@dsmerdon

Chess Grandmaster, Assistant Prof. Economics U.Queensland

 Brisbane, Queensland
davidsmerdon.com
Joined August 2010
  • Tweets2.4K
  • Following204
  • Followers3.7K
206Media
Ok sure @MagnusCarlsen those were two nice 'dominations' against Fedoseev, but can you do this?
Chess.com
@chesscom15 Jun 2021
One of the craziest #chess games you'll ever see. 🤯 GM @dsmerdon wins as White despite being down a rook and a knight! Replay the full game: chess.com/library/collection…
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Hungary's PM Magyar to ask chess champion Judit Polgar to become president reuters.com/world/hungarys-p…

Hungary's PM Magyar to ask chess champion Judit Polgar to become president

Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Sunday that he would ask Judit Polgar, widely regarded as the greatest female chess player of all ​time, to take up the largely ceremonial role of Hungary's ‌next...

reuters.com
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Elo ratings updates post-Candidates: 1. Carlsen nearly +50 ahead of #2 2. No Indian or Russian in the Top 10 3. Hans Niemann at World #12
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What?
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Played another "caged pieces" game. Last move 1... b4! -+
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White to move and checkmate the GOAT.
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Human: 1. e4 AI Pundit: "OH NOOO YOU'VE DESTROYED CIVILISATION"
Andrew Lekashman
@andrewlekashman8 Dec 2025
Replying to @andy_l_jones
I think one of the more fascinating points about chess is that the new chess models aren’t just “better”. They are so much better that if two chess AI were playing against each other and a human (any human), were to contribute a single move, at any point in the game, that would be enough to typically guarantee a loss.
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😍📈
Olimpiu Di Luppi
@olimpiuurcan22 Nov 2025
"....Wei Yi is the oldest in Friday’s semi-finals. He was once a prodigy, renowned for his brilliant attacking style and the youngest to surpass an elite 2700 rating, but then opted to take a six-year break from chess to study economics and management, which he says he does not regret." theguardian.com/sport/2025/n…

Chess outsiders triumph at World Cup in Goa and battle for Candidates spots

The four semi-finalists, led by Wei Yi, will battle for three 2026 Candidates places – none of them has reached this stage before

theguardian.com
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I used to think that all economists should learn chess. But perhaps I had it the wrong way around.
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"Economics software manuals can't be funny." #econtwitter #Stata
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An advanced swindle missed at the #uschesschamps . White to move and draw.
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The solution is the paradoxical 1. Bf6!! (threatening Qe7+ as well as Rxg2). 1... Rxf6? loses of course to 2. Qe7+. But what about 1... Qxg1+ 2. Qxg1 Rxf6 ? Then, White would be lost, if not for...
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... 3. Qf2!!. Taking the queen leads to stalemate, while 3... Kg6/7 4. Qg3+ is a draw by perpetual check.
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Weirdest spam ever.
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The main criticism of tiebreaks being "random" is that different tiebreak systems could lead to different outcomes. In the Grand Swiss, Bluebaum would have qualified under ANY of the tiebreak choices. Every metric suggests he was the strongest of the tied players.
Peter Heine Nielsen@PHChess16 Sep 2025
As people write that Blübaum deserved to qualify, I generally agree and it is not what I want to discuss. But if we agree on the premise that it was deserved, why are we OK with it depending on the result in Erigaisi-Keymer? My point is that Swiss are too random.
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In case you missed it - and you almost certainly did - World Champion Gukesh won his last two games.
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"People will do anything for the right price."
Peter Heine Nielsen@PHChess12 Sep 2025
As you now brought it up, I will say that Freestyle chess and sex do have in common, that randomizing starting positions can make it more interesting.
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Statistically, the chances of 3 or fewer "perfect scores" after Round 2 in this field were less than 1 in 1,000.
Áz@absurdistoic6 Sep 2025
Grand Swiss Round 3 pairings are out! which of the matchups excites you the most?
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David Smerdon retweeted
David Llada ♞
@davidllada3 Sep 2025
David Smerdon (@dsmerdon) is running a research survey cor the University of Queensland, only for Muslim chess players, about how Ramadan fasting affects performance. If you know any Muslim chess players, please share this link with them: uniofqueensland.syd1.qualtri…
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A couple more State Championships and we could have a new World number 1.
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UPDATE #1: On track. (The most we've ever cared about the Louisiana State Championship. Grow the game!)
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To be clear, given some of the comments, I have absolutely no problem with @GMHikaru playing this event. He's clearly worthy of Candidates (benchmark is world top 10, given Carlsen and Gukesh are out), and the Louisiana participants surely got a kick out of his participation.
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