• sieving out the questonable

    From The Wizard of Izz@horchata12839@gmail.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Sat Oct 25 09:47:37 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    lesson on knights

    \ avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to develop your knights


    Not enough justification.
    --
    He's got a Hologram!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Sat Oct 25 18:00:32 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    -a lesson on knights

    -a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to develop your knights

    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.

    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans
    Gambit, Danish, etc).

    F3 is far more rarely good. It appears in the first ten moves of
    virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the
    Blackmar-Diemer gambit. In some games white uses f4 to support e4.
    Remarkably often these games wind up as wins for black, as the weak e3
    and f4 squares are exploited, sometimes terminating in a winning
    sacrifice on e4.

    But basically yes. Think twice before playing either of these moves
    unless you are sure you know what they are going to accomplish.


    William Hyde


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The Wizard of Izz@horchata12839@gmail.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Sat Oct 25 19:05:17 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    William Hyde wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    -a-a lesson on knights

    -a-a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to develop
    your knights

    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.

    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans
    Gambit, Danish, etc).

    F3 is far more rarely good.-a It appears in the first ten moves of
    virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the Blackmar-Diemer gambit.-a In some games white uses f4 to support e4. Remarkably often these games wind up as wins for black, as the weak e3
    and f4 squares are exploited, sometimes terminating in a winning
    sacrifice on e4.

    But basically yes.-a Think twice before playing either of these moves
    unless you are sure you know what they are going to accomplish.


    William Hyde


    When I thought about it, it seemed that if you never play them,
    certainly you will have no experience with them, but I was on a team
    that discouraged f3 and it seemed to improve my game. However, that was
    the first time I'd seen someone distinctly "forbid" it.
    --
    He's got a Hologram!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The Wizard of Izz@horchata12839@gmail.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Sat Oct 25 19:17:57 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    William Hyde wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    -a-a lesson on knights

    -a-a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to develop
    your knights

    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.

    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans
    Gambit, Danish, etc).

    F3 is far more rarely good.-a It appears in the first ten moves of
    virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the Blackmar-Diemer gambit.-a In some games white uses f4 to support e4. Remarkably often these games wind up as wins for black, as the weak e3
    and f4 squares are exploited, sometimes terminating in a winning
    sacrifice on e4.

    But basically yes.-a Think twice before playing either of these moves
    unless you are sure you know what they are going to accomplish.


    William Hyde



    Have you seen this game?

    1. g3 e5
    2. f3 Qf6
    3. g4 Qh4#
    CHECKMATE
    --
    He's got a Hologram!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Alan Mackenzie@acm@muc.de to rec.games.chess.misc on Sun Oct 26 11:45:51 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.
    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:
    -a lesson on knights
    -a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to develop your >> knights
    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.
    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans
    Gambit, Danish, etc).
    F3 is far more rarely good. It appears in the first ten moves of
    virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the Blackmar-Diemer gambit.
    Don't forget the S|nmisch Kings Indian, reckoned to be a very solid way
    for white to counter the KID. At least it was when I was actively
    playing chess. Black can sometimes play Qh5+, including in one
    hair-raising variation developed by Bronstein, where Black "wins" two
    bishops and two pawns for his queen. White's king then remains
    vulnerable to attack from black's minor pieces.
    In some games white uses f4 to support e4.
    Remarkably often these games wind up as wins for black, as the weak e3
    and f4 squares are exploited, sometimes terminating in a winning
    sacrifice on e4.
    But basically yes. Think twice before playing either of these moves
    unless you are sure you know what they are going to accomplish.
    William Hyde
    --
    Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Sun Oct 26 16:51:27 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    Alan Mackenzie wrote:
    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    -a lesson on knights

    -a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to develop your >>> knights

    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.

    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans
    Gambit, Danish, etc).

    F3 is far more rarely good. It appears in the first ten moves of
    virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the
    Blackmar-Diemer gambit.

    Don't forget the S|nmisch Kings Indian, reckoned to be a very solid way
    for white to counter the KID. At least it was when I was actively
    playing chess. Black can sometimes play Qh5+, including in one
    hair-raising variation developed by Bronstein, where Black "wins" two
    bishops and two pawns for his queen. White's king then remains
    vulnerable to attack from black's minor pieces.

    I should have mentioned the Samisch, and there are also Nimzo lines and
    the fantasy variation of the Caro-Kann where f3 is played, but those are
    much more rarely seen.

    I don't know whether to call the Samish vs KID solid or aggressive.
    Both, perhaps. Games with it often seem to be crushes for one side of
    the other.

    William Hyde
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The Wizard of Izz@horchata12839@gmail.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Sun Oct 26 16:29:05 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    William Hyde wrote:
    Alan Mackenzie wrote:
    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    -a -a lesson on knights

    -a -a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to develop >>>> your
    knights

    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.

    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans
    Gambit, Danish, etc).

    F3 is far more rarely good.-a It appears in the first ten moves of
    virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the
    Blackmar-Diemer gambit.

    Don't forget the S|nmisch Kings Indian, reckoned to be a very solid way
    for white to counter the KID.-a At least it was when I was actively
    playing chess.-a Black can sometimes play Qh5+, including in one
    hair-raising variation developed by Bronstein, where Black "wins" two
    bishops and two pawns for his queen.-a White's king then remains
    vulnerable to attack from black's minor pieces.

    I should have mentioned the Samisch, and there are also Nimzo lines and
    the fantasy variation of the Caro-Kann where f3 is played, but those are much more rarely seen.

    I don't know whether to call the Samish vs KID solid or aggressive.
    Both, perhaps.-a Games with it often seem to be crushes for one side of
    the other.

    William Hyde

    The team I was on wouldn't even allow f4. They were sort of vague about
    how long to hold the pawn there though.
    --
    He's got a Hologram!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Mon Oct 27 14:25:36 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    William Hyde wrote:
    Alan Mackenzie wrote:
    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    -a -a lesson on knights

    -a -a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to
    develop your
    knights

    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.

    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans
    Gambit, Danish, etc).

    F3 is far more rarely good.-a It appears in the first ten moves of
    virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the
    Blackmar-Diemer gambit.

    Don't forget the S|nmisch Kings Indian, reckoned to be a very solid way
    for white to counter the KID.-a At least it was when I was actively
    playing chess.-a Black can sometimes play Qh5+, including in one
    hair-raising variation developed by Bronstein, where Black "wins" two
    bishops and two pawns for his queen.-a White's king then remains
    vulnerable to attack from black's minor pieces.

    I should have mentioned the Samisch, and there are also Nimzo lines
    and the fantasy variation of the Caro-Kann where f3 is played, but
    those are much more rarely seen.

    I don't know whether to call the Samish vs KID solid or aggressive.
    Both, perhaps.-a Games with it often seem to be crushes for one side of
    the other.

    William Hyde

    The team I was on wouldn't even allow f4. They were sort of vague about
    how long to hold the pawn there though.


    The great British player Yates once said that "f4 is always played too
    early".

    Except in Bird's opening, of course!

    William Hyde
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The World of Is!@jfwalby@gmaill.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Tue Nov 4 07:30:19 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    William Hyde wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    William Hyde wrote:
    Alan Mackenzie wrote:
    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my
    opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    -a -a lesson on knights

    -a -a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to
    develop your
    knights

    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.

    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans >>>>> Gambit, Danish, etc).

    F3 is far more rarely good.-a It appears in the first ten moves of
    virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the
    Blackmar-Diemer gambit.

    Don't forget the S|nmisch Kings Indian, reckoned to be a very solid way >>>> for white to counter the KID.-a At least it was when I was actively
    playing chess.-a Black can sometimes play Qh5+, including in one
    hair-raising variation developed by Bronstein, where Black "wins" two
    bishops and two pawns for his queen.-a White's king then remains
    vulnerable to attack from black's minor pieces.

    I should have mentioned the Samisch, and there are also Nimzo lines
    and the fantasy variation of the Caro-Kann where f3 is played, but
    those are much more rarely seen.

    I don't know whether to call the Samish vs KID solid or aggressive.
    Both, perhaps.-a Games with it often seem to be crushes for one side
    of the other.

    William Hyde

    The team I was on wouldn't even allow f4. They were sort of vague
    about how long to hold the pawn there though.


    The great British player Yates once said that "f4 is always played too early".

    Except in Bird's opening, of course!

    William Hyde

    Maybe once the black queen has developed and is no longer threatening
    the diagonal check. I think the enemy bishop can get over there too. I
    think that f pawn is protecting the diagonal and nothing more.
    --
    The esssential conditions of everything you do must be choice, love, and passion.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From William Hyde@wthyde1953@gmail.com to rec.games.chess.misc on Tue Nov 4 14:42:04 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    The World of Is! wrote:
    William Hyde wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    William Hyde wrote:
    Alan Mackenzie wrote:
    William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com> wrote:
    The Wizard of Izz wrote:
    AThe manginess of my positions by comparison to the beauty of my >>>>>>> opponents' has me back to the drawing board right now.

    This is the first suggestion I'm axing from my lessons:

    -a -a lesson on knights

    -a -a\-a avoid c3 or f3 because those are really good places to >>>>>>> develop your
    knights

    Like all such rules there are many exceptions.

    C3 is often a good move to support d4, or as part of a gambit (Evans >>>>>> Gambit, Danish, etc).

    F3 is far more rarely good.-a It appears in the first ten moves of >>>>>> virtually no standard openings, though it does show up in the
    Blackmar-Diemer gambit.

    Don't forget the S|nmisch Kings Indian, reckoned to be a very solid way >>>>> for white to counter the KID.-a At least it was when I was actively
    playing chess.-a Black can sometimes play Qh5+, including in one
    hair-raising variation developed by Bronstein, where Black "wins" two >>>>> bishops and two pawns for his queen.-a White's king then remains
    vulnerable to attack from black's minor pieces.

    I should have mentioned the Samisch, and there are also Nimzo lines
    and the fantasy variation of the Caro-Kann where f3 is played, but
    those are much more rarely seen.

    I don't know whether to call the Samish vs KID solid or aggressive.
    Both, perhaps.-a Games with it often seem to be crushes for one side
    of the other.

    William Hyde

    The team I was on wouldn't even allow f4. They were sort of vague
    about how long to hold the pawn there though.


    The great British player Yates once said that "f4 is always played too
    early".

    Except in Bird's opening, of course!

    William Hyde

    Maybe once the black queen has developed and is no longer threatening
    the diagonal check. I think the enemy bishop can get over there too. I
    think that f pawn is protecting the diagonal and nothing more.

    Well, it also weakens e3, and I can recall many games where my weak e3
    square caused me trouble.

    It also weakens g3. Often you want to play h3, and if you have also
    played f4 g3 becomes very weak.

    But it also weakens g3 even if you leave the h pawn alone, as shown in
    this wonderful combination (skip to minute 5 if you just want to see
    the combination itself).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpp5LhDTBsk

    A search for "Karpov Taimanov" will turn up a video showing the whole game.

    A truly amazing game for a GM who was well past his prime to play
    against the world champion.

    William Hyde


    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From The Horny Goat@lcraver@home.ca to rec.games.chess.misc on Wed Nov 5 18:44:47 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.games.chess.misc

    On Tue, 4 Nov 2025 14:42:04 -0500, William Hyde <wthyde1953@gmail.com>
    wrote:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpp5LhDTBsk

    A search for "Karpov Taimanov" will turn up a video showing the whole game.

    A truly amazing game for a GM who was well past his prime to play
    against the world champion.

    William Hyde

    By that time for sure - bear in mind that most of us now think of
    Taimanov mostly for his match with Fischer in Vancouver in 1970.

    (I live in Vancouver and the match site was about 45 minutes by bus
    from where I then lived and my mom wouldn't let 14 year old me take
    the bus to go there as she figured I'd get home too late at night.

    Which is HIGHLY ironic since 3 months later they DID let me play in
    the Canadian Open which was held on the same campus but a 20 minute
    walk from the tournament site to the same bus stop (Fischer-Taimanov
    was in the student union theater which is about a 5 minute walk from
    the same stop) - which despite only scoring 4 1/2 / 11 I remember the
    event well since it was there I met both Spassky and Euwe - I was part
    of a bunch of juniors in the skittles room about 60' from the main
    hall where Euwe walked in to tell us we were making too much noise and
    could be heard from the main hall ("Gentlemen, this is a CHESS
    tournament!" were his exact words and bear in mind that in 1970 he was
    also FIDE president!)

    [I'd love to know whether Spassky remembered that kid in Vancouver
    whose game he was watching for about 10 minutes where the kid
    foolishly grabbed an h pawn and lost the same way Fischer did in
    Reykjavik the following year in their first match game.]

    But no question I was a Spassky fan well before that game and ever
    since and honor his memory now.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2