56
votes
How can I prevent checkmate in this position?
Initial Analysis
White is clearly in a dire situation, since Black is threatening mate in one on either h7 or h8 if White doesn't do anything. But the White king can't move nor can White get rid of ...
- 17.7k
46
votes
Accepted
Are resignations by expert players naive?
By the time an expert resigns the decision tree may still be large but its evaluation has become simple. Players usually resign because continuing would be miserable to them and boring to their ...
- 8,686
41
votes
Accepted
Carlsen beat a high ranking GM with 1 Nh3. Conclusions?
It was one game in online rapid. You cannot deduce from one game that 1.Nh3 is sound or not sound. Carlsen was actually MUCH worse out of the opening, and just outplayed Dreev later. It really means ...
- 32.7k
39
votes
How to learn chess if you're still a 3-digit rating after a few years
Very simple.
Join a chess club and play people face-to-face. You'll improve rapidly after that.
- 100k
38
votes
Accepted
What should I do when I have no ideas and no strategies?
This is very hard to answer since the question is very broad, but in the opening, always ask yourself "what piece haven't I moved out yet?" If you move pieces twice or three times in the opening, and ...
- 32.7k
36
votes
What is a good strategy for blocking your opponent from checkmating you even though they always win?
There is a tried and tested strategy which works better than all others although it takes some time.
That is quite simply to get your opponent to go over the game with you afterwards and point out to ...
- 100k
35
votes
Positional thinking by Grandmasters
When a GM, or even lesser strong players reach a position that is totally unfamiliar, they have to break it down into components. They evaluate the following for BOTH sides. In general, a lot of this ...
- 32.7k
31
votes
Accepted
What fundamental mistakes were made in my game that slowly turned in to a loss?
Presumably you were hoping to play a London system, but your opponent tricked you out of it and you found yourself playing a Benoni where you did not find a plan. You did not have to play d5.
It was ...
- 8,686
29
votes
Accepted
I was up a piece but could not win. What went wrong?
You unblocking your opponent's passed d-pawn with 2. Rxc4 is what went wrong from a pragmatic perspective.
You are up a piece. The only way black wins this position is by promoting pawns so that you'...
- 879
28
votes
Accepted
Should you always try your best (play as if your opponent is a grandmaster)?
Is it a good strategy to always play like a grandmaster?
Obviously yes, but unfortunately 99% of chess players are unable to do this even if they wanted to. ;)
Is it a good strategy to knowingly ...
- 5,949
27
votes
Why is Carlsen being praised for his tie-break play, when Caruana made several game-losing moves?
Carlsen crushed it, made almost no mistakes whatsoever in rapid. It is as if he was playing at classical time controls.
Chess is about not making mistakes. If your opponent doesn't make mistakes then ...
- 1,085
26
votes
How to learn chess if you're still a 3-digit rating after a few years
The first thing to learn once you know how the pieces move is basic tactics and general strategy.
Tactics: In certain positions it is possible to gain an advantage doing a certain move or sequence of ...
- 20.9k
26
votes
What are pros and cons around banning castling?
It would certainly allow for more attacks due to kings being stuck in the center, but fundamentally changing the game, which in a way dumbs it down, is not good. It would be less complex.
I also do ...
- 32.7k
26
votes
How do GMs “play the man, not the board”?
As you mentioned, playing the man can mean several different things, but before I answer I want to say that no one can become a better player by only playing the man - objectivity is the number 1 ...
- 2,158
26
votes
Why doesn't Lichess' Stockfish suggest this bishop sacrifice?
Good question. I let Stockfish 11 think on the position, and even by around depth 25-26 it didn't suggest Bf6. But like in your case, after making the move on the board, Stockfish suddenly realizes it ...
- 19.9k
26
votes
Accepted
Is endangering the king a good strategy in some positions?
Whereas "sacrifice" is a bad word, as already was pointed out ("endangering" maybe), from the standpoint of game theory this strategy may be completely rational...if the players ...
- 17k
26
votes
What do modern chess players understand about the game that previous generations did not?
The knowledge of previous generations was summed up in Aron Nimzowitsch's book, published in 1929, called My System. The advances in chess knowledge up to Kasparov's time are best summed up in John ...
- 100k
26
votes
How to play as adult attacking Chess player against young chess prodigies
If you play what you call "dynamic" chess and are being consistently beaten by young, lower rated players then it is very likely that you are losing to superior tacticians. If you enjoy ...
- 100k
25
votes
How to minimise your opponent's fun in a game?
I play for two purposes:
to win the game, or when winning is unlikely, to draw the game.
to improve my chess skills, which eventually enables me to win/draw more games.
These are good ...
- 100k
25
votes
Accepted
Could a top ranked GM draw against Stockfish using drawish opening lines in classical chess?
They can't. Engines are absurdly strong relative to humans these days, and Stockfish should be fully expected to beat top human GMs 10-0 without much trouble. In fact, they already have - and that's ...
- 28.3k
25
votes
Accepted
Why is g3 a bad move here?
Pawn structure.
Allowing the exchange ...Nxf4 gxf4 simply weakens your structure considerably. The pawns on f2, f4 and h2 are disjointed and cannot protect each other anymore.
Black can immediately ...
- 5,949
24
votes
Accepted
Why is it better to take with the knight than with the pawn in this position?
Why is it better to take with the knight rather than the pawn in this position?
Taking with the pawn is bad for the pawn, the knight and the bishop while taking with the knight is good for all those ...
- 100k
23
votes
Accepted
What is the best strategy for an amateur to last as many moves as possible against a GM?
It really depends on what you mean by "lengthen".
I am not a GM, but as an "ordinary" Master, I have played 1700s before, who were lost by move 10, but the game still took 50 moves to finish. If you ...
- 32.7k
23
votes
Accepted
Can luck be used as a strategy in chess?
Whether or not to resign is a question of sportsmanship rather than strategy, I would argue. Just according to the rules, you are never forced to resign and can play on until you are checkmated (or ...
- 681
22
votes
Accepted
What is 'space' on a chessboard?
It's not a ridiculous question. Before discussing your precise example, let's cover some basic grounds:
Purely from an optimal play perspective: having more space translates into having more activity ...
- 12k
22
votes
What is the Dorfman method in chess?
This is not a book review, nor is it an opinionated account of the method. I've never really used this method per se, but have read/heard about it,
so hopefully my rough summary here doesn't do ...
- 12k
22
votes
Accepted
Why is the engine suggesting this move?
Black would like to continue their development with Nf6 and castling short. g4 discourages Nf6; after g5, the knight is forced back. It also prepares Bg2, which protects d5 without giving up the pin ...
- 25k
21
votes
Is preventing an opponent from castling considered an advantage?
It'll depend on the rest of the position.
If it's relatively open, chances are you can keep the opponent's king in the center and launch an attack. This might well be a decisive advantage; preventing ...
- 25k
21
votes
Understanding Kramnik's play in game 1 of Candidates 2018
The short answer is: white's making it difficult for black to challenge the center with their central pawns. But that's not really revealing much, so let us dig deeper into this beautiful middlegame.
...
- 12k
21
votes
How do GMs “play the man, not the board”?
It's all Sun Tzu; If the player is a tactician, play positional. If the player is positional, play tactical. If the guy is booked up in a line -- don't play into it unless you have a surprise...
...
- 6,111
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