Questions tagged [analysis]
Questions relating to the objective assessment of a position. The assessment may entail which side has the advantage, or what the best move might be.
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How do I analyze my game after playing?
What techniques do you use to analyze your games or other people's games?
How much time do you spend on analyzing the game?
Are there any tools (electronic or manual, such as a piece of paper) you ...
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How would you determine that the player is cheating in online chess?
There are a lot of online websites, where players can play chess in real time with each other. Most of the games are 5-10 minutes long. With the availability of chess software one can take an ...
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Strategy in middlegame from boring positions
I get into these rather vanilla, or as I call them, boring positions. Not much is happening tactically, and I can't fathom what the right course of action should be strategically.
Here is an example....
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Is this endgame (sort-of Q vs K) a draw?
I think the following endgame is a draw.
[FEN "7k/5BpP/3K2P1/8/8/8/8/4q3 w - - 0 1"]
My reasoning: I'm playing white. I will only move my king, always. Black's king cannot move. If the queen decide ...
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Is there any free software to automatically analyze and annotate games?
I'm looking for free software that automatically analyzes and annotates chess games (post-mortem), preferably marking blunders, suggesting good alternatives, pointing out missed tactics (forks, pins, ...
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How computers have changed the way humans play chess
A few years ago Vishy Anand mentioned in an interview that computers had changed the way humans play chess. Obviously computers help a lot in opening preparation, but what other concrete examples are ...
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Would studying the games of old players hurt my progress?
I was watching a video last night by Ben Finegold on Paul Morphy and some of his games. He mentioned that some current GMs would discount Morphy's ability since all of his opponents were "terrible". ...
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Why struggle for a single pawn?
I've seen many chess games, where after a certain point, one side maneuvers their pieces (like doubling the rooks) to target a single point. Most of the time it's a pawn on the wing and the other side ...
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What is the worst opening move in Chess960 for White?
Is there a first move for white in Chess960 in which white can immediately blunder a piece or lose a significant advantage (say -2.0 or so)?
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Can a knight move through all squares from its original position?
I'm so confused about this. I googled it and read about knight's tours, however they all start from illegitimate positions. I want to know if a knight can move through all squares from its original ...
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Are there any moves that humans agree are best which engines cannot see?
Are there any moves from real, preferably reasonably well known games which humans agree are great moves, but which engines cannot see, or, at least, think are weak/average?
Here is an example that I ...
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Why underpromote in this KNNP-KR endgame?
In the position below, I'm promoting my pawn. The app says promoting to a Queen is incorrect, but a Rook is correct? In this setup it doesn't make sense.
[FEN "8/1P6/3N4/8/8/3k4/r7/4KN2 w - - 0 1"]
...
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What proofs for refuted gambits are there?
I've stumbled upon this article a while ago, and I've also seen refutations for the Muzio Gambit (Joseph Kling & Bernard Horwitz - Chess Studies on Endings of Games). I'm wondering what other ...
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Why does chess.com consider this promotion a blunder?
I've just played a game on Chess.com, and I'm surprised that the engine considers a promotion that I made a huge blunder. Like, my position was rated -62.8 (basically a won game), and after I promoted ...
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Given a legal chess position, is there an algorithm that generates a series of moves that lead to it?
Given a FEN board position, is there an algorithm that can return a PGN move list that evaluates to it from the standard initial position?
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Please help solve this endgame problem posed by a friend
[FEN "5K2/k7/4P1p1/8/8/8/4b3/8 w - - 0 1"]
A friend of mine is challenging me to find a solution. It’s White to play and DRAW.
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Do Grandmasters think using algebraic notation?
Is algebraic notation used just to communicate chess moves in written and spoken form, or should players strive to use it during their thinking process as well?
In Dan Heisman's excellent The ...
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Does white really have a win in this pawn ending, as claimed by Tim Krabbé?
Update: I emailed Tim Krabbé, and he agrees that 41. b4 bxa4 draws.
He has posted a PS about this just under his old analysis.
With respect to "Skawinski - Tomczak, European ch rapid, ...
user2668
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How can one improve their over-the-board analysis skills?
I think of analysis as the ability to mentally move through variations, recognize tactical ideas in those variations, and draw accurate conclusions regarding the fitness of the resulting positions.
I ...
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Why underpromote? Hjartarson vs Andersen
Chess.com - Praggnanandhaa wins 2022 Reykjavik Open:
he missed a unique underpromotion to a bishop as the only move to win the position
Why does a Queen promotion not win him the game?
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Why is ..Kh8 so much worse than ..Kg7 after Nf6?
I just "failed" this Lichess exercise. Main line is Stockfish's, secondary is mine's.
[FEN "r5k1/3N1p1p/2p1p1pb/3pP3/p2P3q/5P2/PP2QP1P/R4RK1 b - - 2 19"]
1...Bf4 2. Nf6 Kg7 {-5.4 ...
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Chess PhD topic in machine learning?
I searched this online and couldn't find sufficient answers.
Is there a topic in chess that includes machine learning and would be sufficient for a PhD thesis? I was thinking of utilizing a CNN that ...
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What is the deepest Stockfish evaluation of the standard initial position that has ever been done?
Letting Stockfish (14+ NNUE) run for several minutes with lichess' analysis tool on the initial position of a standard chess board lets it reach depths beyond 30 moves, I suppose letting it run for ...
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Free online analysis engine?
Is there an online analysis engine that allows you to enter a PGN and get a game analysis, showing where suboptimal moves were made?
I know there are programs for download/purchase that do this, but ...
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The Game of the Century - why didn't Byrne take the rook after he forked Fischer?
I'm guessing that there's a pretty simple explanation for this, but I can't seem to see it.
[White "Donald Byrne"]
[Black "Robert James Fischer"]
[fen ""]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 O-O 5....
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Why do chess engines sometimes miss good moves (or take forever to spot)?
It is not the first time that I found a greatly superior move than the chess engine did, it even takes them a while to understand these moves after you make them.
For example, the move 15 ... Bf2 in ...
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Why does a knight combine better with the queen than a bishop does?
From this question, the couple queen + knight is strong in attacking the opponent's king.
I searched why the knight combines better than the bishop with a queen, and all I could find, from this ...
user18196
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How to play for a draw
In this video: Levon Aronian vs Magnus Carlsen Round 1 - 2013 Candidates Chess Tournament
[FEN ""]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2
And now, Kevin said: "You can tell that the game is ...
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What is the status for EIGHT piece endgame tablebases?
An earlier question here asked in 2012 about the status of 7-piece tablebases. Today complete 7-piece tables are widely available.
So today, what is the status of 8-piece endgame tablebases?
How ...
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Who has the advantage at this point in the game?
I was playing the following game and at this point I thought black had the advantage but upon thinking about it for a little while was not sure.
At this point in the game who has the advantage and by ...
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Why is Carlsen being praised for his tie-break play, when Caruana made several game-losing moves?
I followed the three games live on chess24.es (for live commentary from GMs) and chess.com (for actual real time computer analysis).
As per my understanding:
Game 13 was mostly balanced until 19... ...
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What thought process should one use to find candidate moves?
Do you have a thought process for finding candidate moves?
Once you find all possible candidate moves, how do you narrow it down to your final choice?
Regarding the process, do you have a ...
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Stockfish is considering a move in a book by GM Mihail Marin as a blunder
In the book English opening volume 1 by Mihail Marin at this position
[fen "3nrrk1/bppq2p1/p4p1p/2Pp4/1P1P3N/P1BQ2P1/5PKP/4RR2 w - - 2 21"]
1. Qg6 (1. Ng6)
He suggests Qg6 whereas ...
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Why do professional chess players point at the pieces with a middle finger?
I've recently heard and then actually started to notice more and more that professional chess players tend to use a middle finger when pointing at pieces on the board like in this Anand vs Caruana ...
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In Spassky v Fischer '72 game 11, why is 14. Nb1 considered such a great move?
In game 11 of the 1972 World Championship, Spassky as white moves his Knight back to its 14. Nb1 starting position. Apparently, this moved was received as 14. Nb1!!. But to me, it seems as a simple ...
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Why does the engine dislike white in this position despite the material advantage of a pawn and other positional factors?
After a trade that sacrified a bishop and a knight for two pawns and a rook, the game reached the following position: (White to move.)
[FEN "2r2qk1/1b1n1pb1/p4n1p/1p4p1/4P3/1BN2P2/PPP3PP/R2Q1RK1 ...
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Is game analysis based on "squares" instead of "pieces" of any value?
Most all analysis I've seen in chess focuses on pieces development, and not the development of unoccupied spaces. Is there any value in analyzing game play in this way, and if so, how is this done?
...
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Why can a chess move improve the chance of winning, according to the computer?
When watching the Sinquefield cup on http://grandchesstour.org/, it is possible to try different moves qnd see how the computer evaluates the position after your suggested move.
Most moves will ...
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Understanding vs. Memorization
Is memorization necessary in modern chess? Whenever I play chess, I always run out of time because I move slowly in the opening; unlike others who move fast in the opening because they have memorized ...
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What was the point of Shirov's 47...Bh3?
One of the most famous moves ever is Shirov's 47...Bh3!! in Topalov - Shirov, 1998.
[FEN "8/8/4kpp1/3p1b2/p6P/2B5/6P1/6K1 b - - 0 47"]
[Event "Linares"]
[Date "1998"]
[White "Veselin Topalov"]
[Black ...
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Analysis of positional play by a very aggressive player
After checking that it was okay to seek analysis on this site, I decided to post this recent game against a 1950 (I was white, 1650) with post-game annotations (forgive my excess rambling). I think it ...
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Anand - Gelfand 12th game in World Chess championship 2012
I have been following 12th game in World Chess championship 2012, and I just could not understand why a draw was offered.
Is it that they can see 10 or more moves ahead and think of the ending or is ...
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Can this exchange-down endgame be explained succinctly?
I am interested in the following exchange-down endgame (assume White to move):
[fen "6k1/5ppp/8/8/1r6/5KP1/5P1P/5B2 w - - 0 1"]
In particular, I am wondering whether this is objectively drawn (my ...
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Is there a single best move in every position?
If it were possible to analyse every possible outcome of a position, would there ever be a single move that could be considered "best"?
I know that this is how computers evaluate positions, but they ...
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Why did white sacrifice knight in this Nimzowitsch's 1905 game?
Saw this image in a WhatsApp group. Initially it looks attractive with a possibility of a "smothered mate", but I am unable to find out if white can really survive for several variations.
[...
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Is this endgame position a theoretical win or draw?
The following tactics problem comes from ChessTempo, and was taken from a game between Anatoly Karpov and Alexey Kuzmin. It's white's move.
The idea of the problem is to find white's best move from ...
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Why should the knight maneuver to d5 in this position?
In How to reassess your chess from Jeremy Silman there is this position about knight outposts:
[FEN "2r2rk1/pbqnbppp/1p3n2/1Pp1p3/2P1P3/5NP1/PBQN1PBP/R4RK1 w - - 0 1"]
The author argues ...
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The difficulty of finding the winning idea in this knight versus bishop endgame
I recently finished a tournament game on chess.com as Black that ended in a draw. It was a knight (me) vs. bishop endgame with pawns strewn across the board. Here is the entire game.
[Title "...
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When are pieces worth more (or less) than their nominal value?
Which are the most common situations in which pieces are worth more/less than their value, in point?
For example, I know that a protected Knight on 6th rank (3rd for Black) of columns d and e may be ...
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"Brilliant Move" - Chess.com - But Why?
I was playing a tournament on Chess.com and received a "Brilliant Move" in the post game analysis. I haven't received this before and was curious of the following.
[FEN ""]
1. d4 ...
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