Is anyone watching Game 12?

[Sour Masher]

I didn't realize there were so many high level chess players on the boards. I enjoy the game, but not competitively. How did you all get into at a high level? I'm very ignorant of the higher level strategies of the game. Is it a game one can get top level at just by playing and thinking about it intuitively, or does one really need to study chess theory and existing strategies to be top level?

[Steve 2.0]

I didn't realize there were so many high level chess players on the boards.

I see what you did there.

[onejayhawk]

150k viewers across Twitch, and the authorities can't provide a free live feed of 2 blokes sitting across a table.

Platforms like Twitch are a gateway for a game like chess to boom ... what a wasted opportunity for the game.

It looks like the St Louis Chess club had the definitive live coverage. There was no live camera, but three well-regarded grandmasters with move-by-move commentary and guests on the phone. Vlad Kramnik was on when they announced the draw in game 12. StLCC also did a superior job with the US Championships in 2017.

I could not watch the fast games live but it was a blowout. Magnus rolled 3-0.

J

[chancellor]

I didn't realize there were so many high level chess players on the boards. I enjoy the game, but not competitively. How did you all get into at a high level? I'm very ignorant of the higher level strategies of the game. Is it a game one can get top level at just by playing and thinking about it intuitively, or does one really need to study chess theory and existing strategies to be top level?

I played competitively, but not what I’d consider at high level. Cavebird was a high level player, I’m not sure if he’s still active or not.

My most serious years were my four of high school and first two of college. I’d spend about ten hours a week in game analysis and different areas of the game - opening, middle game, endgame - during the season, with up to 20-30 hours going into the conference and state tournament.

[Sour Masher]

I played competitively, but not what I’d consider at high level. Cavebird was a high level player, I’m not sure if he’s still active or not.

My most serious years were my four of high school and first two of college. I’d spend about ten hours a week in game analysis and different areas of the game - opening, middle game, endgame - during the season, with up to 20-30 hours going into the conference and state tournament.

Dayum, that is some dedication. I don't think I could get really good at chess, even with that dedication, for the same reason I'm not good a poker. I just don't have the discipline to remain patient. In both games, I generally play well to start, get bored, play quicker and more loosely, and make a fatal mistake that costs me lots of chips or a big piece.

[chancellor]

Dayum, that is some dedication. I don't think I could get really good at chess, even with that dedication, for the same reason I'm not good a poker. I just don't have the discipline to remain patient. In both games, I generally play well to start, get bored, play quicker and more loosely, and make a fatal mistake that costs me lots of chips or a big piece.

Thanks, but the top players spent a lot more time all year. I studied very little during the off-season, I just couldn’t be that dedicated in high school. Got a little more focused my second year in college, and had the best results of my life, but my coursework overwhelmed me and I quit playing until I graduated. But it was a lot of fun, and I was lucky enough to meet some famous players and get crushed by one of them.

[johnnya24]

Has anyone been following the spate of games release by the Alphazero team. Basically like Go, Alphazero taught itself chess with just the rules (in 4 hours), then destroyed Stockfish with a series of brilliant innovative games.

It's fascinating that, because it was only taught the rules, with no pre-programmed openings or estimation of piece values, it thinks about the game in a completely unique way.

This will probably change how chess is played.

[onejayhawk]

Go is a much more difficult game to program. The first time a program defeated a top player was 2017 and it was Alphazero.

J