d6 is the gate... and there are too few Spartans guarding it....

<A Karpov Fan> was just posting about wanting to improve the (always positional chess-related) skill of "long range human planning."

This is quite an example.

The Benko in a CC game? Bwa ha ha ha.

<Deffi Deep 6> Is this the Spaniel variation?

<d6 Gate> strategy...>

I don't think I mentioned it before <Jess> but i am reading Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals to help with my planning. It is a very good book imo, tho a little tough in places.

that is a good game by your friend <open defence>, Black really got waxed.

The Benko/Volga Gambit has cropped up in a few of my games (I don't play it as Black only meet it as White) and it can be tricky OTB. This is almost certainly a dubious choice for a CC game tho :-)

I usually prefer 5. e3 or 5. Nc3 myself, to avoid the annoying Bxf1 consequences, tho they aren't terrible for White, as so deftly demonstrated in this case.

regards

Thanks for posting that video analysis, much appreciated!

I watched the second part of that game Live, and it was quite exhilirating, though a pity how again the commentary was ruined by the rybka clones and idiots. I remember people said "Why does he play on with a minus 5 eval, and now resigns with minus 0.9 at 12 ply --

Needless to say the position was hopeless, and rybka saw the simple closing in of the king at 18 ply depth-- but the thing is, people stop thinking for themselves, including the IM watching at playchess and commenting.

Check out the closing position, if you have the chance, where Beli resigns, and see how long it takes Shrubby to reach a -4.5 and find that one, logical, move.

PS - your wishing for a sunny tennis day at new york did it; the play was magnificent and I even set my alarm at 4am, so I could watch the last part of the women's final live.

click for larger view

Interesting is that - of course - this position is wildly tactical, an area where the engines have a big surplus, but where the keen and fresh Master Eye may prove to cut faster through the forest than the fabled machines...

Point being that the feeling that the white King must be subjected to some forcing/forced constriction!

And this again relates to one of your posts the other day at my place, re cockiness, the fact that this is a blood game and - quote - <"[...] but there is a certain lack of humility in many of the posts at this website IMNSHO."> - unquote.

I remember the story of the GM (first name begins with a "V"--can't recall his name!) who learned the game first from studying problem diagrams in the newspaper; after a period of time, he discovered that the pieces had "starting posions," so, they were not just symbols on a page.

I have read a story very similar to this about Kasparov as well <WBP>. He claims he learned chess by looking at the puzzles in newspapers but was never told the moves by his parents, until one day he just came up with a solution and they were amazed.

Something in that region anyway.

I recommend that this week be dedicated to the Grand Ole Grump...

Beliavsky vs Nakamura, 2009

Yes=

click for larger view

From the resigned position you posted- White to move:

<Nakamura's> win from here requires a great deal of calculation- if he had in fact been forced to play on.

Even though I had already gone through the game myself, and then studied <Kingscruffer's> analysis, I went wrong several times trying to convert this against <Shredder>.

Key of course is keeping one's head in a position so unbalanced and chaotic.

No shortcuts here- not against an engine anyways. Both kings are exposed to checks and White has a pawn on the 6th rank-

I was considering your point that White is forced to play

<Ke2> from the diagram-

I'm a little embarrassed to report that it took me some time to realize just what Black's most immediate threats are here to understand why

<Ke4?> can't be played.

White drops his bishop if he does this, of course- but ONLY if you first realize that Black's immediate threat is going to be

<1.Ke2 OR Ke4
1....Rc3!>

Because it threatens Mate in One -- Black's Queen threatens to mate on the vacated <e3-square>.

Now this may well be obvious to everyone but me at this website- but the fact is that "psychologically" I see that if Black moves his rook off the back rank, then White can deliver checks with either Queen or Rook, and with the White pawn on the 6th, it's necessary to first CALCULATE exactly that these checks will not save White.

Only correct calculation can truly dispel the "fear" of White counterplay.

To be able to conduct such calculation in the face of "visual threats"- in a very open and "loose" position with Queens on the board-

This is the true skill in OTB chess, I think.

It requires three facets:

1. Correct judgment of the position

2. Correct- and EXACT- calculation of a variety of possible lines

3. The emotional equanimity to hold it together so as to find the winning continuation.

Also, agreed on just how very annoying the gallery can be when people insist on posting engine Eval Numbers without any kind of actual explanation that would demonstrate real insight into the position.

I'm assuming both players here trusted the technique of the other enough so that <Beliavsky's> decision to resign is understandable-

For me, I often play on in positions where an Engine might find me <-10> pawns in an Eval because the guy might blunder. Especially in chaotic positions with Queens on.

"Sun shining out of Garry's..."

heh-

So, as I've long suspected- you are ACTUALLY yourself?

Welcome to our website!

Yes- this episode here- <House: MD- the Chess Prodigy Episode>

http://www.tv.com/house/the-jerk/ep...

Here it is on <Megavideo>

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=E3PRGTT9

This is your best bet for good quality, I just tested it now. Be patient and let it buffer for ten minutes or so.

Also, it's possible (though unlikely) that you may be interrupted half way through by the infamous "Megavideo" Time Limit, but if you are-

Just Highlight the URL address and hit "refresh" and then move the time of the video back to where you were interrupted. Worst case scenario, you might have to wait half an hour or so for the "time limit" to expire.

But it's unlikely you'd be interrupted since the video is only 42 minutes long.

And if you prefer, here is a fine <MEXICAN> website that has no time limit.

Here, you can enjoy the episode with the added pleasures of Spanish subtitles:

http://tu.tv/videos/dr-house-3x23-t...

And if you are in to Asia, here it is with Chinese subtitles:

http://you.video.sina.com.cn/pg/top...

Be patient- to load these pages up, and then to let them buffer.

Wait for them to start, then hit pause and wait a few minutes for uninterrupted viewing.

Also, you need to open these links I gave you with <Mozilla Firefox>, because <Internet Explorer>, like EVERYTHING ELSE MADE BY <Microsoft>, is COMPLETELY USELESS.

WARNING!!

Before you accept the automatic download and installation of <Vista Service Pack 2>,

Be sure to read about it on the internet first-- THOROUGHLY

You need to uninstall (not just turn off) ALL of your security programs first, especially your Firewall.

Also, even if you take this precaution, this "great new OS" CAN WRECK YOUR HARD DRIVE. Most people got a clean install, but for those who didn't- like me- the consequences can be DISASTROUS.

In my case, it rendered most of the Drivers on my Computer totally inoperable.

Luckily, I was able to do a successful "system restore."

If you need to get rid of this OBNOXIOUS AND USELESS "update", you are really screwed if you can't get a "system restore" successfully done, since it is virtually impossible to uninstall.

In fact, you need to download software FROM MICROSOFT to uninstall this PIECE OF CRAP operating system update and even then it didn't work for some.

Also, I got off lucky: Many, many people reported that their computers would not boot at all- after this "update"-- meaning they lost everything including their computer.

Finally- this "windows update" is EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE and will download by itself on your computer unless you disable your "Windows automatic update"-

As I promptly did after my successful system restore.

You lose nothing by doing this- you can search manually for Windows updates (the kind that don't destroy your computer) any time you like.

If you live in Korea- or any other place that demands concessions from Western websites- you must use a browser that is not TOTALLY GUTLESS like <Microsoft Internet Explorer>.

Korea has a "true identity" law that demands that you cannot post a message on any website unless you register yourself with the Korean government first.

And foreigners are not allowed to register because they are not citizens.

Now, <Youtube>, owned by GOOGLE, orignally kow-towed to this insane demand- but then changed their minds and told Korea to stuff it.

<Microsoft>, however, CAVED IN LIKE THE GUTLESS VENDORS OF EVIL they are-

So if you want to watch <youtube> in English and post messages- you need to open it with <Apple Safari> or <Mozilla Firefox with Proxy>.

Not only does MICROSOFT: GUTLESS VENDORS OF EVIL not allow you to do this, they also have barred all proxy servers.

No open source proxy will work on a Microsoft Browser.

Open source proxies still work on <Mozilla>-

But best- best of all- are the wonderful folks at APPLE- VENDORS OF GOODNESS.

You always get full and free access to the "proper" English versions of Western Webistes no matter what on <Apple Safari> and you can post your head off as well.

This is very important to me, because you can post ANYTHING YOU LIKE on <youtube>, no matter how obscene, since it has no monitoring of any kind whatsoever of the posts.

heh

I need a place to vent.

If you can believe it, this here is the only website where I'm "civilized."

Because they force me to be.

Which is good, of course, so long as I have "other options."

Humorously, there is no monitoring of any kind whatsoever of posts on <Yahoo Chess> either.

Someone today accused me of "abusing them" by "playing too slowly."

heh- I was polite at first-

I said "Hey it's the Middle Game and this is a really interesting position- and no one forced you to sit at a table with a long time control."

This prompted a tirade of very explicit obscenity.

Whereupon I sent my last message:

"Ok, you have three choices: Resign, Let your clock run out, or ____ off."

Whereupon I'm pleased to report that I beat him like a rented mule.

This is the last machine I will ever own that is not a <Mac>.

There are literally dozens of <MICROSOFT: GUTLESS VENDORS OF EVIL> Customer Support websites.

These are moderated by real (and often high ranking) <MICROSOFT: GUTLESS VENDORS OF EVIL> Employees, but the moderators only visit once a day usually.

So you can see all of the Horrifying Hate Mail on these sites- which lasts for hours until the moderators log in-

HAHAHAHAAH

They delete the Hate Mail, but then it just fills up again the next day.

There is some "web chatter" about a Class Action Suit to recover costs of computers that have been DESTROYED by the <Vista Service Pack 2> update...

But no way that will happen.