Our interest in "positional play" stemmed from the Akobian game vs WT: The World vs Akobian, 2012 as well as Carlsen's winning the WC (which ran paralled to a chess project <DcGentle> was working on)

One of the more fascinating aspects of examining Carlsen's games is that what may appear to be a fairly hum-drum, if not boring contest, was in fact all played out in the notes. In other words, the tactics all work out in Carlsen's favor, which goes a long way to explaining why an otherwise 'dry' game evolved as it did. His opponent dared not enter a tactical melee, so it grinded on to its inevitable conclusion.

Which was a revelation in itself: Carlsen is the best tactically. Better than Aronian, better than Topalov, better than all the others. His positional play creates winning tactics, which his opponent dare not risk, and so Carlsen wins "positionally"

Bizarre, isn't it?

M Czerniak vs Y Mashian, 1976

Ha! Not at all!

BTW, are you still active or have you quit competitive play?>

I never had too much of an OTB career to give up, honestly. I played in 10 or so tournaments in the American South in the 80s, and I played in the Dominican Republic and at Wood Green chess club in London when I lived there. But after returning to the U.S. in 1992 I've played in exactly two events: a NY tournament in 2006 and the National Open in Las Vegas in 2008 (where WannaBe took my picture).

I've played a few hundred games at gameknot over the last 10 years, and a handful of blitz games at chess.com. I'm the world's worst at blitz.

This site has gotten me hooked on chess history. I'm better at reading about chess than playing it. :-)

As it happens, yesterday I heavily edited my profile in a way that answers your question!

All I can add is that when I was a youngster I had some wins against other kids who went on to become titled players, even some GMs. I'm pretty sure I have a positive score against GMs Alejandro Hoffman, Diego Valerga, and Pablo Zarnicki. But I am 4 years older than Valerga and 5 years older than Zarnicki. Of course, when you are 16 or 17 and they are 12, that's a huge advantage! So, no merit in that. But I did beat Hoffman fairly at the 1985 Argentine junior championship.

Never. I have three responses to 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3: 2....d6, 2....e5 and 2....d5. (Three decent alternatives at any stage is a luxury in Alekhine's Defense.) ...d7-d6 generally gets me to a Pirc, which I played before I took up Alekhine's, so that's fine. The Vienna is also fine; quite a few people who play 2.Nc3 don't know the Vienna at all.

The only time I remember that 2....d5 3.e5 came up I played 3....Ne4, though I note that the cool kids meet that with 4.Nce2 and then drive the knight away. Lots of people play 3.exd5, which is harmless.

** Gashimov Memorial Moves Prediction Contest **

I got curious about this, so I looked at Carlsen's 2015 events: Tata, GRENKE and Gashimov. For Tata I consulted the FIDE rating list; for the other two I took the ratings from the tournament website.

At Tata he beat Van Wely (2667), Aronian (2797), Caruana (2820), Hou (2673), Jobava (2727), and Radjabov (2734). Average rating: 2736.

He lost to Wojtaszek (2744).

He drew with Giri (2784), So (2762), Ivanchuk (2715), MVL (2757), Ding (2732), and Saric (2666). Average rating: 2736.

GRENKE

He beat Adams (2738), Baramidze (2594), and Anand (2797). Average rating: 2710.

He lost to Naiditsch (2694).

He drew with Aronian (2797), Caruana (2820), and Bacrot (2711). Average rating: 2776.

Gashimov

He beat Mamedyarov (2754), Caruana (2802), MVL (2762), Kramnik (2783), and Mamadov (2651). Average rating: 2750.

He drew with Anand (2791), Adams (2746), Giri (2790), and So (2780). Average rating: 2777.

Combining the three events, the people he beat had an average rating of 2736, the people he lost to averaged 2719, and the people he drew with had an average rating of 2757.

Too small a sample to be meaningful, but it's interesting that he scored +2-0=1 against opponents rated over 2800 (in reality, just Caruana) and +4-1=1 against opponents rated under 2700. If we expand to opponents rated over 2790, his score is +4-0=2.

[enters Giri]

Giri:

The moon's in half! The clock's on half past twelve! That semidarkness tieing half of shelve!
No gloom of winner neither looser's doom!

Sapiko:

I didn't notice you were in the room.
How was... Lipo.. Liponares? Any good?"

Giri:

I fought as hard as every chessman should.
I won all seven, proving I am mighter;
I lost just seven. People call me "fighter"

Chorus: Oh no, they don't.

Giri: Oh yes, they do.

Chorus: They not.

Giri: They do.

Chorus: They not. They not.

Giri (visibly shaken):

Who's there again? Again this "not" and "not".
Show face, you coward. I will have you shot.

(grabs colt hanging on the wall)

So many days of perpetual spite!
So many days you split in half "the" site!

(putting colt to his head)

Awww, all these voices ringing in my head:
you not! you not! I wish that I was dead."

[enters Leko carryin big treasure draw,
dressed like a pirate]

Leko:

Arrr, hold yer horses, do not dare to bolt,
once draws went "chessgames". Drop that bloody colt! ye sail to stalemate, to be tied ye raw;
that's life of chess-wolves: beauties, rum, and draw!

Giri:

"But all these voices ringing in my head:
you not! you not! I wish that I was dead."

Leko:

Oh, shut yer trap! By dieing in yer prime,
lest ye to hear, ye lose; ye lose on time.
Just hold my coffer. I'll teach ye "Leko's game"
to make both life and death not one, but same"

(Leko takes all the bullets out of colt,
spins, put colt to his own head,
and pulls the trigger)

Now ye. Now me. Now ye. Now me. That's how
ye misdoubt not, "not not" you not allow.

(as bored Sapiko looks at them, Leko and Giri take spins and "fire shots" with no bullets; the curtain slowly falls)