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Hot Topic (More than 10 Replies) The Abysmal Depths of Chess (Read 6322 times)
JonathanB
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #17 - 08/01/20 at 13:13:11
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Laramonet wrote on 08/01/20 at 09:03:58:
It will be nice to follow your efforts on the Yusupov challenge.
One idea to increase the numbers - split up GB or is that too nationalist ? Extra views from Wales anyway !


I think I'm going to need some cheerleading with Yusupov - but that's one of the reasons why I decided to write about it. Don't want to wimp out in public.

Re: splitting up GB. I would happily cheat my way to four extra countries this way but unfortunately I'm reliant on blogger for the stats and they only list "United Kingdom" rather than England/Scotland/Wales/Norther Ireland.


I'm up to 54 now, by the way. Thailand and Serbia joined the club yesterday.

  

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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #16 - 08/01/20 at 09:03:58
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It will be nice to follow your efforts on the Yusupov challenge.
One idea to increase the numbers - split up GB or is that too nationalist ? Extra views from Wales anyway !
  
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JonathanB
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #15 - 07/31/20 at 13:17:43
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The Abysmal Depths of Chess
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com
July 2020


Beat the Masters
- Analyse a position then compare your thoughts with a dozen or so British chess masters.


14: There’s a queen sac in the air. Is it right?
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/btm-14a-thunderclap-newman....

15: I finally get a complete solution (needless to say, this position is easier than the others)
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/btm-15a-finally.html

16: A knight and pawn ending
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/btm-16a-knights-and-pawns.h...

17: Does it matter if you make a mistake setting up the board and spend an hour analysing the wrong position?
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/btm-17a-all-work-is-good-wo...

18: On the importance of studying classic game
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/btm-18a-study-classics.html

19: Simple tactics aren’t necessarily easy
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/btm-19a-simple-isnt-always-...

20: Trying out a cognitive tool to help assess  chess positions
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/btm-20a-my-cat-keeps-purrin...

21: Does it help if you recognise the opening from which I middlegame position derived?
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/btm-21a-rose-by-any-other-n...



Chess in the 80s
- A collection of random items from old chess magazines


4: Tal interview from CHESS July 1988
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/chess-in-80s-4-tal-intervie...

5 Readers letters  from January 1989
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/chess-in-80s-5-readers-lett...

6: Photographs of chess players (including a Soviet GM giving a simul in a local British chess club) from CHESS March 1989
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/chess-in-80s-6-soviet-in-bi...

7: Kasparov interview from CHESS August 1988
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/chess-in-80s-7-kasparov-int...

8: Adverts for books, clocks and chess sets from CHESS October 1988
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/chess-in-80s-8-for-sale-101...



Knowing Me Knowing Yusupov
- Halfway through the month I decided to make another attempt on the Yusupov challenge and write a series of posts documenting my journey.


1: Knowing Me Knowing Yusupov - the importance of notebooks
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/knowing-me-knowing-yusupov....

2: Are we there yet? - How long does it take to finish the 10 books?
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/07/knowing-me-knowing-yusupov-...



Countries Which Have Sent Somebody to The Abysmal Depths of Chess
I’m now up to 52, the latest being Paraguay
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/p/the-abysmal-depths-of-ches-visito...
  

www.streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com  "I don't call you f**k face" - GM Nigel Short.
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #14 - 07/04/20 at 02:42:31
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TopNotch wrote on 06/30/20 at 19:38:33:
@JB



Are they any modern books that lay out these motifs in the Sicilian as lucidly as levy did I wonder.




Sicilian Attacks by Yakovich
  
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #13 - 06/30/20 at 19:38:33
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@JB

Nice stuff, brings back many pleasant memories from my beginnings in chess. By the way, I have that book Sacrifices In The Sicilian, a real Classic in my opinion.

In the first example: 6: White against the Sicilian

My immediate instinct was Qh6, then Nd5 and finally Bxg7 which works nicely after a bit of confirmation calculation. What I really liked about Levy's book is that he also illustrated when the sacrifices looked good but didn't actually work and why, many amateurs play sacrifices like this on feel alone without backing it up with some solid calculation, lose to a strong player get frustrated and turn to 1.Nf3 or The London System next time out. What levy's book made abundantly clear to me is that one cannot hope to play the Open Sicilian successfully without mastering all these typical sacrifices: Nd5 or Bd5; Bxg7; Qh6; Nxb5 or Bxb5; Nf5; Rxc3 did I miss any.

Are they any modern books that lay out these motifs in the Sicilian as lucidly as levy did I wonder.

Edit: To partly answer my own question there is also Bxe6 and Nxe6 Smiley
  

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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #12 - 06/30/20 at 17:17:51
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@JonathanB -- This is great stuff.  Really enjoying it.  Thanks for posting.
  
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #11 - 06/30/20 at 16:59:30
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UPDATE for the end of June. I'm now up to 13 positions published and I've added a weekly post of general history;


Beat the Masters
6: White against the Sicilian
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-6a-pattern-recognition-...

7: Versus the Sicilian again. Different but the same?
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-7a-tadoc-ram.html

8: Endgame or Opening?
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-8a-from-endgame-into-op...

9: Are you better than a late 80s chess computer? part 1
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-9a-beat-kasparov-strato...

10: Are you better than a late 80s chess computer? part 2
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-10a-beat-kasparov-strat...

11: Another White against the Sicilian (on reflection, that’s probably quite enough of these for the time being)
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-11a-on-importance-of-kn...

12: The first BtM I looked at
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-12a-first-one.html

13: When both kings are vulnerable
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-13a-on-hitting-cows-ars...




Chess in the 80s
Towards the start of the month I realised that I was really enjoying flicking through the magazines as well as studying the Beat the Masters positions … so I decided to start a weekly post publishing other bits and pieces.


1: some photographs of chess players at work back in the day
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/chess-in-80s-1-april-1988.h...

2: Computer ads
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/chess-in-80s-2-computer-ads...

3: Editorial (FIDE top 10, a World Cup Cross table, Speelman-Short match and have they found the next Bobby Fischer?)
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/chess-in-80s-3-editorial-08...




Countries Which Have Sent Somebody to The Abysmal Depths of Chess
I’m now up to n = 45 at the time of writing
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/p/the-abysmal-depths-of-ches-visito...


Argentina; Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Belgium; Brazil; Canada; Costa Rica; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Finland; France; Germany; Great Britain; Greece; Hong Kong; Iceland; India; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Lithuania; Mexico; Netherlands; New Zealand; Nigeria; Norway; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; South Africa; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Taiwan; Turkey; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; USA
  

www.streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com  "I don't call you f**k face" - GM Nigel Short.
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #10 - 06/06/20 at 23:10:29
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VGA wrote on 06/06/20 at 21:41:32:
You should post your blog on reddit, on the /chess subreddit.

By the way, you should have another country on your list after today!


Good idea. Thanks for the tip.


I'm now up to 33 countries. If you're not one of these new ones let me know and I'll add you in.


Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USA
  

www.streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com  "I don't call you f**k face" - GM Nigel Short.
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #9 - 06/06/20 at 21:41:32
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You should post your blog on reddit, on the /chess subreddit.

By the way, you should have another country on your list after today!
  
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #8 - 06/06/20 at 12:09:12
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Def Magnus. Probably eating a toasted sardine sandwich whilst he reads your blog.
  
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #7 - 06/06/20 at 07:48:18
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an ordinary chessplayer wrote on 06/05/20 at 18:01:03:
But returning to the topic, I find the whole idea that reading and not commenting is somehow "not giving back" to be just from some other planet. I have the right to remain silent, and honestly believe that the more I exercise that right, the better off the world will be. Yes, I have a sense of irony... maybe this would have been an especially good time to remain silent!

Silence doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean I'm selfish, nor generous. It doesn't mean I agree, nor disagree. Sometimes I'm mulling over an appropriate response, sometimes I've already moved on to the next topic. Silence is my default mode, don't read anything into it that isn't there.

The average lifespan of a blog is 100 days. I just wanted to encourage JonathanB not to give up too quickly if he doesn't see much reactions.  Naturally nobody is obliged to respond. However small compliments can make the difference of continuing or not and if people enjoy the content then it makes sense to sometimes tell that to the writer.
  
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #6 - 06/05/20 at 22:11:37
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Lauri Torni wrote on 06/05/20 at 07:16:16:
Count me too! Greetings from Finland


Hello!

I had a feeling that chesspub had an international readership, but I had no idea to what extent. I've gone from 21 countries to 29 in the last 24 hours or so since I started the thread:-

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USA



brabo wrote on 06/05/20 at 05:15:26:
Sometimes I really wonder who the person from the exotic country is ....

I've got a few page views from someone in Norway. I'm just assuming it's Magnus. I mean it's got to be, right?



Dink Heckler wrote on 06/05/20 at 08:53:13:
I loved that series! It was fascinating and hugely instructive to see how different players approached the same position. Thanks for doing this.


Yes, this is is what I like most about Beat the Masters. It's a very different kind of experience to playing through annotated games. However good the analysis you're still only getting one person's perspective.



kylemeister wrote on 06/04/20 at 21:20:47:
One bit I recall is that Michael Basman was (at least once) among the panelists.


Blimey. I'd forgotten that. I haven't got to the articles where he joins in.  I'm not sure matching his choices too frequently would altogether be a good thing, mind.



an ordinary chessplayer wrote on 06/05/20 at 18:01:03:
When I write, I don't need any feedback at all to feel satisfaction with what I wrote.


Hi OCP.
I think you used to comment on the Streatham & Brixton chess blog that I used to write for some time ago. That was a very different kind of blog to what I'm doing now, though.



TBH with The Abysmal Depths of Chess, I'm really primarily doing it to help keep my motivation up going to carry on ploughing through the series.

I hope some people like the positions too that will be a definite bonus.  I'm also hoping to get a regular group of people discussing the positions in the comments to each post but I think that's going to take a while to build up if it ever happens.

I also think that Beat the Masters is a series that deserves to be remembered for all sorts of reasons. So just getting some snippets of it out there and accessible is good enough for me.
  

www.streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com  "I don't call you f**k face" - GM Nigel Short.
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #5 - 06/05/20 at 18:01:03
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@anybody who has a blog - Good job maintaining it, I know it's hard work.

@brabo - I've looked at a couple of your posts when you mention them here, but don't really follow your blog. Our approaches to chess are too different.

brabo wrote on 06/05/20 at 05:15:26:
Also realize that for each comment on the blog, you have approximately 100 silent readers. This can be frustrating sometimes as you give a lot but get little or nothing back.

I must say this kind of thinking is diametrically opposite to mine. When I write, I don't need any feedback at all to feel satisfaction with what I wrote. In fact I rather expect most responses to be critical, otherwise people won't bother.

Similarly when I read, I can lurk for years (decades even!) on a message board or blog without making a single comment. Agree, disagree, doesn't matter. I read for my own education, not to engage in debate or to pump up someone else's ego. Actually, I'm not sure what possessed me to register on chesspub and start posting, but here we are. Not getting enough chess I suppose. But returning to the topic, I find the whole idea that reading and not commenting is somehow "not giving back" to be just from some other planet. I have the right to remain silent, and honestly believe that the more I exercise that right, the better off the world will be. Yes, I have a sense of irony... maybe this would have been an especially good time to remain silent!

Silence doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean I'm selfish, nor generous. It doesn't mean I agree, nor disagree. Sometimes I'm mulling over an appropriate response, sometimes I've already moved on to the next topic. Silence is my default mode, don't read anything into it that isn't there.
  
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #4 - 06/05/20 at 08:53:13
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I loved that series! It was fascinating and hugely instructive to see how different players approached the same position. Thanks for doing this.
  

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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #3 - 06/05/20 at 07:16:16
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Count me too! Greetings from Finland
  

1.Nf3! -  beat your opponent by killing his zest for life.
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #2 - 06/05/20 at 05:15:26
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JonathanB wrote on 06/04/20 at 20:08:34:
Since beginning the blog a couple of weeks ago I’ve started to become a bit obsessed with collecting visitors/readers from new countries.  I’m up to 22 so far.

So while everyone is very welcome to drop by, I’m particularly hoping that you’ll come have a look if your homeland is none of:-

Argentina, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USA

* Tony has OK’d this post.


Ah join the club of bloggers. I know the feeling of getting obsessed by the statistics. Even after running a blog for more than 8 years, I am still curious each time how a new post is perceived by the readers. Sometimes I really wonder who the person from the exotic country is, willing/ able to read my Dutch or maybe the click was just by accident. Anyway you only continue to write articles when you see people enjoy it otherwise it makes little sense. Also realize that for each comment on the blog, you have approximately 100 silent readers. This can be frustrating sometimes as you give a lot but get little or nothing back.

Goodluck and enjoy the experience !
  
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Re: The Abysmal Depths of Chess
Reply #1 - 06/04/20 at 21:20:47
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Nice.  I once had some issues of that magazine and remember that series.  One bit I recall is that Michael Basman was (at least once) among the panelists.
  
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The Abysmal Depths of Chess
06/04/20 at 20:08:34
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Short Version
I’ve started a blog - https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com - dedicated to Beat the Masters - a series of articles from the late 80s/early 90s CHESS Monthly - that gave the reader a set of positions to analyse and then the chance to compare their choice of move with a dozen or so IMs and GMs. ChessPub’s own Tony Kosten* (then an IM) was a regular on the panel.

I found these articles a preferable alternative to online bliz/rapid whilst waiting for normal chess to come back.

I’ve published five positions so far:
1: A Sicilian middlegame
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/05/btm-1-is-sicilian-defence-r...

2: Tal
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/05/beat-masters-2.html

3: To sac or not to sac
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/05/beat-masters-3.html

4: A minor-piece endgame
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/05/beat-masters-4.html

5: An opening position
https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com/2020/06/btm-5a-78-bishops.html

My aim is to upload two a week at least for the rest of the year at least.


I hope some chesspub members might find these articles of interest.




Longer Version
I’ve not been playing OTB for a few years (for various reasons, all of which can be categorised as 'life stuff') but when lockdown started I had a lot of time to fill so I decided I might as well make a dent in the very large collection of unread chess books I’d built up over the last three decades.

Pretty soon I wanted to play more. Online chess doesn’t really work for me though. I don’t think that the cheating/suspected cheater problem can ever really be solved in longer time controls and casual blitz would be fine if I wasn’t rubbish at it. Just can’t seem to get through a game without blundering away a piece or more.

So I broke out some old chess magazines and started doing some Beat the Masters positions … and really got into it. I’ve done over 80 of them over the past five or six weeks. After a while it occurred to me that other people might enjoy them too.

If you’re not of an age to remember these articles/ were living elsewhere, they work like this:-

  • every month CHESS would publish 9 positions
    you chose your move
    the follow-up article a panel of Masters (IMs and GMs) would give their choice and offer a few comments and lines of analysis
    if your choice matches the most popular panel choice you got 10 points
    If your choice wasn’t the most popular but still matched some of the panel you got points in proportion to the number of Masters who agreed with you.
    If you didn’t match any Masters you still might get 1 or 2 points
    If you were way off you got zero.
    
At the end of the 9 positions you’d have a score out of 90.
    The next month you’d do it all again and could kind of track your progress.



The positions were mostly middlegames and mostly not with a single clear best or outright winning move. Sometimes the panel were unanimous in their choice, other times you might get up to 6 or 7 suggestions.

I find it more fun and easier to stay motivated to keep going with these problems rather than studying annotated games. I like the range of feedback you get with so many Masters involved. I also find the fact that you get a 'score'. It’s a bit silly in someways (you score maximum points if you choose the right move whether your analysis is entirely accurate or complete cobblers) but it somehow makes it feel more meaningful than looking at random positions.

I’ve found that comparing scores between sets of positions adds a bit of pressure too. If I happen to do well in the early puzzles and am heading for a record score out of 90 I really start to feel the extra tension when doing positions 7, 8 and 9 not wanting to mess up.  On the other hand if I start badly I have to push myself to work as hard in the later positions and not just feel "well this set is beyond hope, I might as well knock them out quickly and get on to the next set".

and that’s pretty close to how I tend to feel during real games.


I usually spend about 30-45 minutes looking at each position without moving the pieces. That’s time enough for 5 or 6 blitz games.  Doing Beat the Masters’ puzzles feels like a much better use of time.

I’m sure this sort of thing won’t be attractive to everyone but please do have a look at the blog if you think it might be something you’d like to try.


Since beginning the blog a couple of weeks ago I’ve started to become a bit obsessed with collecting visitors/readers from new countries.  I’m up to 22 so far.

So while everyone is very welcome to drop by, I’m particularly hoping that you’ll come have a look if your homeland is none of:-

Argentina, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Iceland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USA















* Tony has OK’d this post.
  

www.streathambrixtonchess.blogspot.com  "I don't call you f**k face" - GM Nigel Short.
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