Posts Tagged ‘kids for chess’
3 vs. 3 Pawn Promotion Problem
When just learning how to play chess, it is important to begin to understand how to use multiple chess pieces together in combination. This doesn’t always mean different types of pieces and even with just pawns on the board a chess player can often calculate to find the best one. This is one of my favorite examples because it is simple enough that someone who just knows how to move pawns can solve it, but its complicated enough to show a beginners the beauty of using pieces together in combination.
Here we go: Imagine you have this position set up:
As you can see, both teams have only three pawns. and in this puzzle it is whites goal is to get to the other side with one pawn. How do you do this?
Give it a try first, the answer is below.
So how do we solve this problem? One important aspect is to look ahead into all the option, now just the obvious.
Lets start with the f5 pawn. If you move this pawn forward, how can black block white’s advance?
Black can just move his pawn to g6 from g7 and white cant do anything. So this doesn’t work. Lets move on.
If we move the g5 pawn to g6, is there any way to win?
The first thing to notice is that black must capture the pawn, or the pawn will capture on either h7 or f7. After black moves his h7 pawn to capture g6, can you find what white should do?
If white captures back, nothing good comes from it. Both pawns end up stuck. Look below:
So what does white do? Well, are you ready? Try it yourself first?
White should move his f5 pawn to f6. Check out the chess position below.
If black captures the pawn on f6, whites pawn on h5 has a clean file that it can get to the other side without problem. If black captures the pawn on h5, the white pawn on f6 will capture on g7 and get to the other side to win.
Hope you enjoy Dr. Connolly!
Chess is a Symphony of Pieces
When teaching chess to kids its important that you find a way to explain chess theory in a way that related to them. Many kids enjoy music and even play musical instruments; so with them I try to relate chess to music.
Chess is very much like music, and a good chess game could easily be compared to a beautiful musical composition. Just think of each piece as a musical instrument. In a good musical composition all the instruments are working together create something that people would enjoy listening to. A song with just one or two musical instruments wouldn’t be as interesting and fun as one with many more.
In chess you are also creating a composition. Like a composer with his or her instruments, a good chess players uses all his or her pieces together in combination to achieve a goal. Just like a composer, a chess player’s personality shows a lot in their chess game.
Its no coincident so many musicians are also chess players, and vice versa!
The Pin
The Pin is a very important tool that every chess player should have in his or her repertoire. The word pin literally means that something cannot move. For example, if a poster is pinned to wall, it cannot move. In wrestling, a pin is when your opponent cant move. In chess, a pin is when a piece cannot move.
Creating a pin in chess can be useful, but it does not always win a piece. Above, the King from A1 can move to B2 to protect the Knight. Whenever you know a chess piece cannot move, it is always a good idea to put pressure on it, and attack it with more chess pieces.
The Bishop from H6 can move to G7 to pin the Knight. The King is expected to protect it by moving to B2. The Black player can then win the knight by attacking it with the pawn on B5 by moving it to B4. The white player then does not have to defend the white knight, and cannot move it either because it is pinned. Remember: when a piece is pinned, take advantage of it by putting pressure on the pin.
How the chess pieces are called in Spanish?
"Mexico set a new record for simultaneous chess games on when 13,446 players faced off at the same time in a vast Spanish colonial square at the heart of the former Aztec empire, Mexico City officials said."
How are the chess pieces called in Spanish?
Chess is a popular sport in the Hispanic Culture and is played in all Latin cultures across the world. Knowing what the chess pieces are called in Spanish could allow you to analyze a game in another language (Spanish).
The King in Chess is called “Rey” in chess in Spanish.
The Queen is called “Reina” in chess in Spanish.
The Bishop is called “Alfil” in chess in Spanish.
The Knight is called “Caballo” in chess in Spanish.
The Rook is called “Torre” in chess in Spanish.
The Pawn is called “Peón” in chess in Spanish.
If you are playing chess in a spanish speaking country you must know how to say Check. Check is Spanish is called “Jaque.” If you need to say CheckMate in Spanish, you can say “Jaquemate.”
What is a stalemate?
Stalemate is either a relief to you or a huge disappointment. A stalemate in chess is one of the four ways to achieve a draw (a tie game). A stalemate happens when a player cannot make any moves. In chess you are never allowed to skip your turn; therefore, if you cannot move the game is over in a tie. Look at the position below: can you find how white is able to force a stalemate?
If you thought of Queen taking h7 you are correct. Black has no option but to take the Queen and White now cannot move: stalemate. Moving the Queen to g4 or any other square where it can get taken doesn’t work because black does not have to take the queen…therefore the game doesn’t have to end in stalemate.
A stalemate can be a huge relief to you if you are losing but also a huge disappointment to you if you are winning. In a losing position you must know how to force a stalemate. if you are winning, you must know how to avoid giving your opponent a stalemate. You really don’t have to worry about a stalemate until the end of the game. You can practice forcing stalemates with chess puzzles that we have posted online.
What is a pawn chain?
Pawn are the first piece that most players learn…but are by no means the simplest. They are a very unique piece for a variety of reasons:
1. They are the only pieces that cannot move backwards.
2. They are the only pieces that attack differently that they moves.
3. They are the only pieces that can be promoted.
Pawns are actually my favorite piece for these and many other reasons, but enough about pawns. Pawn chains are one the first strategies that a chess players learns when dealing with pawns. A pawn chain in when a group of pawns are in a diagonal protecting each other. This is beneficial because the pawns are much harder to attack for your opponent, and easier to defend for you. The pawn at the bottom of the pawn chain the only vulnerable one and therefore you can focus your defenses on him. Later on, more advanced players learn to coordinate their pawn chains with the color of their bishop. Having many pawns chains on the board leads to a closed position and is very powerful for a knight.
What does FIDE stand for?
Many of us know that FIDE is the leading world chess organization. But what does FIDE stand for?
FIDE stands for Fédération Internationale des Échecs, which literally translates into World Chess Federation. They are the governing body for most large chess events and create the rules for international competition. They also award players titles such as Grandmaster and International Master.
What is a GrandMaster?
What is a Grandmaster? Many parents and students alike ask me this question. A grandmaster is a rank that FIDE (World Chess Federation) bestows upon a player. Over the course of history the specific qualifications for this have changed; but it basically means you are a really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really really good chess player.
Currently, the regulations for becoming a Grandmaster are somewhat complex. A player must have an Elo Rating of at least 2500 (although they need not maintain this level to obtain or keep the title). Also, at least two favorable results (called norms) from a total of at least 27 games in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant’s, are usually required before FIDE will confer the title on a player. Current regulations can be found in the FIDE Handbook
Skeleton Key Chess Set
This week’s unique chess set has a Halloween theme…being that October is the spookiest of all the months. The Chess set above is the Skeleton Key Chess Set, and for good reason. All of the pieces are keys and there are slots in the board for them to be inserted into with every move.
I was not able to find the artists deeper meaning behind the board; but was able to come up with a quote for this chess set: “Unlock a new possibility with every move.” This super cool chess set was designed by Dave Pickett.
Emanuel Lasker on Chess
It was Emanuel Lasker that emphasized that chess involves a struggle of the total human personality, in which the rounded man and not necessarily the better player is eventually bound to triumph. Nowhere is this more easily seen than in chess games that children play.
I cannot count the amount of times that I have seen a child who is a superior chess player lose because they do not have the skills needed to concentrate for long period of time. Other times a young chess player will lose because they are fatigued from a bad nights sleep or have stomach problems from eating candy for breakfast. The winners of chess matches are usually prepared all around. They make sure to eat healthy before and at the tournament, get a good nights rest, and prepare for their chess matches. A true chess champion must also know his/her own faults, and avoid or solve any problems that may be specific to their situation.
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