tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26973706189551271762024-02-18T18:52:22.846-08:00Teaching Chess to a Starcraft 2 GrandmasterHabe mal relativ intensiv vereinsmässig Schach gespielt. Inzwischen nur noch Blitz und Bullet im Internet. Bin trotzdem meinungsfreudig geblieben und werde versuchen, hier einige sinnvolle Gedanken zu diversen Themen rund ums Schach zu teilenRevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-87339011564903262772020-12-30T14:12:00.000-08:002020-12-30T14:12:01.600-08:00Neuer Blog<p> Dieser Blog ist bis auf weiteres stillgelegt. Weiter geht es auf Deutsch, und zwar hier:</p><p>https://schachwelten.blogspot.com/</p><p><br /></p>RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-63431194163958178362018-07-20T20:26:00.001-07:002018-07-20T20:26:52.165-07:00The Pylon ShowJust listened to the first episode of The Pylon Show. It's wonderful (though I would have called it "The Monty Pylon Show), I highly recommend it. I agree with Artosis and Incontrol's sentiment that the current SC2 community is too commercialized and that the amateurish feel of the early days of SC/SC2 are sorely missed.<br />
<br />
What I liked most about the show is that the hosts can comment a little bit more freely on what's going on in the community and aren't bound to non-stop promoting a commercial product like they are when they cast WCS or GSL.<br />
I already have enough corporate bullshit in my day job; when I play and watch video games, I want the "amateurish" and "dirty" look and feel, trash talk, and all...<br />
<br />
(Having said that - and I know I digress - Artosis and Tasteless' GSL casts are far and away the best professional SC2 content out there.<br />
<br />
OK, now to the point. Regarding the Avilo drama. Full disclosure, I don't know how this played out, all I know about the situation is what the two hosts discussed. I also have no opinion on Avilo as an SC2 personality. I'm just making a point on principle here:<br />
<br />
It is <b><u>ALWAYS</u></b> a bad idea to penalize misbehavior in a current game by handing out a penalty for a future match, for the following 2 reasons:<br />
Artosis and Incontrol discussed reason (1) but I think missed (2) which is more important <br />
<br />
1. It gives Avilo an opportunity to game the system because he can basically choose which unimportant "next" game he'd like to lose<br />
2. It gives an unfair and potentially tournament-distorting advantage to the opponent of that "next" game who gets an easy win without deserving it. If Avilo is penalized because he accuses his CURRENT opponent of cheating (arguably just to get under the person's skin), it's also the CURRENT opponent who should benefit from any sanctions agains Avilo. Rewarding Avilo's next opponent for no good reason could even have tournament-distorting consequences (if for example Avilo's current and next opponent are in direct competition for something, or if Avilo gets a forced loss against a player he would have beaten easily under normal circumstances).<br />
<br />
And thanks Artosis and Incontrol - apparently their show fascinated me enough to "resurrect" this blog... well done!<br />
<br />
<br />RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-62663328494388509052015-11-21T08:43:00.001-08:002015-11-21T08:43:42.403-08:00White House Finally Responds to Match-Fixing Scandal and Arrest of YodaAbout time, I hope he'll be brought to justice.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteHouse?src=hash">#WhiteHouse</a> finally comments on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yoda?src=hash">#Yoda</a>'s arrest in matchfixing scandal <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Starcraft?src=hash">#Starcraft</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LotV?src=hash">#LotV</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Proleague?src=hash">#Proleague</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Blizzard?src=hash">#Blizzard</a> <a href="https://t.co/7xtrV4pSkl">https://t.co/7xtrV4pSkl</a></p>— RevTiberius (@RevTiberius) <a href="https://twitter.com/RevTiberius/status/668100019786944512">November 21, 2015</a></blockquote>
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RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-15975698129483085312015-11-02T07:46:00.000-08:002015-11-02T07:46:32.459-08:002015 WCS Global Finals - Round of 16 Recap<b style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="color: red;">DISCLAIMER</span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">: When I was still actively playing SC2, I never got beyond rank #1 in my Diamond League, so I'm clearly not good enough to really understand the nuances between the players at the very top.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">However, I'm also </span><b style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Honorary Chairman of the League of the Ultra-Opinionated Gentlemen</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">, and as such I'm always happy to share my point of view.</span><br />
<br />
As I spent most of yesterday watching the events at WCS Ro16 unfold, I greatly enjoyed the high level of play yet at the same time came away a little disappointed because of the many one-sided series. Here are some of my impressions:<br />
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<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Fantasy - Hero</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After a super-exciting first game, the series turned the way everybody including myself expected. Hero was too strong for Fantasy, and let's face it, <b><span style="color: red;">Hero simply belongs in a WCS final, at least Ro4</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Classic - Byul</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've been following the Korean SC2 scene for a long time, but for some reason I've always been pretty much indifferent about these two players. Whenever that happens, I usually root for the player whose advance would keep the race balance intact, Byul in this case because there were only 4 Zergs at this tournament, and I expected Maru to beat Rogue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Decisive victory for Classic - I didn't know that apparently this always happens when they meet in a tournament, but it seems to me Byul sold himself short in this series. I'm not really sure what went wrong for Byul, but losing 0-3 just doesn't do him justice.</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;"><b>I recently read an interesting article about "The Strongest Chess Players Who Never Became World Champion". I hope Byul won't one day become the topic of a similar article about Starcraft.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Innovation - Zest</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It's almost a shame that the WCS finals are so stacked because this match was definitely worth of the WCS final, especially ~6 months ago before Zest fell into a slump. Given all the hype around this series, the outcome was pretty disappointing. 3-0 just isn't good enough for players of this caliber. I'm always rooting for the terran, but in this case I felt sorry for Zest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, this was an excellent performance by Innovation, but where I seem to differ slightly from a lot of other commentators and observers is that <b><span style="color: red;">I don't think this has made Innovation the favorite to win WCS just yet.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Life - Lilbow</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't like Life because he beat Parting in the GSL final, and I don't like Lilbow because he's French ;-) Given the race distribution of this tournament (way too many Protoss) I was rooting for Life. Also because Life's the bigger name and would make for more interesting matches later on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Other than that, again somewhat of a disappointment, 3-0's just aren't very exciting. Obviously Life was the clear favorite to win this series, but considering that he's no longer the UBER-ZERG he once was, I was hoping/expecting Lilbow to win at least one game. And yet, for the life of me (pun intended) <b><span style="color: red;">I don't understand why Life's opponents always play as if they didn't know that he's known for early ling aggression</span></b>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Polt - Rain</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pretty clear cut on paper: Rain, a recent 2015 GSL champion the heavy favorite vs. Polt, who's fallen off the radar a little bit in recent months. And yet I think <b><span style="color: red;">Rain was the lucky one here</span></b> and advanced when Polt was playing slightly better. I guess this is one of those times where you can play better than your opponent and still lose the match.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>SOS - Parting</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I know SOS's results are pretty solid overall, but I do feel that people are giving him too much credit because he won those $100,000 a while ago. At the same time though, <b><span style="color: red;">Parting is also no longer the dominant force he once was</span></b>. Maybe his lifestyle is finally catching up with him. Anyway, my money was on Parting because I thought that his superior micro would prove decisive. Parting has always been one of my favorite players ever since I started enjoying Protoss games. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://revtiberius.blogspot.com/p/starcraft2-enquirer.html" target="_blank">Parting's Immortal Micro Making Headlines</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Oh well, at least I can look forward to more unorthodox strategies from SOS.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Dream - Hydra</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Well-deserved win by Hydra</span></b>, though it was a shame to see another terran eliminated. I think Hydra played well beyond expectations and should be proud of making it to the next round. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Maru - Rogue</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What can I say. I'm a huge Maru-Fanboy, and I hate saying it, but: As I have said many time, <b><span style="color: red;">Maru is overrated</span></b>. He didn't deserve to go down 3-0 like this, yet at the same time he's had a few too many disappointing results this year - especially in Proleague - to be conveniently explained away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the same time, hats off to Rogue, beating Maru 3-0 in a Bo5 will forever be a highlight in his career.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>A few general observations:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">- I don't like one-sided series. Even when I have a clear favorite, <b><span style="color: red;">I want "my" player to win 3-2, and not sweep the series 3-0</span></b>. It's like that cheesy Stallone line "It's not about how hard you can hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and still move forward". Or something like that.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">- <b><span style="color: red;">Where are the high level terrans?</span></b> Yes, there's Innovation, but who else? As I stated above, Maru is overrated, and there's simply no other terran with the stature of Innovation in sight. Too bad Taeja and Bomber in particular aren't around anymore.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">- I expect Hero, Innovation, Rain and Rogue to make it to the semi final. It's clear already that names like Zest, Byul, and Maru are sorely missed at this point. <b><span style="color: red;">No offense, but it just wouldn't feel the same if "second-rate" top players like Classic or Hydra were to win WCS 2015</span></b></span>RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-83806123625315476402015-10-18T18:03:00.001-07:002015-10-18T18:05:01.816-07:00Starcraft 2 Match Fixing Scandal - Or is Nathanias the real "scumbag"?Over the past half hour or so it has emerged that 11 players (unclear if SC1 or SC2) have been indicted for match fixing. That is very troubling, and I hope the players will be brought to justice.<br />
<br />
What's equally troubling though, and here I'm singling out <a href="https://twitter.com/nathaniastv" target="_blank">Nathanias</a> is that some e-sports "personalities" have already taken to Twitter with inappropriate comments:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1w6HQpQuMw8qRjejhYfw9NqFAuDpArRuuj3nt0qv2xrAp4yslFRnZnlY9hiICDNZ4b09EPLF39ZMUV07WG9irJYkV1CaUcZ5j0oeUohqNMrMfwWyGWE_TGmD4_dlpWG9PAvNhUoSm2s/s1600/Nathanias.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd1w6HQpQuMw8qRjejhYfw9NqFAuDpArRuuj3nt0qv2xrAp4yslFRnZnlY9hiICDNZ4b09EPLF39ZMUV07WG9irJYkV1CaUcZ5j0oeUohqNMrMfwWyGWE_TGmD4_dlpWG9PAvNhUoSm2s/s1600/Nathanias.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I have no sympathy for the alleged cheaters whatsoever, but I'd like Nathanias to get off his high horse here. SC2 personalities in particular - due to their (sometimes undeserved) large followings have a special responsibility to be moderate and even-handed in their public comments. Or they might as well apply for a job at Fox News.<br />
<br />
Especially when all that's known at this point is that there seems to be a scandal. Already calling for draconian punishment when really there aren't any facts on the table yet in my opinion is character assassination.<br />
<br />
At least wait until the names of the players are released, and more details about their actual or alleged crimes are given.<br />
<br />
Therefore, even if only to protect my own image as a competent commentator of the Starcraft scene, Nathanias shouldn't rush to Twitter all that quickly.RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-89451584543806058902015-03-29T21:55:00.001-07:002015-03-29T21:55:49.184-07:00STARCRAFT 2 ENQUIRER - POPE FRANCIS to Compete in GSL !!!The second issue of the STARCRAFT 2 ENQUIRER has just been released:<br />
<br />
Remember: You read it on the internet, so it must be true!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_Kqkq5C2iUE7BLpuf_zv-C77z7q_UKmHlZktxbwRVXStLBG2xHtIJgGPugHfhfDTBqc0vvhuluPXQxFZBYe0awibB_SJUkmUknibrpBhbZb7e7t3-Ad1TbjsXr7pqOCEev9QH8oAT2o/s1600/Pope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF_Kqkq5C2iUE7BLpuf_zv-C77z7q_UKmHlZktxbwRVXStLBG2xHtIJgGPugHfhfDTBqc0vvhuluPXQxFZBYe0awibB_SJUkmUknibrpBhbZb7e7t3-Ad1TbjsXr7pqOCEev9QH8oAT2o/s1600/Pope.jpg" height="640" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The STARCRAFT2 ENQUIRER: <br />
YOUR TRUSTED SOURCE FOR ALL THE STORIES TEAMLIQUID.NET WON'T TOUCH!!! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-38292265237563426622015-03-27T20:29:00.003-07:002015-03-27T20:29:57.162-07:00Hot off the Press: The Starcraft 2 ENQUIRERSOON coming to supermarket checkout counters everywhere: the STARCRAFT 2 ENQUIRER!!<br />
<br />
Everything you always wanted to know about Starcraft 2 but were afraid to ask!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7ol9qH0rof7B6bMPlLmPdU779Xf37bV4l_OE0_J0hFUVzjIq1V1QOVbHhrAxNZ4W0X3J70ZNnw-2MqZwqZFim0PZWL3fUPM7tFO6FsfcniRdWeKgI7RPw_TUeupkAKG4i59A_K895Ww/s1600/Untitled+1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7ol9qH0rof7B6bMPlLmPdU779Xf37bV4l_OE0_J0hFUVzjIq1V1QOVbHhrAxNZ4W0X3J70ZNnw-2MqZwqZFim0PZWL3fUPM7tFO6FsfcniRdWeKgI7RPw_TUeupkAKG4i59A_K895Ww/s1600/Untitled+1.bmp" height="640" width="494" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I saw something similar on a chess site recently, and wanted to share it with the SC2 community...</div>
<br />RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-27180361365370901782015-03-23T23:10:00.001-07:002015-03-23T23:10:32.875-07:002015 Season 1 GSL Final - Reflections on Life and a Few Parting Words<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1GkIwk80bOzgF1d4MXUfopYMgyrpDDfFWrjFP1djWSM0ZZIbCvyn1N3qdjw6ptGxZbwwy_qoSWRnG8s_3U1E6AOTCad8M6l1tN6NIcfYJgqyOC1Lv8GekIV4FN3qYqW2Z3LaLfbATMI/s1600/Life+Parting+GSL+Final+2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL1GkIwk80bOzgF1d4MXUfopYMgyrpDDfFWrjFP1djWSM0ZZIbCvyn1N3qdjw6ptGxZbwwy_qoSWRnG8s_3U1E6AOTCad8M6l1tN6NIcfYJgqyOC1Lv8GekIV4FN3qYqW2Z3LaLfbATMI/s1600/Life+Parting+GSL+Final+2015.JPG" height="303" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Photo Credit: Teamliquid.net</span></td></tr>
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For a long time I've wanted to write something about <b>LIFE</b>, and because history repeated itself this past weekend, I'm finally "annoyed" enough to write this blog:<br />
<br />
I really enjoyed the 2015 GSL Final between <b>LIFE</b> and <b>PARTING</b>. I live on the North American West coast, and this tournament was the first time in a long while that I stayed up late for an SC2 tournament. I'm glad I did, the series was excellent and worthy of a final of what's arguably the most prestigious SC2 tournament in the world.<br />
Congratulations to both players, they can really be proud of their achievements! I couldn't have done it better myself :)<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">DISCLAIMER</span></b>: When I was still actively playing SC2, I never got beyond rank #1 in my Diamond League, so I'm clearly not good enough to really understand the nuances between the players at the very top.<br />
However, I'm also <b>Honorary Chairman of the League of the Ultra-Opinionated Gentlemen</b>, and as such I'm always happy to share my point of view :)<br />
<br />
<b>LIFE</b> has had an impressive run over the past 12 months or so. He's won many major tournaments recently, and generally gets pretty far in almost any tournament he plays in. Most notably, he won <b>2014 WCS Global Finals</b>, and just this past weekend the <b>2015 GSL Season 1</b>:<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvZ61fseZSZI7KCjOZtA37iqeuYVkEsdDFHE9KvfbUmQypTHQH65DXWwTiVhhZRpYAH-Dylbe_24Hs7GDg9iJD_E2WGvPxZiGEbL6EaUKVzzTtC6J-O6R4SDbs1pxkLsar3ic8qEwGQo/s1600/Life+Tournament+Results.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvZ61fseZSZI7KCjOZtA37iqeuYVkEsdDFHE9KvfbUmQypTHQH65DXWwTiVhhZRpYAH-Dylbe_24Hs7GDg9iJD_E2WGvPxZiGEbL6EaUKVzzTtC6J-O6R4SDbs1pxkLsar3ic8qEwGQo/s1600/Life+Tournament+Results.JPG" height="578" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Liquipedia</td></tr>
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He is obviously an extremely strong player, and when casters these days refer to him as "the strongest Zerg" and "the best player" in the world, I think they are probably right for the time being.<br />
<br />
At the same time though, and this is the reason why I'm writing this blog, <b><span style="color: red;">I've always been surprised how much "help" LIFE gets from his opponents</span></b>. What I mean is that it's a well-known fact that he is a hyper-aggressive player who much more than other top Zergs likes to make a ton of lings in the early-to-mid game for some major harassment that quite often ends the game right away.<br />
<br />
And yet, even though this is clearly his trademark, his opponents seem to simply ignore that possibility time and again. Two examples:<br />
<br />
2015 GSL Final vs. <b>PARTING</b>, Map 7 on Iron Fortress: <b>PARTING</b> goes nexus first and loses pretty much right away because even though he miraculously survives <b>LIFE</b>'s initial zergling onslaught, he takes too much damage and never recovers.<br />
I think just <b><u>BECAUSE</u></b> it is so seemingly unlikely that the zerg would rush on the largest map in the pool, <b>PARTING</b> should have expected it. Or at least chosen a slightly safer build than the "naked" nexus first.<br />
Yes, <b>LIFE</b> deserves praise for his balls of steel to pull this off on the final map of one of the most important series of his entire career. But still, I chalk this up as a build order win thanks to a certain amount of luck, and avoidable carelessness on <b>PARTING</b>'s part. In fact, I found <b>PARTINGS</b>'s initial hold in game 7 much more impressive than <b>LIFE</b>'s win.<br />
I've heard <b>ARTOSIS</b> and the other GSL/Proleague casters say many times that the best players in the world don't really cheese all that often partly because by NOT cheesing. they are sending the strong message "I don't need to flip a coin, I'm gonna beat you in a straight game. I'm better than you, and we both know it". I thought it was interesting that in game 7 with everything on the line, <b>LIFE</b> chose to flip a coin rather than play a straight up game.<br />
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The second example is even more striking to me. For the life of me (no pun intended) I can't remember all the details. It was a pretty important game in a recent top-level tournament. The map was Foxtrot Labs. <b>LIFE</b> was top left, his terran opponent was bottom right. I thought it was <b>FLASH</b>, but I don't seem to be able to find that game, so the opponent may have been someone else after all.<br />
Anyway, the point is that the terran went for a super-greedy 3rd CC, and lost pretty much immediately because he didn't have a wall and clumsily lost his few hellions in the middle of the map to a ling surround.<br />
If a top-level terran (who has surely studied <b>LIFE</b>'s games in great detail) goes for an ultra-fast 3rd CC, doesn't wall off, and throws away his hellions, he really deserves the loss. At the same time though it seemed to me that <b>LIFE</b> just got lucky again.<br />
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These are but two examples of how I see a lot of <b>LIFE</b>'s opponents lose games. They play as if they didn't know that <b>LIFE</b> is one of the most aggressive zergs out there...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiDZbebF9LRkxI5DP4Tdo6wAgDyPADWdY5oQ-4sn3bdbDI34dRZmZhg5_pt6Ulfo0owe_1dLJHUAka1vClbam-nBylOJ7Q6IvBDGsrez9Iwae9m9ehKzY_PAdw4Ot4UXIo7aOUPToNZo/s1600/Zest+Innovation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKiDZbebF9LRkxI5DP4Tdo6wAgDyPADWdY5oQ-4sn3bdbDI34dRZmZhg5_pt6Ulfo0owe_1dLJHUAka1vClbam-nBylOJ7Q6IvBDGsrez9Iwae9m9ehKzY_PAdw4Ot4UXIo7aOUPToNZo/s1600/Zest+Innovation.JPG" height="306" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Zest and Innovation at some point also held the distinction of being considered "best player in the world"</b>. <br />Photo Credit: Liquipedia</td></tr>
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Take, for example, <b>ZEST</b> and <b>INNOVATION</b>. They were also considered "best player in the world" for some time, and might re-claim that title sooner or later.<br />
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<b>INNOVATION</b>, for example, is usually referred to as "robot" because he's extremely good at executing his standard builds. Doesn't matter as much what the opponent does, <b>INNOVATION</b> is a very solid all-round player, who doesn't really count on his opponents making major mistakes. He just executes his macro-strategy very well, and sooner or later just overpowers the other player without relying on lucky punches.<br />
An even more extreme example in my opinion is <b>ZEST</b>. When he was at the top of his game in the first half of 2014, he was more dominant during his "reign" than any other "best player in the world" before or after him. And unlike <b>LIFE</b>, these two players didn't seem to depend as much on their opponents throwing away maps.<br />
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<b><span style="color: red;">SUMMARY</span></b>: I don't want to detract from <b>LIFE</b>'s achievements, but he does seem to be a bit "luckier" than other champions because all too often his opponents are completely unprepared for what they should know is <b>LIFE</b>'s trademark move: early ling aggression.<br />
I know, you can't play too cautious against LIFE because then he's just going to be greedy and get too far ahead, but I don't understand how so many top-level players seem to have their guard down when they play<b> LIFE</b>, the most aggressive zerg out there...<br />
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And now, at the end of this article (if anybody is still awake and made it this far...) a few "<b>PARTING</b> words" (pun intended!). <b>PARTING</b> really has a bad "talent-to-tournament-wins" ratio, and I seriously hope he's going to get the recognition - and tournament wins - he deserves.<br />
I'd be grateful if anybody could point me to an interview in which he reflects in some detail on his career, his strengths and weaknesses (if such interview exists).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tlQioXGcz61EPjn7J7owJKZF8s-fH8htESUURcXUW8B0DgcqgG5XjfiAYSbhW4r4syqJpRjufolmQnk0RiLdiliRe0tryFe-oF9LObq1bIpE8H5JDdlMvYXCgLoe3KH1EmPmZZNfQjI/s1600/parting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tlQioXGcz61EPjn7J7owJKZF8s-fH8htESUURcXUW8B0DgcqgG5XjfiAYSbhW4r4syqJpRjufolmQnk0RiLdiliRe0tryFe-oF9LObq1bIpE8H5JDdlMvYXCgLoe3KH1EmPmZZNfQjI/s1600/parting.jpg" height="440" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Despite losing the 2015 GSL Season 1 Final to<b> LIFE</b>, <b>PARTING</b> struck me as the more impressive player of the two. <br />Photo Credit: Liquipedia</td></tr>
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<br />RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-46486630451906305642015-02-23T20:55:00.000-08:002015-02-23T20:55:53.943-08:00Garry Kasparov on Greatness in Chess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItRZ8UvDC7AJ8VOML1bHIUIRpFpE1Rz7NEAKwLh6NNvvzvAmfdAZiOGRdsN5dk_cfJJ3NcEe65lbZ7QnAWku_jgDZIAjD9Z699S84cIyXa68fTZnh9n3cWbd5g8VbBnD-E6F5zKwokx0/s1600/garry_kasparov+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItRZ8UvDC7AJ8VOML1bHIUIRpFpE1Rz7NEAKwLh6NNvvzvAmfdAZiOGRdsN5dk_cfJJ3NcEe65lbZ7QnAWku_jgDZIAjD9Z699S84cIyXa68fTZnh9n3cWbd5g8VbBnD-E6F5zKwokx0/s1600/garry_kasparov+(1).jpg" height="432" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Kasparov in typical pose</b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>"Enormous self-belief, intuition, the ability to take a risk at a critical moment and go in for a very dangerous play with counter-chances for the opponent - it is precisely these qualities that distinguish great players"</b></i></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4hb1uJbAiE9CS0LMAlQ3inYfEnrf9GX6spVeXKkDgvOEtHNVYSukEaiIzRnySs62XSFwfrSuB-sOAUnPzXPQQ0V_fQi1OqYMZWfGMoNiXcZooW98zVhhIe0MHPssg0H6D9TT7xfcst4/s1600/Karpov_Kasparov_797919a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4hb1uJbAiE9CS0LMAlQ3inYfEnrf9GX6spVeXKkDgvOEtHNVYSukEaiIzRnySs62XSFwfrSuB-sOAUnPzXPQQ0V_fQi1OqYMZWfGMoNiXcZooW98zVhhIe0MHPssg0H6D9TT7xfcst4/s1600/Karpov_Kasparov_797919a.jpg" height="438" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The five (!) world championship matches between Kasparov and Karpov produced produced some of the best games ever played</b></span></td></tr>
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Kasparov definitely hit the nail on its head with the quote above. Especially the part about risk taking definitely applies to amateur players, too. One of the biggest obstacles for improvement is a player's natural tendency to avoid risk, and too greedily hold on to his pieces</div>
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RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-39287873865922571162015-02-21T13:21:00.000-08:002015-02-21T13:25:43.707-08:00Starcraft 2 - Legacy of the Void - Balance UpdateBlizzard is expected to release the second expansion to Starcraft 2 - Legacy of the Void - at some point this year.<br />
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Of course, the SC2 community is in uproar. Even though many details about LotV remain unclear at this point, virtually everybody seems convinced that their race is getting the short end of the stick.<br />
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In a recent interview that has already gained some notoriety, the lead designer on the project explained some of the coming changes:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/mfr9qWZTgnk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="399" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mfr9qWZTgnk?feature=player_embedded" width="480"></iframe></div>
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This video cracked me up. Thanks to FrozenImpact, who posted it on Teamliquid in the first place!<br />
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On a more serious note though it's always been my conviction that instead of whining about balance, virtually all players have enough potential for improvement of their own game, which would more than outweigh any actual or perceived imbalances. It's also worth noting that "imbalanced" doesn't necessarily mean "unfair".<br />
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<br />RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-51748114489375385492015-02-15T10:42:00.000-08:002015-02-15T10:42:24.730-08:00Aronian - Karjakin: Rules are for FoolsTrue masters of their craft regularly ignore rules and recommendations that act as clutches for the rest of us. Consider the following position from a blitz game between Levon Aronian and Sergey Karjakin at the 2015 Zurich Chess Challenge after <b>19. ... Rb8</b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGoOGCvI4xmP89MFhHS2kXklO4fRJxU9XMIOEay45FVkk9qvwog7heCcucFNt5Ptch2ROlR9fvr0A45SPoP-j31GO7oIuFCusd0QsFLP8tPOB-OnnCUl5D4V69VaTt83E9roeBNTxqxA/s1600/Aronian+-+Karjakin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdGoOGCvI4xmP89MFhHS2kXklO4fRJxU9XMIOEay45FVkk9qvwog7heCcucFNt5Ptch2ROlR9fvr0A45SPoP-j31GO7oIuFCusd0QsFLP8tPOB-OnnCUl5D4V69VaTt83E9roeBNTxqxA/s1600/Aronian+-+Karjakin.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White (Aronian) to move after Karyakin's 19. ... Rb8</td></tr>
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Aronian played 19. Kf2 and eventually won the game after both players put their kingside pawns in motion.</div>
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I'm wondering though... in the diagram above... <b><span style="color: red;">Why didn't Aronian just take the bishop on b7?</span></b> </div>
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It's a well-known rule of thumb that in endgames with pawns on both wings, the bishop is superior to the knight. In the diagram above, there may even be the chance to lock Black's queenside pawns in place on light-colored squares, which would make White's bishop even stronger. </div>
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Obviously, Aronian is aware of all this, so he must have had his reasons to keep his knight (and Karyakin's bishop) on the board.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg20TjrFulBJrO2DMrl943IF29JE9_OIM5afbuWnmQRi4yoswoL0s8ODOm06E0QgYdh9r0tkA7IxTj38jV6KpPi8zS5j9wy4NaU6cf6cd8XFgPLG9ovoJTq3-hlaElMxGcEjHZAlz-zoVM/s1600/Aronian+-+Karjakin+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg20TjrFulBJrO2DMrl943IF29JE9_OIM5afbuWnmQRi4yoswoL0s8ODOm06E0QgYdh9r0tkA7IxTj38jV6KpPi8zS5j9wy4NaU6cf6cd8XFgPLG9ovoJTq3-hlaElMxGcEjHZAlz-zoVM/s1600/Aronian+-+Karjakin+2.JPG" height="638" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Would this not be a textbook example of a position where the Bishop is stronger than the Knight?</td></tr>
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Was he afraid that the afraid that the advantage wouldn't be enough to win the position?<br />
Did he see "ghosts" or overlooked something? After all, this was a blitz game. Or is the evaluation of the diagram above different at a super-GM level compared to mere amateur play?<br />
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Aronian won the game regardless. However, Karyakin "helped" by pushing for a win himself. It seems to me that if Black chooses to play for a draw, the task is much easier in the first diagram than in the second.<br />
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The complete game can be found here:<br />
<a href="http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1784285" target="_blank"><b>Aronian - Karyakin, Zurich Chess Challenge Blitz, 2015</b></a><br />
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I really don't know. Which is why I was fascinated by this example and chose it for this blog.<br />
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Oh well... these guys are 2700 GMs for a reason, and I am not... RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-79349178129374869402015-02-08T20:17:00.001-08:002015-02-09T11:12:59.398-08:00Tactical Analysis of a Complex Rook Sacrifice My friend Pyre recently played in a rapid tournament, and when we went over his games, we came across a very interesting and incredibly complex rook sacrifice.<br />
The variation did not actually occur in the game, but it allowed for some fascinating tactical analysis.<br />
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In the position below the question is should Black sacrifice the rook on e3?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0x2i-sfET4_X3ahJgMQqod2DWG3aaWiJhEmPTtxbfEoabtnbA3PdGoYXAcHjDvcOD20pj2WXIy46M_W06axRPxdvBb3anbCM2eEIygVra5fF03MklujWXHQyJciQtuJ8dWen_jQ6954/s1600/Analysis3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0x2i-sfET4_X3ahJgMQqod2DWG3aaWiJhEmPTtxbfEoabtnbA3PdGoYXAcHjDvcOD20pj2WXIy46M_W06axRPxdvBb3anbCM2eEIygVra5fF03MklujWXHQyJciQtuJ8dWen_jQ6954/s1600/Analysis3.JPG" height="638" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The key position. Should Black sacrifice the rook on e3?</td></tr>
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This is a very interesting position because even though the sacrifice on e3 looks very strong, and makes intuitive sense, the variations are very long and too complex to calculate all the way through at this point.<br />
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In a previous blog I had already written about this kind of sacrifice: somewhere in the middle between a very "concrete" and straightforward sacrifice (like the classic bishop sacrifice on h7, where there are typically only very few variations to calculate with lots of "only" moves), and a purely long-term sacrifice like for example the various positional exchange sacrifices in the French and Sicilian openings.<br />
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Pyre and I discussed this position on Skype, using a screen share of my Chessbase window. We did not have enough time to discuss this game with the detail it deserves, so some of our conclusions were wrong or at least inaccurate. However, that in itself allowed for some interesting observations.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Q2KXqkAu-i-chtr-5LYVo_lbrthafKukAXRUfkoLcCAodSURMVqKDRUWwQLqKPxjiWtGPEAbUt8DudsoVcCLeSEA4kuImXFm0hyiOkZHT_rFj3sHe7wZcIj_Thyy-dFRVCYTOZaR9W4/s1600/Analysis2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Q2KXqkAu-i-chtr-5LYVo_lbrthafKukAXRUfkoLcCAodSURMVqKDRUWwQLqKPxjiWtGPEAbUt8DudsoVcCLeSEA4kuImXFm0hyiOkZHT_rFj3sHe7wZcIj_Thyy-dFRVCYTOZaR9W4/s1600/Analysis2.JPG" height="638" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This position would have likely occurred shortly after the rook sacrifice. </td></tr>
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The links to a more comprehensive (and accurate...) analysis can be found at the end of this article.</div>
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After we were done with our analysis, I looked at the position again, and <b>only</b> <b>after</b> that second analysis I finally turned to my engine to verify the analysis that we had done up to this point. The screenshot shows DEEP FRITZ 13's analysis after 20. Kg1:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcPKgsWDu8BJYuXdR5TB064sZu3VIe5ZKiGNolWpBGGNEtZfxnOvsF6xFQlsWDC0eezdroaW4dItjqDxbbUBMmyWvVEekh6hP-K5suOf_d2Mhtbv-96Y3OeYbdsapGcRH2W_8FZhOSdY/s1600/Analysis.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBcPKgsWDu8BJYuXdR5TB064sZu3VIe5ZKiGNolWpBGGNEtZfxnOvsF6xFQlsWDC0eezdroaW4dItjqDxbbUBMmyWvVEekh6hP-K5suOf_d2Mhtbv-96Y3OeYbdsapGcRH2W_8FZhOSdY/s1600/Analysis.JPG" height="160" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the position shown above after 20. Kg1, DEEP FRITZ recommends these moves for Black after about 30 seconds </td></tr>
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There are basically 3-4 variations worth looking into:</div>
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<b>a) 20. ... Nxb4</b> </div>
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<b>b) 20. ... Qg4+</b></div>
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<b>c) 20. ... Qg3+</b></div>
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<b>d) 20. ... d4</b></div>
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It is interesting to note that there are a great number of transpositions between these variations. It's also worth noting that due to the large number of checks Black has in all these variations on h3/g3/g4/, the number of variations and positions to consider is enormous, and too much for an amateur player to handle with certainty.</div>
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For a full analysis please refer to the link at the bottom of this article, but the main ideas are these:</div>
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<b>Nxb4</b>: to pin the Nc3, and potentially swing the Rc8 over to the kingside via the now available c6-square</div>
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<b>d4</b>: to undermine White's already wobbly center even further, open the g1-a7 diagonal for the Bb8, and prepare Nd4 to exchange the White Nf3, the key defender of h2</div>
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<b>Qg4+/Qg3+</b>: to shuffle White's King around to the right square (g1 or h1, depending on the variation), and then follow up with <b>Nxb4</b> or <b>d4</b></div>
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Of course, the ramifications of these moves are impossible to evaluate with great certainty when deciding whether to sacrifice the rook.</div>
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Even when looking at the game together, Pyre and I missed or underestimated the following opportunities:</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
a) <b>Ba7+</b>: We completely missed the idea that Black in certain variations can play Ba7+. With the Black queen on h3 it's a pretty common mating pattern. What may have contributed to us overlooking this move initially is that we were so fixated on the long diagonal b8-h2 that it would not even occur to us to place the bishop elsewhere. On the other hand though, when a bishop is fianchettoed on b7, moves like Ba6 to switch diagonals always occur naturally to me.</div>
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b) <b>Ng4</b>: We spent too much time analyzing this idea, at the expense of other more effective moves. Considering that so many kingside attacks involve moves like Ng4, and that it's a very natural and "human" move to make, it's not surprising that we gave the move too much credit. </div>
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c) <b>Nxb4</b>: A "computer" move that pins White's Nc3, and activates the Rc8</div>
<br />
<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><u>Conclusions:</u></span></b><br />
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
1. Some - in fact a large number of - combinations and sacrifices are too complex to be evaluated with certainty. In such situations, following John Nunn's advice in his "Secrets of Practical Chess", a chess player should follow his instincts. If experience and gut feeling tell you the sacrifice is sound, you should proceed with it even if there is not enough time to work out every detail.</div>
<div>
I know, however, from own experience that this is <b>VERY</b> difficult. In my own tournament games I frequently did not follow this advice, and usually regretted it later.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
2. When analyzing a very tactical position (let alone a strategic/positional one), it is very important to do it without the help of a chess engine first. Even if this leads to some wrong conclusions initially, it is vital that you exercise your ability to calculate accurately. This not only builds your tactical skill set, but also gives you the confidence to handle difficult tactical positions. I will expand on how to use chess engines effectively in another article soon.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Link to the game analyzed here:</div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.viewchess.com/cbreader/2015/2/8/Game104632475.html" target="_blank">NN - Pyre, Rapid 2015</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Link to the same analysis in PDF format:</div>
<div>
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9AKY08yImtYRms5VkJHbHkzeG8/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">NN - Pyre, Rapid 2015</a></div>
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RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-9326468285682681982015-01-24T22:56:00.001-08:002015-01-24T22:56:20.733-08:00Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2015 in Wijk Aan ZeeI want to make good on my new year's resolution to update this blog more regularly again. I'm going to ease into it with an observation from the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2015 in Wijk aan Zee.<br />
<br />
With only one round to go, it seems pretty certain at this point that Carlsen is going to win the tournament after all despite his rocky start, with only 1 point from his first 3 games.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGitatujCG9OMm_YGhYKhIv_FOVefdcTJ5INZkivJFw4ZqTdBwMdo1_hweIqBjMNkOME_LHMTVz2vfIcX5oio3oZHiA7fjQcnSWcQpSskLikSr-kKH_EZyuMdj3Ogpygask12eTlOhocY/s1600/Giri+-+So.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGitatujCG9OMm_YGhYKhIv_FOVefdcTJ5INZkivJFw4ZqTdBwMdo1_hweIqBjMNkOME_LHMTVz2vfIcX5oio3oZHiA7fjQcnSWcQpSskLikSr-kKH_EZyuMdj3Ogpygask12eTlOhocY/s1600/Giri+-+So.JPG" height="635" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Giri - So after 31. Qxb4 from the 12th round </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Giri is a pawn up. It's a distant passed pawn, and considering that Giri as a 2700+ grandmaster certainly has the technique to bring this position home, White is clearly winning. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, I was really surprised to see that the game went on for another 80 (!) moves. It's true that White's kingside has some pretty serious weaknesses around the light squares, and in queen endings the defender usually has a million checks available to prolong the game. But still, it's quite an achievement to have the technique to convert the a-pawn. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7zdTdfn972l5bh8_lySFwp8qRccmaYnDwuGmc13oAHpHCXCrxL6n82YxZ0cl51wZLVv-KfqEL3sUOX2QsiVeF8Wt53xan_UI8Q-mjYuv9QUjvwYoXIFcQCFDeWsIimX6WF-9__Jpx0o/s1600/Giri+-+So+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7zdTdfn972l5bh8_lySFwp8qRccmaYnDwuGmc13oAHpHCXCrxL6n82YxZ0cl51wZLVv-KfqEL3sUOX2QsiVeF8Wt53xan_UI8Q-mjYuv9QUjvwYoXIFcQCFDeWsIimX6WF-9__Jpx0o/s1600/Giri+-+So+2.JPG" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So finally resigned after 111. a8Q</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Pushing the pawn to convert it eventually is harder than it looks as I have experienced in many games myself. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-236333971681072412015-01-01T20:12:00.001-08:002015-01-01T20:12:06.514-08:00Welcome to 2015!<br />
<br />
I know I haven't been actively writing here lately, but I have been working on my chess, and one of my new year's resolutions is to be write more regularly here.<br />
<br />
Best Wishes,<br />
RevTiberiusRevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-22365901489153693642014-03-16T02:30:00.001-07:002014-03-16T02:30:08.447-07:00The Case Against Top-Heavy Prize Funds <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3FnG8hVJlkarhvZCDeQogufV8qyeEA7d-czSwOnd1_kqAvgOOLTisJu6CAjOPxTOQld2BYB6kfAgUvwy-SKGBfKsOgDOLFpn2vWEK7lHTLRuELtmFMS-1nuiA9eAEo0DgjYGS5k0I_U/s1600/IEM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3FnG8hVJlkarhvZCDeQogufV8qyeEA7d-czSwOnd1_kqAvgOOLTisJu6CAjOPxTOQld2BYB6kfAgUvwy-SKGBfKsOgDOLFpn2vWEK7lHTLRuELtmFMS-1nuiA9eAEo0DgjYGS5k0I_U/s1600/IEM.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Intel Extreme Masters World Championship is a 3-day $100,000 winner-takes-all Starcraft 2 tournament. It is to my knowledge the first major tournament outside Korea with such a top-heavy distribution of the prize fund</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There are two big tournaments that I am currently following with great interest: the <b>IEM World Championship</b> in Katowice, the culmination of the<b> </b>Starcraft 2 Intel Extreme Masters Season VIII; and the <b>FIDE Candidates Tournament 2014</b>, the winner of which gets the right to challenge world chess champion Magnus Carlsen to a match for the title later this year.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YtJc8YFtpadVMqitL5zSQ_y_I0ymw1d4w-VDkxbdaa2wgVyC3NVOu47IZ5fC7UCsgKs34zMkUEf53U7lRu6q2m89RW8LHSaTmR_nFDvCjeF3Mk3G6qsR-PdBrZovqMnfmlCAo4wBfJU/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YtJc8YFtpadVMqitL5zSQ_y_I0ymw1d4w-VDkxbdaa2wgVyC3NVOu47IZ5fC7UCsgKs34zMkUEf53U7lRu6q2m89RW8LHSaTmR_nFDvCjeF3Mk3G6qsR-PdBrZovqMnfmlCAo4wBfJU/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2014 is<b> a massive three-week double round robin tournament</b> in which 8 of the world's leading chess grandmasters determine the challenger for Magnus Carlsen for the upcoming 2014 World Chess Championship. The Candidates Tournament is also one of the most lucrative tournaments on the chess circuit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>One thing I noticed is that the distribution of the prize money differs greatly between the two tournaments</b>. At IEM Katowice, the winner gets $100,000 while all other 15 players including 2nd and 3rd place get nothing.<br />
The Fide Candidates Tournament distributes the prize fund of 600,000 EUROs (~ $832,000) more evenly. The winner gets 135,000 Euros, and last place still receives 25,000 Euros. The tournament is a 3-week commitment though. The winner, of course, also gets the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world chess championship. The loser of that match is going to receive at least another $500,000. In other words, winning the FIDE Candidates Tournament is worth $675,000 easily. So in a sense the tournament is pretty top-heavy, too. However, even 25,000 Euros for last place is not bad at all for 3 weeks worth of work. And participation in this tournament most certainly increases a player's market value. I am not sure if that's true to the same extent for the SC2 tournament.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecW_xLxCs5o171F2Y9lOST_vJaBbEIa1BPhi_3NvupNc9aT6wX38LGXwSreL28YDD1AZchR0k6bQuiM6_9R3GMSafKmEs9mbwM4TV0b_IZ3hokfvGSembpr7SjpzEEJOdjOGbTcqzf7Y/s1600/Levon-Aronian-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecW_xLxCs5o171F2Y9lOST_vJaBbEIa1BPhi_3NvupNc9aT6wX38LGXwSreL28YDD1AZchR0k6bQuiM6_9R3GMSafKmEs9mbwM4TV0b_IZ3hokfvGSembpr7SjpzEEJOdjOGbTcqzf7Y/s1600/Levon-Aronian-12.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Despite his rocky start into the tournament, Armenian "Super Grandmaster" Levon Aronian is considered to be the likely winner of the FIDE 2014 Candidates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I just googled "<b>SC2 dying</b>" and got 422,000 hits. I have always thought that this "bullshit" about "SC2 dying" is largely just people bashing the game, trying to turn this into a self-fulfilling prophecy.<br />
At the same time though I don't understand the reason behind this extremely top-heavy prize fund. <b>It seems to me that a vibrant professional SC2 community is in the best interest of Blizzard and all sponsors (like Intel) that try to make money by selling products and services to the community</b>. The more buzz there is in the professional community, the more exciting the big tournaments are to watch for fans like me, and the more exposure sponsors get for their products. <b>But by making these tournaments so extremely top-heavy in their prize money distribution, the organizers make it very difficult for almost all SC2 professionals to continue staying in the game. </b><br />
I check teamliquid.net about once a week, and whenever I do, there seems to be a new story about a pro gamer retiring, usually citing a combination of lack of interest and financial reasons.<br />
<br />
Another - slightly less important reason - why I think the distribution of the prize money in Katowice is wrong is that there is such a <b>big element of chance involved in winning a major SC2 tournament</b>. Luck of the draw, a constantly changing map pool, patches, technical difficulties such as lag are just some of the factors beyond the skill of the players that have a huge impact on the outcome of the tournament, and that turn the whole event into a lottery to some extent. If skill is just one of many factors (though arguably still the most important), it doesn't make sense to me to reward only one player for getting through all the "randomness" of the tournament. <b><span style="color: red;">If the IEM tournament was to be held again in 4 weeks, the winner could very well be someone else. If the FIDE Candidates Tourney was to be played again, the winner would most likely be the same. </span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b>
<b>And I'm not convinced that any player is going to try harder in a winner-takes-all format, no matter how much the casters hype this tournament</b>.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_4GlTgeybsAXwN47qjF8CnESdMxmy4rjifHcByUw8Zq2VUbzpf2NwlCAu9zTiINcNy5wYXy4R0IYHxOOGCYDGExSjxvk__LHe6MyWyN83crlf1y6FrLmCMCRjwrWHZVut-xUa1R_jk8/s1600/511_10030_t.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_4GlTgeybsAXwN47qjF8CnESdMxmy4rjifHcByUw8Zq2VUbzpf2NwlCAu9zTiINcNy5wYXy4R0IYHxOOGCYDGExSjxvk__LHe6MyWyN83crlf1y6FrLmCMCRjwrWHZVut-xUa1R_jk8/s1600/511_10030_t.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As a former Terran, I would have liked Polt or Taeja to walk away with the $100,000 from IEM Katowice. Unfortunately, that is no longer going to happen.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-13763922375854222892014-03-08T11:19:00.000-08:002014-03-08T11:19:15.121-08:00Chess in Advertising - Part IIA few weeks ago Chessbase published another collection of tv ads featuring chess imagery:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://en.chessbase.com/post/chess-in-tv-commercials" target="_blank">http://en.chessbase.com/post/chess-in-tv-commercials</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzb8FTcoWwFRWQDfCw8Tby-YDFMRe2yL87MSR8tlpsYCfKqXK8R7YNtieuh3mC7_AqYYE_GDURRclA4-j5gXJ7pB10jYruqUDezx6t7HsUoMimQav0NM9pkM2LbkMkSZ680UHDqceK84/s1600/chess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrzb8FTcoWwFRWQDfCw8Tby-YDFMRe2yL87MSR8tlpsYCfKqXK8R7YNtieuh3mC7_AqYYE_GDURRclA4-j5gXJ7pB10jYruqUDezx6t7HsUoMimQav0NM9pkM2LbkMkSZ680UHDqceK84/s1600/chess.jpg" height="284" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another typical example how chess imagery is used in advertising</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Most of these commercials follow the general themes I've discussed in previous articles such as this one:<br />
<a href="http://revtiberius.blogspot.com/2013/04/chess-in-advertising.html" target="_blank">http://revtiberius.blogspot.com/2013/04/chess-in-advertising.html</a><br />
<br />
However, as I was watching the commercials, I realized that<b><span style="color: red;"> there's hardly any women in them</span></b>. Just like in professional chess, where there's not that many female players in the world's top 200, and none in the top 10, in most chess-themed commercials women don't seem to play a role either. I never really thought about this before, but I'd expect to see more women in these commercials because in marketing it is a well-known fact that in many families, the women make the purchasing decisions.RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-40942861239865370592014-02-26T23:36:00.000-08:002014-02-26T23:42:16.043-08:00Different Kinds of Chess Sacrifices<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
I finally decided to resume writing this blog. I hope to write more regularly again from now on. Today what I want to write about are the 3 different kinds of chess sacrifices, and how each kind poses their own difficulties.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<b><span style="color: red;">Basically there are 3 types of sacrifices in chess</span></b>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
1. One kind of sacrifice leads to a pretty forced sequence of moves that gives both sides relatively few opportunities to deviate. A typical example would be the <b>bishop sacrifice on h7</b>. More often than not that sacrifice leads to a pretty much forced sequence of events where the outcome is clear even before the bishop is sacrificed.</div>
2. Another kind of sacrifice is based on long-term strategic and positional objectives, for example the <b>positional exchange sacrifice. </b><br />
I'm a very "greedy" player, and only when I get overwhelming positional compensation I'm ready to give up an exchange for it. I know that this is one of my weaknesses. I'd be a better player if I wasn't holding on to my material so much.<br />
3. The third kind is somewhere in between the first two. One the one hand, the objective of the sacrifice is clear. On the other hand though the variations are less forced and somewhat fuzzy, which makes them much harder to calculate. Let's look at an example: The following position is from the game Liren Ding - Levon Aronian, Alekhine Memorial 2013. Ding is a Chinese grandmaster I was unaware of until recently. You can find the whole game here ("On a Ding and a Prayer"):<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1715380" target="_blank">http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1715380</a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-o5ch9t_gi0rvqipsD-ySKCY54MK-QPD-Ipe76qWXse4vdcCcnqQfaEDAtbSUpqgP7xDQyXgJs1L0Dcy0RurodjyVoeAcdCbz30PNxCzn7pPS7hDh6USUu0_D8jRnaiD_N2EwqDGv2I/s1600/Pos1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Liren Ding - Levon Aronian. Alekhine Memorial 2013" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq-o5ch9t_gi0rvqipsD-ySKCY54MK-QPD-Ipe76qWXse4vdcCcnqQfaEDAtbSUpqgP7xDQyXgJs1L0Dcy0RurodjyVoeAcdCbz30PNxCzn7pPS7hDh6USUu0_D8jRnaiD_N2EwqDGv2I/s640/Pos1.jpg" height="640" title="Liren Ding - Levon Aronian. Alekhine Memorial 2013" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>In this position, White played 37. Bxg7!!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
White sacrificed his Bishop on g7. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJk6an0-7OzD3Az8MUAYdgJzfIADZ5CH1thtTLqG1dzYDKFDiS58RDQRzTiniUmS-7IHNT7pawpupYuHmOw9RzKzHY6J-LvqevkHcx5IvXuQNCy5GoxFeg450tWu8GGt48j5xe0g50aM8/s1600/Pos2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Liren Ding - Levon Aronian. Alekhine Memorial 2013" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJk6an0-7OzD3Az8MUAYdgJzfIADZ5CH1thtTLqG1dzYDKFDiS58RDQRzTiniUmS-7IHNT7pawpupYuHmOw9RzKzHY6J-LvqevkHcx5IvXuQNCy5GoxFeg450tWu8GGt48j5xe0g50aM8/s640/Pos2.jpg" height="640" title="Liren Ding - Levon Aronian. Alekhine Memorial 2013" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>White's plan is clear: activate the Rook on f1 for a mating attack</b></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
White's plan is pretty obvious in this position. Activate the Rook on f1. The plan is easy to see, but very hard to calculate all the way through because many of the variations are not as forced as say all the checks that follow after an h7-bishop sacrifice. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In this game, I would have certainly thought hard about 37. Bxg7!!, but I don't think I would have gone for it because I could not have calculated the many variations with enough accuracy even though the underlying plan is very simple and straightforward. I probably would have also concluded - erroneously - that Black's Queen and Rook on the 7th rank would be enough "hardware" to defend the position. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
However, after a few more moves (not that many actually), the following position was reached, and Aronian resigned:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUiGUIGbRtvNgPbbex8CXtxcj9UMuRZmsT8SD22yvK4t1z3MKBDkc8qRvQv05I5U0PrDvL9VcP9Ylldpm2QXGtvOh6FfSmAwQacSSNgtfBc-VRlHJyrHepqEq7tUzjlQeFAEGk-Re_VQ/s1600/Pos3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Liren Ding - Levon Aronian. Alekhine Memorial 2013" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUiGUIGbRtvNgPbbex8CXtxcj9UMuRZmsT8SD22yvK4t1z3MKBDkc8qRvQv05I5U0PrDvL9VcP9Ylldpm2QXGtvOh6FfSmAwQacSSNgtfBc-VRlHJyrHepqEq7tUzjlQeFAEGk-Re_VQ/s640/Pos3.jpg" height="640" title="Liren Ding - Levon Aronian. Alekhine Memorial 2013" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Black resigned. There is no sensible defence against Rh8</b></td></tr>
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I'm sure GM Ding is very proud of this game. Not only did he beat Levon Aronian, one of the world's foremost chess grandmasters, but he did so in great style.</div>
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I often ask myself what skills chess grandmasters have that I lack. Among them is most definitely the ability and <b>willingness to give up material for intangible compensation</b>. That's one thing that I have always had great difficulty with. My style is rather positional, rock-solid, and borderline boring. Nothing wrong with that, but it does set a threshold that's hard to overcome, and it makes it difficult, to create tactically brilliant games such as the one above. </div>
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That's why especially in blitz and bullet games I often force myself to sacrifice material - often in a very speculative manner - as a learning experience. The jury is still out on this approach...</div>
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RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-41524184261390125212013-09-22T14:10:00.000-07:002013-09-22T14:10:43.067-07:00A Position to Pawnder - Pyre's Reflections on his Journey into the World of Chess<span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial;">The following is an article written by Pyre, one of my chess students, reflecting upon his transition from competitive SC2 to chess. My thoughts on Pyre's progress will be published here soon.</span><br />
<span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial;">This article can also be found on TeamLiquid:</span><br />
<a href="http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=429882">http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=429882</a><br />
<br />
========================================================================<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">When playing Starcraft, I was very often asked by friends and family, “What is Starcraft?” and “How do you play Starcraft?”. My response was always, “Well, it’s sort of like chess, but faster and more difficult”. On the one hand, who can argue that Starcraft isn’t a faster-paced game? Starcraft is in real time and chess is turn-based. Some Starcraft games end in 5 minutes, while some chess games last for 7 hours! However, I could never have been more wrong when assuming that Starcraft was a harder game than chess. Learning how chess pieces move is one thing, but mastering the art, beauty, and complexity that encompasses it is as different as night and day. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgEaeAdy3ipg6kTd0NhkxEvgFtCRN6QOvcw5MZHGOrsH9nhWVSkvMj5ExE1xQ1v2Uh01FrReJEJ00canXafctISdpVdsKND7Xeqy5tinb-dzb3VGwJQ0UUTUN6-ky1IOEgQr3630cl5U/s1600/386996_4686233880305_359632763_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgEaeAdy3ipg6kTd0NhkxEvgFtCRN6QOvcw5MZHGOrsH9nhWVSkvMj5ExE1xQ1v2Uh01FrReJEJ00canXafctISdpVdsKND7Xeqy5tinb-dzb3VGwJQ0UUTUN6-ky1IOEgQr3630cl5U/s640/386996_4686233880305_359632763_n.jpg" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pyre used to be one North America's most promising SC2 talents and was consistently ranked among TOP 16 on the GM ladder before he turned his attention to chess</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /><b style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;">Optional Backstory:</b><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> If you don’t know who I am, it's because I haven’t logged onto battle.net for about 8 months. Back in September, I joined my high school’s chess club <b><i>thinking that my strategic brain would easily be able to convert my grandmaster Starcraft abilities into grandmaster chess play</i></b>. I was terrible at first, and the mere thought of eventually becoming good at chess was slowly slipping away. I lost to every single person in the chess club every week and wondered why I was good at Starcraft and not good at chess. But eventually, the constant defeats and humiliation got to me and I decided to seriously train to become better. The same competitive drive I applied to Starcraft in my humble beginnings was being applied to chess. What began as a side-project to Starcraft shortly took over as I regained the desire to become better at something--the same something that attracted me so much to Starcraft in the first place.</span><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #010408;"> With this ambition,<b> I was lucky enough to fall under </b></span><b><span style="color: red;">RevTiberius</span></b><span style="color: #010408;">'s <b>wing and become a chess student of his. Soon enough, I started to see results</b>. It was not long before my first competition happened, which was the culmination of all the high schools nearby and I got third place. Good right? Well, not as good as I had hoped. All this did was tell me that I still had a really long road ahead of me. But after several hours a day of studying and playing from January to now, I can confidently say that my chess is at a decent level (approximately 1800 ELO from 1000 ELO) and I hope to continue at the same rate during my stay at UCSD. </span></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqIG1IhsfTq8HwkWWqrS7b5E8isbtTR3glPqBtJWWJ5PtcChZhn7PiRt7uR19BMIbWTMdWYwXKJGUUgdbFes41qdw89fGPXWW1N27CbnLPuTzwGAA12WgSwqhhDjDfx7WPq2vcWJniOo/s1600/Chess-Set-5-1024x576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqIG1IhsfTq8HwkWWqrS7b5E8isbtTR3glPqBtJWWJ5PtcChZhn7PiRt7uR19BMIbWTMdWYwXKJGUUgdbFes41qdw89fGPXWW1N27CbnLPuTzwGAA12WgSwqhhDjDfx7WPq2vcWJniOo/s640/Chess-Set-5-1024x576.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #010408; font-family: Arial; text-align: start;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"> "I could never have been more wrong when assuming that Starcraft was a harder game than chess". </i>SC2 GM and chess enthusiast Pyre reflecting upon chess and SC2</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> </span><i style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><b>“We ain’t so different you and I”</b>.</i><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> It’s true. Both Starcraft and chess are similar games where both players start evenly and through smart decision making, the better player should win. There are starting imbalances very similar to that of terran, protoss, and zerg, although I doubt “white” is going to get patched anytime soon. There is a large amount of theory, strategy, and overall knowledge required in both games to be successful. Taking expansions in Starcraft is the same as developing your pieces and castling (bringing your king to safety, while bringing your rook into the game) in chess. Going for a baneling bust, or a 6 pool, is very similar to the infamous “Scholar’s mate” (trying to checkmate your opponent in 4 moves) in chess or even just moving your queen out too early and trying to do damage with it. </span><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> The strategy in both games is really no different. In both games, you build an army and often there is a main fight that decides the game. For all you positional, quiet players who like to “turtle” in Starcraft, guess what? You can do that in chess, too--just close up the position with pawns and its equivalent to a widow mine and siege tank line! And for all you attacking players who like blink stalker openings, roach baneling busts, and 1/1/1s, there’s aggressive type play in chess as well with what are known as gambits (sacrificing material for hyperaggression). </span><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> Both games have gone through changing times and changing ideas throughout their existence. In the beginning of Starcraft 2 in 2010, everyone (including zergs) opened on 1 base and it remained that way until even the 7 minute mark. Struggling, zergs eventually realized that they needed the extra larvae and they needed the extra base, so they started going hatch first. As a response, terrans started making reactor hellions to start putting pressure on the expansion. These are examples of trends. From the 1500s-1800s, chess players strived to control the center immediately and valued fast development. However, at the dawn of the 20th century, ideas changed and certain people (called “hypermodernists”) decided that as a response, chess players could let their opponent control the center at first, but then flank attack it later! This idea had never been seen before, but it changed the way people thought chess was played and it led to even more innovation further down the road. </span><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> Tournaments are seen in both chess and Starcraft 2 at the professional level and the amateur level. <b>One of the most intriguing things I had found out about when I first started getting into chess was the fact that most local chess tournaments have sections</b>. This was a new thing to me, as no Starcraft tournament I ever went to had a “diamond-only” section or a “platinum-only” section with cash prizes for them too. This seemed genius to me. Everyone who participated in these chess tournaments had something to play for. They weren’t just going to get “beat by a gm, then watch”.</span><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"> There are also chess pros, just like there are Starcraft pros. The “Flash” of chess would be either Garry Kasparov or Bobby Fischer. Both of these chess players are legends of their time and have been internationally recognized outside of the chess world. The “Taeja” or “Mvp” of chess would be Magnus Carlsen. Magnus Carlsen is currently the world #1 at only 22 years old! He is a superstar in his own world just as Starcraft players are in theirs.</span><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="color: #010408; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #010408;"> If you’re a fan of just one of these games, then I highly encourage you to try the other. As a non-Starcraft player, if you feel intimidated by the speed at which Starcraft is played, let me assure you that you don’t need 450 APM to be good. Plenty of successful Starcraft players, like Polt, are able to out-think and outplay their opponents purely out of strategy, tactics, and immense game knowledge. If you play Starcraft and have never gotten into chess, then just imagine you’re playing Starcraft except without the APM and constant movements--just the strategic portion.</span><b><span style="color: red;"> Nothing can match the pleasure of beating someone in a game of raw intellectual strength</span></b><span style="color: #010408;">.</span></span></span>RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-12625388977427768452013-08-04T19:21:00.002-07:002013-08-04T19:21:53.590-07:00Bad Manner in Online Chess and Starcraft 2One thing that has always puzzled me is a noticeable difference in the BM ("bad manner") I encounter in online chess and Starcraft 2:<br />
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<b>Starcraft 2</b><br />
Basically, in Starcaft 2 I got BMed in at least 50% of my games. As far as I could tell I got BMed pretty much across the board from players who were clearly better, about my level, and clearly worse. Here's a sample of the kind of trash talk that I'm sure anybody who plays online video games is only all too familiar with:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ12AFOQMibE-Sc40d_u12EE3HIVDDGZW7tvlQzMic1Pa97Qq6cUeD1xnPQ1aflAosFGRK8M4N2W3xcC3eW-CznS3JY0Jy8rMTjgQDVTGzZLj3SJPI2uSRmq69bDO-SHRjkkNXUAXGqgg/s1600/Bad+Manner+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ12AFOQMibE-Sc40d_u12EE3HIVDDGZW7tvlQzMic1Pa97Qq6cUeD1xnPQ1aflAosFGRK8M4N2W3xcC3eW-CznS3JY0Jy8rMTjgQDVTGzZLj3SJPI2uSRmq69bDO-SHRjkkNXUAXGqgg/s640/Bad+Manner+1.jpg" title="Bad Manner 1" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A classic</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91jX8DoR6QSA1YPilXRlKGttGsLwWUYcYMvKBIW8zx-Sot4M4b4zS9sbniSjVvdqSgi7YLYi5ixczCFb3kViamFOxi_zgoj6VxVlOfS75-yYPq3iS9BgdMrF2dw0tqOwBPheUjFNmJhs/s1600/Bad+Manner+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj91jX8DoR6QSA1YPilXRlKGttGsLwWUYcYMvKBIW8zx-Sot4M4b4zS9sbniSjVvdqSgi7YLYi5ixczCFb3kViamFOxi_zgoj6VxVlOfS75-yYPq3iS9BgdMrF2dw0tqOwBPheUjFNmJhs/s640/Bad+Manner+2.jpg" title="Bad Manner 2" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one actually made me laugh</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjq4VRVlkNWeUzoJ6pgrn_uFfcrJAqRTzPjBwQ9GqPT8_2UiSx5_0vL2YdVM07Pn0M6gIHJMkOVjVfEFM6VktySmhJ7r73Jfd0S5tFgjHBZCVaMnFWGeB6VMibCuWGirI-cIYoIiYbVvg/s1600/Bad+Manner+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjq4VRVlkNWeUzoJ6pgrn_uFfcrJAqRTzPjBwQ9GqPT8_2UiSx5_0vL2YdVM07Pn0M6gIHJMkOVjVfEFM6VktySmhJ7r73Jfd0S5tFgjHBZCVaMnFWGeB6VMibCuWGirI-cIYoIiYbVvg/s640/Bad+Manner+3.jpg" title="Bad Manner 3" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This came out of the blue at the beginning of a game</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KKnJE5-Yis1OtLVJ7ai_MeLgwv1aM78yG_l204jZ2TjPbF2ju6vZUOg1_9p3E_Y5KgSEwtcwfwBSKYi2xBf6062RII3Sw9sdPPYk4owM3NJTfFJaM0FSkbNn8g97-2XK3Iq-DF8DDm4/s1600/Bad+Manner+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KKnJE5-Yis1OtLVJ7ai_MeLgwv1aM78yG_l204jZ2TjPbF2ju6vZUOg1_9p3E_Y5KgSEwtcwfwBSKYi2xBf6062RII3Sw9sdPPYk4owM3NJTfFJaM0FSkbNn8g97-2XK3Iq-DF8DDm4/s640/Bad+Manner+4.jpg" title="Bad Manner 4" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I never understood how someone who just lost a game can call you a "noob"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmJe1mLUhAjwXOTE6ohf-oKmGPp3adoS_nqYh9Ua-GYEfBDNm2ShTiMSUNT-FzenyIVmTfeEKgmnv4WVxt-eUjA74drXvhZzaqisup413lMWqe4XFHq4_evrgfYkW6PoX3bZfbAVhfg0/s1600/Bad+Manner+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjmJe1mLUhAjwXOTE6ohf-oKmGPp3adoS_nqYh9Ua-GYEfBDNm2ShTiMSUNT-FzenyIVmTfeEKgmnv4WVxt-eUjA74drXvhZzaqisup413lMWqe4XFHq4_evrgfYkW6PoX3bZfbAVhfg0/s640/Bad+Manner+5.jpg" title="Bad Manner 5" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A classic... must have heard this about 1,000 times on Battlenet...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPH2qjGC7hLqVdoG-1_1eDM1Y8kHs-iTHaeQ7O6tMMd2BzlwcO7nnOSDnfix-w_XmH7ga5C9CDbf8VZ6WuKYRBq_wBEgHf2LcjmduKm2cJE5cLIb2-enKqT5pAMG6P89ZrilsKrOZZCvI/s1600/Bad+Manner+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPH2qjGC7hLqVdoG-1_1eDM1Y8kHs-iTHaeQ7O6tMMd2BzlwcO7nnOSDnfix-w_XmH7ga5C9CDbf8VZ6WuKYRBq_wBEgHf2LcjmduKm2cJE5cLIb2-enKqT5pAMG6P89ZrilsKrOZZCvI/s640/Bad+Manner+6.jpg" title="Bad Manner 6" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My all time favorite...</td></tr>
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<b>Chess:</b><br />
Overall, there's clearly a lot less BM in chess compared to SC2. I've always found this a little surprising because it seems to me that in chess, there's even more ego at stake than in SC2. <b>Losing in chess is definitely more humiliating than losing in SC2</b>.<br />
The fact there is noticeably less BM in online chess might be explained by the fact that in both online and offline chess you're clearly dealing with an older and more sophisticated and mature crowd. Of course there are exceptions, but it is clear that a 40-year old corporate lawyer in a chess tournament won't trash talk nearly as much as a 17-year old kid in an SC2 tourney who's cowardly hiding behind the anonymity of the internet and thinks he or she can get away with anything.<br />
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Even more surprising to me however, is the fact that in chess, I only get BMed by players who are much much worse than me, usually rated at least 300 points below me. Here are some examples:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYQfQLS-QlzNHFBpj9KKrwtZI7LBbS_uiKPXoOsY-gJKEgaSQ7uWkYnsAabktPz0ZT6M7ejzPE_gstjmx_BMhDgQJ8gb6M3TdI4-S6JyGlN_Ev2x3K5nT_vcJ8XXSAWGK9-Vkb9ZhJiE/s1600/BM22.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYQfQLS-QlzNHFBpj9KKrwtZI7LBbS_uiKPXoOsY-gJKEgaSQ7uWkYnsAabktPz0ZT6M7ejzPE_gstjmx_BMhDgQJ8gb6M3TdI4-S6JyGlN_Ev2x3K5nT_vcJ8XXSAWGK9-Vkb9ZhJiE/s640/BM22.png" title="Bad Manner in Chess" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I should have my second comment on Control + C at all times so that I can always paste it when necessary... </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdccaVEzmXmJajb74xqTfpftDkBt1hdo7NEKcMO6_uSR-7_qNeB3K3BSTlM_eJDZERWbP7EKM4kO5A9y9k1cJRzqJTNPhG1Kq-_TMgMWm5fuaD4NS7ipNzD1hyJ9ECQu2YRQHQA67c4GQ/s1600/BM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdccaVEzmXmJajb74xqTfpftDkBt1hdo7NEKcMO6_uSR-7_qNeB3K3BSTlM_eJDZERWbP7EKM4kO5A9y9k1cJRzqJTNPhG1Kq-_TMgMWm5fuaD4NS7ipNzD1hyJ9ECQu2YRQHQA67c4GQ/s640/BM.png" title="Bad Manner in Chess" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir59J-G0PY3HUGO5s4lNf1uT0YTmz_KD6dm2UdxwBHyNW1TxXMiryG-hmJLYmS0cfY73BGBM0RFFtqgKnN0n3R676K08w8TIOrkOAqWizOLIoSdb1q53ZYB0lQjVIU9jbgpAc0W1pULDA/s1600/Untitled12.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir59J-G0PY3HUGO5s4lNf1uT0YTmz_KD6dm2UdxwBHyNW1TxXMiryG-hmJLYmS0cfY73BGBM0RFFtqgKnN0n3R676K08w8TIOrkOAqWizOLIoSdb1q53ZYB0lQjVIU9jbgpAc0W1pULDA/s640/Untitled12.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another peculiarity about trash talkers on chess servers is they frequently lie against all evidence. This screen shot is an example of a message a pretty weak player sent me after a game. As the next screen shot shows, I did not "get owned" by him. Incidentally I believe Idra was banned from EG for a comment like "hope your death is slow and painful"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RmBkWbjlFg3D0B6J4EK-hBQAJW-oNwrmtNsl6oIg4TECWDlnMbr-HesPyBk03jg3s2UeKvvhtEl0V-gN_hpsdHGK27CXCZSoP7GWY3NmVAx8ojnWlXA96haK3is18d5Eq9EFutKPrcc/s1600/ColoradoCowboy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RmBkWbjlFg3D0B6J4EK-hBQAJW-oNwrmtNsl6oIg4TECWDlnMbr-HesPyBk03jg3s2UeKvvhtEl0V-gN_hpsdHGK27CXCZSoP7GWY3NmVAx8ojnWlXA96haK3is18d5Eq9EFutKPrcc/s640/ColoradoCowboy.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This speaks for itself</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>I really have no explanation why I only get trash talked by players who are, honestly, trash</b>. From time to time I get clearly outplayed by players my level or better, but it is extremely rare to get some BM from them afterward.<br />
<br />
Is it because these "noobs" are so disappointed because they think they are keeping their games against me balanced for longer than they actually are? Is it because they think they "almost" had a draw?<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkj2DwsRLfV5qXWBchEWMfI9AUY7BPPcIra6m4c7xSIfK1Lu1ZaaHlX0wNVz42lBJE48fIwoP1quD9XyqT1dxoFcfgRV5vH_dW3yOcVBEf8sLJqNAkiH2xNA9UuoFjp8H7v6MqLnxP6G4/s1600/11111111112.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="You'll always remember this as the day" border="0" height="116" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkj2DwsRLfV5qXWBchEWMfI9AUY7BPPcIra6m4c7xSIfK1Lu1ZaaHlX0wNVz42lBJE48fIwoP1quD9XyqT1dxoFcfgRV5vH_dW3yOcVBEf8sLJqNAkiH2xNA9UuoFjp8H7v6MqLnxP6G4/s640/11111111112.png" title="Pirate Chess" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the only "BM" I ever engage in. This line has come in handy many many time in SC2 and chess </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="color: red;">I'd be interested to know if any reader has some theories on this.</span></b> I for my part have decided to no longer accept challenges from players rated below 2000. This has also had a very positive effect on my rating which is something I'll blog about next time.<br />
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<br />RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-64409186947834400762013-05-29T23:31:00.000-07:002013-05-29T23:31:38.450-07:00Bullet Chess Game 1 - An Unexpected Queen "Sacrifice"<div>
Bullet chess may not be the best way to learn chess. In fact, I'd highly recommend that beginners stay away from bullet chess as much as possible because it teaches a lot of bad habits. </div>
<div>
On the other hand though, bullet chess is also a lot of fun, and for the very reason that both players typically make a lot of mistakes in a bullet game, the resulting positons are often unique and very entertaining. </div>
Today I recorded a video about one such game where I was forced to "sacrifice" my queen...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv6P8X6M_qZnWjFX6vSPFsh4jWxqMHngrytJ4FrB0TgyZeMgicNoW0dPeXWbUHYisGPhvbEHhxHbFWIjlx5haAOCKPpoa9IqMfHh6vf5QSZNZX6NgmLBIMOM3efLqDhOVTRJDY8IrKxg/s1600/Bullet+Game+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRv6P8X6M_qZnWjFX6vSPFsh4jWxqMHngrytJ4FrB0TgyZeMgicNoW0dPeXWbUHYisGPhvbEHhxHbFWIjlx5haAOCKPpoa9IqMfHh6vf5QSZNZX6NgmLBIMOM3efLqDhOVTRJDY8IrKxg/s640/Bullet+Game+1.png" width="587" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a position from a bullet game I played today. A lot of blunders, but a beautiful finish</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This game is a great example that in bullet chess, even 2200-rated players (and above actually) make a lot of elementary mistakes:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cHj-flGDH8s" width="640"></iframe>RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-15809906857881504872013-05-24T15:17:00.000-07:002013-05-24T15:17:03.225-07:00The Importance of Playing it SafeIn this video analysis I look at what must have been a very frustrating loss for Pyre. He had a clear advantage and yet lost the game because he underestimated his opponent's counterplay.<br />
<br />
This game is a dramatic example of the fact that when ahead in a chess game, playing it safe and reducing the opponent's counter chances are more important than greedily holding on to one's material advantage. In fact, <b>when ahead it can often be very useful to sacrifice material to transition into a simpler, more easily won position</b>. This is a concept I'll revisit in future lessons.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">Starcraft 2 analogy:</span> a player who is economically far ahead of his opponent can afford trading inefficiently because it hurts the opponent more.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Part 1:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Kamy7xTJBMY" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Part 2:</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7YemKbUIwTs" width="640"></iframe>
<b><br /></b>
<br />I'm still learning how to use the video recording and editing software. I think I'll keep recording clips like these<b>. Though I honestly believe that progress in chess comes mostly from playing and studying chess over-the-board. Youtube and other multimedia content can help, but their entertainment value is greater than their educational value.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOGACSj8qmh2T39AwArBg9N240wuB0LjdjWlwgKBxo38eEkwMrx3yBiLnfNFGQoivl-qM0k6jIpxT8HnuH6qQEmJx1Uvb4b1uo1OvqaX1rE6Z8AItoDd6MEwpfwtNdXVek9V_2bmZFbg/s1600/MEME.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="One does not simply get better at chess by watching Youtube videos" border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOGACSj8qmh2T39AwArBg9N240wuB0LjdjWlwgKBxo38eEkwMrx3yBiLnfNFGQoivl-qM0k6jIpxT8HnuH6qQEmJx1Uvb4b1uo1OvqaX1rE6Z8AItoDd6MEwpfwtNdXVek9V_2bmZFbg/s640/MEME.png" title="One does not simply get better at chess by watching Youtube videos" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One does not simply get better at chess by watching Youtube videos</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-25132324089533057012013-05-20T19:21:00.000-07:002013-05-20T19:21:35.841-07:00Bishop and Pawn vs. Bishop This is a position from a practice game against one of the people I'm giving chess lessons to. My opponent resigned a little prematurely. The remaining moves would have been quite instructive:<br />
<br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vydkZRDINPM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-47330233358977243082013-05-19T01:35:00.001-07:002013-05-19T01:41:38.113-07:00Bullet Chess Adventures - Episode I - Humble BeginningsI've decided to occasionally post some of my bullet games here. I want to start with two terrible games I played today. The games clearly prove that bullet has nothing to do with chess... I'll probably briefly discuss some of the games, too. I'm also doing this to learn more about how to best record and upload chess videos.
<br />
<br />
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bRlbCqysVV8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-68055580228860039342013-04-25T23:14:00.000-07:002013-04-25T23:21:53.262-07:00Chess on The Cosby ShowThis is a Cosby Show episode in which chess plays a minor role.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lbJ06eJPlag" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
I haven't watched the Cosby Show in a long long time, but for many years <b><span style="color: red;">I used to have a MAJOR crush on Clair Huxtable </span></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBhiZyX4c6wGkHr3kdf0uczgQ4jEmO9kOp7XzliqBJcZLBME4xeJZ3VJV6nzjxYRPSX8E1KGPxGSf0fGqMS7AV39-BDtewoPTatQBTYKcVl_kaRikxGgg12vFwEAt4EVyTkCPmtoO8yw/s1600/phylicia-rashad-criticizes-reality-tv-moms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBhiZyX4c6wGkHr3kdf0uczgQ4jEmO9kOp7XzliqBJcZLBME4xeJZ3VJV6nzjxYRPSX8E1KGPxGSf0fGqMS7AV39-BDtewoPTatQBTYKcVl_kaRikxGgg12vFwEAt4EVyTkCPmtoO8yw/s640/phylicia-rashad-criticizes-reality-tv-moms.jpg" title="Clair Huxtable" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clair Huxtable</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2697370618955127176.post-10523258575350611202013-04-21T01:12:00.000-07:002013-04-21T01:23:33.870-07:00Positional Analysis II - A Knight's TaleI recently blogged about a methodical way to analyse positions and formulate plans:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://revtiberius.blogspot.ca/2013/03/episode-vi-how-to-analyze-position-and.html" target="_blank">http://revtiberius.blogspot.ca/2013/03/episode-vi-how-to-analyze-position-and.html</a><br />
<br />
Breaking down a position into these 7 criteria and analyzing them in turn is a very useful technique to evaluate a position and formulate plans:<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>1. Material Balance</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>2. Immediate Threats</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>3. King Safety</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>4. Open Files</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>5. Pawn Structure, Strong and Weak
Squares</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>6. Center and Space</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>7. Development and Coordination
among minor and major pieces</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
Using this approach, we recently looked at another game. The following position is from the 13th game of the 1978 World Championship match between Victor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fVvVUfrhHJ5DHkXX0vlk4wk51kwZtENt1wUhKWsq0cMGe3dp1EH87mLhqFRTqB4ieYhocmZ9btX1KymjX_AF7RVZbRqxvuBCza4BqMha_fB6g-KJLRqHFOLKxrjiquSTM-bkg5phCd0/s1600/Chess1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fVvVUfrhHJ5DHkXX0vlk4wk51kwZtENt1wUhKWsq0cMGe3dp1EH87mLhqFRTqB4ieYhocmZ9btX1KymjX_AF7RVZbRqxvuBCza4BqMha_fB6g-KJLRqHFOLKxrjiquSTM-bkg5phCd0/s640/Chess1.png" title="White seemingly has the much easier game in this position" width="638" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Korchnoi - Karpov, Game 13, World Championship 1978, Baguio</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>1. Material Balance: </b>The material balance is even. White has a light-squared bishop, Black a dark-squared one.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>2. Immediate Threats: </b>Immediate tactical threats do not exist.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>3. King Safety: </b>The position of both kings has been compromised to some extend. Both Black and White have advanced their kingside pawns a little bit, resulting in weaknesses for both players. However, as both players castled kingside, neither player can be too reckless about attacking the opponent without exposing their own king, too. Considering the situation on the queenside, king safety is probably not a key factor in this position.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>4. Open Files: </b>There are currently no open files. Black can take control of the semi-open e-file. White's pawn on e3, however, is well protected and due to the support from the pawn on f2 not a good target for Black. White on the other hand controls the semi-open c-file and can easily put a lot of pressure on Black's c6-pawn. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>5. Pawn Structure, Strong and Weak Squares: </b>White has weak squares on a4, c4, h4, and to some extend e4 (because playing f2-f3 makes the e3-pawn a much easier target), Black has weak squares on a6, e5 and f6. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>6. Center and Space: </b>It's a half-open center. Both sides have a lever to potentially open it at some point. White could play e3-e4 to attack Black's pawn formation in the center. However, for the time being this is not recommended because after Black takes on e4, his battery on the d-file would immediately exert tremendous pressure on White's d4-pawn. Black on the other hand could conceivably play c6-c5 sooner or later but only White gives up control over the c5 square.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>7. Development and Coordination among minor and major pieces: </b>Both sides are fully developed. White has a considerable space advantage, especially on the queen side and is much better able to regroup his pieces. Black's major pieces seem oddly misplaced on the d-file, which won't open any time soon. Both players also need to find better squares for their Knights.</div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="color: red;"><b>Conclusion: </b>White has the much easier game. He has more space, and a simple and straightforward plan: put pressure on Black's weak c6-pawn. It seems that Black can't do much other than defend the weakness on c6. </span><b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
Standard chess strategy describes several ways how Black can defend a weakness like the pawn on c6:<br />
<br />
<b><u>A)</u></b> Black can <b>try to defend the pawn</b> and protect it with as many pieces as possible. This is typically the worst and most passive option and only recommended in situations when options B) and C) are unavailable.<br />
<b><u>B)</u></b> Black can <b>try to get rid of the weakness</b> by playing c6-c5 to exchange the pawn. That of course is usually a very effective way of dealing with weaknesses. However, this approach won't work here because White controls the c5-square and won't allow Black the freeing maneuver c6-c5.<br />
<u><b>C)</b></u> Black can <b>try to generate counter play</b> elsewhere on the board to distract White from attacking the c6-pawn. This does not work here either because Black can not open the center, and does not have a way to create promising counter play on the kingside.<br />
<br />
However, Karpov found an astonishing move.<b> He played Pawn b6-b5!</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNTsj457eyZZ7btS9GrztkutSF-ZkfgtZw9ng_1ksIZvh1mep3F0eBo8Qr-iZ2s7pbi9zLRpgt8jq6M_6pxuF5iUCHDeAE2IGzxAk1RoQH7fbTnOWZV9TStcFi1nB6sc7JIUFfHb1huI/s1600/Chess2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqNTsj457eyZZ7btS9GrztkutSF-ZkfgtZw9ng_1ksIZvh1mep3F0eBo8Qr-iZ2s7pbi9zLRpgt8jq6M_6pxuF5iUCHDeAE2IGzxAk1RoQH7fbTnOWZV9TStcFi1nB6sc7JIUFfHb1huI/s640/Chess2.png" title="Pawn b6-b5 is the beginning of a remarkable repositioning of the Knight on c7" width="636" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pawn b6-b5 is the beginning of a remarkable repositioning of the Knight on c7</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<b>Pawn b6-b5 is a truly remarkable solution to Black's problems. The move is highly anti-positional and would under normal circumstances be just terrible because it only aggravates Black's problems on the queenside:</b><br />
1. After b6-b5, Black no longer has the potential lever c6-c5. The move takes away most of Black's queenside pawn mobility<br />
2. The move also surrenders the critical c5-square to White, and gives up control over a5<br />
<br />
Of course, Karpov was aware of all this. He played Pawn b6-b5 anyway because he realized that this move also creates a formidable outpost for his Knight on c4. <b>On c4 the Knight blocks the c-file and completely paralyzes White's queenside play. The weak pawn on c6 no longer needs to be defended, and Black can put his pieces to more active use.</b><br />
<br />
After a few more moves, the players reached the following position:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnPRaxCQp3c74foDFXBTp918eC1NVD_CmLeT4OqORqyCwa77GVyc0GZzJLn4bbNprf3lGgFbEZ_xixIEtmRyGzLfuu0-0N39ebSE93tuHzDYpmsTvuFVtjP1MA-5H6l84rL9SIbYwcGM/s1600/CHess3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRnPRaxCQp3c74foDFXBTp918eC1NVD_CmLeT4OqORqyCwa77GVyc0GZzJLn4bbNprf3lGgFbEZ_xixIEtmRyGzLfuu0-0N39ebSE93tuHzDYpmsTvuFVtjP1MA-5H6l84rL9SIbYwcGM/s640/CHess3.png" title="Black has at least fully equalized" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In just a few moves Black has completely swung momentum in his favor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span style="text-indent: 0cm;">Through one brilliant maneuver Black managed to swing momentum almost completely in his favor. </span><span style="text-indent: 0cm;">Black still needs to do something about his misplaced Rook on d6, but t</span><span style="text-indent: 0cm;">he weakness on c6 is securely defended thanks to the Knight on c4, and suddenly it looks like White's b4-pawn might be in a bit of trouble. It's probably premature to say that Black has an advantage in this position, but he has definitely fully equalized. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoteLevel1CxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0cm; text-indent: 0cm;">
<br />
Black eventually won the game.<br />
<a href="http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068079" target="_blank">http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068079</a><br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="color: red;">Why I chose this example:</span></u></b><br />
<b>1.</b> I still remember how eye-opening I found this position when we analyzed it at my chess club many years ago. I realized that I would have never found a maneuver like Kc7-a8-b6-c5 on my own. In fact, in my games at the time I wasn't even looking for such maneuvers. Thanks to this game and a few similar examples the coach showed us at the time I was able to expand my arsenal of strategic ideas. Today, I wouldn't miss an idea like this in a serious game.<br />
<b>2.</b> I like this position because it is a little more difficult to analyze than the previous example from the Gelfand-Ivanchuk game from the 2013 London Candidates Tournament (link at the beginning of this article). In that game, White's very bad bishop makes it pretty easy for Black to formulate a plan. In this example, all Black really has is a weakness on c6. Coming up with the right idea is much harder. </div>
<!--EndFragment-->RevTiberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08263329911742094124noreply@blogger.com0