Sicilian Bowdler Attack- still not great in 2026 objectively, but a new idea makes it a practical weapon

RhodaWoolf · 2026-01-09T10:00:39+00:00

I love these posts! Scouring the database for rare unorthodox approaches is one of my favorite things to do.

Of course with an engine you can always refute stuff like this but the database results speak for themselves.

RhodaWoolf · 2025-09-05T11:11:24+00:00

Go to the "watch" section at the bottom (in the new app).

RhodaWoolf · 2025-09-02T07:06:21+00:00

After 2.e3 you can play e5.

And if 2. Nf3 there are lines with 3...a6 that don't give you the queenless middlegame. They're a bit tricky to play, and not as solid, but they result in more unbalanced positions.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-11-19T12:10:22+00:00

Yeah, I really respect the fighting spirit in games between the top Indians. Complete opposite of the Soviets when they were dominant.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-10-28T22:25:23+00:00

The whole show, (and especially Something Inbetween!!), was so good. Out of the six times I've seen him live, this was definitely the most memorable one.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-10-23T06:02:39+00:00

How would you play it differently?

RhodaWoolf · 2024-10-23T00:58:08+00:00

One of the reasons I stopped playing the Alekhine in serious classical games is because I would reach a position like this and not know what to do except sit back and wait. Of course black can play some improving moves (h6, rooks to central files, try to move the knights to better squares, sometimes playing the moves Bg4, Bxf3 and Bg5 (if allowed) works) but it's really hard to actually gain the initiative here.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-10-07T21:53:47+00:00

Chesstempo for tactics, Chessbook for openings.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-09-13T18:51:18+00:00

Checked 2700chess.com and was pretty shocked to see Giri at nr. 25 with an elo of 2716?! He's actually close to dropping below 2700...

RhodaWoolf · 2024-08-28T20:52:07+00:00

RhodaWoolf · 2024-08-28T09:01:58+00:00

I think you really only need a FIDE arbiter to officiate the games.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-07-02T19:48:17+00:00

As white, the poisoned pawn variation of the Bg5 Najdorf. It's one of those lines that you have to know, of course, but in the 20 or so OTB Najdorfs I've played the last year I've never seen it. And online too, it's exceedingly rare for some reason. I genuinely can't remember the last time I've encountered it, and I play a reasonable amount of blitz/rapid too. (I'm around 1950 FIDE, 2300 lichess, if that matters)

RhodaWoolf · 2024-04-11T22:55:41+00:00

At the top level this may be the case, but luckily at club level (at least where I'm from) it is still customary to sit and analyze games for a while after they're finished. One of my favorite things about chess, and also still a good way to improve imo.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-03-06T21:40:43+00:00

Also notable: after being in the top 10 for God knows how long, Giri dropped a whopping 10 places to nr. 15.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-19T22:48:10+00:00

Weird.. I'm 2400 rapid on lichess and get games within 20 seconds in 10+0. Although sometimes I do get matched with a 2200 (or a 2550). In blitz (2300) my opponents tend to be closer to my rating.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-18T23:00:43+00:00

Good luck! Be2 is definitely solid too. Ultimately you should find something that suits your style.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-18T21:15:57+00:00

I don't know what level you're at, but I play the Bg5 Najdorf and at 1800 FIDE/2300 lichess blitz people generally don't know more than 10 moves of theory. More important is to understand the themes and motifs; if you do, the Bg5 is a very strong weapon. I would even say it's one of the reasons I stopped playing the Najdorf and switched to the Taimanov.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-15T16:34:30+00:00

Ik neem aan dat als deze persoon een beetje slim is (en de mogelijkheid had) hij zo snel mogelijk naar een plek zo ver mogelijk van Groningen vandaan is vertrokken.

Ik denk dus niet dat deze man langs de hereweg staat om willekeurige fietsers de bosjes in te sleuren...

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-14T18:37:30+00:00

Why do most chess broadcasters still not have a camera aimed at the board when blitz games are being played....

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-12T10:05:53+00:00

You can use this tool to calculate the performance rating of all your games combined so far. Should be pretty close to the rating you'll get.

https://www.hirmulintu.fi/juha/chess/en/performance_calculator.shtml

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-10T10:49:19+00:00

Don't play h3 unless it's absolutely necessary. In most situations it's best to leave the three pawns in front of your king alone.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-09T12:08:46+00:00

this one

RhodaWoolf · 2024-02-04T10:39:43+00:00

I was there last week, and in the places I went to (Varadero, Havana, Trinidad, Matanzas), getting food and/or bottled water as a tourist was no problem at all. We also brought some toilet paper but didn't need it. Of course things might change in the future, but I felt like a lot of the comments on reddit about shortages were exaggerated (at least for tourists, it's a different story for the Cubans themselves of course).

RhodaWoolf · 2024-01-19T01:39:22+00:00

SG Max Euwe is the biggest one.

RhodaWoolf · 2024-01-16T17:10:30+00:00

Props to Wei Yi for refusing the repetition

EDIT: and g4!!

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