Reposted by Peter SvidlerAlex Bowden @kingcricket.co.uk · 03/10/2026Spent a while on this one. Doesn't happen with every player. I have no control over it. 142
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 02/10/2026anyway happy birthday Jon, hope you're having a lovely day, and maybe we'll see each other again i lifted the pic from @dgriffinchess.bsky.social because he always has the best photos 1100
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 02/10/2026this brings us back to Jon. i sent this whole saga to him - in the 90s we saw each other quite a bit, and were on pretty good terms, and i thought he'll enjoy the story. and i got a reply that i still remember to this day. 'don't you know peter - the dollar is stronger than two minor pieces' 190
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 02/10/2026then black plays 1...b1Q 2.Nxb1 Rd5, which is a sad thing to do but it does avoid immediate mate - and in reply, white decides to offer a draw, claiming they're puckered out from the effort of playing this excellent game vs a much stronger opponent, and can't continue due to mental strain. 120
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 02/10/2026at that point, the rook ending is suddenly agreed drawn, meaning that black now needs a draw in this completely lost position, or we're the league champions. however, things take an unexpected turn. there's a pause and some commotion, people milling about, going outside for confabs etc 120
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 02/10/2026their player is a gm, but he's being squarely beaten by his lower rated opponent, and the position on their board looks like this: 120
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 02/10/2026it comes down to the last two boards, where they need to score 1/2 to beat us on board points. one of their players is playing a R+gh vs R+h, which is about as dead drawn as rook endings get. on the 2nd one, though, things are trickier. 120
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 02/10/2026in honour of Jon Speelman's 70th, here's a chess story from way back when. in the late 90s, i played one season in the unnamed east european league. it's the last round, my team is competing with the other strong team in the league for 1st, and they need to outscore us because our tbs are better 1144
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 01/10/2026dying to creature of madness => hopeful dryad => 20% to get awakens for lethal. never gets old 010
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 30/09/2026love song to woody. it's fantastic, and, somewhat shockingly, alex didn't even need to mention the horse 170
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 28/09/2026took me a day to understand what's wrong with 'serenely'. gusti always maintained i'm only ever funny by accident 011
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 27/09/2026i'm in a weird mood so please excuse me for doing the dreaded pedants' corner, but - zhu jiner and ju wenjun {aren't man and wife, they're four entirely separate people} /old soviet jokes mode off/ not the same person 110
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 26/09/2026mixed day at work. got an iced coffee reference into the show today - good. referred to a player fluffing it instead of flubbing it - less good, perhaps i should log off sometimes 3130
Reposted by Peter SvidlerIan Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 24/09/2026if you quit corporate to become a beekeeper, does that mean you broke out in hives 2265041
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 24/09/2026excellent game of cricket, wonder if the universe jos comes back now to try and slog a few, and looks like he is. hope that doesn't crock him forever 010
Reposted by Peter SvidlerCamillia Gomez @camicravestea.bsky.social · 24/09/2026👀 Germany 2.5-1.5 Uzbekistan 👀 051
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 24/09/2026is colombage a table tennis player in disguise? i'm in love with this bowling action, dan lawrence finally has a rival. i've never seen anyone look at the ball so lovingly before the run up even begins 030
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 24/09/2026i appreciate the sentiment but we're barely managing to cover the top matches as is, and i think the chat would riot if we went a-roaming 110
Reposted by Peter Svidlerlukelukeluke @lukelukeluke.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Me: can I get some fries for the table The table, whispering to me: garlic fries Me: let’s make that garlic fries haha 9110598
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 18/09/2026I mean yes and no, the boards rarely glitch for this long, we've all learned to trust them 010
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 18/09/2026yeah i talked to Loeky at breakfast today, the king wasn't on a8 120
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 17/09/2026this is the bit we saw on video before we switched away from it again. wanna take a stab at reconstruction? ;p 010
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Yeah there's no suggestion of an angle shot, just a mutual brain fade 010
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 16/09/2026we spent 5 minutes of the live show discussing if the transmission broke in this position because Gledura castled, which is completely illegal (the king moved 5 moves ago). I can now confirm that is indeed what happened. good thing (sorta) that he lost anyway, or there would be brouhaha aplenty 3130
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 13/09/2026they're probably the same move though? i'm assuming h5 nf3 is met by nc6, so in effect it just claims h5 is decent after nc6 ngf3? 120
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 08/09/2026taylor sheridan's brainworms are very much getting in the way of the competence porn he's still quite capable of producing, which is regrettable 000
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 07/09/2026if this is the most white can get the line is kinda playable, the bones are quite solid here, we just need to finish development and it doesn't seem impossible that we will. certainly fine to play in one rapid game (as is h5, i think). he's clearly goofing around/hazing but there's always a point 130
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 07/09/2026having said that, i spent half the flight trying to model what i would have played against 3...f6 and found myself drawn towards the smith morra which is clearly something black would welcome with open arms. it's not even clear who gains from the bb5 f6 inclusion if white does that lol 190
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 07/09/2026yeah i saw that and had a flashback to maggie playing 3.bb5 h5 against me in one of the first iterations of the magnus tour 2020, and how much indignation it produced (not from me, to be clear). in hindsight, that was a show of respect, at least compared to this ;) 3142
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 04/09/2026watching @norcrosscricket.bsky.social melting down live on air, 9 down, 2 to win. scenes 020
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 04/09/2026amazing game between yorkshire and surrey, very unfortunate that i couldn't watch it properly 010
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 03/09/2026zitron presenting himself as pablo torre of anti-ai is some of the funniest shit i've seen in a while 170
Reposted by Peter SvidlerAndrew D Thaler @drandrewthaler.bsky.social · 02/09/2026The Hoff Crab is neither a crab nor is it David Hasselhoff. It is a Yeti Crab, which is neither a Yeti nor a Crab but a sub-group of Squat Lobsters, which are not lobsters, they're Anomurans, like Mole Crabs, which are neither moles, nor crabs. 37861212
Reposted by Peter SvidlerAn Unofficial Hugo Book Club Blog @hugobookclub.bsky.social · 31/08/2026There are only two stories that won a Hugo whose screen adaptation also won a Hugo. “All Systems Red” is the second one. The other is “Dune” Congratulations @marthawells.com. 51229216
Reposted by Peter Svidlerex-Lethality Jane @lethalityjane.bsky.social · 26/08/2026When Amadeus first transferred from London to Broadway in 1980 the Broadway production starred Tim Curry as Mozart and Ian McKellen as Salieri and I would like to go back in time and watch that. 171101501739
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 29/08/2026well, if all else fails we could certainly ask George's opinion on things that are yellow and dangerous 110
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 29/08/2026this has been settled a long time ago though, no? it's 42 210
Peter Svidler @polborta.bsky.social · 27/08/2026today is the day i decide not to post the link, eh? well done that man 260
