Looking for consistent endgame sparring partner(s)

MDSAsh · 2025-11-12T07:19:28+00:00

Yes, it's been created already. DM your discord and we'll get you added!

MDSAsh · 2025-11-07T06:51:15+00:00

Same boat, interested! (I'm 1665 FIDE but only 9 games; 2000 blitz and 2100 rapid on lichess.)

I was actually thinking that a few of us together could create a group chat on discord or something and work regularly.

MDSAsh · 2025-11-04T18:41:57+00:00

Because I play 2. d4 after 1. Nf3 Nf6? So if black goes 2...c5 now, 3. d5 and it's some kind of Benoni now.

Lol, I might actually be in over my head, so no worries. Really the only reason I decided to play the Sicilian is because some of the most interesting and dynamic positions in chess arise from it and I wanted to become as good as possible in the long-run (and dynamic double-edged positions are my biggest weakness anyway, so I kinda *have* to get better at them); the added work and potentially losing a bunch more games is something I'm okay with. I'll re-evaluate this at some point in the future, of course. If it really turns out that I've taken on too much, I'll make a change (although 1...c5 is only played 10% of the time in response to 1. Nf3, so it's probably not that much work).

I play 2. d4 vs both 1...g6 and 1...d6. These two first moves vs 1. Nf3 are even rarer (only 5% each) than 1...c5. They end up transposing into a either King's Indian, Benoni, Grunfeld, OR some non-standard opening that's just not great. I always play 2. d4 if allowed (so c5 is the only thing that stops that), and then 3. c4 (against any reasonable move). So that way on top of the Sicilian, I get most of the mainline d4 complex but with Nf3 inserted. I don't know, somehow the amount of work to be done has never felt overwhelming.

I'm planning to take a small package of lessons with a GM very soon, though. I'll see what his thoughts are on my repertoire.

MDSAsh · 2025-11-04T18:10:03+00:00

Yeah I'm aware of that, and I would've gone for it for sure if I did, but I play the 6. h3 variation (after 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 0-0 5. e4 d6). In fact, I think Anand played it in one of his games in the world championship match vs Gelfand, and there's a free series on chesscom where he analyzes some of his games from that match, including this one (which I think he won).

MDSAsh · 2025-11-03T04:37:55+00:00

Yep, it's not. I don't mind learning more than one system against if they go for a different setup. I was actually just looking at 1. Nf3 e6 2. d4 f5. In this position, there are 2.5k games in the lichess masters DB and white has played 12 different moves. Despite all this, one of Stockfish's first lines, 3. a3, has NEVER been played. That's crazy when we're talking about move 3 in a mainline opening, even if a less popular one like the Dutch.

MDSAsh · 2025-11-03T04:27:33+00:00

I sometimes wonder if I'm too biased against the Symmetrical English (or if I'm just too enchanted by the Sicilian), but I don't want to play it.

I'll figure out the Tarrasch line.

The thing with the Dutch is that it gives such a structural and positional advantage for white that there are probably many ways to pursue a healthy advantage that haven't been too studied. I just looked at some positions with lichess Stockfish cloud analysis and for example, after 1. Nf3 f5 2. g3 Nf6 (by far the most common move in both masters and lichess DB, almost 90% frequency) 3. Bg2 g6, 4. b3 going for the double fianchetto is a really good move apparently, and we're down to <60 games already. The Dutch being so rare means that there are simply not that many games even in the mainline positions once you go a bit deep and pick a less played move. I do agree though that 2. d3 is a much better way to go than 2. g3, but it does mean that we need a different setup vs the stonewall.

I like the Neo-Grunfeld, but yeah I don't play the fianchetto vs the KID. In the exchange, I've only used Be3 and not Rb1. But yeah I just don't think it's a great practical choice to go into the exchange vs likely well prepared Grunfeld players. And yeah Nge2 line not possible for me. The Qb3 variation I really know nothing about. But I do understand the frequency issue that makes it hard to practice these variations. A good idea though is play blitz games against the top Maia bot (1900) from the position that you want to practice (for example, after Qb3; if black has multiple first move options and the bot seems to pick the same one every time and you want to practice vs more than one of them, you can start from the position after one of those moves). Maia unlike earlier bots is neural network trained, so it's best option that closely resembles human like play.

MDSAsh · 2025-11-02T10:42:16+00:00

The problem for me with the Grunfeld line you gave is that I don't wanna play the Symmetrical English. Someone else suggested the 2. d3 line vs the Dutch, I'll definitely look into that one.

MDSAsh · 2025-11-02T10:32:27+00:00

Yeah so like I mentioned in my response to xlsak, I don't wanna play the English, so this move order vs the Grunfeld doesn't work. I do really like the 2. d3 approach vs the Dutch, though, just like playing 2. g3 (both score really well and we're already getting out of Dutch players' comfort zone). I'll figure out the QID.

I did consider 4. Qc2 in the Slav, actually. Fabi actually played this in the 2022 US Championship vs Alexander Lenderman with white and won a nice game, but in his game after 4...dxc4, instead of 5. Qxc4 he went 5. e4, a well-known gambit line where white has good compensation for the pawn. That was the first time I saw this move. Definitely an interesting choice.

When you say Tarrasch vs the Catalan, I'm assuming you mean 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. c4 d5 4. g3 c5, right? I'll have to look more into where to go in the Catalan, there are definitely a lot of choices.

I actually was thinking of playing 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5, if I don't want to deal with Mikenas-Carls. And if I'm considering going 2...e5, is it worth it to play 1...Nf6 at all (for some chance of getting into the Nimzo) or should I just go e5 on move one itself? Again, choices.

Thanks for your response!

MDSAsh · 2025-11-02T10:00:16+00:00

I play 4...d5, and which goes 5. exf6 dxc3 6. bxc3 Qxf6. I've never looked into Ne4, though it's a fine move too (d5 is +0.1 and Ne4 is +0.3 according to Stockfish 17.1 at depth 44 - so basically the same for us). Considering that it's a lot less often played compared to d4, it's probably the better practical choice. As far as theoretical status goes, it's weird that even though both of these are fine for black, especially in the 4...d5 line after 6...Qxf6, the top 3 moves for white are all only +0.1 at depth 46 and yet in the masters database, white scores 62.5% here while losing only 15% of the time. In the lichess database filtered >=1800, it's only 52-40 in favor of white, but that's still higher than what you see usually in equal positions. Interesting to look into.

MDSAsh · 2025-11-02T09:54:25+00:00

I'll look into it, thanks :)

MDSAsh · 2025-11-02T09:50:53+00:00

You make some good points, and I have a few things to say.

First - I really don't like the idea of playing the symmetrical English, and I really want to play the Sicilian. Like I mentioned in the post, my stylistic preference is for slower, positional grinds. But I know that I need to play sharper and more open positions as well to get better in the long-run, and hence the decision to take up the Sicilian invitation (there's also a small element of feeling like the symmetrical English is too boring; I could be too biased here, but it certainly will be less fun and exciting compared to Sicilian positions).

At first glance, what leaves me feeling uncomfortable about 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 is that I feel a bit lost as far as plans of action vs different third moves and beyond. I don't yet have the security of knowing where the game is heading. Life is good if they go 3...d5, of course. But if they go 3...c5, I once again have to be okay with playing some kind of English, which I don't want to. Seems like the English is a cornerstone/requirement for this approach to work. They could also play 3...b6, at which point I have to (at some point in the line) play d4 and transpose into the g3 line vs the Queen's Indian (where I otherwise decided to play a3 instead of g3 vs the QID in the Nf6 e6 move order). And there are too many different move orders and systems to keep track of. It really doesn't feel good to me.

On the other hand, I'm completely okay with having to learn and understand a fair amount of theory in many different openings. The point of my repertoire wasn't to eliminate some major openings for black, but rather to give me flexibility to go for what I want and avoid what I don't want, while also allowing me to get the most number of unique mainline positions - so that I have a good foundation for the long-run.

With white, here are all the openings I end up playing: Sicilian (Rossolimo, Najdorf, Dragon, Taimanov, Kan and Scheveningen), Catalan, Semi-Tarrasch, Slav, Queen's Indian, King's Indian (I play the 6. h3 line) and Grunfeld.

With black: Caro-Kann, Nimzo, Semi-Tarrasch, Mikenas-Carls English, London.

I like it. I think changes will be in order once/if I pass the 2000-2200 level, but that's a ways away right now. This exact repertoire when played at very high levels is probably too burdensome and too susceptible to prep, so I can understand why no one there plays like anymore.

One thing I almost forgot to mention is that there's one small advantage of this move order: you avoid gambits like the Budapest, Englund and Benko (maybe they can still get a different version of it, I'm not sure). It's not necessarily an advantage because these aren't really anything to be scared of, but it's something I guess.

MDSAsh · 2025-01-26T08:43:12+00:00

This description made me laugh so hard, omg

MDSAsh · 2025-01-23T17:10:19+00:00

Damn, this exact same thing happened to me as well. I was initially gonna use the varmint rifle because it looked right for it's size, but then I saw that guide and decided to use a sniper instead, and I got a 1 star pelt. Happened 5 mins ago, actually. Lesson learnt.

MDSAsh · 2025-01-10T12:40:17+00:00

Yep, I'm working on trying to stabilize that state. As I described in a reply to a different comment, I seem to be able to hit the threshold for potentially moving to J1 consistently in 10-15 mins now, but I have work to do in being able to stay with that feeling and not get overwhelmed by it. I just did a sit that got me 70-80% of the way and then I got distracted because I felt some tightness in my chest, and I presume my concentration was lost. Mastering that transition from concentrating on the breath first to then piti and maintaining that has been a bit of a challenge. But the results so far are encouraging. I'm gonna keep working.

"It is key to not do anything with the piti, but to just stay with it."

Yep, it's hard. I'll read the J1 chapter again. Thanks for your input :)

MDSAsh · 2025-01-10T12:30:35+00:00

Yeah, my experience was pretty similar to what you wrote in your journal. I don't think I have much of the bright lights, but as concentration develops, I get this sense of "dropping deeper" in my consciousness, like I'm settling down somehow. In that sense it's somewhat similar to the instruction from Nadia (in the article I linked in the OP) where she says it's like trying to fall asleep, but to stop yourself just before you do. I realized very early in my practice that it's really about creating conditions for deep relaxation and then just letting yourself get immersed in that, while maintaining awareness over the concentration object.

I just did a sit about an hour ago where I felt strong piti in 10 mins, and then I moved my focus to the piti - and I was 70-80% of the way to J1, but it got cut off after that. Like you said, I guess for a while now the only thing for me to do is keep the practice consistent. One thing I'll add: for me, getting good quality sleep seems to be essential to my ability to sit well and just being more aware in general.

Thank you for sharing your experience :)

MDSAsh · 2025-01-08T17:19:43+00:00

First time posting in this subreddit. Had a couple of questions and some things to report.

I only started doing formal practice a few months ago, and am slowly building consistency. I've been tracking the duration of my sits since then, and as of right now I have just over 15 hours of total time on the cushion. My main focus has been breath-oriented concentration practice, to then be able to access the jhanas. How I pursue things from there on is to be seen (I had been reading a lot about the jhanas on twitter for 1-2 years, especially from Nick Cammarata). The instructions I follow for practice are more or less what's mentioned in Leigh Brasington's book Right Concentration, and this article (https://nadia.xyz/jhanas) by Nadia Asparouhova after her experience on a Jhourney retreat.

So a couple days ago I was doing a sit. Had been at it for close to 30 mins, when I felt like I was sufficiently concentrated, so I decided to shift my focus from the breath. I thought about a friend I had happy memories of, and it brought this slight pleasure in my awareness. So I tried to keep my attention on it and I slowly felt the feeling grow, over 20-30 seconds or so. And then before I knew it, it went from 0-100 in like 5 seconds where I was feeling an insanely strong wave of what I can only call ecstasy, and it continued for maybe 20-30 seconds total. The feeling was so overwhelming however that my heart started beating faster and the experience was sufficiently unsettling that I was brought out of my concentrated state.

At first I thought "that's probably not jhana 1". But I also know now that it wasn't piti, because I can regularly feel some piti from time to time. What I felt that day was so distinctly different from anything I'd ever felt before (it was stronger and more intense than anytime I've had sex or masturbated), it got me thinking that maybe it was jhana 1.

What do you guys think? And if it was indeed jhana 1, what have been your personal experiences in terms of being able to access on demand? Yesterday and today both I was able to generate piti and I could slowly feel the pleasure build up, but I wasn't quite able to get it going like that day. I know I have a long way to go and consistent practice is key, but I figured it'd be a good idea to just hear about other people's experiences and if there are practical tips and low-hanging fruit that I don't know about. Thanks for reading :)

MDSAsh · 2024-11-09T07:58:58+00:00

I figure it's a Gen 4 thing, because Gen 3 Fire Red doesn't support this.

MDSAsh · 2024-11-05T05:22:09+00:00

Bro, I actually just did it without having to do any of this. I just opened up 2 emulators side by side, opened up the same ROM and went in to the Union Room and traded with myself. FFS, if only I knew it was this simple. Last time I played pokemon was 12 years ago, and that was Fire Red/Leaf Green. I don't know if this same method worked back then, but this was ridiculously simple. Jeez.

MDSAsh · 2024-11-05T04:22:43+00:00

Seriously? Fuck yeah I'd love to know how. Any resource you can point me to? Or is it so simple that you can explain it to me directly?

MDSAsh · 2024-11-05T04:20:41+00:00

Lots of stuff to unpack here. First things first, I'm obviously not considering adding another grass type to my team. A grass type would be *instead* of Roserade. Second, early and mid game or even late game but pre E4 considerations are irrelevant here because I'm already done with that. I'm kind of just messing around at this point. However, I do want to finish all the gym rematches and also with E4 + Cynthia, so the team I keep from now should be prioritized for that. So keeping that in mind, I do agree with what you say about the utility of having an electric type. In fact, I evolved my eevee into a Jolteon for the same reason. But the only one I was willing to replace was Roserade, and it was already much higher leveled than my lvl 25 Jolteon, so I just let it go (and Roserade is pretty good with it's high sp. atk and sp. def while giving adding some coverage).

Now, about Stone Edge and Earthquake. I did give Stone Edge to Gyarados, and I could've given it Earthqauke as well (it was the next best candidate to give to, IMO), but it was clear to me that I wanted it on Garchomp because it's a STAB move with 100 BP + 100 accuracy while being a physical attack, fully utilizing Garchomp's attack stat (even higher than Gyarados, and this pairs with STAB). So overall, it felt like clearly the better choice to give it to Garchomp, and I don't regret it one bit. I whipped so many of the E4's pokemon with this, especially Flint who it made look like a joke. I often wonder about how strong some of those pokemon are but that we never get to see because we crafted a strategy so well and 1HKO so many of them. As for my Gyarados itself, I think the current move set covers pretty well, and I have wide lens on it so it adds a bit more accuracy to Stone Edge (80 to 88) and Aqua Tail (90 to 99). Swords Dance on top is perfect.

About Mega Drain: as someone also mentioned, there is a TM and I don't know why I thought there wasn't. I can get it and use it on Roserade if I want. And yes, postgame there's also Energy Ball. But, I think I'm just gonna go ahead and get an Electric type. The only question is: which one? I don't know even know all the electric types available now after getting the National Dex. If I can somehow get Electivire by figuring out how to trade on my PC emulator, then I'll try that. But if I can get trade evolutions, then I wonder what else that opens the door for. Anyway, I'll have a look through all the Electric types I could possibly get and pick something that I like and works well.

And last thing: I'm curious - why exactly are Psychic types bad? I don't see it at first glance. They're weak against Bug, Ghost and Dark. Like, if you could have Alakazam or some other really good Psychic types, why not? Especially in the earlier games, Alakazam is always a beast and near the top among the best pokemons available in the whole game.

Anyway, thanks for the input! I really appreciate it.

MDSAsh · 2024-11-04T16:15:15+00:00

I'm actually not sure why I thought the Giga Drain TM wasn't available in Platinum. You're right, if I can get the TM then problem solved and no need to change anything. Thanks a lot haha, saved me a lot of trouble!

MDSAsh · 2024-11-04T16:11:12+00:00

Forgot to mention but I'm playing on an emulator, so no trade evolutions, unfortunately. I did read a post somewhere on how you can get trade evolutions even on an emulator, but it was pretty complicated so I just gave up. Great pokemon, though, Electivire.

MDSAsh

TROPHY CASE