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1500 questions
14
votes
3 answers
Any tricks to defeat artificial intelligences?
I've been playing a lot against an old build of Chess Free on Android the other day and noted that the AI almost always chooses the safest course of play, boringly eeking out positional advantages. If you play at its pace and react to it your games…
Quibblesome
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14
votes
3 answers
Examples of harmony?
Recently my chess tutor used a word which in hindsight is very interesting: harmony. He mentioned I should not just develop my pieces in the opening, but develop them harmoniously. Since then, I've noticed this word pop up again and again in various…
Derek Allums
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14
votes
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How does opening preparation work at GM level?
From what I can gather, one studies what the opponent has been playing, and prepare responses for their favourite lines. The problem is, there's no guarantee the opponent will play a given opening. For example, suppose I'm playing against Kramnik…
Allure
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14
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3 answers
Maximum number of pieces on board in dead position
It is possible in a chess game to have a dead position in which both players have all eight pawns, one bishop, and a king--20 pieces total. If the two players' pawns are interlocked in "zig-zag" fashion and each player's bishop is the same color as…
supercat
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14
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How are PGN ambiguities handled?
How are ambiguities handled when writing the PGN when more than one piece of the same type can move into the same square?
[FEN "1R4QQ/R1R4Q/8/6pP/5P1P/8/NK1k4/1N1N4 w - g6 0 1"]
Note: It isWhite to move, with an en passant capturing square on…
ajax333221
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14
votes
8 answers
How do you solve chess tactics?
Do you just grind them, or do you save some of the chess tactics that you miss?
Do you ever annotate your chess tactics?
Do you try to remember certain patterns and main ideas? Do you categorize your tactics by forks, pins, zugzwang, etc.?
How do…
Sorin Solberg
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14
votes
4 answers
Why have more than one time control per game?
Why is it so common to have time controls like 2 hours for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, as opposed to something simpler like 2.5 hours for the game? Is this just to "force" players to ration their time? Can't players be trusted…
itub
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14
votes
4 answers
How many steps can a grandmaster foresee?
What makes a grandmaster special? Is it the amount of steps the grandmaster can foresee, or the creativity? How many steps can a grandmaster foresee in average in a game (for instance Carlsen and Ivanchuk)? Is there a minimum amount?
Habbo
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14
votes
4 answers
Why is an isolated queen pawn so special?
Various articles and books mention the following advantages of having an isolani:
Better development
Outposts on e5 and c5
Constrained Black position
What I don't understand is how are the above mentioned advantages specific to isolani? Any side…
user422489
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14
votes
3 answers
How can I train myself to become more observant of all my pieces?
This is always what gets me. I want to find a way to train myself to become more observant, and able to look at every piece that's about to murder me.
Johnathan
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14
votes
2 answers
What is the idea behind playing 6.a3 in the Sicilian Najdorf?
What is the idea behind playing 6.a3 in the Sicilian Najdorf?
[FEN ""]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a3
This seems to be getting popular at the highest level (e.g. yesterday/today's games at the Tata Steel Masters, Carlsen…
user1583209
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14
votes
3 answers
Promotion race between three non-confronting pawns
Two evenly matched players have reached the endgame after exchanging off all their pieces except the King and 3 Pawns. Having castled on opposite sides, we have now reached the following interesting position.
8/pppk4/8/8/8/8/4KPPP/8 w - - 0…
Masked Man
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14
votes
4 answers
Giving up a knight and bishop for castled rook and pawn
The opening shown here is quite common. Is it generally a good or a bad idea to give up a kKnight and a bishop for the castled Rook and the f-pawn? In terms of their "standard" value, both pairs are generally considered as being worth 6 points.
[FEN…
Masked Man
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14
votes
2 answers
How is it possible that the Lomonosov-endgame-tablebase from 2012 still is the most powerful tablebase?
Due to Wikipedia: Endgame tablebase the Lomonosov endgame tablebase is still the biggest tablebase (with a size of 140TB). Now this tablebase was computed in the year 2012 with the Lomonosov 1 (Top500-list November 2012, rank 26). The Lomonosov 1…
BNetz
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14
votes
11 answers
Free, simple chess program for beginners
I can't play chess very well, and want a computer game to play against. I've tried two so far - Chessbase (Fritz 5.32) and Crafty Chess. Both had the same problem that even on the lowest difficulty setting, the computer trashed me.
I'm running…
Jack M
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