[Sherlocked]

Sajid Nadiadwala's and Kichcha Sudeep's account have also been banned by chess.com. These two were also using engine.

But this is gonna affect Nikhil Kamath and Zerodha the most. I was watching the live telecast of the match and was all praises for the youngest billionaire giving tough fight to Vishy Anand. What came after that was shocking! Equally disheartening was his apology on twitter. It raises questions on the ethics and working of Zerodha as a group.

Vishy's brilliant move on that match was to resign and let everybody take notice.

Just look at those 90+ accuracy levels.

[am1m]

You hear about CEOs having outsize egos (and film stars anyway do have outsize egos), but do these guys need to be perceived as winners in everything they do? Really insecure.

Great that they were found out. Though I wonder how many such revelations it'll take before people stop equating success in one field with all round goodness. They are successful businessmen/stars/sports persons, doesn't mean they are/have to be good, ethical people/role models for all aspects of life.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

This is really sad to see. He is such a well respected entrepreneur with very clean reputation. I am shocked to read this. I wonder what really happened.

Anand is a true gentleman. Doing such a thing against him is sheer stupidity. A well respected chap by all, away from controversies. Even though he knew what was happening, he simply politely resigned instead of waiting out to win on time.

It would not have taken long for Anand to realize that he is playing against an engine.

Many many years ago, I had the opportunity to play with Anand in one of his simultaneous matches organised in Mumbai. Needed to say, we all lost, but he was always kind about it and told us what could have been done better. Remember that he said this individually while playing with 20+ children.

Pulling off such a stunt simply shows the integrity of the other person. Even as a joke. Here's a video of him playing against himself (bot). You can make out Vishys personality from this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEWuZ6suFt4

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Anand is a true gentleman. Doing such a thing against him is sheer stupidity. A well respected chap by all, away from controversies. Even though he knew what was happening, he simply politely resigned instead of waiting out to win on time.

Agree 100% with you. Cheating is just wrong and not justifiable against anyone or under any circumstances. Anand is undoubtedly one of the nicest guys to have ever played chess at the top level. However, even if this was someone else who may not be so nice, I would say cheating against him is still not justifiable :-)

Here's a video of him playing against himself (bot). You can make out Vishys personality from this.

Nice video! Thank for sharing.

[Lalvaz]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

This is really sad to see. He is such a well respected entrepreneur with very clean reputation. I am shocked to read this. I wonder what really happened.

What is this "reputation"? By his own account, he was a school dropout, supposedly started trading in second hand mobile phones, then started working in a call center, after falsifying his birth certificate, there he used to dabble in shares, and managed the funds for his boss and colleagues, didn't do his assigned job, then quit and started Zerodha.

Zerodha was a first in india, but was copying discount brokerage models in the US. Anyways, long story short, the zero brokerage structure attracted enough customers and they gave rave reviews to Zerodha. In the bargain, Nikhil and his brother made pots of money and gained that so called reputation.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

That 99% accuracy is an unusual thing. First, it confirms cheating. Second, everyone now knows how fraud detection algorithms work. In fact, Nikhil Kamath is an expert in this field and he will know this better than most others.

What is the basis for this statement? How did you conclude that a school dropout is an expert on fraud detection algorithms? Did Nikhil publish any research papers on this subject?

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

I do not believe Nikhil Kamath is so naive. I wonder if this is some practical joke that went wrong.

Here I partially agree, Nikhil isn't naive. He's too shrewd, however in this instance, he just thought he wouldn't ever get caught and hence messed up and how.

Here's the link to the Mint article which is his own unverified account of his journey: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/...036024556.html

People who have ever tried complaining about Zerodha's services to Zerodha, will probably know how phenomenal the customer service is. I've been grappling with their nonexistent service for over 2 years, but that's my personal rant.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

Just look at those 90+ accuracy levels.

90+ accuracy alone is not the problem. Some of my chess.com games too have 95+ accuracy levels:



That's because I'm playing equal ranked players (1400 to 1600). And the moves I made in those games were fairly good under those circumstances (response to an opponent's move).

Chess.com fair play algo looks at (player rankings + accuracy + something else). Not just accuracy alone.

Basically, if I play a Grandmaster (2200 & above) and my game accuracy turns out to be 90+, red flags will go up. Because there is no way I can play large number of "good/best moves" against a Grandmaster without the help of a chess engine. However, if I'm playing an absolute newbie with a ranking of 900 or so, my accuracy can go to 99+. That's because most moves I make against a chess noob will be "good/best moves"

[Dr.AD]

Good to see some activity on this thread (even if that happened due to someone cheating ). Cheating is not justifiable by anyone against anyone. But enough said already.

Let us get back to some discussion on actual chess. Recently a friend shared this puzzle on Whatsapp (source unknown, sorry) and I liked this position. So sharing it here.

White to play and win:

[Sherlocked]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

White to play and win:

Queen to F5 gives a check to Black's King.
King has to take the White's Queen or else loses its own Queen
Now White moves his Knight to D4 and gives a Check.
Black King has only one square to go i.e. E5.
White's Knight takes the Rook on C6 and gives a check and forks Blacks's Queen.

Is it right?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

Queen to F5 gives a check to Black's King.
King has to take the White's Queen or else loses its own Queen
Now White moves his Knight to D4 and gives a Check.
Black King has only one square to go i.e. E5.
White's Knight takes the Rook on C6 and gives a check and forks Blacks's Queen.

Is it right?

Yes, absolutely correct! All forced moves, with a beautiful sequence of knight forks.

Let me type this solution in proper notation.

1. Qf5+ Kxf5
2. Nd4+ Ke5
3. Nxc6+ K any move
4. Nxa5 and wins the game with a7 pawn queening!

[Sherlocked]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Let me type this solution in proper notation.

Thanks!
My rating is around 1000 on chess.com and I started with Chess just a year ago and still a bit weak in the notation front. Takes me a while to name the square correctly.
Hoping to improve.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

Queen to F5 gives a check to Black's King.
King has to take the White's Queen or else loses its own Queen

I still do not have the "mindset" for sacrificing pieces to gain advantage. Only exception: Giving up my bishop or knight for 2 pawns (on g2 & h3), protecting opponent's castled king.



Because this will expose the opponent's king for further attacks. Works well against <1500 ranked players. Not so much against more experienced players though

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

Thanks!
My rating is around 1000 on chess.com and I started with Chess just a year ago and still a bit weak in the notation front. Takes me a while to name the square correctly.
Hoping to improve.

Great. I am sure you will learn this quickly. On chess.com, there is a coordinate training tool under "vision training". It is a lot of fun, and a great tool to learn coordinates quickly.

I think you should learn the coordinates. That actually helps a lot later in doing calculations in your head. It is not just a notation for writing moves, but also a good framework for composing your analysis in your head. I strongly recommend learning coordinates well and using them as a language in all your chess discussions as a practice.

Originally Posted by SmartCat

I still do not have the "mindset" for sacrificing pieces to gain advantage. Only exception: Giving up my bishop or knight for 2 pawns (on g2 & h3), protecting opponent's castled king.

Because this will expose the opponent's king for further attacks. Works well against <1500 ranked players. Not so much against more experienced players though

One can not decide on a sacrifice in such general terms. Sacrifices are about calculations. So one has to start calculating precisely. A sacrifice may be correct or incorrect in any position. Only a precise calculation will tell you the answer. Even one slight change in position of one pawn can make the sacrifice from very good to very bad one.

The only method to get the "mindset" for sacrifices is to solve tons of problems each day. Typically one solves several thousand problems before getting the pattern in their head.

[SmartCat]

All suspensions have been revoked, after consultation with Anand:

[Samurai]

A pretty girl in cocktail dress hustles the Union Square Park Street Chess Hustlers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh9bZCKG-CM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGFVKEGUFPg

[Sherlocked]

Originally Posted by Samurai

A pretty girl in cocktail dress hustles the Union Square Park Street Chess Hustlers.

She is Alexandra Botez. Currently a Twitch streamer and holds the title of Woman Fide Master (2013). I have seen her collaboration streams with Indian Youtuber Samay Raina and Chessbase India. Quite entertaining I must say.