The Chess Thread

[Matt T]

Any PM Chess players here? I was hoping that we could talk about chess or just organize friendly games.


Resources (feel free to add your own):
chess.com: Free online chessplaying site, everyone has an account here. Mine is "HughMyron"

chesscube.com: Also free, but you can only play a certain amount of games per day. Competition here is overall a bit stiffer than chess.com IMO, though Chess.com has a wider range of skill levels.

Chessmaster: Waitzkin et al give a lot of useful advice. I know that I've learned a lot from it.

Fritz: Top of the line chess engine

Stockfish: Formerly called Glaurung, freely downloadable chess engine that's pretty cool. I have it on the iPhone, but the mobile version seems a bit buggy

Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual: Definitive manual for endgames. Some players prefer other books, but my friend told me to get this, so I did.

Nimzowich's My System and Chess Praxis: Influential books that inspired many chess players, and are still readable today (make sure you get the 21st century editions!)

[TheBoss]

I used to be a competitive chess player. Could have probably made it to at least the rank of international master, but I stopped playing after 16. I play on facebook sometimes.

[Heisenberg]

Boring, play SC2!

Used to play chess, solid game. But SC2 blows it OUT of the water in everything that matters in my opinion...except perhaps balance. And plus you can't be easily beaten by a computer (that's not cheating) in starcraft ... yet.

[Matt T]

Heisenberg Wrote:...except perhaps balance.

Actually, Starcraft probably wins there too, since in Chess, White is noticeably better than Black, at least if statistics are anything to go on. I guess it balances out because players have to play both White and Black.

[anishgiri]

Heisenberg Wrote:Boring, play SC2!

Used to play chess, solid game. But SC2 blows it OUT of the water in everything that matters in my opinion...except perhaps balance. And plus you can't be easily beaten by a computer (that's not cheating) in starcraft ... yet.

Chess is not boring. An no sc2 does not blow chess out of the water. If one will learn more about chess(specially younger one), he/she will love it. How can you say you are solid(good player). Beating a few people like a sister does not mean you are a good player. What if the people you beat are not that good? You can say you are a good player if you have at least a rating of above 1500.

I bet you don't know chess concepts like bad bishop, majority attack, isolated pawn, zugwang, opposition rule, dragon etc. Thousand of books have been written about chess, it is simply deep and great. I bet you don't even know the basic rook end game concepts like the Lucena and philidor position.

[Matt T]

Tbh, I think one reason people aren't getting into Chess is the vast amount of book knowledge you have to know for it.

[Chaos]

No, it's because is really difficult. I'm an occasional player, and I really enjoy the game... I can beat most of my family and friends. But when i'm matched with a decent opponent or I turn up the difficulty level on Fritz I usually get slaughtered ....

The fact is, chess is just as any other strategy game. It's relatively easy to get decent with some practice, it's really hard to become good, is even harder to become a master. And after a time, you decide if you want to put int the required time or not.... For me I simply didn't enjoy it enough to become a serious player... But I do enjoy an occasional game from time to time...

[Heisenberg]

Enjoyment=Mastery