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Board order in chess olympiads

What's stopping teams in chess olympiads from mixing up their board order to gain an advantage? All I could find was the rules (http://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/chess_olympiad_regulations.pdf) that said that the board order couldn't be switched in…
DCT
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What's the goal of a minority attack?

I understand the definition of a minority pawn attack, is when one side has less pawns than other in a flank of the board (or any sector) and advances them to trade them with the oponent. The question is why would I want to do that? I imagine there…
Santropedro
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Did it make sense for Lasker to play the Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez in 1914?

In 1914, world champion Emanuel Lasker was trailing future world champion J.R. Capablanca in a tournament, meaning that he needed to win, not just draw, against Capablanca. He played the exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez, trading his best…
Tom Au
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Why is chess dominated by relatively young players?

The top FIDE rated players (2700 chess) are all under 50 years old. Most of them seem to be around the 23-32 age range. Why is this the case? I don't really know if this has always been the case or if it this is just something apparent in the…
chackerian
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Which of these two endgame books?

I am a beginner (approximately 1400) seeking to improve my endgame technique. Which one of these books would you recommend as suitable for my strength and why? 100 Endgames you must know by Jesus de la Villa Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From…
ndbd
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Drawn R+2P vs R endgame

I remember a recent(1-2 years) drawn (super)grandmaster game in which white had 2 connected pawns and a rook, while black had a rook. I later learned that it was a theoretical draw, which quite surprised me, since I had always though that two…
Siddharth Gurumurthy
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How to resign when my opponent is not at the board?

This happened to me yesterday. It was unreasonable for me to play on, so I was going to resign but my opponent was not at the board. They probably left the board to watch another game, waiting for my next move. Question: What is the correct way…
Rebecca J. Stones
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What to do with no stronger players around?

I hear that a good way to improve is by playing against much stronger opponents. The problem here is that there are hardly any stronger opponents where I live and that makes it not only not as challenging but with no one to really personal help me…
Joh Tash
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Why do some players never accept a draw offer?

Some of the people I play against will never accept a draw offer, even in positions that are a theoretical draw. I know it's a draw. They know it's a draw. But they want to play until: Draw by stalemate Draw by insufficient material Draw by…
user1108
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What is a good plan for white against the Rubinstein variation in the French defense?

I always play the Tarrasch variation against the French defense and I have quite some good results with it. Nevertheless, when black exchanges on e4 and the game transposes into the Rubinstein variation, I have no good plan for white and don't…
Don
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What are the ideas behind the Blackmar-Diemer gambit?

I have a new chess student who likes risky openings. We conducted an exercise where we played the first 4 or 5 moves to see which openings come naturally to him. He chose the Scandinavian Defence and Queen's Gambit Accepted as Black, and the…
user1108
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1 answer

Why almost nobody plays ...6...b5 in the Lipnitsky Najdorf?

[FEN ""] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 everybody plays 6... e6 and then ...b5. Is 6...b5 right now a mistake? I don't see 7.Bxf7 as a threat. Is the move order just…
A. N. Other
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How much time you spend on one puzzle?

I know solving tactics puzzles is one of the recommended ways to improve in chess. I spend around 30 min solving puzzles. How much time I should spend on one puzzle? During games we don't think 15-20 min on one move (of course depends on a stage…
Alex
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How to a add draw offer to a PGN

Does PGN have any annotations for draw offers? Just adding = after a move doesn't seem to work everywhere. Among the standard NAGs there is $10 (a drawish or even position) which translates as =; or I can use a comment. But I am wondering whether…
Samurai
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How to get to 2000 ELO rating

I'm a 1800 chess player. I know pretty much all the basics in every fields of the game. I know the main lines of openings, I know tactics, I know end game. Average in all of it (=1800 player). I would say I'm a little bit more of a tactic player…
Sebastien FERRAND
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