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Seems only right that I join this group since I am the owner of ChessManiac.com. Wondering if you all are members of ChessManiac.com or not. If not I would invite you to join us.

Interested and qualified Chess Maniacs are invited to join these thematic opening Vote Chess groups. White Knights of the King's Indian Attack Black Defenders of Pirc Castle

For Fun: Count to 1000! The rules are simple: Each player posts a number, in order, until we get to 1,000. You can't post twice in a row, and if you mess up you have to go back to the last checkpoint. Every 100 you get to, you get to a checkpoint. After a checkpoint, if you mess up you go back to the last checkpoint instead of starting over. If you get to 1,000 I will shout, "YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and we will have a count to 10,000 forum.

The Speed Vote Chess League is registering teams now for Season 4, and this group is invited to participate!!! We play Vote Chess at 10-mins per turn. This is an incredibly fast, exciting and intense way to play chess!!! The entire game is played in a single day, with each team making a move every 20 minutes. Since it is so easy to timeout at this speed, these games are scheduled in advance (usually on a Saturday) so that each team can have their players online and ready to play. No one needs to be online for the entire game (although many choose to be), as long as there is SOMEONE online every 20 minutes to make a move. With each team making exactly 3 moves per hour, an average game lasts 8-12 hours, although there have been a few battles that raged for more than 24 hours. Because these games can be so time consuming, we have decided to switch to a monthly schedule so that each team will only need to play 1 game per month (starting in November). If this group would like to play in Season 4, please go to this thread to register: http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/confirmations-for-season-4 You can follow all the action in the League Headquarters (everyone is welcome to join): http://www.chess.com/groups/home/the-speed-vote-chess-league-headquarters Thanks for taking the time to read this!!! I hope to see you all in Season 4!!!

The Fortnight Speed Vote League is registering teams now for Season 3, and this group is invited to participate!!! We play Vote Chess at 10-mins per turn. This is an incredibly fast, exciting and intense way to play chess!!! The entire game is played in a single day, with each team making a move every 20 minutes. Since it is so easy to timeout at this speed, these games are scheduled in advance (usually on a Saturday) so that each team can have their players online and ready to play. No one needs to be online for the entire game (although many choose to be), as long as there is SOMEONE online every 20 minutes to make a move. With each team making exactly 3 moves per hour, an average game lasts 8-12 hours, although there have been a few battles that raged for more than 24 hours. Because these games can be so time consuming, we have decided to switch to a monthly schedule so that each team will only need to play 1 game per month (starting in June). If this group would like to play in Season 3, please go to this thread to register: forumview/fsvl-season-3---registration You can follow all the action in the League Headquarters (everyone is welcome to join): http://www.chess.com/groups/home/the-fortnight-speed-vote-league-headquarters Thanks for taking the time to read this!!! I hope to see you all in Season 3!!!

I got this idea from Funtastic Chessmates. Each person says a number, in order, starting at 1, until we get to 100. Every 10 we stop at a "Checkpoint". If someone posts twice, we go back to the last checkpoint. If someone posts the wrong number, we go back to the last checkpoint. The goal is to get to 100. Maybe after this we can have a count to 1000!

The Fortnight Speed Vote League Champions for Season 2 (The Frankenstein vs Dracula Season) are: Animal Lovers!! Congratulations!!! That's pretty good for a group that only entered Season 1 cuz we needed one more team to make 20. That's like the last kid to get picked for the team who ends up making the winning play. Animal Lovers finished the season with 6 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw. Their 1 loss came in the regular season against Chess Unlimited, and their 1 draw came in the playoffs against Red Army. This is appropriate because in the regular season, Chess Unlimited beat Animal Lovers, Animal Lovers beat Red Army, and Red Army beat Chess Unlimited (ironically, all 3 games were won by black). All 3 made it to the playoffs. In the playoffs, they found themselves once again in the Semi-Finals, and once again, their opponent was the Chess Nuts!! This time however, it was the Animal Lovers who would be advancing to the Finals. No one knew who the Animal Lovers, the Cinderella team who barely squeaked into the playoffs last season, would face in the final round. Burning Pawns and Super Troopers waged a war that lasted for 138 moves (that's 2 moves longer than the combined total of Chess Nuts vs Animal Lovers last season)!!! Shock waves from that contest were felt all over the league. In the end, it was Burning Pawns who would take home the Silver Medal. The Grand Finale Game was doubly ironic since the Burning Pawns opened up with an opening named after an Animal, and the Animal Lovers ended up promoting a Pawn. Here's a few links to threads that deal specifically with this game: http://blog.chess.com/view/how-to-tame-your-dragon-or-al-v-bp-101 http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/final-game-al-vs-burning-pawns The Animal Lovers averaged 41.5 moves (13.83 hours) per game. Here are each of the players, and how many games they played: Name Games Billium248 6 blackfirestorm666 5 wpostma 5 drieske23 4 OLYMPIAKARAS 4 Rekees 4 _Chess_Boy_ 3 fredgleeson 3 Horned_Owl 3 RELKEEL 3 seminoleman 3 votechess 3 BlackNight_13 2 bluebottle 2 ped123 2 PoseidonXIII 2 rrrttt 2 amrita1 1 bluskey 1 chesstrophy 1 emtofaan 1 falling-upwards 1 filart 1 FOFO1 1 Gambitbuster 1 idosheepallnight 1 jaller435718 1 KittyB 1 maxwell4 1 nicetoall 1 pegasususa 1 Sly4Ever 1 spidermorsy_p3 1 timmygadget 1 why0712 1 WolfLeader 1 Here is the link to the Fortnight Speed Vote League Headquarters where everyone is welcomed and encouraged to follow along with all the fun: http://www.chess.com/groups/home/the-fortnight-speed-vote-league-headquarters And here are the Final Results from Season #2: Teams in red are the leaders in their division (automatically seeded #1-4). Teams in bold have gone the distance. Teams in italics have timed out. Standings (Final): #1: 19 points - Animal Lovers (6-1-1) (West) (Season 2 Champions!!) #2: 19 points - Burning Pawns (6-1-1) (South) (Finalist) #3: 15 points - Chess Nuts (5-1) (North) (Semi-Finalist) #4: 14 points - Super Troopers (4-1-2) (East) (Semi-Finalist) #5: 10 points - Red Army (3-2-1) (West) (Quarter-Finalist) #6: 9 points - Fast Players Group (3-2) (South) (Quarter-Finalist) #7: 7 points - Chess Unlimited (2-2-1) (West) (Quarter-Finalist) #8: 7 points - Light Force (2-2-1) (East) (Quarter-Finalist) #9: 7 points - The Dark Knights (2-1-1) (North) (eliminated from the playoffs) #10: 7 points - Chess Empire (2-1-1) (North) (eliminated from the playoffs) #11: 6 points - The Power of Chess (2-2) (East) (eliminated from the playoffs) #12: 6 points - We Chat Global (2-2) (South) (eliminated from the playoffs) #13: 6 points - Team Antarctica (2-2) (East) (eliminated from the playoffs) #14: 4 points - Wizards of Oz (1-2-1) (West) (eliminated from the playoffs) #15: 3 points - The Scotch Fans Team (1-3) (South) (eliminated from the playoffs) #16: 0 points - Rapid Chess (0-4) (South) (eliminated from the playoffs) #17: 0 points - Checkmate! (0-4) (North) (eliminated from the playoffs) #18: 0 points - The Winning Team (0-4) (North) (eliminated from the playoffs) #19: 0 points - Chess Maniacs (0-4) (East) (eliminated from the playoffs) #20: withdrawn - The Premiere of All (0-4) (West) (eliminated from the playoffs) Season 2 Games: 01: We Chat Global vs Burning Pawns - Submission (move 40)02: The Power of Chess vs Light Force - Timeout (move 21)03: The Dark Knights vs Chess Empire - Draw (move 27)04: Rapid Chess vs The Scotch Fans Team - Submission (move 34)05: Team Antarctica vs Super Troopers - Submission (move 30)06: The Premier of All vs Chess Unlimited - Timeout (move 35)07: Burning Pawns vs The Scotch Fans Team - Knockout (move 23)08: Chess Nuts vs The Winning Team - Forfeit (Move 0)09: Fast Players Group vs We Chat Global - Submission (move 43)10: Super Troopers vs Chess Maniacs - Timeout (move 1)11: Animal Lovers vs Wizards of Oz - Forfeit (move 0)12: Chess Unlimited vs The Red Army - Submission (move 56)13: Checkmate vs The Dark Knights - Timeout (move 0)14: Chess Empire vs Chess Nuts - Timeout (move 53)15: Animal Lovers vs Chess Unlimited - Submission (move 52)16: Light Force vs Team Antarctica - Submission (move 28)17: Red Army vs Animal Lovers - Timeout (move 40)18: Chess Nuts vs Checkmate - Submission (move 21)19: Wizards of Oz vs Chess Unlimited - Draw (move 31)20: The Premier of All vs Animal Lovers - Forfeit (move 0)21: The Premier of All vs Wizards of Oz - Forfeit (move 0)22: The Premier of All vs Red Army - Forfeit (move 0)23: Light Force vs Chess Maniacs - Timeout (move 2)24: We Chat Global vs Rapid Chess - Knockout (move 36)25: Chess Empire vs The Winning Team - Timeout (move 1)26: Burning Pawns vs Fast Players Group - Submission (move 48)27: Chess Nuts vs The Dark Knights - Submission (move 23)28: Light Force vs Super Troopers - Draw (move 30)29: Red Army vs Wizards of Oz - Submission (move 53)30: The Dark Knights vs The Winning Team - Forfeit (move 0)31: Chess Maniacs vs The Power of Chess - Timeout (move 4)32: Team Antarctica vs The Power of Chess - Timeout (move 20)33: Rapid Chess vs Burning Pawns - Timeout (move 35)34: Chess Empire vs Checkmate - Submission (move 55)35: The Scotch Fans Team vs Fast Players Group - Submission (move 58)36: We Chat Global vs The Scotch Fans Team - Timeout (move 2)37: Team Antarctica vs Chess Maniacs - Forfeit (move 0)38: Fast Players Group vs Rapid Chess - Submission (move 30)39: Super Troopers vs The Power of Chess - Submission (move 52)40: The Winning Team vs Checkmate - Double Forfeit (move 0)41: Burning Pawns vs Chess Unlimited - Submission (move 28)42: Chess Nuts vs Light Force - Knockout (move 26)43: Super Troopers vs Fast Players Group - Submission (move 50)44: Animal Lovers vs Red Army - Draw (move 41)45: Red Army vs Animal Lovers - Timeout (move 33)46: Super Troopers vs Burning Pawns - Draw (move 75)47: Animal Lovers vs Chess Nuts - Submission (move 33)48: Burning Pawns vs Super Troopers - Submission (move 63)49: Animal Lovers vs Burning Pawns - Submission (move 50) Complete Statistics for Season 2: 23 games were won by White (47%) 13 games were won by Black (27%) 8 games were forfeit (16%) 5 games were drawn (10%) 20 games were won by Submission (41%) 13 games were won by Timeout (27%) 3 games were won by Knockout (6%) Average length of games: 28.22 moves (9.41 hours) (1383 total moves - 49 total games) Average length of games that timed out (including forfeits): 11.76 moves (3.92 hours)(247 total moves - 21 total games) Average length of games that went the distance: 40.57 moves (13.52 hours) (1136 total moves - 28 total games) Shortest game: 0 moves (0 hours 10 mins) Longest game: 75 moves (25 hours +) Fastest Knockout: 23 moves (7 hours 30 mins) Fastest Submission: 21 moves (6 hours 50 mins) Overall Breakdown on Openings: White Wins: A03: Bird Opening: Dutch Variation A42: Sicilian Defense: Hyperaccelerated Dragon B02: Alekhine Defense: Two Pawn Attack B03: Alekhine Defense: Exchange Variation B30: Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian B50: Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations B54: Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations B76: Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation, Yugoslav Attack Modern Line B90: Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Adams Attack C45: Scotch Game: Haxo Gambit C45: Scotch Game: Mieses Variation C45: Scotch Game: Mieses Variation C65: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Fishing Pole Variation C70: Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation C78: Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense D15: Slav Defense: Three Knights Variation E00: Indian Game: East Indian Defense E10: Indian Game: Anti-Nimzo-Indian E91: King's Indian Defense: Kazakh Variation Black Wins: A45: Indian Game: Tartakower Attack A46: Indian Game: Knight's Variation B33: Sicilian Defense: Old Sicilian, Normal B70: Sicilian Defense: Dragon Variation B90: Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack B90: Sicilain Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack B96: Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation B99: Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Main Line C45: Scotch Game: Mieses Variation E12: Queen's Indian Defense: Petrosian Variation E19: Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation Main Line Draws: B08: Pirc Defense: Classical Variation, Quiet System B33: Sicilian Defense: Lasker-Pelikan Variation, Sveshnikov Variation B50: Sicilian Defense: Modern Variations C17: French Defense: Winnawer Variation, Advance Variation C67: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense, Rio de Janeiro Variation Timeouts: A40: Queen's Pawn Opening A50: Indian Game: Normal Variation B00: King's Pawn B27: Sicilian Defense: Misc. Defenses B36: Sicilian Defense: Accelerated Dragon

Ok, there are only 2 weeks left in the Fortnight Speed Vote League Regular Season, and there are 11 games that have yet to be played. Only 2 of those games have actually arranged a start time!! So here is the schedule for the Final Fortnight of the regular season. If the admins wish to arrange something different (day and/or time) you are still free to do so, but since you haven't done anything up to this point, here is a default day and time that you must adhere to or forfeit your games (if neither team shows up, both will forfeit). Since one game has already established a start time on each remaining Saturday, all the other games will have the same start time (unless the admins arrange something different and post the change in the HQ somewhere). All games MUST be played by January 31st!!! Saturday, January 23rd, 12:00 GMT Burning Pawns vs Rapid ChessThe Dark Knights vs The Winning TeamChess Empire vs CheckmateThe Power of Chess vs Team AntarcticaThe Power of Chess vs Chess ManiacsThe Scotch Fans Team vs Fast Players Group Saturday, January 30th, 13:00 GMT Super Troopers vs Power of ChessThe Scotch Fans Team vs We Chat GlobalFast Players Group vs Rapid ChessTeam Antarctica vs Chess ManiacsThe Winning Team vs Checkmate Good Luck Everybody!!! Have Fun and Don't Time Out!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!! HAVE A GREAT 2010!!! Don't forget that there's a BLUE MOON this New Year's Eve!!!

VIDEO: Breaking Basic Rules in the Middlegame Watch Video » by GM Roman Dzindzichashvili GM Dzindzichashvili devotes a lot of his lectures to teaching the principles, foundations and rules of chess. Now Roman is going to teach you when to break them or how GM’s thinking turns the rules upside down. Using 2 games to illustrate these variations and concessions to opening principles and chess fundamentals including a powerful game featuring GM Nigel Short. http://www.chess.com/video/player/following-and-breaking-basic-rules-in-the-middlegame Enjoy it!

Ratings 1400-1800 My first (Bobby Fisher random) Chess 960 tournament. If there's enough interest I'll promise to launch all kind and sort of tourney's. Hope you enjoy it and give some feedback that can be useful in the future! Thank you for your participation, and have a joy able tourney! Use the link below to join! ( Only 32 can join, so hurry ) http://www.chess.com/tournament/random-kings-amp-things-tournament Blessings, Ambach!

Happy Halloween Everybody!! The 2nd Season of the Fortnight Speed Vote League is nearly upon us. Here are the teams that will be competing in the Dracula vs Frankenstein Season: North A: Chess Nuts! - (Chess_Kebabs), (NabeelDaSorcerer) B: Chess Empire - (Kacparov), (DaPharaoh) C: The Dark Knights - (Billium248), (Ray_D) D: The Winning Team - (h777), (Maurissius) E: Checkmate! - (OpeningGambit), (brfc) South A: Fast Players Group - (mthinker), (CheekyChops0) B: Rapid Chess - (johanpalmaer), (chessman_calum) C: The Scotch Fans Team - (Chessy4000), (tournamentguy) D: We Chat Global - (blackfirestorm666), (monroe721) E: Burning Pawns - (wilt18), (Billium248), (elcomandante66) East A: The Power of Chess - (Komoliddin07), (jchurch5566) B: Team Antarctica - (Rooperi), (Billium248) C: Super Troopers - (DannyDawson), (blackfirestorm666), (timmygadget) D: Light Force - (Zhane), (Susanti), (Billium248) E: Chess Maniacs - (jrcolonial98), (kid_of_chess) West A: Animal Lovers - (Billium248), (blackfirestorm666), (idosheepallnight), (wpostma) B: The Premiere of All - (Val08), (Komoliddin07) C: Chess Unlimited - (Jaller435718), (wilt18) D: Wizards of Oz - (Rab63), (Wallyjack) E: The Red Army - (Manchero), (EternalHope), (VuduChile), (Turn) And here is the official schedule: Fortnight 1: 11/9-11/22Chess Nuts vs The Winning Team Chess Empire vs The Dark KnightsFast Players Group vs We Chat GlobalRapid Chess vs The Scotch Fans TeamThe Power of Chess vs Light ForceTeam Antarctica vs Super TroopersAnimal Lovers vs Wizards of OzThe Premier of All vs Chess UnlimitedWeek Off: Checkmate, Burning Pawns, Chess Maniacs, The Red Army Fortnight 2: 11/23-12/6Chess Nuts vs Chess EmpireThe Dark Knights vs CheckmateFast Players Group vs Rapid ChessThe Scotch Fans Team vs Burning PawnsThe Power of Chess vs Team AntarcticaSuper Troopers vs Chess ManiacsAnimal Lovers vs The Premier of AllChess Unlimited vs The Red ArmyWeek Off: The Winning Team, We Chat Global, Light Force, Wizards of Oz Fortnight 3: 12/7-12/20Chess Nuts vs CheckmateChess Empire vs The Winning TeamFast Players Group vs Burning PawnsRapid Chess vs We Chat GlobalThe Power of Chess vs Chess ManiacsTeam Antarctica vs Light ForceAnimal Lovers vs The Red ArmyThe Premier of All vs Wizards of OzWeek Off: The Dark Knights, The Scotch Fans Team, Super Troopers, Chess Unlimited Holiday Break: 12/21-1/3Happy New Year!! Fortnight 4: 1/4-1/17Chess Nuts vs The Dark KnightsThe Winning Team vs CheckmateFast Players Group vs The Scotch Fans TeamWe Chat Global vs Burning PawnsThe Power of Chess vs Super TroopersLight Force vs Chess ManiacsAnimal Lovers vs Chess UnlimitedWizards of Oz vs The Red ArmyWeek Off: Chess Empire, Rapid Chess, Team Antarctica, The Premier of All Fortnight 5: 1/18-1/31Chess Empire vs CheckmateThe Dark Knights vs The Winning TeamRapid Chess vs Burning PawnsThe Scotch Fans Team vs We Chat GlobalTeam Antarctica vs Chess ManiacsSuper Troopers vs Light ForceThe Premier of All vs The Red ArmyChess Unlimited vs Wizards of OzWeek Off: Chess Nuts, Fast Players Group, The Power of Chess, Animal Lovers Quarter-Finals: 2/1-2/14Teams to be determined Semi-Finals: 2/15-2/28Teams to be determined Finals: 3/1-3/14Teams to be determined Off-Season: 3/15-4/4Everybody take a break!! Good Luck Everybody!! Have Fun and Don't Time Out!! Follow along with all the fun in the Fortnight Speed Vote League Headquarters: http://www.chess.com/groups/home/the-fortnight-speed-vote-league-headquarters

My 11th Opening is the Max Lange Attack.

Pick a recent world champion from this list that you like, and one you dislike. If you "hurt"one, it loses a point. If you "heal" one, it gains a point. You can hurt one and heal one per turn. If a champion reaches 0 points, it is eliminated. Garry Kasparov (6) Anatoli Karpov (5) Bobby Fischer (5) Vishy Anand (4) Boris Spassky (4)

Hello Everybody, We've only got 3 games left in Season 1 (two Semi-Final games, and the Final Championship game - it's getting VERY EXCITING!!). Season 2 will officially begin on October 19th (the first fortnight will run from October 19th - November 1st). I'll have the schedule posted by October 5th so that everyone has enuf time to coordinate their first match. You can follow along, and find all the information at the league headquarters (anyone can join, or just browse the forums): http://www.chess.com/groups/view/the-fortnight-speed-vote-league-headquarters Even tho this Team has already qualified, there are many other groups who have yet to complete a single Speed Vote Game. I would very much like to know who can go the distance, and who's likely to timeout of all their games and/or withdraw from the league before it's over. It would also help me in making up the schedule if I can see the playing strength of each team. So, like I said, this team doesn't NEED to do anything but wait for the next season to start (you're already locked in), BUT if you're getting a little anxious, and can't wait for it to begin, it would be very helpful if you could challenge one of the new teams to a Speed Vote game so that THEY can get qualified as well. Here are the teams who have yet to complete a qualifying game: 1. Cheers - (Leth) 2. Supreme Pawns - (legodood) 3. International Chess Masters - (GeniusKJ) 4. The Ultimate Alliance - (ShiViChess) 5. The Three Kingdoms - (ShiViChess) 6. The Red Army - (Manchero) 7. We Chat Global - (blackfirestorm666) 8. Super Troopers - (DannyDawson) Thanks again for being a part of the Fortnight Speed Vote League!! Best of Luck in Season 2!!

From a Chess Maniacs Team Match

Hi everybody, As I was looking thru all the Vote Games at 10-minutes/turn, I noticed that Chess Maniacs were the ONLY team that has managed to play a game at this speed without timing out, that wasn't a part of the Fortnight Speed Vote League (and you beat a team that IS in the league). We're about half way thru our first season, and we've had a couple teams drop out already, which means there will be some openings available when the next season starts in October. I know it's early, but since you guys like these games, would you be interested in taking one of the open spots? These games can be incredibly exciting and intense!! They're also very addictive. You don't have to be an admin or even a member in a current team to join the League Headquarters. And you don't have to be a member of the HQ to read the forums/notes either. So if this sounds interesting to you, why don't you come check it out, and let me know if you think you guys might want to play with us next season. Hope you can join us!! http://www.chess.com/groups/view/the-fortnight-speed-vote-league-headquarters

Tell us about your favorite opening. I prefer the Italian and Spanish openings, eventually I will play a Sicilian. As you can see, I'm a conservative kind of guy. Wanna scare me? Try playing the Reti or the English against me. That would certainly make me uncomfortable...