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1500 questions
30
votes
9 answers

Why is chess failing to attract big name sponsors?

Despite all the efforts that chess professionals put to the game the majority of them cannot make a living out of chess. Only 4 or 5 super grandmasters across the world have been able to make a few million dollars from chess. This is mainly because…
Phemelo Khetho
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2 answers

How often does castling occur in grandmaster games?

May I know how to find in all grandmaster games, what the percentage of each of the following is? Kingside castling Queenside castling Never castled by the end of the game but still has the right to castle Lost the right to castle Note When one…
Zuriel
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3 answers

Why is the Ruy Lopez a sensible opening for white?

As an amateur, I prefer the Scotch game as opposed to Ruy Lopez, since I feel that White loses tempo and Black seems to gain tempo with queenside counterplay in the main line. [title "Ruy Lopez"] [fen "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w…
Adhvaitha
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30
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15 answers

Does white have an advantage?

It is often debated that white has an advantage over black. Some even say that with perfect play on both sides, black simply cannot win. Is there any research that backs up this claim, or is it mere speculation by the greats such as Rauzer? Also,…
derekvinyard98
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30
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7 answers

Are contemporary chess players now stronger than players in the 90's or 80's?

For example, take a Class A (a player with a USCF rating of between 1800 and 1999 inclusive) today and Class A from the 90's. Would the contemporary Class A be stronger because of the updates of opening theory or contemporary changes in chess play?
user122965
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15 answers

Are there moves in chess that are considered unsporting?

In many sports, you often find legal tactics that are considered unsporting by fans, spectators and/or opponents. For example, in football (soccer), it is often considered unsporting to simply pass the ball around your back defenders instead of…
firtydank
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29
votes
4 answers

Should a chess engine be aware of opposite-side castling?

I often hear chess experts and chess articles say that when opposite side castling occurs on the board that it is important to launch an attack on the enemy player as fast as possible. Up to the point where giving up a couple pawns or a piece could…
Tauist
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4 answers

How can I prevent checkmate in this position?

It is White's turn to move. How can White avoid a checkmate? [FEN "8/1kpP2q1/1p2P1p1/1P3pP1/5p1K/5P2/6P1/R7 w - - 0 1"]
user23347
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29
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14 answers

How are humans good at chess?

It is estimated that the total number of legal positions in chess is somewhere between 10^40 and 10^50. This is of course an enormous number. Computers today with reasonably good chess software can sometimes look 20 moves ahead to find the best…
Klangen
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29
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2 answers

How many chess players are over 2500 Elo?

They say that there are currently about 1500 grandmasters. I was wondering how many chess players currently have "grandmaster strength".
CognisMantis
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4 answers

Is there a balanced chess system where players of unknown skill can have an equal chance of winning?

Is there a chess system where you can make players of differing skill levels compete against each other with an equal chance to win without using different chess variations? This system should give good players and bad players a level playing field…
user17837
29
votes
4 answers

KBN vs K checkmate on nonstandard boards

I know how to win the endgame with bishop and knight, but it is a slippery process and seems to be just barely a win, with the enemy king very nearly escaping. For this reason, I am curious about this endgame on other board sizes and if it will…
wim
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28
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2 answers

How do you checkmate with the pair of bishops?

How do you checkmate with the pair of Bishops and King versus King? Are there any stalemates to look out for? What are the key ideas / positions / tricks to make it work? Thanks!
user2001
28
votes
4 answers

Opening tree graph

I found this tree and found it an excellent visualisation: Could anyone provide me with a graph that includes all common chess openings but to a lesser depth?
Einar
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28
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8 answers

As an amateur, how to learn WHY this or that next move would be good?

I am a typical amateur in Chess, played as kid a bit with my Dad and some friends, never got really good or invested much time, but always "a bit" interested in the game, so I play from time to time since then. In recent years I started to play a…
Matthias
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