Physics Forums Chess Club/Thread

[kyphysics]

Are any members interested in a chess club/thread?

It could involve both play and intellectual/"nerdy" chat and analysis.

 

[fresh_42]

Yes, but we don't have a pgn interpreter, which would be nice. And the resonance during the last championship wasn't overwhelming on PF.

 

[Ibix]

Happy to lose at chess in exchange for feedback on why I suck.

Slightly less dramatically, I played against my schoolmates years ago. Recently I started to play again, against my phone. Interested in playing against someone whose chess skills aren't either those of a twelve year old or expressible simply in C++.

 

[kyphysics]

Happy to lose at chess in exchange for feedback on why I suck.

Slightly less dramatically, I played against my schoolmates years ago. Recently I started to play again, against my phone. Interested in playing against someone whose chess skills aren't either those of a twelve year old or expressible simply in C++.

Hey, it might depend on which 12-year old you're talking about. ;)

Some super prodigies out there!

I massively suck. I'm 1300's. But I play for fun, relaxation, and because I have medical issues that prevent me from doing physical sports anymore.

 

[kyphysics]

Yes, but we don't have a pgn interpreter, which would be nice. And the resonance during the last championship wasn't overwhelming on PF.

Actually, you could use Chess.com and set up a club there. You could have a thread HERE, but have the club and games there. They have a forum on Chess.com obviously and a thread could be made there too where PGN could be translated for game analysis. :)

When do the games get played here?

 

[berkeman]

We used to have a chess forum or a forum where chess games were played regularly. But my memory is hazy on that -- paging @Greg Bernhardt to help me recollect...

 

[Infrared]

I'd certainly participate in any PF chess event. I'm a bit above 2000 FIDE but don't get to play tournaments so often anymore.

 

[fresh_42]

When do the games get played here?

What do you mean? I only remember that I mentioned standings or game details in some thread and nobody actually replied. It would be nice to follow such events as championships live and discuss them. Not to mention that I usually have questions of the kind: "Why did he not simply ...?" when I replay the games. Some possible tracks are left out even in their commented versions.

 

[kyphysics]

I'd certainly participate in any PF chess event. I'm a bit above 2000 FIDE but don't get to play tournaments so often anymore.

You'd like bully us, Infrared!

 

[kyphysics]

What do you mean? I only remember that I mentioned standings or game details in some thread and nobody actually replied. It would be nice to follow such events as championships live and discuss them. Not to mention that I usually have questions of the kind: "Why did he not simply ...?" when I replay the games. Some possible tracks are left out even in their commented versions.

sorry - that you meant there were game here previously...I see what you mean now.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

We used to have a chess forum or a forum where chess games were played regularly. But my memory is hazy on that -- paging @Greg Bernhardt to help me recollect...

We did! But that was an addon from maybe 10 years ago.

 

[kyphysics]

We did! But that was an addon from maybe 10 years ago.

10 years ago? haha

What happened? Loss of interest afterwards? Any recent attempts to revive it?

 

[sysprog]

What do you mean? I only remember that I mentioned standings or game details in some thread and nobody actually replied. It would be nice to follow such events as championships live and discuss them. Not to mention that I usually have questions of the kind: "Why did he not simply ...?" when I replay the games. Some possible tracks are left out even in their commented versions.

Nowadays you can readily find definitive answers to such questions using chess engines. The open source champion engine, Stockfish, defeats all human players, and its analysis is available online at http://chess.com/analysis. If you go to http://chess.com/forum/category/daily-puzzles and complete a puzzle, the lightbulb hint icon will change to a chessboard icon, and that will take you to Stockfish analysis for that puzzle. You can also download Stockfish from http://stockfishchess.org.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

What happened? Loss of interest afterwards? Any recent attempts to revive it?

Yeah I think it was loss of interest. It was going pretty good for a year or so. No plans to return it.

 

[fresh_42]

Yeah I think it was loss of interest.

... and ...

I'm a bit above 2000 FIDE but don't get to play tournaments so often anymore.

... is a bit frightening, too.

 

[kyphysics]

... and ...

... is a bit frightening, too.

bahahahahahahahahahaha.

 

[kyphysics]

I have a lot of respect for top rated chess players. There's something about "visual calculation" that is so unique. A lot of people have great memories and can do conceptual calculation or even certain types of mathematics in their head. But, these same people cannot always apply the same skills to chess.

It's a unique type of calculation. Fixed by the pieces and allowable moves on the chess board. And it's completely visual. You can have the greatest verbal memory, say, in the world and it won't do anything for you in chess. You need to be able to visually see everything on the board AND mentally rearrange those pieces in your head.

On top of that, you got to do it in a strategically logical and effective way to win!

Just being able to have those visual calculation skills alone won't win. You need that along with strategy skills.

Much respect to those who can do it.

 

[Klystron]

Historical chess anecdote: While growing up in Silicon Valley, many neighbors and teachers played chess via postcards with occasional phone calls or letters to settle disputes prior to personal computers and networks.

I learned table position codes, how pieces moved and read a few books on strategy but oddly enough did not play chess. A thread emphasizing chess data structures and adaptive strategies might be interesting.

 

[fresh_42]

My favorite anecdote is this one:

In 1851 Anderssen won a tournament in London which some consider the first unofficial world championship because all good players at the time participated. In these days people had to travel by stagecoach and it was a long journey back to Wroclaw (Breslau). To change horses they took overnight stays at post stations. Of course the coachman knew all the stations and their hosts, so the two sat down to play a bit chess. Tv wasn't invented, yet. Anderssen watched them and on the question whether he also plays, he replied with a no. If he wanted to learn it? Anderssen agreed and he grasped the rules astonishing fast. So Anderssen and the coachman sat down for their first match. Anderssen lost. They played a second and a third. Anderssen lost. The coachman took his queen off the board. Anderssen lost another two matches, even with an additional queen. Finally the coachman lost interest, but Anderssen insisted: "Look! You have taught me to watch out especially for the queen and the king. Now you have only the king you have to keep an eye on, whereas I have to watch both figures. Let us change this. You will have to watch out for queen and king, and I will play without the queen." The postman smiled and refused to play, but Anderssen was stubborn and insisted to play.

The rest is clear. Anderssen washed the coachman off the board. Unfortunately, the anecdote didn't report how long it took the coachman to recover from the shock.

 

[sysprog]

Feynman uses a chess rules analogy to illustrate some generalities about Physics inquiry: