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1500 questions
12
votes
3 answers
What is the average number of legal moves per turn?
For example in the first turn there are 20 possible legal moves (16 pawn moves and 4 knights moves). This number increases in the middlegame and then decreases in the Endgame.
Are there some calculations on the average? Google search seem to be…
Superluminal
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12
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4 answers
What are good openings for White during a blitz game?
It seems as though White can easily dominate the tempo in a blitz game through a strong, aggressive opening. Is this the case? What openings are strong for White when there is a short time limit (e.g., in blitz)?
Chris Bunch
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1 answer
If I touch a piece with my forearm by accident, can my opponent call touch-move?
If I touch a piece with my forearm by accident, can my opponent call touch-move?
If the answer is "no", what if after my opponent calls touch-move, I believe him and move the touch piece before calling the arbiter - can I take it back?
Allure
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12
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2 answers
Why was 49...Rb4+ played in this puzzle?
I was looking at the answer of today's puzzle in chessgames and see that the reason I wasn't able to solve it because I missed a key move in the solution:
Black played 49...Rb4+
note: this is not the puzzle position, this was taken from the middle…
Gaph
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12
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1 answer
What is the longest proven forced win (including 50 & 75 move rules)?
What is the longest (currently discovered) number of moves for a forced mate position where players will use both the 50-move draw rule and the 3-fold repetition rule if it will help them avoid losing?
By this, I mean an a game where the losing…
silent-tiger
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12
votes
3 answers
Unknown old FIDE players
I am interested in the History of chess and looking at old FIDE ranking lists I am a bit puzzled by the lack of information about some very good players.
For instance, in the list of July 1972:
Shmit, from Soviet Union, and ranked #95 in the world…
Kortchnoi
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12
votes
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How likely is it that a non-orthodox promotion is optimal?
Underpromotion is an interesting aspect of chess, but there are other possibilities that aren't allowed under modern rules.
One is the so called "dummy pawn" as this question discusses:
When (if ever) was it a rule that pawn promotion was optional?…
anotherguy
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12
votes
1 answer
What is the order of actions in chess under FIDE rules?
Reading some recent posts about the 50 move rule made me realize that I've never seen an explicit order of actions for chess. By way of comparison, the order of actions in Monopoly is given here:
(1) Throw the dice
(2) Move the indicated distance or…
Laska
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12
votes
1 answer
The number of levels in chess
Consider a weak chess player who has just learned how the pieces move and who will lose to a Scholar's Mate. (We can say that he's male and call him "Mr. Newcomer".) Let's define Mr. Newcomer's level to be 0. Moreover, let's say that player A is a…
user181813
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12
votes
5 answers
Why do people say today's chess is dominated by computers?
Every time I read articles on chess I see people who say that chess is now dominated by computers. For example if you look for a thread on the subject 'Fischer vs Carlsen' (just an example) you see people comment that if Fischer had access to…
Fishes
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1 answer
Which chess position requires the most moves to reach?
For each legal chess position there exist a shortest sequence of moves from the starting position to that position.
Which position requires the most moves to reach?
orlp
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12
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8 answers
Best chess theory books for beginners
What are the best chess books regarding theory and such for beginners?
Fishes
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12
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4 answers
Best pseudo-chess game for kids to learn the basic?
My kids are 5 and 3 years old. I would like to teach them chess by playing alternative mini-game. Where can I find those mini-game instruction?
JudgeProphet
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12
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2 answers
Why is en passant hardly heard of?
So many people I know (or have played chess with) have never heard of En passant and will call me out for cheating.
En passant is a move in chess. It is a special pawn capture that can only occur immediately after a pawn makes a double-step move…
Welz
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12
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3 answers
Najdorf Variation: strategy after taking poisoned pawn?
After
[FEN ""]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Qd2 Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. e5 dxe5 11. fxe5
what are black's main strategic goals? As this is supposed to be extremely sharp and complicated, what are the pitfalls…
Max
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