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If you need to create a chess diagram for other purposes (outside chess.com), see my public forum posting: http://www.chess.com/forum/view/help-support/chess-diagrams-for-dummies

This post is a bit long but you MUST read it or else you will have no idea what we are doing! The rules for joining are very simple. 1) DO NOT vote until we decide on an official group move 2) Vote the official group move If you do not agree to these rules, then DON'T JOIN. Summary of Procedures: 1) Post analysis for moves in their appropriate topic (2...d6 in topic "2...d6") 2) Others will comment on your analysis and you will comment on others'. 3) Spend the first 12 hours perfecting your lines, then post it in the "Move #X FINAL Variations" topic. You are free and recommended to post any INITIAL analysis and FINAL analysis on the comments section of the actual game for non-Alliance members to read and discuss. You are also recommended to post a plan/explanation for your variations so others can easily understand what you are trying achieve and understand the theories/principles behind your move. 4) By 12 hours, we should be done tweaking all variations, at which point I or another staff member will create a topic called "Move #X - Voting". Please take responsibility for your vote. All alliance member MUST look through the "Move #X FINAL Variations" topic. ONLY THEN should you POST your unofficial vote in the "Move #X - Voting" topic. In order to reassure the alliance that you've read, please post the move you unofficially vote for and the reasons WHY you voted for it (shouldn't be too hard if you actually looked through the analysis!) Any vote without a reason will be VOID. You are free to edit your post and change your vote until time is up. 5) By 10 hours, I or another staff member will lock the topic and tally the unofficial votes in the "Move #X - Voting" topic. We will then declare the Alliance's official move. (If it is a tie, I or another staff member will break it based on which move the stronger players preferred, though I HIGHLY DOUBT there will ever be a tie). 6) All members of the Alliance are then required to vote the official move in the game. (You had your chance to state your arguments so don't complain if others simply didn't find it convincing enough :P). Minor Notes (You can skip this if you're tired of reading ): It is recommended to post only once in the FINAL Variations topic. Feel free to update it if necessary but it really shouldn't be there if it's not "FINAL". If you did have to edit it for some reason, please click the EDIT button and not make a new post. Just post in the comments section that you edited it so we know (we'll look at it again before voting anyways). For casual talking, please use the notes, which are only open to group members. The forum should only be for the discussion of the moves. This is our first attempt at this. The process is subject to change if you guys think it's necessary. Feel free to discuss any problems, concerns, or suggestions regarding the procedures stated above in this topic. Any attempt to rephrase and shorten any of the above points will also be considered.

Here is the link val08 posted (click on it): Pogonina Game Analysis Board Please use this to analyse - no error-prone guesswork in your mind please. And please try to post your analysis in diagram form (most readers are not geniuses), here is a link to help if you need it: How to Create Chess Diagram

So, our first trial run went rather well. We got about 17/60 of the members to vote, which is pretty good considering the fact that we were still trying to get the word out and many members could not participate due to time differences. Of course, there is vast room for improvements. Hopefully, next turn's run will yield higher numbers. I would like to hear everyone's opinion on this first trial. Any comments about what you liked or disliked would be greatly appreciated. The following improvements were presented by our members. Please state if you agree with them or would rather keep things the way they are - 1) Stick all move discussions into one topic so we can compare advantages/disadvantage 2) Start discussion earlier and start voting earlierWhat time is good for you guys? Should we start unofficial voting from 16 hours-14 hours in the Pogonina game? I also want to create a graph of [votes vs time] so we get an idea of when it is too late to influence voting in the main game. Is there anyone willing to do this? You will have to record the time remaining (X hours and Y minutes) and the total vote count (one number) every 30 minutes if possible. I think we are good if we can get two people to cover the first 12 hours. 3) Several members are asking analyzers to use diagrams so it will be easier to follow. In my opinion, try not to have too many branches so it is more concise. Comments on the analysis are very helpful as well (which many have already done). If anyone has any suggestions to add, please let me know. I thank everyone for their cooperate and support.

Те, кто не понимает по-английски, это сравнительная таблица условных обозначений в разных Языки | | | | | | | | | | языковой дамка делать королевой грач епископ рыцарь пешка Chess Check Checkmate статуэтка ♔ ♚ ♕ ♛ ♖ ♜ ♗ ♝ ♘ ♞ ♙ ♟ ... + # Afrikaans K Koning D Dame T Toring L Loper R Ruiter (P) Pion Skaak Skaak Skaakmat Arabic م مَلِك و وزير ر رخ/طابية ف فيل ح حصان ب بيدق/عسكري شطرنج كِش مَلِك كِش مات Bānglā R Rājā M Montri N Noukā G Gôjo Gh ghodā (B) Bore Dābā Kisti Māt Belarusian К кароль Вз візыр Лд ладзьдзя А афіцэр В вершнік (Л) латнік Шахматы Шах Мат Bulgarian Ц цар Д дама Т топ О офицер К кон (П) пешка Шахмат/Шах Шах (Шах и) мат Catalan R rei D dama/reina T torre A alfil C cavall (P) peó Escacs Escac/ Xec Escac i mat Chinese K 王 Q 后 R 車 B 象 N 馬 兵 國際象棋 將軍 將死 Croatian K kralj D dama/kraljica T top/kula L lovac/laufer S skakač/konj (P) pješak Šah Šah Šah mat Czech K král D dáma V věž S střelec J jezdec (P) pěšec Šachy Šach Mat Danish K konge D dronning T tårn L løber S springer (B) bonde Skak Skak Skakmat Dutch K koning D dame / koningin T toren L loper P paard (P) pion Schaken Schaak Mat / Schaakmat English K king Q queen R rook B bishop N/Kt knight (P) pawn Chess Check Checkmate Esperanto R reĝo D damo T turo K kuriero Ĉ ĉevalo (P) peono Ŝako Ŝak Ŝakmato Estonian K kuningas L lipp V vanker O oda R ratsu (E) ettur Male Tuli Matt Finnish K kuningas D daami/ kuningatar T torni L lähetti R ratsu (S) sotilas Shakki Shakki Matti/ Shakkimatti French R roi D dame T tour F fou C cavalier (P) pion Échecs Échec Échec et mat German K König D Dame T Turm L Läufer S Springer (B) Bauer Schach Schach Schachmatt Greek Ρ βασιλιάς Β βασίλισσα Π πύργος Α αξιωματικός Ι ίππος (Σ) πιόνι Σκάκι Σαχ Mάτ Hebrew מ מלך מה מלכה צ צריח ר רץ פ פרש רגלי שחמט שח מט Hindi R raja V vajeer H hathi O oont G ghoda (P) pyada Shatranj Shah Maat Hungarian K király V vezér B bástya F futó H huszár (P) gyalog/ paraszt Sakk Sakk Matt Icelandic K kóngur D drottning H hrókur B biskup R riddari (P) peð Skák Skák Skák og mát Indonesian R raja M menteri B benteng G gajah K kuda (P) pion Catur Skak Skak mati Irish R rí B banríon C caiseal E easpag D ridire (F) fichillín/ ceithearnach Ficheall Sáinn Marbhsháinn Italian R re D donna T torre A alfiere C cavallo (P) pedone Scacchi Scacco Scacco matto Japanese K キング (kingu) Q クイーン (kuīn) R ルーク (rūku) B ビショップ (bishoppu) N ナイト (naito) (P) ポーン (pōn) チェス (chesu) 王手/ チェック (chekku) 詰み/ チェックメイト (chekkumeito) Korean K 킹 Q 퀸 R 룩 B 비숍 N 나이트 (P) 폰 체스 체크 체크메이트 Latin K rex G regina T turris E episcopus Q eques (P) pedes Scacci Scaccus Mattus Latvian K karalis D dāma T tornis L laidnis Z zirgs (B) bandinieks Šahs Šahs Šahs un mats Lithuanian K karalius V valdovė B bokštas R rikis Ž žirgas (P) pėstininkas Šachmatai Šach Matas Luxembourgish K kinnek D damm T tuerm L leefer P päerd (B) bauer Schach Schach Schachmatt Mongolian Н ноён (lord) Б бэрс (ferz) т тэрэг (chariot) Т тэмээ (camel) М морь (rider) (Х) хүү (paige) Шатар шаг, дуг, цод мад Norwegian K konge D dronning T tårn L løper S springer (B) bonde Sjakk Sjakk Sjakkmatt Persian ش شاه و وزیر ق/ر قلعه/رخ ف فیل ا اسب س سرباز شطرنج کیش کیش‌مات Polish K król H hetman W wieża G goniec S skoczek (P) pion szachy szach mat (szach-mat / szach i mat) Portuguese R rei D dama/rainha T torre B bispo C cavalo (P) peão Xadrez Xeque Xeque-mate Romanian R rege D regină T turn N nebun C cal (P) pion Şah Şah Mat Russian Кр король Ф ферзь Л ладья С слон К конь (П) пешка Шахматы Шах Мат Serbian К краљ / kralj Д дама / dama Т топ / top Л ловац / lovac С скакач / skakač (П) пешак / pešak Шах / Šah Шах / Šah Мат / Mat Sicilian R re D riggina T turru A alferu S scecchu (P) pidinu Scacchi Slovak K kráľ D dáma V veža S strelec J jazdec (P) pešiak Šach Šach Mat/Šachmat Slovene K kralj D dama T trdnjava L lovec S skakač (P) kmet Šah Šah Mat/Šahmat Spanish R rey D dama/reina T torre A alfil C caballo (P) peón Ajedrez Jaque Jaque mate Swedish K kung D dam T torn L löpare S springare (B) bonde Schack Schack Schack matt! Tamil K Raja Q Rani R yanai B Mandhiri N/Kt Kudhirai (P) Sepoi Sadhurangam Check Checkmate Telugu రాజు rāju మంత్రి maṃtri ఏనుగు ēnugu శకటు śakaţu గుర్రం gurraṃ బంటు baṃţu చదరంగం cadaraṃgaṃ దాడి dāḍi కట్టు kaţţu Turkish Ş/K şah/kral V vezir K kale F fil A at (P) asker/piyon Satranç Şah Mat Ukrainian Kр король Ф ферзь T тура C слон K кінь (П) пішак Шахи Шах Мат Vietnamese V Vua H Hậu X Xe T Tượng M Mã _ Tốt Cờ vua Chiếu Chiếu bí Welsh T teyrn/brenin B brenhines C castell E esgob M marchog (G) gwerinwr Gwyddbwyll Siach Siachmat

As many of you already know, our game against Pogonina is being dominated by drive-by voters. In order for us to have any chance of controlling the votes we will be forming an Alliance whereby we all vote unofficially on the move the Alliance will play. That move will then be played officially by all members. The group will also allow more organization of the moves so you don't have to look through all the junk to find useful posts. Also, for those who are busy, we will have a topic dedicated to the FINAL Variations of each member after they have tweaked it to perfection so you have all the tools you need to make the right decision at your fingertips. Finally, the analysis we make are available to the public so that non-members may read as well. As of now, your efforts at analyzing and reading is for nothing, as drive-by voters will just overwhelm you with votes that LOOK best. Join the alliance and know that your hard work will be acknowledged and your contributions have the power to decide the flow of the game! P.S. If you want to join, you MUST read the super-long Rules and Procedures topic, right below this one. This will ensure that things run efficiently and the way they are supposed to.

We made the obvious Rxc8 move... here is VegetableMan's diagram of where the game is going...

Nfd5 made it in the end, leaving him with a couple of options. Rxc8 has been heavily analyzed. Rac1 seems plausible still. More later

Well, it looks like his choices are either RxB or NxB. Do we want to try to swap a lot of meterial? If so, after NxB, would Qa6 be good? Seems like that might force a Queen exchange, but it needs more analysis. Any other moves?

Qb7 won in a last minute neck-and-neck race from what I saw in the comments (it pulled ahead with only 12 voters remaining). Any way, I was following the analysis as much as I could yesterday, though I did not the time to contribute further. I will post my ideas later today, and try to grab some of the diagrams everyone posted yesterday.

We moved 18... Bd5. Below is the diagram I made early yesterday with Bd5 work. I know more work was done by others, so please repost and update as needed. If we can get a list of single responses each of his possible moves we can avoid the Nbd5 worry from yesterday, tomorrow.

We moved 16... Nb4 attacking his light bishop. Our expectations have been that he will attack our queen with a rook, but he could simply move the bishop, or even allow the trade and move something else. So we are looking at 17. Rdc1 17. Rac1 17. Bb5 17. Bc4 17. something else I have been out all yesterday, and will also be today, and for a good deal of tomorrow. If someone can sum up the current state of the analyses of the lines we have and identify what needs the most work, and post it here, and put a good summary in the main forum that would be great.

I'm just going to copy drakpete's comment from the main forum here... "Did you see Onischuk's comments on the public area, that he never really considered exd a couple of moves back? Sigh. It must be great to have a GM's mind :-) Assuming he wants to keep his B pair then we have three candidate moves: 18.Rxc8 18.Bc4 18.Bb5 I think Rxc8 is unlikely as it cedes control of the c file, so that's two to look at. What plans could he have here? swap the heavy pieces (Q, R, R) and swap the a pawns to leave an isolated b pawn then he has a great endgame strengthen his centre and K-side with f3, e4 to remove the tactical threats around his K that have restrained him so far (our Qf4 invasion, or Bxf3) and start some tactics try and advance and swap his d pawn for our e6 pawn, which is the lynch-pin of our defence and then build up mating threats on the K-side while also pressuring our Q-side pawns to gain material" Feel free to make any additions.

cxd4 is the move. If anything can be learned from yesterday, it is that more of white's moves need to be analyzed prior to his move. We can't assume that if we analyze only what we think is the strongest move then therefore we will naturally be ready for (assumably) weaker moves. He has a few responses: cxd4 exd4 Nxd4 (post if you see anything else that is playable) Luckily there has a good deal done yesterday on cxd4, and some work started on exd4. Nxd4 looks mistake-ish right now, but a deep analysis could prove otherwise.

Rac8 is enjoying a fairly confortable lead and the support of most of the commentators and with aobut 4/5 of the expected votes in. So in the interest of longer discussion, I'll post our conditional move thread now. I'll be back later to add my thoughts. Does anyone know if his move was a little delayed again this morning? When I left for work his had "A few minutes left", and when I got there an hour later he had moved. Or have they figured out a way to fix it so he actually moves every 24 hours? Doesn't make much of a difference either way, but I am curious.

I think the most likely moves for him are:Bb5Bd3Rb1Rd1h3By no means exhaustive, of course. For either bishop move (Bb5 or Bd3), I think Ne7 is the right reply. Rc1 is also a good candidate move regardless of what he plays (well, almost regardless).

Assuming b6 holds out, our next move is likely Bb7. Other moves are possible though, and we always need to plan for novel moves from him now.Given that I think he placed his vote within a few hours of our votes tallying, we also cannot trust that we will have anywhere near a 24 hour buffer to discuss moves while it is his turn.

Rd8 will be our 11th move. Onischuk can go with Ba3, the primary move in databases, or can of course try something different. I am reposting my list of possible moves from the previous forum, to discuss any possible deviations. 12. Ba3 - 12... b6Other moves that still are in the chess.com database are 12. Qe2; 12. Ba2; and 12. Bb5 - all of which we respond with 12... b6. If pulls something out of a hat, our responses are mostly the same. 12. h3; g3; Re8; Qc2; Qb3; Bb2; Bd2; Rb1; Ra2; Ra3; Be2; Bd3 - b6 12. Ne1; Nd2 - possibly e5 -- without the knight covering the square, pushing the e pawn early may be beneficial 12. h4; Ng5 - h6? - not sure, but makes sense -- attack g5/prevent the knight from getting to g5 Some blunder moves have obvious captures - g4 Nxg4; Ne5 Nxe5; a5 Nxa5; d5 exd5; Ba6 bxa6 12. e4 - looks like an interesting pawn gambit, but instead of capturing the e pawn, cxd4 gives black a significant advantage I believe that covers every possible move after 11... Rd8. Double check any errors and possibly see if e5 makes sense for any other of his possible moves.

Meant to do this earlier, but I was away from my computer. Anyway 10... dxc4 will be the winner. 11. Bxc4 is basically forced, but this will give us ample amount of time to go over our next two moves. I'll give my opinion on them later, but the moves still in database are 11... b6; Rd8; or e5. Also when looking at lines, consider both his and our 12th move.

At the time of writing, Qc7 has a 40 vote lead on dxc4. This is probably enough to assume we should develop our lines after 9. Qc7. White's book move is 10. cxd5, which leaves us only one real choice 10... exd5. However, according to chesstempo.com (http://chesstempo.com/gamedb/player/153399) he has played 10. Bb2 twice (1/2-1/2 both games), 10. cxd5 once (1-0) and 10. h3 once (1-0). Discussion for each of several of his move 10 options is then necessary. Again, the things to look at to improve our position and leverage any advantages we currently have are (1) how do we develop our LSB -- the bishop is no longer blocked in, by h3 will prevent a pin/attack on the knight and f5 is currently attacked by his LSB. (2) how do we improve our knight(s) -- Nf6 will likely be looking for a strong central post, Nc6 will likely be placed somewhere queen side, if it moves anytime soon at all, but can also maneuver elsewhere via Ne7 (3) how do we minimize the effectiveness of his DSB -- he will need to make the first here; whether he wants to break it free along the c1-h6 diagonal, or try for Bb2 or Ba3.