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Dear all October Members, About the group: Our group was created 10 days ago and 70 members joined with the average rating 2028 I am really glad of the results! I want to say thanks to all members that joined & are participating in Team Matches, also to captains of our first Vote Chess games, Chess_Adict, SataBose. You can feel free to share feedbacks and opinions about the group with me. Team Matches and Vote Chess: First team matches are right now open to register and also 3 Vote Chess in progress. Members can join and discuss about the moves. I aslo would like to hear about your favourite opennings to creat team matches with set positions. Weekly puzzle: Puzzle will be upgraded every week. Hope you would enjoy it! Admins: I am currently a lone admin of October. I will be glad to recieve any wills to be admin and to manage the group. (Contact me through personal messages.)

Dear teammates, I have noticed there are some good Chess960 players in our group. I think it would be very useful and interesting to talk about Chess960. Since I am quite new to it please take the below as an opening low-quality post that will be hopefully followed by better strategy tips. When I play Chess960 I usually follow a couple of general "rules". 1. Develop your Knights first Opening is a very important part of every chess game. It is not easy to play it when it comes to 960. As far as I know there`s no "opening book" and we have to really think of every single move from the beginning. I found out that the best thing I can do is to develop my Knights first. They seem to be more powerful in 960 openings and they can usually prevent some awkward opponents` moves (traps) that can lose the game in first 3 or 4 moves. 2. Watch your opponet`s Queen and Bishops Either Queens or Bishop(s) are often placed on squares like a1, b1, etc. which means they can attack our (often unprotected) pieces as early as on move 2. I`ve seen and played quite a few games where a player didn`t notice such a threat and their opponent gained decisive advantage during first few moves just by capturing pieces that couldn`t be protected. 3. Castling When I play standard chess I usually try to castle by move 8. I think castling is the most complicated thing to get used to in 960. It is too easy to forget my opponent can still castle when their King and Rooks are not where they "should be". When I look at the below position my mind tells me White must have moved their King and Rook(s) and thus may not castle. Castling often changes the course of the 960 game completely. Since I am always happy when my opponent castles early in the game (I don`t have to keep in mind they can literally move their King under attack many squares away) I don`t castle unless I have to to protect my King or such a move supports my attack considerably. I would say castling is like my secret weapon I use to "surprise" my opponent who sometimes forgets as the game goes on. 4. Get to a standard-chess-like position as soon as possible It is much easier to say such a thing than to achieve it. I simply do my best to move my Knights and Bishops to the center of the board for the center allows more mobility for the pieces, as well as easy access to all parts of the board. Although it is something we all try to do when we play standard chess I am surprised to see many players neglect it in Chess960. Just to thank you for taking the time to read the above I post a Chess960 puzzle. Although it is quite easy to find its solution I think it belongs here for you can see the very first Chess960 (team match) game our team October won (960 of October #1 against Chess-0-Matic).

As the new admin to this fantastic group, perhaps I should express my views on chess as a team game. Sure it is plays one individual against another, but I have for many years played in many teams in over-the-board matches, and I would love to to develop the same bond in October which is found in leagues all over the world . Indeed even travelling to and fro from away matches created a great atmosphere, and we discussed both our triumphs, and disasters !!! in equal measure. Indeed studying a team mates game and following it's progress after, and sometimes during one's own game was great fun willing the team mate on to glory, indeed when the results went "our" way and the match victory was secured was a thrill in it'self. It made for a great atmosphere in the car journey home !! Vote chess I think is similar, although this is new to me, I'm fascinated to read the comments of the "senior" player, as the realisation, of " I never saw that" dawns on one !! I do hope lots of members get involved in vote, chess, and team games, and know many already do . But we can't have enough names for either,. Thankyou for reading this Richard

I know it's fast approaching the month of march , when hares are considered to go mad !!!!!!, and perhaps that's why I'm considering this,.... but for many years I have considered play the Latvian in response to white's e4 . As I am now in my 60th year you'd think I'd know better ! And considering I play a reasonable french defense , and have done since my teens, the question of why I have "dug out" Anatoly Lein's "The latvian gambit, a grandmaster view" again,springs to mind !!! Sure I have played some friendly over the board games with the latvian , with mixed results, but have not been brave, (or stupid) enough to play any rated game either on line or over the board. So what do you guys think, should I keep up my study of the latvian, return to the french, or perhaps go completely "bonkers" and adopt the "elephant gambit"!!!!!! the-dancing-hare

"...that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist, where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and mid-nights stay. That country composed in main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain..." Ray Bradbury.

2 minutes ago · #1 LadyMisil NOTE: Your comment has not yet been posted. This is only a preview! a few minutes ago · Quote · Edit · Delete · #1 LadyMisil Yes, I can protect myself, I am a 56 year old lady who seen it all and heard it all and I learned blocking and disabling chat in my first two months on this site. I am worried about the impressionable young teenaged girls on this website and in particular, my groups. I have seen many leave suddenly without explanation. True, most could be for personal reasons, but I suspect at least a couple from men with this sort of behavior. Now I find out you people wish to "warn" him? Lose just one girl and you have kept a bad member over a good one. Lose just two girls and you are starting to lose money, more so if this guy is not a paying member. Usually such men do not pay money because they expect slap on the wrists and eventual banishment, but not before they have come here to do what they wanted to do. I may or may not stay at this website considering the policies you people set forth. You ignore written evidence and do much too little. And I am a paying member. Cheryl On Aug 10, 2013, at 4:24 AM, "Calamondin Chess.com" wrote: Chess.com Support LadyMisil, I'm sorry to hear about this user's behavior. We want you to have the best experience possible on Chess.com. I will contact this user and let them know we do not allow verbal abuse, insults or mocking of our members on this site. Hopefully this will not happen again but if it does, please don't hesitate to let us know. We have tools for you to help protect yourself and manage your relationships on Chess.com. For more information on how to block or disable chat with other users, please see this article: http://support.chess.com/Knowledgebase/Article/View/122/3/what-should-i-do-when-another-member-makes-rude-or-abusive-comments-towards-me Calamondin Support Staff Message History LadyMisil (Member) 10 Aug 2013 12:08 AM Out of the blue, this sex predator sends me messages simply entitled "a". When I do not respond in 10 minutes, he starts to get abusive. Your site does not need these kind of people. Please remove him for general welfare. Ticket #: 381608 Department: Report Abuse Add 'support@chess.com' to your address book so you don't miss any email from Chess.com. Chess.com | PO Box 60400 Palo Alto, CA 94306

We currently have 84 wins, 3 losses, and 2 drawn matches for a 95% winning record. We are on page 5 of the leaderboard. In our first 45 matches, we were undefeated with just two drawn matches. Our longest winning streak was 32 matches! We have won all of our big matches, from 20 boards to the really big 50 board matches. We have 28 matches in progress. 17 are mathematically won for 910 points. 2 are practically won for 65 points. 3 are most likely tied for 64 points. 1 is close and could end up a win, draw, or loss for 25, 10, or 0 points. 2 are just started and assuming we get our usual 95% score, would give us 104 points. 2 are mathematically lost and 1 is most likely lost for 0 points. This gives us a projection of 21 wins, 3 losses, 3 draws, and 1 unknown close match for 1143 to 1168 points or about 1156 points. Together with our current match results, we can expect a 105 wins, 6 losses, 5 draws, and 1 undecided for 4623 points. If we had all those points right now, we would be in the top 100.

Hello, I would like to share with you this seminar I wrote for my students: http://blog.chess.com/Spochman/no-more-opening-memorizing Hope you like it, -Philip

Hi, everyone! There is a team tournament for players rated Under 1700. We would need 5 to 7 players. If you are interested, please sign up in this forum. Remember, you must be less than 1700 to qualify as a member of the team.

This forum will be for a Bongcloud tournament. A Bongcloud game is basically one in which the kings endeavor to lead the attack in the oening or middlegame. The rules are the same as chess except for the following: As usual, you score 1 point for a win, half point for a draw. If you develop your king first (pawns do not count), you score 2 points. Capturing an enemy piece or pawn anywhere on the board gives you 2 points. Freely moving your king without attack gives you 1 point except: Attacking an enemy piece or pawn with your king gives you 2 points. Moving out of check gives you no points, unless you attack an enemy piece or pawn. Moving your king back to or along your first rank gives you no points, unless you attack an enemy piece or pawn. Castling gives you no points unless your king attacks an enemy piece or pawn. Your castled rook attacking anything does not count. If your king gets to your eighth rank (your opponents first rank) anytime during the game, you score 3 points extra plus whatever points scored for moving your king. You do not get this bonus more than once per game. During the endgame, king moves do not give you points. An endgame will considered to be so when either side has fewer than 15 material value points in pieces, pawns not counting. (Q = 9, R = 5, B & N = 3, 2Bs = +1, therefore each side begins with 32 material value points and when either side goes down to 14 or less, the endgame is reached.) These rules are subject to change until the round robin tournament starts. Starting date is tentatively one month from now, May 17th. Please add comments and suggestions for the rules here as early as possibe. Here is the forum to checkout Bongcloud games: http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/ultimate-guide-to-bongcloud-opening An alternative to the endgame definition is the following: Queen alone or with one other piece is an endgame. 2 rooks alone is an endgame. A rook and two or less minor pieces is an endgame. 4 minor pieces or less is an endgame. (Pawn promotion allows for more than 4 minor pieces.)

And here comes our 4th Puzzle! Enjoy guys!

What are Team Matches? A team match is when two teams have a match against each other with multiple players from each group playing games against each other. Each player selected to participate in the match will play two games against the other team (one game each with White and Black colors). Players are matched up by highest rating against the other team. The score is kept and the winner will be the Team with the higher score at the end of the match. Example: Team 1 Team 2 = 5.5 = 6.5 WINNER! Player 1 (2224) 2 view | view 0 Player 1 (2141) Player 2 (1683) 1 view | view 1 Player 2 (1859) Player 3 (1499) 1 view | view 1 Player 3 (1707) Player 4 (1473) 0 view | view 2 Player 4 (1638) Player 5 (1472) 0 view | view 2 Player 5 (1559) Player 6 (1452) 1 view | view 1 Player 6 (1484) Player 7 (1253) 1.5 view | view .5 Player 7 (1180) How do I join a Team Match? When a new team match starts, all members of that group/team will receive a message. You can click through to view and then join the match. Or, you can go to your group�s homepage and then use the �Team Matches� link under the Group Menu when you will see a list of any active/available Team Matches. If there are any available matches then you can click the �view� link and you will be brought to the specific Team Match page. There you will see a link to join the Team Match if there is still space available for more players. How are Team Match points scored?? Each team's cumulative score is added up and compared to decide who wins the match. The winner of the team match gets points based on the following: Win Match: 5 points Draw Match: 2 points for each team Lose Match: 0 points Those points are then multiplied by the total number of players in the match to get the total match value. These match points are used to determine the status on the Team Match Leaderboard. I joined a Team Match but then wasn't chosen to play - why not? Team matches must have even numbers of players to create the pairings. Additionally, match organizers may set the number of players for each team in a match. Once that number of players is reached, other players may join, but may not be able to play. The way it works is that all players on a team are rank-ordered by rating. Then the top players are chosen to play for each team. Players who are not in the top ranking cannot play. Example: Let's say this is a 5 player match for each team. If 7 players from Team A join, only the top 5 rated will be allowed to play. The other 2 lower rated players would fall below the line (though they will remain as alternates until the match begins just in case the team admin decides to remove a player or one of the other players quits). What is Team Vote Chess? Thematic tournaments require all games to start from a pre-defined starting position (such as the first 3 moves of the King's Gambit, for example). This allows players to play similar games and test each other in certain openings. Thematic tournaments are indicated with a special icon and also show the starting position of the games. Team Vote Chess is no different from regular Vote Chess. To learn more about the rules and how to play, please click here. How do I join a Team Vote Chess game? When a new Team Vote Chess game is started all members of the group will get a message to view and then join the game. Or, you can go to your group�s homepage and then under the Group Menu click on the �Vote Chess� link where you will then be taken to the page with a list of any available vote chess games for your group. Once there you can click on the �view� link next to any vote chess game where you will be taken to your group�s vote chess game against another group where you can participate and vote for the move you would like your group to play. How are Team Vote Chess games scored? Team Vote Chess games are scored as follows: Win = 5 points Draw = 2 points for each team Loss = 0 points These points are then used to rank teams on the Team Vote Chess Leaderboard!

October's puzzle #2 Here are second puzzle of October. Congratulation for October with 100+ Members!! Hope you will enjoy it! :)