ask a professional chess player anything

tons of good advice to learn from - thank you sir - esp for me, im about 1500-1600 on chess.com, not sure about my USCF rating, but its helpful to hear your tips on how to improve - i also appreciate how you gave internet chess some credibility, i agree that you can improve at home and dont have to meet at chess clubs only - thats been how i have been doing it (though i wouldnt mind having a few people to work with)

GM answered many questions and almost immediatly at the beginning. Now I think the thread must be closed and let other GM/IM open his/her mind.

I gave him more credit than that.   but, this site has hundreds of thousands of users.  Not exactly sure what the OP was expecting.

I think the idea came to him on a whim. Then later, and just as quickly, he was uninterested.

i can ressurect the thread but as i alluded to another forum post i answer tons of questions in my chess stream these days

Here's an 'advice' question I'd be interested to hear your view on. Why am I repeatedly dropping points against weaker players? I've done well in OTB chess this year against people in the 2000-2200 range, and I've drawn with an FM and a WIM... but I keep messing up and dropping half points and a couple of times even full points against 1700-1800. This is incredibly annoying and I would love to be able to do something about it...

Wow, thanks for offering this. Where would this other forum post be though? Also, as a couple questions, when you are in a long losing streak, what would you do to break it? Furthermore, is there a chess software that when analyzing moves would tell exactly was wrong with whatever chosen move? I see a lot of computer analysis, but I don't see any that actually explain to the user what was wrong with their play.

Hi GM Eric Hansen, 

I read many amazing things about you in Kevin Spraggett's excellent blog. He's always full of praise - but I must confess that I haven't personally studied your games. You're a young promise, maybe the greatest of Canadian chess nowadays. 

I have also read some of your analyses of other members' games - which you do on a volunteer basis, providing the average amateur with a rare opportunity to glimpse into the thought process of a GM, on their own games!

As such, I may ask you to annotate a couple of my own efforts - and I choose nothing but the very best games I played. Take your pick (I have annotated the games myself - but of course it's your input I'm interested in). 

Of course, I don't really expect you to annotate ALL of them - but I do feel like including several...

And this is a loss - but it might well have been the best of the lot. I only lose because I hang a queen (!!!) on the last move:

Stop posting your games, thats like asking a lawyer for free legal advice.

Hansen, I read through the entire thread, some people asked about your earnings but no exact numbers were thrown out. Give up the goods man.. 3 years into it how much are you averaging per year as a GM?

When you tell a hot girl "I'm a grand master" for the first time is she actually impressed or does she give you a funny look and change topics? 

Lol first time Ive seen this thread around here. He posted the same one on Bodybuilding.com years ago though I see its much more popular on this forum. Also has some weird back and forth with Chestbrah that Google somehow finds from the depths of cyberspace. The internet is a weird place

<aj415>

you're right actually. Now that I'm reading your comment I realize that I was mixing this thread with another one, where a strong player (but not a GM actually) offered to annotate games by members of the community for free. It wasn't GM Hansen. My mistake. 

Love your games! Thanks for the annotation

It seems to me the "Generation that was beaten by Kasparov" did very well after he left, staying in top chess for a very long time and only being replaced by the younger generation very slowly.

Looking at Anand, for example, it's amazing how well he still can compete at his age.

So what do you think about these player generations, the older and the newer one ? Where do you see the strengths and weaknesses of old/new methods of training and studying ?

Which truck brand won all 3 of these awards?

Yes, he is trolling, LOL !!

I suggest you make a video trying to fit several chess pieces in your mouth and spread it in youtube and in chess sites.

I am sure it will contribute to chess marketing.

If GM like Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, did the same, I bet the chess tournaments prizes could increase more than 100% in less than 1 year.

Hungover? Do you drink a lot? Vodka, like the Russians, to increase chess techniques?

What do you think about the statement of Bernard Shaw?

"Chess is a foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever, when they are only wasting their time".

George Bernard Shaw (Irish literary Critic, Playwright and Essayist. 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1856-1950)

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/130579-chess-is-a-foolish-expedient-for-making-idle-people-believe

<Logozar> I'm happy you enjoyed!! :-) 

They were sure fun to play (but it was NOT fun to hang that queen!!!!)

Would you say that Knight on G1 to F3 would be a good opening move?