Page 1 of 2
Demis Hassabis
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 11:52 am
by Neville Twitchell
Forumites might be interested to learn that Demis Hassabis was the subject of "Profile" on Radio 4 yesterday evening, and was interviewed recently on the Today programme.
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:09 pm
by John Upham
Neville Twitchell wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 11:52 am
Forumites might be interested to learn that Demis Hassabis was the subject of "Profile" on Radio 4 yesterday evening, and was interviewed recently on the Today programme.
Of potential interest is :
Demis Hassabis, chess prodigy and protein pioneer, your country needs you
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:19 pm
by Roger de Coverly
John Upham wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:09 pm
Demis Hassabis, chess prodigy and protein pioneer, your country needs you
The author of the piece, Dan Johnson, was a useful player himself as a teenager in the mid 1970s. He played local Congresses and for the Slough club.
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:25 pm
by John Upham
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:27 pm
by John Upham
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:51 pm
by Neville Twitchell
Herewith a link to the programme on BBC Sounds
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000q3nq
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2020 1:09 pm
by Nick Ivell
Also an article in the Sunday Times today: 'The kid from the comp'.
I was interested in the importance Demis gives to the difference in the powers of bishop and knight. Is the difference that significant?
Ever since Fischer and Karpov we have known that bishops are stronger than knights, except in certain few prescribed circumstances.
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 2:16 am
by Stewart Reuben
It is also known that Q + N is often a stronger force than Q + B or even Q = R.
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 8:46 am
by NickFaulks
Nick Ivell wrote: ↑Sun Dec 06, 2020 1:09 pm
Ever since Fischer and Karpov we have known that bishops are stronger than knights, except in certain few prescribed circumstances.
Yet Fischer himself favoured the Exchange Ruy and did not enjoy facing the Winawer.
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 8:52 am
by David Sedgwick
NickFaulks wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2020 8:46 am
Yet Fischer himself favoured the Exchange Ruy
and did not enjoy facing the Winawer.
Is that really true?
"I may yet be forced to admit that the Winawer is sound. But I doubt it! The defense is anti-positional and weakens the K-side."
R.J.Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 8:53 am
by JustinHorton
The statements aren't contradictory though.
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 2:43 pm
by Matt Mackenzie
Indeed, it was largely because he didn't rate it that he didn't score quite so well against it.
(his prejudice against it caused him to lose some of his usual objectivity, in other words)
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 5:50 pm
by Joey Stewart
They are quite different games for white, even though they both feature a side giving up the bishop pair for a positional advantage. With the exchange ruy white has a very simple plan to attempt to swap everything off and win the endgame whereas with that French line black has more chances then just the ending and white has to play extremely creatively just to avoid getting squeezed and crushed despite having a supposed advantage of the two bishops
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 5:52 pm
by Nick Ivell
Both the Exchange and the Winawer are examples of giving up a bishop 'for' something: doubled pawns, to be precise. I don't actually rate either opening and Fischer didn't play the Exchange often. He preferred the Spanish 'torture'.
He wasn't at his best against the Winawer but, in my opinion, the quotation used by David was bang on the money.
Bobby wasn't always so accurate. For example, his contention that 1. e4 is 'best by test' can hardly be called objective truth; and later in his career he was able to demonstrate that other openings can be as good (though I doubt he would have risked 1.b3 against Spassky).
Re: Demis Hassabis
Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2020 6:26 pm
by JustinHorton
It's very normal for people to play less confidently when meeting an opening they are sure ought to be incorrect but they have difficulty in proving it to be so. I mean this is half the appeal of playing provcative openings and sidelines anyway, no?