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From	Message
shamash 11-Feb-13, 11:37	playing the player and not the position just having barely recovered after a "1400"-rating-level player whipped out 1, 2, 3 brilliancies in a row following my sacrificial attack, there came into mind a dim memory of advice about playing the position, and not the player. After all, is a 1400-rated player someone who plays 1400-level chess? Or a player capable of playing 2400-level moves at times, or in certain phases of the game, in certain critical positions -- just not consistently, dropping a pawn every few moves. Yes, psychology tells us to play the player. But prudence proclaims, play the position -- not the player ; it's less sharp (does that mean dull? no, though less alluring, less adventurous, less Morphy-esque, less Tal-like) but as chess, playing the position is more sound.
tactical_abyss 11-Feb-13, 13:36	Weights and measures of the risk factor... Shamash, I looked for that game with the 1400 player,and could only find one,but that game is still in the opening with no sacrifices.Did I miss it somewhere,or is it on another site?1400 players to me are almost,in a way,like 1200 provisional players.You can never truly tell how strong they may be,unless they have played atleast a hundred games or so in their corresp history.So,your right,play the position,not the player.Its against my creed,however,to ever play a rated game with players under a certain rating level.Right now,I think my least rated game would be against,perhaps a 2000 rated,but usually i'm leery about that!More or less I think 2100 would be the least in rating.I consider it too risky with no point gain and other "hidden"reasons to play someone 2000 or less.HOWEVER,an UNRATED game with anyone at any rating level,even 800 would be fine.I love taking risks,but I have my "smart"limits as well!I suppose if ones philosophy is "I do not care even the slightest about how many points I ever lose",then yes,I understand.But that is simply not my "philosophy". Not to veer from the subject too far,but,I have to say something about playing rated games against much lesser rated opponents: Not that this would be your case,Shamash,but I often get "pushy insistance"through my messaging center with players 1400-1500 that want to play a rated game with me.When I tell them..."sure"we can play a game,but it will have to be "unrated".They never contact me back or say...ok,yes,lets play.So,in other words,I give them the chance to play against a much stronger opponent and offer to shed some of my valuable time for them and may even give some advise after the game is over,but then when they hear..."unrated"....oh...thats a different story!If that dosen't air on the road of suspicion,I don't know what does! Now,guess what one of the reasons would be for that?You guessed it! Because they figure a surprise attack using Rybka against me,will give them a whopping 18 points for the win,or perhaps atleast 10 points for a draw....and this does happen alot with provisional and some established players hoping that I will "fall"for that one!Untrue?Think again! For they just showered me with complements and begged to play a game against me,then I use that curse word..."unrated".So why would they suddenly decline simply because its unrated?Ah,Ha!!!Its pure hogwash with the weak excuses...,well,they would take the game more seriously if it is rated,be able to concentrate better,ect ect...this is all a false excuse and a lie. I hate to bring up reality,but its a harsh world out there and I know how to survive in the harsh chess world...i've seen it all! So,i'll play a 300 rated player an UNRATED game,no problemo!But it would be ridiculous to play rated games for obvious reasons against players over a thousand points below you.Atleast thats never going to happen in my portfolio!Now,when I first started,yes,I played a 1700 as soon as possible,but that was still only a 500 rating point difference.1700(opponent) minus 1200(me provisional)=500 point difference.But a 1400 player would be 1,100 points below my rating. So,no,its not worth the risk!And technically,if I was at 1700,I would NOT be playing a 1200 player either!But thats me,not necessarily the next guy.I just happen to air on the extreme high side of caution with whom I play. TA
shamash 11-Feb-13, 13:47	oh you don't miss a thing yes that game was on another site where I always play attack on defense, reckless creative chess instead of prudent chess, not so much reflex moves instead of calculated lines, but where I risk less-than-prudent variations; would never deliberately play an opponent with such a rating gap; the game in question was started by the other player and I simply could not figure out how to abort it, played a move just to avoid losing on time -- and then it could not be cancelled(?!), so just let it develop into my using the Caro Kann as an attack defense, which felt heady and refreshing, the exchange sacrifices were just calling from the board, needing to be gambled.
tactical_abyss 11-Feb-13, 14:02	I see.Well it was rated then?I'm not sure about all the sites,but usually if you make no moves at all and its only 1,maybe 2 moves max,then the game can time-out without any point loss or gain for either player.Just let the clock run down next time!Is that rude?Not necessarily.Same way with GK.The Caro,is a great defense,especially against most 1400 players,let me add. I'm a bit leary and reserved against using a Caro Defense against,say a 2200+player for many times it does lack "attacking possibilities" and requires extensive patience and endgame skills.I have this but so does my 2200+opponent!So what is the result many times?A draw!And a draw will cost me more points! I prefer playing a defense that that better attacking capabilities.But again,I think the Caro is a fine defense.But as you know,not everyone likes the same flavor of salad dressing!The caro is a wonderful learning tool for pawn structures and can get quite complex at times.I recommend it for 1400 players!
tactical_abyss 11-Feb-13, 16:59	Its interesting,shamash.Both you and I agree on not playing the big the rating gap games.Yet there are players higher than you and I who take big risks...atleast on occassion.Take for example cyrano.I can find a good # of rated games that are miles below his rating.I didn't research all his pages,but I found some as low as 1000+ and rated play!He certainly got bigger brass **^%'s than me!No way on Earth(Or Pluto for that matter)would I play a rated game against a 1000 rated player or even a 1500 player(like he has).More power to him!But also, 164 games at one time?Not in a million years would I do that,even if I was immortal!Someone might say,well,yes,but look at his rating,its much higher than yours TA,so he must know what he is doing!My response to that is,no,I disagree!Why?Well,look a bit closer at the facts!He has played 3,859 games and he stays at a pretty much constant rating where he is at(check his graph).But on the other hand...I have played only 258 games... playing no more than 6 or 7 at a time and have gained a rating only about 90 points below him...and soon less than that!Yes,I have presently plateaued out as well,but with playing 2260 and above average players in only 258 games.Cyrano's ave opponents are less. So there are plus's and minus's but it always equalizes out with the huge amt of games cyrano plays.My opinion is that if he played much less games and spent twice the amt of time on say,10 games instead of 164(!),he should almost assurably win even more games with much deeper analysis time and quality time.This inturn,would more than likely place him not only at the top of the rating list,but probably way over 2700,maybe even 2800 corresp.Yes,i've seen it before!I've yet to see a player remain at the top with a 2700 rating,playing 164 games at one time!Proof?Look at all the other players above and directly below cyrano.They are all only playing a small handful of quality games.That tells the story within itself! I feel that I will reach the top one day.But I will certainly not do it by playing more games,but less games...and never with opponents in rated games more than 500 points below me.The reward is zero in win scenario's against those players.Maybe the reward for the opponent is high,but I can give him his reward in an unrated way...the smarter,safer way.And thats key. TA
brigadecommander 11-Feb-13, 17:33	i agree i also feel i will reach the top some day and i will be playing only 10-games or less. And i try only playing rated games with players that are no-less then 50-rating points less then me. Sometimes i get talked into a tournament with lower rated players but usually i stay clear of that. I always try to play unrated games against much higher rated players. I gain insight and experience that way, without causing them worry.
tactical_abyss 11-Feb-13, 17:43	I think you will do it one day,atleast your going about it the right way.But so is shamash.I think his games may even be higher quality games than you and I!So,its a race to the top then!
brigadecommander 11-Feb-13, 17:52	clamabunt vastitas et dimit canes bellum i look forward to meeting you on the battlefield. And yes shamash's games are on a higher level then mine, as are yours.....for now.
shamash 11-Feb-13, 18:04	bc look at her post on a snowball fight strategy is the ichor, the fluid in her veins it is her nature winning is in her genes all my bets are on Janet, she doesn't see pieces on a chessboard, she sees deployed weapons in tactical skirmish after skirmish to win battle after battle to not to survive, but to prevail; to build up her supply lines and then invade, and keep the initiative, dominate space, make total, winning war.
tactical_abyss 11-Feb-13, 18:10	"cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war"... I thought of challenging shamash one day,but those ave 3+days a move...hmmmmm. I fear he may see something I don't see! Maybe one day I can convince him to play a 2 day per move game?
tactical_abyss 11-Feb-13, 18:13	Deleted by tactical_abyss on 12-Feb-13, 05:02.
tactical_abyss 12-Feb-13, 05:01	But not now....i'm taking a break after my last game.I must regroup my forces and take a few months of strategic planning for my next division of 10-20 games or so.Trying to go from 2504(well,maybe a bit higher soon) to say,2549 to get me into atleast 10th place on GK,is like trying to climb a steep mt.slope that is as sheer as a piece of glass with your bare feet while someone at the top is dumping unlimited tons of ball bearing down the slope over and under your feet!And you must climb without any of those metal claws,ice picks or ropes!To get higher than that in rating probably would be like jumping out of a plane at 10,000 feet without a parachute(but an allowed pressure suite) and you must aim and hit exactly those 1 mile high foam filled mattress's that are a mile away from your decent area and are shaped exactly like your body silhouette,not 1 inch bigger.Hmmmm...I can do it!
shamash 12-Feb-13, 05:20	Bob the Builder Chess "Can we do it? Yes we can!" If that young soccer player from Norway, focusing on ratings as his priority, can get up close to 2900 OTB, then I have every confidence that a cunning veteran like you {with your unrivalled ability to analyze and to predictively learn from an opponent's previous games}, can with confidence challenge the 2600 level here.
tactical_abyss 12-Feb-13, 07:32	Well,its like that calculus formula as you near the top.Your going forward,but each additional step forward is half the distance from the previous step.So your making progress,but in a fractional sense only...atleast most of the time.So what this means is that there are many more draws on the 2400-2600 levels.And a draw will lead to zero,if the opponent is approx equal in rating or only perhaps,a .08+ if he is just above you in rating.Yes,a win will yield a nice 9 or 10 point yield,but then,as I said, a win with two 2520 players engaging in war,is,well,not very often,atleast in my corresp experiences.And a draw against just one 2200 or 2300 player loses points for me which will be subtracted from that .08+ draw.So you see,its a grind as one of the table pro's at the casino told me once.Again,I do analyze,but so do my 2500 opponents on the other side of the fence.I found that out with two of my losses over the last year or so.If I can just reach 10th or 9th place for 24 hours,I will have reached my immediate goal and have snatched the pebble from a GM's hand before he closes it!

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