*** Chess Low Content Thread ***

[KyleJRM82]

That is a true fact. But nobody else seems to believe me so I end up having to play on the wrong side anyway.

[TexAg06]

Probably my favorite chess quote ever is applicable here. Ain't this the truth?

"Modern Chess is too much concerned with things like pawn structure. Forget it, checkmate ends the game" -Nigel Short

[ganstaman]

Originally Posted by KyleJRM82

Any suggestions for learning the Benoni?

Oh, I play that. Can't remember how I learned it, though. Well, I mean, besides doing what I always do for openings -- check them out through chessgames.com, play through some older games to see how it developed, then some newer games to see the current theory, play it in blitz and then look up where I went wrong. And going to chesspub.com: http://www.chesspub.com/cgi-bin/yabb...rd=nimzobenoni

I do have some advice, though. A good number of players around what I think your rating is will not play d4-d5, so you'll need to know what to do when they just leave their d-pawn there or if they play dxc5 (to get the pawn back, I don't know if ...Na6 or ...Qa5+ or something else is best).

When you do get the standard Benoni positions, there are some general things you should know:
-Your position will look ugly, but that doesn't mean you're losing.

-Pawn breaks you want will generally be ...f5 and ...b5. To prepare for ...b5, you will sometimes play ...a6 first, but that will usually be met by a4. I've seen a number of things from there. Sometimes, you play ...b5 anyway. Sometimes, you do it after white plays a4-a5 even though he's take the b-pawn e.p. Some have played ...b6 first so that a4-a5 can be met by ...b6-b5 without e.p. capture. Also, ...Nb8-a6-c7 can help prepare for ...b5. There are also lines where you play ...b5 when the pawn will be captured because it can give you white's e4-pawn. I believe the Modern Main Line (I've seen it called MML somewhere) involves black sacrificing the b-pawn to get a pawn-down ending that is supposedly drawn, but I have no idea why anyone would want to get that from the Benoni.

-Watch out for white playing e2-e4-e5 and rolling over your position. I'd also try not to lose the d6-pawn, and sometimes if you play ...Nb8-d7, you might forget that your queen on d8 is no longer defending the pawn and it can drop off.

Some may discourage you from playing the Benoni, calling it unsound. I have no problem playing it anyway. I've played it twice in correspondence-style games online, both times against higher rated players, winning once (as mentioned here: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...&postcount=131 ) and drawing once: http://www.chessvideos.tv/chess-game...r.php?id=66892

[Hungry Hippo]

new chess tournament bringing back the adjournment. Will be interesting to see. I can see a few immediate resignations when they get back from the adjournment.

http://www.chess.com/news/acp-golden...ournament-2326

[Do it Right]

Originally Posted by KyleJRM82

...A couple of people have suggested [a completely different opening to] me now as a solution to my never-ending finding a d4 defense I'm comfortable with. I'm not giving up on the Slav by any means, but I'm willing to give this a shot....

BTW, if you care to get obscure there is:

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6!?

I decided to investigate the line a bit on my own as something mostly for fun but also as an occasional idea other than than playing my standard slav. The line is a whole lot better than it's rep would lead you to believe (which is probably one of its major strengths). Its poor database performance is largely a result of the fact that generally bad players play it. If you filter your database to games only between closely matched opponents or for black elo > 2400 or whatever you get an entirley different picture.

I've had great results with it. They key response in my opinion is: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. Nf3!! with the main variation running something like: 4. Nf3 Bf5 5. Qb3 e6!

Capturing on b7 is incredibly dangerous for white. Eg - 6. Qxb7 Nd7 7. Nc3? Rb8 and black already has at least a forced perpetual he can cash in.

So 5. Qb3 e6! 6. Nbd2! Nb6 7. e4 Bg6 8. Bb5+ N8d7 9. a4 a5 10. O-O Bb4

And you're getting a slav-like position where black is fine and has clear counterplay.

The non-Nf3 lines are much more fun. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. e4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5! 6. d5?! (6. Nf3! exd4 7. Qxd4 Qxd4 8. Nxd4 c6 leading to a += ending is probably white's best option) c6 7. Nf3 Bb4 8. Bg5 O-O leading to an interesting middle game where black has the two bishops.

There's a million other side variations with a lot of transpositional possibilities particularly when white tries to avoid anything he doesn't know so it can be a little complex, but I've had great results with it and it's really fun throwing out a move everybody knows is just 'terrible' when the truth is white has no clear path to a major edge. It's also nice when white kneejerk tries to refute it since it tends to lead rapid victories.. for black. Finally it's also nice since as a slav player you'll already be reasonably familiar with the sort of common ideas and structures in the key lines.

Anyhow, this post is already getting too long. Look at the main lines and give it a go in some blitz - I think you'll be surprised.

[TexAg06]

I completely agree with DIR about that opening. I've faced it several times as white in blitz and it's annoying to play against. Reason is it seems like white should be able to punish black but there isn't a clear-cut refutation. I win the majority of games against it, but that's because most black players don't realize the problems with it. In capable hands it's a good surprise weapon. I often find the games become similar to a Grunfeld exchange because black often fiancettos on the kingside.

I think the main reason it isn't played at higher levels is it isn't as challenging to white as more main line Slav and Semi-Slav stuff, but sub 2400 it's still very effective. I've banged my head against a wall playing it too many times

One key thing to watch out for as black is the e5 push. If white doesn't play an early Nf3, push e5 and black is virtually automatically equal. That's a common motif in several d4 d5 openings.

[ham on rye]

hey, people, does anyone play crazyhouse online anymore? if so, where?

[wlrs]

FICS and ICC like it's always been? Did you play somewhere else before or is one of those inactive now re: zh

[ham on rye]

i have a hard time finding a game on FICS, is there enough zh played on ICC to make it worth signing up?

[wlrs]

Don't really know, there seems to be some tournaments running. Sign up for a free trial and see for yourself maybe

[Noir_Desir]

i should really stop resigning chess.com games early against strong players who seemingly make no mistakes. They usually get banned 3 days after my resignation.

I never thought that the difference between playing against a honest 2400 and a 2400 computer cheater would be so obvious but it is. Against the latter often you think "wow well i get chances here" and 5 moves later it turns out that he has everything under control in a fancy way.

[Do it Right]

Did the latest update on chess.com change something about their lag system? I'm already a very slow player but now I'm getting absolutely killed by the clock. It seems like the fastest I can move is ~500ms even on a complete premove.

[Do it Right]

Hmm dropped about 100 points on chess.com getting flagged repeatedly. I either work up retarded or something changed on their net code.

[Do it Right]

Confirmed just woke up retarded. It's crazy how subtle mental changes can be. I felt perfectly normal but apparently was way off my game. It really makes you think about downswings in poker where it's so easy to blame variance on bad luck.

[KyleJRM82]

If you have an ICC account and aren't in the habit of watching the videos, you may have missed the ongoing series Art of Defense with GM Boris Alterman. These are absolutely amazing.