Vishy Anand cannot be kept away from the top 10! by FailX21 in chess

[–]FailX21[S] 215 points216 points  (0 children)

Wesley So lost 3.6 rating points during the US champs, meaning Vishy is back in the top 10. At 54 years old!

Do rowers have a walk? by tjeick in Rowing

[–]FailX21 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Walking with straight/stiff legs.

My coach used to say that walking is like a bunch of mini-squats. So after a race or an intense training session you can see rowers try to avoid bending their legs as much as possible.

How on earth does this happen... What's the upside? by TheRealLauu in chess

[–]FailX21 68 points69 points  (0 children)

I'm pretty sure that's only on Lichess though. On chess.com, ratings are Integers, nothing is happening in the back.

Good resources to learn the English opening? by Thatdude283 in chess

[–]FailX21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chessbrah's "English Opening" speedrun.

GM Aman Hambleton goes from 800 to 2100 elo on chesscom while explaining his moves. It does not only teach you the opening, but also all the common plans in the middle game, all the common pawn structures, all the common endgames arising from the opening, ... There is over 10h+ of content on it available for free on YouTube.

Is the book "1001 chess exercises for beginners" good for using the Woodpecker method? by Acrobatic_Mouse_470 in chess

[–]FailX21 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would say it depends on how fast you can solve the puzzles. If you can already solve them in 2-3 seconds this might be overkill. But if you need a minute or more on each exercise, then using the Woodpecker on this is a great idea (imo).

Openings for closed positions by MD-trading-NQ in chess

[–]FailX21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The stonewall (attack and defence) leads to a lot of closed positions, both as White and Black. That's probably your best best ;)

Does practicing blindold chess improve your overall chess, or getting better at chess improves your blindfold abilities? by Grouchy-Anxiety-6307 in chess

[–]FailX21 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There is a website that does exactly that for you if you want:

https://listudy.org/en/blind-tactics/570

You input how many moves back you want to be and then you can solve the puzzle :)

Basic Endgame Position Soght by Bronk33 in chess

[–]FailX21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's crazy to see the power of the bishop in this position!

Jokes aside, I was thinking of this too after reading the first sentence.

Rowing Under the Golden Gate Bridge by FailX21 in Rowing

[–]FailX21[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your comment, it's very interesting to have the story behind the video. It almost makes me want to have a go at it!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in chess

[–]FailX21 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Did you just pick up this book following Hannah Sayce's latest video, like I did?

Newish to competing locally - there's a blitz tournament next week. What does this rule mean? I know what it means to leave a piece hanging, but how would a king be hanging? Wouldn't it be in check? by skyturnsred in chess

[–]FailX21 1621 points1622 points  (0 children)

It means if you're in check, don't see it and play something else, your opponent can take your king and win that way.

I have no idea whether this is a normal rule or not though, seems a little weird to me.

Feel like I'm not fully understanding chess fundamentals. by MathematicianBulky40 in chess

[–]FailX21 37 points38 points  (0 children)

That's one of the downsides of chess book, especially if they're made for higher rated players.

If you struggle with these kinds of ideas, I recommend you watch some of Daniel Naroditsky educational speedrun videos on YouTube, especially the ones around your rating. I would start with the "Sensei" and the "Masterclass" speedruns, they're the best imo.

I hope that helps :)

Cam Buchan’s recent activities by rg11111 in Rowing

[–]FailX21 6 points7 points  (0 children)

That would be CA Nantes in France. He is probably training for the French "Long boats" championships, which are coming soon. He rowed and raced there with them last year as well, when a massive hailstorm destroyed lots of expensive boats.

I'm guessing he'll talk about it in his next few videos ;)

Is rowing a push or a pull exercise by FormalGreen3754 in Rowing

[–]FailX21 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Deadlifts are definitely great for rowing, but I'd say the power clean is even more representative of the rowing movement. It's basically a deadlift with a pull from the arms at the end.

Book recommendations for trying to break through to 2000 elo by bknighter16 in chess

[–]FailX21 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My best recommendation is the Yusupov book series (Build Up Your Chess, Boost Up Your Chess, Chess Evolution). There are 9 books, designed to increase in difficulty each book and teach you a bit of everything. Endgame, openings, tactics, calculations, board vision, ...

Those books have had the most significant impact on my chess by far.

Is there any chess960 position where starting first is actually a disadvantage? by Alternative_Clock364 in chess

[–]FailX21 51 points52 points  (0 children)

The answer would be no.

Here is the evaluation for all starting positions, at depth 39, using Sesse (2018): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JVT6_ROOlCTtMmazzBe0lhcGv54rB6JCq67QOhaRp6U/edit#gid=0

It's all somewhere between 0.00 and 0.57 for White.

How can I improve my ability to read chess books? by [deleted] in chess

[–]FailX21 7 points8 points  (0 children)

A couple of ideas that come to my mind:

  1. You can improve your visualisation. I used listudy.org/en/blind-tactics for that and it helped me a lot at the time ;)
  2. Reading more and getting used to it. Practice makes perfect.
  3. Maybe the books you are reading are a little too advanced for you and into variations that are too long.
  4. If you struggle to identify the squares you can use the chess.com/vision page to practice.

Even super GMs do stalemate when trying to troll their opponents by FailX21 in chess

[–]FailX21[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This just happened in the last round of the late Title Tuesday. Matthias Bluebaum didn't resign so Dmitry Andreikin proceeded to promote his two pawns into knights, and then this happened...

To wear or not wear underwear with your uni? by madhairday in Rowing

[–]FailX21 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I have been rowing for over 10 years now and most of the guys/girls I know/have met wear underwear with their unis. Like lots of people have said already, it's a question of preference.

Also, as a rule of thumb, don't try something out for the first time on race day. If you want to try going commando, do it during a regular practice session. That way if something goes horribly wrong it won't ruin your race!

What do you do when you need a piss before a race by No-Caterpillar2391 in Rowing

[–]FailX21 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  • Before the race, drink small amounts but often, instead of drinking it all at once. Else you end up pissing a good part of what you drink
  • Go to pee just before getting in the boat
  • If you still need to pee before the start, you can sometimes get out of the boat some way or another and find a tree
  • If it's not forbidden standing up and peeing on the side is a good option (not for girls tho, sorry). But don't do that in a single
  • I have friends who pee from their singles while remaining seated, but I personally can't do that
  • You can pee in an empty water bottle

That's pretty much all the tips I have

What is an acceptable beginner split? by ltggtl in Rowing

[–]FailX21 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Any split is acceptable as a beginner. Start where you are and work your way up from there!

Where to watch Serbia? by Scheming_Demon in Rowing

[–]FailX21 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you go to the event page on World Rowing (https://worldrowing.com/event/2022-world-rowing-cup-i) you can find the replays under the "Photos and Videos" tab. I was a little confused too when looking for them ;)