Chess Stack Exchange
Chess Stack Exchange

Most Popular

more tags
1500 questions
13
votes
3 answers

How is mate guaranteed - Bobby Fischer 134

I am working through Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess and #134 asks If White plays Rook-takes-Rook-check, can he mate? The answer is Yes, the mate is delivered by the white Queen. However, can't it be prevented? Here's the board: [title "Bobby Fischer…
BruceWayne
  • 253
  • 2
  • 8
13
votes
10 answers

Can luck be used as a strategy in chess?

Consider below games where white looses a clean rook quite early in the opening but fights on hoping that they will be lucky and escape. Lucky enough, they escape and win the clearly lost game. [Event "Rated Blitz game"] [Result "1-0"] [Variant…
Owen Kelvin
  • 807
  • 1
  • 6
  • 17
13
votes
7 answers

What is the point of time increments?

I am having difficulty understanding the purpose of increments in time control. What is the point? If it just adds more time to the game, why not simply make the game that much longer? I am aware that I am missing something fundamental here.…
andro
  • 279
  • 2
  • 5
13
votes
1 answer

Harry Potter Chess Analysis

So, I've been reading Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. If you haven't read the book yet, or watched the movie, and you don't want any spoilers, stop reading this question. Continuing, there is this chess scene, where Harry, Ron, and…
Anonymus 25
  • 233
  • 1
  • 6
13
votes
2 answers

My bottle of water accidentally fell and dropped some pieces. Now what?

While playing a rapid game, I accidentally dropped my water bottle on the chessboard, which made many pieces fall. I don't remember the initial position, and neither does my opponent. Should we play the game again, or is there any other rule about…
double-beep
  • 4,340
  • 25
  • 58
13
votes
1 answer

Did Stockfish regress from October to December 2020? If so, why?

NCM data If the NCM data is to be believed, somewhere around October 2020, Stockfish dev hit +370 elo vs. Stockfish 7, but has since regressed to only +360. What's going on? Only thing I can think of is a statistical fluctuation, which is plausible…
Allure
  • 26,534
  • 1
  • 68
  • 146
13
votes
4 answers

Are Elo Ratings Zero-Sum?

Are Elo ratings a zero-sum system in chess? In other words, if I gain +9 points from a game, does my opponent necessarily take a -9 point loss? If so, would it make sense to say that Elo points are a kind of "currency" which gets traded around the…
user25362
  • 149
  • 1
  • 4
13
votes
6 answers

How should one take advantage of the "premove" function on chess.com?

Chess.com has a function called "premove". When pre-moves are enabled, while it’s the opponent’s turn you can make a move to automatically be played as soon as they make their move. The premove will play automatically even your opponent does…
Zuriel
  • 9,063
  • 6
  • 40
  • 98
13
votes
4 answers

Is it good to have a tendency to exchange pieces?

This is how I am playing nowadays. I can beat ~1500 player 50% of the time (the rest is due to tactical errors): Play the opening (upto 12 moves) Don't blunder At the point where my pawns and pieces are in a better shape than the opponent's, I…
bretlee
  • 2,515
  • 10
  • 23
13
votes
4 answers

What is the meaning of "dead draw"?

I heard the term "dead draw" a lot, but I don't know its meaning and when a position is "dead draw".
Etemon
  • 219
  • 2
  • 8
13
votes
3 answers

When has the FIDE rule against bringing the game into disrepute been invoked (if ever)?

In the current FIDE Laws of Chess article 11.1 says: 11.1 The players shall take no action that will bring the game of chess into disrepute. I have heard elderly arbiters fulminating about some incident saying that this law (which has been around…
Brian Towers
  • 96,800
  • 11
  • 239
  • 397
13
votes
6 answers

When is a queen better than 3 minor pieces (or vice versa)?

Obviously a lot is going to depend on the exact position, but I'm asking if there are any general signposts - e.g. bishops usually get better than knights if the position is open, or in an endgame, but I can't say the same about Q vs 3 minors.
Allure
  • 26,534
  • 1
  • 68
  • 146
13
votes
1 answer

Which is better-Stockfish 10 or AlphaZero?

I know AlphaZero (an AI) is one of the best top chess engines but Stockfish is also improving. Which one is better at chess?
Mehroz Mustafa
  • 241
  • 1
  • 2
  • 5
13
votes
2 answers

Which piece combinations can mate a lone king without being aided by the attacking king?

Clearly not a practical question since the king can and should be used in the endgame, but I was curious if anyone has done a comprehensive analysis of which combinations of pieces (including some unrealistic combinations) can force a checkmate…
itub
  • 10,516
  • 1
  • 36
  • 51
13
votes
3 answers

Pawn storm, should I start with h4 or g4?

If Black has castled kingside and White castled queenside or kingside, and White wants to launch an attack by a pawn storm. How do you know that you should start with h4 first or g4 first? I know that it depends on the pawn structure of Black. 1)…
Guess601
  • 1,200
  • 4
  • 15
1 2 3
…
99 100