JCC Chess Discussion

He should have cut the chess board in half first.

 

Count me in with the 'love it but not very good... played on and off all my life' crowd.

When I do play, it's with the TV on or in between playing with the kids so I tend to make a dumb mistake at some point which costs me the game if I'm playing anyone decent at all.

I think it's an endlessly fascinating game though and good mental exercise.

 

I know how to play chess, but I'm not that good. The only one I can really beat is the computer on easy.

 

sounds about right

 

We should all try to play online against each other. We can create a club called the Mediocre Enthusiasts.

 

I played in a couple of chess championships when I was a pre-teen, and even won a trophy once, but I've always been a mediocre player. It's just that my opponents were even worse.

 

I also won a chess championship once, in secondary school, or junior high to you Americans. The participants were all mediocre, including me.

 

I've beaten everyone I've ever played in chess. That includes my father, who taught me the game, my college roommate, my neighbor, and my two sons, whom I taught to play and who keep getting better. But I have no idea what it's like to play someone who really knows the game. I'm sure it's exactly like getting beaten in 5 moves or less.

 

Playing someone who is light years beyond you is a wonderfully humbling experience for sure.

 

I've been beaten countless times by half a dozen different chess programs. That's enough to keep my ego in check.

 

My father taught me how to play chess when I was in like junior high or a bit younger. I learned the basics and played a a few times with friends probably until my undergrad years but I've never been good and haven't played in more than 10 years. It would be neat to become good at it but I'd rather do other things nowadays.

 

Is anybody following the world champion competition between Carlsen and Caruana these days?

 

No.

 

Your primary objectives in Chess:

- Kill the Queen
- Secure a poisoned Pawn

That is all.

 

@heels1785
I enjoy playing, but I'm very far from being strong
I think it's mostly about having the patience to learn the main tricks.
If you don't find it boring you should try to play on lichess (it's free, of course). At the beginning it's frustrating, but after a while it's nice to see yourself improving.

 

Heels, all of chess boils down to a simple algorithm. By doing Player Two's moves every single time, you can guarantee victory:

Player One: "Would you like to play chess, [Player Two]?"
Player Two: "No."

This is sometimes called the "Sicilian Defense," because people in Sicily know how to turn down an offer to play chess. Risk takers can opt for something more daring, such as the "French Defense":

Player One: "Would you like to play chess, [Player Two]?"
Player Two: « Désolé, je ne parle pas anglais. »

And, of course, the "King's Gambit":

Player One: "Would you like to play chess, [Player Two]?"
Player Two: "We have banned chess throughout our realm."

 

@Ramza
You don't fool anybody. Not only you DO play chess, imo, but I'm ready to bet that you are also strong.

 

For some reason, despite my ideals for strategy and stuff I don't really like chess. I mean I can play it, but deep strategy and everything for it I'm just not into for some reason. My brother is though. Kinda weird. It's like your think the opposite of us but I'm the one who likes the shooter games and he likes the RPGs.

We had this chess game on CD years ago in the 90s to learn chess. My brother did it often but I found myself listening to the background music more. It was called Chessmaster 3000 or 4000? One of the two.

 

Nah, I suck. Now, if chess were actually solved I'd probably be amazing just because I'd try to memorize the winning algorithm as a joke.

For now they're stuck on endgame tables, which I can't get to at all reliably. Alas.

 

Draught is solved though you can start with that

 

Someone fetch the salts. This shocker has made me faint.

 

That’s what your mum told me.