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    1. World Chess Championship 2021 - Megathread

      SPOILERS. If you care about those, don't look at the schedule or scoreboard below either. Final result: Magnus Carlsen successfully defended the World Title by winning in round 11. The competition...
      SPOILERS. If you care about those, don't look at the schedule or scoreboard below either.

      Final result: Magnus Carlsen successfully defended the World Title by winning in round 11. The competition is over. Long live the king!


      Why am I posting this thread?

      Honestly, I'm really excited about this. Isn't that enough? :)

      What is it?

      The World Chess Championship (WCC) is the topmost competition of the sport, and basically determines the best player in the world. It is disputed between the winner of the Candidates Tournament and the current champion. Since his first title in 2013, Magnus Carlsen successfully defended the title on three different occasions and is the undisputed favorite. The challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi does have a positive score against Magnus, but most don't give that much importance, since most of his victories happened when they were much younger. Chess.com combed through the data and gave Magnus 72% winning odds. In terms of style, Magnus is considered a universal player. Nepomniachtchi is generally more aggressive but adopted a more conservative style in the Candidates Tournament.

      Since 2014, the WCC happens once every 2 years, alternating with the Candidates Tournament. The current edition was supposed to take place in 2020, but was postponed due to covid. It will happen in Dubai.

      The World Chess Championship starts this Friday, November 26, at 16:30 local time, 12:30 UTC.

      Where to watch

      In the United States, the NBC over-the-air television channel will broadcast daily 30 minutes highlights.

      The players

      Player Country Age GM Age Rating Peak Rating
      Magnus Norway 30 13 2855 2882 (2014)
      Nepo Russia 31 13 2782 2792 (2021)

      Time controls

      In chess, time controls determine the time each player has to make their movies. A time control of 10 minutes means that each player has 10 minutes to use throughout the game. There can also be increments, which are added to a player's overall time after each move. For example, with a time control of 10 | 5 each player starts with 10 minutes to make their moves, and automatically gains 5 seconds on the clock every time they make a move.

      The time controls for the World Championship matches may seem a bit complex at first. This is just for reference, if you intend to follow the games online, I'm certain that the commentators will make sure to remind you of these details.

      Stage Moves Time (min)
      1 01 to 40 120
      2 41 to 60 60
      3 61 to \u221e 15 + 30s

      The table above means that, on stage 1, each player has 120 minutes to make their moves. On stage 2, they have 60 minutes. On stage 3, each player has 15 minutes, with an addition of 30 seconds after each move.

      Format

      • Draw by agreement is only allowed after the 40th move (it used to be the 30th).

      • There will be 14 standard games (it used to be 12). The first to achieve 7½ points will be World Champion.

      • If, after the 14 games, the score is equal, there will be tie-break games in that order, with the subsequent tie-break only being disputed if the previous one maintained the tie.

        1. 4 rapid games of (TC: 25min + 10s)
        2. Best out 5 blitz games (TC: 5min + 3s)
        3. 1 armageddon game.

      Scoreboard

      Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12-14 Total
      Magnus Carlsen ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 N/A 7 ½
      Ian Nepomniachtchi ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 N/A 3 ½

      Magnus won on round 11. Rounds 12 to 14 will not be disputed.

      Schedule

      All games, as well as the closing ceremony, are scheduled to 07:30 AM EST / 12:30 UTC.

      This will be updated with the results for each match, as well as the sum of the overall points. I will also try to sum up some experts commentaries for each selected games. Adding notes to every game would require more effort than I initially thought! I'll create a top comment with links and basic info on each game, but will not be adding personal notes to all of them. Feel free to add your impressions to the top comments. Thanks!.

      Date Event Result
      Nov 26 GAME 1 Draw
      Nov 27 GAME 2 Draw
      Nov 28 GAME 3 Draw
      Nov 29 REST
      Nov 30 GAME 4 Draw
      Dec 01 GAME 5 Draw
      Dec 02 REST
      Dec 03 GAME 6 Magnus Win
      Dec 04 GAME 7 Draw
      Dec 05 GAME 8 Magnus Win
      Dec 06 REST
      Dec 07 GAME 9 Magnus Win
      Dec 08 GAME 10 Draw
      Dec 09 REST
      Dec 10 GAME 11 Magnus Win
      21 votes
    2. What's a good book to (re)learn chess fundamentals?

      Most people online seem to favor a practical approach to learning chess, but I tend to prefer something more structured, with a bit of theory, concepts, and explanations. I'd also rather use my...

      Most people online seem to favor a practical approach to learning chess, but I tend to prefer something more structured, with a bit of theory, concepts, and explanations. I'd also rather use my physical board instead of an app. I already know how to play chess, but I'd like to give it another good and see if I can achieve a higher level than before, starting from the beginning. Any suggestions?

      12 votes
    3. Esoteric tabletop gaming rules review

      Players are understood to be sharing a cake. How much cake do you want? Be fair. Anyone who has had the least gets to size the next piece. Don't finish the cake! Is this plausible ttg rules text?...

      Players are understood to be sharing a cake. How much cake do you want? Be fair. Anyone who has had the least gets to size the next piece. Don't finish the cake!

      Is this plausible ttg rules text? Do you recognize the instructions?

      7 votes
    4. Anybody fancy a round of the Board Games of Thrones?

      I've recently been playing a bunch of the Board Game of Thrones (the epic strategy/war/negotiation game) online over at thronemaster.net, and was wondering if any of you fine folks would like to...

      I've recently been playing a bunch of the Board Game of Thrones (the epic strategy/war/negotiation game) online over at thronemaster.net, and was wondering if any of you fine folks would like to join me in a game?

      7 votes
    5. Dungeon & Dragons favorite character sheets?

      I have started playing D&D basic with my family as a way to spend time together away from devices. I found the original character sheets:...

      I have started playing D&D basic with my family as a way to spend time together away from devices.

      I found the original character sheets:
      http://www.ultanya.com/2015/10/throwback-thursday-character-sheets.html

      Anyone else have favorite character sheets for D&D?

      6 votes
    6. Anyone wanna play a TTRPG?

      My old TTRPG group hasn’t met in months now, and listening to actual play podcasts only scratches the itch. Probably a long shot given the size of the site, but anyone interested in playing a...

      My old TTRPG group hasn’t met in months now, and listening to actual play podcasts only scratches the itch.

      Probably a long shot given the size of the site, but anyone interested in playing a TTRPG sometime soon?

      I’m thinking something easy and low pressure, like Stewpot, or Fiasco or maybe a world builder like the Quiet Year/Microscope/Anomaly/The Ground Itself; I have the PDF for most of those.

      But hey, if you have something you’ve been waiting forever to play: I’m here for it.

      I have literally nothing to do tomorrow so drop a message if you’re interested! I’m in CST

      13 votes
    7. Two-person boardgames?

      My girlfriend and I have had a habit of going straight to watching movies and tv-series when we hang out, because due to lockdown almost everything is closed, so we don't really have a lot of...

      My girlfriend and I have had a habit of going straight to watching movies and tv-series when we hang out, because due to lockdown almost everything is closed, so we don't really have a lot of activities to choose from.

      We also play games occassionally, recently scrabble on our phones. But what other boardgames work well when there are only 2 players?

      Edit: Wow! I can't possibly respond to everyone but I didn't expect so many people to comment with help. Thank you so much!

      23 votes