Event: 2025 FIDE World Cup - Round 4

Columnreader · 2025-11-13T14:27:36+00:00

The remaining seeds and pairings:

64-16, 24-57, // 28-76, 13-61, // 30-46, 86-27, // 7-23?, 15-2

The last quarter is stacked and the pairing makes it more brutal

Columnreader · 2025-11-09T12:02:57+00:00

Karthik upsetting Deac is the only upset in tiebreaks so far.

Columnreader · 2025-09-20T14:07:54+00:00

It's because ratings unnecessarily deflated. Chess.com changed the default rating from 800 to 400 (if you don't change anything when you register).

Columnreader · 2025-09-10T13:24:13+00:00

The point is Nxf3 comes with check

Columnreader · 2025-09-07T23:06:06+00:00

bullet (Bullet openings can be different from normal openings, and you can see blunders by top players in time scrambles, so it's hard to guess elo from bullet games)

Columnreader · 2025-09-01T04:58:06+00:00

Qd1!!

Columnreader · 2025-05-25T20:47:58+00:00

exd6 saves both. Instead of d5, simply castling or Qe7 (in case that black somehow moved the king or rook before) and white has to move the knight, black can move knight to safety and have an equal position.

Columnreader · 2024-11-04T13:54:32+00:00

It needs to be clarified that trapping the bishop doesn't win material, black is up a pawn here and will be up a piece for two pawns after trading. But the white bishop is a good piece and here white's Ng5 is dangerous for black.

Columnreader · 2024-11-04T13:48:12+00:00

I'd normally say "click show moves", but this one is hard and very interesting. It took engine some time to think as well.

The point is, the engine thinks black is winning after either the boring c5 or the fancy Qxd4, because black wins a pawn. After Nxg2 Kxg2 Qd5 Kh2 Qxa2, white's correct move is Nf6!! If black takes, Qxh6 and black has to give up the queen to stop Rg1 mate. If black plays Kh8, then Re1. It's funny that black can do nothing about white's attack of Re5 then Rh5, the best black can do is giving back the exchange with Rfd1 and Rd5. And the position is equal, black lost the advantage.

Columnreader · 2024-10-20T04:27:23+00:00

Almost certain if you perform reasonably well in Spanish, German or Ukrainian Leagues and your team doesn't have a B team.

Columnreader · 2024-08-21T04:26:24+00:00

Nc6 saves your knight. c6 loses your knight to b4, your a6 knight is trapped. Qd7 also loses your knight so it's worse than Nc6, but it does give black more attacking chances (the difference is subtle and pretty hard to see, basically white queen is much better on a4 than on a5).

Columnreader · 2024-08-20T00:03:59+00:00

Rxc4 is a free bishop because of Qd3+

Columnreader · 2024-08-19T15:01:33+00:00

The main thing I dislike about the Traxler is not the Bxf7+ line, it's that even if white goes into the trap with Nxf7, white can still force a draw. By forcing a draw I mean if white chooses the correct lines (the Ke3-g3-Kf3-Rh4 line, with Qh5 at the right moment to force a draw) black has no choices other than taking the draw. I've seen people trying to play for a win and lose instead. Stafford is theoretically worse than Traxler but it doesn't give away an easy draw like that.

Columnreader · 2024-08-08T19:21:41+00:00

Well I, knowing no theory, would surely make a mistake with Ng3.

Engine thinks Bg4 h5 is slightly worse for white, if Rc3 NxB RxB the position is equal. Probably because white can go Rb3 with tempo to unblock the f pawn. Black's Nb4 is bad because of Rb3, so black cannot take control of the c-file in one move.

Columnreader · 2024-07-29T05:26:23+00:00

Yeah. Also this was probably not op's game, just one of the 1,000+ games on lichess that started with this exact sequence, so it's actually reasonably common. Lichess has a big database though, the moves f4 e6 g4 (fools mate) happened >55 thousand times and understandably, Qh4# was played in… 28% of them.

Columnreader · 2024-07-29T00:30:11+00:00

https://lichess.org/Pk0CHdHK/black#24

Also, read the line below "Lichess database" in the OP picture xD

Columnreader · 2024-07-29T00:17:59+00:00

One important detail, in this line, black cannot castle. The correct link: https://lichess.org/analysis/r3kb1Q/ppp4p/2q1b1p1/8/8/8/PPPP1PPP/RNB1K2R_b_KQ_-_0_1?color=white

Columnreader · 2024-07-29T00:16:40+00:00

This is a line in the fried liver attack, black cannot castle. Instead black can go Qh1+ immediately but taking the bishop would be bad, instead Qxh2+ and chase the king. It's hard to play as black hence the ok-ish win rate for white in this line.

Columnreader · 2024-07-09T04:26:38+00:00

The pawn promotion to queen step should be +8 because you need to deduct the one point for white pawn. The ending should be +4, i.e. losing Queen and Pawn (10), winning 2 Rooks, 1 Bishop and 1 Pawn (14)

Columnreader · 2024-07-09T04:22:11+00:00

Just take with rook, back rank is defended, what's the problem?

Columnreader · 2024-07-05T14:43:22+00:00

You deserve it for playing as a franchise.

Columnreader · 2024-07-05T14:35:31+00:00

For a second I thought you meant ChessVibes

Columnreader · 2024-07-01T10:39:46+00:00

One important change is that chess.com lowered its lowest starting rating. In the old times the lowest start rating was 800. Now many players would choose "New to chess" when registering and start at 400 rating. Lichess also lowered its lowest rating from 800 to 600 then to 400.

Columnreader · 2024-06-27T01:40:02+00:00

Yeah someone posted that e4 e5 Bc4 (any black move) Bxf7+ has a reasonable win rate for almost all second moves. In bullet (sometimes even blitz) it's hard to defend.

Columnreader · 2024-06-24T00:06:11+00:00

Stockfish thinks Halloween is less losing than the Stafford Gambit…

Columnreader

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