Posts Tagged ‘lessons’
Free Chess Classes at Des Plaines Library!
CheckMates Chess Academy will be holding a series of chess classes for kids of various ages and levels at the Des Plaines Library. Kids Chess Classes start will he held on October 8th and 15th. The beginning chess class, which will go over how to play chess including how the pieces move as well as check and checkmate, will be held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm. The strategies chess class will be held from 2:45- 4:15 pm. The strategies class is for kids who already know the rules to chess and want to learn tactics to improve their game as well as fun alternative chess games.
On October 22nd there will be a Kids Chess Tournament where all the kids who participated in chess classes can show off their new skills. Kids who could not come to the classes are also welcome to come; the kids chess tournament will be from 2:00 - 4:00 pm.
The Friends of the Des Plaines Library have sponsored these events and makes it FREE for all the participants! Space is limited, call the Des Plaines Library at 827-5551 to register now!
Playing With a Goal
Often times students come to me to learn chess who already knows how to the play chess and ask to learn about chess strategies. There are many chess strategies that kids can learn, but there are also system of though that they must learn. These ways of thinking are, in my opinion, the most important parts of chess and are the ones most easily translate to other parts of their life. The very first of these that students of chess must learn is to play with a goal. This is tied very closely to the chess strategy of making sure each move has a purpose.
Every move needs a purpose, which means that the player needs to have a goal while playing the game of chess. This sounds obvious, but does not come naturally to the many kids of the current generation. The overall goal of chess is checkmate (to achieve it in the most efficient way), and every move needs to have that in mind.
Elk Grove Village Library Kids Chess Classes
This Wednesday, July 6th, CheckMates Chess Academy starts kids chess classes at the Elk Grove Village Library. There will be two chess classes that run back to back for three weeks and a Chess Tournament that will follow on the fourth.
The first kids chess class is for beginning chess players and will teach how to play chess, focusing on how the chess pieces move and leading into how to win a chess game with Check and CheckMate. Over the three weeks of kids chess classes, we will also go over different variations to the game of chess, chess history, and how to use chess strategies in the everyday life. These beginning chess players will have their own section in the tournament, which is no elimination and a great start to any beginning chess player’s career.
The second kids chess class is for players who already know how to play chess and want to learn different chess strategies and chess tactics. This is a class that not only goes over strategies, but how to apply these to school, home, and other games and sports. These classes will play alternative chess games as well. Players in the intermediate kids chess class will play in the open section of the kids chess tournament, and will learn tournament rules throughout the three weeks of kids chess classes.
The “Fast Break” in Chess
The Chicago Bulls are deadly on the fast break! The fast break consists of a basketball team having an advantage in players as they transition on the floor. Take a moment to think which fast break would be better?
A 5 on 4?
A 4 on 3?
A 3 on 2?
or a 2 on 1?
Any basketball player would agree that a 2 on 1 advantage on the fast break is the best. Any mathematician would agree as well. That is because when you are attacking the hoop (like Derrick Rose) with a 2 on 1 advantage, you have a 200% advantage. Compare that to a 150% advantage with a 3 on 2 and only a 133% advantage with a 4 on 3. In chess, like in basketball, you need to capitalize on the advantage before the position changes; hence the Fast Break.
So how do chess players use this information to help them win. Well…When a chess player has the material advantage in the chess game (this means that a player has more chess pieces than their opponent) it is advantageous for them to create even trades. An even trade could be a pawn for a pawn, a knight for a knight, a bishop for a knight, or any trade where a piece of equal value is captured by each team. The less pieces that are left on the chess board, the more that players advantage grows!
If you have the advantage, make sure you capitalize on the Fast Break on the Chess Board before the position changes.
Creating a Passed Pawn in Chess
The most important rule about passed pawns to know is that two connected passed pawns, if you can get them to the sixth rank, are worth seven points. It’s as if suddenly an extra rook appeared on the board for you, if you can get them there. It can be worth a piece sacrifice to get them there, and you will suddenly find your opponent willing to do just about anything to get rid of them, including sacrificing his own pieces. If you have a pawn majority, meaning you have one more pawn than your opponent, then, so long as they are not doubled, you can create a passed pawn if they are pushed far enough up the board (ie. especially the sixth rank). Because then if you have to sacrifice a pawn to get your opponent’s pawn out of the way, you get to queen your pawn. And since you’re closer to the eighth rank, you queen first. So even if your opponent gets a passer, he won’t be able to queen it. For a very instructive game about pawns on the sixth, take a look at Grigory Serper vs Ioannis Nikolaidis 1993 St. Petersburg Open.
Chess Tactics
Tactics puzzles are a must for anyone wanting to improve their chess game. It is a good idea to try and do ten minutes a day of tactics puzzles, or three puzzles a day, spending only a short amount of time on each puzzle and then checking to see if you got the answer. This way you get into the habit of looking for puzzles, and you see lots of tactical patterns over and over again. You can find tactics books, tactics puzzles online, often the newspaper will have a tactics puzzle, or you can even purchase software like Ct-art that generates tactics puzzles for you to solve. Colorado chess player and former editor of the Colorado Chess Informant has a section he publishes called Tactics Time that he has turned into a website full of tactics puzzles from real games, which is particularly useful, as these are tactics that have actually come up and either been missed by the player, or that actually happened in the game. Tactics are fun and are what make chess sparks fly! You can also check out CheckMates Chess Academy’s Online Resources for Chess Puzzles divided by skill level.
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
Trading Pieces
All kids have it. The bad habit of trading every chance they get. It’s as if the minute an opportunity to trade arises a little Pavlovian bell goes off and ring ring “Must Trade” replaced all logical thought.
It is not always time to trade pieces. It is only time to trade pieces when it is favorable to trade pieces, and when you have no other choice but to trade pieces because not trading would lead to less favorable circumstances. Some examples of when if might be time to trade pieces are: you are up material; you will have the two bishops if you trade, but your opponent will have a knight and a bishop, or two knights; you will double your opponent’s pawns by trading pieces; you are coming out better in the trade, for example you trade your knight for his rook; trading improves the position of your pieces or makes the position of your opponent’s pieces inferior. An example of favorable piece placement would be a knight on an outpost-that is-a knight well into your opponent’s territory that is supported by one of your pawns, and cannot be kicked off that square by one of his. And example of a poorly placed piece is a bishop stuck forever behind pawns that are on the same color and cannot be moved. So trade not just because you can, but because you gain an advantage or because by not trading you incur disadvantage.
Cork Chess Set
This set set shows that you can make a chess set out of just about anything. Truely a work of art, I cant say I would like to play chess on it, but would love to have it in my house. Along with the lamp, the composition looks great. This is another board designed by Becky Chan.
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