Oct-25-20
 | | Phony Benoni: <"After the game, Pillsbury told Conen that he though he could draw the game taking it back four moves from where he resigned. This was tried, but Mr. Conen still proved where could have won,"> -- American Chess Bulletin, May / June 1939, p. 70. Chess masters are optimists. |
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| Oct-26-20 | | devere: Nice game by Conen. Beating a World-class grandmaster in a simul is every ordinary chess player's dream. |
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Oct-26-20
 | | An Englishman: Good Evening: The Gianutio Gambit (if it’s 3...f5!?) has done much better in the database than one might think. In fact, after 4.Qe2, Black wins two-thirds of the games. Conen the Barbarian is the only player to essay 4...Qe7. |
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| Oct-26-20 | | sfm: After 11.-,d5 White should have played the obvious 12.0-0-0
click for larger view
White is wildly ahead in development.
Black can't grab either piece as it leads to immidiate disaster. Stockfish says +3.6. Man-to-man over the board the Pillsbury would have made short work of Black. Such a pity that he after years of suffering left us at only 33, for a disease that today is cured with one single injection. Even so, he managed to prove that he was one of the greatest of his time. |
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| Oct-26-20 | | Brenin: Nice use by Black of good B vs bad B, and of zugzwang: 40 Kh1 allows 40 ... h3, with an easy win for Black. |
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Oct-26-20
 | | HeMateMe: Baseball themed GOTD! The American world series is being played this week. |
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| Oct-26-20 | | Messiah: Terrible pun! Extremely bad! |
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Oct-26-20
 | | keypusher: Nice pun, fine game. |
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Oct-26-20
 | | OhioChessFan: Glad I saw the word "zugzwang" in <Brenin's> post or I'd have had no idea what the pun meant. |
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Oct-26-20
 | | Honza Cervenka: 27.cxd5 cxd5 28.g3 with idea 28...Kg4 29.Bd1+ Kxg3 30.Bxh5 was probably last chance of white to stay in the game. After that point the endgame looks hopeless for white. |
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| Oct-26-20 | | KevinDenelsbeck: Buckles were swashed. Ah, the chess of yesteryear. |
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Oct-26-20
 | | AylerKupp: <<keypusher> Nice pun, fine game.> Fine game to be sure. At the usual level of play in simuls, it's not often (if ever!) that the Black player is alert to the possibility of zugzwang so far ahead of it actually happening. But, given the game's result and the Black player's name, then I think that, as <An Englishman> alluded, "Conen the Barbarian" would have been even better. If that had become the game's title, then the appropriate music to listen to when playing this game would have been https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJC.... |
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Oct-26-20
 | | NM JRousselle: Great Pun!! |
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Oct-26-20
 | | Check It Out: Since black can still win regardless of whose move it is, is it still technically a zugzwang? I would think not, but I could be wrong. Anyone? |
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Oct-26-20
 | | saffuna: Too bad he didn't play any combinations.
Then he would have been "Conen the Tactician." |
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Oct-26-20
| | Phony Benoni: Of course I thought of a "Conan" pun. Those are the sort that come to mind immediately. But I've gotten weary of such obvious stuff. Of course, his doesn't stop me from using them, but my preference is to try to think of something else. Besides, there's N Coenen vs G Burgess, 2002 Defining zugazwang is much like defining combinations or sacrifices. Nobody can define them to everyone's satisfaction, but everybody knows one when they see it. There are authorities who insist that the only true zugzwangs are "mutual" or "reciprocal" zugazwangs. For example: 
click for larger viewWhite to move cannot win, Black to move cannot draw, and neither side has any spare tempos that can safely shift the burden of moving to the other. By this definition, there are few true zugzwangs outside of very simple endgame positions. What we usually call zugwang in practical games are situations where one player has no safe moves while the opponent does. For instance, in this game Black can move his bishop along the long diagonal when needed. I believe most of us use "zugzwang" in this broader sense, making this game an example. It's arguable, bu then, what isn't? |
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Oct-26-20
 | | perfidious: Even I styled this player <Conen the Barbarian> at his game page, and I have all the imagination of a fence post. |
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Oct-26-20
| | Check It Out: <PB> Thanks, I thought the definition was much stricter. <It's arguable, bu then, what isn't?> Knowing chess players, they could be in complete agreement about a topic and still argue about it. |
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Oct-26-20
| | HeMateMe: A bishop guarding weak pawns while trapped behind them always leads one to consider zugzwang motifs. That's if you're playing a serious game with enough time to find these things.
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| Oct-26-20 | | areknames: <Glad I saw the word "zugzwang" in <Brenin's> post or I'd have had no idea what the pun meant.> I still have no idea what it means, but I don't know the first thing about baseball. |
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Oct-26-20
| | HeMateMe: The Louisville Slugger is the brand name of a baseball bat. It's a retail product you can buy. <https://www.bing.com/images/search?...> |
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| Oct-26-20 | | Everett: <PB> re: the strict definition of zugzwang Do the individuals who hold this view have another word for the position in this game? Definitions lose their value when they lose their utility. In practice, I find this quibbling worthless. |
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| Oct-26-20 | | Everett: Pillsbury had a totally won game by move 10 |
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Oct-27-20
 | | fredthebear: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I've had some pleasant experiences playing chess in Lexington and Louisville, KY. Give the Yussman Chess Center a try when matters clear up. If you're a baseball fan, I also recommend touring the Louisville Slugger factory in downtown Louisville. There's lots of other things to do there, too. No, I've never been to the Kentucky Derby. Had to settle for the Waffle House nearby. Mammoth Cave National Park to the south of Louisville is a MUST see. They have multiple tours, short and long: https://www.doi.gov/blog/mammoth-ca... |
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May-11-23
 | | Korora: <The Louisville Slugger is the brand name of a baseball bat. It's a retail product you can buy.> It's named in honor of Pete Browning, who was one of the Louisville Colonels' best players, dubbed the "Louisville Slugger" in his day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_... |
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Kibitzing
