If black plays the Na5 line (which virtually everyone will start to do as you climb up the ratings), it's a gambit for him and he's the one with the attack. You get a pawn, but you have to defend for awhile.

But playing a successful Fried Liver is just so much fun. Good job!

Aha, thanks!

How good do I have to be before reading reasseses your chess?

Hey guys,

I'm going to get back into the chess scene after 5-6 years. I want to take the game seriously again yet treat it as a hobby. I got the chess bug again after playing some chess in Washington Square in NYC.

I already have a chess tempo membership and plan on going back into ICC.

What I'm asking you all is what kind of software should I get? Should I load up on chessbase products like the chessbase 11 mega package and a chessbase chess engine junior/shredder/hiarcs?

For those that own the chessbase 11 product: does chessbase automatically loads up all of the latest professional games into your database and updates it automatically or do I need to get them every week and load up myself from this week in chess?

Any advice is appreciated.

I think you're clearly good enough, it's aimed at a fairly broad range (1400-2000+?)

I found it incredibly useful in the 1300-1400 ability level. But I felt like I was still missing enough of it that I can go back again later and get even more out if it.

Be prepared: This is a long, dense book that will take up several months of your life if you do it right.

I think I posted this link last week when I discovered it, but this part kind of stuck out to me:

http://canchess.tripod.com/reflecti.htm#refl8

I've never really done much "board visualization" before, and it seemed intriguing. So this weekend, when I was otherwise unoccupied but unable to play chess, I started trying it out. I'd try to pick a random square and picture it on a board, identifying if it was light or dark and naming the squares it shared a diagonal with. Then I started picturing a knight and trying to move from one random square to another, naming all the squares it touched on the way.

lol didnt play for a long time and today I found some games from my heydays(When I was 16). I had about 1800 rating but lol I easily could have gone to 2100. I was pretty good midgame/endgame but I basically did not know any openings(basically because I was lazy as ****). Every loss came from a disadvantage from the opening. With white I did beat 2100 ratingplayers but lol my winrate with black was ridic.

Took me 7 minutes to find it.

30 sec.

I got the first one almost immediatley, headed over to the puzzle thread, and then quit while I was ahead.

Chess tempo is the nuts, loving the service so far.

any of you folk from San Antonio?

Is anyone around? I am watching live games of my countrywoman (is that even a word?) Viktorija Cmilyte in Woman Grand Prix and I would be really interested in an engine evaluation. I don't have any engine in my computer at this point :/ if someone is around and has an engine lemme know.

Chessbomb is following and has engine evals

Yay, I didn't know. I figured out a way to do it on ICC, I didn't know it has an engine that anyone can open. Manually imput that position, started the engine (stockfish I think, first time hearing about it) and am following now.

Thanks anyways

Well, sorry fellas, I just had to share this one. I don't care that it is not the best move (I saw the objectively best move too, but it was boring obviously!), it is the idea itself that counts to me. Thankfully my opponent didn't see the only line which draws for him and played exactly as planned letting me prove the entire point of the combination

[IMG][/IMG]

So 1.. Re2 is just absolutely crushing. However, I would like you to find a move that I played (given the definition it shouldn't be too hard), find a drawing line for white, and find a win based on piece coordination (geometry) if white plays incorrectly.

Gogogo

it is black to move, dunno why diagram shows white.

I guess it can be argued that my questions may not be valid as it is not "forced" per se.. So anyway, just look at the position and tell me what ideas you have besides Re2

i want to sac the whole chess set with something like Qxd5 2. cxd5 Rxf4 for some Anderssen-style three piece mate but i'm too lazy to check if this works. Probably not.

Yeah pretty much this. And yeah, it doesn't work because white has one line where he escapes with a draw (( but as it was 3 0 on ICC there is no way in hell I am not playing Qxd5 haha, even though I did see Re2, but I just couldn't resist.

Some sample lines 1.. Qxd5 2. cxd5 (knight takes = easy mate) Rxf4 and now there are two options: 3. Rxe8 Rf2 4. Rf1 is a drawing line, because incredibly luckily after 4.. Rg2+ 5. Kh1 Rh2+ 6. Kg1 Rxd2 white has 7. Bc3!!!!!! and my rook has no squares on the rank so I gotta give the perpetual.

What happened in game was 3. gxf4 and here comes the entire point and the move that was the hardest at least to me 3.. Re2! It is kind of funny, white is a queen up but he is completely locked in and none of his pieces can join defense. In game he was a good sport and played 4. Rxe2 Nxe2+ 5. Kh1 Nf2#, but if he doesn't play that the mate is unavoidable anyway.

If that drawing line wasn't there I would say this was probably in the top 5 combinations I've ever made (that's probably a beat?)