Posts Tagged ‘Kids’
Getting out of Check
Check is one of the most, if not the most, important concepts in chess. Check means the king is in danger. This means that the player whose king is in danger MUST get their king out of check.
There are three ways that a player can get out of check
1. Move - This means to move your king out of danger.
2. Block- This means moving a piece in between your king and the piece attacking it. Note: you cannot block a check from a Knight because it skips over pieces.
3. Attack- This means you are attacking the piece that is putting your king in check. You can use your king to attack or another piece on your team.
A good chess player will look through all his/her options before deciding. In each position, the correct move may be to move, block, or attack, but you will never know until you look at all the options.
Take a look at this position, what should the white team do?
What do you think the white king should do. He can move out of the way to b1 or b2. He can also use his queen to block on a2, but the best option is to capture the rook on a7 with the queen on f2.
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.
Elk Grove Village Library Kids Chess Tournament
Every Child has their Own Game Face.
This is from the Scholastic Chess Tournament CheckMates Chess Academy held in Elk Grove Village Illinois at the Elk Grove Village Public Library. This is a kids events sponsored by CheckMates Chess Academy and Youth Services at Elk Grove Village Library. Kids between the ages of 5 and 12 came to the library for this kids event to play in a chess tournament. CheckMates Chess Academy also ran kids chess classes at the Elk Grove Village Library for three weeks prior teaching chess to two groups of kids (beginners and players that already knew the game of chess) different chess techniques and preparing them for the chess tournament.
CheckMates Chess Academy hosted a free kids chess tournament at the Elk Grove Village Public Library on Wednesday August 3rd, 2011! Around 40 kids of all different ages ( grades K-6th) showed up to compete in this fun filled kid’s event.
Chess Players were split up into two groups: a beginners division and an open division. Hannah won First Place in the Beginners Division and Ksivij won First Place in the Open Division. All the children that participated earned a prize because their showed excellent sportsmanship and all tried their hardest. Everyone left the day happy and we look forward to coming back to Elk Grove Village Library for more Kids Chess Classes in Late October!
Aspen Drive Library Kids Chess Tournament
Last Thursday, July 21st, CheckMates Chess Academy held a free kids chess tournament at Aspen Drive Library in Vernon Hills, Illinois. Around 50 Kids showed up and participated in the multi-level tournament. The kids were split up into two levels; one level was for beginner chess players who had recently learned to play chess with CheckMates Chess Academy in the kids chess classes at the library. The second group was for intermediate/ advances players who had learned strategies in the kids chess classes that CheckMates ran at the Library. Rebecca won first place in the Beginners Section and Dylan won First Place Open Section.
Kids Thinking during Chess
1st Annual Schecktman Chess and Mini Golf Tournament
+
= FUN!
The 1st Annual Schecktman Chess and Mini Golf Tournament will take place on Sunday July 17th 2011 at Par King Skill Golf from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Par King Skill Golf is located on 21711 Milwaukee Avenue in Lincolnshire, IL. It is on the corner of Aptakisic Blvd and Milwaukee and can be easily recognized by the Giant Pink Castle.
From 1:00 to 3:00 we will be having a chess tournament open to all children. There will be one open division that kids can enter, regardless of whether they have a United States Chess Federation (USCF) rating or not. The kids chess tournament will be no elimination and the winner will be the player who has the most amount of won chess games. There are no time restraints, but if games go on too long a clock with ten minutes of playing time for both players may be added.
After prizes for the kids chess tournament are awarded to the winners, we will begin the mini golf tournament. The mini golf tournament will begin around 3:30 and last until about 5:00. Prizes will then be awarded for the mini golf tournament at the end of the event. Prizes for the Mini Golf & Chess Champion of 2011 will be awarded at this time as well.
The 1st Annual Schecktman Chess and Mini Golf Tournament is open to children ages five to twelve years old who play chess and are over 48 inches (in order to play mini golf). The cost for this event is $30 online and $35 on site.
Keeping your Cool in Chess
Chess is almost 100% mental; it is because of this it is very important to keep your emotions under control when playing chess (online or not). Many beginner chess players will make a mistake, get frustrated and start moving quickly. This leads them into making even more mistakes on the chess board and their chess position spirals downwards very fast.
The most important thing in keeping a clear mind is to know when yours isn’t. If you have just made a mistake on the board, take a deep breath, relax, understand that things are not going according to plan and that instead of quickly jumping into a new position you need to rethink your position and create a new plan.
Sometimes taking a break helps with keeping a clear mind. Often if I made a mistake on the chess board in a tournament, I would go get a drink of water and cool myself down and stop myself from making a rash impulsive move.
What is a Chess Gambit?
A word that is used in chess often during study is “chess gambit”. What is a chess gambit? A Chess Gambit is an opening series of chess moves that a player plays where he or she sacrifices a piece in order to get the better position.
How did the word Gambit Originate for Chess?
The word “gambit” came from Ruy Lopez de Segura. It originated from the Italian Expression “dare il gambetto” which means “to put a let forward in order to trip someone.” This makes perfect sense for what gambit represents in the game of chess. The Italian word led to the Spanish word, “gambito” which led to the French word “gambit.”
Chess Tournament at Vernon Area Library
Kids Chess Tournament
On Saturday May 7th CheckMates Chess Academy hosted a free chess tournament at the Vernon Area Library for kids in the community. Over 40 kids showed up to participate and everyone left with a prize! The students here showed that they could concentrate, focus, and demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship and everyone did a great job. The winner were Andrew for the Open Division and Kelly for the Beginners Group. CheckMates Chess Academy will be hosting another set of chess classes and a tournament again at the Vernon Area Library in September. Check out our gallery to see pictures from the tournament!
Chess and Hockey (Part 1)
With the NHL hockey playoffs going on (and sadly the Chicago Blackhawks are eliminated) I cant help but relate Chess Strategies to Hockey Strategies.In Chess, like in Hockey, the tactics that a player uses change throughout the different periods of the game.
The Chess Game is divided into the Opening, Middlegame, and Endgame.
Hockey is divided into three periods.
In Hockey, a coach who is losing often uses a strategy in the last minute of the game that he would never attempt in the beginning. Often times, a hockey coach will pull their goalie for the last minute of the game because he weights the risk versus the rewards and decides that with the game winding down risking it would be more of an advantage to his team.
In Chess, a player will use different strategies and tactics throughout the chess game. Similar to a coach pulling the hockey goalie, a chess player may take his or her King out of the Castle and use it as a piece. The player must weigh what kind of contribution the King can make on an offensive effort versus the disadvantage he or she may receive from keeping the King exposed.
Whether it is in hockey, chess, or life, kids learn the important of weighing the consequences of their actions for each specific situation.
CheckMates In California!
This summer, CheckMates Chess Academy will be teaching chess classes in the sunny state of California!
Santa Monica Library will be hosting a series of children’s chess classes for youth Kindergarten through Sixth Grades, taught by George Krasnopolskiy of CheckMates Chess Academy. In two weeks, CheckMates Chess Academy will be teaching kids in California how to play chess in two classes.
The Beginners Chess Class will be held for children who are brand new to chess. There will be three chess classes and then a chess tournament where these “beginners” will be able to show off just how much they have learned!
The Strategies Chess Class is held for chess players who know the rules to chess, and want to learn tactics and strategies that will make them better. They will learn a variety of alternative chess games that will give them a deeper look into chess theory and make chess more enjoyable and more interesting! These chess students will be participating in the end of the session tournament as well.
The Chess Tournament will be open to all kids Kindergarten through Sixth Grades. Chess players will be divided into two groups, those who are beginners and those chess players that already know how to play chess. The tournament is NO ELIMINATION and EVERYONE RECIEVES A PRIZE for participation.
Santa Monica Library Chess Classes: June 6th, June 8th, June 13th
Beginners Chess Class: 3:30 - 4:30
Strategies Chess Class: 4:45 - 5:45
Tournament: June 15h from 3:45 to 5:30
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