Endless chess, online
The other day I was sent an email from somebody at ChessBase asking if I’d like to give a “non-elite GM’s take” on life in the post-corona world. I thought that was a polite way of saying “weak GM” and I was tempted to reply, in my own mind I am an elite GM. But I doubt anyone would care.
It might be stretching the truth to say that I predicted the coming of Covid, but about 18 months ago I had a very strange dream. In the dream an evil virus ravaged mankind, killing millions, and bodies lined the streets. There was a goat (the devil?) walking through a laboratory and red lights were flashing. Eventually the goat ended up on a street corner, staring at me. This had such a powerful effect on me that I told a friend about it, because I’d never had a dream about a virus before, but then forgot about the whole thing until recently. Until all this madness, of a changed world, people dying alone on ventilators. Mask wearing and suspicious stares every time you visit a shop. At least I could be smug and say, well I foresaw all of this.
When the virus first revealed its potency and lockdown was imposed, I, like many others, was very anxious. I became even more fat because the gyms were closed and I didn’t leave the house. Eventually I forced myself to take lengthy walks and it greatly helped my state of mind as well as helping me to lose some weight. Sun-drenched afternoons, baking my skin in ultra-violet rays, with always the sense that you could disappear down a leafy path, invoking the sounds and smells of times long forgotten, and you’d be back in childhood. And all this would be all forgotten, it had been a dream all along, and you were back in a happier time when concerns about money and health were somewhere in the distance.
Part of the anxiety that I felt at the start was because I was confronted with what I was going to do with my life. My existence before had been the slightly unhappy one of the chess bum, but at least a chess bum who occasionally went away to chess tournaments. Not anymore. If I couldn’t play chess tournaments, then what was I? An internet chess bum? A coaching chess bum? I was forced to face up to the poverty of my existence, and like so many others I retreated into social media, gladly exchanging wild conspiracy theories with my equally bored friends.
Daniel Gormally shows how to combine strategic and attacking ideas in the sicilian. Use the english attack as a lethal weapon!
I think if this coronavirus crisis has taught us anything, then it’s that we’re all the same. Not only can any of us die, but the illusion that some of us have superior lives has been shattered. Film star? Not anymore. Now at best, you’re a Tiktok creator. Singer? Now you do Zoom concerts. We’re all stuck at home, bored, bored, bored, none of us having any idea when things will be totally back to normal again. As I said on Facebook when the lockdown was first announced, we’ve been given the news that we're supposed to sit around at home and do nothing for the next few months. Well, I’ve been preparing for this for 44 years.
One thing I could do was play online, and at first I threw myself into this exciting, unfolding world of endless internet chess tournaments. It wasn’t long before I was dismantled by my first cheat. If online chess had exploded in popularity during the lockdown, then online cheating was just as popular, and it seemed as if everyone was at it. Seasoned pros, happy to flush their hard-earned reputations down the toilet. And particularly juniors, who were no doubt bored out of their tiny skulls and unused to doing so little, were acting out in a big way. Sites like Lichess and chess.com had to close endless accounts, and there were new ones opening up all the time, because lockdown has accelerated the pace of internet chess growth exponentially.
Internet chess is also worryingly addictive. Take today, for example. Using my account Carobee (like so many of my online chess accounts, named after a racehorse) I logged in at 6 am, intending to only play for an hour. However, when I went from 2615 to 2613, I “tilted”, and keen to actually gain points on the session, ended up playing for five hours. The sum product of this session? Seven points gained and the sense of time completely wasted. Here is one of those games.
1.e4 | 1,185,008 | 54% | 2421 | --- |
1.d4 | 959,510 | 55% | 2434 | --- |
1.Nf3 | 286,503 | 56% | 2441 | --- |
1.c4 | 184,834 | 56% | 2442 | --- |
1.g3 | 19,892 | 56% | 2427 | --- |
1.b3 | 14,600 | 54% | 2428 | --- |
1.f4 | 5,954 | 48% | 2377 | --- |
1.Nc3 | 3,911 | 50% | 2384 | --- |
1.b4 | 1,791 | 48% | 2379 | --- |
1.a3 | 1,250 | 54% | 2406 | --- |
1.e3 | 1,081 | 49% | 2409 | --- |
1.d3 | 969 | 50% | 2378 | --- |
1.g4 | 670 | 46% | 2361 | --- |
1.h4 | 466 | 54% | 2382 | --- |
1.c3 | 439 | 51% | 2425 | --- |
1.h3 | 289 | 56% | 2420 | --- |
1.a4 | 118 | 60% | 2461 | --- |
1.f3 | 100 | 47% | 2427 | --- |
1.Nh3 | 93 | 66% | 2506 | --- |
1.Na3 | 47 | 62% | 2476 | --- |
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.Re1 0-0 8.a4 8...Bb7 8...d5!? 9.d3 Na5 10.Ba2 d6 11.Nc3 b4 12.Ne2 12.Nd5 12...c5 13.Ng3 Bc6 14.c3 Rb8 14...Qd7 15.d4! 15.cxb4 cxb4 16.Bd2 b3 17.Bb1 17.Bxa5 Qxa5 18.Bxb3 Qb4 19.Bc4 17...Nb7 18.d4 18.Qxb3 Nc5 18...exd4 19.Nxd4 Bd7 20.Bc3 20.Ngf5 20...Nc5 20...g6 21.Nxb3 21.Ndf5 Nxa4 22.Nxe7+ 22.Rxa4 Bxa4 23.Nxg7 Kxg7 24.Nf5+ 24.Nh5+ Kg8 24...Kg8 24...Kg6 25.e5 25.Qf3 22...Qxe7 23.Rxa4 Bxa4 24.Nf5 Qe6 25.e5 25.Re3 Rfc8 26.Rg3 Rxc3 26...g6 27.Qd4 Rc4 27.Rxc3 g6∞ 25.Qd4 Bd7 26.Re3! Rfc8 27.Rg3 Rxc3 27...g6 25.Nxg7? Kxg7 26.Re3 Rfc8 27.Rf3 Rxc3! 25...dxe5 26.Rxe5 Qd7 26...Rbd8 27.Qc1 27.Rd5 Nxd5 28.Qh5 28.Qg4 f6 28...Rfe8 29.Ne7+ Kf8 27...Rfe8 28.Qg5?? 28.Nxg7!? 28.h3! 28...Qd1+ 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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Carobee | 2617 | e4-best-by-test | 2396 | 0–1 | 2020 | C88 | Rated Blitz game | |
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Games like the previous example are quite likely to induce furious meltdowns, involving mishandled pillows and screamed profanities. Such is the mental torment inflicted by internet chess, that I’ve ended up closing more chess accounts than Magnus Carlsen has won online tournaments. In fact because now I play with an account that doesn’t use a title (to get a verified account there are several hoops to jump through) often my opponents will abort the game before it has even begun, sure that they are facing a computer cheater.
Of course an online blitz addiction is probably a more healthy addiction than some of my other ones, like watching Supergirl and betting on choking golfers. I have no idea when I will play again, and however bad things got in my life, at least I had tournaments like the British to go away to, every summer. I’d be there now in glorious Torquay [pictured] if this hadn’t happened. When will the next event in England be? I have a good idea that events like the London Classic and Hastings will eventually be cancelled. It’s a sad state of affairs, and I doubt I'm the only professional chess player who is questioning their chosen vocation.
But of course, put it into perspective. People are dying and I'm complaining about not being able to play chess. The lack of tournaments has also seen more possibilities open up on the coaching front. A new site, Cochess, linking chess students with potential coaches, has taken advantage of this gap in the market, although a brief perusal of the website seems to suggest it has something of an Instagram or Tinder feel to it. Matching up hot WFMs with horny virgin males, their bank accounts overflowing due to the lockdown giving them nothing to spend it on. All concerted efforts to take a more professional approach to my life, seem to be quickly ended when sites like Lichess come calling. The game against the Krygyzstani IM Markov was typical of the crash-bang wallop nature of blitz.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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15...Nxe5 16.dxe5 Qd4+ 17.Kh1 17.Rf2 Qxb2 17...Bc5 18.Nde4! 18.Rb1 Qxa2 17...Rad8 18.Be4! Qxb2 19.Bxb7 19.Nf3?? Qxe2 20.Nxe2 Bxe4 19...Rxd2 20.Qf3 Qxe5 21.Rae1 Qc7 22.Ba6 Rxa2 23.Bd3 Ra4 24.Nh5 Rh4 25.g3 Rd4 26.Re4 26...Qd6?? 26...Rxe4 27.Qxe4 g6 28.Nf4 Bf6! 29.Nxg6 fxg6 30.Qxg6+ Qg7 26...Rd5!? 27.Rf4 Bg5! 27.Qg4!+- Bg5 28.Rxd4 Qc6+ 29.Qf3 Qc5 30.Rd7 Be7 31.Qe4 g6 32.Nf6+ Bxf6 33.Rxf6 Qg5 34.Qf4 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Carobee | 2615 | Markov_M | 2592 | 1–0 | 2020 | A45 | Rated Blitz game | |
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If you play for too long, then there is a good chance that after a certain point your chess will start to look utterly abysmal. In this position it looks as if White might be better because of the far-advanced pawn on e6, but matters are not so clear, because Black has some ideas of taking on g3. My response to these threats was not what was needed.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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20.Rf2?? h5 21.Qxe4 c5 22.Qc4 Kh7 22...Qc6 23.Rf3 hxg4 24.Qxg4 Qe4 25.Qg6 Rfe8-+ 22...hxg4 23.Nh6! gxh6 24.Qh4 Rg8 24...Qg7 25.Qxh5 Rg8-+ 25.Qxf6 Bf8 26.Qh4 Be7 27.f6 27...Qc6! 28.Rf3 Qxe6 29.fxe7 Rde8 30.Qf6! Rxe7 31.Qxe6 Rxe6 32.Rf7+ Rg7 33.Rxg7+ Kxg7 34.Kf2 Kg6 35.Rd1 Rf6+ 36.Bf4 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Carobee | 2612 | Semen-2010 | 2478 | 1–0 | 2020 | E06 | Rated Blitz game | |
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Grandmaster Daniel King presents ten exemplary attacking performances. At key moments he stops and asks you to play a move. King then gives feedback on the most plausible continuations. It’s the next best thing to having your own personal trainer!
To replace the loss of classical chess, some of the leagues have moved online, for example the 4NCL had quite a popular online turnout and already plan to get season two started in August. Personally, I’m not sure about this development — I think we should reject this moving of everything online, because then people won't have the courage to organise chess tournaments over the board. I also found it very difficult to focus and take completely seriously when playing these classical online games. I’d get bored and start watching the TV, when waiting for the opponent to move.
If online chess can also be boring, then I wish I could also say that the lockdown has enabled me to spend a great deal of time studying chess, honing my opening repertoire to unbreakable proportions — unfortunately that has not been the case. If I was lazy before, coronavirus won't change that. And what is the motivation to study chess now? So you can play a little bit better online?
Something which has been a useful product of recent times, and is a useful educational tool for lazy people like me, has been the rise of banter blitz. Can you imagine forty of fifty years ago, players like Fischer or Karpov giving their thoughts on their games so openly? It’s something that I think is unique to these times, and is tremendously informative. To advertise the ‘chess24 Legends of Chess’ tournament, players like Caruana streamed some of their online encounters.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 g6 5.c3 d6 6.0-0 Bd7 7.d4 Bg7 8.Bg5 Nge7 9.d5 Nb8 10.Bc2 h6 11.Be3 f5 12.exf5 gxf5 13.Nh4 0-0 14.f4 e4 15.g3 Be8! 16.Bd4 Nd7 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qd4+ Nf6 19.c4 19.g4 fxg4 20.Bxe4 c5 19...c5 20.dxc6 20.Qc3 b5 21.b3 20...bxc6 21.Rd1 21...Rb8 22.Nc3 d5 22...Rxb2 23.Bb3 23.cxd5 cxd5 24.Bb3 Bf7 25.Qe5 25.Na4 25...Re8 26.Nxf5+ Nxf5 27.Qxf5 27...Bg6 27...Be6 28.Qe5 Bg4 28.Qh3 d4 29.f5 Bh5 30.Nd5 Bxd1 31.Nxf6 Qxf6 32.Rxd1 d3 33.Qg4+ Kh8 34.Qf4 e3 35.Rxd3 e2 36.Re3 e1Q+ 37.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 38.Kf2 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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BettercallMagnus | - | Evermore (Caruana) | - | 0–1 | 2020 | C76 | chess24 banter blitz | |
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Caruana, despite having a reputation as not being that formidable at blitz, was ferocious in his stream, winning all of his games and displaying awesome feats of calculation.
In general, this is keeping with all the elite younger players — they are all fiercely ambitious and have very high online ratings. When watching the streams of players like Kramnik, Anand and Ivanchuk, while they were impressive you could also detect understandable rust. It’s also rather endearing how little regard they seem to have for the clock, and there isn't the obsession with flagging people that you get from other streamers. In fact, quite the opposite often happens — as they become so focused on the clock, they end up losing on time to much lower-rated players. I get the impression that the legends couldn’t care less what their online blitz ratings are.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bf5 4.c4 c6 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.d3 e6 7.Be3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 Qxb2 9.Bd4 9...Bb4+ 9...Qb4+ 10.Nbd2 Qxc4 11.Nxc4 Bb4+ 11...Nbd7 12.Rb1 b6 12...b5 13.Nce5 13.Nfe5 12.Nfd2 10.Nbd2 Bxd2+ 11.Nxd2 Qa3 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13.0-0 Nd7 14.Rab1 Nb6 15.Qh4 15...Qe7 16.Rfc1 e5 17.a4! 0-0 18.a5 Nd7 18...Nd5 19.e4 18...Nc8 19.Ne4 Kg7 20.Rxb7‼ Qxb7 21.Qxf6+ Kg8 22.Qxf5 19.Rxb7 Rfb8 19...Qa3 20.Rcb1 20.a6 Rxb7 21.axb7 Rb8 22.Rxc6 Nc5? 23.Qb4! Rxb7 24.Qxc5 Qxc5 25.Rxc5 Be6 26.Bxb7 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Pensioner (Kramnik) | - | Branust | - | 1–0 | 2020 | A11 | chess24 banter blitz | |
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The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
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