Play chess online, chess puzzles, chess clubs, board games, free chess online, chess teams, chess games, chess games database, chess league, online games, free online chess games and more...

Tags: play chess online, play chess online, play chess, play chess, chess online, online chess, backgammon

Chess Forum
uskidscompute.com   << online chess - < chess - chess > - chess online >>
FromMessage
Posted by andy94
uskidscompute.com

11/16/2008
08:02:21

Play online chess
Subject: A chess saying...

Message:
"White plays to win, black plays to draw."
I don't remember who said it, but it's an interesting thing to talk about.
What do you think?


Posted by ionadowman
uskidscompute.com

11/16/2008
12:36:32

Play online chess
Is it indeed attributable to one person?...

Message:
I seems to have been the approach taken by many chess masters, but certainly not all. Judging by the recent World Championship match, Vishy Anand had no idea of taking such a line. Bobby Fischer would have thought such an approach pusillanimous.

I much prefer the attitude of one Efim Bogoljubov, who flourished in the '20s and '30s: "When I have White, I win because I have the White pieces; when I have Black, I win because I am Bogojubov."

Cheers,
Ion


Posted by ccmcacollister
uskidscompute.com

11/16/2008
14:02:17

Play online chess
I have always liked Bogo's~! Very masterful :))

Message:
Corollaries:
Alekhine: "When I am WT I win because I am Alekhine, with black I win because you Are Bogojubov".

Mine: "When I am White I win because You are not Bogojubov, with black I win because Bogojubov is deceased and only had an hour to get to the board. "
{ "Wait a minute, I won? What happened??" }

}8-)

About drawing with black, winning with WT. Obviously it Wins any single match. Besides that it is often used in RR or double RR play particularly amongst near equals and in long events. In Swiss play, especially short ones, it is not so commonly sought.
There it might be more like: Crush the lower rated because you are higher rated; Win with WT among your peers; and Let's see about winning with black among peers and betters since I hope to know my chosen defense better, but if not perhaps I will grace them (aka "bail out" :) with a draw . . .


Posted by kansaspatzer
uskidscompute.com

11/16/2008
14:04:45

Play online chess


Message:
I think that such an approach is more applicable at a higher level than most of us are at. Certainly, when you look at the world championship matches such as the one just played between Kramnik and Anand, the notion of who was White and who was Black was critical to match strategy (and it was a very big deal when Anand won as Black.) At my level - I'm around 1600 both on here and OTB, I'm going to play for a win any time I'm playing somebody unless they're much higher rated than I am, in which case I may head for drawish lines, knowing that heading for a technical endgame will likely play into the hands of someone with more endgame experience than myself.

Posted by cascadejames
uskidscompute.com

11/16/2008
20:39:57

Play online chess
Better with Black?

Message:
For reasons that are unclear to me, I have consistently had a better record on Gameknot with
black. So I am skeptical about the application of the rule to those of use who are not Class A
players or higher.


Posted by lighttotheright
uskidscompute.com

11/16/2008
21:35:48

Play online chess


Message:
I sometimes play for a draw, even when I'm white. I drew a 2300 + player recently doing just that. I was surprised to get an early lead, but I knew it wasn't enough to win. When I got a chance to trade Queens, I took it. I had to give back some material to force a draw, but it worked.

I sometimes lose a game because I push things too far - trying to force a win.



Posted by kansaspatzer
uskidscompute.com

11/16/2008
22:34:56

Play online chess


Message:
An attitude I would generally find more profitable would be "keeping the draw in hand" rather than "outright playing for the draw". Trying to push for a miniscule advantage is easier than pushing outright for a draw, in which you aren't able to claim any positional advantages, which can be tricky since playing for a draw tends to be harder than it sounds.

Posted by blake78613
uskidscompute.com

11/17/2008
04:55:41

Play online chess


Message:
When I am Black, I am happy to repeat a line that lead to a draw, and will keep repeating it until someone finds a way to obtain an advantage. While with White if I draw with a line, I will start looking for a different line.

Posted by ionadowman
uskidscompute.com

11/17/2008
12:29:51

Play online chess
Back in '83 ...

Message:
... I got roped into a six-round Easter tournament, having played just one game (in a telegraph match) in the previous 12 months. Naturally I wasn't in form, having made no preparation. In the event Black won all six of my games!

On reflection, I suppose that wasn't such a good occasion to depart from my usual English Opening to try opening lines I hadn't played before. That wasn't very clever... :(

Cheers,
Ion


Posted by farhadexists
uskidscompute.com

11/18/2008
08:07:12

Play online chess


Message:
At my level (1500-1600), I don't think it matters, as almost every single game is decided by a blunder of some sort, mine or my opponent's.
Then again, I've won 60% of my games as White here on GK, and 53% as Black, so maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Farhad


Posted by wulebgr
uskidscompute.com

11/19/2008
06:16:37

Play online chess
another

Message:
Black is Okay

The title of a series of books, and allegedly a famous statement by some player--I don't know who.


Posted by ketchuplover
uskidscompute.com

11/19/2008
06:24:03

Play online chess


Message:
Chess is a theoretical draw-Bobby Fischer

Posted by andy94
uskidscompute.com

11/19/2008
07:28:51

Play online chess


Message:
Thanks ketchuplover, lack that quote of Bobby!

Posted by fmgaijin
uskidscompute.com

11/19/2008
10:50:48

Play online chess
Andras Adorjan, wulebgr

Message:
EOM

Posted by markb56
uskidscompute.com

12/04/2008
11:14:19

Play online chess


Message:
I have a terrible time playing as White both on GK and OTB. My win record as Black is about 20% higher both on GK and OTB. I prefer playing with a plan (e.g positional) rather than attack. It also depends on the opponent -- young players seem to have a harder time grinding it out than older players, as they need constant stimulus to stay interested.


Posted by ionadowman
uskidscompute.com

12/04/2008
11:50:06

Play online chess
I guess it depends...

Message:
... on what you find "stimulating" enough to keep your interest. Consider that you are down a pawn in a rook ending; possibly - even probably - a draw, but your opponent has whatever the winning chances going. What keeps you interested enough to play the thing down to its last gasp - lose or draw? It could, of course, be your place in a tournament - the possibility of a "grade prize" (if such things are offered), or, since your opponent has 200 ELO rating points more, there's the "moral victory" of acquiring a significant boost to your own rating and an addition to your chess CV.

Then, there's the intellectual exercise of making the best of the situation, finding whatever tactics there might be in the position, of setting your opponent problems. The same goes if you're on the upside of such an endgame.

Maybe it's worth thinking of it in these terms: When down, you are extracting a draw from a game probably lost; when ahead, you are extracting a win from a game probably drawn! Grinding out the win is not always - I find it's not even usually - lacking in interest.

Cheers,
Ion





Chess news:

Vlad Kramnik and Magnus Carlsen go toe-to-toe at Wijk aan Zee -- Corus Wijk aan Zee, the most popular event on the chess calendar, ends tomorrow with ex-champion Vlad Kramnik and the world No1 Magnus Carlsen competing for the lead in the closing rounds. Kramnik won their individual game impressively, but the 19-year-old Norwegian has the easier finish. Carlsen is not yet dominating his chess peers in the style of Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov at their peaks, but he is already the man to beat. The reigning world chess champion Vishy Anand has played an uncharacteristically low-key tournament, drawing his first nine games. Nigel Short, in his strongest event for years, has struggled in some games but missed a clear win against Kramnik. ...

Modern Chess Players Prove Bobby Fischer Was Wrong -- Bobby Fischer once famously remarked that "chess is dead". What he meant was that so much had been discovered about the game of chess that creativity and innovation were waning. Chess players are certainly better prepared than ever because databases and computers are widely used to analyze and dissect openings. Players can sometimes reel off 20 or more moves before they leave their preparation. That seems to have sucked the life out of some chess openings. Most top players know a couple of lines in the Petroff Defense through more than 20 moves, and it is not uncommon for them to play that out and agree to a draw, if that is the result they want. But there are ...

Magnus Carlsen joins Vladimir Kramnik -- Vladimir Kramnik had to engineer an escape from a difficult endgame as Alexey Shirov brought the former world chess champion to the brink of defeat at Wijk aan Zee. Shirov remains half a point behind Kramnik and world number one Magnus Carlsen with two to play. Carlsen defeated Lenier Dominguez, somewhat fortuitously, to join Kramnik on 7.5/11. Carlsen has the easier finish as Kramnik must play black against Vishy Anand in the penultimate game. Carlsen faces Peter Leko with black and teenager Fabiano Caruana with white. ...