2022-11-29
2022-11-28
2022-11-11
How to ACTUALLY Improve your Chess Tactics
0 seconds ago
I've been advocating the same method for the last 25 years on my chess lesson website.
2022-11-04
"A Viewer Sent Me An Insane Puzzle!"
I was able to solve this chess puzzle without too much difficulty.
SPOILERS...
First I looked at having the King run, and there are no safe squares where he can shield from rook checks. Then I explored the idea of giving up some or all of the pawns. I realized that giving up some pawns allows the King to hide temporarily, zig-zagging around the pawns, but this doesn't solve the problem. So I got thinking that the rook on H3 must be in the puzzle for some reason, and if we can liberate it then it could be the mating piece on a3.
2022-10-31
Interesting combo
In this position, I realized that I could win material.
2022-10-25
Can You Solve This Crazy Puzzle?
0 seconds ago
I thought the first mate-in-25 moves problem would be too deep for Stockfish 15 to find, but it finds it immediately. I am somewhat familiar with chess-playing algorithms, and I assumed that the search tree would grow exponentially toward infinity, but it helps that all the wrong choices get White mated quickly.
2022-10-23
2022-10-22
Chess Puzzle
I really like this chess problem. I was stumped, but it is simple enough that I should have been able to figure it out.
2022-10-21
2022-10-17
Loss to Novag Super Constellation level 1
Back in 1984, the Novag Super Constellation chess-playing computer was one of my favorite possessions. I doubt that many of these machines would still be working because the model is almost 40 years old and old capacitors tend to go bad given enough use.
In 1984 the USCF gave the Novag Super Constellation a rating of 2018 which has been somewhat controversial. Most online sites today claim that its actual strength is in the 1700s, which I don't believe. I remember it being much better than me and I was rated in the 1700s at the time.
There was a golden age of chess-playing computers that went from about 1982 to 1995 before most people owned a PC and the only way to play chess against a computer was to buy one of these devices. Once people bought computers, the market for chess-playing computers almost completely disappeared, although recently there has been a bit of a resurgence of chess-playing computers. Also, playing chess on mobile devices has become very popular.
Since I am curious about everything, I have wondered for years how I would fair against the Novag Super Constellation today because I am now rated much higher. I even considered trying to buy an old chess-playing computer on eBay, although not necessarily this model because there are much better ones that came out later.
Recently I found a way to play the Novag Super Constellation using emulation on my computer. Although I did beat level 1 once, I have lost a few games too. I'm not quite comfortable playing the simulated chess machine because graphically it is not as nice as playing a modern chess program, plus you have to move the computer pieces as if you were playing the real chess computer which is slightly distracting.
The computer proves that it does not miss tactics on level 1 where it averages 5 seconds per move, which is speed chess. I think that it would crush most Class A players at speed chess. This is impressive for an 8-bit 6502 processor running at just 4 MHZ. It shows that you don't need much computing power to see 3 moves ahead, which is maybe enough to outplay or equal average tournament players even at tournament time controls.
I have set up positions to test the device, and I found that its playing strength only improves marginally as you give it more time. The Novag Super Constellation seems to be optimized for 5 seconds per move and it plays pretty strong at that level. One reason is that it has a very good opening book allowing it to reach strong positions out of the opening.
In this game, Stockfish analysis agrees with my opening moves up to move 12. By move 20 it thinks that I am positionally crushing it, but it is not clear to me at all why it thinks that I am 4 pawns ahead. I need to do more analysis. On move 21, I blundered, unfortunately. If I can avoid making these kinds of obvious tactical mistakes then I likely would beat the machine on level 1. Once I fell behind, the computer showed no mercy and proceeded to crush me.
[Event "CB-Emu"]
[Site "?"][Date "2022.10.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Coffey, John"]
[Black "Novag Super-Constellation Lv1"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E18"]
[WhiteElo "2016"]
[BlackElo "2018"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 14.1"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2022.10.16"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8.
Nc3 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Bf4 c5 11. Rc1 Nc6 12. dxc5 {
Stockfish agrees with all my opening moves.} Bxc5 13. Bg5 ({Better is}
13. a3 {and White has a winning advantage.}) 13... d4 14. Ne4 Qe7 15.
Nxf6+ ({Better is} 15. Nh4) 15... gxf6 16. Bh6 ({Better is} 16. Bh4)
16... Rfe8 17. Re1 ({Stockfish 14.1:} 17. Nh4 {Now not} Qxe2 18. b4
Nxb4 (18... Bxb4 19. Bxc6) 19. Bxb7) ({Not} 17. b4 Nxb4) 17... Rac8 ({
Black can do much better with} 17... Rad8) 18. a3 Qd7 19. b4 Bf8 20. Qd2
Ne5 21. Nxd4?? {Here I blunder away a winning game. The antique
chess computer has no problem seeing shallow tactics even on level 1. To my
defense, I'm not quite comfortable visually playing on the simulated chess
computer.} ({Stockfish 14.1:} 21. Nxe5 Rxe5 22. Bf4 {And White is winning.})
21... Bxh6 22. Qxh6 Bxg2 23. Red1? ({Stockfish likes} 23. Qxf6 Qxd4 (
23... Bb7 {loses to} 24. Nf5) 24. Kxg2) 23... Ng4 24. Qf4 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Re4 {
The computer proves how tactically strong it is. I am sure it would beat most
A players at speed chess.} 26. Qb8+ Kg7 27. Rc8 Nh6 {
Shutting down any hope for White.} 28. e3? ({White can do better with}
28. Rd8 Qh3 29. Qc8 Qxc8 30. Rxc8) 28... Qh3? {
Stockfish thinks this is a blunder and prefers Bh3, but it hardly matters.}
29. Qb7? {A blunder.} ({Stockfish prefers} 29. Nf5+ Qxf5 30. Kxg2) 29... Rxd4
30. Qxg2 Rd1+ 31. Qf1 Rxf1# 0-1
2022-10-16
2022-10-15
2022-10-05
2022-10-03
2022-10-01
Don't mess with my DUCK
Duck Chess is an exciting and absorbing new chess variant invented in early 2016 by Dr Tim Paulden, the president of Exeter Chess Club (Devon, England).
The basic principle of the game is very simple: in addition to the usual pieces, the two players have joint control of a small rubber duck which acts as a "blocker" (i.e. nothing can move onto or through it), and which must be moved to a new square after every turn. The goal is to successfully capture the opponent's king.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsUd20OEoNQ
The basic principle of the game is very simple: in addition to the usual pieces, the two players have joint control of a small rubber duck which acts as a "blocker" (i.e. nothing can move onto or through it), and which must be moved to a new square after every turn. The goal is to successfully capture the opponent's king.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsUd20OEoNQ
2022-09-30
Pinkamena (1535) vs V. Khoroshun (1703). Chess Fight Night.
I always love it when little kids can play chess well. At first, I thought that she played the opening a little inaccurately, but when she won the knight on e4 I was thinking, "Holy Crap!". Her opponent paused because he realized that he was getting his butt kicked by a little girl, and then she proceeded to play very well afterward. Good for her!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y-6QmL05lw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y-6QmL05lw
Ilya Smirin: Chess commentator sacked for sexist comments during match - BBC News
All chess players - men and women - can become grandmasters, which is the highest title a chess player can attain, if they have a rating of 2,500 and above.* The very top female chess players have this title.
The woman grandmaster title is only for women and requires a lower rating of 2,300.
The commentators were discussing whether Zhu Jiner could become grandmaster, when Mr Smirin said: "She's a woman grandmaster or what?... Why she wants to be like men grandmaster in this case?"
Mr Smirin went on to appear to admit that he had privately said "chess is maybe not for women".
Fellow commentator Fiona Steil-Antoni said to him: "You're saying, you know, 'chess is maybe not for women'," and Mr Smirin replied: "I didn't say it openly... in private, private conversation."
And he also seemed to admit saying another female player - Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkin - had been "playing like a man".
"That's true," said Mr Smirin, when questioned about his apparent comments. "She played in Russia super final. Small minus she made, but it was very strong tournament. She also had like 2,600 plus rating."
Challenging him again, Ms Steil-Antoni asked: "What does that have to do with playing like a man, only men can play well?"
"No, no," Mr Smirin responded. "But she's playing in style, positional style... But OK, I'm always curious, why can women play among men but men cannot play with women in women tournaments? Interesting question."
The woman grandmaster title is only for women and requires a lower rating of 2,300.
The commentators were discussing whether Zhu Jiner could become grandmaster, when Mr Smirin said: "She's a woman grandmaster or what?... Why she wants to be like men grandmaster in this case?"
Mr Smirin went on to appear to admit that he had privately said "chess is maybe not for women".
Fellow commentator Fiona Steil-Antoni said to him: "You're saying, you know, 'chess is maybe not for women'," and Mr Smirin replied: "I didn't say it openly... in private, private conversation."
And he also seemed to admit saying another female player - Grandmaster Aleksandra Goryachkin - had been "playing like a man".
"That's true," said Mr Smirin, when questioned about his apparent comments. "She played in Russia super final. Small minus she made, but it was very strong tournament. She also had like 2,600 plus rating."
Challenging him again, Ms Steil-Antoni asked: "What does that have to do with playing like a man, only men can play well?"
"No, no," Mr Smirin responded. "But she's playing in style, positional style... But OK, I'm always curious, why can women play among men but men cannot play with women in women tournaments? Interesting question."
* Reaching a rating of 2500 is not the only requirement for becoming a Grandmaster.
Chess is dominated by men, maybe because it is a highly competitive (and egotistical) game. Men tend to prefer competition whereas women tend to prefer cooperation.
2022-09-29
The most incriminating evidence against Hans Niemann
I understood what she was saying, but her French accent made it difficult. Closed captioning is helpful, but it is done by a computer and often yields incorrect words in the speech recognition.
The bottom line is that not even the top players, playing at their best, perform at the same level as the top chess computer engines. An average Grandmasters would match computers roughly 50% of the time, which is how Hans Nieman plays most of the time. However, he has several games that are 100%, which is unheard of, and a few others that were in the 90s.
I was on Hans Nieman's side, viewing him as an up-and-coming 19-year-old. He is either occasionally playing like a genius or is occasionally cheating. It would make sense that he would not cheat all the time because that would be too obvious.
I hope that this is not true.
It is possible to play a perfect game if your opponent plays a bad game because it makes the choices more obvious. Against really terrible opponents I played perfect games according to the computer, but I didn't have to think very hard.
Yesterday, I studied one of Han's better games because it is very instructive. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCJ0uIAlreA) The youtube chess personality stated that he didn't think that Hans was cheating, because the moves were the kind that a good player could find. This may be true, but if a player has too many aberrant results then it looks suspicious.
In this long video, Hikaru Nakamura gave his opinion on the first video, comparing the results to his own games:
This is a shorter video doing an analysis that is worth watching:
2022-09-26
MAGNUS CARLSEN: "I Believe Hans Niemann CHEATED"
Good video.
I don't believe that Hans cheated. There is very little evidence for it. Hans is a rising star and had the best game of his career and Magnus didn't. If I can lose to players rated 200 (or in my case 500) points below me then so can Magnus.
Shit happens. Twenty years ago I got a draw against Grandmaster Igor Ivanov. About the same time, I watched a B player friend of mine beat Grandmaster Susan Polgar in a speed tournament.
The story about Hans claiming ahead of time that he was going to win a tournament is interesting. Over 20 years ago I was running a Utah championship tournament when a teenager told me that he was going to beat everybody to prove that he was the best player. I thought that this was a very cocky statement to make, but to my surprise, this is exactly what he did.
2022-09-20
My Chess Tactics
https://www.entertainmentjourney.com/1w.htm
The one-move chess problems on my website were constructed deliberately to be the "vocabulary" of chess tactics. I have long felt that learning chess is a bit like learning a new language. In these problems, you can find every motif like pins, forks, skewers, removing the defender, and mates.
I attribute the 1, 2, and 3 move problems by themselves to raising my rating from 1800 to 1900. Since I played a great deal of speed chess, my goal was to be able to see the tactical motifs as quickly as possible. Because I did these problems repeatedly, I got some criticism from one of my friends who said that I wasn't doing tactical problems, but I was memorizing them. This was partly true. My counter was that I could not memorize all the problems, but I could memorize the tactical themes. When I do the problem now, the tactical themes become quickly apparent. Likewise, I see tactics quickly in speed chess games.
A bit of history...
When I moved to Utah in 1993, I was around a 2000-rated player.
However, at that time the ratings seemed to work differently in Utah. Salt Lake City and the Wasatch mountain range are hundreds of miles from the nearest major metropolitan areas. It felt like the pool of rated chess players was isolated from other players by distance. When I started playing in tournaments in Utah, I saw my rating decline to 1800. Also, those players who would go to out-of-state tournaments, such as in Vegas, reported doing very well against similarly rated players from California.
I think that whatever difference there may have been balanced out some over time. There was nationwide rating inflation that happened in the 80s which my rating benefited from. This was due to the USCF tinkering with the rating system in the 80s and then reversing course in the 90s causing a noticeable rating deflation.
I constructed my online tactical problems around 1995 to 1998.
I don't remember exactly when I started studying the following materials:
Sharpen Your Tactics
Chess Pocket Training Book: 300 most important positions
Practical Chess Exercises
The 1000 problems on the Shredder iPhone app.
I spent 10 minutes every night for a year without fail studying the Chess Pocket Training Book, and then afterward had one of my greatest chess tournament results ever. This was 20 years ago.
So I attribute these materials to raising my rating from 1900 to 2000. Once again, I did a great deal of repetition. The goal has always been to make hard things intuitive. For me, this feels like learning a language.
INSANE Chess Cheating Scandal Update
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YktWQrnjPwU
Alana
5 hours ago (edited)
At this point I'm going for the "should you believe your spouse if they're convicted of murder" ethical dilemma and choosing to believe Hans is innocent. Just because if he really did cheat, then he's getting what he deserves, but if he didn't then this is absolutely horrible for him. I'd rather give a guilty man clemency then an innocent man a death sentence.
John Coffey
0 seconds ago
I think that it is a really big stretch to say that Hans was cheating. It is too hard to pull off and not get caught.
If I can lose to players rated 200 points below me then why can't Magnus? What is the point of playing if you are not allowed to win?
Computer analysis shows that Magnus did not play a perfect game. Neither did Hans Neimann. As long as there are mistakes on the board then in theory either side can win.
Computer analysis shows that Magnus did not play a perfect game. Neither did Hans Neimann. As long as there are mistakes on the board then in theory either side can win.
2022-09-10
2022-09-07
Hans Niemann
I feel that this latest controversy over Grandmaster Hans Niemann beating Magnus Carlsen is overblown. Niemann is a 19 year old rising star, and if I can lose to people rated 200 points below me then so can Magnus.
Yet Magnus insinuated that he was cheated, and then Hikaru Nakamura came out and said it out loud, and then suddenly the whole Internet jumped on this bandwagon. Then chess.com suspended Niemann's account even though this is not an online tournament.
I think that it would be very hard to cheat in a live tournament and not get caught. They also have safeguards to prevent this.
What is the point of playing if you are not allowed to win?
I believe Niemann when he says that he has done nothing but study chess 12 hours a day for the last two years.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
Yet Magnus insinuated that he was cheated, and then Hikaru Nakamura came out and said it out loud, and then suddenly the whole Internet jumped on this bandwagon. Then chess.com suspended Niemann's account even though this is not an online tournament.
I think that it would be very hard to cheat in a live tournament and not get caught. They also have safeguards to prevent this.
What is the point of playing if you are not allowed to win?
I believe Niemann when he says that he has done nothing but study chess 12 hours a day for the last two years.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
2022-08-23
The 4 WORST Chess Openings
Presented for your consideration. Many of his opening recommendations match what I play.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLpYQCCcZ6w
I have been playing, advocating, and teaching 1. Nf3 for a long time. It is atrocious how many times people play 1... Nc6, which might be okay if they know the Chigorin Defense, but they never do, which often gives White a winning position right out of the opening. i.e. 1. Nf3 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. c4 dxc4 4. d5 Nb4?? 6. Qa4+. The move 1. Nf3 gives White the option of playing Queen Pawn or English, and after 1... c5 either 2. c4, 2. d4 or my preference of 2. e4 d6 3. c3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLpYQCCcZ6w
I have been playing, advocating, and teaching 1. Nf3 for a long time. It is atrocious how many times people play 1... Nc6, which might be okay if they know the Chigorin Defense, but they never do, which often gives White a winning position right out of the opening. i.e. 1. Nf3 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. c4 dxc4 4. d5 Nb4?? 6. Qa4+. The move 1. Nf3 gives White the option of playing Queen Pawn or English, and after 1... c5 either 2. c4, 2. d4 or my preference of 2. e4 d6 3. c3.
2022-08-21
2022-08-04
2022-08-02
Chess tactics problems on my chess lesson website
A word of caution about the tactics problems on my website: I'm looking for cheaper or free web hosting. I may have to cut back drastically on the number of web pages on my chess lesson site.
I thought that I could replace the tactics web pages with a free tactics app, but that is going to take a long time to develop.
Therefore, my tactics web pages may become temporarily unavailable starting around September or October. I have many other tactics problems on blogs that don't cost me anything, so I may just link to those instead.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
I thought that I could replace the tactics web pages with a free tactics app, but that is going to take a long time to develop.
Therefore, my tactics web pages may become temporarily unavailable starting around September or October. I have many other tactics problems on blogs that don't cost me anything, so I may just link to those instead.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
2022-08-01
2022-07-31
2022-07-26
2022-07-24
2022-07-23
2022-07-21
Very wild game
[Event "Columbus Chess Club"]
[Site "Lewellyn"]
[Date "Jul 21, 2022"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Steve Salo"]
[Black "John Coffey"]
[Result "0-1"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 c5 4. Qd3 d5 5. dxc5 e6 6. b4 a5 7. c3 axb4 8. cxb4
b6 9. Bxb8 Ba6 10. b5 Bxc5 11. Bg3 Qf6 12. bxa6 Bxf2+ 13. Kd1 Bxg3 14. Qb5+ Kf8
15. hxg3 Qxf1+ 16. Kc2 Rc8+ 17. Kb2 Qc1+ 18. Kb3 Nc5+ 19. Kb4 Qb2#
0-1
[Site "Lewellyn"]
[Date "Jul 21, 2022"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Steve Salo"]
[Black "John Coffey"]
[Result "0-1"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 c5 4. Qd3 d5 5. dxc5 e6 6. b4 a5 7. c3 axb4 8. cxb4
b6 9. Bxb8 Ba6 10. b5 Bxc5 11. Bg3 Qf6 12. bxa6 Bxf2+ 13. Kd1 Bxg3 14. Qb5+ Kf8
15. hxg3 Qxf1+ 16. Kc2 Rc8+ 17. Kb2 Qc1+ 18. Kb3 Nc5+ 19. Kb4 Qb2#
0-1
2022-07-20
Fwd: 'BREAKING: Carlsen Not To Defend World Title'
Just like people scrambled and bent over backward to get Bobby Fischer to play the world championship in 1972, we could see the same thing here. More money for the winner might do it.
In 1972 I didn't even know how to play chess, but everybody was talking about the World Chess Championship. However, people didn't know how crazy Bobby Fischer was.
Although Carlsen could be sincere in his desire to not defend his world championship title, it could also be a negotiation tactic. I find myself not caring. A Nepo vs. Ding Liren match would be fun to watch because it will not be a foregone conclusion. If Carlsen loses the title then he may want it back later, which will make the next world championship match much more interesting.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
John Coffey
chess.com puzzle rating
It took me at least 90 minutes to only get a small increase in rating. At this difficulty, I am spending up to several minutes on some puzzles.
It is always frustrating when you think that you have found the answer, and then you find out that you are wrong, According to chess.com, my success rate is 59%.
2022-07-14
Chess.com Puzzles
A friend pointed out that people don't know that it takes 10,000 hours to become a chess master. This is according to the rule that it takes 10,000 hours to master anything. I suspect that for some people that it would take more than 10,000 hours and for other people less. The younger people start, the easier it is to improve. By my age, most people have given up trying to get better at chess, at least by any significant amount. However, it is not in my nature to give up. I still would like to be a chess master.
I feel that there is some benefit to the chess.com puzzles. It is said that to improve that you need to get out of your comfort zone, and these problems definitely take me out of my comfort zone. I am at least as likely to fail to find the solutions as I am to succeed, even after some serious calculation on my part. Unlike the simple chess puzzles on my website, which are designed to build pattern recognition, the vast majority of these problems require at least a minute of calculation, if not more. The longest I took on a single one was about seven minutes and I got it wrong.
These puzzles might be good training for tournament chess. After I did a large number of them, I felt that my deep calculation skill had improved a little. This is different from speed chess or simple problems where people usually go with their first impression. My first impression frequently fails because most of these puzzles are way trickier than they first appear.
Four weeks ago today I was bragging that I got my chess.com puzzle rating up to 3003. It was a significant milestone. These ratings don't match standard USCF ratings, because it is possible to get up to a rating of 65,540 which appears to be the maximum, and a handful of people have actually obtained this rating. After reaching 3003, I tried to go higher and got to 3021, but then I went all the way down to 2878. Today I spent three hours doing the puzzles, and after much difficulty, I got up to 3001.
I'm quitting for now while I am ahead. I keep a link to every problem that I have done, and the site allows you to go back and review them. I have a total of 975 puzzles saved, of which 875 I have not yet reviewed. My plan is to review all of them multiple times, and that will take many months. Then I will see if I can raise my rating higher.
Always my goal is to take difficult tasks and make them easy or easier with practice.
2022-07-12
Levy: "I Am Retiring From Chess"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQqvUfjKBaU&t=1013s
John Coffey: I play chess to have fun. I used to love tournaments, but at age 62, tournaments feel like too much work for no real benefit.
2022-07-06
The Best Chess Players Over Time (Estimated By Accuracy)
The standings at the end seem relevant. I had assumed that Bobby Fischer would be 2nd, but the video ranks him as fifth. Fischer was significantly better than all his contemporaries.
2022-07-05
Advice on Tactics
I gave this advice to a couple of people in my chess club:
'Meaning no offense, but I noticed a few missed tactics in your game.
It isn't just a matter of tactical skill. No one at our level has the skill to see all tactics. What I have noticed is that Class A players usually have a "spidy sense" to know which positions could possibly have a tactic. They may not see the tactic right away, but they know that there could be a tactic in the position, so they analyze deeper. Usually this means that something is out of balance, like a exposed king, or a loose piece, or the position just doesn't feel right. This is when you know to give it a second look.
Developing this "spidy sense" can help you bring up your rapid game, possibly by a lot. '
Best wishes,
John Coffey
'Meaning no offense, but I noticed a few missed tactics in your game.
It isn't just a matter of tactical skill. No one at our level has the skill to see all tactics. What I have noticed is that Class A players usually have a "spidy sense" to know which positions could possibly have a tactic. They may not see the tactic right away, but they know that there could be a tactic in the position, so they analyze deeper. Usually this means that something is out of balance, like a exposed king, or a loose piece, or the position just doesn't feel right. This is when you know to give it a second look.
Developing this "spidy sense" can help you bring up your rapid game, possibly by a lot. '
Best wishes,
John Coffey
2022-06-28
2022-06-18
Puzzle Leaderboard - Chess Rankings - Chess.com
https://www.chess.com/leaderboard/tactics?page=171
I'm #8540 on the chess.com puzzle ratings. I was expecting that the top ratings would not go too high, but I was wrong. The top three ratings are all 65540, which for the reasons I give below, I suspect is the highest possible rating.
I find this 65540 number suspicious because the top three ratings are this number. The maximum value that can be stored by a 16-bit number is 65536. If you want to save storage space, why use a 32-bit or a 64-bit number to store ratings when a 16-bit number would do? The 65540 number almost fits. You can make it fit by making the lowest possible rating the number 5. Why would you set a lower limit on the rating? To not accidentally run into a divide by zero problem, which can crash computer code, or other mathematical oddities from having a low or negative number in your equation.
Chess Puzzle Rating
Nevertheless, reaching 3000 took a great deal of effort.
The site presents chess problems that have difficulty proportional to your current puzzle rating. I have reached a point where I am almost as likely to fail as I am to succeed. I find that I am not analyzing as well as I should so I am trying to make myself focus deeper. The casual puzzle solver will look for what the "trick" is in the position and make a move without thinking about it too hard. However, I can no longer just make cursory judgments.
A chess master in Salt Lake City that I know has been in the 3070 to 3100 range. I would like to catch up with him.
2022-06-06
Stockfish 15 vs. Stockfish 14.1
Overnight I did an engine versus engine match of 100 speed-chess (4+2) games.
There were 94 draws.
Stockfish 14.1 won 1.
Stockfish 15 won 5 with a score of 52%. Its performance rating was 16 points better than Stockfish 14.1. This website is claiming a 36 point improvement: https://stockfishchess.org/blog/2022/stockfish-15/
Either way, the improvement is not very significant.
My computer seemed to hang while doing deep analysis with Stockfish 15. I'm going to try again. For the moment I am still using Stockfish 14.1.
2022-06-03
Levy Gets EXPOSED
I think that this is deeply fascinating.
2022-05-14
2022-05-11
2022-04-29
2022-04-23
Chessle
I had not seen this puzzle before. I like it. It is obviously a chess spin on Wordle, which I also like.
The goal is to guess the sequence of opening movies.
The puzzle gives you the option to guess 3 or 5 moves. In today's puzzle, I got the 3 move sequence on the second try. It is an opening sequence that I like to play.
2022-04-22
2022-04-20
Magnus Carlsen Reacts After His Camera Fell Down While He is Playing Che...
Magnus doesn't seem the least concerned about the time on his clock as he adjusts his webcam.
2022-04-16
Magnus Carlsen BLUFFS with Raising $100,000 When He Has 0% CHANCE to Win
Not really interested in poker, but it is interesting to see Magnus Carlsen play it and bluff. I didn't understand why he had a zero chance of winning? Was it because his opponent had five of a kind?
https://youtu.be/nbPTZP5tkNc
It would drive me crazy not knowing what my opponent has. I would have to play the odds, but if I always did that then I would be predictable.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
It would drive me crazy not knowing what my opponent has. I would have to play the odds, but if I always did that then I would be predictable.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
2022-03-29
Greenwood Chess Club: White to play
https://greenwoodchessclub.blogspot.com/2022/03/white-to-play.html
I had the hardest time with this one. For those who understand king and pawn endgames, it seems counterintuitive, I think because normally the king is supposed to be in front of the pawn that he is trying to queen. Maybe it is just me.
2022-03-26
2022-03-24
2022-03-23
Re: Sergey Karjakin BANNED From Chess...
I support free speech. I don't have to agree with Karjakin and he doesn't have to agree with me, because it has nothing to do with his ability to play chess.
On Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 10:13 PM Albert wrote:
I know banning Karjakin from playing in FIDE events is currently for 6 months. I don't like that he will be unable to play in the candidates tournament. Organizations who set up international events should not be involved with politics. After all, isn't this the 21st century?On Wed, Mar 23, 2022 at 9:00 PM John Coffey <john2001plus@gmail.com> wrote:
2022-03-11
Lost chess endgame.
This is an interesting endgame that I should have lost. My 31... Ra6 is a serious miscalculation. I soon started to think that I was going to lose.
White can win with 34. h4 or 34. Ke1 or Ke2, but he pushes the wrong pawn making it equal. My 36... Kc6?? is also a blunder because it takes my king out of the range of his kingside pawns. His 39. g4 loses for a surprising reason reminiscent of the movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer." What surprises me is that he has to abandon his pawn to draw, i.e. 39. Kb2 Kxc4 40. g4 draws.
I'm aware that I could have played the opening a little better.
[Event "Casual G/10"]
[Site "Columbus Chess Club"][Date "2022.03.10"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Bill Starr"]
[Black "John Coffey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[PlyCount "94"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. d4 dxe4 5. Ne5 Nxe5 6. dxe5 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 Bg4+
8. Be2 Bxe2+ 9. Kxe2 O-O-O 10. Be3 e6 11. Nd2 f5 12. exf6 Nxf6 13. Bg5 Be7 14.
Bxf6 gxf6 15. Nxe4 Rhg8 16. g3 f5 17. Nd2 e5 18. c4 e4 19. f3 Bf6 20. Rab1
exf3+ 21. Nxf3 Rge8+ 22. Kf2 Bd4+ 23. Nxd4 Rxd4 24. Rhe1 Rd2+ 25. Kg1 Rxe1+ 26.
Rxe1 Rxb2 27. Re5 Rxa2 28. Rxc5+ Kd7 29. Rxf5 h6 30. Rf7+ Kc8 31. Rf6 Ra6 32.
Rxa6 bxa6 33. Kf1 Kd7 34. h4 a5 35. Ke1 h5 36. Kd1 Kc6 37. Kc2 Kc5 38. Kc3 a4
39. g4 hxg4 40. h5 g3 41. h6 g2 42. h7 g1=Q 43. h8=Q Qa1+ 44. Kc2 Qxh8 45. Kb1
Qc3 46. Ka2 a3 47. Kb1 Qb2# 0-1
2022-03-10
Chess game
[Event "Casual G/10"]
[Site "Columbus Chess Club"]
[Date "Mar 10, 2022"]
[Round "2"]
[White "John Coffey"]
[Black "John Tasca"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4?! exd5 7. Bg5 Be6 8.
e4 Nc6 9. Bb5 Be7 10. e5 Nd7 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rfe1
Rfc8 15. b4 a6 16. Rac1 Rc7 17. Na4 Rb8 18. Nc5 Nxc5 19. Rxc5 Qd7 20. Rec1 Bg4
21. Nd2 Kf8 22. Nb3 Qe8 23. Na5 Bd7 24. Qc3 Rbc8 25. a4 h6 26. b5 axb5 27. axb5
1-0 eventually
[Site "Columbus Chess Club"]
[Date "Mar 10, 2022"]
[Round "2"]
[White "John Coffey"]
[Black "John Tasca"]
[Result "1-0"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 cxd4 6. Qxd4?! exd5 7. Bg5 Be6 8.
e4 Nc6 9. Bb5 Be7 10. e5 Nd7 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rfe1
Rfc8 15. b4 a6 16. Rac1 Rc7 17. Na4 Rb8 18. Nc5 Nxc5 19. Rxc5 Qd7 20. Rec1 Bg4
21. Nd2 Kf8 22. Nb3 Qe8 23. Na5 Bd7 24. Qc3 Rbc8 25. a4 h6 26. b5 axb5 27. axb5
1-0 eventually
2022-03-09
Chess Puzzle (instructive)
https://www.chess.com/puzzles/problem/1212004/practice
This chess problem is relatively easy, but fun. Imagine getting this position in a real game. Black to play.
To see the problem you probably would have to sign up for the free version of chess.com membership if you don't have a membership on the site, so here is a diagram...
2022-03-03
2022-02-18
2022-02-14
2022-02-12
John Coffey vs NN (1978) (chess game)
Funny thing about this game. I played it against a higher-rated player in a tournament in Bloomington around 1978. (This person is still around, and he has gone out of his way to be rude to me, both then and now.)
The game is very simple. My opponent made the mistake of letting me push the D pawn. He resigned after 8 moves.
I was so pleased with myself that I sent the game to the state chess magazine which published it. It was seen by some chess author who put it in a book of short chess games. I don't remember the title of the book. Over a dozen years ago I found the game in the database of games for one of the older versions of Fritz chess. It is not in Fritz 10.
Quite by accident, I discovered that the game is on chessgames.com. However, I had written them a couple of years ago to ask if they would accept games to publish, and they informed me that they only publish games played by chess masters.
2022-02-08
Top 4 Most Overrated Chess Books (and what you should read instead)
The early part of the video has book recommendations for novices and then moves onto the higher levels.
2022-01-30
"Magnus has a chance against engines" - Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | Tata Steel Chess 2022
Juventin
3 hours ago
did he actually say his favorite game was the one he lost? that's just a ton of class.
Daily Dose of Chess Clips
3 hours ago
True
Berk Y
2 hours ago
Shakh is the most down-to-earth 2700 player you can see I'd say. He enjoys the challenge, playing online Blitz against Hikaru, classical against Magnus. Such a great guy.
ursuss100
2 hours ago
You learn more in defeat than in victory, as in that case, you can review what you did wrong and work on it. That said, yeah it's still very classy from Shakh to say that. :)
2022-01-23
2022-01-13
2022-01-08
Black to move Checkmate problem
From a game of mine around five years ago. This is not difficult. I had a little problem seeing the continuation to mate, but now I can't imagine why I found this difficult at all. It appears to me that there are at least a couple of ways to do it. Even if I didn't see the moves to the end, I still would have made the same moves at the beginning. Any decent chess player would.
2022-01-05
Magnus Carlsen, world chess champion, plays online speed chess under pseudonyms and livestreams his matches.
In an interview with a Norwegian newspaper in October, Carlsen admits he quit drinking for his health. "I wouldn't say I was an alcoholic exactly," he said, "but I found out this year, if I'm going to travel and play a lot […] I need to prioritize differently."
It is not clear that Magnus has quit drinking. Recent videos show him playing online and apparently drunk.
2022-01-03
2021-12-31
A little girl challenges a grandmaster at a chess bar in Paris
I'm impressed. This girl played the opening well and made very few mistakes against a Grandmaster. Furthermore, they were only playing with a time control of 3 minutes each, which is a very fast form of speed chess.
2021-12-20
Carlsen Says His Match Against Nepo is Likely His Last Unless Firouzja W...
I don't think that Magnus will give up the World Champion title so easily. He is hinting at retirement.
People will be pretty disappointed if the declared Greatest Of All Time no longer wants to play the World Championship or if he decides to retire.
Around 1858 Paul Morphy came out of nowhere to beat the top players in the world. Then a couple of years later he gave up chess claiming it was a waste of time. Bobby Fischer called Morphy "the greatest genius of us all."
Best wishes,
John Coffey
2021-12-19
Golden Finger Trap Presented By Magnus Carlsen #chess #magnus #carlsen #lichess - YouTube
Magnus is a genius at pre-moving. He makes moves ahead of time that seem like he couldn't possibly know for sure are the correct moves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpme2P1LUlA
2021-12-18
Russell Gumbrecht Obituary (2020) - Salt Lake City, UT
Russell was a nice older man. He was badly wounded in Vietnam and then developed schizophrenia. He seemed a little odd, but he was a nice person. He had a 1519 rating. He felt like a B player to me. He played a few times in our chess club and the quick chess tournaments that I ran.
He paid me an exceptionally nice compliment when he said, "I thought that I was a good endgame player, and then I played John Coffey and I found out what a good endgame player really is."
2021-12-13
Magnus rating
I figured out that based upon the 73 point rating difference between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi that Magnus should have scored 6.5 out of 11 points. Instead, he won 7.5 out of 11. Magnus gained only 10 rating points.
2021-12-10
World Chess Championship
Magnus Carlsen just won the World Chess Championship for the 5th time.
Ian Nepomniatchi commented that he did not know why he made more mistakes in this match.
This reminded me of players who told me that they don't make the same mistakes against other players that they make against me. Maybe I'm just better at spotting the mistakes.
2021-12-03
INSANE GAME!! | World Chess Championship GAME 6
I love the colorful analogies Levy uses in his commentary. He is the most fun chess commentator to watch on youtube.
The rest of the game is also worth seeing.
2021-11-24
Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi: Predictions - Chess.com
For Magnus, it's inevitably getting difficult. It's already his fifth match, so I don't think the fire is burning so hard inside.
—Vishy Anand
—Vishy Anand
2021-11-19
2021-11-11
2021-11-10
2021-11-04
White to play and win
I still think that this problem is brilliant. If not brilliant then fun. I may have posted it before.
2021-10-24
Stockfish vs. Leela: 3600 ELO BATTLE
"You leave this position with two intermediates, they will find a way to lose it somehow."
Computer: Sees 25 moves into the future.
Jason Koch 1 month ago
Computer: Sees 25 moves into the future.
Magnus: Sees 12 moves into the future.
Normal person: Horsey move funny.
Normal person: Horsey move funny.
LOL.
2021-10-07
QUEEN SACRIFICE by Magnus Carlsen
This is a very cool game between Anish Giri and Magnus Carlsen. I mistakenly told someone it was with Wesley So.
2021-09-11
2021-08-22
Chess
I wrote this 5 years ago on Facebook.
Chess is a complex game. One grandmaster said that it is too complicated for any single mind to comprehend completely, which is true, but the human race has made a reasonable stab at it. Thousands of books have been written about the game, and an inexhaustible list of strategies has been developed.
I have been thinking about chess skill. I wonder if anyone has tried to study all the components of chess skill? On personal reflection, I think that chess skill can be broken into four parts:
1. Vision. This is something I developed at the age of 14 when I realized I could see all the moves available on the board at the same time. Chess vision is the ability to see things instantly that others would have to think about.
2. Pattern recognition. This is similar to vision, except that chess can create many complex patterns. Through experience and study, skilled players have developed the ability to recognize these patterns in their games, sometimes almost instantly.
3. Knowledge. Many complicated strategies have been worked out about chess, and players have to memorize some of them to compete seriously. I have spent a great deal of time committing chess strategies to memory.
4. Understanding. This is by far the most important. There are areas of the game that I understand so well that they require almost no thought or effort on my part. I can play these positions with ease. There are other areas of the game where I feel completely ignorant. For example, sometimes I get into positions that make me uncomfortable because I don't understand them very well.
The reason why understanding is so important is that the more we understand something, the easier it is to learn. This worked really well for me on my computer studies, because the concepts came easy for me, so it didn't take much effort to learn them.
I think many players try to learn things in chess without fully understanding them. At times I have been guilty of this. It can be difficult because chess is a hard-to-comprehend game. There are many different areas in chess, each of which can be a separate field of knowledge.
So to be a good student at chess, one needs either good coaches or good books that explain the concepts well, and the student needs to make sure that he really understands what it is that he is learning. The same thing could probably be said about any field of study.
Chess is a complex game. One grandmaster said that it is too complicated for any single mind to comprehend completely, which is true, but the human race has made a reasonable stab at it. Thousands of books have been written about the game, and an inexhaustible list of strategies has been developed.
I have been thinking about chess skill. I wonder if anyone has tried to study all the components of chess skill? On personal reflection, I think that chess skill can be broken into four parts:
1. Vision. This is something I developed at the age of 14 when I realized I could see all the moves available on the board at the same time. Chess vision is the ability to see things instantly that others would have to think about.
2. Pattern recognition. This is similar to vision, except that chess can create many complex patterns. Through experience and study, skilled players have developed the ability to recognize these patterns in their games, sometimes almost instantly.
3. Knowledge. Many complicated strategies have been worked out about chess, and players have to memorize some of them to compete seriously. I have spent a great deal of time committing chess strategies to memory.
4. Understanding. This is by far the most important. There are areas of the game that I understand so well that they require almost no thought or effort on my part. I can play these positions with ease. There are other areas of the game where I feel completely ignorant. For example, sometimes I get into positions that make me uncomfortable because I don't understand them very well.
The reason why understanding is so important is that the more we understand something, the easier it is to learn. This worked really well for me on my computer studies, because the concepts came easy for me, so it didn't take much effort to learn them.
I think many players try to learn things in chess without fully understanding them. At times I have been guilty of this. It can be difficult because chess is a hard-to-comprehend game. There are many different areas in chess, each of which can be a separate field of knowledge.
So to be a good student at chess, one needs either good coaches or good books that explain the concepts well, and the student needs to make sure that he really understands what it is that he is learning. The same thing could probably be said about any field of study.
--
Best wishes,
John Coffey
Best wishes,
John Coffey
2021-08-14
WIN WITH 1. E4 | The Vienna Gambit
I watched this video, recorded all the moves shown, and I added some computer analysis to the lines that I thought needed it.
This might be messy, but all the lines and analysis are below. This could be useful for someone wanting to explore the opening.
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gotham Vienna Analysis"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C25"]
[Annotator ", John"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.08.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gotham Vienna Analysis"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C25"]
[Annotator ", John"]
[PlyCount "47"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 (2... Nf6 3. f4 d5 (3... exf4 4. e5
Ng8 5. Nf3 d6 6. d4 dxe5 7. Qe2 Bb4 8. Qxe5+ Qe7 9. Bxf4 {
With a huge lead in development.}) (3... Nc6 4. fxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Ng6 6. e5 Ng8
7. Nf3 d6 8. Bc4 dxe5 9. O-O exd4 10. Bxf7+ (10. Ng5 dxc3 11. Bxf7+ Ke7 12.
Re1+)) (3... d6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. d3 {
If Black plays a6 at some point, then Bxc6 and castle and open the F file.}) 4.
fxe5 Nxe4 5. Qf3 {This is Gotham Chess main line.} (5. d3 Nxc3 (5... Qh4+ {
leads to a trap that John Coffey has played for 30 years.} 6. g3 Nxg3 7. Nf3
Qh5 8. Nxd5 Na6 (8... Nxh1 9. Nxc7+ {Leads to a chaotic position.}) 9. Nf4 Qh6
10. Ne2) 6. bxc3 {White would like to play Nf3, d4, Bd3, and O-O.}) (5. Nf3 {
is considered the main line.}) 5... Nc6 (5... f5 6. d3 Nxc3 7. bxc3 d4 {
Otherwise White will play d4. This is a tricky system. Black knows what he
is doing.} (7... Be6 8. d4 ({Or} 8. Ne2 {headed to f4.}) ({
Stockfish barely prefers} 8. Nh3)) 8. Qg3 {White chooses to sacrifice the pawn.
} {If they take...} dxc3 9. Be2 {The point is to threaten Bh5.} g6 (9... a6 {
Stockfish gives} 10. Bh5+ g6 11. Bxg6+ hxg6 12. Qxg6+ Kd7 13. e6+ Kc6 (13...
Ke7 14. Bg5+) 14. e7+ Qd6 15. e8=Q+ Bd7 16. Qxd6+ cxd6 17. Qf7) 10. Bf3 {
Intending Ne2 and castle.}) (5... Nxc3 6. bxc3 {
Intending to rebuild the center. Now Black can do many things.} ({You can play
} 6. dxc3 {with the goal of} Be6 7. Bf4 c5 ({Stockfish prefers} 7... Nd7 8.
O-O-O {Which is equal.}) 8. O-O-O {
With an advantage to White. Maybe intending Bc4.} {Stockfish likes} Nd7 (8...
Be7 {would be a mistake} 9. Bc4) 9. Nh3 {Intending Ng5.}) 6... c5 {
He doens't recommend d4 here.} (6... Be7 7. d4 O-O (7... c5 8. Bd3 {
is still fine.} c4 9. Bf5) 8. Bd3 Be6 {This is a mistake.} 9. Ne2 {
Intending to castle and attack the Kingside.} ({Stockfish prefers} 9. Qh5 g6
10. Qh6 f6 11. Nf3 Rf7 12. O-O Qf8 13. exf6 Bxf6 14. Qe3 Qe7 15. Re1 Bd7 16.
Qd2 Qd6 17. a4 c5 18. Ba3 Na6 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 ({Or} 20. Rxe5) 20... Qe6
21. Bxa6 Qxa6 22. Bxc5 Qa5 23. Qe3)) 7. Qg3 {
To punish Black for not moving his bishop.} ({You can't play} 7. d4 cxd4 8.
cxd4 Bb4+ {And White is going to have a hard time defending his pawns.} ({
According to Stockfish, much better is} 8... Qh4+ 9. Qf2 Bb4+ 10. Ke2 Qe4+ 11.
Kd1 Bc3 12. Nf3 (12. Rb1 Bxd4 13. Qe2 O-O (13... Bb6) (13... Nc6) (13... Bc5) (
13... Bg4 {Are all also good.})) 12... Bxa1) {Stockfish:} 9. Kd1 {
Black has just a 0.6 advantage.}) {Some people will freak out with} 7... g6 8.
Nf3 {Develope. Now White has a choice to respond to Nc6 with Bb4 and take it,
or respond to Bf5 with Bd3.} Bf5 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. cxd3 {
Long term White benefits from the open F file.}) 6. Bb5 {
You need to pin the knight.} (6. Nxe4 {is bad.} Nd4 7. Qc3 dxe4) 6... Nxc3 {
Now you should take with the D pawn.} 7. dxc3 {
Because you need to open up your Bishop and get developed quickly.} (7. bxc3 {
This is an option, but he is not fond of it.}) 7... Qh4+ 8. g3 Qe4+ {This is a
common line, but if they don't know the theory, then you will never face this.}
9. Be3 Qxc2 (9... Qxf3 10. Nxf3 {is minuscule better for White according to
Stockfish 14. White plans to castle queenside.}) 10. Ne2 Qxb2 11. O-O Qxb5 12.
Qxf7+ Kd8 13. Nd4 {Stockfish 14 likes} Qc5 (13... Nxd4 14. Bg5+) 14. Nxc6+ bxc6
15. Bxc5 Bxc5+ 16. Kg2) 3. Bc4 ({Gotham Chess does not like} 3. f4 exf4 4. Nf3
g5 (4... d6 5. d4 {transposes back to a Vienna Gambit.}) {
Stockfish 14 gives the line} 5. g3 (5. Bc4 g4 6. O-O gxf3 {
Which is technically losing for White.}) 5... Bg7 6. d4 d6 7. d5 Ne5 8. gxf4
gxf4 9. Bxf4 Bg4 10. Be2 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Qf6 12. Bxe5 Qxe5 13. Qe2 O-O-O 14.
O-O-O Kb8 15. Kb1 Nf6 16. Rhg1 Rhg8 17. Bg4 Bh8 18. Bh3 {
with a 0.46 advantage for Black.}) 3... Bc5 {Gotham Chess calls this the
copycat variation. He says that it is losing for Black.} (3... Nf6 {
This is just the Two Knight's defense. Gotham Chess likes ...} 4. d3 {
Black can play Bc5, Bb4, or ...} Bc5 {This is the most common.} (4... Bb4 5.
Nge2 {Reinforce the knight. Intending to castle and f4-f5}) (4... Na5 {
"The professional move."} 5. Bb3 (5. Qf3 Nxc4 6. dxc4 {
with the idea of castling queenside as quickly as possible.}) 5... Nxb3 6. axb3
{and try to play for f2-f4.}) 5. f4 {This is a cool trappy variation} d6 6. Nf3
Bg4 (6... Ng4 {Inaccurate. This looks scary like you have blundered something.
} 7. Ng5 {Counterattacking.} O-O (7... Nf2 8. Qh5 {is winning.} g6 9. Bxf7+ Kd7
10. Be6+ Ke8 11. Qh6 {is winning for White.} Qf6 (11... Nd4 12. Qg7 Bxe6 13.
Nxe6 Qh4 14. g3 Nxe6 15. Qxh8+ Kd7 16. Qxa8 Qh3 17. Qg8 Qg2 18. Qf7+ Kd8 (18...
Kc6 19. Qe8+) 19. Qxe6 Qxh1+ 20. Kd2 (20. Ke2 Qg2 21. Ke1 Qg1+ 22. Kd2 Nxe4+
23. Nxe4 Qe3+) 20... Qxh2 21. Ne2) (11... Bxe6 12. Nxe6 Qe7 13. Nd5 Qf7 14. Rf1
) 12. Nd5 Qf8 13. Qxf8+ Rxf8 14. Rf1 {Stockfish 14: 1)} h6 ({Stockfish 14: 2)}
14... Nd4 15. Bxc8 Nxd3+ 16. cxd3 Rxc8 17. Nxh7 Rf7 18. Ng5 Rf8 19. Kd1 c6 20.
Nc3) ({Stockfish 14: 3)} 14... Rb8 15. Nxc7+ Ke7 16. Bb3 h6 17. Nd5+ Kd8 18.
Nf3 Nh3 19. fxe5 g5 20. Be3 Nf4 21. Bxf4 gxf4 22. exd6 Be6 23. O-O-O) ({
Stockfish 14: 4)} 14... a5 15. Nxc7+ Ke7 16. Bd5 Rb8 17. Rxf2) ({
Stockfish 14: 5)} 14... Nxe4 15. dxe4 Nd4 16. Nxc7+ Kd8 17. Nxa8 Nxe6 (17...
Nxc2+ 18. Kd1 Nxa1 19. f5) 18. fxe5) 15. Nxc7+ Kd8 16. Bxc8 hxg5 17. Ne6+ Ke7
18. Nxf8 Rxc8 19. Nxg6+ Kf6 20. Bd2 exf4 (20... Kxg6 21. f5+) 21. Nxf4 gxf4 22.
Rxf2) 8. f5 {This is a really nice move.} Nf2 (8... h6 9. Qxg4 {0}) 9. Qh5 h6
10. Nxf7 Rxf7 11. Qxf7+ Kh8 12. f6 gxf6 13. Bxh6) 7. Na4 {
Gotham Chess describes this as the most important move of this entire lesson.}
Nd4 8. Nxc5 dxc5 9. c3 {Trying to induce} Nxf3+ 10. gxf3 {
with a very solid center intending to castle queenside.}) (3... d6 4. d3 {
Intending f4, Nf3 and 0-0.}) 4. Qg4 {Stockfish likes this move.} Qf6 {
and here comes the magic...} (4... g6 5. Qf3 Nf6 (5... Nd4 6. Qxf7#) 6. Nge2 {
To prevent 6... Nd4. White intends d3 with Bg5 with a "much better position"
because they have weakened their dark squares considerably.} d6 7. d3 Bg4 8. Qg3
{Intending Bg5 and Qh4.}) (4... Kf8 5. Qf3 {With the same idea.}) 5. Nd5 Qxf2+
6. Kd1 g6 (6... Kf8 7. Nh3 h5 8. Qg5 Qd4 9. d3 Be7 10. Qg3 {
Gotham chess claims that this position is so rare that you would never face it.
} {And that Black has to play this move.} b5 ({Stockfish 14: 1)} 10... Nf6 11.
c3 Qc5 12. Rf1 h4 13. Qf3 Nd8 14. Bg5 Qd6 15. Ne3 b5 16. Bb3 Qxd3+ 17. Ke1 Qd6
18. Nf5 Qb6 19. Nf2 Ne6 20. Be3 Bc5 21. Nxg7 Bxe3 22. Nxe6+ dxe6 23. Qxf6 Rh6
24. Qxe5 Qc5 25. Ng4 Qxe5 26. Nxe5 {0.65/45}) ({Stockfish 14: 2)} 10... b5 11.
Bxb5 h4 12. Qf3 Qc5 13. Bc4 Nd4 14. Qf2 c6 15. c3 Ne6 16. Be3 Qd6 17. Rf1 f6
18. Nxe7 Nxe7 19. Kc2 a5 20. Rad1 Ba6 21. Kb1 a4 22. a3 Ke8 23. Bxa6 Rxa6 24.
d4 Ra5 25. Ka1 Rb5 26. Qc2 {1.43/45}) ({Stockfish 14: 3)} 10... h4 11. Qf3 Nd8
12. Nxc7 Nf6 13. Nf2 Rb8 14. Nb5 Qb6 15. a4 a6 16. a5 Qc6 17. Na7 Qd6 18. Ng4
Nxg4 19. Qxg4 Qd4 20. Nxc8 Rxc8 21. c3 Qf2 22. h3 Ne6 23. Re1 Rc7 24. Ra2 Nf4
25. Bxf4 exf4 26. Bd5 {1.72/45}) ({Stockfish 14: 4)} 10... Nd8 11. Nxc7 Rb8 12.
Nd5 h4 13. Qf3 b5 14. Bb3 a5 15. a4 Nf6 16. axb5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Rxb5 18. Rf1
Rxb2 19. Bxb2 Qxb2 20. Ra2 Qc3 21. Bxf7 Bb4 22. Bc4+ Ke8 23. Qe3 Nc6 24. Ng1
Nd4 25. Qg5 d6 26. Ne2 {1.86/44}) ({Stockfish 14: 5)} 10... Qc5 11. Rf1 Nf6 12.
Be3 Qd6 13. Ng5 h4 14. Qf2 Nd8 15. Nxf6 gxf6 16. Nf3 b5 17. Bd5 c6 18. Bb3 Qc7
19. Nxh4 d5 20. exd5 cxd5 21. Bxd5 Bg4+ 22. Kd2 Rc8 23. c3 Be6 24. Bxe6 Nxe6
25. Nf5 b4 26. c4 {2.03/44})) 7. Nh3 Qd4 8. d3 {
Gotham chess says that the Queen is trapped, but Stockfish gives...} Be7 (8...
h5 9. Qf3) 9. Qf3 f5 (9... Qc5 10. Nxc7+) (9... b5 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxb5 Qb6
12. Be3 Qa5 13. Qxf7) 10. c3 ({or} 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxa8) 10... Qc5 11. exf5
b5 12. Bb3 Bb7 13. Ng5 Nd8 14. Be3 Qd6 15. Ne4 Qc6 (15... Qxd5 16. Bxd5 Bxd5)
16. f6 Bd6 17. f7+ Nxf7 18. Nxc7+ Qxc7 19. Qxf7+ Kd8 20. Bg5+ Ne7 (20... Be7
21. Qf8#) (20... Kc8 21. Qe8+ Qd8 22. Qxd8#) 21. Qf6 Qc6 22. Nxd6 Kc7 23. Nxb7
Kxb7 24. Qxe7 1-0
Ng8 5. Nf3 d6 6. d4 dxe5 7. Qe2 Bb4 8. Qxe5+ Qe7 9. Bxf4 {
With a huge lead in development.}) (3... Nc6 4. fxe5 Nxe5 5. d4 Ng6 6. e5 Ng8
7. Nf3 d6 8. Bc4 dxe5 9. O-O exd4 10. Bxf7+ (10. Ng5 dxc3 11. Bxf7+ Ke7 12.
Re1+)) (3... d6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. d3 {
If Black plays a6 at some point, then Bxc6 and castle and open the F file.}) 4.
fxe5 Nxe4 5. Qf3 {This is Gotham Chess main line.} (5. d3 Nxc3 (5... Qh4+ {
leads to a trap that John Coffey has played for 30 years.} 6. g3 Nxg3 7. Nf3
Qh5 8. Nxd5 Na6 (8... Nxh1 9. Nxc7+ {Leads to a chaotic position.}) 9. Nf4 Qh6
10. Ne2) 6. bxc3 {White would like to play Nf3, d4, Bd3, and O-O.}) (5. Nf3 {
is considered the main line.}) 5... Nc6 (5... f5 6. d3 Nxc3 7. bxc3 d4 {
Otherwise White will play d4. This is a tricky system. Black knows what he
is doing.} (7... Be6 8. d4 ({Or} 8. Ne2 {headed to f4.}) ({
Stockfish barely prefers} 8. Nh3)) 8. Qg3 {White chooses to sacrifice the pawn.
} {If they take...} dxc3 9. Be2 {The point is to threaten Bh5.} g6 (9... a6 {
Stockfish gives} 10. Bh5+ g6 11. Bxg6+ hxg6 12. Qxg6+ Kd7 13. e6+ Kc6 (13...
Ke7 14. Bg5+) 14. e7+ Qd6 15. e8=Q+ Bd7 16. Qxd6+ cxd6 17. Qf7) 10. Bf3 {
Intending Ne2 and castle.}) (5... Nxc3 6. bxc3 {
Intending to rebuild the center. Now Black can do many things.} ({You can play
} 6. dxc3 {with the goal of} Be6 7. Bf4 c5 ({Stockfish prefers} 7... Nd7 8.
O-O-O {Which is equal.}) 8. O-O-O {
With an advantage to White. Maybe intending Bc4.} {Stockfish likes} Nd7 (8...
Be7 {would be a mistake} 9. Bc4) 9. Nh3 {Intending Ng5.}) 6... c5 {
He doens't recommend d4 here.} (6... Be7 7. d4 O-O (7... c5 8. Bd3 {
is still fine.} c4 9. Bf5) 8. Bd3 Be6 {This is a mistake.} 9. Ne2 {
Intending to castle and attack the Kingside.} ({Stockfish prefers} 9. Qh5 g6
10. Qh6 f6 11. Nf3 Rf7 12. O-O Qf8 13. exf6 Bxf6 14. Qe3 Qe7 15. Re1 Bd7 16.
Qd2 Qd6 17. a4 c5 18. Ba3 Na6 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. dxe5 ({Or} 20. Rxe5) 20... Qe6
21. Bxa6 Qxa6 22. Bxc5 Qa5 23. Qe3)) 7. Qg3 {
To punish Black for not moving his bishop.} ({You can't play} 7. d4 cxd4 8.
cxd4 Bb4+ {And White is going to have a hard time defending his pawns.} ({
According to Stockfish, much better is} 8... Qh4+ 9. Qf2 Bb4+ 10. Ke2 Qe4+ 11.
Kd1 Bc3 12. Nf3 (12. Rb1 Bxd4 13. Qe2 O-O (13... Bb6) (13... Nc6) (13... Bc5) (
13... Bg4 {Are all also good.})) 12... Bxa1) {Stockfish:} 9. Kd1 {
Black has just a 0.6 advantage.}) {Some people will freak out with} 7... g6 8.
Nf3 {Develope. Now White has a choice to respond to Nc6 with Bb4 and take it,
or respond to Bf5 with Bd3.} Bf5 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. cxd3 {
Long term White benefits from the open F file.}) 6. Bb5 {
You need to pin the knight.} (6. Nxe4 {is bad.} Nd4 7. Qc3 dxe4) 6... Nxc3 {
Now you should take with the D pawn.} 7. dxc3 {
Because you need to open up your Bishop and get developed quickly.} (7. bxc3 {
This is an option, but he is not fond of it.}) 7... Qh4+ 8. g3 Qe4+ {This is a
common line, but if they don't know the theory, then you will never face this.}
9. Be3 Qxc2 (9... Qxf3 10. Nxf3 {is minuscule better for White according to
Stockfish 14. White plans to castle queenside.}) 10. Ne2 Qxb2 11. O-O Qxb5 12.
Qxf7+ Kd8 13. Nd4 {Stockfish 14 likes} Qc5 (13... Nxd4 14. Bg5+) 14. Nxc6+ bxc6
15. Bxc5 Bxc5+ 16. Kg2) 3. Bc4 ({Gotham Chess does not like} 3. f4 exf4 4. Nf3
g5 (4... d6 5. d4 {transposes back to a Vienna Gambit.}) {
Stockfish 14 gives the line} 5. g3 (5. Bc4 g4 6. O-O gxf3 {
Which is technically losing for White.}) 5... Bg7 6. d4 d6 7. d5 Ne5 8. gxf4
gxf4 9. Bxf4 Bg4 10. Be2 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Qf6 12. Bxe5 Qxe5 13. Qe2 O-O-O 14.
O-O-O Kb8 15. Kb1 Nf6 16. Rhg1 Rhg8 17. Bg4 Bh8 18. Bh3 {
with a 0.46 advantage for Black.}) 3... Bc5 {Gotham Chess calls this the
copycat variation. He says that it is losing for Black.} (3... Nf6 {
This is just the Two Knight's defense. Gotham Chess likes ...} 4. d3 {
Black can play Bc5, Bb4, or ...} Bc5 {This is the most common.} (4... Bb4 5.
Nge2 {Reinforce the knight. Intending to castle and f4-f5}) (4... Na5 {
"The professional move."} 5. Bb3 (5. Qf3 Nxc4 6. dxc4 {
with the idea of castling queenside as quickly as possible.}) 5... Nxb3 6. axb3
{and try to play for f2-f4.}) 5. f4 {This is a cool trappy variation} d6 6. Nf3
Bg4 (6... Ng4 {Inaccurate. This looks scary like you have blundered something.
} 7. Ng5 {Counterattacking.} O-O (7... Nf2 8. Qh5 {is winning.} g6 9. Bxf7+ Kd7
10. Be6+ Ke8 11. Qh6 {is winning for White.} Qf6 (11... Nd4 12. Qg7 Bxe6 13.
Nxe6 Qh4 14. g3 Nxe6 15. Qxh8+ Kd7 16. Qxa8 Qh3 17. Qg8 Qg2 18. Qf7+ Kd8 (18...
Kc6 19. Qe8+) 19. Qxe6 Qxh1+ 20. Kd2 (20. Ke2 Qg2 21. Ke1 Qg1+ 22. Kd2 Nxe4+
23. Nxe4 Qe3+) 20... Qxh2 21. Ne2) (11... Bxe6 12. Nxe6 Qe7 13. Nd5 Qf7 14. Rf1
) 12. Nd5 Qf8 13. Qxf8+ Rxf8 14. Rf1 {Stockfish 14: 1)} h6 ({Stockfish 14: 2)}
14... Nd4 15. Bxc8 Nxd3+ 16. cxd3 Rxc8 17. Nxh7 Rf7 18. Ng5 Rf8 19. Kd1 c6 20.
Nc3) ({Stockfish 14: 3)} 14... Rb8 15. Nxc7+ Ke7 16. Bb3 h6 17. Nd5+ Kd8 18.
Nf3 Nh3 19. fxe5 g5 20. Be3 Nf4 21. Bxf4 gxf4 22. exd6 Be6 23. O-O-O) ({
Stockfish 14: 4)} 14... a5 15. Nxc7+ Ke7 16. Bd5 Rb8 17. Rxf2) ({
Stockfish 14: 5)} 14... Nxe4 15. dxe4 Nd4 16. Nxc7+ Kd8 17. Nxa8 Nxe6 (17...
Nxc2+ 18. Kd1 Nxa1 19. f5) 18. fxe5) 15. Nxc7+ Kd8 16. Bxc8 hxg5 17. Ne6+ Ke7
18. Nxf8 Rxc8 19. Nxg6+ Kf6 20. Bd2 exf4 (20... Kxg6 21. f5+) 21. Nxf4 gxf4 22.
Rxf2) 8. f5 {This is a really nice move.} Nf2 (8... h6 9. Qxg4 {0}) 9. Qh5 h6
10. Nxf7 Rxf7 11. Qxf7+ Kh8 12. f6 gxf6 13. Bxh6) 7. Na4 {
Gotham Chess describes this as the most important move of this entire lesson.}
Nd4 8. Nxc5 dxc5 9. c3 {Trying to induce} Nxf3+ 10. gxf3 {
with a very solid center intending to castle queenside.}) (3... d6 4. d3 {
Intending f4, Nf3 and 0-0.}) 4. Qg4 {Stockfish likes this move.} Qf6 {
and here comes the magic...} (4... g6 5. Qf3 Nf6 (5... Nd4 6. Qxf7#) 6. Nge2 {
To prevent 6... Nd4. White intends d3 with Bg5 with a "much better position"
because they have weakened their dark squares considerably.} d6 7. d3 Bg4 8. Qg3
{Intending Bg5 and Qh4.}) (4... Kf8 5. Qf3 {With the same idea.}) 5. Nd5 Qxf2+
6. Kd1 g6 (6... Kf8 7. Nh3 h5 8. Qg5 Qd4 9. d3 Be7 10. Qg3 {
Gotham chess claims that this position is so rare that you would never face it.
} {And that Black has to play this move.} b5 ({Stockfish 14: 1)} 10... Nf6 11.
c3 Qc5 12. Rf1 h4 13. Qf3 Nd8 14. Bg5 Qd6 15. Ne3 b5 16. Bb3 Qxd3+ 17. Ke1 Qd6
18. Nf5 Qb6 19. Nf2 Ne6 20. Be3 Bc5 21. Nxg7 Bxe3 22. Nxe6+ dxe6 23. Qxf6 Rh6
24. Qxe5 Qc5 25. Ng4 Qxe5 26. Nxe5 {0.65/45}) ({Stockfish 14: 2)} 10... b5 11.
Bxb5 h4 12. Qf3 Qc5 13. Bc4 Nd4 14. Qf2 c6 15. c3 Ne6 16. Be3 Qd6 17. Rf1 f6
18. Nxe7 Nxe7 19. Kc2 a5 20. Rad1 Ba6 21. Kb1 a4 22. a3 Ke8 23. Bxa6 Rxa6 24.
d4 Ra5 25. Ka1 Rb5 26. Qc2 {1.43/45}) ({Stockfish 14: 3)} 10... h4 11. Qf3 Nd8
12. Nxc7 Nf6 13. Nf2 Rb8 14. Nb5 Qb6 15. a4 a6 16. a5 Qc6 17. Na7 Qd6 18. Ng4
Nxg4 19. Qxg4 Qd4 20. Nxc8 Rxc8 21. c3 Qf2 22. h3 Ne6 23. Re1 Rc7 24. Ra2 Nf4
25. Bxf4 exf4 26. Bd5 {1.72/45}) ({Stockfish 14: 4)} 10... Nd8 11. Nxc7 Rb8 12.
Nd5 h4 13. Qf3 b5 14. Bb3 a5 15. a4 Nf6 16. axb5 Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Rxb5 18. Rf1
Rxb2 19. Bxb2 Qxb2 20. Ra2 Qc3 21. Bxf7 Bb4 22. Bc4+ Ke8 23. Qe3 Nc6 24. Ng1
Nd4 25. Qg5 d6 26. Ne2 {1.86/44}) ({Stockfish 14: 5)} 10... Qc5 11. Rf1 Nf6 12.
Be3 Qd6 13. Ng5 h4 14. Qf2 Nd8 15. Nxf6 gxf6 16. Nf3 b5 17. Bd5 c6 18. Bb3 Qc7
19. Nxh4 d5 20. exd5 cxd5 21. Bxd5 Bg4+ 22. Kd2 Rc8 23. c3 Be6 24. Bxe6 Nxe6
25. Nf5 b4 26. c4 {2.03/44})) 7. Nh3 Qd4 8. d3 {
Gotham chess says that the Queen is trapped, but Stockfish gives...} Be7 (8...
h5 9. Qf3) 9. Qf3 f5 (9... Qc5 10. Nxc7+) (9... b5 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxb5 Qb6
12. Be3 Qa5 13. Qxf7) 10. c3 ({or} 10. Nxc7+ Kd8 11. Nxa8) 10... Qc5 11. exf5
b5 12. Bb3 Bb7 13. Ng5 Nd8 14. Be3 Qd6 15. Ne4 Qc6 (15... Qxd5 16. Bxd5 Bxd5)
16. f6 Bd6 17. f7+ Nxf7 18. Nxc7+ Qxc7 19. Qxf7+ Kd8 20. Bg5+ Ne7 (20... Be7
21. Qf8#) (20... Kc8 21. Qe8+ Qd8 22. Qxd8#) 21. Qf6 Qc6 22. Nxd6 Kc7 23. Nxb7
Kxb7 24. Qxe7 1-0
2021-08-05
Magicnus Carlsen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Eb0KLiWeHA
Even though the first game is a short draw, I found some of the lines interesting. This is a neat opening.
However, the second game is both pretty amazing and funny.
2021-07-29
Interesting blitz game.
[Event "Casual G/10"]
[Site "Columbus Chess Club"]
[Date "2021.07.29"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Coffey, John"]
[Black "Hollars, Isaiah"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2016"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[TimeControl "600"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 c6
8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 10. e4 Bb7 11. e5 Nd5 12. Bxe7 Nxe7 13. O-O Nd7 14. Ne4
Qc7 15. Nd6 Rfd8 16. Qc2 Nc8 17. Nxf7 Kxf7 18. Qf5+ Kg8 19. Bxe6+ Kh8 20. Ng5
Nf8 21. Nf7+ Kg8 22. Nxh6+ Kh8 23. Nf7+ Kg8 24. Ng5+ Nxe6 25. Qxe6+ Kh8 26.
Qh3+ Kg8 27. Qh7+ Kf8 28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Qxg7+ Ke8 30. Qg8+ Kd7 31. Qe6# 1-0
[Date "2021.07.29"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Coffey, John"]
[Black "Hollars, Isaiah"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2016"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[TimeControl "600"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 c6
8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b6 10. e4 Bb7 11. e5 Nd5 12. Bxe7 Nxe7 13. O-O Nd7 14. Ne4
Qc7 15. Nd6 Rfd8 16. Qc2 Nc8 17. Nxf7 Kxf7 18. Qf5+ Kg8 19. Bxe6+ Kh8 20. Ng5
Nf8 21. Nf7+ Kg8 22. Nxh6+ Kh8 23. Nf7+ Kg8 24. Ng5+ Nxe6 25. Qxe6+ Kh8 26.
Qh3+ Kg8 27. Qh7+ Kf8 28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Qxg7+ Ke8 30. Qg8+ Kd7 31. Qe6# 1-0
2021-07-27
2021-07-20
2021-07-18
The 35 most important chess principles
Most serious players already understand these, but I think that we all know people who could benefit from basic principles.
This video didn't teach me anything I didn't already know, except #32 which states that opposite-colored bishops are dangerous in the middle game. I didn't know that.
I like principle #35. If he didn't state it, I was going to mention it.
It is too bad that he didn't get to King opposition.
DRAMA AT CHESS WORLD CUP!
The first 3 minutes talk about a Grandmaster tournament game being stopped midway because of COVID.
2021-07-17
Bobby Fischer beats a Grandmaster in 10 moves! (But Reshevsky plays on)
Compare this 4-year-old video to a more recent one ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxzBKhVaRkU
This is a bit monotone. It sounds like he has a cold or is tired. I'm glad that his presentation improved over time.
At one time I thought that I would like to do chess instruction videos, but there are a ton of players better than me doing a really good job. It is a very crowded field.
My presentation would not be near as interesting.
2021-07-10
2021-07-09
2021-07-02
Centaur Smart Chess Set
https://store.moma.org/kids/toys-games/centaur-smart-chess-set/8910-146914.html
BTW, at the Columbus Chess Club last night I helped a guy named Paul Chestnut use his new chess computer. This thing is pretty interesting. It typically sells for about $450. The board can sense where you move the pieces. Want to start a new game? Just set the pieces back to the beginning. Want to take back one or more moves? Just move in reverse. You can take back the computer's move and play a different move for the computer, which might be useful if you want to play against a specific opening, or if you want to analyze.
There are circular lights under each square that highlight where the computer wants to move.
The pieces are the same size as my nice $35 chess pieces, although my pieces aren't as tall as some brands. The board is just barely smaller than a standard tournament board, which makes for a pleasant playing experience. The pieces and the board seem like they are made of lightweight plastic. The pieces don't have much weight to them except that I think that they have a magnet on the bottom. Underneath the board, there is no covering over the electronics that sense the movement of the pieces, so overall this device feels cheaply made.
There is a small screen that shows what position the computer thinks is on the board, which is helpful in case something got mixed up. It can also display a chess clock.
All the brains seem to be on the narrow right side panel. I suspect that it is using something equivalent to a phone processor, or maybe something cheaper. It is running Stockfish, which potentially makes it a very strong chess computer.
Unfortunately, it only has 3 modes of difficulty. There is "Friendly" that tries to automatically adjust to your level, however, Paul and I playing together lost to this mode. There is "Challenge" that tries to be tougher, and then there is "Expert". Given that it is running Stockfish, this "Expert" mode probably plays like a strong Grandmaster or better. The Stockfish program running on a desktop computer is far better than any human player.
An ideal chess program would allow you to set the playing ability by ELO rating, which for computers can go up to about 3600. My rating is around 2000. Magnus Carlsen is rated 2847. Ideally, it could also go down to zero.
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