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Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:31:34 -0800

Is there an enumeration of complete chess games? Has anyone made an accurate (ideally, "closed form") count of possible chess games?

I found an older article via Google that does a very rough guess-timate of how many complete chess games are possible.

I'm curious if anyone has since tried to count all possible games, given standard FIDE rules, played to completion. Presumably, for example, it is not exponential because some moves will result in an end state ("checkmate" or "stalemate") faster than other moves.

Please do not offer speculation about the answer
Please do not link to Google search results (unless you have found something that answers the question as specifically framed)
Thanks!

Mac "vs" puzzle games please!

Brocktoon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:40:38 -0800

I'm looking for some decent "vs" puzzle games that I and my 3 young boys (10 and under) can play against each other on my mac (a fun and silly chess game would be a plus, too). We have 2 macs in the house, so any online options would be welcome too! TIA.

Playing out hopeless chess games/conceding

symbollocks — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:12:21 -0800

(Casual)ChessFilter: What is your personal policy on playing out hopeless chess games/conceding? How do you know it's a waste of time to continue? Or do you religiously play out every game to the last move?

Where did you play, Patzer?

256 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:08:10 -0800

TorontoFilter: I used to play chess all the time at the chess tables at Yonge and Gould before they tore them down about ten years ago. I know that these tables had a proper name. There was a City of Toronto plaque there that they removed about six months before they removed the tables. Does anyone remember what the official name was?

Do not pass Go.

adamdschneider — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:22:04 -0800

This is Go: A Complete Introduction to the Game. Is there a similar book for chess? The above book is short, concise, written by a master player and a wealth of information on go tactics and strategy, including how to think about the board overall. I am just getting back into chess after a long hiatus, and I was never a great player to begin with. I'd like a book just like this go book to get me on my feet. I've seen the Chess for Dummies recommendations, etc. from the past, but none of them seem to fit the bill. Recommendations?

stalemate?

Oddly — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:10:36 -0800

Gameknot chess on a Blackberry? Addicted to Gameknot chess, but unable to get boards to render on my Blackberry 8820. Are there adjustments to settings that make it possible?

Stalemated trying to find fantasy chess story

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:49:35 -0800

I'm trying to track down a fantasy short story based around a real life infamous chess game. Years ago I read a short story in a collection that I borrowed from a library. Details are a little hazy but it was fantasy, was set in some sort of inn and was based around a chess game between a man and some sort of intelligent talking unicorn (I think - it could have been some other fantasy creature) that may have also have had psychic/magic powers. I'm not certain but I think it was by Robert Silverberg.

I can remember reading in an introduction to the story that the writer had three requests for short stories for fantasy collections themed around 'inns', 'unicorns' and 'chess games'... so he wrote one that combined all the elements and sold it to all three. The introduction also said that the moves of the game in the story were taken from an infamous real life chess that involved, I think, cheating, or accusations of cheating or some other notoriety, that the author had taken from some book.

Googling's failed me so if anyone has any idea what the story, and/or the real life chess game itself might be, I'd be grateful.

"Do you play?" "Try me."

rush — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:22:55 -0800

Was the chess set in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) a one-of-a-kind or a mass-produced set? What other details might you have on it?

The best of 21st-century Broadway

Flying Saucer — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 13:34:35 -0800

I'm looking for showtunes from recent Broadway and off-Broadway musicals. This is not for any project. It's just to expand my horizons when it comes to recent musicals.

The last musicals I've seen are Wicked and Monty Python's Spamalot, both of which I enjoyed. But anything in the last ten years would be appreciated.

I'm asking for individual song recommendations rather than an entire album. If I like the one or two songs you suggest, I'll take a look at the whole show.

I prefer more rockin' musicals like Chess and Rent, but I don't mind old-school sounds in the style of, say, Guys and Dolls. Please feel free to include little-known or "failed" shows; after all, the book for Chess is pretty clumsy but "One Night in Bangkok" will live forever.

Thanks for your help. Until musicals become part of the algorithms for iTunes' Genius feature or Pandora, I'll have to rely Mefites for Broadway recommendations. Just like the "old" days...

Where are the pages of statistics for smartletes?

eisenkr — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:09:15 -0800

There are lots of pages that display portraits of professional and amateur athletes next to their statistics. Where can I find portraits and statistics/rankings of the people who compete in more intellectual/less physical competitions? I'd love to see what the best (and not so great) chess, scrabble, and crosswords players look like.

Need a computer chess clock - for up to a dozen players at once.

bartleby — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:33:39 -0800

Looking for a Multitasking Timer: a bunch of timers on screen, clicking on one stops the others. Like a chess clock, but for 6 to 12 players. First, multitasking is a lie - it's just switching back and forth between tasks quickly.
But I find I now need to be able to track all that switching, without stopping in between to jot down the time and task every time I switch.

Metaphorical scenario: Right now, all I can say about what I did today is that I made Thanksgiving dinner for 8, with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, candied yams, apple pie, bread, and a green salad. I order to get it all done, several things were always going on at once at all times, with a lot of switching around. I have no time how much time I spent focussed on each thing, and I can't say that it takes 6 hours to cook a turkey because most of that time it's in the oven and I'm doing something else.

I now find myself in a position where I need instead to be able to report that I spent my time actually focused on
3.5 hours for turkey
2.0 hours on pie
20 minutes on cranberry sauce
45 minutes on the salad
25 minutes setting the table
etc.
So that all that time can now be analyzed, saying that while the homemade cranberry sauce has maximal benefit with minimal time, the bread could be outsourced without affecting overall meal quality, and the salad should be discontinued because no one ever eats it anyway so it's a waste of my time.

If I had some way of having several renamable timer widgets that I could call up, and click on the course I was preparing just that moment, I would be a happy chef. One timer would stop whenever another timer was clicked on, and resume its count when clicked again - pie timer running while rolling out crust, stopped when turkey timer clicked on for a basting, turkey timer stops and pie timer resumes counting when I click on it and swap the baster for the rolling pin.

Chess players use a thing where each player has a clock timing their moves - Black's stops when he makes a move, which automatically starts White's clock, White moves and Black's timer resumes counting. A chess clock widget deal, where I could set up onscreen timers for Turkey, Pie, etc., that would then print me out a report for each at the end of the day is what I'm looking for. But I need anywhere from 6 to 12 players.

Does such a thing exist?

checkmate.

allkindsoftime — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:32:34 -0800

Me and a friend want to play chess on a roller coaster this weekend. In Coney Island. Please help. A) Can you confirm either the existence or the certain non-existence of one of those photo-taking cameras on the Cyclone coaster at Coney Island?

B) I'm flying into EWR from ORD this afternoon. Do you know of anywhere between ORD and Manhattan that I can find one of those mini-chess boards for said roller coaster riding? Preferably somewhere on the west side, if in the city.

C) How long is the train ride out to CI from Union Square-ish? Friend has to be back in the city for a bus by 5:00.

Best answers will be rewarded with picture links. Thanks.

Free Home Chess Server

ps6000 — Thu, 08 May 2008 08:15:42 -0800

I am looking for Chess Server software to run on a home web server. I am looking for free(as in beer) chess server software for a home webserver. I want to play chess with some people, and I cannot use a public game server.

I would like the users to be able to play the game via a web interface with no installation of software.

Ideally it would have some cool admin options allowing for saved games, multiple games, and multiple users.

I would like the server to be Multiplatform or at least run on Windows.

I CAN HAS CHESSMASTER?

flotson — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 22:02:25 -0800

How should I, an intermediate chess player, study to improve my game? I'm overwhelmed with options--study openings, tactics, endgames; read any of 1001 books on X, Y, and Z. I'd like to define a modest study regimen for myself. "Become chess master" is on my bucket list for sure.

What's been the most effective for you in improving? I'd especially like to hear from very strong, dedicated players.

Building an opening repertoire, in particular, sounds like fun. Any advice in this area?

Bonus question: what openings do you play, and why?

If you're up for a game on Red Hot Pawn, you can find me as "flotson" there, too.

Chess and ADD

2or3whiskeysodas — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:35:57 -0800

I'm kind of interested in learning to play chess. I have ADD. How's that gonna go? I usually can't, say, read a single page of a magazine article without my mind wandering and losing my place, without me noticing it's happening. But I've always found chess intriguing and would like to give it a shot.

I'm wondering if the sort of concentration required to play chess at all well is beyond the ability of someone with untreated ADD (occasional capacity to hyperfocus aside). That said, I'm also wondering if chess is the sort of activity that would help me increase my ability to concentrate, or if I'd just find it impossibly frustrating. I'd be willing to flex my brain like that if it wouldn't just piss me entirely off.

Of course, it would be great to hear from ADD-ers who've given chess a shot.

Recommend a chess program that runs in window rather than full-screen mode.

Pontius Pilate — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:26:28 -0800

Looking for a decent chess program that runs in a window rather than full-screen mode. I have to sit through a ton of long meetings at work which require my presence but not so much active participation. Still, I need to keep a couple of programs running (MS Word, Excel, etc.) to keep track of what's going on. Can you recommend a chess game that I can run in a window, so that I can easily switch between the game and other programs? Doesn't necessarily have to be freeware. Thanks!

Office Stationary Chess

wobh — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 23:01:47 -0800

I remember an magazine advertisement from long ago which featured a slick chess set made out of desk drawer miscellany. The pawns were binder clips. I think the rooks were loupes. I've always wanted to see it again. Anyone else remember this and have any other information about it? What was the ad? What were all the pieces?

Chess Is War

terrortubby — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 08:06:27 -0800

Help me find an article about chess, might have involved Garry Kasparov, might have been in Smithsonian magazine and/or on the Blue likening chess playing to a really violent sport with quotes like this "There is nothing cute or charming about chess; it is a violent sport, and when you confront your opponent you set out to crush his ego." from this article but I recall it being longer and in a more general magazine.

looking for a chess notation buffer translator thing

bingo — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:02:02 -0800

I'm looking for a chess program into which I can simply type algebraic notation, and then be able to watch the game one move at a time on the board. For macs. The idea is to have something I can use as a companion to chess books that tend to list whole games by notation. I want to be able to see the games without having to set them up on an actual board. And it has to be able to work in OSX.

Note that I also don't want to have to go through and move the pieces.

Best Travel Chess Set?

thaivagabond — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:47:19 -0800

Chess filter: Does anyone have a particular travel chess set they are delighted with and wouldn't leave home without? I'm looking for a fine quality set, either magnetic or of the peg variety. The pieces should be clearly defined and the board of decent size, say between 6" and 9" square. A set where a study or game in progress can be saved when the set is closed would be a plus. (Google offers too many choices, all claiming to be the best). Many thanks.

Free chess game?

mooreeasyvibe — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 05:13:54 -0800

Hi, does anyone know where to find a network chess game that is open source (free basically)? I'm a teacher and I want my class to play each other at chess during an ICT lesson.

mathematics chess book?

randomizer — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:21:49 -0800

is there a book on the mathematics of chess? i've been looking for a book that deals with the mathematics or/and game theory of chess, but i'm not having much luck. is there a chess book that deals with the mathematics/game theory?

Nice chess sets in Toronto?

mkn — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:22:43 -0800

Where can I find a nice vintage chess set (maybe a chess table) in the Toronto area? Or if not vintage at least some kind of nice designer set. I realize they cost quite a bit but I want something unique -- not just store bought.

I've been to a lot of antique shops and it's hard to come by.

Where can I get huge origami paper?

Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 09:40:39 -0800

Where can I get some MASSIVE sheets of origami paper? Like, 48 inches or more? Are sheets that size even sold? I'm a great fan of origami to kill time and help myself relax/focus on something manual. I'm also a fan of cool, eclectic chess sets! And I've been looking at the chess board design in John Montroll's "Origami Inside-Out" and putting two and two together... only problem is, any paper I use will end up producing a tiny board.

So, where can I find a HUGE fuckin' sheet of standard (square) origami paper? According to one website, the length of one side of the finished board will be one fourth the length of a side of the original sheet. So, a 48 inch sheet would give me a foot wide board, or 1.33 inches per square. 48 inches would be great, bigger than that would be even better! (But if you don't know of anything that big, go ahead and suggest the biggest you know of anyway.) And hopefully in a sensible color too... :)

ChessFilter: Help me with my chess dilemma

gregb1007 — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 23:21:21 -0800

ChessFilter: Help me with my chess dilemma I need some chess advice from those of you who play. My game has regressed lately and I am not sure how to regain footing. I have started to lose a much higher quotient of my games for one reason: attacking..

Let me explain. I used to play very cautious games before. I mostly let my opponents do all the attacks while I would defend myself and hopefully come out with even exchanges. I would only start attacking at the end of the game once my opponent and I had just a few pieces left.

However, after having observed many players with great attack strategies, I decided to try it myself. As a result my games got more intense and I was able to carry out successful checkmate-resulting offenses without playing passively anymore.

The downside to this new attack strategy is that it's too risky. Though it helped me have more fun active gameplay with enjoyable strategic checkmates, it also has lead me to lose much more frequently than before. My attacks are sometimes succesful, but at other times they get me in trouble and I lose valuable pieces that I didn't while playing cautious.

So my chess dilemma is: Should I abandon my active attack strategy and go back to playing a cautious defense-mostly chess game? It might help me stave off the frequent losses...

I would appreciate any advice you have to offer about how and how not to attack in chess...

BTW, if this seems too long of a post for something as trivial as chess, I apologize. It's just that I've really gotten into the game lately and it SEEMS important to me.