Does anyone actually plan this stuff?

Originally posted by SwissGambit
Now, for the fun part - what happens after 25...Bxc6 26.Be3!?

I'd probably respond with Nxe3.

Originally posted by Eladar
I'd probably respond with Nxe3.

This is met by fxe3, keeping both Rook and Bishop under attack.

My vote is for Bb7 [instead of Nxe3], which only loses an exchange instead of a full piece.

In short, It's planned. Read Reassess Your Chess on combinations. Gud luk spotting them in teh future!!1

Also I like to say luck even though I know it's not. For example look at my public games. You'll see one opponent with a lower rating that I play a lot. He's my brother-in-law. Well out of all those games he's beaten me once. I told him he got lucky but in reality I just screwed up the defense because I thought his attack would fizzle out like a bunch of them have against him.

Along with combinations check out forks pins skewers and removing the defender.

Deep loser,

You are probably much better than your brother in law, which means he really should beat you no matter how lucky he gets. You must be within reach before "luck" can become a real factor.

SwissGambit,

I'm a bit turned around. I've had to go back and reconstruct stuff last time and now I have to do it again. I'm not too good with throwing letters and numbers around. I've been playing chess for a little more than a year and a half and I'm afraid I still get lost:

24. Rxc3 Rxd4
25.Bc6 Bxc6 (winning the white bishop)
26.Be3!?

Got it. What I did would just end up with both sides having two rooks, but the way you went would give me a bishop, knight and rook vs two rooks.

Thanks for taking time to explain the position.

Originally posted by kmac27
I believe that is called intuition. You may know a move is not good so you choose a move not so daring that turns out to be good.

If it is intuition, it is not really luck. I contend that at least some of the time there is neither skill nor intuition involved in picking a better move.

Of course there is luck in chess. Take the following situation: Yesterday, I played in a regional scholastic tournament. In the final round, I had to play someone about the same rating level as myself. If I won, I would tie for first place, if I drew, I would get third, and if I lost I would get nothing.

During the break, I went over my game from the last round, and my opponent sat around play a Nintendo DS with a group of friends.

On move eleven, my opponent drops a piece. He doesn't even leave himself exposed to a fork or something, he just leaves his night hanging.

If thats not luck, what is it?

Luck=Poor spelling causing confusion?

Originally posted by clandarkfire
Of course there is luck in chess. Take the following situation: Yesterday, I played in a regional scholastic tournament. In the final round, I had to play someone about the same rating level as myself. If I won, I would tie for first place, if I drew, I would get third, and if I lost I would get nothing.

During the break, I went over my game from the ...[text shortened]... sed to a fork or something, he just leaves his night hanging.

If thats not luck, what is it?

I think there are three levels of "luck".

There is backgammon/poker style "luck" that involves uncontrollable dice or cards. That does not exist in chess and makes chess different from many games of intellectual skill.

There is the "luck" you describe where you're "lucky" your opponent doesn't play his best game. While this does exist, it can be argued that it is not truly "luck" since the game matches skills of two opponents. In this case, your "luck" is really your opponents lack of mental skill. It's not that you deserve the win, but that your opponent deserves the loss. Since you avoided easy mistakes, you are more deserving of the win than your opponent.

Then there is actual luck that can potentially be controlled and removed from the realm of luck. When deliberating between two moves, I may be completely lacking experience or skill to determine the best move. If I mentally view two moves as equal in strength, I may be lucky or unlucky depending on which one I pick. Vishy Anand, on the other hand may view the same move and skillfully pick the right one. So with increased skill, I can reduce my need to rely on luck, but that doesn't mean I'm not "lucky" or "unlucky" when I don't have the skill to make an informed choice.