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I thought you were just giving me a head start @crazy-legs.
I'm not sure which is worse- giving the game away with a stupid mistake as in our first game or (seemingly) doing nothing wrong and still losing as in our second.
or (seemingly) doing nothing wrong and still losing as in our second.
Check the analysis / game report that chess.com offers you. If you'd have taken the undefended bishop I think you'd have had the game right there. I also missed an opportunity around that time as I was so busy trying to defend against the onslaught!
Yes the game analysis thing is really good. Well worth playing through the 'key moments' to see where you could have played a stronger move.
The puzzles and lessons are excellent too and well worth spending a bit of time on.
If anyone is interested the WC is being streamed here. Much of the analysis is way above my head but interesting still and the speed at which the commentary team can dissect a position is impressive.
I wish my brain worked like this!
Argh - good game with @beiciwr64 but yet again I made a couple of crucial blunders and I really need to work getting those out of my game.
But, overall I am much happier with how I played. Don't think I will make it through to the next round this time round but have the motivation to try and improve my game back to where it was a few years ago.
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@dannybgoode A wild and chaotic game 🙂
Yes indeed. I stupidly gave up a couple of pieces when I held an advantage and then at the end as well. You played well in both games though - particularly liked your pawn structure in game one. Made it very hard going for me.
@Klunk - isn’t it just. Tuned in seeing your post and it’s fascinating. How can they maintain this accuracy under such pressure?!
First really proper game of the series I think. Magnus is looking sharper to me.
113 moves on and current accuracy is showing as 98.8% Magnus and 98.7% Nepo.
Insane…
think black can only win on time from this position (assuming no mistakes)
Longest game in WC history! oooofff!
@Klunk - Tablebase had calculated a draw but is now showing a white win.
Both those assumptions are if course a computer playing absolutely perfect moves and Nepo has made a slightly inaccurate move.
But Magnus still needs to be perfect.
brilliant! once he got those pawns on the march!
Magnus accuracy - 99.1%. Basically a flawless 136 move game against the second best player in the world. Astonishing really…
I also didn’t realise the 3x positional repetition for a draw didn’t have to be 3 consecutive identical positions.
At one point Magnus was carefully checking that he wouldn’t end up accidentally fluffing a draw.
That was a cracker of a game yesterday, especially the run up to move 40. I'll bet they are both shattered so suspect today will be a bit of a dull draw.
I've preferred the Chess24 coverage on YouTube to the Twitch stuff on chess.com. Seems (well to me at least) to make what's happening that bit clearer to the chess numpties like myself, without really dumbing it down.
I don’t think Nepo can be a disappointed in losing that game, as I am in being torn apart by irc1979 in my last game; on top of countless other recent losses : (
I am in being torn apart by irc1979 in my last game; on top of countless other recent losses : (
Don't worry, that happens to all of us at some point!
Him and stevo_mcd...
Ooh, I've made it to a 1500 ranking!
In another tournament, ended up paired against an Iranian guy with two games on the go at once (one as white, one as black). Game 1, he blundered his queen very early on and I got that in exchange for a bishop. He then put up this incredible defence - in spite of being a queen down from about move 5, he never gave up.
Anyway, beating him (he was nearly a 1600 ranking) has boosted my score considerably! 🙂
I just await the moment when @irc takes me down a few pegs again...
@crazy-legs congratulations and well done, 1600 next! 🙂 You can definitely play at that strength!
I have decided that you are my 'kryptonite player'. Whereas I can usually battle it out with irc/ steveo (at least to a certain point), I just seem to fold completely in our games.
Re: your Iranian game where he battled on, I think it's always worth trying to defend a losing position, especially if you can complicated it as you may get a position where you can force a draw.
I had it fairly recently in STW4 where I was in a comfortable winning position and then completely miscalculated and made an awful blunder. I was able to 'blunder' (sac) a bishop that meant I could give perpetual check. I did feel a bit dirty afterwards, apologises to my opponent.
I tried a similar thing against Wasnevergreat with a Knight sac that would have left no legal moves but he saw through my obvious plan!
turning into a rout! bit of a schoolboy error got to be tough to take!
Enjoyed this game in a non STW tournament. Both players play book moves up until white plays 8 e5. Checkmate on move 14. I still had one inaccurate move though.
https://www.chess.com/game/daily/371784463
Got my covid booster today and the 15-minute wait afterwards gave me a bit of motivation to finally go back to playing a 10-minute game. Since the first lock-down, I've been hopelessly stuck in a 1-minute game addiction spiral. Swore I would quit once I got my ranking back up to my high point of 1350 or so, but can't seem to make it happen. Doesn't help that my internet connection is flaky (I live in a small village in the Alps...) and I lose a load of games due to lag. Getting into daily games via the STW tournaments has at least got me playing some quality chess instead of endless junk.
Anyway, played a game while I waited to see if I grew an extra head. Played another couple at home. 10-minute is so much better than super-fast games. To be fair, I think both the one-minute stuff and and daily games have helped my chess. I know my preferred openings so well that I've been getting through the opening with about 9:30 still left on the clock and about a 2-minute advantage on my opponent while the daily stuff has actually made me study the game. Won most of the games I played and, having been away from "rapid" formats for so long, my ranking has been deemed less predictable so a few wins has shot it up.
Had a total shocker in an STW game the other day though. Had spotted a forced mate late in the middlegame. Studied it, checked it out, tested every flaw. Was utterly convinced it was genuinely forced and unbeatable. So I waited for my opponents move. And waited. And waited. And then he played. And lo, he had not foreseen it. My mate was on. And lo, I played the second move in the pattern and not the first. Ar$e.
@irc well played! Nicely done!
I was disappointed with your opponent for not giving you a potential stafford... nor going for a Halloween gambit!
Ben Finegold must have been rolling his eyes at move 7!
I play the Stafford if I can. Not totally sound against best play but an interesting game. Seems quite common for N c3 to be played to avoid it.
One minute chess? That way lies madness. 10m is the fastest I play. I have enough trouble avoiding ad moves at daily chess!
@irc and @crazy-legs. Congrats to you both - excellent achievements. 1600 is solid and 96% accuracy - well I would be very pleased :). One thing these tournaments have shown me is just how far my game has fallen off. I was never truly good but was around 1400-1500 however just serious lack of playing for a few years has taken its toll.
I am still enjoying it though and slowly, whilst at the moment I am not winning my accuracy is creeping up.
Just got to put some real work into it over the next few months.
@irc and @crazy-legs. Congrats to you both – excellent achievements. 1600 is solid and 96% accuracy – well I would be very pleased :).
I'm in an other tournament at the moment and on a bit of a winning streak which I'm feeling a bit embarrassed by. I think the number of games on the go at once catches some people out. That said, I made one hell of a blunder and gave away a piece for free earlier. Managed to just about get back on terms but that was harder work than anticipated.
I'm genuinely considering joining the Chess.com Championships Tournament but that comes with a warning of how arduous the schedule is plus it seems to be overrun with 2000+ ranked players and I suspect I'd get absolutely annihilated!
@crazy-legs. I have entered that just for shits and giggles. My only chance of making it through is via people timing out but it is all good experience 🙂
OK, you talked me into it @dannybgoode !
I'm so going to get my arse kicked in that one... Might learn something off the post-game analysis though.
Yeah I am full Diamond now for the advanced game analysis and go through every game - it is very good. It is certainly helping a bit...
whilst at the moment I am not winning
I suspect that may change in the next few days given how totally you're controlling the centre in our game!!
@kennyp - it is one of the main areas I have been working on. That said there is more than enough time for me to do something stupid and throw it away. Or for you to play a couple of strong moves and take back control (to coin a well known phrase or saying 😀 ).
I am studying and practising a lot though at the moment. Hard work but fun...
it is one of the main areas I have been working on.
Something I need to look at too. Not try to learn every opening but have at least a few I'm comfortable with. Too many times I'm on the back foot after the opening few moves and having to be reactive rather than proactive.
Am very much enjoying this tournament so far. All the games in our group have been pretty close and could probably have gone either way.
@dannybgoode Well you were right about “doing something stupid and throwing it away”. You just got the player wrong. Doh!! Now I know how Nepo must have felt the other day.
The last few games I've ignored book openings altogether in favour of just trying to get a good solid centre.
I know a good opening does that however I've found I've been getting distracted by trying certain book moves without fully understanding the advantage they confer.
So for now, whilst I've got a couple I'm studying separately (I find Chessable very good as well as the stuff available on chess.com), in my actual games I'm just playing moves that look strong but safe to me.
That said I'm in another tournament and have had a shocker in the opening of one of my games. Shear clumsiness on my part and I hope to pull it back but its been horrid!!
And yes, but I'll share the game I mention above and what you've just done is nothing compared to what I managed to do!
I find the most useful things are articles where openings are discussed in depth while being pitched at the right level.
For example I had never heard of the Stafford Gambit until I was white and it was played against me on Chess.com. I lost.
There is youtube stuff - IM Eric Rosen specialises in the opening and has a youtube channel. The most helpfull thing I found though was an article on a chess club website. Expains the ideas and traps well. I won a game on Chess.com following a line from that article. Never had to think of a single move.
https://www.dorsetchess.co.uk/stafford-gambit/
@irc - I agree entirely but only once you have got a thorough understanding of the basis of chess strategy and tactics. If you look at pretty much any beginner or even intermediate book on chess none discuss the openings much at all and with reason - other than to ensure you have a strong centre.
Opening theory is more complex than mid and endgame theory and can throw people off when they do not understand the reason certain moves are made.
Always interested in watching decent videos though and will certainly take a look at Rosen's channel 🙂
Carlsen retains his World Championship title.
Eurgh. Just lost the most horrifically bad game I've ever played I think. I'm going to lose sleep over it even at my mediocre level!
"Carlsen retains his World Championship title."
So. A quick click over to the Guardian website. Play a few moves back and forward. Easy.
In contrast the first World Championship I remember was the Fischer - Spassky in 1972. At the time I was on a camping holiday in a remote part of Quebec with my dad and my brother. The chess coverage consisted of buying a newspaper and playing the moves of the previous day's game on a board at the campsite each night.
An interesting result in group 3 of t5, its a 3 way tie for second place...so do we all go through?
Looks like if there is a 3 way tie on points and tiebreak score then all go through.
https://support.chess.com/article/314-how-do-ties-in-tournaments-work
This will mean round 2 has 10 players rather than 8. As the max group size was set as 4 I think this will mean groups of 3,3,and 4. Leaves 6 for the losers in T6. I'll set that up as a 1 group tournament.
Thanks @irc , looking forward to the next round.
I finally, at long last finished my last 2 matches in the first round of another tournament. Must have reported the guy a dozen times for stalling and delaying in the games. He'd wait til the final few seconds then put himself on vacation for a day. Come back, make one move, repeat. Anyway he tried to play King's Gambit on me but messed up the order about 6 moves in so within a couple of moves I'd pinned his queen and was about 4 moves away from mate when he resigned. Serves him right!
My minor niggle was where in a 3 day game my opponent blundered a piece early on for a piece and rather than either resign or dig in for a long fight as most material was still on the board just let the clock run out after 3 days.
But a minor niggle. I usually have 15 to 25 games on the go at once. So if I don't need to move j just forget about it and deal with other games. I find get annoyed st the one that wrnt on vacation for 2 months then let the fame time out. That's just bad manners.
Is the start of the next round going to be delayed until, say, January 2nd? No problem if it's not, but it might be nice to be making moves while not under the influence of half a box of Quality Street and my third brandy of the morning!!
Mmm let's see, if I sacrifice my queen on move 2 that should give me a good chance of a royal flush in the second innings, assuming my pawns aren't all offside. Hey is there any vodka left or did that Russian bloke finish it all, you know the one going on about 'bloody Vikings'.
@crazy-legs - yeah, I had similar in a team match recently. If you're a premium member, then instead of automatically losing the game at timeout, you automatically go to vacation mode. Dude had taken weeks to make about 5 moves. He eventually ran out of vacation time and lost both games!
@kennp
There is no way of pausing the tournament. It automatically starts the next round when all games in current round are finished.
But the vacation option is open on this tournament. Anyone not wanting to play between say 24th Dec and 1st Jan could just set themselves on vacation.
While I like tournaments to keep moving I think a halt for anyone that wants it between Christmas and New Year is fair enough.
There is no way of pausing the tournament. It automatically starts the next round when all games in current round are finished.
But the vacation option is open on this tournament. Anyone not wanting to play between say 24th Dec and 1st Jan could just set themselves on vacation.
Ah I see how it works now. I've got more than a month of vacation time available so may well take a break for two or three days over Christmas, and another day or so at New Year.
Though it has to be said I've been enjoying these tournaments to the point I've found myself taking sneaky wee peeks at my phone on nights out to see what moves opponents have made. Mrs Kenny caught me once when just the two of us were out for dinner......she wasn't too impressed. Apparently her sister's broken boiler was more important than a potential pin on my kingside rook.
The boiler won't get fixed by losing a rook
Yes it's a bit addictive. I can mentally write off my losses by telling myself it's only a game but get satisfaction from wins. Like declining a draw offer around move 44 when I was a rook v bishop ahead then having to play until move 70 to overcome a stubborn defence and get a win.
That's some winning streak you are on right now. 26 games or so? Now the highest rated STW player I think.
@crazy-legsThat’s some winning streak you are on right now. 26 games or so? Now the highest rated STW player I think.
@irc - I got kind of lucky in the tournaments I was in mostly rated against lower players. A few of the wins were timeouts as well. One guy lost the first game on time, played a few very desultory moves in the other one then just buggered off never to be seen again. The most recent win was a guy who screwed up King's Gambit opening and literally had nowhere to go after that, it was a very easy win for me.
What you find in some of the tournaments is a group of say 5 with 4 ranked at about 1400 - 1600 and 1 poor soul at 400 so they generally just let themselves time out or resign immediately.
I'm sure my winning streak will come to an end as soon as I'm paired with you or @stevomcd !
Also, I've entered the Chess.Com Championships which starts in the New Year and there's a lot of grandmasters in that. I'm going to get absolutely thrashed.
Might be good for a laugh. And if you lose to a player ranked much higher effect on your rating is minimal.
I just looked at it. I can't enter unfortunately. It's a 1 day no vacation and I do the odd bothy trip where I have no wifi for more than a day so I would lose games on time.
My Christmas present from the wife. I'll be putting this in my hifi room so I can try and do a bit of chess study wist listening to music 🙂
In other news. Magnus to not defend his WC?
I can see his point sort of. He hasn't anything left to prove. And with 14 games plus rest days and preperation time it's a month. But he can decide later.
nice! At least you can't lose the chess board now 🤣 3D printed pieces as well 👍My Christmas present from the wife. I’ll be putting this in my hifi room so I can try and do a bit of chess study wist listening to music
Nice table, loving the reclaimed wood outer.
Last two games in another tournament round at the moment and once again the entire round is waiting on this one guy to play his games. One move a day. Painfully slow. How can 4 of us finish our games inside of a week and this guy is still playing 2 weeks down the line?!
Thanks all :). I wanted a coffee table to put a chess board on and was scouting Facebook Marketplace and sae this local to me. Bit of haggling on price and deal done. The chap threw in the 3d printed pieces which I rather like.
Whether I will improve as a player I don't know however I have a few books to study so got to at least try a bit!
once again the entire round is waiting on this one guy to play his games.
All you can do is forget about it until the next round when a reminder pops up that it has started.
A quick look at my list of 21 tournaments and apart from STW Inaugural I have another from Dec 2020. Also waiting for one game to finish with a player on vacation. I stopped entering 2 or 3 day events with vacation option.
https://www.chess.com/tournament/best-of-the-beginners-tournament-1001-1350
Also noticed I have qualified for the next round of another tournament after the player in first place went "inactive" after playing over 11000 games.
https://www.chess.com/tournament/christmas-in-july-1/pairings
Edit. A google shows he/she left.
"Did any of the supports read this?
Why can't I see my developments for my 10,000 games in 11 years?
I am terminating my membership until the error is fixed."
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/help-support/opening-book-3
One move a day. Painfully slow.
And one game that hasn't even started yet. I only tend to play in the STW tournaments and while a break between rounds is welcome, after a few days I want to be in there and playing. If anyone wants a friendly while waiting just drop me a challenge.
Whether I will improve as a player I don’t know
Lovely looking table. I read somewhere that even if you are practicing against a computer it's better to sit at an actual board as it improves concentration. Something I've found to be very true. And there's something nice about physically moving proper wooden pieces, as opposed to clicking on a screen.
@kennyp - I tried inviting you for a game but it told me my rating was too low to challenge you! Have sent you a friend request to see if that gets round it or alternatively ping me a game request and I will happily be humiliated once again 🙂
Lovely looking table. I read somewhere that even if you are practicing against a computer it’s better to sit at an actual board as it improves concentration. Something I’ve found to be very true. And there’s something nice about physically moving proper wooden pieces, as opposed to clicking on a screen.
A few of the trickier games I was playing, I set a board up and worked though some of the moves. I much prefer faster games where you sort of play on instinct a bit more but if an opponent is going to play one move a day, I'll sort out the possibilities on a board and be able to respond quickly. You sometimes find that turns the pressure onto them. 😉
I seem to have completely lost my way with the last few games. I know I’m scrambling to find time to play but feel like I’m losing from the first moves onwards and I’m just playing to delay the inevitable. Probably it’s no more than just these games have been against much better players, and I need to go back and practice more against my level players and rebuild my confidence again…and just maybe learn a bit of theory.
but it told me my rating was too low to challenge you!
Ha ha......that, sadly, is the best (and probably only) chess compliment I've ever had!!
@dannybgoode I've sent you a challenge. It's for a one day for a move game though I may put vacation on for a couple of days over Christmas.
And let's both keep a careful eye on those queens this time!! (-:
The Stunning Stafford strikes again. White resigns after 9 moves as getting mated next move.
https://www.chess.com/a/2nrQt3hzEQv7p
I can't claim any credit for the 99% accuracy as every move was following analysis as per
https://www.dorsetchess.co.uk/stafford-gambit/
@irc - I am trying the Stafford in a game that’s just started in another tournament. Will report back 🙂
I am trying the Stafford in a game that’s just started in another tournament
I tried it as well but the guy wouldn't bite. He nabbed the hanging pawn then buggered off as soon as I tried to lure the knight out again. I've got no more tournament games on. 🙁
Although I think there's only one game left in T5 to go so that should start up again soon.
Good game with @irc (outside of the tournament). As black, I tried the Stafford Gambit but as he knows it, it was quite easy for him to refute it. Although there's a few traps in it, there are also a couple of lines that just get white out of all that so he ended up ahead for the first half.
I think it was only a single rook move that tipped it back in my favour and even then it was close.
I feel I'm being lured into a false sense of security ahead of the rest of the tournament...
Yes my rook and pawn endings need work. Well played. I felt obliged to accept the Stafford challenge. White playing d3 and h3 after taking the pawn might be better.
PS I think the challenge you issued was a 20 minute game. I'm up at 6.40 for work do will decline. Set up another daily challenge with your turn as white. I'll get into it at work.
PPS Currently 3 pawns up with only 1 rook each left against a 1700 player. One of my better wins if I get over the line.
I [b]knew[/b] I'd been lured into a false sense of security. Second game against @irc, I made one mistake and one inaccuracy (according to chess.com analysis) and he ended up a rook and a knight up in about 3 moves!
Revenge is sweet!
You're still 6 wins to 4 ahead in our games though.
As suggested earlier. Tournament STW T6 created for the players who dropped out in Round 1 of T5. Invites sent via Chess.com. Or click
https://www.chess.com/tournament/stw-t6/join/dd964e
There is 3 spare places for anyone who didn't enter STW T5 but wants in this tournament.
Tournament at
https://www.chess.com/tournament/stw-t6
The chess.com Daily Chess Championship Tournament starts first thing tomorrow. It's quite a demanding schedule of games, hopefully I can still complete the second round of T5 which is on at the moment.
Also, I'm going to get absolutely annihilated anyway; there's about 32,000 players signed up to it and it seems that every 2000+ player in the world is there! It'll be just my luck in Round 1 to be up against half a dozen grandmasters who will fall about laughing when they see my moves, shortly before checkmate in 8 or something equally humiliating...