Questions tagged [theory]
Theory commonly refers to the erudite study and the philosophy behind the moves in chess (like the opening or endgame theory), but this tag can also be used for questions about the theoretic study of the game itself.
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Is there value to learning openings as a new player?
Am a new player (had played before hadn't picked up a board for 3 years having never taken the game that seriously) and am going to try and commit to at least 1 rapid (10+5) game per day.
Have made it ...
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Rossolimo 3.Bb5 vs open Sicilian against c5-Nc6 sicilian
Many chess players nowadays recommend the Rossolimo against c5-Nc6 Sicilian:
[fen ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
However, I find the open sicilian to be easier to play:
[fen ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 ...
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I read that Mikhail Tal claimed to have been able to see 50 variations ahead in a game. Any thoughts on this possibility?
Mikhail Tals' books on chess. Learning/analytic chess theory. Perception and intuition in the development of strategic and tactical chess play.
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Opening preparation
I have observed that I can beat the Lichess computer at level 5 most of the time if I use the computer hint function for the first 13 moves (basically the opening). If I do not so, I end up losing 6 ...
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When moves are randomized, is there an inherent advantage to the player who goes first, or the player who goes second?
Imagine we are pitting two automated players (bots) against each other, but instead of thoughtful moves made by the players, they make completely random choices. I realize that this is not really the ...
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Confused about timing of cxd5 and dxc4 in the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD)
Recently I've been playing the Queen's Gambit Declined as my primary response to a d4 opening by white. While analyzing past games with engines, I've realized that as the game progresses, there's a ...
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What's the best way to learn the French?
Recently, I have been very attracted to the French defense, as I feel as though it is perfect for my style. However, I am aware that the French is highly theoretical, which is why I need a good, ...
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1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5 - is this opening worth it?
While doing my spring cleaning, I came across an old book claiming to give a good opening chance for black. It's called the "Barcza-Larsen opening" and it is characterized by 2 .. c5:
[fen ""]
1. e4 ...
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What is the longest amount of moves before an inevitable checkmate? [duplicate]
When most pieces are gone, inevitable checkmates often occur and are usually presented in the form x moves until checkmate. However, what is the biggest valid possibility of x. (By valid I mean that ...
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How to Create Positional Theory
I've been playing Kraton Chess, which is basically standard chess except there are 96 different possible starting positions that are similar to the standard starting position. All the rules of ...
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How should white push for advantage in the Nimzowitsh attack of the Petrov's defense?
This line of the Petrov defense can often lead to opposite side castling and the general rule for that is attacks happening on both sides of the board. However, I noticed that it's very difficult to ...
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Where are the opening trends heading at the start of the decade?
Nearly every era has its opening trends like at the beginning of the millennia the Berlin started to become the trend and so much that e4 was starting to be avoided. With the 2018 world chess ...
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What effects would being able to capture while castling have?
Capturing an enemy piece while castling has been illegal for many decades, and the concept has been solidified in chess history.
But what effects would it have if it were allowed? First, some ground ...
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What is the Dorfman method in chess?
On various occasions in commentaries or interviews, e.g. during the World Championship commentary with Peter Svidler and Anish Giri, I've heard the Dorfman method being mentioned. I then learned that ...
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Doubt on how move as black after pawn in e5
I am still at the beginning in playing chess, and I often encounter the following situation. Consider this sequence of moves:
[FEN ""]
1. e4 d5 2. e5
Presuming that I am the black player, how do ...
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Fixed games in chess-is it real or just a conspiracy theory? If real, how bad is it?
One famous case of fixed chess games is the Keres vs. Botvinnik World Championship 1948. I ran across this example while looking for other such chess games from history.
It is known that Stalin was ...
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Why is 1. Nf3 not nearly as popular as 1.e4 and 1.d4?
The opening move 1. Nf3 is considered as a perfectly sound opening and it is popular, but not nearly as popular as 1.e4 and 1.d4. Here are my thoughts about this:
In most openings, white will make ...
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To what extent is the openness/closedness of positions determined by white? By black?
Say I am playing as white and I strongly prefer closed positions while my opponent strongly prefers open positions. To what extent do I have control over this? Will the game more likely end with a ...
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What are the benefits and the drawbacks of the Sicilian defense [duplicate]
I am learning to play chess, and I am focusing my attention on the Sicilian defense. Many people says is one of the best openings against e4 when playing with black, and I think also it is a good ...
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Longest Sequence For Any Piece To Reach A Certain Square
What is the longest sequence of moves (by both White and Black) wherein White attempts to move one of their pieces from one square to another? Assume Black makes every move optimal towards the purpose ...
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In the Dutch Defense, why does white play b3 and Ba3?
In the Stonewall Dutch Defense, why does white play b3 and Ba3? Should I try to avoid it, or does it not matter?
[fen ""]
1. Nf3 e6 2. d4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 d5 5. O-O Bd6 6. b3 O-O 7. c4 c6 8. Ba3
user20848
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Analysis of a position in order to find the best move
I am trying to learn to play chess, but it is not an easy task. I am playing as much as possible and try to watch games an reading in order to learn. I am playng on Chess.com, and a lot of times I ...
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Analysis of a position of a low rated player in order to improve
I am a beginner in chess, and I am trying to learn how to play well. I am rated 800 in Chess.com, so I have a really low rating, and I am trying to improve it. I was playing a game and I have been in ...
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Improving my skills is getting harder
I am new to chess and I am playng mostly online at sites like chess.com. Now I have a rate around 800, so it is still low, but my problem is that improving my skills is getting hard. The arrival to ...
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What is the farthest away a game can be from a guaranteed checkmate?
What is the maximum number of moves away from checkmate that a player can be where checkmate is guaranteed? There are many positions that are a guaranteed win for a player if played perfectly, right? (...
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Are there any moves in the opening stage that are perfectly sound but not book moves?
In the opening stage, are there any moves that are perfectly sound but are not book moves? Here a book move, is defined in Wikipedia as follows:
Opening moves that are considered standard (often ...
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Has anyone attempted to characterize chess mathematically?
From years of being student, researcher, and practitioner of chess, I feel like it possesses completeness and elegance that are found in mathematical proofs and theories. Thus, it seems only natural ...
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Anderssen's 'immortal game'
I came across Anderssen's 'immortal game':
[FEN ""]
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5
5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3 Qh6 7. d3 Nh5 8. Nh4 Qg5
9. Nf5 c6 10. g4 Nf6 11. Rg1 cxb5 12. h4 Qg6
13. h5 Qg5 14. ...
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Chess Tournaments Without Studying Theory?
I have played chess since a very young age and my tactics are very developed in my opinion. However, I never bothered to read chess related books about opening or related theory. This often leads to ...
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Longest non-cooperative game of chess [closed]
Typical arguments for the longest possible game of chess take a form something like this.
1) Each player moves their knights back of forth 49 times
2) Each player moves one pawn forward one square ...
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Why is 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 b6 so unpopular?
Why is the Sicilian line with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 b6 almost never played at any level, nor considered in books and similar? It seems logical to me, and after the usual 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bb7, the Bishop is ...
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When can king and pawn win against another king and pawn?
Assume such a situation: Both players (Black and White) only have two pieces, that is a King and a Pawn. They have the liberty of placing them according to their wishes on the first row of their side ...
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What are the maximum number of pieces that can be checking a king at once [duplicate]
Was just thinking about this. It's easy to have two pieces checking the king via a discovered double check, but three is where it gets interesting. Finegold said in a video he was TDing for a game and ...
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Does White have any feasible way to break through this position?
I recently played as Black in a 1+0 blitz game on Lichess in which the below position was reached.
[FEN ""]
1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. e5g Nfd7 5. f4 Nb6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Bb5 Bd7 8. O-O g6 9. Bxc6 ...
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Pushing the e-pawn
I am having trouble understanding why the move e5 which I played in the position below
is not correct according to Stockfish (6th move for White)
I am not doing this move by winning a tempo, but I ...
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Conceptually, what makes the Sicilian opening sensible for black?
We all know the Sicilian as shown below, is one of the most famous and commonly employed openings in chess. But compared to the other replies, which tend to be more about fixing the center (such as e5,...
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Introduction to the Sicilian
I am trying to work on my openings and start playing the Sicilian as a response to 1. e4 but I am slightly overwhelmed by the huge amounts of resources available. I am rated around 1850 FIDE and I ...
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How is endgame theory developed?
First of all, I am explicitly not asking for a list of endgame principles, nor am I asking for resources to study endgames from.
My question is: How does one develop endgame theory? The main ...
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Novice - Capitalizing on players not knowing their openings?
I am a 1400-rated player currently working on my theory and understanding of openings.
I am good at learning lines, much more so than others at my rating. But I'm less sure on where/how to learn the ...
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Why aren't 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bh6, and 1.e4 b6 2.d4 Ba6 considered by theory?
As the title above, why aren't 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bh6, and 1.e4 b6 2.d4 Ba6 (or eventually beginning with 1.d4) for Black not even considered by theory? Isn't the eventual early trade-off of White's strong ...
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If both sides move at random, but legally, then how many games will be a win for White or Black, if not a draw? [duplicate]
I would guess that very few games, in terms of percentage, will end with a draw. The winning percentage will be roughly the same for both White and Black.
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Is learning the English Opening helpful for learning the Sicilian Defence? How about vice versa?
Is learning the opening 1. c4 e5 as white helpful in learning the opening 1. e4 c5? How about vice versa?
Are the ideas behind the Sicilian Defence as black very similar to the ideas behind the ...
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Longest series of mutual "!" moves
Normally I'd pester the/a computer chess forum, but I couldn't register yet...
On the Matplus chess forum, the following construction task came up.
Both White and Black are on the brink of ...
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Comparing 9...a6 to 9...b6 in the Panov-Botvinnik Attack
This question is motivated by a recent LiChess game where I was black where I played the Caro-Kann and white played the Panov-Botvinnik Attack:
[fen ""]
[Site "https://lichess.org/J9cdDkL5"]
[Date "...
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Is this the quickest way to clearing the board to two kings? [duplicate]
Is 21 moves the least needed to get board down to 2 kings?
[FEN ""]
1. e4 d5 exd5 Qxd5 Qh5 Qxa2 Qxh7 Qxa1 Qxh8 Qxb1 Qxg8 Qxb2 Qxg7 Qxc2 Qxf8 Kd7 Qxf7 Qxc1 Ke2 Qxd2 Kf3 Qxf2 Ke4 Qxf1 Qxe7 Kc6 Qxc7 ...
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Is 6 the limit for the most pawns possible on a single file?
As far as I can calculate, 6 is the limit for the most number of pawns on a single file possible. Is 7 possible at all, ignoring promotion? I only took into account using the edge of the board, not ...
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Is an Arabian mate possible without the king’s help?
Can an Arabian mate be enforced without the king's help in this position?
[FEN "r6k/8/8/8/8/8/8/K6n w - - 0 1"]
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What are the quckest helpmates delivered by the rook, knight, bishop, and pawn?
What are the quickest helpmates, which is where both sides help administer checkmate to one side, delivered by the rook, knight, bishop, and pawn? The said piece has to deliver the checkmate on the ...
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Can anyone recommend a Chess platform that, well, you better read further
I thought I might take a minute to share a project I started about 20 years ago.
Essentially, I used my ChessMaster program to make a "Chess Explorer".
In 1998, I noticed I could add notes into ...
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How does one know if a position is not reachable from a series of legal moves from the starting position?
If one of the following is true, a position is not reachable from the starting position by a series of legal moves:
One side has two or more kings or one side has no kings;
One side has a total of ...
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