How powerful is a Grandmaster?

Is it possible for a grandmaster chess player to capture all of his opponents pieces without losing any of his own? (let's say his opponent is just learning to play).

Is the opponent aware of this goal and actively trying to avoid it? Absolutely not.

Otherwise? Still almost certainly not.

I imagine grandmasters are as powerful as Harry figgen Potter. ridiculousness.

It's a fun question though -- chess skill is "invisible" as I sometimes say.  What I mean is it's hard for a beginner to realize how much they're outclassed.  They often think if they just work a little harder, they can manage to beat that FM or expert

GMs are good enough to play 10,000 beginners at once, spending less than 5 seconds on every move, and winning 100% of the games.  (Imagine 10,000 people in a room, and the GM walks to each board at each table around and around).  Of course this is impractical, as it would take many days straight of playing chess -- but this is one way you could try to get a grasp on it.

I once had a GM matched up against me in the 45 45 pool at the ICC. He immediately asked for an abort and offered a draw. I gave him the abort.

I was trying to tie that story off with some sort of a point, but I can't think of a good one.

Also you can imagine any kind of professional vs someone who knows nothing.

Imagine a beginning piano player, a 6 year old who knows how to play chop-sticks.  I said beginning, but note this 6 year old doesn't take lessons, or know anyone else who plays piano, but he learned chop-sticks from a cousin during a holiday get-together.

So time goes on, and a few times a year the child comes across a piano and fondly remembers what his cousin showed him.  He doesn't know the names of the notes, or any scales, much less any pieces.  He plays chopsticks 3-5 times a year for the next 15 years, he's now 21.

It would be like this guy running into a real musician... a person who's spent years and countless hours practicing music.  Someone who's played in front of thousand of people and whose style is loved in many countries the world over.  It could be said there is no comparison between the two people in terms of musical ability.  It could even be said the protagonist doesn't even know how to play an instrument, he just fools around, copying a few notes he'd seen as a kid.

The difference between this and chess though, is no one among the average population knows how crappy you sound when you spend 20 seconds on your 1st or 2nd move and open 1.a4 2.Ra3 -- but when you smash your hand down on a keybaord everyone can recognize it's not anything you'd call playing.

So the difference between a GM and a beginner is everything... and nothing in a way... there is no reasonable comparison. 

The two don't even play the same game, it just happens to have the same rules (adapted quote).

Because that requires the GM to keep all his pieces, this question is the same as your previous one.

There is nothing great in winning without loosing any powers.

It just means that your opponent sucks.

Winning by sacrificing 2-3 powers is much tougher.

 orange honda --it cannot be white to move .

a grandmaster is less powerful than a warlock but more powerful than a wizard 

Nakamura was on that Heroes show, wasn't he?

dang TB thats kind of racist

I hate to admit I know this, but the name of the character is Hiro Nakamura.

wel i fort it haz da funniage

Ooh I thought it was Hiraku, not Hikaru.  I guess the latter sounds much better, come to think of it.

Nakamura's cool.  It's not suprising he wasn't actually born in the U.S.

 orangehonda
Because that requires the GM to keep all his pieces, this question is the same as your previous one.

 I think that if a grandmaster truely was trying to win; he would beat a 1st time player well before he eliminated all of his pieces and turned all of his pawns into queens. This layout could only be possible if the grandmaster was trying to create this outcome...and it would be still be unlikely, assuming that the first timer at least knows how the pieces legally move. So, at least white (the grandmaster)would have had to try to get to this final configuration. Maybe I am unaware of the eccentricities of some grandmasters and underestimating the vast difference of playing strength between a GM and a 1st time player.  I mean, it would be pretty impressive if a human could do all of that and form this pattern with the queens, without communicating with his opponent, and avoiding a draw in the process.

This whole thing is a bit unrealistic -- it's a case of not knowing what kinds of questions to ask.  Let me try to put forth something more realistic.

A similar feat, and much more impressive, there used to be odds games where the odds giver could only win by checkmating his opponent on a predetermined square by a predetermined piece!!

This means if that piece was exchanged during play, the game was over.  It gave the odds taker many defensive resources.  For one thing, lets say I had to mate you on c3 with my queens bishop... in the endgame I would need overwhelming material to be able to force your king onto that square.

Lmao

A grandmaster can put you in a trance with his intense stare.

Grandmasters can breath underwater like a fish.

Grandmasters can fly and have x-ray vision like Superman.

Grandmasters have the power of invisibility.

Grandmasters eat thunder and crap lightening.

Grandmasters sell their souls to the devil and get them back with clever manuvering and inhuman tactics.

Your mama wants you to marry a grandmaster.

There's a secret, lead reinforced bunker with a fifty year supply of food and water that has been built for grandmasters in the event of nuclear war or biological attack.

Grandmasters are Free Masons and members of the Illuminati.

Grandmasters can levitate.

Grandmasters are responsible for the giant stone sculptures on Easter Island. They put the there ...with their minds!