# 2010 SDMB Chess Championship
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [May 7, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681 "2010-05-07T21:18:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 22
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/421 "2010-07-30T21:32:46Z")
ok, i challenged mal on [chess.com](http://chess.com). if that does not work let me know. do i just send chessic my thoughts via pm or how?
---
### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/422 "2010-07-30T22:58:27Z")
I’m not seeing the challenge. Remember I’m registered there as **gil-gandel**. You’ll need to check your settings to not automatically win when my clock runs out or we’ll lose the game while I’m on holiday. Also, please challenge me to an _unrated_ game as I don’t want to drop rating points for winning. 🙂
---
### Author:  [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/423 "2010-07-30T23:55:49Z")
> [@peekercpa](#):
>
> ok, i challenged mal on [chess.com](http://chess.com). if that does not work let me know. do i just send chessic my thoughts via pm or how?
No, start a new thread and call it something like “Chess Training Game”. I’ll pop in there to offer thoughts every once in a while and comment on your evaluation of the position. You can ask me questions and advice at any time.
---
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/424 "2010-07-31T00:09:36Z")
don’t worry i’ll give up before you lose
and the thread here?
---
### Author:  [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/425 "2010-07-31T01:41:30Z")
I’m currently relocating to Aomori City, Japan. Expect delays. To make matters worse [Chess.com](http://Chess.com) is not notifying me when it’s my turn…
---
### Author:  [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/426 "2010-07-31T15:08:46Z")
> [@Autolycus](#):
>
> I’m currently relocating to Aomori City, Japan. Expect delays. To make matters worse [Chess.com](http://Chess.com) is not notifying me when it’s my turn…
It’s your turn. 😛
---
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/427 "2010-07-31T16:09:39Z")
ok, **chessic** i just set up a thread in the main game room forum.
i guess if we were really going to take advantage of this opportunity other folks could also post their thoughts and observations there as well and you could comment on them as well.
course, you may need an ativan or valium after a while (maybe some crack and a beer bonger as well - :))
thanks again.
---
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/428 "2010-08-01T14:44:23Z")
ok, oredigger is wearing my butt out.
two questions.
one, i know that in face to face each player gets a time limit. is there anyway in online to set a time limit of say, thirty days (or pick a number) total as opposed to the clock basically being set back to zero after each move? additionally, is there a way to suspend the time when you know that a participant is going on vacation or is somehow otherwise occupied that both folks agree would be unfair to have the durn clock running.
second, how many moves in the future do the “good” players look. i am lucky to see about two in advance, if that. sadly, most of the time it’s more along the lines of: “oh crud”.
---
### Author:  [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/429 "2010-08-01T14:57:21Z")
Do any of you play live? It’s hard enough for me to keep my thoughts focused for an hour game, nevermind remembering my plan over a period of days or weeks.
---
### Author:  [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/430 "2010-08-01T15:02:58Z")
Don’t worry peek I just lost. I just want to finish out this series of moves.
---
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/431 "2010-08-01T15:27:09Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#):
>
> Don’t worry peek I just lost. I just want to finish out this series of moves.
that’s cool. whatever you decide. however, i will be around all morning if we want to get in more than one move a day.
and based on my chess playing abilities i am not sure that i would cue the music for the fat lady just yet.
---
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/432 "2010-08-01T15:32:53Z")
and another, most likely, silly question.
if you promote a pawn do they get to be anything you want or do just get to decide from the dead pieces? and if you had multiple queens how would they be represented? i mean on a puter the visual is easy enough but if you were playing on a real board how would that work?
---
### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/433 "2010-08-01T17:31:46Z")
> [@peekercpa](#):
>
> and another, most likely, silly question.
>
> if you promote a pawn do they get to be anything you want or do just get to decide from the dead pieces? and if you had multiple queens how would they be represented? i mean on a puter the visual is easy enough but if you were playing on a real board how would that work?
Anything you like (except a King, and with the proviso it has to be of your own colour… strangely, it’s possible to construct a position where White, to move, wins by promoting a pawn to a Black piece, simply because if it was a White piece he could get out of the mate by taking it). Playing on a real board, it helps if you have a spare set. Sometimes you can represent a second Queen if you have earlier lost a Rook by using an upturned Rook to represent a Queen, but this isn’t always convenient. Or borrow a man from a draughts set and place it under the pawn to indicate that it has queened, moving them together as a stack thereafter.
Once upon a time you could promote only to replace a lost piece, and if you hadn’t lost any pieces then your pawn stayed on the eighth rank until a piece became available. Again, it’s possible to construct a position where absurdity results - there was a famous 19th-century study where a White pawn on the eighth rank allowed White to execute a whole series of captures, Black being unable to take back because he would end up checking himself by retro-promoting the White pawn.
Footnote: Under Indian rules a pawn promotes to a piece corresponding to the file it’s on when it promotes: if on the Rook’s file, a Rook, and so on; on the King or Queen’s file, a Queen. In _shatranj_, chess’s ancient ancestor, you could promote only to Queen or, to be accurate, _fers_, a piece that could move just one square diagonally.
---
### Author:  [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/434 "2010-08-01T17:34:12Z")
When I played in high school tourneys we just turned the pawn on its side.
---
### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/435 "2010-08-01T17:38:10Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#):
>
> When I played in high school tourneys we just turned the pawn on its side.
When I played at school we would even swipe a Rook from elsewhere on the board to turn upside down and use as a Queen. :smack:
---
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/436 "2010-08-01T19:06:16Z")
otay, od resigned.
gentle comments would be welcome.
i am sure that the more experienced players will make some comment along the lines that this proves why we don’t let children play with guns.
---
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/437 "2010-08-01T19:08:17Z")
good game, btw **od**. that was fun.
---
### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/438 "2010-08-01T20:15:53Z")
> [@peekercpa](#):
>
> otay, od resigned.
>
> gentle comments would be welcome.
>
> i am sure that the more experienced players will make some comment along the lines that this proves why we don’t let children play with guns.
Not much to say really. Move 3 gifted you a free pawn. After that you were gradually accumulating material, although neither you nor **Oredigger77** seemed to have much of a plan. His 11. Ne4 was pointless as all you had to do was trade Knights to win another pawn, 13. f4 should have been 13. Bf4 IMO and similarly 15. Be3 just hands another pawn straight over for no reason.
On move 30 he turned down the chance to play Bxa8 and really, if you’re not going to take material when it’s on a plate, your pieces aren’t earning their keep. True, Black stays three pawns up with four of the little sods rolling home on the King’s wing but that’s no worse than what actually happened. On move 37 you obligingly took with the wrong Rook but Oredigger still didn’t take your Rook so he was letting you have a Bishop for nothing. Resigning on move 42 is exactly right as you are taking all of White’s remaining men and mate’s a foregone conclusion.
All I’ll say is we all have to learn and Oredigger was on much better form in the previous round. 🙂
---
### Author:  [@peekercpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peekercpa)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/439 "2010-08-01T20:57:52Z")
thanks **mal**!
i really do apppreciate the comments and observations, btw. you and **chessic** are being extraordinarily nice. if i ever see you chunking irons on the range i will definitely repay the favor.
---
### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681/440 "2010-08-01T23:14:15Z")
Oh, golf. Not the first meaning of “range” I associated with Texas. 😃
Anyway, it’s your move in our game. No waiting for coaching, now: you’re meant to be getting feedback on your thinking, not direction. 🙂
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681.md?page=21)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-sdmb-chess-championship/538681.md?page=23)