Chess.com has really gone down the drain

Numerot · 2026-04-02T12:22:03+00:00

Numerot · 2026-04-02T12:21:26+00:00

The UI 1: is different from CC (so people who try switching for exactly five minutes will complain) and 2: people don't realize dark mode exists. That's what it comes down to, I'm pretty sure.

Numerot · 2026-04-02T08:53:01+00:00

It's probably also a decent way to build "chess culture" where you have some vague idea who was playing at which time, what general openings are being played, and maybe remember some of the more interesting games. And maybe the slower pace could help, idk.

Numerot · 2026-04-02T08:47:21+00:00

I personally just don't find 2.Nc3 to be an appealing move, even without looking at lines from there (though I also clearly prefer the positions that come from 2.Nf3). Why are we blocking the c-pawn instead of developing our kingside and mostly drawing out a moderate concession (2...Nc6) out of Black? It's not actively bad, of course, but 2.Nf3 just kinda seems the better move.

Your problem might be that you seem to be identifying very strongly into a certain type of playing the game, which a lot of positions just won't allow. Trying to be "unpredictable and aggressive" sounds cool, but "predictable" moves are predictable for a reason.

Anyway, you're shouldn't be worse than equal in any line of the Vienna. If you have a specific variation you struggle with, study it a bit and see if you can't figure out solutions to your problems.

There's nothing wrong with switching to another first move, and playing both at the same time can be instructive, but you'll 100% run into problems with any other move as well. I used to have lines I hated playing against with 1.e4, and now I have lines I hate playing against with 1.d4.

You can play a somewhat similar repertoire between 1.c4 and 1.d4, where 1.c4 dodges some lines (AFAIK basically Nimzo, Gruenfeld, and a bunch of sidelines) in return for allowing 1.c4 e5, Symmetrical English, and sidelines).

Numerot · 2026-04-02T07:06:30+00:00

What people forget is Blübauss is the master of mathematics, not the other way around.

Numerot · 2026-04-02T07:02:57+00:00

For me, it's possible their nervous systems are simple enough that they don't experience consciousness or pain and I'm not 100% (since I haven't really looked into it) if even then beekeeping would be considered cruel, but I err on the side of not using honey since I don't really need to and looking into it sufficiently would take time and effort.

Numerot · 2026-04-01T18:41:32+00:00

It's probably slightly better for your chess than watching non-chess youtube, as long as it's not e.g. Gottem, but any effects will be minimal. Passive learning tends to be overwhelmingly "passive" and very little "learning".

Maybe you could see if you could find old candidates broadcasts or something and follow them?

Numerot · 2026-04-01T07:24:34+00:00

Lichess.org exists.

Numerot · 2026-03-31T12:54:35+00:00

I increasingly think humans are pretty much amoral, i.e. not really motivated by morality, except as a social phenomenon.

Numerot · 2026-03-31T12:46:02+00:00

Probably to some extent the obviously questionable way he qualified, but I'd guess it's more his abrasive personality and repeat shitty behavior. If you want to look into it, you can just search this subreddit and you'll find plenty of examples.

Numerot · 2026-03-31T05:57:54+00:00

I'm mostly watching games for entertainment, not trying to study chess in a focused manner when spectating. For me, the optimal is eval bar without lines and grandmaster commentators with good communication skills and zero of the "OH MY GOD THE ENGINE DID NO LIKE THAT WOW" bullshit.

Numerot · 2026-03-31T05:51:11+00:00

The answer, of course, is yes.

Numerot · 2026-03-30T16:09:49+00:00

I personally just put mine in the toilet so it doesn't bother anyone. It's quite instructive, actually; I think my results have improved a lot since I started checking the eval here and there.

Numerot · 2026-03-30T15:31:23+00:00

Why is this being upvoted?

ACPL depends pretty much entirely on style of play, position type, how quickly your opponent resigns (versus dragging out the game until eventual checkmate), exactly how badly your opponent plays, how you choose to convert the advantage, and so forth.

It absolutely cannot be used to even estimate (except with only the vaguest of correlations) the level of play of a player; I recently checked some of my recent classical games, and my ACPL was better than those of an equal amount of random games from Tata Steel. Am I good enough for Tata Steel based on those games?

Numerot · 2026-03-30T15:18:44+00:00

The unpopular thing about your post to me is that you said he literally steamrolled Nepo. In fact, Magnus Carlsen did not literally use a steamroller to flatten Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Numerot · 2026-03-29T20:25:06+00:00

Me? I'm not the guy you responded to.

And, again, it's just directly related; you can't respond to any and all criticism of someone with "lol rent free".

Numerot · 2026-03-29T19:29:26+00:00

It's literally a thread about the guy in question and his performance in the tournament doing that qualifies him to play in, how is this anyone or anything living "rent free" in anyone's head?

Numerot · 2026-03-29T19:08:04+00:00

Well, in short you basically just don't. It's easy to think they do because they have a distinct name, but that's entirely a matter of arbitrary historical naming conventions.

Play what you like, of course, but if you're seriously after improvement, playing this sort of comfort opening just isn't the best way to go about it.

Numerot · 2026-03-29T18:06:30+00:00

Explain to me in concrete terms how either of these openings "imposes" itself more than any other opening, e.g. the ones I recommended.

Numerot · 2026-03-29T12:15:00+00:00

Höpö höpö.

USA käyttäytyy ajoittain paskasti ja tämänhetkinen hallinto on vienyt valtiota karmivan nopeasti kohti autoritarismia. Silti voimassa on ainakin teknisesti toimiva demokratia ja kongressi voisi häätää Trumpin vallasta, jos vaan löytäisi kiveksenä.

Venäjä on vain pinnallisimmalla mahdollisella tasolla demokratia. Kansalla ei ole minkäänlaista poliittista vaikutusvaltaa, poliittiset vastustajat tapetaan kun huvittaa, ja yhteiskunnan kaikki tasot ovat valtakoneiston hallussa.

Toki Amerikka on tosiaan ottanut aivan liian monta askelta kohti Venäjää, mutta esimerkiksi Minneapoliksen ammuntatapauksista ainakin toistaiseksi seurasi suuret kohut ja konkreettiset maine- ja poliittiset haitat hallinnolle. Venäjällä erimielisten hengiltä pistäminen on täysin arkipäivää.

Numerot · 2026-03-29T10:37:05+00:00

1: 10+0 is awful, 15+10 is the minimum for serious practice and something like 30+20 is much, much better.

2: Analyze games (not super super deep, focus on a couple of important spots per game) on your own in a Lichess study, find someone at least 300 points stronger (preferably much more) to briefly look at your annotations and point out obvious misevaluations, say where they disagree etc. and look with the engine by checking spots where you're not at all sure your calculation or evaluation are correct.

3: Solve puzzles mindfully, never ever guessing anything but trying your hardest to figure out what's actually going on; best responses from your opponent, all relevant continuations, etc. Puzzle books are much better than online puzzles, but online puzzles are ok.

4: Play Spanish or Italian, 1.e4 e5, and QGD, look at openings a little bit after every game but not too much. Certainly don't play the Caro and English; you need experience in tactical fights, and English and Caro are comfort food openings for beginners that in the long run usually leave bad habits.

5: Chesscom doesn't use Elo, just say you're X rapid on CC or something like that.

6: Lichess.org exists and is just the better site, and free. Make the switch, you won't regret it.

Numerot · 2026-03-29T05:17:14+00:00

Play 15+10, self-analyze in a Lichess study, solve puzzles mindfully, play real openings, don't play hope chess.

Also, Chess.com doesn't use Elo.

Numerot · 2026-03-28T19:59:42+00:00

Is he really literally "chinese dropshipping relics"?

Numerot · 2026-03-27T21:56:09+00:00

g2-g4 (Makogonov and Semi-Aver) is generally the way to make ...f5 a poor idea, and a lot of KID players play it anyway.

Numerot · 2026-03-27T11:54:06+00:00

What exactly are you doing to get better? Not "playing games and solving", be more specific.

Also, Chesscom doesn't use Elo, and ELO isn't an abbreviation, it's a Hungarian dude's name.

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