OT: Chess

[aufheben]

@Harbour Dog LOL I ended up winning this game as white due to time. What a mess. I was down pieces and down some more, but his 3 queen-side pieces literally did not move the entire game.

 

[aufheben]

Thay guy had a crazy lack of piece coordination. I'm gonna start playing people on lichess tonight.

I blundered a piece and sacrificed two more, and the dude still couldn't mate me.

It was a 10:00 game too, not 3:00.

 

[Harbour Dog]

@Harbour Dog LOL I ended up winning this game as white due to time. What a mess. I was down pieces and down some more, but his 3 queen-side pieces literally did not move the entire game.

What a clusterf***

I haven't been playing nearly enough over the last couple of weeks. And when I have played, I'm been tired and rusty.

Hopefully this weekend we can get some games in? Chess960 perhaps!

 

[aufheben]

What a clusterf***

I haven't been playing nearly enough over the last couple of weeks. And when I have played, I'm been tired and rusty.

Hopefully this weekend we can get some games in? Chess960 perhaps!

MFW anytime someone accepts the Queen's Gambit:

 

[Harbour Dog]

MFW anytime someone accepts the Queen's Gambit:

Lmao, I had the same reaction when I seen the replay. "Oh I see, this guy is unhinged."

 

[Harbour Dog]

It may not be quite as bad as you guys think. Wang Hao had a nice win with it Wednesday over a 2726 player.

Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation. McDonnell Defense (D20) · 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Nc6 6.O-O Be6 Vidit Santosh Gujrathi vs Wang Hao (2020)

It's definitely viable. Caruana plays QGA quite frequently as well. Those guys are world class players with world class prep though.

At our level, the immediate loss of space and the huge lag in black's development more often than not put him on a precipice for most of the early middle game.

When both sides are going to make at least a few mistakes in a game, putting yourself in a position where your first mistake could be your last is tough.

 

[aufheben]

It may not be quite as bad as you guys think. Wang Hao had a nice win with it Wednesday over a 2726 player.

Queen's Gambit Accepted: Central Variation. McDonnell Defense (D20) · 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Nc6 6.O-O Be6 Vidit Santosh Gujrathi vs Wang Hao (2020)

It’s not that it’s bad, it’s that people almost never go for it in my experience. There’s like 50 other solid choices for black in response to the QG.

That’s just how gambits are. Any given gambit usually almost always either accepted or declined, I don’t know of many that are 50/50.

 

[aufheben]

You may be right about 50. Most of the games I've seen fall into one of these six second moves:

• Nf6. Hypermodern
• d5. Symmetrical
• e6. Placeholder
• d6. Placeholder
• f5. Dutch
• g6. Placeholder

There’s a million Indian defenses alone. King’s, Queen’s, Grunfeld, Neo-Grunfeld, Nimzo-Indian, Bogo-Indian, Old Indian, East Indian, Benoni, Modern Defense. Then the Slav, Semi-Slav, and Ragozin are really popular too.

I like to play the Grunfeld as black. The Slav and Nimzo-Indian are annoying as white.

 

[aufheben]

You forgot the Pirc. I play the QP, Caro-Kann, and Slav, but when I'm ready I'll switch to the English like all the cool kids.

Harbour Dog is weird, he doesn't play the English the way most people do, which is the fianchettoing of the LS bishop. I play the Queen's Pawn. King's Pawn is fun but what actually gives me the most trouble isn't the Sicilian, it's 1...e5. I get absolutely destroyed as white in the Ruy Lopez and similar games.

 

[aufheben]

@Bogart me and @Harbour Dog in Chess Live960. This one was a wild back-and-forth, but I won as white. Make no mistake though, HarbourDog won the dozen other games easily.

 

[Harbour Dog]

I was able to watch one of the Nakamura-Carlsen games. Naka always feels like he is the guy to beat in rapid, regardless of who is across the board from him.

I hope Dubov breaks out some wacky well-prepared lines like the King's Gambit or Grob's Opening or something; guy is as close as we have to Tal in this generation.

It's worth looking up the Dubov-Giri game where he castles into an empty half of the board... and wins! From the lowest-ranked beginner to Magnus Carlsen; that castle looks like it should be death warmed-over.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Most Ridiculous Castling Move Ever?! - Top 10 of the 2010s - Dubov vs. Giri, 2019

 

[Harbour Dog]

Dubov just levelled the match with Hikaru!

The last game was extremely instructive for how to play closed positions. Would definitely be worth watching a replay of with the Hess-Botez commentary.

 

[Harbour Dog]

"Lindores Abbey: Dubov wins, ties the score 6/2/2020 – The winner of the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge will be decided on Wednesday, as Daniil Dubov beat Hikaru Nakamura in the final's second rubber to tie the overall score. Dubov won game one and drew the remaining three. Hard-pressed to win in game four, Nakamura tried the Leningrad Variation of the Dutch Defence, but to no avail — Dubov kept the balance until securing the all-important half point." Lindores Abbey: Dubov wins, ties the score

idk if it's a good opening at our level, but I like the Dutch. I'm rooting for Nakamura. @Harbour Dog

As long as you know what you're doing in it, I'm sure the Dutch is solid at any level!

I find myself rooting for Dubov over Nakamura, though I like them both a lot. I'm normally drawn to the underdog anyway, but Dubov's unconventional style is difficult to root against. It's a reminder of how much better the game would be if engines never existed and players' personalities showed through in their games a little more.

 

[aufheben]

As long as you know what you're doing in it, I'm sure the Dutch is solid at any level!

I find myself rooting for Dubov over Nakamura, though I like them both a lot. I'm normally drawn to the underdog anyway, but Dubov's unconventional style is difficult to root against. It's a reminder of how much better the game would be if engines never existed and players' personalities showed through in their games a little more.

FYI I started a full-time job so I haven’t been on a lot.

 

[aufheben]

Jiminey Cricket fricken DaveG is a 1974. 98.8% percentile. I thought that was his birthday at first.

 

[VanIslander]

DaveG is an all-time draft veteran.

 

[Harbour Dog]

FYI I started a full-time job so I haven’t been on a lot.

No worries, Man. I'm in a groove now where I've been playing a bit more often.

Always up for a game when you are able to play!

 

[DaveG]

Jiminey Cricket fricken DaveG is a 1974. 98.8% percentile. I thought that was his birthday at first.

7 more points and I'm sticking to playing unrated in that case.

 

[Harbour Dog]

After @aufheben said he was a better chess player, @Harbour Dog made this face:

Carlsen interviews are always entertaining when he gets it in his head that the interviewer is asking dumb questions haha

 

[Say Hey Kid]

@Harbour Dog I thought you would enjoy this article: "In times when modern top players all have a fairly universal style, it is fascinating to see Daniil Dubov at work – he clearly has his own style. His game against Vladislav Artemiev at the Chessable Masters, in which he brought no less than three positional sacrifices, is perfect study material ... " Game of the Week: Dubov vs Artemiev

 

[Harbour Dog]

@Harbour Dog I thought you would enjoy this article: "In times when modern top players all have a fairly universal style, it is fascinating to see Daniil Dubov at work – he clearly has his own style. His game against Vladislav Artemiev at the Chessable Masters, in which he brought no less than three positional sacrifices, is perfect study material ... " Game of the Week: Dubov vs Artemiev

Gotta love him. And that's a crazy game! I missed that tourney and hadn't seen that article.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

@Harbour Dog I thought you would enjoy this article:

"7/5/2020 – IM Robert Ris scrutinizes an almost forgotten line with which Daniil Dubov recently brought fresh wind into the Tarrasch Defence and tried at the highest level. Ris' conclusion: 7.cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 is "very hot and deservedly so." Dubov's Tarrasch

 

[Harbour Dog]

@Harbour Dog I thought you would enjoy this article:

"7/5/2020 – IM Robert Ris scrutinizes an almost forgotten line with which Daniil Dubov recently brought fresh wind into the Tarrasch Defence and tried at the highest level. Ris' conclusion: 7.cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 is "very hot and deservedly so." Dubov's Tarrasch

Not just for Dubov either; I also play the Semi-Tarrasch! Not that I intend to branch into the Tarrasch (it feels like white has so much capability to apply pressure), but I imagine there are a bunch of similar ideas and lines to be aware of.

This will be a post-work read. Thanks!

 

[Say Hey Kid]

My ranking of an old guy pulling off an upset and making the semis from best to worst is (tie) 1. Anand, Kramnik, 2. Svidler, (tie) 3. Ivanchuk, Gelfand, 4. Leko, 5. @DaveG 2647 FIDE Rating