Your network blocks the Lichess assets!

lichess.org
Donate

Lichess Game of the Month: January '25

nice game of the month but the annotator was worse than Picasso's "blue period"

nice game of the month but the annotator was worse than Picasso's "blue period"

"to me, lichess has always been a shining example of what the internet COULD be" - I fully agree; THX

"to me, lichess has always been a shining example of what the internet COULD be" - I fully agree; THX

@FinishMySentence said in #11:

nice game of the month but the annotator was worse than Picasso's "blue period"
Guy takes Picasso quips personally, apparently - thanks for the constructive criticism!

@FinishMySentence said in #11: > nice game of the month but the annotator was worse than Picasso's "blue period" Guy takes Picasso quips personally, apparently - thanks for the constructive criticism!

@Shryder said in #14:

nice lil sac
that's what she tells me

@TonyRo said in #13:

Guy takes Picasso quips personally, apparently - thanks for the constructive criticism!

sorry, i am going through a blue period of my own right now as i recently caught my new wife molesting a leprechaun made out of chocolate :( her excuse was "there's only 2 weeks till St. Patrick's Day". please forgive my rude comment in #11

@Shryder said in #14: > nice lil sac that's what she tells me @TonyRo said in #13: > Guy takes Picasso quips personally, apparently - thanks for the constructive criticism! sorry, i am going through a blue period of my own right now as i recently caught my new wife molesting a leprechaun made out of chocolate :( her excuse was "there's only 2 weeks till St. Patrick's Day". please forgive my rude comment in #11

I have to say my hands are itching, I really want to climb in my pen and write down what I think of some comments. But I will not, chess is so beautiful that we should not focus on the mistakes but on the poetry. Of course that is my perception of the game and others have other perceptions which is fine. I believe we should always look at chess from a human perspective. We are not and we will never be perfect chess players, people who compare GM's with engines are lost in my opinion. About this game I can be very short, it represents the parts of the game I love very much. It is not good or bad but romantic, thanks folks for picking this game...

I have to say my hands are itching, I really want to climb in my pen and write down what I think of some comments. But I will not, chess is so beautiful that we should not focus on the mistakes but on the poetry. Of course that is my perception of the game and others have other perceptions which is fine. I believe we should always look at chess from a human perspective. We are not and we will never be perfect chess players, people who compare GM's with engines are lost in my opinion. About this game I can be very short, it represents the parts of the game I love very much. It is not good or bad but romantic, thanks folks for picking this game...

I should say that the chosen one as the game of January (although it is interesting with material imbalance and has fantastic bishop pair tricks) was not the best send by members. It may be understood better by looking at the December 2024 game of month. There is a quality (by accuracy) difference between two games. The game of December has not only tactical tricks, a strong attack, but also a high accuracy and solid and stronger choices. The winning side does not give a chance the opponent to breathe after getting the position. I think no one suspects about if the game of December 2024 deserves chosen as the best. Of course the accuracy is not the only matter; you may choose a winning variation with mate in 5 instead of mate in 3 or you play an inaccurate move and the advantage reduces from +5.50 to +3.00. However the winning side does not change and winning side does not lose or draw a winning game. On the other hand, in some examples (like the game of the January 2025) the mistakes turn the scales too much and suddenly the won game leads to a draw or lose. Although it is a 15|15 classical game, there is a mistake on only move 4 by playing 4...e5? If white had played 5.dxe5, it would be very difficult to recover the game. Also if white did not blundered by playing 24.f5?? it is suspicious that if black could win or even get a draw!
(I should note that my criticism is towards to the criteria (if it is specified) of the Lichess team chosing the game, not towards to any person. The game is interesting and fantastic and the player deserves to be appreciated. I mean only that there were better games.)
I looked at that forum contest and chose randomly the game below as only an example. I think it is better due to having not only an accurate attack but also more brilliant moves like 20.f5!, 24.Qxf5! and even (after getting a won position) 31.g8Q! and probable 32.Bd5! after potential 31...Kg8. If I see one at the first glance, the team should see more than one by looking at the contest elaborately.

https://adjva4.dpdns.org/DOAZzVfE

I should say that the chosen one as the game of January (although it is interesting with material imbalance and has fantastic bishop pair tricks) was not the best send by members. It may be understood better by looking at the December 2024 game of month. There is a quality (by accuracy) difference between two games. The game of December has not only tactical tricks, a strong attack, but also a high accuracy and solid and stronger choices. The winning side does not give a chance the opponent to breathe after getting the position. I think no one suspects about if the game of December 2024 deserves chosen as the best. Of course the accuracy is not the only matter; you may choose a winning variation with mate in 5 instead of mate in 3 or you play an inaccurate move and the advantage reduces from +5.50 to +3.00. However the winning side does not change and winning side does not lose or draw a winning game. On the other hand, in some examples (like the game of the January 2025) the mistakes turn the scales too much and suddenly the won game leads to a draw or lose. Although it is a 15|15 classical game, there is a mistake on only move 4 by playing 4...e5? If white had played 5.dxe5, it would be very difficult to recover the game. Also if white did not blundered by playing 24.f5?? it is suspicious that if black could win or even get a draw! (I should note that my criticism is towards to the criteria (if it is specified) of the Lichess team chosing the game, not towards to any person. The game is interesting and fantastic and the player deserves to be appreciated. I mean only that there were better games.) I looked at that forum contest and chose randomly the game below as only an example. I think it is better due to having not only an accurate attack but also more brilliant moves like 20.f5!, 24.Qxf5! and even (after getting a won position) 31.g8Q! and probable 32.Bd5! after potential 31...Kg8. If I see one at the first glance, the team should see more than one by looking at the contest elaborately. https://adjva4.dpdns.org/DOAZzVfE

The bottom line:

Lichess wouldn’t buy a house just because it has good colors. If it doesn’t meet basic living standards, no amount of persuasion about beauty or subjectivity would change that.

Simply put, with the same spirit, they shouldn’t hype up a game just because it’s "imbalanced" when it struggles to meet critical standards.

The bottom line: Lichess wouldn’t buy a house just because it has good colors. If it doesn’t meet basic living standards, no amount of persuasion about beauty or subjectivity would change that. Simply put, with the same spirit, they shouldn’t hype up a game just because it’s "imbalanced" when it struggles to meet critical standards.

The game is okay! Cute thematic punishment with rook and two bishops -- white learned a hard lesson!

I think people are madge mostly because it's just the one game. They're madge and jealous of the one game for whatever reasons, and then just go off projecting. Yes, they should definitely take a breath and relax.

Nevertheless, I'd suggest putting like 3-5 games of the month, perhaps different annotators if needed from a time/effort POV. It might appease people of different tastes/backgrounds. Perhaps a blunder into tactical theme like this one, perhaps accompanied by another game with more maneuvering and tug-of-war.

The game is okay! Cute thematic punishment with rook and two bishops -- white learned a hard lesson! I think people are madge mostly because it's *just* the one game. They're madge and jealous of the one game for whatever reasons, and then just go off projecting. Yes, they should definitely take a breath and relax. Nevertheless, I'd suggest putting like 3-5 games of the month, perhaps different annotators if needed from a time/effort POV. It might appease people of different tastes/backgrounds. Perhaps a blunder into tactical theme like this one, perhaps accompanied by another game with more maneuvering and tug-of-war.