| Jul-21-23 | | generror: I sometimes don't understand the ECO codes given to the games here. This one (the first Baltic Defense) should clearly be D06, no? Anyway, the Baltic Defense has a bad reputation and IMO rightly. Of course, is White is lazy and just plays standard QG stuff (knights out, LSB out, e3, ...), Black can get nice QGD/Semi-Slav positions with an active LSB. And if White exploits the weak b7-pawn by playing an <3.Qb3>, or simply takes the pawn with <3.cxd5>, Black has a few nice moves that may take White out of their comfort zone, so I think it may work as a surprise on club level, especially in the <3.cxd5 Bxb1!?> variation, where both players need to know what they are doing. Here, Black gets an equal position after the neat <4...Nc6!>, because now <5.Qxb7?? Nxd4> and White can't prevent losing his rook. Both players go on to play a nice game. I'm not quite sure why Black resigned here, I mean sure, <21.Qa6+> and now his king looks bad and he may lose a pawn or two, but on the level both seem to be, this is far from being lost, because White's king isn't the safest either because of his dubious choice of castling queenside. |
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Jul-21-23
 | | perfidious: The system in use can be particularly poor at sorting out Queen's Gambits, Maroczy Binds and Dutch lines which begin with 1.Nf3, as it tends to lump everything under A04; I have corrected hundreds of such errors, which is doubtless but a drop in the CG ocean. Another morass is A07, with innumerable examples labelled as KIA, when, as one poster has oft noted, they are actually Closed Sicilians in many instances. |
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| Jul-21-23 | | generror: Wow, so all the ECO codes here are assigned by hand? That's good to know. I thought there was some script going through each uploaded game, checking positions, and selecting the matching code from a little opening database. So I was wondered according to what logic this game could have been assigned D02. (Apparently all the Baltic Defense Queen's Gambit have been assigned this code. But maybe the Baltic Defense doesn't count as D06. ECO itself is pretty weird sometimes. And also quite outdated because there's no way to represent modern variation) But anyways, it's a credit to you guys that the codes usually are very reliable. And by the way, I would volunteer to be part of the editing staff. Got lots of time on my hands, I actually like correcting data and I don't mind dumb and repetitive work -- that's my favourite kind :) |
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| Jul-21-23 | | Granny O Doul: Anything that doesn't get an invitation from the Zukertort opening I stay away from. |
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Jul-21-23
| | perfidious: <Granny>, probably sound policy. |
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Apr-22-25
 | | MissScarlett: < Both players go on to play a nice game. I'm not quite sure why Black resigned here, I mean sure, <21.Qa6+> and now his king looks bad and he may lose a pawn or two, but on the level both seem to be, this is far from being lost...> The game continues after move 20... |
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Kibitzing
sac: 24.Rxd6+