxc3# or: 3. Bc3 Bxc3+ 4. Kb1 Rb2+ 5. Ka1 Rb8# Carbolic fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Nov 23, 2023 |
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Nov 23, 2023 18:23
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I feel like a crazy person am I missing something here? 1. ... Rxb2+ 2. Ka1 Rb4+ (or Rb6,7 or 8 all seem the same, only Rb3 fails because it blocks the bishop from protecting the knight) 3. Bc3 Bxc3# edit: yes I'm dumb and blind, pawns can move, lol
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Nov 23, 2023 19:02
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You won't improve if I just give you the answers   E: but this is correct Carbolic posted:Best I can do is mate in 5: Control Volume fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Nov 23, 2023 |
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Nov 23, 2023 22:27
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 I can't figure out how to get rid of the "?" annotation on Black's last move. White to mate in 2. Clue 1: Create a double threat. Clue 2: It involves sacrificing, or offering to sacrifice, a piece. Clue 3: White does not capture anything. Answer: Nah, not yet.
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Nov 23, 2023 23:21
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in this position, i would play Rh5
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Nov 23, 2023 23:26
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Carbolic posted:
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Nov 23, 2023 23:27
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yesterday i got my first mid-game brilliant move. black’s LSB just won a pawn. the best move isn’t winning but it does keep the game even.
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Nov 23, 2023 23:34
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