All Questions
0
votes
0answers
6 views
How high is the level of professional blitz tournaments?
A GM has an elo of at least 2500, and Magnus Carlsen has an elo of almost 2900, so I think you can safely say that most games between grandmasters at a level of 2400-3000 elo. This is obviously very ...
9
votes
3answers
212 views
What are white's plans in this position?
I'll skip the long explanation, but it's not uncommon for me to reach the following position as White out of the opening:
[FEN ""]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bb4+ 5.c3 dxc3 6.O-O cxb2 Bxb2
...
2
votes
0answers
54 views
Where can one get a large .bin opening book?
SCID uses .bin files as opening book format, but the opening books it has available on its site are rather small in size. Is there a better place to get larger .bin opening books? Alternatively, does ...
7
votes
3answers
95 views
At what point does the opening end, and middle game begin?
Just curious if there's a set of guidelines to determine when a player can call the opening pretty much done, and move into the middle game. I know some rules of the opening that would apply are
...
6
votes
1answer
75 views
Is there software that simulates the Tri-D or 3-D chess as seen in Star Trek?
I want to try this game without making/buying a board and it is easier to learn to play when the computer can prevent invalid moves. Does any software, preferably freeware, exist which simulates this ...
6
votes
2answers
92 views
How to deal with time-control pressure?
I find myself frequently running into time trouble. Even though mentally it feels like I didn't use that much time, when I look at my clock it says otherwise. When this happens I start rushing to try ...
3
votes
3answers
100 views
How does one respond to 3.d4 after playing the Sicilian?
I was black in this game, and white went ahead and played 3.d4 even though I clearly had it guarded, however once played, white now has the queen as an additional defender, and the queen was able to ...
3
votes
1answer
38 views
Does playing the King's Indian against the Benko put black at a foreseeable disadvantage?
I am currently in a turn based game where white opened with 1.g3. I clearly see that white probably (at least white should) will fiancetto his king's bishop on the next move, aiming to control the ...
8
votes
1answer
78 views
How to judge a sacrifice?
I have been looking at several of Mikhail Tal's games recently, as they are exciting to analyze. Often Tal makes sacrifices in surprising positions, and almost always the computer finds that the ...
5
votes
3answers
107 views
How to gauge someone's chess strength quickly?
I plan on teaching a chess class (5 classes in a sequence, each building off the previous, 1 hour each) to high schoolers, with emphasis on applying chess principles to real life. Now, it'll be ...
3
votes
0answers
69 views
What is the best way to maintain an opening repertoire in electronic form?
I am torn between two options:
a) having a database with separate games (e.g. in pgn files, or any one of ChessBase, Chess Assistant or SCID database format), where each game would be a subvariation ...
9
votes
1answer
155 views
Why is it illegal to move into check?
In chess, it is against the rules to move into check, or to not move out of check. But why? Obviously, if you went against this rule, you'd immediately lose. But it seems strange to make it illegal to ...
7
votes
3answers
480 views
illegal (?) move can put a king in check?
I was playing a game with a friend online. A situation came up where he put me in check with his bishop, and I moved my rook to block it. His king was on the g file and my rook was on g2. The website ...
4
votes
1answer
38 views
Does SCID allow to draw arrows on the board?
I figured out that holding shift allows me to highlight a square I click on, but no luck finding the shortcut for arrows. Using SCID Vs. PC 4.9.
5
votes
3answers
138 views
If there is a winning strategy, is it for White?
We do not know, given two perfect players White and Black, whether the game would necessarily end in a draw, or necessarily end in a win (for either Black or White).
However, can we prove that if ...
3
votes
1answer
56 views
Is PGN split utility available anywhere?
A couple of places on the web mention a free utility called pgnsplit, that does the following:
"A commandline tool to convert pgn-files including games with variation into pgn-files where each ...
10
votes
1answer
130 views
Why is algebraic notation called algebraic?
How does algebra relate to this chess notation?
Why do they call this chess notation algebraic?
5
votes
1answer
56 views
Online resources for medieval Persian chess games or puzzles?
I am looking for any collection of chess games of al-Suli or anyone medieval scholar's composition of games. Any resources would be appreciated.
1
vote
1answer
106 views
Is it true that a good “flanker” (flanking position) is worth more than a pawn? If so, why?
Perhaps I've used the wrong term, but I'll describe what a "flanker" is.
In the Queen's Gambit, there is often the possibility for White to sacrifice a bishop on h7.
1.Bxh7+ Kxh7 2.Ng5+ Kg8 3.Qh5 ...
3
votes
1answer
51 views
Is this a popular variation/continuation of the Sicilian Defence?
I've grown fond of playing this opening with black against e4. I know it starts with the Sicilian but if it has a name or some background that would be nice to know.
[FEN ""]
1.e4 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 ...
3
votes
2answers
77 views
Is c5 a key move in an opening where white begins with d4?
In one game between world class players, (Alekhine and Rubinstein), the game began 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 ...
When Rubenstein played 3... a6?, Alekhine grabbed the opportunity to reply 4. c5! ...
3
votes
0answers
41 views
Are there any (free) programs that utilize Chessmetrics or Glicko-2?
I'm looking for a program that is capable of keeping track of player ratings while taking in the game data, and hopefully outputting rankings based upon those ratings in some form.
I've found ...
2
votes
3answers
108 views
How is a computer programmed to play chess? [duplicate]
How is a computer programmed to play chess? What are the ways by which they sort out the moves? My question is not about programming but the idea behind programming to play chess. That can really help ...
3
votes
2answers
55 views
OSX implementation of WinBoard / XBoard?
Is there a Mac OSX implementation (or equivalent) of WinBoard / XBoard?
4
votes
2answers
65 views
What type of hardware is the most important for analysing with Houdini
I am going to analyse a lot of games with Houdini 3.
The system on which I am going to analyse it is really powerful, but I am curios, what is the most important type of hardware for such analysis:
...
5
votes
2answers
120 views
Playing chess on a Mac with Stockfish and some GUI
I have a Macbook OS X 10.6 and want to play chess against a challenging program. I'm not very computationally inclined but it seems that I need to download Stockfish and some UCI-compatible GUI. I ...
6
votes
2answers
136 views
Sacrifices, initial loss and a volte-face?
What is the most famous example where player was losing heavily (down on material) in the beginning with lots of sacrifices but came back strongly to beat or "pwn" opponent?
I am not asking for ...
5
votes
3answers
121 views
Analyzing this opening I played
I just played what I believe was a set of moves that gave me overwhelming advantage (I exchanged 2 minor pieces for rook + 2 pawns + prevented castling + doubled pawns + exposed enemy king):
(I am ...
6
votes
3answers
139 views
How do I trap the queen once she pins my rook?
I am playing black in this game, and after 10.Qg4 I realize white wants my rook, and I knew I could trap the queen once she went for the rook (11.Qxg7) but I forgot how. I went on to win the game but ...
8
votes
1answer
55 views
French Defense Exchange variation - Qh5?
[fen ""]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. Nc3 Ne7 6. Qh5
I played this as white, and my last move seem to bother my opponent a lot. So I'd like to know if 5. ... Ne7 is correct and if ...
9
votes
3answers
183 views
How to deal with an opposing pawn storm?
During some recent games I played, I have lost because my opponent advanced their pawns very far, attacking my pieces and forcing them to retreat. In some cases the pieces became trapped as well. ...
7
votes
7answers
252 views
I lost a game without making tactical mistakes; how can I avoid this happening in the future?
Here's a game of mine from last night. It was my first tournament game for many years.
(This game is David Kenney vs. Douglas Stones [me] 1-0. Press F to flip the board.)
[fen ""]
[Event "Bluenose ...
6
votes
3answers
168 views
Have we found every existing tactic?
Is it possible that there are missing or unstudied tactics, waiting there to be found?
Maybe some of them have been played only by GMs and in so few times that they don't get to have a name on their ...
6
votes
2answers
77 views
Computers in correspondence chess
In competitive correspondence chess, can humans win at all against computers? Do humans contribute at all to the game?
Provided that it is allowed by the rules, I fail to see how it is not just ...
7
votes
1answer
77 views
How to best respond to an early black Qa5 in the Smith-Morra gambit?
I often play the Smith-Morra gambit. Recently I've been seeing black play an early Qa5, such as
[fen ""]
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Qa5 4. *
or
[fen ""]
1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Nf3 Qa5+ 4. *
It ...
6
votes
2answers
62 views
Alternative versions
Are alternative chess rules/styles considered favourably by the main chess community? To be more specific I mean games like 3D chess (as seen in Star Trek) or landscape chess, as explained here:
...
8
votes
2answers
71 views
Why was 49…Rb4+ played in this puzzle?
I was looking at the answer of today's puzzle in chessgames and see that the reason I wasn't able to solve it because I missed a key move in the solution:
Black played 49...Rb4+
note: this is not the ...
3
votes
1answer
71 views
Chess program that will play an opening against me?
Is there a chess program that will play a specific opening against me? The reason being is that I want to practice against the Ruy Lopez, for example and I want a computer to play up to Bb5. Is ...
5
votes
3answers
92 views
strongest chess engine
Can somebody tell me where can i find an updated list of the strongest chess engines. I want to find out a comparison (ordered list of engines)
Information on wiki ...
5
votes
1answer
48 views
Can you really learn from playing against computers just like when playing against humans?
I am wondering whether or not playing against chess against a computer will help you get better as quickly as playing against humans.
The motivation for this questions come from video gaming. I used ...
6
votes
1answer
66 views
Why do they keep the scoresheet in classic chess?
In the beginning I thought that players were keeping scoresheets for themselves, just in case of disagreement for claiming stuff like threefold repetition or fifty-move rule or even just knowing the ...
8
votes
1answer
85 views
Scandinavian: 2. Nc3 d4
I started out with a simple opening: 1. e4 d5 2. Nc3 and then the computer played 2... d4, surprising me, as I had never encountered it before. Since then, I've been trying to analyse the possible ...
4
votes
3answers
139 views
Was my knight salvable after the queen exchanges?
After the queen exchanges at move 23., I realised my pinned knight was going to die. I had a couple of moves to try to prevent the inevitable, but I couldn't:
[fen ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 ...
4
votes
2answers
93 views
What are the common themes in the Catalan?
I have looked over some of the main lines of the Catalan in MCO-15 and feel pretty lost as to what's going on in them. What are some of the key positions and goals for either side? Or is the opening ...
6
votes
1answer
63 views
How to counter 3. Nf3 f5 in the King's Gambit Declined
I've read about many of the basic variations of the KGD, e.g. these but none of of them mention the following from Black. This suggests to me that this move may be a mistake from black that I could ...
9
votes
2answers
92 views
How to Verbally Describe Chess Moves?
This may sound incredibly naive, but all the time on T.V, movies, books, etc. People can be heard saying things like "Queen to Rook 5" or like "Knight to King 3" and things like this.
What is this? I ...
4
votes
1answer
60 views
How does strategy change in the infinite variant of chess?
I've recently become interested in infinite chess (this presentation talks a bit about it and some of the interesting mathematical questions). You can find another discussion of the mathematical ...
6
votes
1answer
35 views
What are the time rules in Candidate Tournament?
So I'm following the London Candidate Tournament and I'm a bit confused regarding the time and why some games are getting an extensions and some are not and you are eventually losing because of time.
...
5
votes
2answers
94 views
Crazyhouse/Bughouse openings
Are there any known or "standard" openings in bughouse or crazyhouse chess? Obviously, as soon as pieces start coming off the board things get less predictable, so this question is less about the ...
8
votes
3answers
137 views
Best reply to C46 Four knights, Italian variation
I am a low rating player and I would like to understand why 5 Nxe4 is consider to be the best replay by white on the C46 Four knights, Italian variation opening against 4 Nxe4 by black. Instead of 5. ...
