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Why was this game drawn?

So, I was having this game with my opponent (and losing), but anyways, here is the final position: I checked the king with my knight on move 47 (i playing black). All of a sudden, the game was drawn by insufficient material rule. However, there was…
Gaurang Tandon
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In the Slav, after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6, what are all the differences between 4. Qc2 and 4. Qb3?

In the Slav, after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 : What are all the differences between 4. Qc2 and 4. Qb3 ? Which one of them is better to reach some Catalan type positions? Which one of them tends to lead (on average) to the most solid, quiet,…
Fate
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Why do FIDE tournaments have rest days on weekends?

I'm one of those sad geeks that, instead of watching football of some sort or another, prefer to watch the super GM's battle it out whenever my schedule allows. This weekend I was looking forward to following the FIDE Grand Prix Series, just to find…
firtydank
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How to play the Albin Counter Gambit

The Albin Counter Gambit starts 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4, and there is a well known and beautiful trap with a pawn to knight promotion if white plays e3. Recently players such as Morozevich and Nakamura have been playing the Counter Gambit at…
EPN
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3 answers

Why is taking notes that encourage oneself illegal in chess?

In Round 9 in the US Chess Championship 2015 Men, Wesley So (2794) was forfeited by the arbiter in his game against Akobian (2622) since So took notes that were not chess-related but contained "general encouragement and advice to himself". The game…
Tom
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10
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11 answers

How can I teach the endgame to someone who feels it is "boring"?

I have a student who is in the 1600-1700 range, who has lost his last few games due to improper handling of endgame positions. Some were drawn, which he lost; some winning which he drew; and some where he could have forced a winning endgame (by…
Dider
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6 answers

What are some examples of wins by a much weaker player?

I'd like to study examples where a much weaker player succeeded against an IM or GM.
Landei
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3 answers

About Alan Turing and chess

I read Turing had some algorithm or method he could use to play chess 'against' this pen and paper algorithm assigning certain numerical values to each piece. Is this true? Is there a pen and paper algorithm one can use to play a kind of chess with…
201044
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2 answers

What serious use of en passant has been made recently?

I'm a (very) amateur player and have seen the use of en-passant only a couple of times in club games. Chess books I've read (Soltis, Weeramantry, Pandolfini,etc.) feature hardly any games having en-passant pawn captures. Are there any recent…
PKG
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3 answers

Worrying inconsistency in playing strength

I recently found time to make a study plan and improve my playing strength. Using this plan, I was able to achieve a 1900 average rating on online chess sites. Since a couple of days, I have in a certain sense "lost the feel" of the game, for…
Klangen
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4 answers

Arena: How to have the engine only analyze and let me play as both White and Black

I enjoy watching chess videos where, say, an opening is analyzed and besides the main line, the lecturer also explores alternatives and explains why they are bad or good. I would like to do this exploration on my own. The way I imagine doing it is…
Epigene
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2 answers

Forced checkmate examples where engines fail

Do you know example where recent chess engines (Houdini, Rybka, Komodo, ...) failed to find a forced checkmate. I guess they must find mate in 1 or 2 all the time but maybe are they failing to be as creative as human some times.
Tanj
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Chess variant where king is captured

While trying to teach my 4 year oldson the rules of chess, I found it difficult to explain the rules of check, checkmate and stalemate. Having already explained the moves of each piece and how capturing works, I found it much easier to say simply…
László Kozma
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Why should I try to put knights on weak squares when they can be taken easily?

Here you can see two weak squares-b6 & d6. That's what my chess book says, and in order to use these two weak squares, one must consider the moves Nf3-d2-c4. Actually, the story is more complicated (black has the strong reply ...Nc5, but for me it…
lolveley
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What is the best defense against Marshall Attack?

I have usually found the Marshall Attack in the Ruy Lopez to be very potent and very hard to counter. [fen ""] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 Are there any proven defensive lines or variations to…
Binoj Antony
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