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1500 questions
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3 answers

How to decide when is a3/h3 needed?

a3/h3 are frequently used to prevent the bishops from pinning the knights. I always have a hard time deciding whether to play them or not. Playing them loses moves and tempo while not playing can also sometimes become annoying (for example, if the…
Ritesh Singh
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How to blunt the Albin Counter Gambit?

I dislike open, highly tactical games. I wouldn't mind them so much if I won them, but that isn't what happens. I was recently destroyed by the Albin Counter Gambit. I'm curious if there is a known effective way of declining the gambit, blunting…
Eric Wilson
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Is there a text editor with syntax highlighting for PGN files?

In Notepad++ or similar editors, one can get syntax highlighting for multiple file formats/languages. I'd like to have something usable on Windows that would let me do this with pgn files (see header tags, and annotations in different colors from…
Joe
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How do computers play three-check chess?

How do computers evaluate three-check chess positions where the first side to check the other side three times wins? How do they value the first and second checks? It looks like the position evaluations would be tricky but it also looks like…
user11382
15
votes
6 answers

Going from Expert to Master

What is the difference in mindset or technique that really makes the difference between an expert and a master? I am trying to decide whether or not to start playing again and try to make that leap.
Andrew Latham
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Fastest King vs King endgame

What is the fastest possible game that ends in a King vs King endgame? Please post a game and tell me the number of half-moves you've achieved. By some simple logic, I can prove that this number is greater than 32 half-moves. There are 30 pieces to…
ericw31415
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6 answers

Getting rid of a chess addiction

How do I get rid of achess addiction? Both winning and losing just make me play more, and in the end, after many hours of play, I feel miserable.
Srinivasan
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3 answers

Free chess match database

I'm working on a rating/ranking algorithm and I'm finally at a point where I can test some hypothesis but in order to do so I need real data. To be honest almost any board game could be used for this but I thought that chess is the board game with…
user834
15
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6 answers

What to do when your opponent doesn't play along in the opening?

I looked around and could not find an answer for this. I've studied a pretty good amount of opening theory and so I know the "correct" moves for some basic lines. Most e4 openings and a fair amount of Nimzo-Indian, Pirc, and QGD for D4. The thing…
Raydot
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Is it possible to get a professional degree in chess?

I am a software engineer by profession, and a chess enthusiast (around 1600 rated). I would like to know is there any professional university certified course like Masters etc. in chess? Can someone opt for Chess as a means of getting Ph.D or do…
RajSanpui
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6 answers

Why would a player throw a game?

So I am kind of new to chess and I have been playing online. I have been playing for a year and I consider myself a mediocre player, not too good and not too bad. Recently I got this invitation from someone to play a rated game. This person's rating…
Fixed Point
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Typical Good Bishop vs. Bad Bishop endgame - how to decide if stronger side has a definite win

Black here has 3 weak pawns; if any one of them falls - he will very likely lose the game as well. If he lets White king break through via c4-c5(d5) - White will also likely win. c5 pawn is a passed pawn, but is not going anywhere. Evaluations like…
Joe
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Can a King and a Knight force stalemate against a lone King?

I believe that a King and two Knights are able to force stalemate against a lone King (though obviously not checkmate)... but what about a King and one Knight against a lone King? I first thought that forcing stalemate would be impossible. So I set…
Fate
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Glicko-2 Rating System: Bug or exploit?

I originally had this posted on Stack Overflow as it could be a bug in the implementations, but some suggested I post to math. I just found this Stack Exchange, and I thought who better? Some of you may know off the bat whether this seems accurate…
ParoX
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6 answers

Endgame improvement books

I am not playing a bad game, but my endgame is not so good. How can I improve my endgame? Please suggest me some good books for that.
Jaskaran Zap
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