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1500 questions
13
votes
3 answers
Caruana vs Carlsen game 10 (WCC) why not 18...Nxb6?
In game 10 of the Caruana-Carlsen WCC, why did Carlsen (black) not take the terribly annoying and strong dark squared bishop on b6 on move 18 when given the chance? Instead, Carlsen moved the queen with Qe8.
The position is shown in the following…
user929304
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13
votes
1 answer
Touching a captured queen -- must I promote to it?
Playing a friendly game against my son (but with Touch-and-Move in force), I was going to promote a pawn to a queen, so I fished out my queen from among the captured pieces, and placed it on the eighth rank. But before removing my pawn to complete…
TonyK
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13
votes
2 answers
Is it allowed to talk to your opponent in a tournament game?
Suppose my opponent in a tournament was running very low on time, and after move 40, presses the clock and leaves the board for a while, falsely believing they will get extra time on their clock. There have been many losses on time as a result of a…
Wais Kamal
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13
votes
2 answers
What was the first chess engine that could beat the world champion on a standard desktop?
What was the first chess engine that could beat the world chess champion when running on a standard desktop playing at standard speeds (i.e. not blitz chess)? For concreteness, say a $1000 PC.
Simd
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13
votes
8 answers
How to gauge someone's chess strength quickly?
I plan on teaching a chess class (5 classes in a sequence, each building off the previous, 1 hour each) to high schoolers, with emphasis on applying chess principles to real life. Now, it'll be unproductive to have players of maybe <1200-1300…
chubbycantorset
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13
votes
3 answers
What is 'Depth' in Lichess game analysis?
I have started analyzing my games in Lichess. I'm wondering what does Depth mean in the Stockfish analysis?
supermario
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13
votes
1 answer
What is the least number of knights needed to cover the entire board?
I’ve seen the solutions to the lowest amount of queens, bishops, and rooks are needed to cover an entire board, as in they can attack all squares and are the only type of piece on the board. What is the solution for this with knights?
Rewan Demontay
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13
votes
4 answers
A rook up, can black end the checks and thereby win (LiChess.org puzzle 74754)?
A LiChess.org puzzle ends at this position with white to move. Apparently, black has a win here, but running through moves with LiChess's Stockfish, I can't seem to figure out how to end the checks.
[FEN "1K6/PPPq2PP/5P2/3p4/1p2Q3/7p/8/k2r4 w - - 0…
Rebecca J. Stones
- 4,340
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13
votes
3 answers
How to improve on the early endgame?
The late middlegame/early endgame is by far my weakest point.
I often get some kind of advantage in the opening, but then struggle to convert. I do study endgames, for example I am currently reading Silmans Endgame Course. But the point is that…
ndbd
- 539
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13
votes
5 answers
Analyzing this opening I played
I just played what I believe was a set of moves that gave me an overwhelming advantage (I exchanged 2 minor pieces for rook + 2 pawns + prevented castling + doubled pawns + exposed enemy king):
(I am playing Black, so flipping the board is…
ajax333221
- 3,138
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13
votes
5 answers
Is it unsportsmanlike to underpromote to improve my chances?
Is it unsportsmanlike to underpromote a pawn to improve my chances? Sometimes I reach a won endgame where underpromoting my pawn will result in a slower but easier final checkmate.
Old example, easiest to understand: I was far better practiced at…
Joshua
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13
votes
4 answers
Are there rules for categorising all pawn-only endgames into won/drawn/lost?
If a situation containing only pawns and kings is displayed is there a simple set of rules for determining if the position is won/drawn/lost?
I know for single pawn and double pawn endgames this is true with rules like the opposition, rule of…
silent-tiger
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13
votes
3 answers
Using the king to prevent castling
What is a more difficult problem which involves using the king to prevent castling than the following problem?
White to play and win:
[FEN "r3k3/5p2/2K2P1P/b1N1P2P/8/8/4n3/8 w q - 0 1"]
user11382
13
votes
3 answers
How can I get a collection of chess games with a 'Greek gift' sacrifice?
I would like to make a collection of chess games that feature the 'Greek gift' sacrifice. There are few games on chessgames.com annotated with this sacrifice. I could find blogs with individual examples of games with this type of sacrifice (example:…
user14405
13
votes
4 answers
Are there good variations for White against the Sicilian that do not involve an early d4?
If White opens e4 and Black replies c5, that's the Sicilian defense. Typical next moves are 2. Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4, etc.
Are there good variations for White where he DOESN'T play d4?
I've heard of 3. b4 (Wing Gambit), but I don't like…
Tom Au
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