Nimzowitsch

White 64.5% Black 62.8%
122 47.1% 129 45.2%
47 18.1% 55 19.4%
90 34.7% 100 35.2%
259 284
97.4%

Alekhine

White 73.5% Black 72.4%
747 61.5% 401 57.0%
176 14.5% 86 12.2%
292 24.0% 216 30.7%
1215 703
98.5%

Capablanca

White 73.7% Black 67.8%
188 57.5% 136 45.6%
33 10.1% 30 10.1%
106 32.4% 133 44.3%
327 298
92.0%

Lasker

White 63.1% Black 61.5%
432 51.1% 306 47.4%
211 24.9% 158 24.5%
203 24.0% 182 28.2%
846 646
97.5%

Rubinstein

White 70.2% Black 57.9%
205 54.8% 152 39.4%
54 14.4% 91 23.6%
115 30.7% 143 37.0%
374 386
82.3%

Schlechter

White 65.6% Black 57.3%
177 44.4% 120 31.0%
53 13.3% 64 16.5%
169 42.4% 203 52.5%
339 387
87.3%

Pillsbury

White 70.8% Black 61.9%
131 60.9% 91 48.1%
41 19.0% 46 24.3%
44 20.4% 52 27.5%
216 189
87.4%

Group II

Tarrasch

White 71.4% Black 57.3%
286 57.9% 185 42.8%
75 15.2% 122 28.2%
133 26.9% 125 28.9%
494 432
80.3%

Botvinnik

White 72.7% Black 63.9%
335 53.8% 265 43.7%
53 8.5% 96 15.8%
235 37.7% 245 40.4%
623 606
87.9%

Keres

White 73.9% Black 66.8%
581 54.8% 468 45.8%
85 8.0% 125 12.2%
395 37.2% 429 42.0%
1061 1022
90.1%

Reshevsky

White 66.0% Black 49.8%
196 44.6% 106 25.3%
55 12.5% 104 24.8%
188 42.8% 209 49.9%
439 419
75.5%

<keypusher>

You know I've been waiting for you to publish a definitive work on the topic of Odds-giving. To fill the void until you meet the challenge, I wrote a small page on Odd-giving, called the Romance of Chess. I had written it for Mark Weeks at About.com, but he found the entire article too involved and will instead publish a portion of it that serves his purposes.

Meanwhile you can preview the article at http://sbchess.sinfree.net/odds-giv... . Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I think exclams hurt my game when I first started studying theory for a slightly different reason: I thought all good moves must be sacrifices. I had to read Silman's HTRYC just to discover that it's okay to not sacrifice and my internet rating jumped instantly.

Here's a site I just came across, and really enjoyed. Thought you might enjoy it too:

http://members.aon.at/sfischl/stat....

This week we covered the Evans Gambit, Lasker Defense Mnatsakanian vs A Korelov, 1962 which of course I never use as I play 2N. They both have a penchant for the Compromised Defense ("The Greedy Line") with 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 ed 7. 0-0 dc and Black tries to hold both Pawns. After 8. Qb3 Qf6 9. e5 Qg6 10. Nxc3 Nge7 Opening Explorer I don't see much for White (and neither does Fritz), especially since Black soon castles into safety. Interesting that trading down with 10 ... Bxc3 11. Qxc3 backfires Opening Explorer probably due to White's Two Bishops. Zukertort used the Compromised Defense many times, often with the countergambit ... b5 followed by ... Rb8 & ... Bb7 developing the Queenside with good results. They both want to try out the Compromised Defense with the expressed understanding that they must play defense for the middlegame, and I must admit that their defensive abilities have dramatically improved.

Obviously I was mistaken yet again.

I hope you can forgive me, though Who the Hell cares what I think in the first place.

[Event "National Open 2007"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2007.06.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Yu, Jimmy"]
[Black "NN"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B54"]
[WhiteElo "955"]
[BlackElo "1657"]
[PlyCount "63"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Nb3 Bd7 7. Be3 Nf6 8. Be2 Be7 9. Qd2 a6 10. f3 Be6 11. Nc1 Qc7 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Na7 14. c4 O-O 15. O-O Nc8 16. Bd3 Re8 17. Ne2 Bf8 18. Bg5 Ne7 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. b3 Kh8 21. f4 Bh6 22. Qc2 Rg8 23. fxe5 Rg7 24. exf6 Rxg2+ 25. Kxg2 Ng6 26. Bxg6 hxg6 27. Rae1 b5 28. Ng3 a5 29. Re7 Qc5 30. Rxf7 Qe3 31. Qxg6 Qd2+ 32. Rf2 1-0

[Event "National Open (2006)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2006.06.17"]
[Round "4"]
[White "NN"]
[Black "WannaBe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E76"]
[WhiteElo "1307"]
[PlyCount "94"]

In my experience, that is the key to beating higher-rated players. :-) But you played well, I thought, very solid and strong in the first game, and you didn't get flustered after 20. Bc4 in the second one.

"If you play Botvinnik, it is even alarming to see him write his move down. Slightly short-sighted, he stoops over his score sheet and devotes his entire attention to recording the move in the most beautifully clear script; one feels that an explosion would not distract him and that examined through a microscope not an irregularity would appear. When he wrote down 1.c2-c4 against me, I felt like resigning."

"The chess player who has lost his game - who will describe him? I have seen him unable to move. The public was long gone, the lights were out, and still he sat rigidly in his chair staring at the emptied board, because he had overlooked Bg2. A case of complete petrification, with bystanders whispering and tiptoeing by. I have heard him begging for punishment in blasphemous language. He had forgotten Nh5, and in his dismay he called down annihilation upon himself. Derisively, he rejected our words of solace, demanding insults and chastisements. Standing afar and horror-stricken, I have witnessed him swearing in orgiastic fury to rip off his genitals, because he had played Qf6 instead of Qb6."