I made a stupid bet anyway this game saying that it might be a sicilian on chessbookie.

First article, dated yesterday: http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp...

Today's articles and events:
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail...

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail...

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail...

I've got a few different engines on this laptop - Fritz, Ruffian, Crafty, GNU, etc - and I sometimes play one against another if I'm bored, or whatever the chess version of voyeuristic is. Any pointers?

Question: how do you get a computer to find zillions of images of exotic dancers?

So for fun, we had them go at it, there was really no time control, I just let Shredder run on infinite analysis until I find a satisfactory line.

Shredder drew first games against <RandomVisitor> and <dionyseus>'s Rybka, then they both upgraded Rybka, and Shredder promptly lost the rematches. =(

Date: Oct. 7th, 2006

Place: FICS. (Must have valid FICS handle to play)

Time: Noon Eastern, 9 AM Pacific. (Exactly 12 hours after/before puzzle and game of the day changes.)

EF: $0.00

Prize: $0.00

Format: SS or RR, pending on how many people shows up. Expect to play at most 5 games. Byes are available upon request.

Time: 10/0, game starts at on top of the hour and half-past the hour, (Noon, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00), so please arrive a little early for round 1.

If you have any question, or wish to enter, just leave me a message here.

Can I make a suggestion? Update your profile to say you're discussing 13.f4 and post the FEN diagram for the position after 12...0-0 and/or 13.f4.

The profile is the first thing that people see when they come to a forum, and doesn't retreat into a previous page as will eventually occur with all the posts on this page.

13.f4 Fritz, 0.90; Shredder, 0.15 13...Nxd3 14.cxd3 [less good is 14.Qxd3 Bd7 15.Nc3 (less good is 15.Bb6 Qe8 16.Nd4 Fritz, 0.69 (less good is 16.Nc3 Bb5 17.Nxb5 Qxb5 18.c4 Qb4 19.f5 Fritz, 0.53 (or 19.Nd2 Fritz, 0.53))) 15...Bc6 16.Nd4 d5 17.e5 Nd7 18.Nce2 Rc8 (or 18...Qc7) 19.Qd2 Fritz, 0.75] 14...Bd7 15.N1d2 [15.Nc3!?; 15.Na3!?] 15...Rc8 16.Nc4 Fritz, 0.88 [Here there are many interesting variations, including: 16.Rac1 ; 16.Nf3; 16.Bb6; 16.Bd4; 16.Qf3; 16.Nd4] 16...Bb5 = Shredder, 0.14.

At the beginning and end of the principal variation, Fritz 8 sees a strong advantage for White, but Shredder 8 thinks the game is equal.

The advantage of 13.f4 is that it produces an unclear position with complicated variations, the sort of game that many of us wanted from the beginning, where we felt we might have a chance to get an edge on GMAN. Four of my engines see this as okay for White, though Shredder does not agree.

The principal variation here is actually less analyzed than the 14.Qxd3 sidelines, because 14.Qxd3 was Fritz' first choice before Shredder forced Fritz to reduce its original optimistic evaluation of the move (around +1.00). This is a point of caution. Because Shredder forced Fritz to downgrade 14.Qxd3, and because I have not had as much time to spend on the principal variation, the position must be regarded as unclear.

In those games, the f4 push was made much later (move 17 and 20 respectively) and with a different purpose. It is important to repeat what <lvlaple> has often said, that the f4 push is not necessarily for the purpose of f5. In my analysis with five engines, none of them seem at all interested in f5, though they quite like f4. I think their idea is to blow that miserable black knight off e5 (at the cost of the bishop exchange) to try to regain control of the center. And a subsequent f5 would not further this goal.

<Launching an attack, when your position does not warrant it, will not succeed if your opponent plays accurately.>

f4 forces a knight move or an intermezzo or a check. AN has no viable check or intermezzos.

So he has to move the knight to...
(ranked from highest to lowest)

Nc6 (It's a retreat and it was already there. It is particularly weak if after <f4, Nc6> we play <c3> completely neutralizing the knight

Nxd3 (Good for us due to white square weakness, the only AN advanced piece traded for our worst minor piece.)

Nd7 (The same problems as Bd7, it allows a deadly Bb6 for us and takes AN's knight out of the action until it can regroup. A loss of tempo and space around the already cramping queen.)

Ng4 (Bg5 makes a very interesting continuation which I believe is in our best interests. Probably the move I would want to see, simply for the interest of the game.)

The first is the weakeaning of g4 square that results after f4. For example, 13. f4 Nxd3 14. cxd3 e5, or 13. f4 Nxd3 14. Qxd3 e5.

The second is that White can remove the good black Knight from e5, but doing so helps Black to mobilize his Bc8. (After ...e5 both ...Be6 and ...Bg4 become possible.)

Will someone be able to provide a positional summary of 13.f4 on the main page at Chessgames Challenge at 1300EDT (1800 GMT) 2 Oct, so we can have summaries of all the workshops posted an hour before White's move for Team White to evaluate just before the ballot?

Okay, I'll try. I am working at that time, but I'll try to prepare something tonight, update it tomorrow if necessary, and then I'll quickly post it one hour before voting closes.

Now I shall try to prepare a preliminary summary of 13.f4 for tomorrow's deadline (one hour before the vote closes). If anyone feels that I have made any major mistakes or omissions, please feel free to respond.

ADVANTAGES OF 13.f4:

13.f4 is the most direct and powerful attempt to control the center. It removes a well-placed black knight from e5. After 13...Nxd3, 14.cxd3 centralizes another pawn. (Other black knight moves are worse for Black.) (14.Qxd3 is also interesting.)

After establishing a strong center, White can manoeuver in the space behind the center while Black struggles to free himself. Several lines have been posted in the last two days on the <WannaBe> forum. These lines have been quintuple-checked with engines (of widely varying styles). White avoids premature attacks and unnecessary exchanges while strengthening his position.

13.f4 is not necessarily a prelude to f5. In fact, f5 would go against the center plan described above, and most engines avoid it. Nevertheless, many human analysts have suggested f5, and it remains an interesting option in this line.

13.f4 is safe. Practical evidence suggests that White does not risk anything.

13.f4 produces an unclear position with many complicated variations, the sort of game that many of us wanted from the beginning, where we felt we might have a chance as a team to get an edge on GMAN.

DISADVANTAGES OF 13.f4:

It almost forces the NxB exchange.

It weakens g4.

It might help mobilize the black QB (after ...e5).

<I found a strange line that may worth to be checked carefully, ... : 13. f4 Nxd3 14. Qxd3 Bd7 15. Nc3 Bc6 16. Bb6 Qc8 17. Bd4!? taking control of the dangerous (for black) a1-h8 diagonal, the problem in analysing this variation is that the engines are suggesting black to push the d pawn to d5, but after e5 Nd7 black position is completely cramped although the white bishop may look bad and white can do what he wants on the kingside. So what is black best reply to 17. Nd4!?/?!/?.>

In your line that ends with 18...Nd7, my engines prefer 18...Ne4, although either way it is probably a slight advantage for White.