Chess

martin

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I thought I'd give chess a go this year, along with the other zillion things I've had time to do.

I HATE it. Now I realise why I thought "Liquid Swords" was boring.

I suck at it, keep blindly moving into traps. I'm only playing the free chess thing that comes with the PC but I have to put the difficulty setting on 1 out of 10 - and even then, I have to take back at least one move in every game.

The Queen is obviously a fierce opponent but I really hate the Knight (little sneak) and his L-shaped moves. My opening tactic is basically: move King/Queen pawns forward one square; cover the Queen with the Knight; then repeatedly move the Rook left and right until the computer grandmaster throws all his pawns forward. Prefer 'Escape From Colditz', personally.
 

muser

Well-known member
I'm basically a stupid person and I'm not very good at chess but I can beat lots of genuinely smart people at chess just because they don't know the fundamentals. at novice level chess it's not about being smart or being able to logically assess all the ramifications of every move its just knowing basic strategies to get a good footing. Getting the big pieces out into the centre early, castleing early, don't mess around with the queen and your pawns until you have done all your housekeeping first, keep all your pieces defended and don't blindly go into exchanges, keep bishops over horseys for the end game, keep all your pieces active. Maybe learn a few moves of one basic system or opening. You can look and feel smart without all necessary braincells.
 

version

Well-known member
Screenshot-from-2020-12-22-23-11-30.png
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
being beaten by a computer in chess is nothing to be ashamed of - it will have every variation of gameplay saved and ready to defeat you with. People who are good at chess aren't "smarter" they've just got more experience of being beaten and seeing where mistakes are made.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I'm currently winning. In the long-term record against the one person I play chess with. Present game is a toss-up, however.
 

catalog

Well-known member
I'm pretty good at chess, used to play a lot at school, did a few tournaments.

When I was 19 I went to stay with the guy who taught me, en route to France, and beat him. He's never wanted to play me again. I knew his game and took it to him.

Then, a few years later, on the night I heard the kpunk londonunderlondon thing, I went back to my mates house and we got really stoned and played 3 games in a row, all of which he won. Nicest guy ever, really aggressive at chess. I've never played him again.

I play now with my nephew but it's a joke, he's so bad. I've tried to explain a few things but I learnt most from books so you gotta be interested.
 

muser

Well-known member
I'm pretty good at chess, used to play a lot at school, did a few tournaments.

When I was 19 I went to stay with the guy who taught me, en route to France, and beat him. He's never wanted to play me again. I knew his game and took it to him.

Then, a few years later, on the night I heard the kpunk londonunderlondon thing, I went back to my mates house and we got really stoned and played 3 games in a row, all of which he won. Nicest guy ever, really aggressive at chess. I've never played him again.

I play now with my nephew but it's a joke, he's so bad. I've tried to explain a few things but I learnt most from books so you gotta be interested.
My niece got really into chess after watching the queen's gambit and was trying to teach her a bit and get her more hyped on it but it's hard, it's a fine balance of giving opportunities with some hints and obviously letting her win, also just the temptation to go full force and crush instead of just doing some stupid move or ignoring a blunder.
 

catalog

Well-known member
Yeah I can't not play to win, I show no mercy, I should really try harder. I remember when I was learning though, I'd spend ages on really shit moves. You just gotta stick at it.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I hate playing chess cos I can't stand to lose. My flatmate started playing a few years back with Woops a lot. I got sucked into a few games... played with Nathan from Fat White Family, assumed he would be useless... underestimated him. He's a tricky bastard... also at poker the sneaky cunt.
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Like a lot of people, I've got back into chess via the online thing since lockdown, although I've come to realize that I kind of find it more enjoyable in the abstract than in practice, as in, I really enjoy analyzing and understanding the game, solving puzzles and so on, but trying to find the right moves under pressure does my head in a bit.

One thing that has struck me, though, is how much difference the internet must have made to people starting out. Like, when I was a kid I played a few games once or twice a week and had a random assortment of second hand books to learn from. It must be a fairly different experience now you can basically hammer out games any time you want and access all sorts of information online.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Apparently The Queen's Gambit has led to a 1000000% surge in sales of chess sets and chess books.

Anyone else see it? It was OK, as these things go.
 

boxedjoy

Well-known member
the people I've ever known to be good at chess were people who had played it a lot - I think it trains your mind to think a certain way, to think in long-term plans and prepare for the unexpected, both of which are skills I need developing in, does anyone fancy a game
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
the people I've ever known to be good at chess were people who had played it a lot - I think it trains your mind to think a certain way, to think in long-term plans and prepare for the unexpected, both of which are skills I need developing in, does anyone fancy a game
Find me on lichess.org. I'm RoutemasterFlash.
 
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