Chess
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@Godder said in World Chess Championship:
Most strong players can successfully play multiple games simultaneously against much weaker players - my personal record is 30 against a school chess club I was due to start coaching (I won all 30). At that level, it mostly just comes down to calculating moves better than the opposition, which is partly pattern recognition, and partly tactical ability.
Blindfold chess is harder, especially simultaneously, but I can play one game without sight of the board. One of my coaching tricks for a class is to teach them how to checkmate a lone King with just a King and Rook, and after showing and explaining the technique, playing it for the class with my back to the demonstration board (with one of them playing the moves on the board so the class can see).
Personal bragging aside, online chess was always big (I've played online on and off since 1998), but tended to be separate from in person play, but some recent big name Twitch streamers and the lockdown have combined to largely remove that separation now (world champion Magnus Carlsen did a lot to set up major online tournaments with the top players to really legitimise online play). During the first lockdown, NZ Chess Federation set up a Lichess.org group (Lichess is one of the main online options) and has organised weekly tournaments since, and it has been eye-opening for a lot of older players as it showed that they could play online and enjoy it, while also encouraging younger players to join a club after we got back to level 1. Add in the Queen's Gambit, and chess is booming even in New Zealand.
Most larger clubs either have lessons or social chess for newer players, so if anyone just wants to play a few games with real people, that might be an option - www.newzealandchess.co.nz is the NZ Chess Federation website, and the clubs section should have the contact details of local clubs (or just Google them, or post here and I can look them up).
Holy shit that is amazing !
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@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
How those grandmasters play multiple games at once is absolutely beyond my pea brain.
They just look at patterns and 'know' the next move. Same way your tragic rugby brain sizes up a paddock and knows whether the carrier should kick to space, pass or take contact. It's instinct.
That, and they are very very good at it.
Also, we are in a golden age with chess information and tutorials online, and chess computers of any lebel you like to upskill with.
Not sure that's an entirely accurate analogy. Plenty of dumbarses play Rugby, not sure I'd describe a top chess player like that. On the spectrum definitely, but not dumb.
eh, I was reaching with the analogy, but the point is that most of the games the masters are playing are on instinct and patter. They'll only be thinking about a few of them in any detail.
The blindfold simultaneous chess blows my mind though. That is absolutely nuts
As I mentioned earlier I have a good chess app on the phone. Easy is too easy, but medium is too hard. The level between is one where I usually win.....but overall I’m just not getting better. I probably need to take more time with my moves
This guy (John Bartholomew) is really good at explaining chess in simple terms. have watched a bunch of them with NZZP Jr and they make a lot of sense. Have a look!
Will do. My tactic ( online ) is to get a pawn to the other side and ending up with two queens if possible. I don’t think this ploy works too well against decent players
Can confirm, still works at the top level, although they'll usually resign rather than play to checkmate.
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@Godder said in World Chess Championship:
@canefan said in World Chess Championship:
@Godder said in World Chess Championship:
Most strong players can successfully play multiple games simultaneously against much weaker players - my personal record is 30 against a school chess club I was due to start coaching (I won all 30). At that level, it mostly just comes down to calculating moves better than the opposition, which is partly pattern recognition, and partly tactical ability.
Regardless of level, that sounds very impressive. I used to play at primary school and intermediate, I'm pretty sure I was concentrating more on what I wanted to do than what the opponent was doing
Add in the Queen's Gambit, and chess is booming even in New Zealand.
I bet many are disappointed when they find that chess doesn't involve the widespread partaking of tranquillisers and alcohol
Alcohol is pretty popular even in chess, although probably not to the extent of Beth - young adults can be very heavy drinkers when they go away for a tournament. The broken genius is a bit of a cliché but it definitely applies to some players.
I imagine the ability to apply super focus would be a great skill. I can't solve a rubiks cube so I don't have a chance
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@Godder said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
How those grandmasters play multiple games at once is absolutely beyond my pea brain.
They just look at patterns and 'know' the next move. Same way your tragic rugby brain sizes up a paddock and knows whether the carrier should kick to space, pass or take contact. It's instinct.
That, and they are very very good at it.
Also, we are in a golden age with chess information and tutorials online, and chess computers of any lebel you like to upskill with.
Not sure that's an entirely accurate analogy. Plenty of dumbarses play Rugby, not sure I'd describe a top chess player like that. On the spectrum definitely, but not dumb.
eh, I was reaching with the analogy, but the point is that most of the games the masters are playing are on instinct and patter. They'll only be thinking about a few of them in any detail.
The blindfold simultaneous chess blows my mind though. That is absolutely nuts
As I mentioned earlier I have a good chess app on the phone. Easy is too easy, but medium is too hard. The level between is one where I usually win.....but overall I’m just not getting better. I probably need to take more time with my moves
This guy (John Bartholomew) is really good at explaining chess in simple terms. have watched a bunch of them with NZZP Jr and they make a lot of sense. Have a look!
Will do. My tactic ( online ) is to get a pawn to the other side and ending up with two queens if possible. I don’t think this ploy works too well against decent players
Can confirm, still works at the top level, although they'll usually resign rather than play to checkmate.
Interesting. I would have thought any top level player could see this coming a mile off.
Is it true that a game is declared a draw if a player ( for example has a rook and a Bishop left ) can’t checkmate a lone king in a certain amount of moves?
I played regularly years ago with a flat mate who beat me every single time ( except for one lone glorious victory when he was quite drunk and stoned ). He told me this was the case ?
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@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@Godder said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
@nzzp said in World Chess Championship:
@MN5 said in World Chess Championship:
How those grandmasters play multiple games at once is absolutely beyond my pea brain.
They just look at patterns and 'know' the next move. Same way your tragic rugby brain sizes up a paddock and knows whether the carrier should kick to space, pass or take contact. It's instinct.
That, and they are very very good at it.
Also, we are in a golden age with chess information and tutorials online, and chess computers of any lebel you like to upskill with.
Not sure that's an entirely accurate analogy. Plenty of dumbarses play Rugby, not sure I'd describe a top chess player like that. On the spectrum definitely, but not dumb.
eh, I was reaching with the analogy, but the point is that most of the games the masters are playing are on instinct and patter. They'll only be thinking about a few of them in any detail.
The blindfold simultaneous chess blows my mind though. That is absolutely nuts
As I mentioned earlier I have a good chess app on the phone. Easy is too easy, but medium is too hard. The level between is one where I usually win.....but overall I’m just not getting better. I probably need to take more time with my moves
This guy (John Bartholomew) is really good at explaining chess in simple terms. have watched a bunch of them with NZZP Jr and they make a lot of sense. Have a look!
Will do. My tactic ( online ) is to get a pawn to the other side and ending up with two queens if possible. I don’t think this ploy works too well against decent players
Can confirm, still works at the top level, although they'll usually resign rather than play to checkmate.
Interesting. I would have thought any top level player could see this coming a mile off.
They usually can, but that doesn't mean they can stop it if it comes with other threats at the same time.
Is it true that a game is declared a draw if a player ( for example has a rook and a Bishop left ) can’t checkmate a lone king in a certain amount of moves?
I played regularly years ago with a flat mate who beat me every single time ( except for one lone glorious victory when he was quite drunk and stoned ). He told me this was the case ?
A player can claim a draw if 50 moves have been played by each player with no pawn moves or captures. In tournaments, this is normally proven by scoresheets (players have to write the moves down during the game), and in online games, the server will enforce it. This rule is often misunderstood as to the qualifying moves or positions, so lone Kings and the like are common misconceptions, but the 50 move rule is what the Laws of Chess actually say.
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@Godder said in World Chess Championship:
The broken genius is a bit of a cliché but it definitely applies to some players.
This is an excellent book for anyone with even a passing interest in chess - or in sport, for that matter.
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Right, I've hit the wrong thread one too many times.
Time to combine this and the test thread to create 'World Chest Championship', then at least we'll always be in the right thread.
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@delicatessen said in World Chess Championship:
Right, I've hit the wrong thread one too many times.
Time to combine this and the test thread to create 'World Chest Championship', then at least we'll always be in the right thread.
i am totally on board
do we run a poll or...?
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@delicatessen said in World Chess Championship:
Time to combine this and the test thread to create 'World Chest Championship', then at least we'll always be in the right thread.
PG13, or RP16?
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16 year old kid defeats world champ, again.
“Praggnanadhaa later revealed that he was taking school exams during the event in an interview to Chess24.
““I’m not so thrilled about my game quality. I’m missing some stuff, some tricks, and some tactics so I need to be sharper,” he said.”
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@Kid-Chocolate said in World Chess Championship:
16 year old kid defeats world champ, again.
“Praggnanadhaa later revealed that he was taking school exams during the event in an interview to Chess24.
““I’m not so thrilled about my game quality. I’m missing some stuff, some tricks, and some tactics so I need to be sharper,” he said.”
Looks like a smug little fuck and that quote of his is pure wank.
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A cheating scandal is buzzing in the chess world with wild allegations of using technology — including vibrating “anal beads” — to signal winning moves after a teenage newcomer beat a world champion at a high-stakes tournament.
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The 'anal beads' were never raised as a serious possibility - the quotes related to them were taken from a prominent chess streamer (and grandmaster) responding to a question from a viewer.
Hans said in an interview that he had cheated in online play, but it was only twice - once when he was 12 and once when he was 16. However, there has been suspicion around him from a lot of top-level GMs for awhile (given his huge increase in ranking in a short time), and chess.com also released a statement around their recent banning of him saying that their anti-cheating software didn't line up with his statements around regularity of the cheating.
There isn't any evidence to suggest he cheated in this game - but the post-match interviews were a bit suspect, with the presenter essentially beating him in the post-game analysis. It could be nerves - but there are a couple red flags.
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This guy is toast IMO. Even if he stops cheating as from now, his reputation is gone. Well done to Carlsen for calling him out on it.
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@Billy-Tell makes the governing world body and his own federation look like incompetents by not calling him out earlier.
Would a guy with his confession and record be allowed to play on for big stakes for so long in any other sport!!!
Oops excluding cycling that is. -
The headline doesn't look good, but the report effectively says that there is no evidence to suggest that he has cheated over the board (just online games - though some for prize money) or has cheated in any form since August 2020. It does say he has had the highest growth in modern chess history, but then a lot of the usual measures to detect cheating seem to come out clean, so it is possible his over-the-board performance is a statistical anomaly.
Hans original confession was not made public by Chess.com so FIDE and his national federation had no way of knowing about his past. They would have had to pick him up based on their own cheat detection systems. These do seem to mostly be pretty inadequate, but even going over his games now, it doesn't look clear that he cheated.
I wouldn't be surprised if many players refuse to play him now, though. He is playing in the US Chess Championship today, which should be interesting.