Politics posters chess thread
Mods - I hope this is OK, if not, move to LC or something.
Seems we've got a few chess players here, and some threads end up getting derailed arranging chess games. Figured maybe we could have a thread for it. So far, lagtight and I have played quite a few games, forumula72 and luckbox have expressed a wish to play, and a few other posters have taken an interest in passing. Post here to set up a game! We have been playing on chess.com so far.
I'm terrible with openings, will have to figure it out as I go.
exd5
I don't get the point of the Scandinavian at all.
The point is I have reams of prep in slightly off-the-path lines memorized from my tourney days. There's no other point. Except I hate every other e4 defense besides the French, and I'm afraid of my opp playing the exchange which will immediately kill me from boredom.
Let's make it fun. Prob famous last words, but YOLO.
c4
...c6
Rahhhhh d4
Really showing off my opening knowledge here, not. I figure if I **** up the opening at least I can take you out of the book!
Rahhhhh d4
Really showing off my opening knowledge here, not. I figure if I **** up the opening at least I can take you out of the book!
You're doing fine. You found the one line that is almost as boring as the exchange french. This just transposes into the caro-kann - panov/botvinnik.
...cxd5
nf3
be3
Good to know, now we're on an even footing. BTW, I am a GM.
Spoiler
I too was once photographed with a chess board.
I told you guys, I don't know the opening books! It doesn't seem terrible to me, I am strengthening the defense of my d4 pawn since I expect him to fianchetto his dark squared bishop and then possibly push e4 or capture dxc3 opening a line for his queen to attack the d4 pawn, I am developing a piece, and I am opening the option to develop my knight to d2 as well as c3 (without blocking in the bishop) in case he starts threatening to annoy me by jumping in with his knight to e4. There is also another prophylactic idea here which I'll keep up my sleeve for now. But by the reactions here, I take it this move is... a novelty lol. I guess leaving the b2 pawn undefended is probably not ideal? I'm also not 100% sure what I do against qa5+, but it doesn't look all that scary, and worst ways I can always retreat with the bishop to d2 at the cost of a loss of a tempo if there is some tactic there I missed.
I have a strict policy that if I don't know my book response right away (which could be a memory issue but could be just an exit from my preparation tree) that I slow down to find out why I don't know. It could be that the move is fine, but a surprising amount of time the move loses or is just bad.
When I analyze my games afterwards I make a note of when that moment in the game was and I try to prepare a response to the new move for the future. That said, it's been over 2 years since my last chess game, and it was probably 7 or 8 years before that since my last serious game, so who knows what I remember.
This move doesn't look bad or anything, but for sure I would expect Nc3 here or the ever-present cxd5. I wanted to just look at Ng4 type things for awhile and it was getting late, so I just wanted to caution that I might sleep on it.
Yadda yadda yadda, ...Bg7
Continuing with the "moves that look bad.... and probably are" theme
c5.
I told you guys, I don't know the opening books! It doesn't seem terrible to me, I am strengthening the defense of my d4 pawn since I expect him to fianchetto his dark squared bishop and then possibly push e4 or capture dxc3 opening a line for his queen to attack the d4 pawn, I am developing a piece
Don't listen to me. I'm very terrible and have never studied a minute in my life.
why you no take d4?
You mean d5? Doesn't seem to do anything for my position other than weaken it, by opening a line for his queen to attack d4. Also, as a general rule, isolated pawns aren't great. If I exchange on d5 my d4 pawn is left all on its own in the centre of the board with no backup, sticking out like a foreskin at a Bar Mitzvah.
And it essentially gives him a free tempo to take with the knight and attack my bishop on c3.
