User Profile: YouRang

YouRang
Member since Feb-23-05

<< ♆ > Game Prediction Contest < ♆ >>
This forum is currently the place to participate in game prediction contests.
<Next tournament>
Dortmund 2013 - July 25 - August 4 - 10 player single round robin.
Players: Kramnik, Caruana, Leko, Hao, Adams, Andreikin, Naiditsch, Fridman, Meier, Khenkin
<Last tournament>
Norway Chess Tournament (2013)
Official site: http://norwaychess.com/en/
== MEDAL WINNERS
• StdRnk: =<OhioChessFan>, =<jsy>, =<wordfunph>, =<lostemperor>
• 123Rnk: =<OhioChessFan>, =<pbercker>, =<jsy>, =<lostemperor>, =<siamesedream>, =<wtwz>
• BetRnk: =<poorpatzer>, =<wordfunph>, =<whiteshark>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This contest was created and originally hosted by <cu8sfan>, but he has discontinued hosting the contests due to time constraints at work. Note that this is NOT the final standings prediction contest, which is hosted by User: lostemperor.
<OBJECTIVE>:
Have fun predicting the outcome of each game in each round, and seeing how well your predictions compare to those entered by other contestants. You win by having the best overall prediction performance.
As with the Olympics, the top 3 placeholders will be honored with 'medals' (gold, silver and bronze), and the gold medal winners will be inducted into the HALL OF FAME (see below). Truly, an unbelievable honor. (Even I don't believe it.)
There will be a few different ways to determine a winner, as discussed under "SCORING METHODS", below.
<RULES>:
1. Enter your game predictions for a round BEFORE any games for that round begin (duh). It is okay to enter predictions long in advance (e.g. you could predict all rounds at the start if you want).
2. Make sure that when you enter game predictions for a round, that you include ALL games in that round, within a single post. If you miss one game, all of your predictions for that round will be ignored.
3. You may change your predictions for a round by re-submitting ALL of your predictions for that round (you must re-submit predictions for all games in the round, even if you changed a prediction for only one game).
4. Keep in mind that I'm using software to process all of the prediction posts. If you enter a post that 'looks' like game predictions, it will be counted as game predictions. If your prediction post contains typos, they become subject to my interpretation of your intent. But if the intent strikes me as being ambiguous, then I must reject your predictions for that game, and thus for that whole round -- so please be careful.
5. A post containing predictions should have one line for each game prediction. The line should be of the form:
[whiteplayer] - [blackplayer] [outcome]
Here are some examples:
Anand - Topalov 1/2
Leko - Kramnik 1-0
Adams - Polgar 0-1
DON'T forget the hyphen between the player's names.
(The software can usually figure out what you mean if you deviate a *little* from this form...)
<SCORING METHODS>
There are 3 different scoring methods, which means that there are actually 3 contests in one. Consequently, we could have as many as 3 different winners (or perhaps one triple-crown winner!)
1. Standard Ranker
This is the traditional contest that <cu8sfan> developed. The winner is simply the person who finishes with the most correct predictions.
2. 1-2-3 Ranker
This contest makes it is more rewarding to correctly predict the outcome of a decisive game than a drawn game. You earn 1 point for correctly predicting a draw, but 2 points for correctly predicting a white win, and 3 points for correctly predicting a black win. The winner is the person ending up with the most points.
3. Betting Ranker
This contest gives greater rewards to those who have a knack for predicting upsets (i.e. games that most other people thought would have a different outcome). Each game prediction is treated as a $1 wager. All of the money wagered on that game is divided up equally to those who correctly predicted its outcome. If you're the only one who got it right, you've hit the jackpot! The winner is the person ending up with the most $$$.
<Notes on Scoring Methods>
For the "Standard Ranker" and "1-2-3 Ranker" reports, you will notice that there are four "pseudo-contestants", which serve as benchmarks for comparison of prediction performance. These are as follows:
1. WHITER = Always predicts white to win.
2. BLACKER = Always predicts black to win.
3. DRAWER = Predicts every game to be drawn.
4. MONKEY = Simulates a monkey that just picks white, black or draw at random, with equal chances for each outcome.
<Miscellaneous comments>:
• My ability to process predictions and post results may be spotty at times. I'll do them as soon as I can -- but I have a number of other things are higher priority. :-)
• I am not always online when the games for a round begin. It would be helpful to me if someone who IS online when the games begin to post a message in this forum simply stating that the games have begun. This lets me know the cut-off point for accepting new predictions for that round.
• TIP: It's easy to get busy and neglect to enter your predictions on time. If so, you'll miss a round, which greatly diminishes your chances of winning. Avoid this by entering a few rounds of predictions in advance. You can always revise them later if you like. :-)
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
<<> GAME PREDICTION HALL OF FAME <>>
10 6 5 <Legend> Wij13:StdRnk(2t) / Bil12:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t) / Dor12:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t) / Wij12:StdRnk(3t) / Tal11:123Rnk(2t)+BetRnk(3) / Dor11:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1) / Wij11:StdRnk(1t) / Dor09:StdRnk(3t) / Dor08:StdRnk(2t) / Lin08:StdRnk(1) / WCC07:StdRnk(3t) / Dor07:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1t)+BetRnk(2) / Wij07:123Rnk(1t)+StdRnk(2t) / Dor06:BetRnk(3)
8 4 2 <su3eichfeld> Wij13:BetRnk(2) / Bie12:BetRnk(3) / Dor11:StdRnk(3) / Lin10:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t)+BetRnk(2) / Tal09:123Rnk(1t)+BetRnk(1) / Pea09:123Rnk(1t)+StdRnk(2t)+BetRnk(2) / Dor09:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t)+BetRnk(1)
8 2 5 <lostemperor> Nor13:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) / Wij13:BetRnk(3) / Dor10:StdRnk(3t) / Lin10:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t) / Wij10:123Rnk(1t) / Mte09:123Rnk(2t) / Bie08:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1) / Lin07:123Rnk(2t)+StdRnk(3t) / Dor06:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(1)
8 2 <SloVice> WCC13:BetRnk(3) / Wij13:123Rnk(1)+StdRnk(2t) / Wij12:BetRnk(1) / Bil11:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(1) / Pea10:BetRnk(1) / Dor10:123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(1)+StdRnk(3t)
7 4 <NakoSonorense> Wij10:BetRnk(1) / Lin09:BetRnk(1) / Wij09:BetRnk(3) / Bie08:BetRnk(1) / Dor08:BetRnk(1) / Mte08:BetRnk(1)+123Rnk(2t) / Lin08:123Rnk(1)+StdRnk(2t)+BetRnk(2) / Wij08:BetRnk(1) / Bie07:123Rnk(2)
7 2 <virginmind> Wij13:123Rnk(3) / Bil12:StdRnk(1t) / Baz11:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(2) / Wij11:123Rnk(2) / Mte09:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(1) / Mte07:BetRnk(1)
5 6 5 <SwitchingQuylthulg> WCC13:BetRnk(2) / Bil12:BetRnk(1)+123Rnk(2t) / Wij12:BetRnk(3) / Tal11:123Rnk(2t)+StdRnk(3) / Dor11:BetRnk(1)+123Rnk(2t) / Baz11:StdRnk(3t) / Wij11:StdRnk(1t)+BetRnk(2) / Pea10:StdRnk(1t) / Dor10:BetRnk(3) / Mte09:BetRnk(2) / Bie08:BetRnk(3) / Bie07:BetRnk(1)
5 <messachess> Lin09:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(2) / Wij09:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1) / Wij08:123Rnk(1)
4 4 9 <chessmoron> WCC13:StdRnk(3t) / Bil12:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t) / Bie12:StdRnk(3)+123Rnk(3) / Bil11:StdRnk(2)+123Rnk(3) / Baz11:StdRnk(3t) / Dor10:StdRnk(1t) / Wij10:StdRnk(2)+123Rnk(3t) / Tal09:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) / Wij09:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t) / Lin08:BetRnk(3) / Wij08:StdRnk(2t)
4 3 2 <zarg> Dor10:StdRnk(3t) / Wij10:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1t) / Tal09:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t) / Pea09:StdRnk(2t)+BetRnk(3) / Lin09:StdRnk(2)+123Rnk(2t)
4 4 <Where is my mind> Pea09:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1t)+BetRnk(1) / Dor09:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(3t)+BetRnk(3) / Mte09:123Rnk(2t) / Lin09:StdRnk(3t) / Bie08:StdRnk(3t)
4 2 <kolobok> Dor08:123Rnk(3t) / Bie07:StdRnk(1) / Dor07:123Rnk(1t)+BetRnk(1)+StdRnk(3t) / Lin07:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(2t)
3 4 5 <cromat> Dor12:123Rnk(2t) / Dor10:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t) / Lin10:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) / Dor09:123Rnk(1t)+StdRnk(3t) / Dor08:StdRnk(2t) / Dor07:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) / Dor06:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t)
3 3 <nfazli> Dor12:123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(2) / Tal11:BetRnk(1) / Bil11:BetRnk(2)+StdRnk(3t) / Wij09:BetRnk(1)+123Rnk(2t)
3 2 10 <OhioChessFan> Nor13:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1) / Bil11:StdRnk(3t) / Baz11:StdRnk(3t) / Wij11:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(3) / Wij10:123Rnk(3t) / Tal09:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) / Mte09:123Rnk(2t)+StdRnk(3) / Lin09:BetRnk(3) / Dor08:123Rnk(3t) / Wij08:BetRnk(2) / Bie07:123Rnk(3)
3 2 <blade2012> WCC13:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) / Bie12:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t)+BetRnk(1)
3 <WinKing> Dor12:StdRnk(1t) / Tal11:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1)
2 5 2 <yalie> Dor11:StdRnk(2)+123Rnk(2t) / Wij08:123Rnk(3)+BetRnk(3) / WCC07:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t) / Bie07:StdRnk(2t) / Lin07:123Rnk(1)+StdRnk(2)
2 4 3 <percyblakeney> Wij09:StdRnk(3) / Bie08:123Rnk(2t)+StdRnk(3t) / Mte08:StdRnk(1) / Wij08:StdRnk(2t) / WCC07:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t) / Mte07:StdRnk(2t)+123Rnk(3)
2 3 2 <DCP23> Lin10:BetRnk(3) / Mte09:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t)+BetRnk(3) / Lin09:123Rnk(2t) / Lin07:BetRnk(1) / Wij07:BetRnk(2)
2 3 2 <YouRang> Bie12:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t) / Dor12:BetRnk(3) / Bil11:123Rnk(2) / Pea10:123Rnk(2t) / Bie07:BetRnk(3) / Dor06:123Rnk(2t)
2 3 <nimh> WCC13:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1) / Bie08:BetRnk(2) / Dor08:StdRnk(2t)+123Rnk(2)
2 2 3 <Ragh> Tal11:BetRnk(2) / Wij11:BetRnk(1) / Dor10:StdRnk(3t) / Tal09:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(3t) / Pea09:123Rnk(3) / Bie07:StdRnk(2t)
2 2 <iron maiden> Lin08:StdRnk(2t) / Wij08:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(2) / WCC07:StdRnk(3t) / Wij07:StdRnk(1)
2 2 <lmreith> Bie08:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t) / Bie07:123Rnk(1)+StdRnk(2t)
2 <Ziggurat> Dor08:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(2)
2 <Barok Espinosa> Bil12:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1t)+BetRnk(3)
2 <Winter> Pea10:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(3)
2 <hitman84> Mte07:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1)
2 <ooda> Wij12:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(1)
2 2 <wordfunph> Nor13:BetRnk(2)+StdRnk(3t) / Wij12:StdRnk(3t) / Tal11:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2t)
2 <amadeus> Pea10:123Rnk(2t)+StdRnk(3t) / Wij07:123Rnk(1t)+StdRnk(2t)
2 <mikejaqua> Mte08:123Rnk(1)+StdRnk(2)+BetRnk(3) / WCC07:BetRnk(2)
2 <Golden Executive> WCC13:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(2) / Tal11:123Rnk(2t)
2 <PinnedPiece> Dor12:BetRnk(1)+123Rnk(2t)+StdRnk(3) / Dor11:BetRnk(3)
2 <suenteus po 147> Wij10:BetRnk(2) / Dor08:BetRnk(3) / WCC07:123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(3)
<karpkasp> WCC13:BetRnk(1) / Wij12:BetRnk(2)
<Karposian> Wij13:StdRnk(1)+123Rnk(2)
2 <WannaBe> WCC13:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) / Wij13:BetRnk(1)
<ahmadov> WCC07:BetRnk(1) / Wij07:123Rnk(3t)
<imag> Lin10:BetRnk(1)+123Rnk(3t)
<poorpatzer> Nor13:BetRnk(1) / Wij11:BetRnk(3)
<sakii> Lin08:BetRnk(1)+123Rnk(3t)
<twinlark> Wij07:BetRnk(1)+123Rnk(3t)
<chesssantosh> Baz11:BetRnk(1)
<Civhai> Wij11:123Rnk(1)
************* Multiple Crowns **************
* Triple Crowns: <blade2012> (Bie12), <lostemperor> (Dor06), <SloVice> (Bil11), <su3eichfeld> (Dor09), <virginmind> (Mte09), <Where is my mind> (Pea09)
* Double Crowns: <Legend> (Bil12+Dor11+Dor07), <lostemperor> (Lin10+Bie08), <messachess> (Lin09+Wij09), <su3eichfeld> (Lin10+Tal09), <zarg> (Wij10+Tal09), <Barok Espinosa> (Bil12), <chessmoron> (Bil12), <hitman84> (Mte07), <kolobok> (Dor07), <nimh> (WCC13), <OhioChessFan> (Nor13), <ooda> (Wij12), <SloVice> (Dor10), <virginmind> (Baz11), <WinKing> (Tal11), <Winter> (Pea10), <YouRang> (Bie12), <Ziggurat> (Dor08)
************ Crowns by Contest *************
* StdRnk Crowns: 6 <Legend>; 3 <chessmoron> <lostemperor> <virginmind>
* 123Rnk Crowns: 4 <Legend> <lostemperor> <su3eichfeld>; 3 <SloVice> <messachess>; 2 <zarg> <virginmind>
* BetRnk Crowns: 6 <NakoSonorense>; 4 <SloVice>; 3 <SwitchingQuylthulg>; 2 <virginmind> <nfazli> <su3eichfeld>
************* Crowns by Year ***************
* 2006 (1 tournament): 3 <lostemperor>
* 2007 (6 tournaments): 4 <kolobok>; 3 <Legend>; 2 <yalie> <hitman84>
* 2008 (5 tournaments): 5 <NakoSonorense>; 2 <lostemperor> <Ziggurat>
* 2009 (6 tournaments): 6 <su3eichfeld>; 4 <Where is my mind> <messachess>; 3 <virginmind>; 2 <zarg>
* 2010 (4 tournaments): 3 <SloVice> <lostemperor>; 2 <zarg> <Winter> <su3eichfeld>
* 2011 (5 tournaments): 3 <SloVice> <Legend>; 2 <SwitchingQuylthulg> <WinKing> <virginmind>
* 2012 (4 tournaments): 3 <Legend> <blade2012>; 2 <ooda> <Barok Espinosa> <YouRang> <chessmoron>
* 2013 (3 tournaments): 2 <nimh> <OhioChessFan>
********** Crowns by Tournament ************
* Baz (1 year): 2 <virginmind>
* Bie (3 years): 3 <blade2012>; 2 <YouRang> <lmreith> <lostemperor>
* Bil (2 years): 3 <SloVice>; 2 <Legend> <Barok Espinosa> <chessmoron>
* Dor (7 years): 5 <Legend>; 3 <su3eichfeld> <cromat> <lostemperor>; 2 <SloVice> <Ziggurat> <kolobok>
* Lin (4 years): 2 <su3eichfeld> <NakoSonorense> <lostemperor> <messachess>
* Mte (3 years): 4 <virginmind>; 2 <hitman84>
* Nor (1 year): 2 <OhioChessFan>
* Pea (2 years): 3 <Where is my mind>; 2 <Winter>
* Tal (2 years): 2 <zarg> <WinKing> <su3eichfeld>
* WCC (2 years): 2 <nimh>
* Wij (7 years): 3 <messachess>; 2 <Legend> <NakoSonorense> <SloVice> <ooda> <zarg> <iron maiden>
== Notes:
I keep track of all medals won, but in order to appear in the hall of fame, one must win a gold () medal.
Medals: = Gold; = Silver; = Bronze
Tournaments: Baz=Bazna Kings; Bie=Biel; Bil=Bilbao; Dor=Dortmund; Lin=Linares; Mte=Mtel; Nor=Norway; Pea=Pearl Spring; Tal=Tal Memorial; WCC=World Chess Championship; Wij=Wijk Aan Zee
Contests: StdRnk=Standard Ranker; 123Rnk=1-2-3 Ranker; BetRnk=Betting Ranker
t = tie
<<> = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = <>>
Love chess.
Wish I were better at it.
USA
About my peculiar moniker, "YouRang":
There used to be a show on American TV called "The Addams Family". One of the characters was a creepy 6'9" zombie-like butler named "Lurch" (pictured in my avatar, with a rare smile). In the show, someone would summon Lurch with the bell-pull (a hangman rope), which would make a loud GONG sound, and Lurch would promptly appear and say (in a deep voice), <"You rang?"> (sample: http://www.addamsfamily.com/addams/...). Kind of a dumb show really, yet it has long had cult-like following. Recently many original episodes became available on DVD (http://www.amazon.com/Addams-Family...).
Anyway, I picked "YouRang" for my user name because I was out of my mind at the time, but I'm better now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Glorious accomplishments:
- 2005 Co-winner of <"Best Avatar" Caissar>! (thank you! thank you!)
- 2006 Biel prediction contest (1st place [tie] in final standings prediction)
- 2006 User name "YouRang" named among top 100 TV catch-phrases (http://www.tvland.com/originals/cat...)
- 2007 Defeated GM Arno Nickel (with the help of 2000+ other members & their computers) in the classic: Chessgames Challenge: The World vs A Nickel, 2006
- 2007 Took 1st place (tie) in <lostemperor>'s Final Standing prediction contest for the Linares tournament
- 2008 Defeated GM Gert Jan Timmerman (with the help of 3000+ other members & their computers) in the classic: The World vs G Timmerman, 2007
- 2009 Achieved a draw with the black pieces in my rematch with GM Arno Nickel (with help of 2000+ other members and their computers) in the classic: Chessgames Challenge: A Nickel vs The World, 2008
- 2010 On May 6, User: thegoodanarchist spotted a license plate that said "URANGG", presumably in honor of my moniker.
- 2010 Finished in top 25 with 2,200 chessbucks in Summer leg of chessbookie. (Just 2 bets: predicted Ponomariov was winner of Dortmund, and Caruana as winner of Biel).
- 2010 Won a silver medal in 123 Ranker for the Pearl Spring tournament. (It would have been gold except <Winter> stole it with a fantastic perfect final round. Grrr...)
- 2011 Won gold in <lostemperor>'s Wijk aan Zee 2011 Final Standings prediction contest by finishing in first place for all 3 contests -- absolute ranker, least-squares ranker, and pair betting ranker! Yee-haw!
- 2011 Won silver medal in 123 Ranker for Bilbao tournament.
- 2011 I was honored in a chessvibes.com cartoon: http://www.chessvibes.com/cartoons/...! [Thanks to <Blunderdome> for finding this]
- 2011 Won gold in <lostemperor>'s Tal Memorial 2011 Final Standings prediction contest.
- 2012 A pun I suggested for for the game Akobian vs The World, 2011 ended up winning the <Best Pun> Caissar award! In that game, the World team used a queen sac to force a draw with a flourish. The pun: "Drawma Queen".
- 2012 Won silver and bronze in <lostemperor>'s Wijk Aan Zee 2012 Final Standings prediction contests.
- 2012 Won a bronze in Betting Ranker for the Dortmund 2012 tournament. A complete surprise.
- 2012 At LOOONG last, I managed to make it into my own <Game Prediction Hall of Fame> by winning two golds in Biel 2012 -- both first place ties in Standard Ranker and 123 Ranker :-)
- 2012 Won gold in <lostemperor>'s Bilbao 2012 Final Standings prediction contest.

- 2012 Defeated GM Varuzhan Akobian (with the help of *only* 1500+ other members & their computers) in the classic: Chessgames Challenge: The World vs Akobian, 2012

>> Click here to see YouRang's game collections.

   YouRang has kibitzed 14183 times to chessgames [more...]

   May-18-13 YouRang chessforum

YouRang: <poorpatzer><It feels weird to have missed 2 rounds and only predicted 14 correct results, but when you take a chance it can pay off!> You only had 14 right, but 8 of them were high payoff ($2 or more) games, including a jackpot and two 1/3 jackpots. <The Betting ...

   May-18-13 lostemperor chessforum

YouRang: Congrats to the medal winners, especially <Golden Executive> and <twinlark>. Thanks <lostemperor> for running the contest.

   May-15-13 K Seegert vs M Matthiesen, 2009

YouRang: Hey, surprise, surprise! One of my puns is being exposed to the world! It's probably safe in small doses. As anyone can tell, I adhere to <the worse the better> philosophy of punmanship. Thanks for all the nice comments. ;-)

   May-13-13 Chigorin vs Davydow, 1874

YouRang: You gotta like 23.Be6+!

   May-08-13 Norway Chess Tournament (2013)

YouRang: REMINDER The Game Prediction contest for this tournament is open now that the pairings have been posted. If interested, just enter your game predictions in

   May-05-13 chessgames.com chessforum

YouRang: Could we have a page for the new Norway Chess tournament? Starts Tuesday & round 1 on Wednesday. Includes: Carlsen, Aronian, Radjabov, Karjakin, Anand, Topalov, Nakamura, Svidler, Hao, Hammer

   May-01-13 V Tukmakov vs Schussler, 1983

YouRang: <Once><in crispy situations look for moves that smite, in fluffy situations look for moves that build and in either case don't forget to spell-check.> Very creative use of the Waffle and Word Processor metaphor! ;-)

   Apr-19-13 playground player chessforum

YouRang: <playground player><Last I heard, the equivalent of an infantry brigade had the surviving Chechen bomber surrounded. If so, it seems to be taking them all morning to pry him out. And the whole city of Boston is in "lockdown" for reasons which I for one don't understand. To ...

   Apr-18-13 C Thomson vs A Magalotti, 1988

YouRang: I found that <27.g7> seemed to pop out as a viable tactic -- mostly by virtue of the fact that all other viable tactics failed to pop out. It's a forcing move, and after <28...Kxg7> the king is forced to a square where white's Q & B can hit. It's just a question of which

   Apr-17-13 P Hoffmann vs R Aschenbrenner, 2009

YouRang: Seeing the discovered attack on Pe6, I found the key moves pretty quickly: <18.Nxg6 fxg6 19.Qxe6+> Here black has the choice of blocking check one of 3 ways: with the queen, the bishop, or the knight. I ruled out the knight right away due to Bxg6# -- so I was surprised to see ...

indicates a reply to the comment.

The Game Prediction Contest

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 377 OF 547 · Later Kibitzing>
Oct-29-10		siamesedream: Round 10: Yue - Topalov 0-1 Carlsen - Gashimov 1/2 Anand -Bacrot 1/2

Oct-29-10		whiteshark: Round 10: Yue - Topalov 0-1 Carlsen - Gashimov 1-0 Anand - Bacrot 1-0

Oct-29-10		SwitchingQuylthulg: Round 10: Yue - Topalov 1/2 Carlsen - Gashimov 1/2 Anand - Bacrot 1/2

Oct-29-10		OhioChessFan: Yue - Topalov 0-1 Carlsen - Gashimov 1-0 Anand - Bacrot 1-0

Oct-29-10		amadeus: Round 10: Yue - Topalov 0-1 Carlsen - Gashimov 1/2 Anand - Bacrot 1/2

Oct-29-10		zarg: Round 10: Yue - Topalov 1/2 Carlsen - Gashimov 1-0 Anand - Bacrot 1-0

Oct-29-10		YouRang: REMINDER This is the final round where the games start a few hours earlier. Don't delay in getting your predictions posted!

Oct-29-10		Winter: Round 10: Yue - Topalov 0-1 Carlsen - Gashimov 1/2 Anand - Bacrot 1-0

Oct-29-10		chancho: Rd 10: Yue - Topalov 1/2 Carlsen - Gashimov 1/2 Anand - Bacrot 1/2

Oct-29-10		chessmoron: Yue - Topalov 1/2 Carlsen - Gashimov 1-0 Anand - Bacrot 1-0

Oct-29-10		amadeus: The games have started.

Oct-30-10		YouRang: <amadeus: The games have started.> Thanks. :-)

Oct-30-10		YouRang: <BEST PREDICTORS - ROUND 10> == Outcomes: Yue 0-1 TOPALOV Carlsen 1/2- Gashimov ANAND 1-0 Bacrot == Standard Ranker BEST (3/3 right): Winter (PERFECT!) Worst (0/3 right): 2 persons == 1-2-3 Ranker BEST (scored 6): Winter Worst (scored 0): 2 persons == Betting Ranker BEST (gained $3.97): Winter Worst (lost $3.00): 2 persons Largest Payoff Games: $3.17,Yue-Topalov[0-1],amadeus + OhioChessFan + Robin01 + siamesedream + whiteshark + Winter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ < MEDALS AWARDED BELOW >

Oct-30-10		YouRang: Standard Ranker - <FINAL> Score,Max,Pct.,UserID,Rounds 19,30,63.3%,SwitchingQuylthulg,10 19,30,63.3%,Winter,10 18,30,60.0%,amadeus,10 18,30,60.0%,Blunderdome,10 18,30,60.0%,DRAWER,10 ~~~~ 17,30,56.7%,yalie,10 17,30,56.7%,YouRang,10 16,27,59.3%,zarg,9 16,30,53.3%,Robin01,10 16,30,53.3%,wordfunph,10 15,30,50.0%,OhioChessFan,10 15,30,50.0%,percyblakeney,10 14,30,46.7%,siamesedream,10 13,27,48.1%,chancho,9 13,30,43.3%,virginmind,10 12,24,50.0%,chessmoron,8 12,24,50.0%,vonKrolock,8 12,27,44.4%,su3eichfeld,9 11,27,40.7%,cromat,9 10,27,37.0%,lostemperor,9 10,30,33.3%,whiteshark,10 9,24,37.5%,SloVice,8 9,24,37.5%,Tabanus,8 9,30,30.0%,Bobwhoosta,10 7,24,29.2%,Check It Out,8 7,24,29.2%,Ragh,8 7,30,23.3%,MONKEY,10 6,30,20.0%,BLACKER,10 6,30,20.0%,WHITER,10 0,3,0.0%,AuN1,1

Oct-30-10		YouRang: 1-2-3 Ranker - <FINAL> Score,Rounds,UserID,White,Draw,Black 26,10,Winter,3/5,14/18,2/7 24,10,amadeus,2/7,14/19,2/4 24,10,Robin01,4/8,10/16,2/6 24,10,YouRang,5/12,11/15,1/3 ~~~~ 23,10,Blunderdome,5/7,13/19,0/4 22,10,yalie,3/8,13/21,1/1 21,10,SwitchingQuylthulg,2/3,17/26,0/1 21,9,zarg,3/6,12/18,1/3 20,10,OhioChessFan,3/10,11/16,1/4 18,10,BLACKER,0/0,0/0,6/30 18,10,Bobwhoosta,3/13,3/7,3/10 18,10,DRAWER,0/0,18/30,0/0 18,10,percyblakeney,3/10,12/20,0/0 18,10,siamesedream,2/6,11/18,1/6 18,10,virginmind,3/11,9/15,1/4 18,10,whiteshark,6/20,3/5,1/5 17,10,wordfunph,1/4,15/26,0/0 16,9,chancho,3/8,10/15,0/4 16,9,su3eichfeld,2/8,9/16,1/3 15,8,chessmoron,3/9,9/15,0/0 14,8,SloVice,1/8,6/10,2/6 13,8,vonKrolock,1/3,11/18,0/3 12,9,cromat,1/9,10/15,0/3 12,10,WHITER,6/30,0/0,0/0 11,8,Check It Out,2/8,4/9,1/7 11,9,lostemperor,1/4,9/18,0/5 11,8,Tabanus,2/6,7/14,0/4 10,10,MONKEY,1/11,5/8,1/11 9,8,Ragh,0/9,6/11,1/4 0,1,AuN1,0/2,0/1,0/0

Oct-30-10		YouRang: Betting Ranker - <FINAL> Earnings,UserID,Games,Rounds $27.09,SloVice,24,8 $12.91,whiteshark,30,10 $7.05,Winter,30,10 ~~~~ $6.05,SwitchingQuylthulg,30,10 $5.81,zarg,27,9 $4.73,amadeus,30,10 $4.07,Bobwhoosta,30,10 $2.10,Blunderdome,30,10 $1.43,YouRang,30,10 $0.76,yalie,30,10 $-0.21,Robin01,30,10 $-1.08,su3eichfeld,27,9 $-1.33,OhioChessFan,30,10 $-1.83,chessmoron,24,8 $-1.96,wordfunph,30,10 $-2.41,vonKrolock,24,8 $-3.00,AuN1,3,1 $-3.57,chancho,27,9 $-3.77,siamesedream,30,10 $-4.48,percyblakeney,30,10 $-4.87,virginmind,30,10 $-5.71,Tabanus,24,8 $-8.54,cromat,27,9 $-9.48,Ragh,24,8 $-9.64,lostemperor,27,9 $-10.13,Check It Out,24,8

Oct-30-10		YouRang: <> HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY <> Please join me in congratulating the the gold medal winners of Pearl Spring 2010! Their performances shall be memorialized forever (or for an indefinite period of time, whichever comes first) in the the <Hall of Fame> (see my profile above): <SloVice>[] Pea10:BetRnk(1) / Dor10:123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(1)+StdRnk(3t) <SwitchingQuylthulg>[] Pea10:StdRnk(1t) / Dor10:BetRnk(3) / Mte09:BetRnk(2) / Bie08:BetRnk(3) / Bie07:BetRnk(1) <Winter> Pea10:StdRnk(1t)+123Rnk(1)+BetRnk(3) [*] Was already in the Hall of Fame The Hall welcomes newcomer <Winter>, who posted a stunning perfect final round to earn two gold medals and one bronze. Some of us here are still stunned. The Hall also congratulates <SloVice> who has now won back-to-back gold medals in Betting Ranker (he also won it in Dortmund 2010), and now has a total of 3 gold medal. Finally, we applaud <SwitchingQuylthulg> who won his 2nd career gold by tenaciously staying ahead of the pack in Standard Ranker. The Hall committee also recognizes the fine double-medal performance of HOFer <amadeus> who added silver and bronze medals to his collection. And this brings the 2010 Pearl Spring Prediction contest to a close. Thanks to all for playing along! Hope to see you for the next contest, which will probably be...... Corus 2011!. About Corus 2011: Jan 14-30 in Wijk aan Zee, NED It will have 14 players in a single round robin (13 rounds). The impressive lineup is as follows: GM Magnus Carlsen NOR GM Viswanathan Anand IND GM Levon Aronian ARM GM Vladimir Kramnik RUS GM Alexander Grischuk RUS GM Ruslan Ponomariov UKR GM Alexey Shirov ESP GM Hikaru Nakamura USA GM Wang Hao CHN GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA GM Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS GM Anish Giri NED GM Jan Smeets NED GM Erwin l'Ami NED BTW, I notice that it's no longer called "Corus". The host company is now called "Tata Steel".

Oct-30-10		YouRang: <For the record> Below are the medals I have on file for people who have not yet won gold: <nimh> Bie08:BetRnk(2) / Dor08:StdRnk(2t)+123Rnk(2) <OhioChessFan> Cor10:123Rnk(3t) / Tal09:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) / Mte09:123Rnk(2t)+StdRnk(3) / Lin09:BetRnk(3) / Dor08:123Rnk(3t) / Cor08:BetRnk(2) / Bie07:123Rnk(3) <Robin01> Pea10:123Rnk(2t) / Cor10:123Rnk(3t) / Dor08:StdRnk(2t)+123Rnk(3t) <Tabanus> Dor10:123Rnk(2t)+BetRnk(2) / Lin10:StdRnk(3t)+123Rnk(3t) <cu8sfan> Cor09:BetRnk(2) / Lin08:123Rnk(3t) / Bie07:BetRnk(2) <kellmano> Mte07:StdRnk(2t)+123Rnk(2)+BetRnk(3) <whiteshark> Pea10:BetRnk(2) / Dor10:123Rnk(2t) / Dor08:123Rnk(3t) <YouRang> Pea10:123Rnk(2t) / Bie07:BetRnk(3) / Dor06:123Rnk(2t) <Billy Vaughan> Tal09:BetRnk(3) / MTe08:123Rnk(2t)+StdRnk(3t) <Broon Bottle> WCC07:StdRnk(3t) / Dor07:StdRnk(2)+123Rnk(3t) <Elixir of Life> Mte07:BetRnk(2) / Lin07:BetRnk(3) <just a kid> Dor09:BetRnk(2)+123Rnk(3t) <call14> Lin08:123Rnk(2) <Jafar219> Dor06:BetRnk(2) <jessicafischerqueen> Lin07:BetRnk(2) <rogge> Pea09:StdRnk(2t) <Thorski> Tal09:BetRnk(2) <Xaurus> MTe08:BetRnk(2) <nikooshu> Cor10:StdRnk(3t)+BetRnk(3) / MTe08:StdRnk(3t) / Lin09:StdRnk(3t) <Blunderdome> Pea10:StdRnk(3t) / Cor10:StdRnk(3t) <micartouse> Cor07:123Rnk(3t)+BetRnk(3) <square dance> WCC07:StdRnk(3t) / Lin07:StdRnk(3t) <Aurora> Dor08:123Rnk(3t) <Montreal1666> Dor06:StdRnk(3t) <TechN9ne> Dor06:StdRnk(3t) <Vincent1987> Dor07:BetRnk(3)

Oct-30-10		amadeus: Thanks for the contest, <YouRang>. Two more medals in the pocket, and congrats to the Winter of our discontent :)

Oct-30-10		SwitchingQuylthulg: <YouRang: The Hall welcomes newcomer <Winter>, who posted a stunning perfect final round to earn two gold medals and one bronze. Some of us here are still stunned.> Aw, come on. You knew you weren't really going to win. Says so in the manual God got when he bought this universe, look. <Chapter 3: Events Even a technically omnipotent being will generally get bored if he tries to be in complete control of everything, to say nothing of the total loss of street cred should he or she attempt and fail. Therefore all our universes are designed to operate semi-automatically. (See Chapter 22 on how to establish fully manual control.) The things it will do generally fall into one of three categories: good stuff, undesirable stuff, and plain unnatural stuff. a) Good stuff consists of natural events like smooth operation of gravity and magnetic forces, things not suddenly ceasing to exist or falling behind the table etc. These generally won't need any tampering with. b) Undesirable stuff consists of things like paperwork, hurricanes, illnesses, sudden supernovas etc. Generally if you try to stop these from happening, something even worse will occur instead. In any case, our research has shown that in 87 per cent of all universes such events will be somehow misinterpreted as a sign of your might. c) Unnatural stuff consists of old Volvos suddenly accelerating near or past light speed, lightning bolts from an apparently clear sky hitting somebody's worst political enemy etc. Such events are very rare and result from the problems and limitations of universe design. They will continue to occur at a low rate even with fully manual control enabled. Under very rare conditions, events of a fourth class might happen: d) Dangerous and highly unnatural events that will threaten the very fabric of your spacetime and could cause your universe to break down beyond repair. We're talking <weird> like every star suddenly joining together, black holes appearing out of a vacuum, <YouRang> winning prediction contests etc. Stamp on these immediately (alarm 33 should give you a notice if properly maintained). If nothing helps, see if your warranty is still good. (Exceptions 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 6, 7a, 7b, 9, 11, 13a, 13c, 13e, 17, 18, 19, 20a, 20b, 20c, 20d and 21 might apply.)>

Oct-30-10		wordfunph: <YouRang> thank you and congrats to all the winners!

Oct-31-10		zarg: Thanks for running the contest, great fun as always. <YouRang> got a medal!!!

Nov-01-10		YouRang: <SwitchingQuylthulg> Thank you for the divine perspective of the prediction contest. Stepping back to look at the "big picture", and realizing that for me to win a gold medal would likely cause a univeral meltdown did give me pause to wonder, <is the gold medal really worth it?> Anyway, I'm still thinking about it -- I'll let you know what I decide. <zarg><<YouRang> got a medal!!!> Yes, apparently for me to win a medal is acceptable to the universe, as long as (1) it's not gold, and (2) they are few and far between. Anyone can see that I, having participated in every contest since 2006, I have amassed a total of three medals. None are gold, and the last one before this was a bronze in Biel 2007. :-\

Nov-01-10		zarg: <YouRang> You can't fight gravity man, the universe gets it's way and there is little we can do about that. :( However, don't listen to <SwitchingQuylthulg>, since God do play dice, there is always hope! Among those dangerous and highly unlikely events, is the possibility that every atom in your body tunnel through a major potential barrier. When sitting on-board a plane I start thinking about that, <what if> I suddenly tunnelled through the seat into free air?? Now, I've made those probability calculations a number of times, so trust me on this, the chances of you winning gold here – is way better than that! Nevertheless, fate may be that someone here get a spectacular tunnelling ride first. Hope all enjoy their next flight! :)

Nov-02-10		lostemperor: Congratulations to the winners! Particulary <Winter> my former avatar alter ego!;) As for me, after missing round 1, I had a bad Topalov experience or worse. See you next time..

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