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June 23, 2012

Sat. Nite Chess Thread 06-23-2012 [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger

Sorry, I don't have much this week. Work and life sometimes get in the way.

Game of the Week

This week's famous chess game is Nimzowitch v. Tarrasch, St. Petersburg 1914. Hypermodern v. Classic. Old School v. New School. Who will win this generational shootout? Rumor has it that these two players completely despised each other, and that the winner avoided a simple finish to one that looked very much like he was grinding his opponent's face in it. I'm not going to give away the ending, but I assure you, it's spectacular.

You can play through it yourself here. For those of you who missed it, here is the '60 Minutes' feature they did on Magnus Carlsen a while back. When I watched it, I couldn't help contrasting the young man's stability, which I think is based on his close relationship with his father, with the dysfunctional Bobby Fischer, who never knew his father. Perhaps 'dysfunctional' is not quite fair, but my point is that no matter how good Fischer was, you could tell that there was just something about him that was missing, some vital component of being human that, for him, was just not there. Which is true of a lot of people who perform at the genius level, but I don't see that with Carlsen.

Thanks to those of you who have sent me tips for this thread. They may be sent to me at

OregonMuse
and then the at sign
followed by yahoo
and then dot
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Posted by: Open Blogger at 02:42 PM | Comments (57)
Post contains 262 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Mongo only pawn in game of life.

Posted by: Mongo at June 23, 2012 02:44 PM (7ppar)

2 I see someone borrowed that time machine that totally doesn't exist.

I think Bobby Fischer was a complete sociopath. You're right there was just something fundamentally missing from his psyche.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD 2012 at June 23, 2012 02:45 PM (Gk3SS)

3 Having two queens in the same game is a recipe for trouble.

Posted by: David Plouffe at June 23, 2012 02:47 PM (7ppar)

4 I think Bobby Fischer was a complete sociopath

That's my take on him, too.

America has produced two world-class chess geniuses that were the best players of their respective generations, and both were batshit crazy.

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 23, 2012 02:51 PM (xm1A1)

5 Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

Posted by: steevy at June 23, 2012 02:51 PM (Ts9tU)

6 So what does a person talk about if they don't play chess. I'm a fucking whiz at spades.

Posted by: Soona at June 23, 2012 02:53 PM (GFo8N)

7 America has produced two world-class chess geniuses that were the best players of their respective generations, and both were batshit crazy.

I wonder if there's some kind of neurobiological connection behind that. It would not surprise me in the slightest if that were the case. Nature seems to demand balance. Sure, you can have this genius. We'll just take something else away.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD 2012 at June 23, 2012 03:02 PM (Gk3SS)

8 Sell your chess sets and give the money to Dear Leader!

Posted by: TheQuietMan at June 23, 2012 03:04 PM (PgFZR)

9 Saturday Night chess... pfft. I'm taking a shower and hittin' the scene, where I stand a better than 50% chance of scoring some strange. See you losers on Monday.

Posted by: SuperMag at June 23, 2012 03:04 PM (x63Du)

10 Work gets in the way? Have you not heard of Obama's stash?

Posted by: NC Ref at June 23, 2012 03:06 PM (/izg2)

11 I gave up on chess when I realized I could only think 30 moves ahead.

Posted by: Bill Mitchell at June 23, 2012 03:07 PM (hlUJY)

12
I coulda had class.
I coulda been a contender.
I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.

Posted by: Deep Blue at June 23, 2012 03:10 PM (Qxdfp)

13 I'm not going to give away the ending, but I assure you, it's spectacular.

--------------------------------------

Assure all you like, but I'm going to doubt it anyway, because, you know, it's fucking CHESS.

Posted by: Balsamic Shotgun at June 23, 2012 03:11 PM (sTS/8)

14 Now that Deep Blue beat Kasparov do people still play chess? Why bother?

Posted by: anon at June 23, 2012 03:14 PM (j/wD+)

15 It might be a good idea to get interested in a different game like chess because football, as we know it, won't exist in a few short years.

Posted by: ErikW at June 23, 2012 03:15 PM (NLXgW)

16 Nature seems to demand balance. Sure, you can have this genius. We'll just take something else away.

But this is not always the case. There have been chess gods who were every bit as good as Fischer (and I would say better) who were normal human beings, and by that I mean were not overwhelmed with paranoid hallucinations or other forms of mental illness. Not sure what causes the difference.

Chess does seem to attract the crazies, though.

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 23, 2012 03:16 PM (xm1A1)

17 Oh, com'on, Tarrasch was just having a little fun. It wasn't like he was trying to humiliate Nimzowitch or anything.

Oh, wait...

Posted by: Arms Merchant at June 23, 2012 03:22 PM (+XVQe)

18 It might be a good idea to get interested in a different game like chess because football, as we know it, won't exist in a few short years.

Once all the class-action "wedgie" and "wet willie" lawsuits are filed, chess as we know it is finished.

Posted by: Not Drinking Nearly Enough at June 23, 2012 03:22 PM (HtUdo)

19 football or <i>football</i> ?

Posted by: anon at June 23, 2012 03:23 PM (j/wD+)

football or <i>football</i> ?

Posted by: anon at June 23, 2012 07:23 PM (j/wD+)

Not the gay kind.

Posted by: ErikW at June 23, 2012 03:26 PM (NLXgW)

I suck at chess.

So....I don't play fair.

I start unbuttoning my shirt....then lean over to make a move.

When my opponent is distracted, then I move his pieces....or mine...to a better position.

Posted by: wheatie at June 23, 2012 03:31 PM (0T8H7)

22 @21 we know. We don't care. PS Assuming you are a woman.

Posted by: real joe at June 23, 2012 03:41 PM (PD2ad)

23 I think the smart thing is to stop coming here Friday at noon, and then head back around 12 pm Tuesday...

Posted by: Max Power at June 23, 2012 03:46 PM (q177U)

24 I arm my pawns with lasers.

Posted by: eman at June 23, 2012 03:56 PM (ejmiE)

I think the smart thing is to stop coming here Friday at noon, and then head back around 12 pm Tuesday...

Posted by: Max Power at June 23, 2012 07:46 PM (q177U)

I see you've noticed the trend.

Posted by: ErikW at June 23, 2012 04:01 PM (i6yO0)

26 21 The assets come in handy sometimes.

Posted by: Infidel at home at June 23, 2012 04:02 PM (YiODH)

27 Cobs, you might want to post "open threads" after specialty threads, to absorb the people that whine as if they'd been stabbed when the topic isn't what they want to talk about.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at June 23, 2012 04:04 PM (bxiXv)

28 I am a pawn in the game of life

I am not a king, and have no queen or bishops.

Posted by: Sad in Saginaw at June 23, 2012 04:20 PM (Dll6b)

29 Cobs, you might want to post "open threads" after specialty threads, to absorb the people that whine as if they'd been stabbed when the topic isn't what they want to talk about.

Why should I do anything like that? It's much more fun to make 'em post in the chess thread and then listen to 'em bitch and whine.

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 23, 2012 04:23 PM (xm1A1)

30 Yeah, Fischer was a real spazzky.

Posted by: andycanuck at June 23, 2012 04:31 PM (nrW1y)

31 to absorb the people that whine as if they'd been stabbed

Wait, we're allowed to stab people now? Back in a sec, off to fetch my list.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD 2012 at June 23, 2012 04:32 PM (Gk3SS)

32 24 cool chess sets and one in bad taste.

Posted by: andycanuck at June 23, 2012 04:36 PM (nrW1y)

Those "Boden" mates along the 2 diagonals are pretty and I have never been able to see those combinations especially moves ahead like that.

It has gotten to the point where I would rather keep a knight pair, and use blocking pawns to lock up the color squares of the opposing bishop to render it useless

Posted by: Tom_in_Ohio at June 23, 2012 04:37 PM (ysWJ9)

34 So apparently Huckabee's audience is eaten up with "progressive" imbeciles.

Posted by: Burn the Witch at June 23, 2012 04:37 PM (X9iJd)

35 One Night In Bangkok was an awesome song.

Posted by: Chris R, red in NY-9 at June 23, 2012 04:37 PM (v362Z)

List, hell, just need to gather the defense/offense items.

No offense to the Queen.

Posted by: Infidel at home at June 23, 2012 04:38 PM (YiODH)

37 Shoot, wrong thread.

Posted by: Burn the Witch at June 23, 2012 04:38 PM (X9iJd)

29 OregonMuse

So, you really enjoy sending your defeated opponents home with their glasses taped back together ....

Posted by: Arbalest at June 23, 2012 05:01 PM (af9WJ)

39 My King is a fully trained Jedi Knight.

Posted by: eman at June 23, 2012 05:06 PM (ejmiE)

40 So, you really enjoy sending your defeated opponents home with their glasses taped back together ....

Yeah, but first, they blow me.

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 23, 2012 05:16 PM (xm1A1)

41 Quote: "Nature seems to demand balance. Sure, you can have this genius. We'll just take something else away.

But this is not always the case. There have been chess gods who were every bit as good as Fischer (and I would say better) who were normal human beings, and by that I mean were not overwhelmed with paranoid hallucinations or other forms of mental illness. Not sure what causes the difference.

Chess does seem to attract the crazies, though."

Those with IQs over 130 (genius level) have a higher than average correlation when it comes to mental illness. The higher the IQ, the higher the chance of mental illness be it Bipolar, ADHD, Asperger's, etc. Chess at its highest level requires genius level intelligence at the minimum.

Posted by: Infidel of the Day at June 23, 2012 05:31 PM (0bprY)

42 Im'a have to agree with ATC and Infidel. It seems that, often, those 'gifted' in a particular area, are deficient in another. I don't know if you can really call it "Mental Illness", but they (we) are NOT well balanced.

Posted by: ChrisP at June 23, 2012 05:58 PM (626PS)

saw on the right side: is China padding the numbers?

As the Chinese economy continues to sputter, prominent corporate executives in China and Western economists say there is evidence that local and provincial officials are falsifying economic statistics to disguise the true depth of the troubles.

Any comments from Krugman?

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:20 PM (NI3M5)

44 and I'll bet that Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable chess player, too.

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:22 PM (NI3M5)

45 and equality of outcome demands that black have two queens.

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:25 PM (NI3M5)

46 and if Black loses, it's the Koch Brothers' fault

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:26 PM (NI3M5)

47 anyone besides me trying to come up with an offcolor chess reference to Fauxahontas Warren?

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:29 PM (NI3M5)

48 I understand that Mayor Bloomberg wants the knights and bishops replaced with broccoli and brussel sprouts.

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:30 PM (NI3M5)

49 tv comedy chess: Ted Knight to Joey Bishop 4.

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:34 PM (NI3M5)

50 deep sea chess: rook takes prawn.

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:37 PM (NI3M5)

51 note to pawns: donate at least three dollars and you can win a chance to have dinner with the King.

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:43 PM (NI3M5)

52 by the way, did we all send Elizabeth Warren a card for Father's Day?

Posted by: mallfly at June 23, 2012 06:54 PM (NI3M5)

53 It was a clever mate but sadistic? It was more like "in your face, hyper-whatever heretic." I guess the chess world is a much more civil place than the rest of the world.

Posted by: auscolpyr at June 23, 2012 07:09 PM (BwDfs)

54 Pretty ballsy sacrificing both bishops to open up the king side there! I see how it work, but man I can't think or play like that......

Posted by: Erik Larsen at June 23, 2012 07:49 PM (M5CX3)

Funny!

This is a feature not a bug.

Posted by: there I said it at June 23, 2012 09:10 PM (D7lJF)

Nimzovich and Tarrasch did indeed hate one another. Strangely, it all started over a variation of the French Defense that just about no one plays any more. The critical game was won by Nimzovich. Even though it didn't seem to confirm Nimzovich's position in the theoretical controversy between the two players, Nimzovich, a rather childish man, crowed about it incessantly, and Tarrasch never forgave him for it.

(In another famous episode involving Nimzovich, upon finding himself in a losing position against Saemisch, he swept the pieces from the board, rose from his chair, and screamed "Why must I lose to this idiot?" This was apparently typical of the grandmaster's behavior.)

Posted by: Francis W. Porretto at June 24, 2012 01:55 AM (MdDPG)

57 Well, Nimzovich had the last laugh. His book "My System" is a classic. He probably had a screw or two loose, though, like many great players.

Posted by: rickl at June 24, 2012 07:42 AM (sdi6R)

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