Let's talk about Chess baby

44,667 Views | 311 Replies | Last: 18 days ago by Rongagin71
Rongagin71
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AG
Caruana, already a knight down, repeatedly offers the exchange to Firouzja.

Faustus
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That was enjoyable commentary and exploration of the moves.
Thanks.
Agristotle
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AG
There is so much great chess content now, it's hard to take it all in, great time to be a chessplayer. Magnus vs Nepo in a couple of weeks should be great fun!
Agristotle
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AG
Magnus kicks off his defense Friday morning! He's a 3 to 1 betting favorite to beat Nepo.
Agristotle
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AG
Three games, three draws, here we go again. Anybody else watching the match?

If Magnus defends his title, maybe he can use his clout to push for the shorter time controls he wants. For chess to continue to grow, there is going to have to be a greater capacity for error and aggressive play. Watching two cyborgs calculate for four hours to try not to lose is not the way forward in today's world.
Dilettante
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I'm following also. I agree with you. I really like the Greg Shahade idea of having the rapid tiebreaks before the match. That would give one player incentive to push for wins, and it would also let the classical championship be decided by classical chess, not rapid.
ramblin_ag02
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AG
3 matches, 3 draws. I get the feeling from the last 2 Worlds that Carlson is playing for draws in the main bout knowing he's better than his challengers at speed chess. And if one of the greatest grandmasters ever is gunning for a draw, there's not much the other player can do about it
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Dilettante
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It will never happen, but I'd like to see something like the computer chess championship where the openings are chosen at random. Give both players 5 days to prep for 2 games in the scotch, or the dragon, or the Slav. If the top players won't leave their comfort zones, force them out.
ramblin_ag02
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That sounds fun! My solution would be to vacate the title if no one wins a game. So another round of all draws and there is no world champion. Only go to tiebreak speed chess if both have won a game
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Agristotle
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Magnus absolutely was happy to play for draws against Fabby, knowing he had a huge edge in the rapid format. His edge would not be near so large against Nepo. I think Magnus is waiting for Nepo to tilt, as he is prone to do.

The next three games will be key, as Magnus has had a rest day to prep for white in two of the next three games.
Dilettante
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Did y'all see the World Hess Hampionship stuff? That's pretty funny. I'm having an issue where I can't start watching these until 10am or so, and the results keep getting spoiled. I think I've seen the result before watching every single game. How have y'all been watching?
Star Wars Memes Only
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I really like both the official FIDE stream with Anand and the Chess24 stream with Polgar and Giri.
Agristotle
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I'm switching between Chess.com and Hikaru's Twitch stream.

Check out Naka's Titled Tuesday stream starting at noon today. Fun to sit with a genius AS he plies his trade!
ramblin_ag02
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AG
I'm no expert, but I feel like the draw today was a total give-up. Just because you can repeated check the king doesn't mean there aren't other viable moves. I really feel like he was happy to force a draw there and had no desire to go for a win
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Dilettante
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If you think you're more likely to lose than win, you should repeat even if the position is equal right?
Rongagin71
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AG
Dilettante said:

If you think you're more likely to lose than win, you should repeat even if the position is equal right?
Yes ... and, I replayed that end position a dozen times with my computer with the surprising result that Nepo won every time I tried to press for a win from the white side.
Agristotle
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I did a few iterations of the final position with the computer too and found black had an edge every time. I really expected more pressure from Magnus today.
Rongagin71
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My favorite commentator brings us up to date before Thursday's off day.

Dilettante
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Rongagin71 said:

Yes ... and, I replayed that end position a dozen times with my computer with the surprising result that Nepo won every time I tried to press for a win from the white side.
That's funny, I replayed that end position a dozen times with my computer with the surprising result that the computer won every time I tried to press for a win from either side.
Agristotle
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AG
been meaning to comment on your observation about best Texas player. I met Xiong at a tournament a couple of years ago and then stood behind him and watched him press a complex endgame, fun stuff. Nice, quiet guy.

I also played some skittles games with Ron Henley back when we were both playing in a youth tournament. He loved chess, wanted to play and analyze endlessly, but of course I never dreamed he would become a GM
Rongagin71
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Back in 1977, I was Tournament Director at the Texas Open in the Sheraton Marina, Corpus Christi, and had the opportunity to crush Henley at tennis, but when it came to chess - oh man, was he good.

https://www.ichess.net/shop/sniper-chess-ron-henley/?msclkid=23525089d1b113abb1e63120e3c21a27&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=US_Merchant_OSC&utm_term=4576511006860375&utm_content=Ad%20group

Star Wars Memes Only
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If Magnus wins this game 6 this would be the most Magnus game Magnus could Magnus.
Star Wars Memes Only
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Holy **** he's going to do it.
Star Wars Memes Only
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I woke up around 9 hoping the game wasn't going to be over. What the **** did I just see, this was amazing.
Rongagin71
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Magnus gave up his Q for two rooks then maneuvered to take Nepo's outside passed pawn and then to move his own pawns to queening territory, all the while dodging Nepo's Q. Took 136 moves.
ramblin_ag02
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AG
Now that was a fun match!
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Agristotle
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AG
I agree, what a classic Magnus-style win; sweating a drawn position for hours, making his opponent suffer until he makes a tiny mistake and then, chokes him out. I wonder if they are so exhausted from this marathon that Nepo yields a White game to a grandmaster draw tomorrow.
Rongagin71
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AG
For a Russian, Nepo speaks English with very little accent....
also observe how he learns when the computer downgraded his chances.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Nepo+reacts&docid=13842424432788&mid=E56CA6DE32CFA4701C2BE56CA6DE32CFA4701C2B&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
ramblin_ag02
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Poor Nepo played his opening right into a draw today. Not sure if he was just exhausted or what. Now that Carlsen has a win, I think we'll just see him go back to playing for draws and playing not to lose. Gonna take a once in a lifetime game to get a win against Carlsen if he's just trying to avoid a loss.
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Micah97
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Well that should do it. Magnus wins again.
Agristotle
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AG
Magnus, always playing the mind games, at the post game press conference talked about exhausted he was today before the game, happy to trade down into a simpler position, (subtext: I was gassed and still beat you Nepo).

This is over and played out exactly to the script we all expected: Magnus would drag out a drawn endgame until Nepo made the slightest mistake to lose, then Nepo would tilt and blow the match.

Long live the king!
ramblin_ag02
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AG
That was a quick tie. I feel like that epic round 6 broke Nepo. He made a big mistake in one game, blundered a piece in another and the rest have been quick draws. OTOH, Magnus is a freaking machine
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Agristotle
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AG
It's almost painful to watch Nepo twist on the world stage. He's a great player and much better than that horrible blunder yesterday, but pressure is a real thing. Still, he really wasn't the best choice to challenge Magnus. His brilliant aggressive play gets blunted by Magnus and then he's left to struggle in protracted even middle and endgames where Magnus is maybe the best ever.

Magnus said it. He was relieved to draw Nepo instead of Fabi or Ding.
Agristotle
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AG
Well that was anti-climatic and ugly. Nepo's going to need therapy before next year's candidates tournament.

Magnus has lobbied for shorter time controls in classical and the champion having to defend every year instead of every other year. I bet both happen because that's what the sponsors want, so more mistakes, more money.
Star Wars Memes Only
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