Mini 686 - Chess Mafia (Done)

Gorrad · Post Post #19 (isolation #0) » Sat Oct 11, 2008 7:12 pm

Tsk, Doomsday, do you honestly believe for a second that that strategy will work? I haven't played a single half-decent player who fell for that trick since middle school chess club! Besides, see where black queen is likely to go from here.

Move: pc3

Gorrad · Post Post #29 (isolation #1) » Sun Oct 12, 2008 2:28 am

Look, the obvious next move for black is Qa5. How would we resond to that best? A defensive perimiter of pawns. Moving the bishop is nice for offensive, but they've used an opening that, for the time being, requires some defense.

Also, keep in mind that they can discuss moves in secret, while we cannot. That means that they're at a serious advantage as far as planning strategy. As long as we're playing with an open hand, we're forced to either make offensive moves without discussion of future tactics (meaning they'd have to be obvious enough that scum could tell the future tactics as well) or play a very careful defensive game. The usual tactics don't work here.

Gorrad · Post Post #38 (isolation #2) » Sun Oct 12, 2008 8:36 am

sirdanilot wrote:Also, keep in mind that they can discuss moves in secret, while we cannot. That means that they're at a serious advantage as far as planning strategy. As long as we're playing with an open hand, we're forced to either make offensive moves without discussion of future tactics (meaning they'd have to be obvious enough that scum could tell the future tactics as well) or play a very careful defensive game. The usual tactics don't work here.

Now this is an interesting point. We can't plan smart tactics for the future, but we can negotiate about what the best move for the particular turn is and we should do that. Being defensive won't really solve anything.[/quote]

Playing defensively requires significantly less by way of long-term strategy. Offense requires a wide variety of thought, and if two people have different strategies, yet niether can discuss them and argue their points, we're stuck. Whereas with defense, the correct play is short term and can be discussed with ease.

Remember, if we give them any shot of an opening they WILL take it, as they know what we know. We have to play a close, protected game to have any shot of victory.

Gorrad · Post Post #49 (isolation #3) » Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:54 am

Mod: I voted for Pc3, not Nc3.

Although I'm really ok with either, I have a tendency to go for a strong pawn defense at the start of a game.

Gorrad · Post Post #63 (isolation #4) » Thu Oct 16, 2008 1:21 am

...ok. For the sake of protecting the pawn,

Unmove, Move: Nc3

Gorrad · Post Post #76 (isolation #5) » Sat Oct 18, 2008 6:40 pm

Vote: Nf3

I'm wary of that black knight's next move. I think it's to capture the Joker.

Gorrad · Post Post #82 (isolation #6) » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:01 pm

G3 is acceptable, but I don't want to see that knight wreaking havok.

Mod: Can you post the board (and possibly a vote count) more frequently?

Gorrad · Post Post #94 (isolation #7) » Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:07 am

Vote: Nf3

. I want protection from that queen (Double entendres aside).

Gorrad · Post Post #99 (isolation #8) » Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:58 am

Gorrad wrote:
Vote: Nf3
. I want protection from that queen (Double entendres aside).

/facepalm

Unvote, MOVE: Nf3

Gorrad · Post Post #101 (isolation #9) » Thu Oct 23, 2008 10:10 am

Oh, and

Vote: Doomsday

Gorrad · Post Post #106 (isolation #10) » Sun Oct 26, 2008 6:23 pm

Move: exf5
Vote: Doomsday

Gorrad · Post Post #112 (isolation #11) » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:16 pm

Move: Bd3
Vote: Doomsday

For post 92

Gorrad · Post Post #115 (isolation #12) » Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:53 pm

Consider, though, that we would be pinned as well should black decide to move their queen (which is what I'd do).

Gorrad · Post Post #117 (isolation #13) » Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:59 pm

And you'd want a queen trade this early on?

Gorrad · Post Post #119 (isolation #14) » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:05 pm

My granduncle was in the trenches. All they did down there was play chess. The one thing he passed down to my father about the game was 'You cannot vin vithout your Qveen'. So thanks, but I'd rather have not.

Gorrad · Post Post #121 (isolation #15) » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:20 pm

Aye, and I don't know HOW this game works if we stalemate.

I don't read master games. I date.

Gorrad · Post Post #123 (isolation #16) » Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:27 pm

Because in that situation, especially given that in this hypothetical I know a trade is assured due to daytalk, it would be better if I initiated the trade. The person who initiates gets the move directly after, putting him potentially on the offensive.

Gorrad · Post Post #139 (isolation #17) » Thu Oct 30, 2008 1:34 am

You can win without your queen, but I seriously dislike doing so. Moving the bishop is going to be best here.

Gorrad · Post Post #168 (isolation #18) » Sat Nov 01, 2008 12:49 am

Moving the bishop clears the way to castle.

Gorrad · Post Post #172 (isolation #19) » Sat Nov 01, 2008 9:23 am

No one had brought up castling, so I figured it should be on the table. I have a follow-up, but it's defensive. And yes, I think it might, as I'm quite wary of the black queen's ability to check us.

Gorrad · Post Post #176 (isolation #20) » Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:10 am

Pesco47 wrote:Where do you expect black to move if we choose to play defensive and castle? How are we going to stop them from moving there?

I'm not answering that yet for what should be obvious reasons.

Gorrad · Post Post #178 (isolation #21) » Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:36 am

By doing a trade I dislike.

Gorrad · Post Post #180 (isolation #22) » Sat Nov 01, 2008 10:44 am

No. I don't want to give them ideas.

Gorrad · Post Post #188 (isolation #23) » Mon Nov 03, 2008 1:49 am

Move: Nd5

Gorrad · Post Post #200 (isolation #24) » Wed Nov 05, 2008 4:58 pm

Move: Ph4

I've got a plan.

Gorrad · Post Post #202 (isolation #25) » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:04 pm

Not even.

Gorrad · Post Post #204 (isolation #26) » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:06 pm

EBWOP: That was phrased poorly. No, I have a plan to work towards victory. I'm probably too tired right now to see why you could think it's stalemate-inducing, but I don't.

Gorrad · Post Post #205 (isolation #27) » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:07 pm

Ah. That's where you're coming from. We do have queens. We still have a shot. I plan on using that shot.

Gorrad · Post Post #207 (isolation #28) » Wed Nov 05, 2008 5:15 pm

No worries, happens to everyone.

Gorrad · Post Post #209 (isolation #29) » Thu Nov 06, 2008 1:43 am

I see nothing that d4 gives us. Given the position of certain pieces on the right side, though, I think advancing that rook's pawn could give us a significant boost.

Gorrad · Post Post #211 (isolation #30) » Thu Nov 06, 2008 2:08 am

Black can't move either bishop or either rook, and if he moves that knight there's an obvious counter. It's ok to be a bit cramped if there's no threats.

Gorrad · Post Post #213 (isolation #31) » Thu Nov 06, 2008 2:40 am

I'm ususally quite good with move notation, but realise most of my games aren't played online. gxh3 I didn't follow.

Gorrad · Post Post #230 (isolation #32) » Thu Nov 06, 2008 4:42 pm

...Gods I'm stupid. We don't even need to move the pawn! I was doing an unneeded setup to

Unmove, Move: Qe5

. I don't know why I wanted the pawn there. It made sense at the time.

Gorrad · Post Post #234 (isolation #33) » Mon Nov 10, 2008 12:48 pm

I was thinking the same thing.

Move: Ng5

Gorrad · Post Post #241 (isolation #34) » Mon Nov 10, 2008 4:20 pm

We should CERTAINLY not move our queen from the current spot. By moving the queen, we garuntee the unpin you claim to be trying to avoid. Not to mention that a castle would be far from impenetrable at this point and that our queen would be undefended if we allow it to, as you say, "run riot".

Gorrad · Post Post #243 (isolation #35) » Mon Nov 10, 2008 4:24 pm

I think h3 followed by g4 would be better.

Gorrad · Post Post #245 (isolation #36) » Mon Nov 10, 2008 5:37 pm

Liberates it to do what? Take a pawn with no follow-up? I prefer threatening the knight.

Gorrad · Post Post #250 (isolation #37) » Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:05 am

10. Ng5 O-O
11. Qc4++ h8
12. Kf7 Rxf7
13. Qxf7

That was my line of thought.

I didn't see d5. What if we go g3 and Bg2 before starting the line?

Also, Heron, in a normal situation I might agree. However, this game is FAR from normal. If we don't focus strongly on protection, then black WILL take us. We have no element of surprise whatsoever, so if we slip, they'll see it.

Gorrad · Post Post #252 (isolation #38) » Tue Nov 11, 2008 2:21 am

On queenside, right now, the ONLY pieces not defended are the rook and that one lonely pawn. Explain to me how that's not stopping the queen?

Gorrad · Post Post #266 (isolation #39) » Tue Nov 11, 2008 5:24 pm

d6 makes Qb5 too risky for me. I think we should go with

Unmove, move: g3

to start the chain mentioned in 250.

Gorrad · Post Post #287 (isolation #40) » Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:30 am

I am here. I have yet to see a good reason not to go g3, so I've really got nothing.

Gorrad · Post Post #317 (isolation #41) » Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:55 am

Dude. Qe5? Black moves d6 and we're all but forced back to where we were.

Gorrad · Post Post #366 (isolation #42) » Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:51 pm

The Central Scrutinizer wrote:Why do all of you seem to be missing the damn point? 10. g3 is not about protecting the f4 pawn. It's about allowing us to play Bg2, giving us more control of the center of the board. We are terribly underdeveloped. Moving the queen for the next few moves while black develops just doesn't strike me as a great plan.

That's about what I have to say, other than
fos:veerus
.

Sorry I haven't really been active, but I completely agree with TCS here. I've lost many games by rushing headfirst without keeping positioning in mind, and g3 sets us up for what I posted earlier. Moving our queen off the bat like this is only going to screw us over in the long run.

Gorrad · Post Post #368 (isolation #43) » Thu Nov 27, 2008 6:09 am

Lawrencelot wrote:Btw, with so many people on the same side, it's hard to screw something up, so playing agressively is not a bad strategy.

I completely disagree. Keep in mind, we have no secrets and a handful of our number are working against us. We have to work to see every strategy they're doing, while ours are wide open.

Gorrad · Post Post #372 (isolation #44) » Thu Nov 27, 2008 8:38 am

I would be wary in that situation, Lawrence. If black moved their queen to a5 and managed to threaten e2, we'd lose.

Gorrad · Post Post #374 (isolation #45) » Thu Nov 27, 2008 9:59 am

Pesco47 wrote:
Gorrad wrote:I would be wary in that situation, Lawrence. If black moved their queen to a5 and managed to threaten e2, we'd lose.
If black went 11. ... Qa5, WE SCORE! They are not that stupid

Well hey! Thanks for pointing that out to them.

Gorrad · Post Post #393 (isolation #46) » Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:27 pm

Screw it. I hope y'all have a plan.

Vote: Qc4

Gorrad · Post Post #441 (isolation #47) » Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:21 pm

Prodded. Almost donw with finals. Haven't had the brainpower to spare to chess mafia, as it combines the high-focus aspects of both chess and mafia. Expect some sort of contribution next week (Out of town w/o computer friday-saturday).

Gorrad · Post Post #511 (isolation #48) » Wed Dec 24, 2008 7:12 pm

I should be prodded.

Gorrad · Post Post #542 (isolation #49) » Mon Dec 29, 2008 8:42 am

Sorry, life and computer issues. Rereading, will say something then.

Gorrad · Post Post #583 (isolation #50) » Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:36 pm

Well, for the first time ever, I have to say

Mod, please replace me

.

When I signed up for this, I thought I'd be playing mafia. I'm sorry I was mistaken.