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1500 questions
10
votes
1 answer
Is the chess game from the movie "Revolver" a plausible game?
The movie "Revolver" has a scene with a chess game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI1oSkX-Zag
Is the game plausible?
69 420 1970
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How to handle Black's Bc5 in Bird's Leningrad?
I want to learn and play the Bird's Opening, Reverse Leningrad Variation, as White. I'm having a hard time with some aspects of this opening which keep coming up. I want to avoid a Stonewall-like setup (d4/e3/f4) as it's boring and doesn't fit my…
boy uptown
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10
votes
4 answers
Can you mate with each of your 16 pieces on its original square?
An opinion poll conducted by problem composer Roberto Osorio over 10 master-level chess players in the Argentine Chess Club produced 100% wrong answers! :-)
When the right answer is posted here, I will post a follow-up problem.
EDIT: OK here is the…
Laska
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E.Umnov's chess problem, 1944. Checkmate in two moves
White to play and checkmate in two moves.
[title "E.Umnov's chess problem, 1944"]
[FEN "k7/5QK1/3n1pb1/1R1p1r2/5p2/8/1p6/4R3 w KQkq - 0 1"]
ollazarev
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10
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2 answers
Why is White's "25. Bh4" considered a great move in Karjakin vs Kramnik at FIDE Candidates Tournament 2018?
I was watching Karjakin vs Kramnik at the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2018, Round 9, and simultaneously observing the chat feed at chess24.com, where people unanimously glorified the move 25. Bh4. Why was it considered such a good move?
[FEN…
gdrt
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votes
1 answer
Taking notes of time usage during game
While I know taking making any notes during a game is against the rules (and Wesley So was disqualified for this), does this include denoting the time usage after each move?
acye
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votes
4 answers
Is 80 points FIDE equivalent to twice as good a player?
I read somewhere that if you're around 80 points better than another player, statistically you should get around twice as many points against the same opposition. This impressed me because it's not how we generally think about ratings. I worked out…
magd
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10
votes
5 answers
How can a >2000 player stop making basic errors?
For the last 3 months or so I've been unable to concentrate and play chess to the level that I am used to. I'm rated 2050.
I've been suffering from the following symptoms:
Being completely unable to see the board in it's entirety. I've done silly…
user1108
10
votes
3 answers
Did predecessors of modern chess use dice to determine which piece to move?
According to the Wikipedia article of Magic: The Gathering, creator Dr. Richard Garfield has compared the evolution of the game from luck to skill as being similar to that of chess.
According to Dr. Garfield, Magic has and would likely continue…
Thunderforge
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10
votes
2 answers
Three Pawns for a Knight - Why Doesn't Stockfish Like it?
In a recent game I swapped off a knight for 3 pawns:
[Event "County Match"]
[Site "Deepest Darkest Southern England"]
[Date "2018.01.20"]
[White "English Player"]
[Black "Ian Bush"]
[Result "0-1"]
[FEN ""]
[StartPly "41"]
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7…
Ian Bush
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Did Stockfish have access to an opening book in its games against AlphaZero?
I have seen some commentary that implies that Stockfish did not have access to an opening book in its much-reported match with AlphaZero, but I cannot find a conclusive citation, and my inability to do so has me wondering if maybe Stockfish did have…
kuzzooroo
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10
votes
1 answer
Do Stockfish and the tablebase work together or independently?
I use Arena GUI together with stockfish in engine games. I want to download a 6-piece tablebase but that is just a lot of work (and perhaps unnecessary). If I download the tablebase (syzygy), does stockfish work with it or just waits for the board…
Wais Kamal
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10
votes
8 answers
Why are opening books so popular?
As title above, why are opening books so popular? I am sure that most players know that middlegame and endgame books are ultimately much more important for improving one's chess strength. That is not to say that openings are not important, but it…
A. N. Other
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10
votes
5 answers
A variant in the French defence advance variation
Consider the following beginning, quite typical of the advance variation of the French defense:
[fen ""]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3
On what I have seen on the web, the recommended black's next moves are
6. ... Nh6, or 6. ...…
Joel
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10
votes
3 answers
Euwe-Aljechin Amsterdam 1935 problem
I came across this puzzle that I couldn't solve and after looking at the solution I am still not sure what is going on here.
[FEN "5k2/p5pp/r7/2pB2p1/b1P5/6P1/4PP1P/R5K1 w - - 0 1"]
The best move apparently is Ra2.
The problem says "white to play…
Jacques Gaudin
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