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Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

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Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#82
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But... isn't Magnus Carlsen good at chess? I don't understand...

What exactly is Justin Bieber so good at to earn such a comparison? Not singing, not composing music, not dancing .. no one has ever claimed he's the "world #1" at anything other than being celebrity amongst other pre-teen children. And Magnus Carlsen is certainly not a celebrity amongst pre-teen children, so the comparison makes no sense.

Bieber is actually quite a good singer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko8gepM8MBU.

It's easy to lose sight of that given his stardom, but he got his start based on raw singing talent.

Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#83
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly is Justin Bieber so good at to earn such a comparison? Not singing, not composing music, not dancing .. no one has ever claimed he's the "world #1" at anything other than being celebrity amongst other pre-teen children. And Magnus Carlsen is certainly not a celebrity amongst pre-teen children, so the comparison makes no sense.

Bieber is actually quite a good singer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko8gepM8MBU . It's easy to lose sight of that given his stardom, but he got his start based on raw singing talent.

Of course he's likely in the top 0.001% of singing talent, but would you say he's literally "the best" singer in the world regardless of age?

Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#84

Actually, Carlsen was playing for tricks (as might be reasonable when you have just 30 seconds). Bill Gates had a winning position on the 9th move. If instead of 9. Nxe5?? which allows an immediate checkmate, he had played 9. Re1!, he would have had a huge advantage. I'm an international master, and more importantly, my computer backs up my opinion. I'm surprised Carlsen played a game with just 30 seconds on his cloc…

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzrap8Vtyq8

I'm going to go for the most pedestrian, naive chess commentary ever by noting that at 0:20 it looks like there is a road through the middle of the board.

Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#85

Actually, Carlsen was playing for tricks (as might be reasonable when you have just 30 seconds). Bill Gates had a winning position on the 9th move. If instead of 9. Nxe5?? which allows an immediate checkmate, he had played 9. Re1!, he would have had a huge advantage. I'm an international master, and more importantly, my computer backs up my opinion. I'm surprised Carlsen played a game with just 30 seconds on his cloc…

Can you explain what does "playing for tricks" mean in chess?

Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#86
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But... isn't Magnus Carlsen good at chess? I don't understand...

What exactly is Justin Bieber so good at to earn such a comparison? Not singing, not composing music, not dancing .. no one has ever claimed he's the "world #1" at anything other than being celebrity amongst other pre-teen children. And Magnus Carlsen is certainly not a celebrity amongst pre-teen children, so the comparison makes no sense.

> What exactly is Justin Bieber so good at to earn such a comparison?

The key is right there in the sentence. The comparison being made is "rockstar of chess," referring not necessarily to "skill" or "talent," but to the ability to be famous worldwide.

Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#87
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But... isn't Magnus Carlsen good at chess? I don't understand...

What exactly is Justin Bieber so good at to earn such a comparison? Not singing, not composing music, not dancing .. no one has ever claimed he's the "world #1" at anything other than being celebrity amongst other pre-teen children. And Magnus Carlsen is certainly not a celebrity amongst pre-teen children, so the comparison makes no sense.

I believe (belieb?) they are making a statement about how he has a more exciting style in chess, maybe his quick rise to fame and youth, maybe good looking appearance?. If you search "Justin Bieber of chess" you see lots of people are using it, not just this one article. I don't really follow chess, just Bieber, but Magnus seems interesting, going to be reading up on him! But I agree, it seems like an odd comparison.

Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#88
post #85

Actually, Carlsen was playing for tricks (as might be reasonable when you have just 30 seconds). Bill Gates had a winning position on the 9th move. If instead of 9. Nxe5?? which allows an immediate checkmate, he had played 9. Re1!, he would have had a huge advantage. I'm an international master, and more importantly, my computer backs up my opinion. I'm surprised Carlsen played a game with just 30 seconds on his cloc…

Can you explain what does "playing for tricks" mean in chess?

It means making knowingly inferior moves in order to set a trap that you are hoping your opponent will fall for (which Gates did). Normally not something serious chess players do, but I guess this is a weird situation.

Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#89

Make me appreciate Go that much more - to me, Go seems a much more enjoyable game when the opponents are mismatched. Even though I'm pretty good at Go, it's enjoyable to play with a beginner. You don't have to trounce them to find satisfaction.

I'm very new to Go, but I am continually impressed and amazed at its depth and beauty. A few tiny simple rules producing such complex gameplay is really awe-inspiring. Chess, with its many types of pieces, limited moves, many rules just doesn't have the same elegance.

Re: Bill Gates loses to Magnus Carlsen in 9 moves

#90

Actually, Carlsen was playing for tricks (as might be reasonable when you have just 30 seconds). Bill Gates had a winning position on the 9th move. If instead of 9. Nxe5?? which allows an immediate checkmate, he had played 9. Re1!, he would have had a huge advantage. I'm an international master, and more importantly, my computer backs up my opinion. I'm surprised Carlsen played a game with just 30 seconds on his cloc…

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzrap8Vtyq8 I'm going to go for the most pedestrian, naive chess commentary ever by noting that at 0:20 it looks like there is a road through the middle of the board.

If you mean the vertical line (horizontal from camera perspective) of squares with no pieces on it, that's called an open file, and it's an important concept in chess. Rooks on an open file are generally more powerful.
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