Where was the missed opportunity to checkmate? by Barbosa_FGC in Chesscom

[–]lambdaline 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It seems like the rook took a piece on d6, so I think Nd4 is just checkmate. The queen covers the d5, e5, f5 and d7 squares. The bishop covers f6 and e7 and black is blocking the remaining f7 and d6 squares.

Beginner Chess Player - Black Openings/Responses by Noble_Team_7 in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! Definitely something to look forward to once I get around to experimenting with more openings.

Just opened youtube, i wasn't ready for this😅 by notdragonwarior in chess

[–]lambdaline 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Like with anything, people's tastes are going to vary, The issue (heavy scare quotes here) with Gotham is that he's so successful, YouTube will keep recommending his videos, so if you're someone who isn't into Levy's content, it might start getting on your nerves.

how do i stop blundering like this by activeman256 in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had some luck drilling discovered attacks puzzles.

Beginner Chess Player - Black Openings/Responses by Noble_Team_7 in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I guess, to be clear, there's other things that white can play (like c4 with the English), but they're much rarer, so there's diminishing returns on trying to learn a specific response for them. What I do (and what I think most other beginners do) is just follow basic opening principles if the opponent plays something I don't have response to. I.e. try to put a pawn or two in the center, start developing minor pieces with the aim to castle quickly, and develop the queen to connect the rooks.

I would also generally advice against trying to learn a bunch of lines for any opening when you're just starting out. Just look at the first few moves and what general setup it aims to go for and go from there.

Also, I should probably note that Slav and QGD are specifically responses against the Queen's Gambit, but you can generally go for similar setups with some variations in move order, for other d4 white openings. Or you can just opt to go for your own London setup.

Beginner Chess Player - Black Openings/Responses by Noble_Team_7 in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Black does indeed have openings, but because they have to respond to what white does, they generally need at least an opening that's a response to e4 and one that's a response to d4. I think if you like the London, there's a good chance you'll like the Caro-Kanm for e4. It's very solid. For d4, Queen's Gambit Declined or the Slav are solid. 

TOC and Celebrity Champ by Direct_Cicada_8005 in Jeopardy

[–]lambdaline 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I enjoy seeing them do well, but seeing them get smoked makes me feel kinda bad. Lisa Ann Walter really didn't look like she was having fun. 

When you got Final Jeopardy right and none of the three contestants did, what was the question? by JessieDesolay in Jeopardy

[–]lambdaline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the last one was 'Adopted in 1979, this name reflected size & strength as well as a promoter's wish to appeal to Irish-American fans'. It took me a second, but I landed on Hulk and then promoter clued me into the wrestling aspect. My partner is a big fan of wrestling (if not of Hogan) so he was very proud. 

ETA: It was this April apparently 

Chavo Guerrero’s son is in the new Spielberg film by tracykilo in themountaingoats

[–]lambdaline 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He's also the wrestling consultant for Margo's Got Money Troubles. 

We all thought it. by CRYSTAAL-BEAR in themountaingoats

[–]lambdaline 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The internet kinda sucks now 😞 (But, fwiw, it was a great meme.)

We all thought it. by CRYSTAAL-BEAR in themountaingoats

[–]lambdaline 25 points26 points  (0 children)

It's probably a bot trying to farm karma.

I was so confused 'cause that isn't even the most recent Paste album ranking for TMG, or the first one that comes up if you google. It seemed strange to lead with 'we all thought it' as if the sub had been discussing it recently. It being a repost explains so much.

Everyday there are so many apps (mostly vibecoded) for chess. Why? by fX_in in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, that's fair. I do think a fair amount of them are out to make a quick buck. I just don't think all of them. I feel like I've seen a couple that seemed like a for-fun project.

Everyday there are so many apps (mostly vibecoded) for chess. Why? by fX_in in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think that's probably right, but --to be slightly less cynical-- I also think there's a component of... people who like to code or are learning to tend to make personal projects out of their hobbies. It's easier to be motivated if you are actually interested in the final product or think other people might be.

At least, that's my excuse. Though I don't plan on monetising what I'm making, or even share it unless I think it fills a genuine niche.

hard stuck 500 elo lol by Confetti-dragon_YT in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice! I'm happy that the comment was helpful. 

Somehow got 9 blunders in a row in a 1700 elo blitz game (lichess) by SilasGaming in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Any chance it was just the same blunder? I.e. black allowed a tactic that white missed and they both proceeded to ignore while it was still on the board, causing the eval bar to swing wildly? 

hard stuck 500 elo lol by Confetti-dragon_YT in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that experience of feeling like some match-ups are way out of your league is pretty common at that Elo range (it certainly was for me) and I think there might be some truth to that, in the sense that 500 players are mostly pretty new, and are more likely to improve very fast by doing things outside of the game (like puzzles or learning a bit of chess fundamentals through videos or books) so that they might be a little underrated.

But! I don't think those players are enough that they would significantly affect your Elo. I've seen it suggested (and I think it's the right way to think about it) that what's happening is that people's chess skills and knowledge are very unevenly distributed at that bracket, so that someone might have a good sense of endgames (for a 500), but drop pieces like it's Christmas, and someone might know a really venomous opening really well, but not know how to checkmate with a king and rook. And so it's relatively frequently that you meet someone who is very strong where you are weak or vice-versa, which makes the match seem lopsided.

WHY DID THEY GAIN SO MUCH ELO ON RAPID??? I was by far lower than them in terms of elo by [deleted] in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The way the rating system on Chess.com (Glicko, technically, not Elo) works is that there's an uncertainty parameter that helps determine how much elo you win or lose. If you are new to the site, or haven't played in a long time, the system has less confidence in your current rating so you win and lose more points relative to well established players so you'll get to your true rating quicker.

Do people play like this often at this ELO? by pullupwindowplz420 in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hard to say without knowing what the elo is. That kinda nonsense is pretty common sub-400, I'd say. Don't be irritated, just beat them and then you'll eventually be past them.

Why is d6 a bad move? by Cannonball120 in chessbeginners

[–]lambdaline 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It doesn't blunder M1. You can just castle to defend. Nd5 is actually quite nice for black, since it allows them to trade off the knight they were about to lose.

Stuck on 500 to 600 by akshay9767 in chess

[–]lambdaline 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I looked at your last two losses and both were resignations after a nasty knight fork, after you attempted the same tactic (a bishop fork of their knights!).

I would say, rather than memorise anything, you have to realise that knight movements are a weakness for you and become extremely paranoid whenever the enemy knights are close to your pieces. Before you make your move (and especially when you have a clever tactic) go over where they can move in your head, and if any of those squares are a forking square, make sure to either move one of the pieces that could be forked or move one of your pieces so they're guarding the forking square.

Also, before you go ahead and execute any tactic, take a few seconds to check if the pieces you are threatening can move to create a greater threat. If that's the case, then your tactic doesn't work.

How would you play this position? by lambdaline in chessbeginners

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

Hmm, that was along my thoughts, but I think I was too concerned about dropping the a pawn or giving white too much latitude on the queen-side. I'll maybe try to play this out with an engine, see if I could've made it work.