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1500 questions
11
votes
5 answers
Is there a name for this common type of blunder?
I'm sure most of us have done it at least once ... I had a position where one of my pieces were under direct threat - I was a pawn up, but my opponent attacked my rook with his bishop and threatened to get the pawn back if I was careless. I tried to…
firtydank
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11
votes
1 answer
Eating and drinking before and during a game
Food and liquid intake provides a human body with energy. Yet having a meal before a chess game can cause the body to focus more on digestion than chess. While lack of energy during a six hour game can cause loss of focus and thereby mistakes.…
user2001
11
votes
2 answers
What are good UCI-compatible GUIs for Mac?
Is anyone running a UCI-compatible GUI on a Mac? Preferably something native and modern, so WINE and Rosetta (etc) are not needed. My goal is to simply set up chess positions and let Stockfish analyze.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Tony Ennis
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11
votes
4 answers
Which chess website has the strongest players?
The debate on which is the "best" chess website tends to be subjective and thus is inconclusive. On the other hand, the site that has the strongest players should be objectively ascertainable provided metrics are available.
So which is the strongest…
Bryan
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11
votes
3 answers
Can playing blindfold improve playing non-blindfold?
If I play blindfolded or don't look at the board and just visualize the board, pieces and position in my head, can this improve my regular style of play (physically looking at a board). Is there any proof to improving regular play via blindfold…
xaisoft
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11
votes
2 answers
Is the Ulvestad variation playable for black?
The Ulvestad variation starts with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5
Now white's best is 6.Bf1 Nd4 7.c3 leading to this position:
[FEN ""]
[StartPly "13"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 b5 6.Bf1 Nd4…
Andrew
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11
votes
1 answer
Do chess masters think with the board flipped when playing black?
Or do they always keep white on the bottom, as is the case with most historic games? Wouldn't it be easier for them to spot patterns from old games if they always oriented the board the same way in their minds?
user1837378
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11
votes
8 answers
How to play against the Polish opening?
1. b4 It seems like that black can some how equalize. Despite this, I somehow get tricked and lose my games against this opening.
CognisMantis
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11
votes
3 answers
Is it legal to use a chess database in correspondence chess?
Someone told me that you can use a chess database for correspondence chess, but this seems a little like cheating. Does anyone has some information on this subject.
CognisMantis
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11
votes
2 answers
Is it poor form to win a drawn position on time?
I was playing a 3-minute game, my opponent had around 15 seconds to my ~50 seconds when he managed to cancel out the last pawns to make it so we each had a king and a rook. I let his time run out and he accused me of poor form. Should that have been…
Jakob Weisblat
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11
votes
2 answers
How to handle the standard Bb4 (or Bg4 / Bg5 / Bb5) pin?
Here are two extremely common pins, given from white's perspective for clarity:
A black bishop at g4 pinning a white knight at f3 to the white queen at d1.
A black bishop at b4 pinning a white knight at c3 to the white king at e1.
White has a few…
Potato
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11
votes
2 answers
Why is the f6 pawn break in Advanced French so important for black?
I am new to the French (so forgive me if the question seems elementary).
I've just come across the pawn break ...f6 for black in the French advance variation, and I find the pawn break quite dubious for me for several reasons:
When we are attacking…
Brass2010
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11
votes
3 answers
Why did Kung Fu Chess shut down?
Kung Fu Chess, a chess variant in which there are no turns (everyone can move at once with a time delay for each piece), began in 2002 by Shizmoo games, and the website suddenly went offline in 2008 despite a large following and many proficient…
Kenshin
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11
votes
4 answers
Which side should I castle if I have opportunity to castle on both sides?
It's a little bit confusing for me to make good decisions when I have opportunity to castle on both sides.
Can somebody explain what are the factors should be considered if we have opportunity to castle on both sides?
ManirajSS
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11
votes
7 answers
What chess *scoring* alternatives exist?
Chess (often being classified as a sport) stands almost alone among sports in that its results are of a strictly ternary nature that is not quantified any further: The only possible outcomes are a win, a draw or a loss.
While the same is of course…
user3297