Author: KarinsDad
Date: 12:40:34 06/10/99
Go up one level in this thread
On June 10, 1999 at 15:18:51, Dann Corbit wrote: >It hardly looks dominant for black at this point. Crafty gives it an eval of >less than one in absolute value. If you follow the imagined sequence below, you >will see a pretty even board at the end of it. Certainly not scintillating >play, but I would not call it quits yet if I were white. Of course, I don't >think a lot of people would choose those particular opening moves. > >rnbqkb1r/ppp1pppp/5n2/3p4/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - acd 14; acn 100020064; >acs 955; ce -42; pv Nf3 e6 e3 Bd6 Be2 O-O O-O Nc6 Nc3; Well, obviously, if it was easy to find a forced win here, chess would be considered on par with tic tac toe and nobody would play it. The concept that I am questioning is as follows: How tiny of a mistake is enough to force a win with perfect play? Obviously, this question cannot be answered. Equally obviously, playing 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Ng1 d5 gives black two tempi. Is this enough to force a win? Probably, but nobody knows for sure. But the move 2. Ng1 is obviously inferior to even us neophyte chess players, regardless of whether Crafty can find an immediate winning line with it (and I doubt very many people would expect a program to find a fast winning line with such a minor mistake). Also, this is an opening. A loss of tempi here translates to a loss of tempi in the middlegame, however, since neither side has many pieces developed, it is basically impossible for one side to find a quick win since there are not yet enough pieces developed for it to make a difference. 40 ply further into the middlegame with good play and white (in the 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Ng1 d5 case) would probably be behind if not losing. And if this position is inferior for white to play, then it must also be true that if white was given two moves and played 1. Nf3 e4, that black would be in the same inferior position that white was in the 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Ng1 d5 game. Remember years ago when GMs gave other players Knight odds, or move odds? It was because those other players did not have the skill to force a win with those types of odds. However, EVERYBODY felt that if a GM gave those odds to another GM of the same level of ability, the first GM was in BIG trouble. It all depends on how well your opponent plays. And if your opponent plays perfectly, he can capitalize on a large mistake quickly, and he can capitalize on a small mistake slowly, but in either case, he will eventually win. It just would seem that the smaller the mistake, the longer it would take to turn it into a win. And a mistake where black is given one tempi may not be relevant since white starts out with a one tempi advantage (but it might be enough). A mistake where black is given two tempi seems (IMO) like it would give black an eventual win with perfect play. But again, nobody knows for sure. KarinsDad :)
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