Ohhhhh noooooooooooooo
A promise to bring you more pro games! [YouTube]
People are always saying how they wished there were more games on YouTube as they love watching games that Ehy and Herm posted for example. RC1985 was the most frequent Red Alert YouTuber but he is away playing other games nowadays and most other players are doing Twitch only. I'm going to be recording all of my games from now on so I will endeavour to post lots of pro games going forward on my channel [both as spectator and as a player]. I'll be more active during this Lockdown than I ever have on YouTube. Hopefully will post at least 100 games in next few months. I already have lots of good games in my vault.
https://www.youtube.com/user/CrushRAVids/videos
Make sure you subscribe!!!!!! Here is an example of some of the great content I'll be posting [Click Play to see a Mega Pro 1v1 I spectated in late 2020]:
The Top 5 Greatest Chess Players Ever?
Something a bit different for today's article... I know this is a Red Alert themed blog, however there are many chess players who play Red Alert and the games of Red Alert and chess have a lot in common. Both are very tactical and strategic games where you execute build orders and openings. There's also an elo system in chess which we use on the CnCNet Ladder. Even if you are not a chess player yourself, this should hopefully be a bit of an educational post for you and give you a little bit of background that might come in handy in a pub quiz one day! Additionally, I was inspired to write this article because of the Queen's Gambit TV Series which I highly recommend! This is just my opinion as a 2000+ level chess player and I don't own any of the pictures they are used for educational purposes only:
5) Anatoly Karpov (born Russia, 1951-)
This legend of the game was best known for his decade long rivalry with the great Garry Kasparov. These 2 Soviet titans of the game duelled over the World Title for the whole of the 1980s, playing dozens of games to determine who was the best. In the first match with Kasparov, neither player was able to win enough games to secure victory (the majority of games in top level chess are draws), and so after 48 games the match was declared a draw. Karpov was particularly known for being an expert positional and defensive player and was a huge fan of the Caro-Kann defence which he would use to secure draws with the black pieces. Karpov's sense of making every piece count in chess was almost unequalled. Ultimately Karpov would relinquish his title to his younger rival after 184 games. The final score was 19 wins for Karpov, 21 wins for Kasparov, and 144 games drawn.
There are very very few players in history who would have shown such honourable resistance to the mighty Kasparov over such a long match, and it would be an injustice not to include Karpov on this list of top 5 greats.
4) Jose Raul Capablanca (Cuba, 1888-1942)
There were many legends of the game who played in the pre-computer era of chess such as Morphy, Alekhine and Lasker. Capablanca was undeniably the best of them all. Modern chess computer engines document his genius by proving that he made the fewest mistakes of any world champion in history. This is remarkable given that he played 100 years ago where knowledge of the game was minimal in comparison to today. Capablanca's talent for the game was the stuff of legend and he even had an 8 year stretch as world champion where he did not lose a single game to any opponent. I have no doubt in my mind that Capablanca was one of the most talented players to ever play the game and would demolish most modern GrandMasters.
3) Garry Kasparov (born Azerbaijan, 1963-)
This is where the list became particularly hard. Kasparov is an absolute legend of the game and one of the most famous players to have ever pushed a pawn. His already documented match with Karpov will go down in the annals of chess history as the greatest match ever played. Kasparov was the first player to achieve an elo rating of more than 2800 and dominated the game as World Champion for 20 years. He would ultimately lose his title once reaching his 40s to his young Russian colleague Vladimir Kramnik, a player who I would rank in the top 10 greatest ever. His 2-decade long total dominance of the game saw him reign as World Champion and world number 1 for a remarkable length of time where he defeated many challengers. The only reason I have not placed him 2nd or 1st is because I feel like the top 2 were just a teeny tiny bit better.
2) Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 1990-)
The reigning and defending World Champion has absolutely dominated the scene for the last decade. I think it is fair to argue that he has surpassed his old mentor, Kasparov, at this juncture. No one has come close to taking his world title since he won it from India's Vishy Anand in 2013. He is unrivalled in all departments and his will to win is admirable. He is known for squeezing the life out of every single position. He has frequently amazed audiences by winning endgames which GrandMaster commentators and chess computers have decided should be a draw. Carlsen is like Karpov on steroids. An absolute chess savant who plays God-level chess. As close as you can get to modern chess perfection. Perhaps one day when his career is over he will be the undisputed number 1 player of all time, however I think the next player definitely deserves this status at present.
1) Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (USA, 1943-2008).
The most famous chess player of all time and for good reason. Fischer is the player whom Beth Harmon's character in the TV series "The Queen's Gambit" is based on. Fischer was a chess prodigy the like of which the world has never seen. He was already a GrandMaster and US Champion as a teenager. He is best known for winning the World Championship in 1972 against the Soviet legend Boris Spassky. Remarkable given that Fischer took on the might of the Soviet Union chess powerhouse by himself and won. A feat no other player in history would have been able to achieve. Perhaps more remarkably, Fischer demolished GrandMasters Taimanov & Larsen 6-0 and 6-0 en-route to facing Spassky. Given that draws in top level chess are extremely common and make up roughly 70% of games, to whitewash 2 of the world's top 5 players at the time 6-0 back to back just emphasizes Fischer's dominance over his opposition. It is fact that Fischer's dominance over his contemporaries is the widest gap between 1st and 2nd of any era of chess.
Sadly Fischer's career at the top was short lived and he forfeited his title after refusing to play. His life was plagued with many mental health and political issues which meant he did not have the longevity. However you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would argue against Fischer's 1972 peak being the greatest level of chess ever achieved. Fischer in today's era with all of the modern chess computers and technology would probably be unbeatable and I think the only person capable of beating Carlsen (a sentiment which Carlsen himself has suggested in some interviews). For this reason and because of the legend surrounding him, Fischer deserves his status as the Greatest Chess player in history. Chess would simply not be what it was today without Fischer's influence, as his success was crucial in popularising the game throughout the west and bringing it to a wider audience.
If you enjoyed reading this article, why not try reading some chess books to improve your play and learn about the game? I did this myself when I was younger and it was extremely fun and helped me achieve 2000+ elo. This is an excellent site which I have used myself and thoroughly recommend: Best Chess Books
. Thanks for reading! I might do some more "bonus" non-red alert articles in future if you enjoyed this.
Player Focus Series: [WP]Dutchy
An interview with everyone's favourite crazy dutchman, Dutchy of the famed WP clan. Dutchy has steadily been improving his game. He was always known as a bit of a noob but in the last couple of years has definitely stepped up his game as he worked on his shifting. Nowadays, you will find that he is a strong opponent on maps such as Ribbon Isle. [Answers in bold]:
1) Tell us a little about yourself and when did you start playing Red Alert online?
I am Dutchy, a 34 years old Dutch male who lives in Amsterdam, Holland. I started to play Red Alert on the PS1 as a young kid and i started to play on cncnet since i believe 2015. I quit playing RA end of 2018, started again in november 2020.
2) Which other games do you play online?
Besides Red Alert . I play online once in a while Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour, and i love City Skylines! Sorry, i cannot help it!
3) Why did you join WP clan?
I joined the WP family since last week. Me and Natu were chatting a bit and i typed for fun WP[Dutchy], and the rest is history. It is a new clan with a few oldtimers who have lots of knowledge about the game. The clan has also some challenging maps made by Entidad, who himself is a smart player. That in combination with new players willing to learn the game and also having alot off fun, made me join WP.
4) What is your favourite map and why?
Ribbon, both ore and gems. I know it is not the most fair map ( ore trucks ), but i like the fact that you can use every strategy and every unit ( land, boat. air ), on that map.
5) What is your most memorable game(s)?
Not one in particular, but I have had many great games on Ribbon (Ore & Gems) where all the money has run out and tactics have won the game.
6) Who is your biggest rival on CnCNet?
Not a real rivalry, however I would say Bart! Bart likes to troll me!😃
7) Who is your best friend(s) on Red Alert?
I don't have a real Red Alert buddy. I'm here to win.
8) Who is your favourite Red Alert YouTuber/streamer?
Both Beast and Hezb make good streams. I like the instructional Youtube videos Natediaz made.
9) Which changes would you like to make to Red Alert/CnCNet?
If you talk about the game i would say nothing at all. It is the greatest RTS game ever made, simply for the fact that this game from 1996 still has surprises( GQ ). It is a bloody shame what EA did to Red Alert Remastered - it is a different game entirely.
To CnCNet, i would say that it would be great to have the possibility to donate through Ideal.
10) Any final comments?
yes, i wanna say some things about my trolling days. It's simple, it wont happen again!! For me it was a kind of scapegoat in darker times. All to blame for, except myself.
And to you Crush, thanks for having me in your interview!
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more!
The 5 Most UNDER-RATED players on CnCNet
A list of who I think are the most underestimated players in the game at present. These players have some generalisations about them which are misappropriated so I would like to address this. Enjoy reading. Suggestions in comments welcome.
5. Natu
When I published my Player Grades 2020, an anonymous player sent me the following message: "How dare you put Natu above me, this is an insult, fuck your rankings". I told said player that they were welcome to challenge Natu to a Bo9 1v1 and if he proved he was superior then I would swap them. I informed this player that they would be impressed by Natu's improvement over the last year. Unsurprisingly this hasn't happened. Natu deserves to be in the B- tier on my 2020 grades as his improvement has been phenomenal. He is pretty solid on ribbon and P4, and he is especially good on Liquid. I remember a recent 3v3 Liquid game tanking him north and I was like "how is he not dying". I looked in score after game and we were the only ones with 350+ tanks. His improvement is very noted and players such as myself are noticing it. I am tired of people throwing shit at Natu when it is undeserved. He is generally a respectful player and a good representitive of the WP clan. Anyone who doubts him can challenge him 1v1. I think Natu can go even higher as he is just starting to learn to harness his pro abilities. Natu: in 2021 I would like to see you playing in the 1v1 rankings ladder and take your game to the next level. This will silence the doubters completely.
4. Jacob
Everyone knows Jacob is an absolute pwnzor on his tank production. However people have a misconception that he is a 1 trick pony. My message to you is to play him on a long game with Germany eg turrets and boats - there is currently no-one better at that type of game with the exception of maybe Ford. Jacob's turrets are made of titanium. Also his soviet long game play is extremely underrated. Watch him go on 10 soviet cys when he rarely does it and you will be extremely impressed. He is a true long game pwnzor.
3. Lordy
Because Lordy talks a ludicrous amount of shit, people have him labelled as an arrogant loudmouth English noob. The truth is that Lordy is actually a very good player nowadays and can beat anyone on a random game on 1v1. He has a very good rush. This is why he trash talks like a WWE villain. Lordy is no longer the Lordy_No1 noob that everyone remembers getting embarrassed by Snipe2k1 in 2016. [Lordy-TA] has become a genuine strong player. He still has his bad games, usually when he's been on the Pink WKDs and the fridge is empty. But Lordy's level now in general is very pro and people overlook this because of the amount of garbage trolling that comes out his mouth.
2. Oldpro
The official rank 1 most delusional player on Red Alert. However OldPr0 is not as shit as people will have you believe. Amongst all the incorrect perceptions he holds, OldPr0 does occasionally talk some sense. Sometimes the ugly bird does actually catch the worm. For example he is correct that there's a legion of 1-dimensional GQ tankers who can do nothing else and can't adapt eg rushing/transitioning/macro. He is correct in saying he would beat these guys silly in a long game. Look I'm not saying OldPr0 isn't shit because he is. However he is not as shit as the naysayers and his doubters will have you believe. He is very good at certain aspects of the game (specifically 10 cy spam). He's also improved some aspects of his game, such as ore map play and occasional German tanking so kudos to him for trying to put his words into action. It is true that OldPr0 should learn the micro aspect and keyboard use side of the game and he would be a feared opponent for anyone.
1. Bart
Bart is notorious on CnCNet for being a troll who ruins games by driving his MCV across the map or by going migs or yaks. People routinely kick him from the room when he joins 2v2 pro games because of this and his repeat offending. However catch him on a serious day when his Marijuana stock has run out and you will be amazed to find a genuine pro level talent. Especially on maps like North by Northwest and Path Beyond, Bart is a force for anyone. Any random P4 player who thinks Bart is a noob should face him on his own backyard and he will send you to your grave. Bart is the true Yin and Yang of Red Alert. He ventures from being a stoned weirdo bipolar noob who complains about lag in a warp speed game, to being a top 10 standards map player on CnCNet. My message to Bart for 2021 would to try to be serious all the time and leave that bipolar feminist alter-ego of yourself behind for good. Underestimate Bart at your peril...
Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more!
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