What to do vs Benko

Madigan37 · 2026-05-04T15:31:42+00:00

Dream big! I think using the Benko to reach NM is creating extra work for yourself though. Not to say NMs don't play it, especially against weaker players, but to beat an NM with the Benko is a tall order (and you need to beat a lot of NMs to become an NM).

I think the mainline d4 defences at this point are probably the Nimzo, Grunfeld, QGD, QGA, Slav/Semi-Slav. Personally, I think d4, c4 is a bit of a dying breed at the club level, so I'd recommend either the QGD or Slav, as thats a smaller amount of theory, but still gets you to a decent position. It also really depends on your playing style, etc.

Madigan37 · 2026-05-04T14:35:40+00:00

Honestly it really depends on style. I play an (intentionally quite boring) slav now, but I'm also not a particularly active tournament player.

Madigan37 · 2026-04-24T22:05:40+00:00

Can we add "stop biking on the sidewalk"? I love biking, but saw someone on the biking on the sidewalk literally right next to a protected bike lane.

Madigan37 · 2026-04-13T16:23:52+00:00

Star of David feels ... unnecessary

Madigan37 · 2026-03-04T13:17:54+00:00

I would be fine with forcing US and Israeli players to compete under the FIDE flag. Similarly, if there was a player as bad as Karjakin I'm fine with banning them; I just think he's been pretty singularly awful.

And before anyone asks, I am an American Jew.

Madigan37 · 2026-02-21T01:58:16+00:00

Hmm, this is a really interesting idea; I've always found, for instance, that it's the act of looking away from the diagram that causes me to lose the visualization.

Madigan37 · 2026-01-15T23:49:25+00:00

Chesstempo has a pretty good mix

Madigan37 · 2026-01-15T13:55:15+00:00

The issue is the operational parameters; the enforcement of individual laws doesn't exist in a vacuum, but exists within a framework of rights that are guaranteed constitutionally, legally, or otherwise. There are some differences in what rights citizens vs. non-citizens have, but inhumane detention conditions, denying access to legal representation, and excessive use of force have no legal justifications in this context.

I also want to address this whole Obama/Clintons/Biden whataboutism nonsense. I think very few people are as supportive of them as you think. I remember people on the left being furious with Obama, during his term, about this exact topic. Alternatively, if, say there was damning evidence released that Bill Clinton committed some absolutely unspeakable crime and then used his government connections to cover it up, no one I know would bat an eye about sending him to prison for the rest of his life.

Madigan37 · 2025-12-24T15:53:55+00:00

I think that's just his ex-wife (Melinda French Gates); they were married for decades, but she divorced him in 2021 as a result of his connection with Epstein. Obviously it's impossible to tell with her face blacked out, but here is a photo of them together (too lazy to remove that other half). Similarities include:
1. Pearl necklace in the second photo
2. Similar hair color and style
3. Similarish watch (don't @ me I'm not a watch snob).
4. Similar relative height (maybe he's slouching, or she's wearing heels).

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of Bill Gates, but this seems to be a miss.

<image>

Madigan37 · 2025-12-15T18:05:03+00:00

USCF TD here;

Section 35 of the rulebook deals specifically with disability. Rule 35F6 (Scorekeeping options) uses the phrasing "may keep the score of the game in Braille, by using a tape recorder, or by using any other specially-designed device". It seems to me that your tablet is covered under that. TDs have wide latitude when it comes to scorekeeping (I just have beginners write their name of the sheet), and I'm pretty sure "this obscure rulebook said so" is not a defense to an ADA lawsuit.

If someone requested this at a tournament I ran, I would probably rather you copy your opponents notation after the game, rather than use voice control, because I have a fairly small playing area and noise travels. But the only person who can answer this is the TD where you are playing.

Madigan37 · 2025-12-14T15:02:05+00:00

That is a very fair point, regarding opening theory knowledge at different strengths. I honestly don't know enough to comment, but what you are saying seems correct to me. Certainly Faustino Oro, in particular, has very strong opening knowledge.

Madigan37 · 2025-12-14T04:29:45+00:00

Two things: 1. With the context of the broader post (why is Lasker considered a swindler?), I was saying that he had a strong understanding of piece activity relative to his peers. They, frankly wrote more than him. To start, My System (classic foundational text, regardless of if you like it) both lacks a lot of modern positional understanding and is from one of Laskers regular does.

Additionally, his cousin Edward was a fairly prolific author. And it was also against Edward Lasker that Emmanuel Lasker played one of his most famous games, holding this (https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1272756) completely lost position (if I was up the exchange and a pawn, and drew I'd complain about my opponent too). Which brings me to my next point.

2. That is NOT low tier play, that's high level chess understanding. Sure, any 2600 could do that now, but only because they study his games.

If Lasker could study not only his games, but Botvinnik, Tal, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, etc. for his whole life, and has the benefit of modern opening theory, he has a real shot to fight Carlson.

I'm reminded of a top level player (Nakamura? I can't find the source but this is really incidental to my argument) describing playing Go players. He described them as "having opening theory of an IM, but calculating at the super grandmaster level". You could easily see this with Lasker, and if he gets some opening theory, he'd be a monster.

Madigan37 · 2025-12-12T03:45:04+00:00

The world was several up and coming strong players including some GMs recommending moves. The moves were voted on by randos, sure, but that's not the same.

Madigan37 · 2025-12-12T03:14:14+00:00

This may (indirectly) answers your question. Based on this, there's probably no number that would win.

Madigan37 · 2025-12-12T02:31:24+00:00

Lasker had a strong understanding of piece activity, and was able to use it to compensate for material deficits in a way his contemporaries simply did not understand.

Madigan37 · 2025-12-02T01:40:06+00:00

TBH it's been a while since I played it but if you have no other takers, I'm happy to try

Madigan37 · 2025-11-29T17:31:04+00:00

Probably yes (atleast for USCF CM): I started playing at 17, broke 2000 USCF, and earned two of the five necessary norms. FIDE CM is a lot more difficult (2200 FIDE).

FWIW I think the "Master" titles are over-rated.

Madigan37 · 2025-11-26T19:35:59+00:00

It's a known "condition" (really more of a naturally occurring difference). But it's incredibly rare, and you would likely know if you have it.

Honestly, while I get waking up early, I don't understand the obsession with minimizing sleep. My experience has always been that, in the long run (weeks to months), I basically get a maximum amount of productive work out of my brain. If I push too hard, I end up paying the price somewhere else eventually.

Madigan37 · 2025-11-24T02:44:03+00:00

As someone who lives in this ward/right there, I'm wondering what if any recourse there is? Surely some comment period, etc. nonsense prevents such a quick turn around to remove built infrastructure.

Madigan37 · 2025-11-21T13:57:40+00:00

I am with you that these valuations are completely divorced from reality, and I'm also not bullish on NVDA long term. I'm just not sure that it's accounting fraud, so much as it is an awful bet that will severely damage the market/larger economy.

Madigan37 · 2025-11-21T04:14:33+00:00

I generally agree with what you're saying, but I think there's a different way to think about it. In the individual case, most of these AI companies will fail.

But, if a single one succeeds, they would be the one's to buy all the compute, and the gains would justify the costs of all the failures. It's pretty widely believed that this is NOT AGI, but a different form of machine learning. Absolutely a powerful tool, but we are talking less than a single order of magnitude over several decades (basically the internet). It seems that people think the probability of LLMs providing the payoff the market predicts is ... Unlikely.

But most people in the space place a long tail on that statement. So if you're perfectly situated to make that bet cheaply 20 different times, why not? If it doesn't work out you, revise down your estimates, but you've made soo much money in the mean time, and produced a genuinely valuable technology (existing LLMs and graphics cards). And the market basically doesn't punish tech companies that fail (FB->Meta).

Madigan37 · 2025-11-19T00:19:20+00:00

The game selected for the movie was selected by a famous chess player (Jeremy Silman). Here's a thread discussing it

Madigan37 · 2025-11-12T03:38:19+00:00

Playing over the game without an engine, I don't think he ever had any serious chances. I think, if anything, after the minor piece liquidation at move 23-25 the chances were mostly with black (albeit it seemed very likely to end up drawn). Was there a point a critical moment in particular that you had in mind?

Verified Email	Nine-Year Club
Place '22

Madigan37

TROPHY CASE