SGCPB Chess Club

01/19/2024

01/15/2024

Silly question but why is Magnus Carlsen still listed for the 2024 Candidates Tournament even though he has repeatedly said that he will NOT play? Am I missing something? 🤔

11/11/2023

Up until now, I believe the best brother/sister pair is IM Dan and GM Pia Cramling. (Am I missing another duo?)

But Vaishali and Pragg are about to do make history very soon when both will be Grandmasters. This is an amazing achievement!

Congratulations to them, their family, and coach Ramesh RB, and others who have helped them.

(I do not know who to credit this photo. I think it has to be . But if I am wrong, please let me know the correct person so I can give proper credits.)

08/31/2023

Chess!

08/30/2023

GM Larry Kaufman just sent me this very interesting and in depth article. I hope you will take time to read it. It is very unfair to compare players’ ratings from different generations.

Accuracy, Ratings, and GOATs

There have been many attempts to estimate ratings of chess players, both past and present, by looking at their game scores and comparing the moves with a top engine's choices, including one notable study here on Chess.com in 2017.

These attempts have been generally correct in showing the steady advance of chess skill over time, but they have mostly been rather unconvincing at actually comparing individual players; one study even ranked Jose Capablanca as the objectively best player of all time! He may have been the best of all time relative to his peers or had the most talent (though that is not my conclusion), but to suggest that he actually played as well as GM Garry Kasparov or GM Vladimir Kramnik at peak (this study was done before GM Magnus Carlsen arrived on the scene), even after the opening, is just not plausible; chess knowledge has advanced tremendously since 1920.

The main reason for the difficulty in comparing players is that those who prioritize not losing and excel in endgames (Capablanca, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Anatoly Karpov, perhaps Carlsen) get more draws than those who prioritize winning and excel in attacking (Alexander Alekhine, GM Mikhail Tal, Kasparov, GM Veselin Topalov), and draws show much higher accuracy (or lower error rates) than decisive games in general.

In fact, strong players generally show a higher Chess.com accuracy on average for draws than they do for wins! This creates a huge bias for the cautious/endgame players if you derive ratings from accuracy scores or error rates. My solution to this major problem is simple—just exclude draws from the data! This appears to put wild and cautious players on an equal footing.

The second issue is the opponents' strength. It is easier to get a high accuracy (low error rate) against a weaker opponent than against a stronger one; the stronger opponent will pose problems that are not easy for a weaker player to solve. Players who generally play much weaker opponents will look better on accuracy than similar players who normally play equal or stronger opponents.

Full article here: https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-accuracy-ratings-goat

08/18/2023

Sound familiar, Springfield???

Wait, you suppress it better than they do in St. Louis.

Lichess will no longer cooperate with the US Chess Federation and the Saint Louis Chess Club

08/12/2023

Author: Maria Fragaki

08/02/2023

My sister Sofia just came out with a book about her life and her art! It is a truly unique book!

The chess triumphs of the Polgar sisters are legendary. Now, in this very special book, Sofia Polgar tells her own exceptional story: from her development as a prodigy and remarkable tournament successes to her eventually settling down, with chess occupying a lesser role as she raised a family.

Sofia presents many of her games, each with her own brand of fireworks. Clear, straightforward annotations allow the reader to appreciate her accomplishments on the board, while away from the board, her many personal memoirs complete the picture.

There are many photographs, many of which haver never been previously published. They nicely complement the chronicle of both her meteoric rise in the chess world and her loving family who encouraged her at every turn.

What is not generally known is that Sofia Polgar is also a gifted artist – a talented painter. Dozens of examples of her brilliant creativity on canvas are featured throughout this large format book. These paintings are presented in full color and on special matte paper to enhance the reader’s viewing enjoyment.

07/31/2023

Our world-class instructors provide stimulating, entertaining lectures that motivate students to master the game of chess.

07/10/2023

Author: Maria Fragaki

05/23/2023

Chess is making a comeback as one of the hottest activities sweeping high schools and the internet. The wave of interest was fueled at the start of the pandemic by new faces, influencers and culture around the 1,400-year-old game. NBC’s Jacob Soboroff reports for TODAY.