www.redhotpawn.com - safe for work - online chess

[Pyromanik]

Magnus Carlsen. He looked young in the picture I saw.

He was also in a pool in a suit like a rockstar.
***
this photo:

I dont actually read chess books and have been trying to figure it out myself.

Me too. But I thought 'why not' while I was there, plus it's for kids so it's not all intense 500 page thesis like some of the others on offer, hehe.
Although most were actually on players rather than the game pure.

I only play one opening for white, The Birds Opening and if the opponent deviates from the move order they get destroyed

Although there was this one book that caught my eye...
http://www.amazon.com/How-Play-Against-1-e4/dp/1857445864


I spent most of my time looking at the very cool pieces they had, ornate boards, etc.
Oh, and they had analog set computer players, whatever they're called.

[Tiwaking!]

Although there was this one book that caught my eye...
http://www.amazon.com/How-Play-Against-1-e4/dp/1857445864


I spent most of my time looking at the very cool pieces they had, ornate boards, etc.
Oh, and they had analog set computer players, whatever they're called.

Oh! To play against 1.e4 I play one of two openings:

1.e4 Nf6 - The Alekhines which I play if I am going for an absolute win

or

1.e4 c5 followed by e6 - The Sicillian Kan, which I play if I dont know how good the opponent is

Why these two openings? Three reasons:

First: Independent Discovery
The Alekhines was the first opening I 'discovered', that is, found out about by myself just by spamming the board with opening moves. What usually happens is that Black keeps attacking over and over again until white gives up

The Sicillian Kan I found recently in a YouTube Video


Chess Openings: Introduction to the Sicilian Kan
There are also two interesting variations which people discovered independently: The Petrodactyl/Teranondon and the "GreenCastleBlock Sicilian".

Second: Less Learning Required
Once Learned, Always Learned. These openings have very simple ideas along the lines of "develop, develop, develop, attack". Notice that 'defend' isnt used here. Because of the only developing moves being defensive ones, it means that if your opponent attacks then they are wasting their time

Third: Very Few Variations
Once you learn the three or four variations, that is all you really need to know. After learning these you can see that if the opponent varies from the set move order, then something bad must happen to them. Once you realize/suspect the opponent has made a mistake, you can devote all your mental effort on punishing them severely.

To give an example of how "Few Variations" is one of the biggest advantages:

Chess uses Codes for Chess Openings called the "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings" or ECO for short
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopaedia_of_Chess_Openings
For the Sicillian Opening (1.e4 c5) The ECO codes start at B20 and run all the way to B99. That is 79 Variations for just one opening. Trying to remember all those opening variations will make you go mad

The Alekhine is my favourite opening because if your opponent goes wrong, then you can usually sense it in the same way a good programmer has good "Code Smell". Plus, very few people ever face it as an opening and usually run into the old 1.e4 e5 series of openings

[Tiwaking!]

Doh. I accidentally played Blitz and Fischers Random Chess all night. There is this one player by the handle Muhammed on Chess Hotel that I cannot beat at Fischers Random Chess. His play is amazing. He stops everything I throw at him.

The last game I played I threw a twelve move deep combination at him and I was 100% sure I'd beat him or at least break up his position. But he found the one move that stopped my entire attack, even though almost every single one of his pieces was pinned. Usually when we play I just get positionally crushed and smothered, which is a horrible feeling, but this loss was just amazing. A once in a lifetime kind of event.

It takes me two minutes to think up a twelve move deep combination, but a thirteen move one would take an exponential amount of time, something along the line of twenty minutes.

And for some weird reason most of the people there who play normal Blitz (which I play when no one is available for Chess960) keep playing either 1.e4, which I crush with the Alekhine's usually transposing into the Four Knights Game, but good for Black or they weirdly play 1.f4, which I destroy because they keep trying to play the 1.f4,e3,d4 Stonewall which has one huge weakness: The e4 square

I sure wish I could save games from their site!

[Pyromanik]

You can export to PGN or some other notation can't you?

I'm pretty sure there are a bunch of apps out there that will let you import a game. Xboard probably will, being what it is *shrug*

[Tiwaking!]

One of the benefits at  being nearby a learning facility is you get to have, um, 'discussions' with people about different subjects. One of these subjects in an IT setting is Chess, and there appears to be a huge amount of misinformation about Chess and Computer Chess. For people who dont want to  read on:

1. The number of possible Chess games is smaller than you would expect ~4,670,000 games
2. The average game of Chess is 30 moves long
3. Computers that are stripped of their opening book play at the same level as an amateur human
4. Computer Chess is not fallible. This is proven by the World Computer Chess competitions where the winning programs are the ones that lose the LEAST often (not 'never lose', but lose the least often)


1. There's an old saying about "After both sides make four moves, the number of positions in Chess is more than the number of stars in the observable universe". This assumes that all positions are possible, which is absurd. You can find more information debunking this myth here: http://www.chess.com/chessopedia/view/mathematics-and-chess. Incidentally: The End Game Tablebases are for Six Pieces is over 1 terrabyte, but the Seven Piece Tablebase is 100TB. You have to remember that many, many games never actually make it this far. It also explains why a Chess Computer enjoys exchanging pieces (see point 4)
2. I have long suspected that a game of Chess isnt as long as people seem to make it out to be. In fact: I always aim to finish a game of chess before the 30th move. After 30 moves, usually becomes clear that someone has made a mistake somewhere
3. I tried making a Chess A.I, just to see how hard it would be. Turns out the 'best' way to do it is to download all the Endgame Tablebases and Opening Books and then create an algorithm that evaluates positions based on a set of instructions.
However this turns out to be both a boring and fruitless exercise. In fact, it is easier to find all possible checkmate positions and use that as a basis for Engine Evaluation. Being far too lazy to do that I ended up doing it the old fashioned way: Make an A.I that randomly plays moves and let the opposing player evaluate its play. What happens is you end up with an A.I that is impossible to distinguish from an average player. In fact, you could make a Chess Website/App and populate it entirely with A.I players and human players would have no idea who was a person or not
4. World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz once said "Chess is a draw with best play". Well, it turns out he wasnt exactly right. Chess is a draw with the Least Interesting Play. For example: The chess engines Fruit and Crafty used an innovative idea: There are good moves, bad moves, and 'interesting' moves. Good and Bad moves are evaluated normally (+1/-1) where 'interesting' moves are given a tiny bonus (+0.1 or so). This means, when these two engines are given the opportunity to DRAW, they will frequently choose the 'Interesting' move option instead

You can export to PGN or some other notation can't you?

I'm pretty sure there are a bunch of apps out there that will let you import a game. Xboard probably will, being what it is *shrug*

You cant get the PGN from the Chess Hotel games so I'll just live record them

[Pyromanik]

I went to London and there's this shop on Baker St. (other than the Sherlock Holmes Museum), completely dedicated to Chess, card games & a few other classics (like backgammon). I think you would have really liked it Tiwa.

This one:
http://shop.chess.co.uk/Visit-Shop-s/1885.htm

Lots of cool sets. But oddly they don't seem to be in their online shop that I saw.

[Tiwaking!]

To anyone interested in playing Chess960 against the computer you can play it here:

http://sa.lichess.org/

Warning. I've yet to win a game against level 4 stockfish

edit:Messed up the URL. It linked to a game I lost horribly. There are also Interactive Chess Puzzles you can solve!

[Tiwaking!]

After getting my arse handed to me constantly at Fischers Random Chess by Stockfish level 4 I decided to try a game of normal chess

I played as Black and I smashed it
http://sa.lichess.org/45DyPYue/black

At move 17 it started thinking really, really hard. It took over ten seconds to come up with a move. When a computer thinks in Chess, it means that it is losing.
Can you see the correct continuation? It took me about 3 minutes to figure out so it wasnt easy. The only reason I looked so hard is because the computer took time out of its busy schedule to try and not lose

[Tiwaking!]

Magnus Carlsen. He looked young in the picture I saw.

He was also in a pool in a suit like a rockstar.

And now he is promoting G-Star RAW


Full Edit - G-Star RAW Spring/Summer 2014 Campaign - The Challenge
That advert is pretty cool

[Tiwaking!]

After getting my arse handed to me constantly at Fischers Random Chess by Stockfish level 4

YES!! I finally managed to beat the computer. I was playing as Black
http://sa.lichess.org/9E3f4tQI/black
It got very grindy at the end, and there were some moves I played that I couldnt fully understand. But it worked out in the end

[Tiwaking!]

To anyone interested, here is a list of almost all Computer Chess Engines (Missing is Deep Blue which is rated 2750) and their ELO Chess Ratings
http://www.computerchess.org.uk/ccrl/4040/index.html

NagaSkaki 5.12, the chess engine on my computer, is rated 2166. I am surprised I can beat it sometimes!

[Tiwaking!]

Well it looks like Magnus Carlsen has retained his chess world crown!
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/an-almost-unbeatable-magnus-carlsen-defends-his-title-as-world-chess-champion-2014-11

Magnus Carlsen successfully defended his title as World Chess Champion on Sunday. He defeated Challenger Viswanathan Anand in Game 11 of a 12-game match to achieve the 6.5 points needed to claim victory.

Anand really went for it, attempting a dramatic sacrificial strategy when playing with the black pieces. It was a fitting end to a rematch of the 2013 WCC, when Carlsen ended Anand’s 5-time reign as champion

You can find all the games with an excellent analysis by Grand Master Daniel King here


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjIQoU-96Xw&list=UUMBATpFb--uLNAODOVWvCTA

[Apostrophe Spacemonkey]

I could beat him.


I'm just to busy.

[Tiwaking!]

If you're looking for a game of chess but dont want to play against a human and dont want to lose against a computer, you can try playing against a random computer!
http://chessboardjs.com/examples#5001

It is quite hilarious

[Apostrophe Spacemonkey]

If you're looking for a game of chess but dont want to play against a human and dont want to lose against a computer, you can try playing against a random computer!
http://chessboardjs.com/examples#5001

It is quite hilarious

Ha, owned him.

I like this, it makes me feel actually good at something.

[Tiwaking!]

Chess cheat caught - Georgian Chess Champion owes it to the iPhone
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11432849

A chess grandmaster has been thrown out of an international tournament and faces a 15-year ban after he was caught sneaking to the toilet to check moves on his mobile phone.

Gaioz Nigalidze, the current Georgian champion, was expelled from the Dubai Open Chess tournament when he was found using his phone in the middle of a match.

The two-time national champion was exposed when his opponent lodged a complaint when he grew suspicious about his frequent trips to the lavatory.

Tournament organisers found Nigalidze had stored a mobile phone in a cubicle, covered in toilet paper.

The weirdest thing is the Armenian player who reported him is called "Tigran Petrosian".

[Tiwaking!]

I went to London and there's this shop on Baker St. (other than the Sherlock Holmes Museum), completely dedicated to Chess, card games & a few other classics (like backgammon). I think you would have really liked it Tiwa.

This one:
http://shop.chess.co.uk/Visit-Shop-s/1885.htm

Lots of cool sets. But oddly they don't seem to be in their online shop that I saw.

Apparently there is a cafe chess club place in London where you can go to play called Casual Chess Club.

http://casualchess.org/

Finally, London has a real life chess cafe! You’ll find us in The BFI Lobby, 21 Stephen St, Off Tottenham Court Rd, W1T 1LN (nearest tube Tottenham Court Rd), every day 5.30pm – 10pm (closed Sundays). Free chess sets and clocks, for friendly games of chess in a relaxed, chatty atmosphere.

Choose your own time control and grab a coffee or a glass of wine. Join our Facebook group to hear about special events and news https://www.facebook.com/groups/393548150795213/?fref=ts You can also use the group to arrange to meet a player of a similar level…or just come along any time Monday to Saturday 5.30pm – 10pm (closed Sundays) and play everyone. Boards and clocks provided.

It sounds like an okay place!

[Pyromanik]

Except it's in London (~300mi - yes, miles :< )

...

And I'm no good at chess


Does sound like a pretty cool place though!

[Tiwaking!]

Good news everyone!

Lee Sedol beat AlphaGo in the Google DeepMind Challenge Match 4

Yay Humanity!!! :D