I feel like this could be an upside in a sense. Like a fun braintwister. Also I'll probably be better than most random people I might play against (if I ever find someone I'm not better than, they'll probably want to reset the board correctly first anyway) so I can kind of think of it as a handicap maybe?

If you play anyone where this will matter (e.g. you won't just stomp them right away and confusion over your repertoire might actually matter) then you'll both want to set them up correctly.

2900 watch back on? Carlsen has been GOATING since the world championship match lol

It’s all due to his scraggly scruffy man beard .

Hikaru confirmed huge Riders fan

I'm certainly watching, but those last 20 points are the hardest. Look at this current tournament. He's scored +4 through 10 rounds, against as tough of a field as he can realistically expect to face, and only gained 6 rating points. I'd bet against him hitting 2900 (published *or* live rating) in the next year. It will be a lot of fun to see if he can prove me wrong though and I'm certainly paying attention to every game he plays.

low content question not worth a thread , do you guys ever find it difficult to go from playing chess to playing poker.

i use chess purely for fun usually when i know im not in a condition to play poker . im currently seeing how high i can climb without any study or input. i was a 300 lol now im at 1600 ( still dont know the names of all the pieces) over the course of like two years solely playing for fun.

ive been playing allot more chess but ive noticed when i go to play poker immediately after im playing super agro and almost feel the need to go tit for tat like i would in chess. for my self i think its really bad to play chess before a poker session. wonder if anyone experiences the same.

I assume you're playing blitz or bullet? Well, even after a 3+ hour game I'm super wired. I didn't play chess when I used to play poker but I can imagine I'd need a break between them. How about trying a 10 minute meditation after a chess session and then starting the poker session?

yeah blitz and bullet , ive been getting into yoga and trying out meditation. running helps for sure. ill have to give meditation a shot.

The main thing I'd recommend is a nice calm break in between no matter what you do. Or just play poker and then chess afterwards.

Unlimited free Puzzle Rush on chess.com today.

Firouzja just crossed 2700 in the live rating list, age 16. Wei Yi is 4 years older and 2727, so I guess its time to discard the old superprodigy for the new one

I remember when Yi used to be good.

Played 10m blitz on chess.com, destroyed a Dragon and had a mate in 12 and missed it, [who am I, Kasparov?] what's worse missed the simple follow-up check after the wrong Knight check and still had a won game before throwing it away.

I hate blitz.

10 minutes is pretty much correspondence chess

Sinquefield cup starts tomorrow.

11 of 12 draws heading into round 3. maybe another 5 today? aronian vs anand seems decisive.

Lots of draws so far, but cannot really say that it has been dull. A decent amount of enterprising and good quality chess, so the decisive results should start sooner or later

Magnus +290 feels right

If betting on Magnus is wrong.

Then well I don’t wanna be right.

Hi low content friends. I'm looking for a line to play in some sort of Indian defence, or maybe the Grunfeld.

Against London system-esque openings I play a setup with g6, d6 and a Nf6-d7 manoeuvre with the aim of playing e5 and maybe f5, which I like. I've been playing the Budapest against 2. c4 but I kind of hate it. Looking for something else.

I generally find symmetrical pawn structures about as interesting as watching paint dry and while I don't mind positional play, I also find cramped positions annoying. Also prefer not to trade down into endgames on like move 10. I've never seriously played any Indians or the Grunfeld and I never open d4 myself so I'm pretty unfamiliar with that whole world.

I don't mind learning some theory but only if it's going to do me some good, like I don't want to have to be remembering mountains of theory while my opponent can play whatever they like and get an easy game.

On lichess blitz (which is more or less all I play) my rating is currently 1840. Any recommendations?

Edit: Other things I play - with White 1. e4 and the Smith-Morra vs c5, the Vienna Game/Vienna Gambit vs e5, Advance Caro-Kann, 3. c4 and gambiting f3 vs the French. With Black the Qa5 Scandinavian against 1. e4, which I also don't love but don't have anything better. Occasionally throw the Latvian in when I'm feeling suicidal.

The Grunfeld might be a good choice if you're into those sharp openings. There can be a lot of theory but there are also ways to cut down on it. The main problem is the sheer number of different lines white can play against it. And some Grunfelds do lead to quick endgames, but that probably depends on Black's choices as well.

I still don't have a good answer to the London myself. If White wants to try to bore you to death there's not a lot you can do about it.

Some books/videos I liked:

https://www.amazon.com/Understanding.../dp/1901983099

^ check out this one first if nothing else, since it covers all the main ideas very well. Then if you like the opening you can refine and update the repertoire as needed.

https://www.amazon.com/Safest-Grunfe.../dp/9548782812

This video has a lower theory approach, I don't like every variation he chooses but I use some of it:

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/foxy26

That Ding-Giri game was pretty nice. At least to a patzer like me. Gonna see if I can find a youtube somewhere that breaks it down.

Agadmator covered it.

Thanks Tim, I think I will give the Grunfeld a go. It's always looked interesting. I presume there are plenty of pitfalls for an unwary White.

Against the London System I recommend the setup shown starting at 5:50 here:



Ignore the asides about trying to win d4 or play e4. You generally don't want to do that, although occasionally e4 is useful. The lockdown on the e5 square puts a straightjacket on the London bishop and any attempts to resolve the central tension come out in Black's favour. The game is steered into a KID type setup where White's only real plan is to attack on the Q-side. A game with constant central tension and competing attacks on either side of the board is generally not what London System players were looking for. Something I see a lot is White simply trading on e5, which is excellent for Black.

I think I watched a longer video on the setup, but I can't find it now. If there's not too much pressure on e5, Black can sometimes play Qe8 and return the knight to f6 after playing f5. The position can uncoil in various ways if White tries to rock the boat, it's quite flexible.

Looks interesting. I'll definitely give it a try on the next opportunity. I've been playing mostly 6...Nbd7 there with ...c5 ...b6 and ...Bb7.

I'm an inveterate Bg7 player in response to d4 and c4 but I struggle with it against the London. f5 looks an interesting plan.

After Bf4 I usually play d5 in place of d6, and e6 with Be7, with the same plan of Nbd7/c5/b6/Bb7 as Tim. I find Black can relieve his slight congestion by a timely Nd4 (as per the Lasker defence to the queen's gambit), supported by the pawn d5 and the WSB on b7, and possibly Nd7-f6, and gets some queen side pressure with his rook on c8 and Qd7.

Re. Grunfeld: I tried it a long some time ago but the monster protected passed pawn that White was getting on d6 in some lines didn't appeal to me (this may be out of date now), while Grunfeld's concept of the two powerful bishops raking in tandom across the board is rarely realised in practice, so I took up the mainline King's Indian and after some better but still mixed results adopted the KI Na6 with e5 variation after watching a series of brilliant videos on the line on chess.com. White often pushes the d pawn forward to d5 which is met by Nc5 and a5, cementing the Nc5 on a great square: if white prepares to kick it away with his queenside pawns, a4 (supported by Bd7 and sometimes by Qe8 too) is usually very strong, and having tied up the queenside black can then turn his attention to the standard KI motif of Nh5/f5 and a kingside attack (if exf5, gxf5 and the Qe8 defends the Nh5).