Blunder Buddies Trivia

Want to try your hand at some trivia? Here's all the questions asked over the last few trivia nights. I left out some of the stream-specific stuff, but if you'd like to join us for the next trivia night, it's Friday April 26th at 7p PT on https://twitch.tv/NateBrady23.

The winner gets a sub to the channel to use special commands or Lichess Patron wings!

How many can you answer without looking it up?

1. How does the horsey move? No, just kidding. How many knights can you fit on a chessboard without them attacking each other?
2. I'm BlunderBot. I could beat anyone at chess. This was the last year a top player beat a top computer under tournament conditions.
3. Unable to give his acceptance speech because he died more than 200 years prior, this first postmaster general was inducted into the US Chess Hall of Fame in 1999.
4. Who was the last American to win Tata Steel?
5. The weakest Polgar sister. (she's still stronger than you!)
6. Hikaru Nakamura appeared in one episode of this Showtime series about a hedge fund manager. Magnus rejected their offer.
7. Back to that Tata Steel tournament... What country is that in anyway?
8. In 2018, Magnus Carlsen defeated Fabiano Caruano to win the World Chess Championship. In that same year, who beat the Dodgers to become the World Series champions?
9. Don't let these guys infiltrate the seventh rank! A pair of rooks that get there can have this nickname.
10. More informally known as the "Criss Cross Applesauce Checkmate", the checkmate named after this person involves 2 bishops.
11. Chess popularity skyrocketed after Anya Taylor-Joy portrayed this chess prodigy in a Netflix miniseries.
12. Don't order an Uber! This preferred method of transportation by friend of the stream Eric Rosen is often requested by him during his streams.
13. This same term can be used for someone you might see on a park bench in Washington Square Park and also something you might see on the magazine rack at your local bookstore.
14. Chess is played on an 8x8 board. This strategy game is played on a 9x9 board and is very popular in Japan.
15. This International Master and prolific chess author was consulted for the chess scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
16. People often joke that when this move is available to play on the board, it's forced. Added to the rulebook in 1880.
17. Wilhelm Steinitz became the first official World Chess Champion in what year?
18. Who was the first player to break Bobby Fischer's record as the youngest chess grandmaster?
19. Also the name of a chess training method, this bird's tongue wraps around the back of its brain to prevent brain damage when slamming into trees.
20. What is the maximum number of knights a player can have on the board during a game?
21. I sacrificed the <fill in the blank> when I traded my rook for a bishop.
22. In chess notation, which symbol is used to denote a pawn promotion?
23. Joshua Waitzkin was portrayed in the film Searching for Bobby Fischer. What was his peak FIDE rating? Closest wins!
24. Most moves in an official chess game? BlunderBot used to tell this fact over and over again. Closest wins!
25. Name the opening that begins with the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5.
26. With a little controversy, this player earned his spot in the 2024 candidates tournament by having the highest rating of yet-to-qualify players.
27. A rule in chess used to quickly assess if a pawn can promote before the king can catch up to it.
28. This tactic occurs when a piece indirectly controls a square from the other side of an intervening piece. Or, something your doctor may order if you swallow a chess piece.
29. Born in Riga, Latvia, this "magician" won the infamous Zurich, 1959 event.
30. Named after a member of the monitor lizard family, this software won every World Computer Chess Championship from 2016 to 2022.
31. Reached in 2014, this is the highest classical FIDE rating. I could beat it, but I prefer to help BM Nate Brady with his stream.
32. This Estonian GM also played in Zurich, 1959. He was always bridesmaid, never the bride, taking 2nd place in 4 straight candidates tournaments (1953, 1956, 1959, 1962).
33. In 2022, this country was ranked 5th when sorted by number of GMs coming from it, but now has 3 representatives in the 2024 Candidate's Tournament.
34. According to the official February FIDE rankings, this is the youngest player in the top 20
35. Enter into the speedhole: You get a Rosen Trophy if you checkmate with <blank> seconds left on the clock!
36. This GM allegedly stood up and joined in the applause after losing the World Championship title to Bobby Fischer in 1972.
37. He was the highest ranked Armenian player before switching federations in 2021, citing "the state's absolute indifference towards Armenian chess."
38. The first official Fischer Random tournament was held in Yugoslavia and won by GM Peter Leko. What year was the event? Closest wins!
39. Making a path for a king in the endgame by providing protective cover against checks requires you to build one of these, especially in the lucena position.
40. The first chessboxing competition took place in Berlin in this year. Closest wins!
41. This player born in Massachusetts won the infamous Hastings 1895 at the age of 22. He died 10 years later as a result of a syphilis infection.
42. Nickname for a knight not near the edge because it reaches out in eight directions.
43. This named checkmate occurs when two parallel retreat squares for a checked king are occupied by its own pieces, preventing it's escape.
44. This Romanian player born in 1848 also played in Hastings 1895. He's most famous for the countergambit named after him in the Queen's Gambit and the attack in the French Defense.
45. In 1945, this popular soda company printed an advertisment featuring veteran flyers playing chess. It read, Checkmate, pardner... Have a <blank>
46. FEN, the standard notation for descibing a particular board position, is based on a system devleoped by this scottish newspaper journalist.
47. Acronymns in chess! (I)nsane (Q)lown (P)osse or something else?
48. She hosted a chess category on a little trivia game show called Jeopardy (not as popular as Blunder Buddies Trivia) in 2023.
49. This was the $800 clue in that category: Famed for works like Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2, in the 1920s this great Dadaist all but abandoned art for chess, becoming a Master and going on to play for France in four Chess Olympiads.
50. Named after a GM and author of Think Like a Grandmaster (1971), this syndrome can occur when a player does not find a good plan and after thinking too long suddenly makes a move they hardly thought about.
51. Host of the first chess Olympiad, this is one of the top 3 most visited cities in the world.
52. Speaking of London, this commentator and record holder for youngest British person to ahchieve GM has won the British Chess Championship 3 times
53. And speaking of commentators, this Syrian-born American GM is well-known for his broadcasts with the St. Louis Chess Club and has an opening attack named after him. (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Bg5)
54. Here's something out of this world. NASA hosted the first Earth vs Space chess game with Greg Chamitoff representing space on the ISS in this year.
55. Some may confuse movies for real life and think the first chess match in space happened vs HAL 9000 in this year.
56. Movies remind me of Alfred Hitchcock. I bet he would have loved this opening starting 1. f4
57. The bishop is said to have evolved from this Shatranj piece with the same name as an animal that can weigh 13,000 lbs.
58. Change a couple of vowels in Eric Rosen's hospital transport vehicle and you'll get a term to describe a position where white and black both have unique advantages.
59. This hungarian GM is currently playing the 2024 Prague Chess Festival and was Ding's second during his World Championship victory.
60. Not a blunder, but another chess term used to describe an incorrect move or plan. Synonym for defective or wobbly.
61. Also playing in Prague, this German GM won the 2022 Prague Challengers section and was FIDE No. 1 for Juniors in January 2024.
62. You might reference this if you want to look up solutions for endgames involving seven pieces or less.
63. The name given to the famous game between Anderssen and Dufresne in 1852. Not the immortal game but a colorful name that lasts as long.
64. You've got this if you're a self starter or a player in a chess game on the attack.
65. Name of a game guaranteed to produce a decisive result or a 1998 Bruce Willis movie about drilling into a giant asteroid.
66. If you've been injured on the job or in your car, you might be entitlted to this - same in chess, meaning that which is gained in return for a loss.
67. The name for the sacrifice typically performed by giving away the bishop (like Bxh7+ or Bxh2+) at some point after the opponent has castled.
68. This German player became the 2nd classical world champion after defeating Steinitz in a reign that lasted 5 more title matches and 27 years.
69. Our previous answer played in this famous international chess congress in 1904, the first major international tournament in America in the 20th century. Named for this borough in Pennsylvania. Also where the name for this Queen's Gambit Defense comes from.
70. This Czech player and composer was one of the fathers of hypermodernism and has an endgame "Maneuver" or "Idea" that involves moving the king with a dual purpose of going after an opponent's pawn while supporting your own promotion.
71. The term used to describe a piece that is doing too much on defensive. It can often be deflected or required to abandon one of it's defensive duties.
72. This 24 year old GM broke into the top 10 classical for the first time in February 2024 after an impressive performance at Tata Steel.
73. In Lewis Carrol's sequel, Through the Looking Glass [...], this character became a pawn in a literal chess game and had to navigate through a fantastical landscape to become a queen.
74. In chess, this term is used to describe a move or series of moves to prevent an opponent from furthering their plan. It comes from Greek meaning, "guarding or preventing beforehand."
75. Youngest GM records are broken all the time now, but in 1955 this GM was the first teenager to do it.
76. This billionaire PayPal co-founder was a chess prodigy, though he stopped playing in 2003. He is a National Master that holds the title of "Life Master".
77. Albert Einstein praised my daughter, Lise, as “the German Marie Curie”; I am Phillip Meitner and my greatest chess result has been nicknamed “The Immortal [_]”.
78. A name for a weak chess player, originating from a German word meaning "to bungle".
79. A building with sails that can generate power or two pieces working together to deliver an alternating series of checks and discovered checks.
80. One night in this city and the world's your oyster, from Chess (the musical).
81. This American GM just lost his first match in the 2024 American Cup to Wesley So, but holds the honor of being the last player to beat Judit Polgar before she announced her retirement.
82. Lord Dunsany is mostly known for his High Fantasy, which influenced Tolkien – among others. He devised this asymmetrical chess variant; which has been adapted, and now can be played on Lichess.org!
83. Spoilers! In this USA show, the main character, Elliot (Rami Malek), plays chess against "himself" in a scene, stalemating 3 games in a row.
84. Two or more pawns of the same color diagonally linked create this.
85. I'm in the highest numbered rank of the light ones and farthest to your left if you're playing the black pieces. Which square am I?
86. This Soviet World Champion was partially deaf and wore a hearing aid during matches. In a game against Svetozar Gligoric, he missed a draw offer because his hearing aid was off, but eventually won the game.
87. Standing 6'4" or 1.95 m, he is the tallest World Champion.
88. A short game, usually no more than 20 to 25 moves.
89. This Nobel Prize laureate said the following: “[Chess] is a foolish expedient for making idle people believe they are doing something very clever, when they are only wasting their time.”
90. This 14-year-old IM finally bested GM Irina Krush to win the women's portion of the 2024 American Cup.
91. This Filipino-American GM won the first Fischer Random World Championship in 2019. He lost in the finals to Levon Aronian in the 2024 American Cup.
92. I was a leading Soviet GM for decades, and Soviet National Champion in ‘56. Fun Fact: I’m on a par with Al Pacino and De Niro, that is, one of the oldest men to ever have confirmedly fathered a child – I was 78. Back to chess: my name is associated with many Openings, most notably the Sicilian Defense!
93. Former FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (1995-2018) became a worldwide sensation for his claim in 1997 of being kidnapped by [_].
94. Can you name the German/British chess master and author from the 1800's who had his name attached to a configuration where two bishops are placed on adjacent diagonals, creating a potent attack. "[_] bishops"
95. A term used to describe placing a piece between an attacked piece and its defender or a penalty in American football usually called on the defense in a passing play.
96. Who was the TERRIBLE Russian Tsar who died of a stroke amid an ongoing game of chess?
97. This adjective is given to a pin where it is legal to move the pinned piece out of the line attack.
98. This British GM won the 1989 British Championship at the age of 17. He won it again in 1997. Then after a long break, continued his domanance in 2010, 2011, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2023.
99. Born in 1968 in Minsk, this (now Israeli) GM is the oldest player in the FIDE Top 100 (March 2024). He was the challenger in the 2012 WCC, losing to Anand in rapid tiebreaks.
100. Harlow Daly became the oldest US state Champion when he won the 1970 Maine Championship. How old was he?
101. Adjective used to describe a move, player, or style of play characterized by risky, positionally dubious play that sets traps for the opponent. Or a Starbucks.
102. This US Chess Champion (1909 to 1936) was born in New York City and opened a chess club there in 1915.
103. An arrangement of the results of every game in a tournament in tabular form and what I the message in the team chat.
104. P. J. Blackburne, nicknamed “The Black Death”, heard about Paul Morphy’s brilliancies in 1895 and was mesmerized. So he rapidly switched from this game to chess!
105. The “Knight’s Tour problem” (sequence of moves of a knightsuch that it visits every square exactly once) was investigated by this world-renowned Swiss mathematician.
106. This chess variant involves two simultaneous games being played at the same time, where captured pieces on one board are passed on to the teammate on the other board.
107. Manuel Márquez Sterling played the Paris 1900 star-studded tournament (Lasker won it). Then later became interim President of this country during a period of intense crisis.
108. A Position not as famous as Lucena’s or Philidor’s, but the path to Endgame mastery cannot be achieved without knowing. Previously thought to be a draw, but solved by a Spanish priest in the 19th Century with an underpromotion trick.
109. This chess piece cannot deliver a discovered check.
110. The Sherlock (BBC) episode "The Great Game" uses chess as a metaphor for the intellectual duel between Sherlock Holmes and this criminal mastermind.
111. This World Chess Champion was 1 of 4 players who beat both Capablanca and Fischer: Reshevsky, Eliskases, Keres and...
112. This is another lesser used term for a blunder; one so bad that it often leads to immediate loss/resignation. Also a magical letter in Harry Potter.
113. If this former world champion is shooting at you, it's not bullets - it's 2 rooks backed by a queen on the same file.
114. Ian Nepomniachtchi has won the last 2 Candidates, looking to be the first to win 3 in a row. Which GM was the last to win 2 in a row before him?
115. Simen Agdestein is Norway’s first Grandmaster. He has coached Magnus Carlsen. He has played this sport professionally, too – including for the Norwegian national team!
116. Adjective given to a square whose occupation by one side's king guarantees the achievement of a certain goal.
117. The Mechanical Turk, an 18th-century, chess-playing robot, was revealed a hoax in an essay by this major figure in American 19th-Century Literature.
118. Space made for a castled king to give it a flight square to prevent a back rank mate; German word for air.
119. The “wickedest man in the world” is still a subject in Heavy Metal lyrics, notoriously Black Sabbath; he took an interest in chess, even becoming the president of the Cambridge University chess club. Name him.
120. This strong GM once was forfeited from a game in the US Chess Championship because he was writing notes of encourangement to himself on a sheet of paper.
121. The Dragon opening is named after this constellation because of the similarity in structure.
122. This FIDE Top 20 26-year-old Grandmaster became the first ever Polish chess player to exceed the 2800 barrier in blitz.
123. This company used ads to highlight their technological prowess after their "AI" beat Garry Kasparov in 1997.
124. George R. Dekle Jr. is a Doctor of Law, Professor, and certified USCF tournament director. He has also created dozens of chess variants! In 1980, his career peaked, working as the lead prosecuting attorney for the murder trial of this well-known serial killer, who ultimately received the death penalty in 1989.
125. Woody Harrelson is a huge chess advocate. He made the ceremonial first move in the 2018 WCC as well as played a game against Kasparov. He starred in this 1980's sitcom set in Boston where his character, Woody Boyd, was also obsessed with the game.
126. When Karpov received this blueberry flavored food item during the 1978 World Chess Championship, the Korchnoi team suspected it contained a coded message.
127. Savielly Tartakower is alleged to have created the opening 1. b4 named [_] because he visited the zoo during the great 1924 tournament in New York.
128. Andria Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelians, sponsored chess his whole life. With the Black Sea as it's western border, which country is Mingrelia a region of?
129. This Cuban World Champion had never lost a game to Alekhine before losing the title to him in 1927. He died of a stroke after collapsing while watching a skittles match at the Manhattan Chess Club.
130. P-K4 P-QB4 is the Sicilian Defence using this type of notation.
131. This GM and fellow chess streamer's parents are Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union. He's known for his animated blitz and bullet streams and often uses Russian colloquialisms during commentary.
132. As of now, Computer Scientists estimate the size of an 8-piece endgame tablebase to be around 2 [_]. (Unit of measurement for data storage capacity)
133. Your opponent did this to you if they tricked you out of your winning position (or your money).
134. This 40-year-old Russian GM is 13th on the all-time peak rating list. He lost in the finals to Boris Gelfand in the 2011 candidates and finished 6th in 2013 and 2020.
135. The city of Plovdiv has produced 6 grandmasters for this Southeast European country.
136. This Russian GM had a positive score against 4 World Champions (Botvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian, Fischer) but never won a Candidates to play for the title.
137. Name the mythic Brahmin who, according to the legend, created Chaturanga.
138. Jules de Rivière was the strongest french chess player in the mid to late 1800's, even beating Paul Morphy in a game, although he lost the match. The Frenchman is great-great-grandfather of this living high-profile British politician – a former PM.