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9 votes
6 answers
19k views

Looking for online Swiss pairing software

I would appreciate if somebody could recommend a good Swiss pairing program. I'd prefer online version with multi-language option and free version but cheap one is also good. I've found http://www....
gabor.harsanyi's user avatar
9 votes
3 answers
5k views

How far from solving chess are we?

See here: Does there exist an algorithm that would play perfect chess if given infinite processing power? With infinite power, we could trivially recursively check every board state for winnability, ...
Brondahl's user avatar
  • 585
8 votes
7 answers
5k views

Is there a chess engine that does NOT use brute-force search?

Every chess engine I've ever heard of (including all I found listed on Wikipedia) uses brute-force search with an evaluation function (minmax algorithm) to decide on its move. This is not how most ...
user57565488's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
2k views

What percent of chess games contain a blunder?

To specify the question a bit: I consider a blunder a move which worsens the position by 3 pawns (300 centipawns) or more. I think this is a pretty good base mark, since a strong computer will ...
Dider's user avatar
  • 841
8 votes
1 answer
4k views

Could a top ranked GM draw against Stockfish using drawish opening lines in classical chess?

We know that are many lines which White can choose which are very drawish at 2700+ level. Drawing is easy to a very good chess player such as Carlsen, who knows dozens of forced draw lines. When I say ...
hwood87's user avatar
  • 357
8 votes
1 answer
1k views

Illegal Move Missed-Too Late?

This question is about standard games under USCF rules (if FIDE is different, I'd like to know). Say that one side makes an illegal move-specifically, castling through check. Neither player notices. ...
Steve Weber's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
5k views

What are the best scoring openings in Chess960?

I don't play Chess960, or Fischer Chess as it is also known. I've seen a lecture or two about it, but I was never interested. Last week I was a bit bored so I decided to participate in a tournament ...
Lynob's user avatar
  • 5,774
7 votes
2 answers
8k views

How to get position evaluation with UCI?

I am trying to get score about current position directly with UCI (I am using latest stockfish). After reading the protocol I see that these commands ask engine to analyse the position: uci ...
Salvador Dali's user avatar
7 votes
5 answers
90k views

Only the king remains, but he is stuck, can't move [duplicate]

I played with my friend yesterday, and we reached a point when I cornered him from everywhere. I had a queen and a king, and he had only his king left, but he could not do any move because any move ...
Husam's user avatar
  • 79
7 votes
4 answers
1k views

What is the highest number of pieces from one side that can be involved in a checkmate?

What is the highest number of pieces from one side that can be involved in a checkmate? "Involved in a checkmate" is defined below. A non-king piece is involved in a checkmate 'if removing ...
user avatar
7 votes
6 answers
3k views

Is there any website where I can play simultaneous chess against many opponents?

This is purely for my fun (and also practice!), but is there any place online where I can play simultaneous chess against many opponents? This would be against human players, of course, not against ...
NM Wesley Falcao's user avatar
7 votes
5 answers
5k views

What can I learn from my "80 average centipawn loss" game, which I thought I played well?

In a LiChess game (Vakeesh vs. becky82), during the game I thought I played well, and won as black without and real complications. Here's the game: [fen ""] [Event "Rated Classical game"] [Date "...
Rebecca J. Stones's user avatar
6 votes
8 answers
1k views

Are there any gambits which yield an advantage for the side down material?

For this question I'm interested only in gambits that: Are real gambits. That is, the side that's risking the material actually ends up down material + cannot count on winning the material back. This,...
Allure's user avatar
  • 26.5k
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

What professional game has the quickest sequence, starting from move one, to quadrupled pawns?

In the blog "AJEDREZ, SIN DUDA", I came across a page that gives a game featuring quadrupled pawns. [Title "Zheliandinov-T. Sereteli, 35th Championship of the USSR, Kharkov, 1967"] ...
Rewan Demontay's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
245 views

Longest sequence of moves where number of available moves increases

White has 20 available moves at the start of the game. After 1.a4 e5, white has 21 available moves. (The rook has gained 2 moves, while the pawn has lost 1). What is the longest sequence of moves ...
Steve Bennett's user avatar
6 votes
5 answers
960 views

For white's next move, should it be recorded as Nge2 or Ne2 as there is only one knight which can legally move to e2?

[FEN "rnbq1rk1/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3p4/1bPP4/2NBP3/PP3PPP/R1BQK1NR w KQ - 0 6"] If white move his king knight to e2 in the next move, should this move be recorded as Nge2 or Ne2 in the algebraic notation? ...
Zuriel's user avatar
  • 9,053
6 votes
4 answers
6k views

Is takeback allowed in real chess?

Is takeback allowed in real chess? All chess engines allow take backs, but that's not important, it's just a computer, we make mistakes and correct them. My question is about real chess, is it ...
Lynob's user avatar
  • 5,774
6 votes
1 answer
5k views

Should I go for the Traxler Counterattack?

Many of my games as Black feature the Two Knights' Defence. [FEN ""] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 Sometimes my opponent will play 4. Ng5, and I usually reply with 4 ... d5. It is not ...
Daniel's user avatar
  • 6,172
6 votes
3 answers
799 views

Simltaneous checkmate and draw claim on the 50th move [duplicate]

This question is for aspiring rules lawyers. The FIDE's new laws of chess, effective Jan. 1, 2018, patch ambiguities and other subtle problems. I like the new laws. When it comes to game mechanics, I ...
thb's user avatar
  • 4,539
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

How is this scenario a draw? [duplicate]

Firstly, I'm very very bad at chess. I've known how to play for most of my life, but I've never been good, so I'm trying to get good by playing against easy computers. I commonly end in draws with ...
TechnoSam's user avatar
  • 163
5 votes
4 answers
677 views

FIDE Laws of Chess pre-2017

I have to hold a lesson for B-Trainers about the law of chess, and I have to tell them what has changed in the last years. While I’m quite sure that I can teach the actual LoC (that’s what I regularly ...
Christian H. Kuhn's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
3k views

Is castling possible with a pawn promoted to a rook?

I was thinking about some rules and I came up with a really nice question. Is it possible to castle with a pawn promoted to a rook? If the rules are followed-neither the king or the new rook has ...
Superluminal's user avatar
  • 1,983
4 votes
1 answer
677 views

What are all the world chess championships (such that...)?

Wiki says: Magnus Carlsen is 'the current World Chess Champion, World Rapid Chess Champion, and World Blitz Chess Champion'. Wesley So is the 'current World Fischer Random Chess Champion'. What world ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1,880
4 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is the king actually in check if the attacking piece cannot be moved? [duplicate]

Black was in a position to take a white bishop with the king. The white bishop was protected by a white knight. However, if the white knight was moved it would expose the white king to the black ...
Noah's user avatar
  • 41
4 votes
1 answer
705 views

Is there any way to gain equality with the QGD Marshall Defence?

The Marshall defence goes 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6?! I played this game recently as white. It was the first time I saw the Marshall in a game and the real contest was over by move 14. [FEN ""] [StartPly "...
user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
396 views

Classical Time Control Armageddon? [duplicate]

The fate of chess has been discussed for a long time and in recent years it has become more and more common. Examples of this include the 2018 World Chess Championship(12 draws) and the 2016 World ...
SubhanKhan's user avatar
  • 2,168
3 votes
5 answers
951 views

What advice would you give a novice in Chess?

I am a bit of a new blood when it comes to Chess. Oh I know how to play but before I started getting more serious it was more like flailing about and hoping for the best. Recently I came to the ...
user2514's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
826 views

Is there a way to get blunders, mistakes and inaccuracies using Stockfish?

Stockfish provides the best moves/lines but is there a command or technique to get inaccuracies, mistakes and blunders? How is this done by lichess or chess.com? They also have the ability to show an ...
Patola's user avatar
  • 133
3 votes
1 answer
261 views

List of female chess players by their peak FIDE blitz rating

Similar to these: List of female chess players by peak FIDE rating List of female chess players by peak FIDE rating with countries? List of chess players by their peak FIDE blitz rating List of ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1,880
3 votes
3 answers
2k views

What is the best age to learn chess? [closed]

I am currently writing a capstone position paper about the optimum age for a person to start learning chess. I have come to the conclusion that the optimum age is 5-6. I need help brainstorming ...
Chris's user avatar
  • 31
2 votes
1 answer
464 views

Why Chess960/9LX and not Chess959?

This question asks if Chess960 is really Chess960 and not Chess959, i.e. the dice are really not re-rolled (positive, instead of normative). The answer is yes, it really is. However, why is Chess960 ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1,880
2 votes
4 answers
937 views

What is zugzwang in chess?

What is the zugzwang? I have read this term in chess book but the term not much clear to me. Anyone know to to use this and what are the advantage of this?
Pankaj Bisht's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

List of chess players by their peak FIDE rapid rating

Similar to these: List of female chess players by peak FIDE rating List of female chess players by peak FIDE rating with countries? List of chess players by their peak FIDE blitz rating List of ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1,880
1 vote
1 answer
396 views

What are the rules of Glinski's Hexagonal Chess?

Wladyslaw "Bill" Glinski was a Pole who came to London immediately after the end of WW2. He developed what is probably the most popular version of hexagonal chess, a variant played on an ...
Brian Towers's user avatar
  • 96.7k
1 vote
1 answer
431 views

Simultaneous check [duplicate]

My pawn is pinned by the enemy bishop, however if I push the pinned pawn 1 space my rook would then put the opposing king in check resulting in a simultaneous check with my opponent to move next Can ...
G. C. Sozio's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
2k views

For long OTB games, what is the percentage of players who have a rating which is below X FIDE Elo?

I am looking for statistics on the FIDE Elo of chess players. I would like to know what is the percentage of players who have a rating which is: Below 1000 Elo Below 800 Elo Below 600 Elo Below 400 ...
Fate's user avatar
  • 4,768
0 votes
2 answers
406 views

Chesscom's new policy allows users to choose starting rating - Benefits?

For simplicity, let's focus on just 1 time control. In chess.com: I've previously reached a peak rating of 1360 under a starting rating of 1200. Then I stopped playing chess on chess.com for awhile (e....
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1,880
-1 votes
1 answer
306 views

List of records for youngest WFMs (woman FIDE masters) since 1950 (or whenever)? [duplicate]

On Wiki, we have the List of youngest grandmasters since 1950. What about WFMs (woman FIDE masters) instead of GMs? Note 1: I really mean to ask about WFMs (females who obtain the female exclusive ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1,880
-2 votes
0 answers
30 views

Why is the 2010 USCC armageddon between Gata Kamsky & Yury Shulman considered rapid not classical?

Similar question: https://chess.stackexchange.com/questions/41499/why-was-the-2019-wfrcc-called-slow-rapid-when-its-actually-classical-4515-6 Related question: What are examples of tournaments/games ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1,880
-3 votes
2 answers
492 views

Iuri Shkuro is part of the top peak FIDE blitz rating list (2800+) apparently by 'farming'

There's a Sep2020 reddit post by user ChessAddiction entitled 'How the Elo rating system works, and why "farming" lower rated players is not cheating.' I also ask about farming here: When is ...
BCLC's user avatar
  • 1,880
62 votes
14 answers
22k views

How should I make a 6 year old think more?

I have been teaching my 6 year old daughter chess for past 2 years. She plays reasonably well. She often defeats level 25 in Chess Lv 100 app and sometimes Level 6 in Chess.com app. So I am guessing ...
user3467434's user avatar
55 votes
10 answers
79k views

Is there a good online opening training software?

There are a lot of websites to train your tactics, but I can't find any for opening repertoire. I am looking for something similar to 'Chess Position Trainer' but online, where I can import a pgn file ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 4,301
49 votes
6 answers
17k views

Is it sportsmanlike to waste opponents' time by giving check at the end of the game?

In Blitz games, with very little time left for both players, is it acceptable to keep on checking the opponent and waste their time and win the game on time? Is that true sportsmanship?
USer345738380's user avatar
44 votes
13 answers
11k views

Why do so many children stop playing chess?

I've spoken to many people who played chess as children; some of them were very good players, playing at the national level. Around age 11 or 12 they stopped playing chess competitively and lost ...
Ralph's user avatar
  • 1,231
42 votes
1 answer
11k views

When was it possible for a player's king to be attacked by 3 of the opponent's pieces?

According to the current FIDE Laws of Chess: 3.9.1 The king is said to be 'in check' if it is attacked by one or more of the opponent's pieces, even if such pieces are constrained from moving to ...
Brian Towers's user avatar
  • 96.7k
36 votes
2 answers
9k views

Understanding AlphaZero

Very recently, the news came out that Alphabet's DeepMind research team have extended their machine learning engine to play both Shogi and chess. Apparently, after only a few hours of self-learning, ...
user929304's user avatar
  • 3,396
32 votes
4 answers
197k views

Is it possible to checkmate with knight and king against king?

I would like to clarify two things: Is it possible to checkmate with only a knight and a king against a lone king? What will happen when one side has a king and knight and the other has just a king, ...
BlueBerry - Vignesh4303's user avatar
31 votes
6 answers
4k views

Rules: en passant and draw by triple repetition

A question of rulebook pedantry: One can claim a draw when the same position occurs the third time, the same player having the move. Two positions are not the same if the earlier allows a capture en ...
thb's user avatar
  • 4,539
31 votes
16 answers
11k views

How to learn chess if you're still a 3-digit rating after a few years

I know how all the pieces move and I've learned about castling and en passant. But all I do is play online against other people and get wrecked because I don't know how to "play." I make ...
mr eyeglasses's user avatar
30 votes
5 answers
92k views

When you check someone, do you have to say "check"?

Yesterday I was playing with a friend, I was almost out of time, he checked me, didn't say anything, I didn't see the check as i was in a hurry to make my move. And I was mated. Computers don't let ...
Lynob's user avatar
  • 5,774

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