A SICK OPENING VARIATION

In the Two Knights Defence, after the moves

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 e5 d5 6 Bb5 Ne4 7 Nxd4 Bc5

the best move is 8 Be3, neutralizing Black's active bishop c5. 

The move 8 0-0 is also sound, defending the pawn f2 and providing White equality. 

In turn, the sharp move 8 Nxc6!?, ignoring Black's attack on f2, is generally considered invalid. However, my chess engine shows that the position is still equal. 

Two Knights Defence - 8 Nxc6!?

It is interesting to observe how chess theoreticians have described the move 8 Nxc6 leading to enormous complexities:

Playing devil's advocate...

    - Flear

8 Nxc6!? is obviously a critical response, but White comes under a dangerous attack. The position may be defensible but White should have both prior knowledge and iron nerves.

    - Pinsky

In principle no one in their right mind will go in for the variation 8 Nxc6...

    - Beliavsky & Mikhalchishin

Unfortunately, the variations provided by the theoreticians are so complex and lead to so non-standard positions that I cannot memorize them. It even seems to me that not only must White be sick when choosing such a sickening variation, but Black must be sick too, allowing to choose it.

For example, after the moves

8 Nxc6 Bxf2+ 9 Kf1 Qh4 10 Nd4+ c6 11 Nf3 Ng3+ 12 Kxf2 Ne4+ 13 Ke3 Qf2+ 14 Kd3 Bf5

 15 Nd4 Bg6 16 Rf1 Qxg2 17 Ke3 cxb5=/+

the following position is on the board:

Two Knights Defence - 17...cxb5

White's king is in the centre of the board. However, according to chess engines, and contrary to the statements of many theoreticians, Black, who has sacrificed a piece for two pawns, has merely a slight advantage.

From the databases, I found only two games with that position:

Nilsson - Bergstrom 2014

In that game, both sides made several mistakes in a tactical battle around White's king, stuck in the centre. 

In the game

Broszeit - Schleef 2020

White managed to quickly get rid of the central pawn e5, covering White's king, and Black got a mating attack.

Then, let Kasparov and Karpov play a hundred games from that position. 

I do not even remember how to arrive at it. And I do not understand it either. I have no idea of how to think in such positions. 

Is there any chess theory for handling such irregular positions? Are there any principles to follow? What is the cognitive value of playing such a position? 

Indeed, in the game 

Nikolaos - Alexandros, 2011

Black decided to avoid that position and forced a draw by repetition:

Nikolaos - Alexandros, 2011

In the present post, the Apronus chess software was used.

I ABANDONED THE CHESS PLATFORM CHESS KING PLAY

There are so many mistakes on this chess platform that I don't have time to list them.

Perhaps a little later, I will describe them in more detail.

For the moment, I will mention the following mistakes:

1) In one of my first games there, I played against a player with an ELO of over 2200. The moment I made a move that made it clear that I would win in a tactical combination, the game was interrupted. I scored a point, but my ELO didn't change. The archives had no game notation, even though the game metadata were recorded there. Chess King did not respond to my complaint.

2) Despite setting a limit on the ELO I wanted to play with, I was constantly being confronted by players whose ELO was, for example, 500 points lower than mine.

3) Even though I set the restriction (as I remember) not to ask for a move back, my opponents managed to do so. However, asking for a move back in rated games should be automatically impossible. Unfortunately, some players asked for a move back many times in a row, and for no reason, just disrupting the game. If you can't bid a draw more than three times in a game, why can you ask for the move back dozens of times in a row?

4) On Chess King Play, there is a widespread habit of hooliganizing, for example, accepting a challenge to your game only to cancel it. On dozens of occasions, my game was accepted, but the opponent either didn't move or immediately cancelled the game. 

5) There is a widespread bad habit of abandoning the game when the position on the board is bad. The opponent is forced to wait another five to ten minutes even though the game's fate has already been decided.

6) There is a technical means of blocking rogue players, but it works only half-heartedly. I have managed to block about thirty hooligans. Still, I have failed to block another thirty or so, either because it proved technically impossible for some reason or because it suddenly turned out that there was no such opponent on the list of players.

7) Chess King Play players use chess engines en masse, even though they have declared that they do not. Already from level ELO 1800, cheating is done massively. I understand this very well when a chess engine is used against me in a quick game. I've played hundreds of training games with the grandmasters with fast time control, and I know perfectly well what they can and can't do in a short amount of time.

8) It's not just that this chess platform technically allows hooliganism and cheating. This platform itself is likely doing dubious manipulations. For example, this platform "randomly" gave me black pieces about seven times in a row yesterday. Such coincidences do not happen in real life.

(For a similar reason, I stopped using the Chess.com platform a few years ago. Namely, in correspondence chess, this platform "randomly" gave me the same opponent ten times in a row despite many options for providing opponents. This opponent always played the same opening variant I knew perfectly well because of my previous ICCF games. He later officially complained that I was cheating. In fact, after I got out of the opening, I made many mistakes in those games before I won. Cheating was probably done by Chess.com instead, who manipulated it for political reasons, which I do not wish to discuss here. I abandoned this platform.)

9) ChessOK and Chess King Play platforms are mixed. While it is difficult to find information about it, the Chess King Play is a newer version of the ChessOK Playing Zone. In this case, however, mistakes are not avoided. 

I had to make a separate account in both. They managed to get me to play with myself even though I had the same username and the same details on different platforms.

Nanomaster is playing against itself. - Chess OK

Nanomaster is playing against itself. - Chess King Play

10) Meanwhile, I could not download my game notation (PGN) on the Chess King platform. Finally, I got the PGN file, which initially opened in the chess programs. However, sometime later, the game disappeared - the game notation was empty! The PGN files downloaded were broken.

11) Audio notifications are not working properly. Since everyone plays blitz with a time control of 5 minutes or less, but I like to play slow games, I sometimes have to wait hours before someone accepts my offer for a match. I was doing other things then, such as reading a computer book. However, it has often happened that I did not notice that the game had already started. Namely, the sound notification works only when the Chess King Play window is opened. If, simultaneously, another window is open in which I am reading a book, then the game starts secretly, completely unnoticed. (In the Windows app of the ChessOK Playing Zone, the notification about the beginning of a game did not work at all.)

Chess King's hostage

This platform also has learning files under Chess King Learn. Generally speaking, these PGN files are comfortable, interesting and useful. 

However, I wonder why they sell study files for money that give the reader a headache because they are written in broken English? If you're making thousands of dollars selling these files, you could spend a hundred dollars a year fixing your grammar mistakes.

Of course, I have nothing against the professionalism of Russian grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk. However, these files teach children outdated opening theory. It is a haltura. 

For example, in one of the main variations of the Queen's Gambit, in one position, one move has been known for decades. It is the most frequently used, successful and the strongest according to chess engines. Surprisingly, this move is omitted from the study materials without any comment. There are many more examples.

Finally, I would like to ask whether this Alexandra has a reason or a conscience? Today, I liquidated my account at their Chess King Play. Earlier, as I remember, I had to create a separate account there in addition to the Chess King account through which I bought the study files.

And behold a miracle. After liquidating my account on Chess King Play, I also lost access to my study files, which shouldn't have anything to do with the playing zone because those study files are in the store and not the playing zone. Without any warning. (On the ChessOK, an older version of the Chess King, there are two separate accounts - one for the shop and the other for the playing zone.)

As a result of all this mess, I feel I no longer want to have any business with this Chess King platform!

SUSPEND ISRAEL FROM INTERNATIONAL SPORTS

The petition is here:

Suspend Israel from International Sports

Some comments

I have now signed this petition.

The point is that if it was right (if it was) to block Russian chess players and chess teams because Russia started a war against Ukraine, it is undoubtedly even more appropriate to impose sanctions on Israeli sportspersons on the grounds that Israel is committing war crimes on a massive scale in the Gaza Strip, killing tens of thousands of civilians and, let us face it, committing genocide.

Sporting sanctions against Israel should, of course, also apply to chess.

Details should certainly be clarified, for example, when it is permissible to compete as an individual but not as part of an Israeli team, when it is permissible to compete but not under the Israeli flag, etc. 

Such clarifications are necessary to avoid collective punishment of individuals.

However, I must emphasise here that, although I have signed this petition, my signature is to be considered valid only in so far as it relates to crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Israel. 

I refrain from taking a clear position on who is occupying whose territory, who started the war and who had the right to do so.

Unfortunately, petitions often contain more demands than the supporters are prepared to sign. So they have no choice but to either sign the whole package or not sign even a demand they strongly favour.

In fact, I believe that Israel has the right to defend its territory and its citizens. But I do not know where Israel's legal territory is, and I know that the right to self-defence does not give Israel the right to kill more than 10,000 children.

WHITE WON IN THE REVERSED BENONI OPENING

I had white pieces in an exciting correspondence chess game on Chess Mail.

Having a solid centre and space advantage, I did nothing special. 

I developed my pieces on maximally useful positions. I avoided making early, unclear tactical breakthroughs and tried to protect my centre against possible attacks. 

Black itself destroyed one's position in an unsuccessful attempt to break free from the cramped position.

While I am a strong tactician, the most challenging task was to refrain from tactical mirages. This may be the only reason I succeeded in winning such a strong chess player.

Unfortunately, my opponent continued playing until the checkmate. 

On Chess Mail, claiming a victory based on endgame tablebases is impossible. 

Fortunately, my opponent used only some of one's legal thinking time... 

Nanomaster - Graywolf60, Chess Mail, 2024

Some comments on this game

 

 In the present post, the Apronus and Chessbase chess softwares were used.

BLACK WON IN 23 MOVES - TWO KNIGHTS DEFENCE

In the Two Knights Defence, the variation 4 Ng5 is very sharp. White wins a pawn, but Black gets the initiative. The slightest mistake can cost a game for White.

I had black pieces in the game Krasotkin - Nanomaser on the platform ChessOK, 15 minutes per game. The game lasted only 23 moves.

Krasotkin - Nanomaster, ChessOK, 2024

You can analyze the game here:

Some comments on this game

Position after 10...Bd6

After 10...Bd6, 11 Nc4? was a mistake. White lost time to exchange one's centralized knight for Black's knight on the board's edge.

The correct moves were 11 d4 or 11 f4, defending the knight on e5. 

For example, after 11 d4 exd4 12 Nxd3, White's knight is close to White's king, while Black's knight is still on the edge. The disturbing central pawn on e4 has been exchanged. White's queen on d1 and bishop on c1 have gained some space.

The move 13 0-0?? was a final mistake. The correct move was 13 d4, after which White still has a bad position.

After 13 0-0??, Black has a winning combination. 

Position after 13 0-0

This combination is typical. First, Black sacrifices the bishop on h2: 13...Bxh2+. Then, Black plays 14...Ng4+. Then, depending on circumstances, Black plays 15...Qh4, 15...Qg5 or 15...Qd6.

Note that in the diagram above, White's queenside is entirely undeveloped. 

Worse, White's bishop on c4 also does not participate in the battle that will start around White's king. That bishop does not protect the crucial square g4 and, thus, does not deter the threatening move Nf6-g4.

With the move 12 Be2xc4, White's bishop abandoned the square e2 and landed on a seemingly more active position on c4. Unfortunately, the bishop on c4 alone does not threaten the well-defended pawn on f7.

White's position would be bad but much better than in the game if, on the diagram above, White's bishop would be on e2 instead of c4, as shown in the diagram below:

The position from above, if the bishop on c4 is on e2 instead

In the present post, the Apronus chess software was used.

BLACK WON IN THE TWO KNIGHTS DEFENCE

I had black pieces in the game on the platform ChessOK. Time control 15 minutes per game. The game

vugar79 - Nanomaster (0-1)

lasted only 17 moves:

vugar79 - Nanomaster, 2024

Some comments on this game

After the game move 9...Be6, the following theoretical position is on the board:

The game move 10 Neg5 grabs back the pawn, but it is a loss of time. 

Better is 10 Bg5, continuing the development and hindering Black from castling to the queenside. After 10...h6?, there is a tactical reply 11 Bf6!

After the game move 12...Bd6, the following position is on the board:

Black threatens with the combination 13...Bxh2+ 14. Nxh2 Qxd1. 

Unfortunately, White had to play 13 Qd3. 

After the game continuation 13 Bg5?, the following position is on the board:

White's bishop on g5 is hanging. The knight on f3 is overloaded. In the game Bohm - Reshevsky (Amsterdam 1977), Black used it to play 13...Bxh2+! 

However, when grabbing the pawn on e6, White managed to open the f-file for Black's rooks.

In the present game, and in the game De Abreu - Harshavardhan (Chess.com INT 2020), Black used the half-open f-file to attack with 13...Rdf8!

In the present post, the Apronus chess software was used.