Yahoo Chess Opponent gave me a BJ -- PIC
 

<img src="http://www.socalsweets.com/chessbj.gif">

Hehe... I led that bitch king all the way down to the ground... Read my text "get down girl" hehe...

Your rating is 1227?

she let you win

I once had my elo up @ 1600... Never seemed to get any better. Also those semi-good players at 1800/1900 wiped the floor with me :(

Anybody ever played a master (2200) or a GM(2500/2600)? Those guys see variations I would never see on that board...

My high school math teacher was said to be one of the most talented chess players in the world when he was younger. He gave it up for "security and stability" though - in other words, he got married and became a high school teacher. I've seen him play though, and it really is quite impressive.

Being a grandmaster, by the way, is not determined by elo rating, but by defeating a certain number of grandmasters in tournaments.

My rating resets everytime I log into Yahoo...

When I was playing seriously I had an ELO on Yahoo that hovered between 1800 and 2100. That seems to be about the upper limit for good amateur players who've sunk some study time into the game. Above that you're playing Masters level people and above. Never saw a GM on there tho, maybe things have changed.

I did play Grandmaster Roman Dzindzichashvili.. the world champion blitz chess player.. at the SF Chess Club a few times. He plays there regularly and gives lessons. He wiped the board with me, but it helped me get an idea of how a GM sees the board.

When you reach the point where you start seeing how the whole board works at once.. it'll surprise you the first time it happens because its a flash of insight rather than the result of purposeful calculation.. what I mean is getting an intuitive feel for the middlegame play that comes out of certain openings.. you'll be beating most people who aren't National Master level players (and maybe some who are when you have a really good day).

To go above that, in addition to keeping up your tactics calculations study, you probably need to get specialized chess software to help you memorize many complex opening and endgame variations.. and you should be playing against someone at the Master, IM or even GM level who is willing to talk over the game with you in depth after its finished. The time investment ain't worth it for most people.

I'm actually considering getting back into chess competition. A little rusty, but I'm around 1900-2100 according to chessmaster 7000....great program by the way.

What surprised me about playing online and competitively is how much some people project their ego's onto the board.. in a way that doesn't seem to happen when playing in person.

If i had a buck for every time someone I beat in a hard game flipped out, called me a bunch of names, and immediately booted / banned me from their Yahoo Chess table.. well, I wouldn't be rich.. but I'd have enough for a nice dinner or two.

I haven't played in about a year. I have one friend that I play with when he is in town that is sort of a challenge...online I can find all kinds of people to kick my ass...or sometimes I win...but it's pretty meaningless to me when it's not face to face. Plus, there's a lot of cheating going on in online play...idiots using chess computers to help them win and such.

The game just isn't the same online. Like in all games, it's more fun to beat someone you know and respect than a stranger you will never meet.

I'm more of a Yahoo Literati type guy...
but find a lot of the same things: egos, accusations, swearing....lol and that's just me ;)

I did have one guy that I knew was cheating...he was a 1300 rating and I usually hover around 1700....he was coming up with 6 letter words that started x and just really fucked up, bizarre words....

hmmm, wonder if therre is a cheat program for yahoo ches? I know there are some out for Literati........

for the uninitiated:
Literati = Yahoo's version of Scrabble

I agree. I can't get into chess online. Have to have the board in front of me. Plus I love the look on people's faces when you fork their rook or queen :Graucho

hahahahah. Often on Yahoo you'll get a 1200 player making 1200 level moves until they start losing pieces.. and all of a sudden they start doing 15 move deep calculations that would make Gary Kasparov break out in a sweat.

Typing "Turn off Fritz please" into the chat space usually elicits an amusing response.

I'll be delighted to wipe any GFYer's ass in yahho chess,
look for RusskySerge,
we cna play for clicks
;-))

I am in BeetleSpot