Comfy Chess Club: Zugzwang edition

any anons up for a match?
>https://lichess.org/fpFXrhgw

In today's thread, we discuss the zugzwang. Zugzwang is when
it is a disadvantage to move and doing so will undefend key squares.
Zugzwang is a compound German word meaning "move (zug) compulsion (zwang)"
Because of its German heritage, the zugzwang tactic is considered
oppressive. Good manners dictate that it should not be used against
POC (players of color).

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>>39321643
Commencing puzzle dump.

Checkmate in 4 moves. White's turn.

>>39321675
White to move: mate in only 2 moves this time.

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>>39321745
whoopsies doopsies.

White to move: mate in only 2 moves this time.

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>>39321769
This one takes 6 moves for white to checkmate black. White has to move first.

>>39321620
I'm up, you still there?

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>tfw no zany chess gf with russian accent

>>39321831
Did you quit the game anon?

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Chess is for the mentally ill.

>>39321597
bumping the thread, more robots should place chess. it's a great game. if you don't like chess at least try shogi or go. also great games for your mind and help you to take your mind off of things.

>>39322883
I have ADHD and a low IQ. How to become good at chess? Not just play more like i cantt concentrate for that long.

>>39323103
do you take any medication for your adhd? chess does require long periods of concentration, but even when you are playing a long game, you can get up and take a breather every once in a while when it is your opponent's turn. for about how long can you sit down and focus before needing to get up and do things? i'll give you some advice on how to get better, i just want to know about this first and foremost.

I can't play chess online, I need a LOT of time to think about next moves. I guess if I practiced for years, then some situations would come natural for me, but as I am now, I'd just play like a total retard when given only 10 or 15 minutes for a game.

>>39321675
>King + two bishops against a king + knight + bishop
>not a queen, not even a rook, just two bishops, against equal value
>4 moves
>this is the easy one
Yeahhh, I'm too dumb for this, my chance of solving these things decrease drastically with number of moves required.

I tried doing the medium one since it looks easier for me as I really, really suck at those very late game scenarios, but I can't solve it. The black king can't move, but I don't see any effective move to pin him. Bb6 is bad, e3 stops defending d3, knight and queen attacks are stopped by other figures. If you don't check the king in the first move, black can do 1. ... Bxh3 to allow Ke3 later. I was looking into 1. Nc4 too but then 1. ... exd3 comes and leaves the knight vulnerable.

The hard one in 6 moves is completely beyond me.

>>39323409
idk i just get bored and start talking or purposly losing the game if it goes on longer then 2 mins. I dont take meds(i fear side effects will only take for exams)

>>39323785
i'll be frank with you friend, if you can't sit down and focus for long periods of time, then i'm not sure you can do it unless you find some way to be able to focus. however, if you could focus, you COULD get good at chess, your IQ has no factor in this. chess is a game that requires lots of study and thinking over a board and not doing much movement. i'd say that if you want to get better, you need to find a way to solve your problems with focusing. if it's truly your desire though, i won't say you can't do it, i think anything can be possible if you set your mind to it, so don't feel discouraged if you are having some trouble.

now i'll give you advice that is given to all beginners, you need to practice tactics, and you need to read annotated games. for tactics, go to chesstempo and do their tactics. most beginners have the issue of hanging pieces, or losing pieces to simple tactics, it will help you calculate too

as a side note, use the beta site for chesstempo betadotchesstempodotcom

it's much more streamlined than their original site and easier to use. just do easy problems for now as you are a beginner. secondly, practice checkmate problems, go to centipawn org a very useful website to practice mates in one, two, three etc. use both of these websites to practice your checkmates and tactics. now i recommend reading Logical Chess Move by Move by Irving Chernev (download it off b-ok org that's where i get all of my chess books). this book explains move by move the reasoning of why each move was played and gives some generally strategy knowledge. DON'T be discouraged if you don't understand at first. everyone has trouble at first trying to conceptualize how strategy works. even the greatest of players started chess at very low ratings.

if you get through that book, i recommend reading some middlegame or endgame books (how to reassess your chess by silman, silman's complete endgame course) work on your openings last (cont)

>>39321675
>>39321769
Solutions for fags
(Easy)1.Bd7 Ka8 2.Bc6+ Kb8 3.Bb7 Bh4 4.Bxc7#
(Medium)1.Bd6! Choose your poison.
Will try to solve hard.

>>39323785
>>39324064
openings are least important at the beginner level because if you can't close it out through the middlegame or endgame then your skills in the opening have no use. but for now just try not too hard to worry about the opening, irving chernev's book will give a lot of insight on how to properly play the opening without memorizing anything. now i wanted to say this information can be used for anyone in the thread that wanted to get good at chess, and i do recommend giving it a try if you are bored and want to try something new. you might just find it's the perfect thing for your mind to keep you busy on some long days. friend, i hope this was of some help to you, even if you don't do a single thing i suggested, i still enjoyed writing it out. anyways, best of luck to you with your chess endeavors. hope it goes well for you, let me know if you have anymore questions.

>>39323627
try correspondence chess friend. i know how you feel, correspondence is perfect for people who like to take a long time to think about moves. i don't really believe in the whole "play 15 minute games at the start they are good for beginners and learning". it's much better to play slow games, and take your time, and read over annotated games and or work on tactics. remember this, whenever you are playing a game of chess, you are not only considering your moves but also the opponents, this means that if you are playing over an annotated game and playing guess the move, you are playing chess! so i suggest you go over some annotated games. as for the tactics, don't be frustrated. it's much better to build upon one move tactics, then two, then three, etc. two to three is usually a pretty big jump so don't get discouraged. everyone starts out a beginner don't forget.

>>39324064
thanks for the tips anon sorry im late/infreqeunt with my replies its to hard to stay on one thread for to long

>>39324288
no friend don't worry about it at all. hope it was of some use to you. have a good day friend.

bumpy roads ahead.

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>>39324198
>(Easy)1.Bd7 Ka8 2.Bc6+ Kb8 3.Bb7 Bh4 4.Bxc7#
Ding Ding Ding. You got it right!
>(Medium)1.Bd6! Choose your poison.
You are really really close. This will be checkmate in 3 moves, not 2. Black can delay by bringing his pawn down one square.

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>>39321769
Here are some hints about the medium puzzle:


White has a lot of checkmate threats.
The knight can come to B3 for checkmate if black's knight moves.
The rook can come to E4 if black's bishop moves.
If black uses his bishop to defend the E4 pawn, white can bring his queen down to G6 for mate.
White's queen is pinning down black's rook, so white should keep his queen there. That means white needs to use his bishops to break the zugzwang.
[\spoiler]

>>39323785
You can try bullet chess online. The whole game only lasts about 4 minutes.

>>39323627
>Yeahhh, I'm too dumb for this, my chance of solving these things decrease drastically with number of moves required.
Don't feel bad. All of these puzzles are pretty tricky. Even stockfish 8 (The world's most advanced chess engine) doesn't realize the solution to the hard puzzle until a couple moves in.

>>39325705
Ok,I think I got it now.It is Bc6.

>>39321790
1.Re3 Qg2 2.Bg4 Qa8 3.Bh3 Qg2 4.Bxg2 Nc6 5.Nd5+ Kf5 6.Bh3#

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>>39326305
Nicely done! There are so many options for black but they all receive mate the next move.

Anybody up for a something new? Chess960 is chess with the starting positions randomized

>https://lichess.org/8toLSshL