TRG - Foundation Trainer Guide ABC

FIDE Trainers’ Commission
Foundation Trainer Guide
FIDE TRG Foundation Trainer Guide 1

First published in Greece by FIDE 2012
First Edition 1.000 copies - Second Edition 1.000 copies
Copyright © FIDE 2012 (office@fide.com - www.fide.com)
The rights of Marion Boensch-Kauke, Efstratios Grivas, John MacArthur, Andrew Martin, Adrian
Mikhalchishin, Kevin O’Connell, Susan Polgar, Sophia Rohde, Ali Nihat Yazici to be identified as
the authors of this work have been asserted in accordance with the International Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act.
All rights reserved. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or
otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other
than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being
imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
ISBN-13: 978-960-99379-3-1
Dedications
To all past and present top-trainers.
Cover by Nicolas Sphicas

White to play and win, Schachmaty 1929, Dedicated to Dr. S. Tarrasch (Endgame study by Réti),
2004, oil on canvas paper, 49x64 cm
(sphicasnicolas@gmail.com-www.chess.gr/sphicas-www.logicalchess.com/info/graphics/sphicas)
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Edited by Efstratios Grivas (www.GrivasChess.com)

Typeset by Efstratios Grivas & Vassilios Vrettos
Cover Image by Nicolas Sphicas
Proof-Reading by Kevin O’Connell (www.kochess.com)
Printed in Greece by ‘Apollon’ Ektipotiki O.E. (Georgios Mihailidis mihailidis@ath.forthnet.gr)
Contents
Colophon …………………..……………………………………………………………………….. 2
Contents - Symbols ………………………..………………………………………………………. 3
Foreword - FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov .…………………………...………..………. 4
FIDE Trainers’ System (Guide ) .....…………………………………………………………….. 4
FIDE - What is FIDE? - Kevin O’Connell ……………………………………………………... 5
FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG) - Efstratios Grivas .………………………………...…... 6
FIDE Chess in Schools Commission (CIS) - Ali Nihat Yazici ……………………………….. 7
Basic Philosophy - Kevin O’Connell ……………………………………………………………. 8
Basics - Introduction to Chess - Susan Polgar ………………………………………………… 9
Tactics - Andrew Martin ………………………………………………………………………….. 25
Checkmating Ideas - Andrew Martin …………………………………………………………… 38
Strategy - Teamwork - Kevin O’Connell …………………...…………………………………... 44
Strategy - The Centre - Efstratios Grivas ………………………………………………………. 46
Strategy - Attacking Teamwork - Efstratios Grivas …………………………………………… 48
Strategy - The Opening - Efstratios Grivas …………………………………………………….. 50
Strategy - Proverbs & Sayings - Sophia Rohde & John MacArthur …………………….….. 51
Chess Culture - History - Champions - Kevin O’Connell ……………………………………. 52
Chess Culture - FIDE World Champions - Kevin O’Connell ……………………………….. 54
Basic Checkmates - John MacArthur …………………………………………………………… 56
Basic Endgames - Andrew Martin ………………………………………………………………. 60
Mistakes - Teaching Mistakes - Kevin O’Connell …………………………………………….. 71
Mistakes - Children’s Mistakes - Kevin O’Connell …………………………………………… 73
Mistakes - Trainers’ Obligations & Mistakes - Adrian Mikhalchishin …………………...... 75
Literature - Kevin O’Connell …………………………………………………………………….. 77
Pedagogy - Educational Benefits of Chess - Kevin O’Connell ……………………………… 78
Pedagogy - Teaching Methods & Class Organization - John MacArthur …………………. 80
Pedagogy - Piaget, Gardner & Holt - Kevin O’Connell .....…………………………………. 83
Pedagogy - Differences Between Boys and Girls in Chess - Susan Polgar…...……………. 85
Psychology - Performance Anxiety & Error - Kevin O’Connell ……………………………. 87
Psychology - Learning to Play Chess - Marion Boensch-Kauke ……………………………. 89
Psychology - Solving Pedagogical Problem Situations - Marion Boensch-Kauke ……..… 91
How to Organize a Chess Club & Tournament - Sophia Rohde ………………………......... 94
Index of Games …………………………………………………………………………………….. 95
Index of Topics - Notes ………..………………………………………………………………….. 96
Symbols
+ Check ± White has a large advantage
++ double check ² White is slightly better
# Checkmate = equal position
!! brilliant move ³ Black is slightly better
! good move μ Black has a large advantage
!? interesting move –+ Black is winning
?! dubious move 1-0 the game ends in a win for White
? bad move ½-½ the game ends in a draw
?? Blunder 0-1 the game ends in a win for Black
(D) see next diagram ○ White to play
+– White is winning ● Black to play
Foreword
FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Chess has existed as a sport played at a competitive level for centuries. The common code gov-
erning the Laws of Chess is relatively recent, and the foundation of Fédération Internationale des
Échecs (FIDE), in Paris in 1924, is even more modern. FIDE currently has 177 member federa-
tions in all continents. Titles for players were introduced by FIDE in 1950, and titles for Arbiters
and Organizers followed. Now we are moving to a new phase, with titles for Trainers.
Chess is on the increase in schools across the world. It is part of the mainstream curriculum in
many countries. It is a goal of FIDE to make chess an educational tool, and generate worldwide
popularity for the game. Examples of the many educational advantages of chess are: shows the
need to make people realize the importance of advance planning; develops analytic and accurate
thinking; shows the necessity for a combative spirit; teaches fair play and emphasizes the need for
preparation and hard work in order to achieve success. However, with the increasing population of
chess players, comes the need for trainers to assist with their development.
This is the TRG’s Foundation Trainer Guide, focused on NI and DI school trainers. A manual
for trainers, which fulfils a considerable need in modern chess literature, concentrating on the
technical side of the game, but also covering various other topics and providing information. The
best trainers in this field have contributed to the book, which is an essential tool in the preparation
of trainers at all levels for the future. It will ensure that the next generation of players will be at a
great advantage over those that have gone before.
FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG)

FIDE Trainers` System (Guide)
FIDE Titles / TRG Seminars
The TRG, by taking into account previous decisions of FIDE Presidential & Executive Boards,
General Assemblies, and various proposals of recent years, revised and finalised the present guide.
This guide will apply to the FIDE Trainers’ System, dealing with FIDE Titles and TRG Seminars.
All previous decisions on these matters will have no validity any more and are replaced by the
present.
Please see http://trainers.fide.com/fide-trainers-system.html for complete details of the System.
There you may download all the possible details you might need, including the System Guide, the
Seminar Guide and lists of all Trainer title holders, Lecturers/Seminar Leaders and much else be-
sides.
FIDE - What is FIDE?
Kevin O’Connell
Concept and History Competitions and Objectives
FIDE is the World Chess Federation. It is FIDE organizes many chess competitions
in charge of chess all around the world. and is the sole body authorized to organize
There are 174 national chess federations in world championships for chess.
the FIDE family, which makes FIDE one of The most important ones are the World
the biggest sports organizations in the world. Championships, especially the ‘Men’s’ (it is
Your national chess federation is one of open to both men and women) and the
them. Women’s. FIDE is very proud of over forty
FIDE was born FIE in Paris in 1924 on 20 official championships for youngsters, men,
July, adopting the acronym FIDE in 1925, women and seniors. The Chess Olympiad is
both based on the French ‘Fédération Inter- also a very special event - 1306 players from
nationale des Échecs’ (Federation Interna- 141 federations took part in 2010.
tional of Chess). The main office is now in The current World Champion is Viswana-
Athens, Greece. Other offices are main- than Anand of India. The current Women’s
tained in Moscow and Elista. World Champion is Hou Yifan of China -
The main web site is www.fide.com with she was only 16 years old when she won the
other sites for the most important commis- title in 2010.
sions, such as Chess in Schools (cis.fide.com) The children you are teaching do not have
and Trainers (trainers.fide.com), and for Stu- to wait - in addition to the two main compe-
dent Members (Basic at sm.fide.com and titions, open to players of any age; FIDE
Premium at psm.fide.com). organizes separate World Championships for
FIDE, in its guise of an International boys and girls under the age of 20, 18, 16,
Sports Federation and its role as world gov- 14, 12, 10 and 8.
erning body of our sport, was recognized by FIDE works to promote chess throughout
the International Olympic Committee in the world. We are working towards having
1999. Chess was a demonstration sport at the 1,000,000,000 chess players on the planet.
Sydney Olympics in 2000 and is a candidate, FIDE works with rich and poor alike, but
strongly supported by a growing number of especially in schools. Our ultimate objective
National Olympic Committees, for inclusion is that every child should learn to play chess.
in the programme of the Winter Olympics. It is the Commissions for Trainers and for
Chess in Schools, and their web sites, that
are the spearhead of FIDE’s work populariz-
ing and promoting chess around the globe.
FIDE Presidents
In the near 88 year history of FIDE, there
have been only six Presidents of the
organization:
● Dr Alexander Rueb 1924-1949

● Folke Rogard 1949-1970
● Dr Machgielis (Max) Euwe 1970-1978
● Fridrik Olafsson 1978-1982
● Florencio Campomanes 1982-1995
● Kirsan Ilyumzhinov 1995-present
FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG)
Efstratios Grivas
Concept
We’re all born with a natural sense of curiosity. It’s what drives us to create new things and de-
velop new ideas. At TRG, we’re committed to nurturing our members’ pursuit of advanced scien-
tific and ‘technological’ knowledge through its many research initiatives. TRG is ‘partnering’ with
leading global trainers in a variety of fields including seminars, training methods, publishing and
research. The results of this cooperation can be applied in ways that benefit TRG intellectually and
culturally by transforming it into a cutting-edge leader in the creation of human chess-knowledge.
But most of all, TRG’s research aspirations aim to inspire the trainers, and the whole chess world,
to discover new ways of unlocking their potential.
The FIDE Trainers’ Committee, predecessor of the Trainers’ Commission (which was formed at
the start of 2009) was created in 2000 during the Istanbul Olympiad and was chaired by GM Yuri
Razuvaev, now Honorary Chairman. The Committee ‘created’ a real and decent training environ-
ment and established the guidance for its functioning for about eight years; its role is impossible to
overvalue. Now, in our ‘second period’, we have to re-examine our position at the moment and to
create new tasks for the future.
The most important task of TRG was the introduction of a system of titles and licences, as de-
manded by the IOC. The main idea was that the titles will boost the importance of trainers’ posi-
tions in the chess world. Licences are necessary for keeping up the level of the trainers, but until
the Sofia 2010 FIDE Presidential Board, these licences were not approved for worldwide use.
Now we have instruments to improve the level of trainers, but we need cooperation from the
Continental and National FIDE affiliated federations to implement the system correctly and effec-
tively. Our important role is to protect trainers and to help them to conduct their duties effectively
and with dignity. For further information see http://trainers.fide.com/trg-council.html and
http://trainers.fide.com/trg-members.html.
Aims
The FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG) is the official body of the World Chess Federation that
deals with trainers worldwide. TRG is responsible for and operates the following subjects:
1) Deals with any subject concerning trainers (http://trainers.fide.com).
2) Keeps the record of the list of trainers (http://trainers.fide.com/fide-trainers-system.html).
3) Keeps the record of the financial status of the trainers (as above).
4) Awards the highest training title worldwide, that of FIDE Senior Trainer (FST).
5) Endorses and records FIDE Academies (http://trainers.fide.com/fide-academies.html).
6) Prepares and follows its annual Budget (http://trainers.fide.com/minutes.html).
7) Runs the annual FIDE Trainers Awards (http://trainers.fide.com/awards-hall-of-fame.html).
8) Draws up the necessary Guidelines and Rules and proposes them to FIDE PB and GA.
9) Organizes the worldwide Educational Seminars for FIDE titles.
10) Organizes and supports various Youth Camps (http://trainers.fide.com/seminars.html).
11) Organizes Informative Meetings in various events (http://trainers.fide.com/minutes.html).
12) Lists its Recommended Books (http://trainers.fide.com/recommended-books.html).
13) Supports trainers with monthly Surveys, free of charge (http://trainers.fide.com/surveys.html).
14) Cooperates with CACDEC, ECU (European Chess Union) and IOC/ARISF (International
Olympic Committee / Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations), assuring
sponsored FIDE Trainers’ Seminars (for CACDEC federations) annually (2009-2012).
15) Supports trainers with valuable general information (http://trainers.fide.com).
FIDE Chess in Schools Commission (CIS)
Ali Nihat Yazici
Concept Premium Student Membership
FIDE's Chess in Schools Commission was Premium Student Members (PSMs) get a
founded in 1984. It underwent a major re- Premium Pack for their 10 euro per year
furbishment in 2010 and work started on membership fee. The standard elements are:
several projects. Some of those have reached ● Plastic ID card.
fruition during the past year. In the spring of ● Welcome letter.
2011, the Commission launched its web site ● FIDE Student Rating.
cis.fide.com. ● Chess book.
That was soon followed by very specific ● Fortnightly magazine full of practical tips,
projects (CIS100) in Slovakia and Slovenia. instructional material and puzzles.
Those two projects have been linked in ● Dedicated web site - a colourful lollipop
closely to the development of FIDE Student full of instruction and entertainment.
Membership with its own web sites.
Cis.fide.com
The Commission web site, available in
several languages, is a repository for much
of general interest, notably the videos, but
for those who are directly involved in the
work of developing chess in schools, espe-
cially trainers and teachers, the Information
and Resource Centre (which has a prominent
link on the home page of cis.fide.com) is a
rich source of materials.
There are teaching materials that you may
use, information about the worldwide spread
of Chess in Schools and research papers to
furnish you with the ammunition to convince
educators of the value of teaching chess in
schools.
The Student Member web sites
FIDE Student Membership
(sm.fide.com and psm.fide.com) are a huge
Basic Student Membership (SM) is free to
undertaking. They are already available in
anyone. The free version is handled auto-
nine languages, with more to follow.
matically (more-or-less) by our web server
CIS and TRG are now working hand in
(the only place that registration for free
hand to develop suitable training materials
membership can be made).
for use both by the trainers who will train
This is valuable, both to national federa-
the teachers and by the teachers who will
tions and to FIDE, because it adds to the
teach our children. This book is one of the
number of their and our members, and that
first fruits of that cooperation.
helps make chess ever more interesting to
potential sponsors. However, the most im-
portant development is Premium Student
Membership (PSM - with an annual fee of
EUR 10).
Basic Philosophy
Kevin O’Connell
Concept more attention to understanding and to the
Teaching chess is rather like playing the basics of the skill of playing chess.
game - there is no 'correct' way to do it, but Another bad or at least dubious habit is to
there are many mistakes waiting to be made. be preoccupied with ideas of learning how to
Although we can learn from making them, it win more games. Chess, like tennis and most
would be more efficient to avoid them. other sports cannot be won by force; your
A major objective of this book is to help opponent must make one or more mistakes
you do that. To do it effectively, we have (usually lots). Philosophically, the best way
deliberately kept the book short and, we to win more games is simply to reduce the
hope, simple. KIS (keep it simple) is as good number of your own errors and allow your
a motto for you as it is for us. opponents to lose to you.
1. Avoid mistakes - zero mistakes means Teaching chess to children, especially
zero losses - regrettably, this is unattainable young children can be very difficult ... for us
but a worthy objective. as much as for them. What seems simple and
2. Work together as a team - you and your obvious to us can be incomprehensible to
students, them and the pieces on the board. kids. If the children are very young and/or
The world has a plentiful supply of quality disadvantaged, they may well struggle to
chess instruction in the form of books, vast understand our words and apparently simple
databases of games, many of them with an- terms such as 'straight line,' 'rank', 'file' and
notations, and, increasingly, videos and above all 'diagonal' may be beyond them at
online materials. Many players, especially first. Therefore, you may need to use 'pre-
adults, believe that if they buy lots of these chess' or 'chess readiness' to familiarize the
'bricks' and pile them up, one atop the other, children with even the most basic of our
they will improve their understanding of and terminology. An excellent technique, as you
ability at chess. That is excellent news for introduce the pieces, is to have the children
the publishers, but a very ineffective way of act out the way they move; this introduces
trying to make progress in chess. the concept of the relative powers of the
You have surely heard the saying ‘less is pieces, for example, having a child walk
more’ and it is just as true on the chess board around the class one step at a time, like a
as in other areas of life. Understanding, even king, pausing after each step (because we
just a little, is more important and valuable take it in turns to make moves on the board).
than any amount of 'book knowledge'. Another difficulty that we must recognize,
Most consumers at least pay lip service to if we are to succeed, is that most children
the idea of getting value for money, but that will struggle, at least at first, with the con-
is an idea that seems to go out of the window siderable 'translation' effort required to
when players seek self improvement, often switch between a three dimensional board
working too hard on the superstructure, and set and the two dimensional form of
while it is the foundations that count. Of demonstration board, books and worksheets.
course, these things apply more to adults We all have different learning styles, but it
than to young children. Nonetheless it is is always worth remembering the Coach's
important to build good, strong foundations Mantra:
and to form good habits. ● I Forget what I Hear
One of our worst habits is to pile up new ● I Remember what I See
knowledge on top of old - all, or most of it ● I Understand what I Do
remaining undigested. We ought to pay KIS and keep repeating the mantra.
Basics - Introduction to Chess
Susan Polgar
Introduction to Chess As you can see, the Chessboard (which, by
Welcome to the cool and exciting world of the way, is also used to play checkers), has a
Chess! Square shape, with alternating light (usually
The game of Chess was invented about we call them white) and dark (usually we
two thousand years ago in India (then trav- call them black) Squares. There are a total of
elled to Persia, reaching Europe later) and is 64 Squares on the Chessboard. The same
the oldest game we know of. identical number for each side: 32.
Chess is played by two sides and you can On the Chessboard, there are up and down
win, lose or tie (draw). Squares, which are called Files. They go
In order to play Chess you will need a from a to h (left to right). The dark dots
Chessboard and two sets of Chess Pieces of identify the d File (from d1 to d8).
opposite colours (a light colour and a dark XABCDEFGHY
one). White (or the side with lighter Pieces)
always starts the game, and players will al- 8-+-}-+-+(
ternate moves after that.
Here are all the different Pieces:
7+-+{+-+-'
6-+-}-+-+&
K King
Q Queen 5+-+{+-+-%
R Rook 4-+-}-+-+$
L Bishop
N Knight 3+-+{+-+-#
P Pawn 2-+-}-+-+"
But, before we start learning about the 1+-+{+-+-!
Pieces and how to play, we need to start
learning about the Chessboard. It will only xabcdefghy
take a few minutes. The Squares that go sideways are called
This is what a Chessboard looks like: Ranks. They go from 1-8 (from down to up).
XABCDEFGHY XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+( 8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-' 7+-+-+-+-'
6-+-+-+-+& 6-+-+-+-+&
5+-+-+-+-% 5}{}{}{}{%
4-+-+-+-+$ 4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-+-# 3+-+-+-+-#
2-+-+-+-+" 2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-! 1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy xabcdefghy
The dark dots identify the fifth Rank (from agonals.
a5 to h5). While Squares on Files or Ranks always
There are 8 Files and 8 Ranks on the have alternating colours (four of each col-
Chessboard. So, if you multiply 8 Squares our), when we talk of Diagonals, we always
by 8 Squares, it adds up to 64 Squares. Each refer to a number of Squares of the same
of the Squares on the Chessboard has a colour, either dark (a3 to c1) or light (a4 to
name, just like you and your friends. e8).
For example, the one in the lower left- XABCDEFGHY
hand corner, where the a File meets the first
Rank, is called a1, where you see the dark 8-+-+{+-+(
dot on the diagram below:
7+-+{+-+-'
XABCDEFGHY
6-+{+-+-+&
8-+-+-+-+(
5+{+-+-+-%
7+-+-+-+-'
4{+-+-+-+$
6-+-+-+-+&
3}-+-+-+-#
5+-+-+-+-%
2-}-+-+-+"
4-+-+-+-+$
1+-}-+-+-!
3+-+-+-+-#
xabcdefghy
2-+-+-+-+" In addition to dividing the Chessboard into
1}-+-+-+-! light or dark Squares, Files, Ranks and Di-
agonals, we also divide them in other ways.
xabcdefghy All the Squares on the first through fourth
One thing to remember is the letter always Rank are considered as White’s territory,
comes before the number. Therefore, it is a1 while all the Squares on the fifth through
and not 1a. eighth Ranks are Black’s territory.
On the next diagram, where the f File
meets with the fifth Rank you can see the Black’s side
dark dot on f5. XABCDEFGHY
XABCDEFGHY 8-+-+-+-+(
8-+-+-+-+( 7+-+-+-+-'
7+-+-+-+-' 6-+-+-+-+&
6-+-+-+-+& 5+-+-+-+-%
5+-+-+{+-%
4-+-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-+-# 4-+-+-+-+$
2-+-+-+-+" 3+-+-+-+-#
1+-+-+-+-! 2-+-+-+-+"
xabcdefghy 1+-+-+-+-!
In addition to Ranks and Files, there is also abcdefgh
a series of Squares that we refer to as Di- White’s side
Another way to divide the Chessboard is Why like an old man? Because, it moves
by separating the right side and the left side. very slowly, only one Square at a time.
However, in Chess we call it differently: the Why is it like royalty? Because it is the
right side (looking ‘up’ from a to h) is the most important Piece in a Chess game.
Kingside and the left side is the Queenside. The King has no ‘number value’ as the
other Pieces do, because it is so important.
Queenside Kingside The white King starts the game on e1,
XABCD EFGHY while the black King starts on e8, as shown
below.
8-+-+ -+-+( XABCDEFGHY
7+-+- +-+-' 8-+-+k+-+(
6-+-+ -+-+& 7+-+-+-+-'
5+-+- +-+-% 6-+-+-+-+&
4-+-+ -+-+$ 5+-+-+-+-%
3+-+- +-+-# 4-+-+-+-+$
2-+-+ -+-+" 3+-+-+-+-#
1+-+- +-+-! 2-+-+-+-+"
xabcd efghy 1+-+-mK-+-!
Remember the lower right corner (h1)
must always be of the light colour! xabcdefghy
You can lose any Piece during a game and
The Chess Pieces the game will still continue. But if you were
Now that you are all familiar with what a to lose your King, it would be game over.
Chessboard looks like, and in fact you know Therefore, it is most important to make sure
everything about it, it is time to get to know that your King is safe at all times. It also
the Chess Pieces one by one. means that you can never move to a Square
We will start with the King. In many ways where your King could be captured by any
the King on a Chessboard is like royalty and of your opponent’s Pieces.
like an old man. That would be called: moving into Check -
which you can never do.
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-'
6-+-+-+-+&
5+-+{}{+-%
4-+-}K}-+$
3+-+{}{+-#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
The King can move one Square in any In the position in the diagram above you
direction, as you can see on the diagram can see the white Rook in the corner on h1.
above - the dark dots indicate the Squares There is nothing in its way. Therefore, from
where he can move. Remember, two Kings h1 it can move to the left, either to a1, b1,
can never move right next to each other! c1, d1, e1, f1 or g1 along the first Rank. It
Now that you are all familiar with Kings, can also move up along the h File, to h2, h3,
we will learn about the Rooks. h4, h5, h6, h7 or h8. The Rook cannot move
to any other Square from its position on h1.
To notate a Rook move, you write R (for
Rook) in front of the name of the Square the
Rook is about to move to. For example, if a
Rook moves from h1 to b1, it would be
Rb1. This is the ‘short’ Notation. For the
‘long’ Notation, you would write Rh1-b1.
If the Rook would capture an enemy Piece
with the same move, then we add an x as the
sign for capturing. In this case, you would
write Rxb1 in ‘short’ Notation. In the ‘long’
Notation, you would write Rh1xb1.
However, let us look at what happens if we
When a Chess game starts, each side has add a white King on h2 to the position:
two Rooks on the Chessboard. Their starting XABCDEFGHY
positions are on the a1 and h1 Squares for
White and on the a8 and h8 Squares for 8-+-+-+-+(
Black. The Rook also has two nicknames: 7+-+-+-+-'
Tower or Castle. Each Rook is usually worth
5 Points. This is equal to 5 Pawns. 6-+-+-+-+&
The Rook moves on ‘tracks like a train’, in
straight lines, up, down, left, or right. The
5+-+-+-+-%
Rook moves either on Files or Ranks, but 4-+-+-+-+$
never on Diagonals.
The Rook moves and captures the same 3+-+-+-+-#
way. Naturally, the Rook (just as any of the 2-+-+-+-mK"
other Pieces), can never capture any of its
own Pieces, only the Pieces of the opponent. 1+-+-+-+R!
XABCDEFGHY xabcdefghy
8-+-+-+-}( Then, the mobility of
the white Rook (on h1) is
7+-+-+-+{' more limited. It can still
6-+-+-+-}& move toward the left, but
no longer can move up
5+-+-+-+{% along the h File because
the King on h2 would be
4-+-+-+-}$ in its way.
3+-+-+-+{# Remember: in Chess
most Pieces cannot jump
2-+-+-+-}" over other Pieces. The
1}{}{}{}R! only exception to that
rule is the Knight. But we
xabcdefghy will learn about that later.
Now, that you already know about the moves by moving, for example d1-f3-g4-h5-
King and the Rook, we will move on to learn g6-d3-c4-b5-a6-f1.
about the Bishops. It is fun and good practice to play little
The Bishop in some languages is called games with the Pieces that you have already
Runner. And it is for a good reason as the learned about. Here is one example of a mini
Bishop, just like the Rook, is a long range fun game using only Rooks and Bishops,
Piece. It can get from one side of the Chess- which are the Pieces you have learned about
board to the other very quickly. so far.
The split that you can find in the Bishop of XABCDEFGHY
many Chess sets, symbolizes the tusks of an
elephant which can be seen on the oldest 8r+l+-vl-+(
known piece designs.
Remember the value of the Rook? The
7+-+-+-+-'
usual value is five for the Rook. The 6-+-+-+-+&
Bishop’s value is usually three points - a
similar value to three Pawns. 5+-+-+ +-%
The white Bishops start a regular Chess
game on c1 (running only on dark Squares),
4-+-+-+-+$
and f1 (running only on light Squares), while 3+-+-+ +-#
the black Bishops start on c8 and f8.
The Bishop moves only on Diagonals
2-+-+-+-+"
which consist of the same colour Squares as 1+-vL-+L+R!
the Bishop is on. It can never move to a
Square of different colour to that where it xabcdefghy
stands at the beginning of the game. Whoever captures an enemy Piece wins
XABCDEFGHY the game. If within 10 moves neither side
wins any Piece, the game is a tie. If one side
8-+-+-+-+( captures a Bishop but on the very next move
the other side can capture a Rook, the side
7+-+-+-+-' winning the Rook wins, as it is the more
6{+-+-+-+& valuable Piece.
Now that you have been introduced to the
5+{+-+-+{% King, Rook and Bishop, it is time to learn
4-+{+-+{+$ about the most valuable Piece in Chess: the
Queen.
3+-+{+{+-#
2-+-+L+-+"
1+-+{+{+-!
xabcdefghy
In the position above, White’s Bishop that
is on e2 can choose to move to one of the
following nine Squares: a6, b5, c4, d3, f1 or
on the other Diagonal to: h5, g4, f3 or d1.
When a Bishop moves from e2 to h5, we
would write Bh5.
Just like the Rook, the Bishop moves and
captures the same way.
In this example, the white Bishop is able to
‘capture’ all nine black dots in just ten
Each side starts the game with only one agonals. It is like a combination of two Piec-
Queen. They start on d1 for White and d8 es and therefore has great power.
for Black. As the royal name suggests, it is In the diagram above, the Queen has many
the most powerful Piece in Chess. options. If you count the dark dots, it would
XABCDEFGHY show 23 different Squares that the Queen
can move to from its current position on b5.
8r+lwqkvl-tr( Now let's compare that to the Rook or
Bishop on the same b5 Square. The Rook on
7+-+-+-+-' b5 would only have 14 possible Squares to
6-+-+-+-+& move to, while the Bishop on b5 only has 9
possible Squares to move to.
5+-+-+-+-% Let’s look at the following situation:
4-+-+-+-+$ XABCDEFGHY
3+-+-+-+-# 8-+-+-+-+(
2-+-+-+-+" 7+-+-+-+ '
1tR-vLQmKL+R! 6-wq-+r+-+&
xabcdefghy 5+-+-+-+-%
The Queen’s typical value is 9 Points, far 4-+-+-+-+$
more than any other Piece. For example, it is
generally equal to 3 Bishops, or 1 Rook + 1 3+-+-wQ-+-#
Bishop + 1 Pawn, and so on.
It is usually very important to keep in
2-+-+-+ +"
mind the value of the Pieces. A higher total 1+-vl-+-+-!
value of Pieces that you have (compared to
your opponent), usually equates to a better xabcdefghy
position and more chances to win the game. The white Queen on e3 has the option to
Therefore, generally you want to guard capture three different Black Pieces: the
your Pieces very carefully, especially your Bishop on c1, the Rook on e6 or the Queen
Queen and Rooks, as those are the most on b6. Given those three options, which one
valuable Pieces on the Chessboard. do you think White should choose, consider-
XABCDEFGHY ing Black’s expected best response?
It is very important in Chess to always try
8-}-+{+-+( to look for your opponent’s very best reply
that you can find. Only with that understand-
7+{+{+-+-' ing can you make the right choice of your
6{}{+-+-+& own.
Let us study the various options that White
5}Q}{}{}{% has. The highest value Piece that White can
4{}{+-+-+$ capture is Black’s Queen on b6. However,
after that choice, Black would recapture with
3+{+{+-+-# the Rook from e6.
This would be called an even trade or ex-
2-}-+{+-+" change, because White captures the Black
1+{+-+{+-! Queen, but loses his own Queen right after.
Capturing the black Rook on e6 is even
xabcdefghy worse because as a response, Black could
The Queen does what the Rook or Bishop capture the white Queen with the Queen
does. It can move on Files, Ranks and Di- from b6. This would be a net loss for White
of four points, by giving up a nine point XABCDEFGHY
Piece (Queen) for a five point Piece (Rook).
Even though the Bishop has the lowest 8-+-+-+-+(
value of the three choices, it is still clearly
the best one to capture, because it is for free,
7+-+{J{+-'
as White will not lose the Queen in return. 6-+{+j+{+&
So, the correct answer is Qe3xc1, which is
the long way to write: Queen captures 5+-JjsNjJ-%
Bishop on c1 (Qxc1 for short). 4-+{+j+{+$
3+-+{J{+-#
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
As shown in the diagram above, the white
Knight can move from e5 to: d7, f7, c6, g6,
c4, g4, d3 or f3. If the Knight moves from e5
to f3, you would write Νf3. You may won-
der why the letter N is used for Knight and
not a K when it is spelled Knight. The rea-
son is not to mix it up with a King move!
In the next example, we see how to capture
Now that you know about the Chessboard 8 Pawns (with no other Pieces on the Chess-
and how most of the Chess Pieces move, we board - only White moves) with the Knight.
will learn about the last Piece, the coolest XABCDEFGHY
Piece, which is the Knight. You may call it a
Horse or Horsey too. 8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-'
6-+{+{+-+&
5+{+-+{+-%
4-+-sN-+-+$
3+{+-+{+-#
2-+{+{+-+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
Value = about 3 Points, roughly equivalent Generally, the more Squares your Pieces
to 3 Pawns or 1 Bishop. can reach from their position, the more
The Knight has a fun trick just like a real power they have.
horse. It is the only Piece which can jump The Knight Tour: Put your Knight on d4
over another. and cover each other Square with something
The Knight always alternates jumping like a button or a small piece of stone.
from a light to a dark Square and then again Try to jump with the Knight in a ‘Knight
dark to light Square and so on. It jumps in an move’ from one Square to another to remove
L-shape. all objects from the other 63 Squares, land-
ing only once on each Square of the Chess- This is how the Pawns are set up on the 2nd
board. and 7th Ranks at the beginning of a Chess
Here is one of the many solutions to the game:
‘Knight Tour’. The Knight starts at Square XABCDEFGHY
number 1 and ends at number 64.
8-+-+-+-+(
7zppzppzppzpp'
6-+-+-+-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+ + +-+$
3+-+-+-+-#
2PzPPzPPzPPzP"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
Here are the rules about how the Pawn
moves:
Pawns move straight ahead, one Square at
Finally, let’s learn about the Pawn. a time. However, a Pawn can move forward
two Squares one time from its initial posi-
tion. In other words, if a Pawn is still in its
starting position, you can choose to move it
one or two Squares up. Once it has moved
(one or two Squares), that Pawn can only
advance one Square at a time after that.
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+-+(
7zp-+-+-+-'
6{+-+p+-+&
5}-+-}-+{%
4-+{+-+-zP$
3+-}-+-+-#
In Chess each Piece has a value. Their
relative values vary during a game, but we
2-+P+-+-+"
use an average value to keep things simple. 1+-+-+-+-!
Pawns are the least powerful Pieces on the
Chessboard when a full Chess game begins. xabcdefghy
Their value is only one point, compared to The white Pawn on c2 (or black on a7) can
other Pieces, which range from 3 to 9 points choose to move to c3 or c4 (a6 or a5), while
each. However, unlike any of the other the h4 (e6) one can only go to h5 (e5).
Pieces, each side has eight Pawns to start When a Pawn has another Piece right in
with! In addition, Pawns have some special front of it, as in the position below, it is
powers, like no other Piece. stuck and cannot move forward.
XABCDEFGHY Once a Pawn reaches the last Rank, it can
become ANY Piece except the King!
8-+-+-+-+( However, it cannot remain a Pawn. It must
become another Piece such as Queen, Rook,
7+ + +-+-' Bishop, or Knight. In most cases, the Pawn
6-+-+-+p+& usually promotes to become a Queen be-
cause that is the most valuable Piece in
5+p+-+-zP-% Chess.
4-zP-zp-+-+$ The only other restriction ... it can’t
change colour!
3+-+P+-+-# XABCDEFGHY
2-+-+-+-+" 8-+-+Q+-+(
1+-+-+-+-! 7+-+-}-+-'
xabcdefghy 6-+-+{+-+&
None of these Pawns can move! Pawns,
however, unlike other Chess Pieces, capture 5+-+-}-+-%
differently than the way they move. Pawns 4-+-+P+-+$
move forward but capture diagonally.
XABCDEFGHY 3+-+-+-+-#
8-+-+-+-+( 2-+-+-+-+"
7+-+-+-+-' 1+-+-+-+-!
6-+-+-+-+& xabcdefghy
A fun game to play is the ‘Pawn War’ with
5+-+p+-+-% all eight Pawns on both sides (but without
4-+-+P+-+$ Kings for now). The goal is to get across to
the far end of the Chessboard and promote.
3+-+-+-+-# The side who promotes first wins!
In Pawn Wars we often see a race between
2-+-+-+-+" the Pawns of the two sides, just like this:
1+-+-+-+-! XABCDEFGHY
xabcdefghy 8-+-+-+-+(
Here White can play 1.e4xd5.
7+-+-+-+-'
Pawns are the only Pieces which do not 6-+P+-+-+&
move backwards! That means that white
Pawns start on the second Rank of the 5+-+-+-+-%
Chessboard and head towards the eighth 4-+ +-+p+$
Rank, while black Pawns start on the sev-
enth Rank and will try to get to the other 3+-+-+-+-#
end, the first Rank.
But why? What is there at the other end of
2-+ +-+-+"
the Chessboard? This is where magic will 1+-+-+-+-!
happen.
Pawns have a cool trick up their sleeves. It xabcdefghy
is the only Piece which can promote and The white Pawn is already on c6, only two
change into another more valuable Piece! Squares away from the promotion Square
c8, while Black needs three more moves to a. Does not have his or her King attacked
get to the promotion Square (to g1). So, if (not in Check).
White starts, the first move will be to push b. No legal move can be made with the King
the Pawn to c7, then Black pushes the Pawn or ANY of the other Pieces.
to g3 and White arrives first by advancing When Stalemate occurs, the game results
the Pawn to c8 to promote. in a tie or draw, meaning each player gets
But how do we write down a Pawn move? half a point.
In the most commonly used ‘short’ Notation, That can be very disappointing for the side
you simply use the name of the Square which has a big material advantage, for ex-
where a Pawn is moving to. For example, if ample a King and a Queen, while the other
a Pawn from c6 moves to the c7 Square, you side has only a King.
would just write 1.c7. There is no need to Make sure you do your best to avoid
write P for Pawn although you could if you Stalemate when you are in a better or win-
wish. ning position.
In the ‘long’ Notation, once again you do Here are some examples. In the three posi-
not need to write P for Pawn. All you have tions below it is Black’s turn to move. All of
to do is to write the name of the Square them show Stalemate positions:
where the Pawn is moving from and the
name of the Square it is going to. In this XABCDEFGHY
example, it would be 1.c6-c7.
Let’s look at another example. When a 8-+-+-+-+(
Pawn moves from g4 to g3 (for Black), you
would just write 1...g3 using the ‘short’ No-
7+-+-+-+-'
tation or 1...g4-g3 if you are using the ‘long’ 6-+-+-+-+&
Notation.
When a Pawn promotes, for example to a 5+-+-+-+-%
Queen on c8, we write: c7-c8Q or c8Q in 4-+-+-+-+$
the short form.
3+-wQ-+-+-#
Summary - Stalemate
In the previous parts of this chapter, you
2-+-+-mK-+"
have been introduced to the Chessboard, all 1+-+k+-+-!
the Chess Pieces and what they can and
can’t do. xabcdefghy
Here is the summary of the value of all the
Chess Pieces. Please remember that these XABCDEFGHY
are not set in stone:
Average Values of Pieces
8-+-+k+-+(
Q Queen =9
7+-+-zP-+-'
R Rook =5 6-+-+K+-+&
L Bishop =3
N Knight =3
5+-+-+-+-%
P
K
Pawn =1 4-+-+-+-+$
King =None
3+-+-+-+-#
You already know the difference between 2-+-+-+-+"
Check and Checkmate. There is one more
important thing to know about: Stalemate. 1+-+-+-+-!
A Stalemate happens when the player
whose turn to move:
xabcdefghy
XABCDEFGHY Remember, a game is only Stalemate if
none of the weaker side’s Pieces can move.
8-+-+-+-+(
Castling
7zp-+-+-+-' In this part you will be introduced to a
6P+-+-sN-mk& special and unique move, one that each side
may use at most only one time during the
5+-+-+-+-% game: Castling.
4-+K+-+-+$ Castling is a unique move, as it is the only
special move which allows you to move two
3+-+-+-+-# of your Pieces, the King and the Rook, both
at the same time!
2-+-+-+-+" The purpose of Castling is to hide your
1+-+-+-tR-! King, near the corner and behind your
Pawns, from dangers that could befall it if it
xabcdefghy stays in the middle of the Chessboard.
But the following positions are not Stale- You may Castle to either the Kingside or
mate. The black King has no possible moves the Queenside of the Chessboard.
but the black Pawn can move. This is what Castling to the ‘short’ side
XABCDEFGHY (Kingside) looks like.
8-+-+-+-+( XABCDEFGHY
7+-+-+-+-' 8r+-+k+-tr(
6-+-+-+-zp& 7zppzp-+pzpp'
5+-+-+-+-% 6-+-zp-+-+&
4-+-+-+-+$ 5+-+-+-+-%
3+-wQ-+-+-# 4-+-+-+-+$
2-+-+-mK-+" 3+-+P+-+-#
1+-+k+-+-! 2PzPP+-zPPzP"
xabcdefghy 1tR-+-mK-+R!
In the position just above, White can move
8-+-+-+-+( his King to the right toward the Kingside, to
g1 and as part of the same move, the white
7zp-+-+-+-' Rook on h1 can move around the white King
6-+-+-sN-mk& and land on f1.
5zP-+-+-+-% 3+-+P+-+-#
4-+K+-+-+$ 2PzPP+-zPPzP"
3+-+-+-+-# 1tR-+-+RmK-!
2-+-+-+-+" xabcdefghy
1+-+-+-tR-! Black can do the same by moving the King
to g8 and the Rook to f8. See the illustration
xabcdefghy below:
XABCDEFGHY to Castle to the side on which your Rook
made no moves yet.
8r+-+-trk+( Here are some examples to demonstrate
both of the above situations:
7zppzp-+pzpp'
XABCDEFGHY
6-+-zp-+-+&
8r+-+k+-tr(
And this is what Castling to the ‘long side’ 7zppzp-+pzpp'
or Queenside looks like: 6-+-zp-+-+&
XABCDEFGHY 5+-+-+-+-%
8-+ktr-+-tr( 4-+-+-+-+$
7zppzp-+pzpp' 3+-+P+-+-#
6-+-zp-+-+& 2PzPPsn-zPPzP"
5+-+-+-+-% 1tR-+-mK-+R!
4-+-+-+-+$ xabcdefghy
3+-+P+-+-# In this position, White’s best move is to
2PzPP+-zPPzP" capture Black’s Knight, winning a Piece.
However, after that, even if the white King
1+-mKR+-+R! later returns to e1, White has lost the right to
Castle (to either side) for the rest of the
xabcdefghy game.
In the position above, White moved his XABCDEFGHY
King toward the Queenside, to c1 and as part
of the same move, the white Rook moved 8r+-+k+-tr(
round the white King and landed on d1.
Black also moved the King to c8 and the 7zppzp-+pzpp'
Rook on a8 to d8. 6-+-zp-+-+&
The reason why we also call it short side
Castling is that the distance between the 5+-+-+-+-%
King on e1 and the Rook on the h-file is 4-+-+-+-+$
only two Squares. For long side Castling, the
Rook on the a-file crosses three Squares. 3+-+P+-+-#
The Notation for Castling to the Kingside
is 0-0, and Castling toward the Queenside is 2PzPP+-zPPvl"
0-0-0. 1tR-+-mK-+R!
There are several restrictions on Castling - xabcdefghy
either temporarily or permanently. You can In the position above, White of course
no longer Castle at all in the present game: should capture the ‘free’ Bishop on h2.
a. If the King has moved, even if it later re- However, that will mean that White is giving
turned to its starting position on e1 (or e8 for up on Castling to the Kingside in this game.
Black). On the other hand, that does not take away
b. After whichever Rook has already moved, the right for White to Castle to the Queen-
you cannot Castle to that side, even if it later side later in the game.
returned to its starting position on a1/h1 (or While Castling generally is important (es-
a8/h8 for Black). However, you are still free pecially when the Queens are still on the
Chessboard), winning material usually is In the diagram above, Black will only be
even more important. Here are some cases able to Castle toward the Kingside on this
when you cannot Castle, at least temporarily, turn. Black may not Castle toward the
but may do so later within that same game Queenside for now because the c8 and d8
provided that circumstances have changed: Squares are attacked by the white Bishops.
a. While you are in Check. Remember that you may be able to Castle
b. The Square where your King would land later on, if the problem is no longer there.
is under attack by an enemy Piece - this Remember to Castle early in the game to
would be to move into a Check. keep your King safe! This is a very good tip.
c. Your King would have to cross a Square
that is being attacked. En Passant
There is only one more special rule that
XABCDEFGHY you need to know: En Passant. It is a French
8r+-+k+-tr( expression meaning: ‘in passing’. This is
what this special Pawn move means:
7zppzp-+pzpp' XABCDEFGHY
6-+-zp-+-+& 8-+-+-+-+(
5vl-+-+-+-% 7+-+-+-+-'
4-+-+-+-+$ 6-+-+-+-+&
3+-+P+L+-# 5+-+-+-+-%
2PzPP+-zPPzP" 4-+-zp-+-+$
1tR-+-mK-+R! 3+-+-+-+-#
xabcdefghy 2-+P+-+-+"
In this example, the white King is in
Check (from the black Bishop on a5). That 1+-+-+-+-!
means therefore, at this moment, White is xabcdefghy
not allowed to Castle to either side. How-
An En Passant opportunity occurs when a
ever, if now White chooses to play c3 (with
Pawn advances two Squares from its starting
the Pawn) to block the Check, White will
position (from c2 to c4 in this case) and
keep the option to Castle later on.
lands up next to an enemy Pawn.
8r+-+k+-tr( 8-+-+-+-+(
7zppzp-+pzpp' 7+-+-+-+-'
6-vllzp-+-+& 6-+-+-+-+&
5+-+-+-+-% 5+-+-+-+-%
4-+-+-+LvL$ 4-+Pzp-+-+$
3+-+P+-+-# 3+-+-+-+-#
2PzPP+-zPPzP" 2-+-+-+-+"
1tR-+-mK-+R! 1+-+-+-+-!
In this situation Black has the special one- XABCDEFGHY
time option to capture the white Pawn just as
if the Pawn had moved up only one Square 8r+-+-trk+(
from c2 to c3. 7zppzpq+pzp-'
Black can move the Pawn from d4 to c3,
behind the white Pawn at c4 AND remove 6-+-+-sn-zp&
White’s Pawn from the Chessboard!
5+-+-+-+-%
XABCDEFGHY 4-+-+-+-+$
8-+-+-+-+( 3+-sN-+-+P#
7+-+-+-+-' 2PzPP+QzPP+"
6-+-+-+-+& 1tR-+-+RmK-!
5+-+-+-+-% xabcdefghy
4-+-+-+-+$ For example, in the position above, both
3+-zp-+-+-# white Rooks (from, a1 and f1) can move to
d1. If you would like to record the Rook
2-+-+-+-+" from a1 moving to d1, you would write
Rad1 or for the other Rook, Rfd1.
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy The Purpose of a Chess Game
Checkmate! When you Checkmate your
However, it is important to remember that
opponent, you WIN the game. If you get
you only have this option immediately after
Checkmated, it means you lost. A Chess
a Pawn moves two Squares from its initial
game can end in one of 3 ways: you can win,
position. If you don’t capture it straight
lose or draw.
away using En Passant, you lose that right.
a. If White wins, the result is 1-0.
Also, you may never capture by En Pas-
b. If Black wins, it is 0-1.
sant if the Pawn moved up only one Square.
c. A ½-½ means the game ended in a draw.
What is the difference between a Check
Chess Notation
and a Checkmate? The big difference is that
Let us review the Chess Notation, which is
when you give a Check, your opponent CAN
a must when you play an official game.
get out of it, while when you Checkmate, it
When a Pawn moves, it is enough to just
is GAME OVER and you have just WON!
write the name of the Square where the
Pawn is moving to. For example f4 means a XABCDEFGHY
Pawn has moved to f4. 8-+-+-tR-+(
When any other Piece moves, you would
write first the capital letter for the Piece that 7+-+-+-+-'
moves and then the name of the Square.
K for King, Q for Queen, R for Rook, B
6-+-+-+-+&
for Bishop and N for Knight. 5+-+-+-+-%
For example, Nf3-g5 means a Knight
moved from f3 to g5. In short you could also
4-+-+-+-+$
write Ng5. 3+-+K+-+-#
If the same move is a capture, you will
write Nf3xg5 or Nxg5. 2-+-+-+-+"
If two of the same kind of Piece can move 1+-+k+-+-!
to the same Square, you will need to specify
which one of them is moving. xabcdefghy
Let us see some examples of how to XABCDEFGHY
Checkmate with a Rook.
In the above diagram, White can Check- 8-+-+-+-+(
mate with 1.Rf8-f1.
In the next position below, White can
7+-+-tr-+-'
Checkmate in two different ways: 6-+-+-+-+&
8-+-+k+-+( 4-+-+-+-+$
7tR-+-+-+R' 3+-+K+-+-#
6-+-mK-+-+& 2-+-+-+-+"
5+-+-+-+-% 1+-+k+R+-!
3+-+-+-+-# Here Black is not in Checkmate, because
2-+-+-+-+" the black Rook from e7 can move to e1,
blocking the attack on the King.
1+-+-+-+-! Take a look at the next diagram. The black
xabcdefghy King is in Check and cannot escape. There is
no way to block the attack either.
1.Ra7-a8 or 1.Rh7-h8.
Is it a Checkmate? No, because the white
On the other hand, moving either Rook to
Rook can be captured by the black Rook of
e7 would only be a Check, because the black
a4.
King can move out of the attack to either
side, to d8 or f8. XABCDEFGHY
All other moves would be neither a Check 8-+-+-+-+(
nor Checkmate.
The number one requirement to give 7+-+-+-+-'
Checkmate is to attack the opponent’s King
with one of our Pieces. It can be any Piece 6-+-+-+-+&
except our own King. A King can never ever 5+-+-+-+-%
directly attack the enemy King.
The second condition, and this is the one 4r+-+-+-tR$
which differentiates a Check from a Check- 3+-+-+-+-#
mate, is to make sure the enemy King has no
escape: Not by moving the King, not by 2-+-+-mK-+"
blocking the Check, nor capturing the Piece
that gives the Check. 1+-+-+-+k!
Let’s see now some situations when it is xabcdefghy
almost Checkmate but not quite.
So, it is Checkmate only when the enemy
King is under direct attack and all of the
following four conditions apply:
1. The King has no safe Square to move to.
2. It is not possible to block the Check.
3. It is not possible to capture the Piece that
is Checking the King.
Here is an example when the Check can be The short Notation, used internationally,
blocked by another Piece interposing. for writing Checkmate is: #
Attack and Defence Traps
Another very important element in order to Now that you know all the basics about
understand the dynamics of a Chess game is Chess, let us see some traps which it is good
learning the concept of attack and defence. to be familiar with. Let us start with the
Here are a few basic examples: ‘Fool’s Mate’:
XABCDEFGHY Fool’s Mate
8-tr-+-+-+( 1.f2-f3 (1.f3 in short notation)
A clearly worse starting move than 1.e4 or
7+-+-+-+-' d4.
6-+-+-+-+& 1...e7-e5 (1...e5)
Black nicely follows the opening principles.
5+-+k+-+-% 2.g2-g4 (2.g4)
4-+-+R+-+$ This move not only does not follow the
opening principles which we learned about,
3+-+-+-mK-# it is outright a BIG mistake as it allows
Black to Checkmate immediately!
2-+-+-+-+" 2...Qd8-h4 (or 2...Qh4) Checkmate!
1+-+-+-+-!
This is the shortest possible Checkmate
xabcdefghy that a Chess game can end in.
In the position above, the black King on d5 Now let’s see another very famous trap
is attacking White’s Rook on e4. White has which is called ‘Scholar’s Mate’.
two basic options: either to move the Rook
to a safe Square (a4, f4, g4, h4, e1, e2, e3 or Scholar’s Mate
e7 - all serve that purpose) or protect it with 1.e2-e4 e7-e5
another Piece, in this case the King, by mov- So far both sides are playing well.
ing Kg3-f3 or Kg3-f4. In the position be- 2.Lf1-c4
low, White has the option to capture either White continues to develop in a natural way,
Black Rook. Which is the correct choice? focusing on the key centre d5 Square.
XABCDEFGHY 2...Nb8-c6
Black also develops in an ideal way, control-
8-+-+-+-+( ling the central d4 and e5 Squares.
7+-+r+-+-' 3.Qd1-h5
While this move has a serious threat, it is not
6-+k+-+-+& a good move as it breaks an opening princi-
ple.
5+-+-+-+-% 3...Lf8-c5
4-+-+-+-+$ Black does not pay attention to White’s
threat and continues developing. But this
3tr-+R+-+-# move is a HUGE mistake. Now White is
2-+-+-+K+" ready to Checkmate with
4.Qh5xf7#
1+-+-+-+-! 1-0
Black, instead of the third move (3...Lc5),
xabcdefghy should have defended against the threat.
The correct choice is to capture the Rook For example, advancing the g7 Pawn to g6
on a3. Capturing the Rook on d7 would only (3...g6) would have defended against the
be considered a trade or exchange, as on the Checkmate threat.
following move after 1.Rd3xd7, Black will
recapture with 1...Kc6xd7. All the above is a very good start for now!
Tactics
Andrew Martin
Concept The Fork
Tactics are at the heart of chess and in Let us review the main ideas:
games between beginners and novices a su- 1. The fork can be described as a simultane-
perior command of tactical ideas usually ous attack on two or more enemy pieces.
decides who wins the game. 2. Every chess piece, including the king, can
A great player, Rudolph Spielmann, stated fork.
that Chess is 99% tactics. 3. Forks are very common and crop up in
The study of tactics should be introduced virtually every game.
after a preliminary period during which the 4. It is difficult, but not impossible to escape
students have been able to play lots of from a fork. Occasionally, a player might be
games. able to defend all the forked pieces, create a
As the teacher describes different tactical counterattack or simply capture the piece
situations, the students are often amazed to which is forking him. To begin, let us con-
find they have been playing these ideas al- sider the knight fork, which is probably the
ready, without knowing what they were most common type of fork.
called.
Once ideas have been demonstrated, the Example 1 ●
teacher might then ask the students to play a XABCDEFGHY
game or games, counting the tactical ideas as
they crop up. 8-+-+-+-+(
This will enable the teacher to move
around the group and reinforce the main
7+-+-+-+-'
points of the lesson. 6-+q+k+-+&
I would simply define a tactic as a forcing
idea, which results in an improvement of the 5+-+-+-+-%
position.
We will introduce, in the following order:
4-+-sN-+-+$
1. The Fork. 3+-+-+-+-#
2. The Pin.
3. The Skewer.
2-+-+-+-+"
4. Double and discovered check. 1+-+-mK-+-!
5. Discovered attack.
6. Removing the guard. xabcdefghy
7. Perpetual check. The diagram shows the simplest of knight
8. Pawn promotion. forks, whereby the white knight attacks both
9. Deflection and decoy. the black king and queen, checking at the
10. Line vacation. same time. The black king must move and
11. Square vacation. White will then take the black queen.
12. Zugzwang and Zwischenzug. To illustrate how a knight fork might crop
13. Overloading. up in a simple beginner’s game, let us con-
sider the following opening moves:
Even the simplest understanding of tactical
elements will give a new player a massive Example 2
confidence boost and so this is a very impor- 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 h6?
tant part of the foundations of chess educa- Black ignores White’s threat; a very com-
tion. mon theme at junior level. 5.Nxf7 (D)
8r+lwqkvl-tr( 8-+-+-+-+(
7zppzpp+Nzp-' 7+-+-+-zp-'
6-+n+-sn-zp& 6-+-+kzp-+&
5+-+-zp-+-% 5+-+-zp-+-%
4-+L+P+-+$ 4-+n+K+-+$
3+-+-+-+-# 3zP-+-+-+-#
2PzPPzP-zPPzP" 2-+-zP-+LzP"
1tRNvLQmK-+R! 1+-+-+-+-!
The white knight forks the black queen Here we see a situation where Black, to
and rook. Presumably, the black queen mo- move, is about to win a pawn and once he
ves and then White takes the rook, winning has done so, should go on then to win the
material. game. The black knight has a choice of nice
The idea of material gain; winning pieces captures. I think I like 1...Nxd2+. A safe
is one of the main benefits of the fork. and easy capture with check. 1...Nxa3 is
also good, but after 2.Lf1 the knight has to
Example 3 ○ think about how he is going to get back into
XABCDEFGHY the game, for instance: 2...Nb1 3.Kd3 f5
4.Kc2 Na3+ 5.Kb2.
8r+-wq-trk+( We show other types of fork now. It is
7zppzp-sn-vlp' important to reinforce the point that every
chess piece can fork. A game between be-
6-+-zp-snp+& ginners or young players could easily com-
mence with the following moves:
5+-+PzppsN-%
4P+P+P+-zP$ Example 5
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lc4 Nf6 4.Nc3
3+-sN-vLP+-# Nxe4! Black blundered? 5.Nxe4 d5! (D)
2-zP-wQK+P+" XABCDEFGHY
1tR-+-+-+R! 8r+lwqkvl-tr(
xabcdefghy 7zppzp-+pzpp'
The knight fork can crop up at any time, in
the opening, middlegame or endgame.
6-+n+-+-+&
Here we see a board full of pieces, where 5+-+pzp-+-%
White is about to play a move which wins
either the black queen or rook: 1.Ne6.
4-+L+N+-+$
As the endgame approaches and fewer and 3+-+-+N+-#
fewer pieces remain on the board, the impact
of a fork becomes greater. Knight forks in 2PzPPzP-zPPzP"
the endgame are often deadly. 1tR-vLQmK-+R!
Example 4 ● xabcdefghy
A classic pawn fork, where the black pawn simultaneously and wins one of them.
attacks both the white bishop on c4 and the The idea will be clear by now; that the fork
knight on e4, winning back the piece sacri- is a dangerous tactical device. We close with
ficed on the previous move. a bishop fork.
Example 6 ● Example 8
XABCDEFGHY 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.La4 Nf6
5.0-0 d6 6.c3 b5 7.Lb3 Nxe4? Falling
8-+-+-+-+( straight into it. 8.Ld5! (D)
7+-zp-+-+-' XABCDEFGHY
6-+-+-snpvl& 8r+lwqkvl-tr(
5+-sN-mk-+p% 7+-zp-+pzpp'
4-+L+-+-+$ 6p+nzp-+-+&
3+-+-+-zP-# 5+p+Lzp-+-%
2-+-+-zP-zP" 4-+-+n+-+$
1+-+-+-mK-! 3+-zP-+N+-#
xabcdefghy 2PzP-zP-zPPzP"
Black, to move, can use his king to fork 1tRNvLQ+RmK-!
the white bishop and knight: 1...Kd4! and
there is no escape from this fork, so Black xabcdefghy
wins a piece. Winning one of the knights, which are
Queen forks are also very common, as the both unprotected. Pieces left unguarded or
queen is the most powerful piece. Beginners without support are very vulnerable to tacti-
should always look out for tactical strikes cal strikes.
with the queen. For instance, here is a basic
fork right out of the opening: Example 9 - Capture Defence vs Fork ●
Example 7
XABCDEFGHY
1.b4 d5 2.f4?! Qd6 (D) 8-tr-+-+-+(
XABCDEFGHY 7+-+-+pmk-'
8rsnl+kvlntr( 6p+n+-+-+&
7zppzp-zppzpp' 5+p+N+l+p%
6-+-wq-+-+& 4-+-+-+-+$
5+-+p+-+-% 3+-+-+N+-#
4-zP-+-zP-+$ 2PzP-+-+-+"
3+-+-+-+-# 1+-mK-tR-+-!
2P+PzPP+PzP" xabcdefghy
1tRNvLQmKLsNR! We mentioned in the introduction that
there are ways to defend against the fork.
xabcdefghy Young players and beginners are often eager
The black queen attacks two white pawns to display their newly-acquired tactical
knowledge and here Black rushed to play a ing called the ‘Queen’s Gambit Declined’.
fork: 1...Le4?? 2.Rxe4. White simply cap- 4.Lg5! (D)
tured the piece. Rushing even the most obvi- XABCDEFGHY
ous moves in a chess game is a serious mis-
take. 8rsnlwqkvl-tr(
A variation of an opening called the ‘Two
Knights Defence’ begins as follows:
7zppzp-+pzpp'
6-+-+psn-+&
Example 10 - Counterattack vs Fork
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 5+-+p+-vL-%
Lc5 Black invites White to fork him, an 4-+PzP-+-+$
invitation which is accepted in this case.
5.Nxf7 Lxf2+! (D) 3+-sN-+-+-#
XABCDEFGHY 2PzP-+PzPPzP"
8r+lwqk+-tr( 1tR-+QmKLsNR!
7zppzpp+Nzpp' xabcdefghy
6-+n+-sn-+& Pinning the knight on f6. This is a normal
pin, because the knight can move, but in that
5+-+-zp-+-% event Black would lose his queen. The best
4-+L+P+-+$ defence to a pin is to unpin; to get out of the
pin as quickly as possible. Thus Black's best
3+-+-+-+-# reply now is 4...Le7! Play may continue:
5.e3 Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Lb5! (D)
2PzPPzP-vlPzP"
XABCDEFGHY
1tRNvLQmK-+R!
8r+lwqk+-tr(
xabcdefghy
Counter-attack! This is the ‘Wilkes-Barre
7zppzp-vlpzpp'
Variation’. Black has deliberately sacrificed 6-+n+-sn-+&
his rook in the corner to begin a vicious at-
tack. After 6.Kxf2 Nxe4+ Black has seri- 5+L+p+-vL-%
ous pressure. The point is that Black did not 4-+-zP-+-+$
overlook the fork; he allowed it in order to
execute his counter-attacking idea. 3+-sN-zP-+-#
The Pin
2PzP-+-zPPzP"
If one of your pieces is pinned by an en- 1tR-+QmK-sNR!
emy piece, it would be unwise to move that
piece or it may be simply against the rules xabcdefghy
(if pinned against the king). A pin ties the This is an absolute pin. Black's knight on
enemy down. c6 cannot move. Once again Black does best
There are two kinds of pin; an absolute pin to escape the pin as soon as he can: 7...0-0!
and a normal pin and only the queen, rook The pin is a powerful tactical idea, so do
and bishop can execute a pin. look out for it in your games. It's also very
Let us go through the opening moves of a common indeed. Keep the opponent pinned
game to illustrate both kinds of pin. up whenever you can.
We have seen two examples of a bishop
Example 11 pin in the introduction. Here is a simple
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 This is an open- queen pin. The game begins:
Example 12 Example 14 ○
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 XABCDEFGHY
Nxe4 5.Qe2 (D)
XABCDEFGHY 8-+-tr-+-+(
8rsnlwqkvl-tr( 7zp-+-+kwq-'
7zppzp-+pzpp' 6-zp-+-vlp+&
6-+-zp-+-+& 5+-zp-+p+-%
5+-+-+-+-% 4-+-+nzP-+$
4-+-+n+-+$ 3+-zP-+-+-#
3+-+-+N+-# 2PzP-+Q+PtR"
2PzPPzPQzPPzP" 1+-mK-+-+R!
1tRNvL-mKL+R! xabcdefghy
1.Rh7!
xabcdefghy
Pinning the knight. Fortunately for Black, There are three ways out of a pin. We have
he has an easy defence in 5...Qe7!, unpin- seen how to unpin so far by simply blocking.
ning. A player may capture the pinning piece. Fi-
nally, a player may attack a pinning piece
Example 13 ○ and force a decision.
XABCDEFGHY Example 15
8r+-+-tr-+( 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Lg5 Lb4
(D)
7zpkzp-snpvlp'
XABCDEFGHY
6-zp-+p+p+&
8rsnlwqk+-tr(
5+-+qsN-+-%
7zppzp-+pzpp'
4-+-zP-+-+$
6-+-+psn-+&
3+-zP-+-zP-#
5+-+p+-vL-%
2PzP-+-zP-zP"
4-vl-zPP+-+$
1tR-+QtRLmK-!
3+-sN-+-+-#
xabcdefghy
Now comes a simple bishop pin. 1.Lg2!
2PzPP+-zPPzP"
Black's queen is lost. 1tR-+QmKLsNR!
Pins and forks are the two most common xabcdefghy
tactical ideas. It should be emphasized that Each player has pinned the other. White
improving players should try to execute has set up a normal pin whereas the black
these ideas in their own games as much as pin is absolute. White moves in to try to win
possible. a piece: 5.e5 h6! Attacking the pinning piece
For a long-range rook, pinning can be and rescuing the situation. Play can proceed
child's play. Observe how White easily pins in various ways, but White is not winning
the black queen: material. 6.Lh4 6.exf6 hxg5 7.fxg7 Rg8
8.Nf3 Rxg7; 6.Ld2 Lxc3 7.bxc3 Ne4; Example 17 ○
6.Le3 Ne4. 6...g5 7.exf6 gxh4. XABCDEFGHY
I think the idea of teaching defences to
basic tactics is essential, shortly after the 8r+-+-trk+(
introductory ideas have been shown. It
shows the idea of balance in a game of chess
7zpl+nvlpzpp'
and the student will soon understand that 6-zp-+psn-+&
whilst playing these tactical ideas is very
good, there is another side to the story. 5+-zpq+-+-%
4-+-zP-+-sN$
The Skewer
The Skewer is an X-ray attack, a special 3+-zP-+-zP-#
form of tactic again available only to the
queen, rook and bishop.
2PzP-+-zP-zP"
1tRNvLQtRLmK-!
Example 16 ○
We saw a similar position in the section on
8-+-+-+-+( the pin. There Black's queen and king were
on the long diagonal. This time the black
7+-+-+k+-' queen and bishop are going to be skewered:
6-+-+-+-+& 1.Lg2 The bishop on g2 is protected by the
knight on h4. The black queen must move
5+-+-+-+-% and White takes the unprotected bishop on
4Q+-+K+-tr$ b7: 1...Qd6 2.Lxb7.
3+-+-+-+-# Example 18 ○
2-+-+-+-+" XABCDEFGHY
1+-+-+-+-! 8Q+-+-+-+(
xabcdefghy 7+p+-+p+k'
Here Black's rook skewers the white king 6-+l+-trp+&
to the white queen. The king must move and
the queen is lost: 1.Ke5 Rxa4. 5+-+p+p+p%
Skewers are very difficult to defend
against and only by counter-attack or captur-
4-+-sn-+-+$
ing the skewering piece can they be denied. 3+-+-+-zPP#
The Skewer crops up mostly in the endgame,
sometimes in the middlegame, rarely in the
2-+-+-zPL+"
opening. It should be relatively easy to see a 1+-+-+-+K!
skewer coming, although sometimes there is
nothing that can be done. xabcdefghy
The colossal power of the queen is dis-
played by the following move: 1.Qa1! The
black knight is skewered to the rook behind.
A black piece is lost. The point must be ma-
de that it is inevitable that every player will
get into a pin, fork or skewer at some stage.
The key is not to panic and to look for every
counter-attacking opportunity available.
Example 19 ○ XABCDEFGHY
XABCDEFGHY 8r+l+kvl-tr(
8-+-tr-+k+( 7zpp+-+pzpp'
7+p+p+pvl-' 6-+p+-+q+&
6-trp+p+p+& 5+-+-+-+-%
5wQ-+-sn-+p% 4-+-+-+-+$
4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-+Q+-+-#
3+P+-+P+-# 2PzPPvL-zPPzP"
2P+P+-+PzP" 1+-mKR+L+R!
1+KsN-+-+R! xabcdefghy
xabcdefghy 1.Qd8+!! A brilliant move. White sacri-
In this example, White thinks he is being fices his queen. 1...Kxd8 Black had no
very clever by seemingly skewering the other move. 2.Lg5+ (D)
black rooks: 1.Qa5? Can you see Black's XABCDEFGHY
counter-attacking move, which wins the
game for him? 1...Nc4! The skewer meets 8r+lmk-vl-tr(
the pin. Black's knight cannot be taken due
to the pin on the pawn at b3 and when the
7zpp+-+pzpp'
white queen moves, it will be checkmate on 6-+p+-+q+&
either a3 or d2! 2.Qe1 2.Qa4 Nd2# and
even 2.Qxb6 does not save the day: 2... 5+-+-+-vL-%
Na3#. 2...Na3#. 4-+-+-+-+$
Double Check and Discovered Check 3+-+-+-+-#
Double check and discovered check are
among the strongest types of move in chess,
2PzPP+-zPPzP"
second equal only to checkmate! 1+-mKR+L+R!
Double check describes a situation where a
move is made which puts the enemy king in xabcdefghy
check from two pieces at the same time. The Double check from the bishop and rook
king must move! and discovered check too. The rook has been
Discovered check is a check from a piece uncovered. 2...Ke8 Or 2...Kc7 3.Ld8+
whose action has been uncovered by another checkmate! 3.Rd8# Checkmate. 1-0
piece.
The reason these ideas are so dangerous is
that they usually force the response from the
opponent.
Giving the opponent no choice at any point
in the game is the way to win.
Please now consult the next diagram.
White is about to set up a killer double and Example 21 ○
discovered check. Here is a good illustration Here is a basic opening trap, which relies on
of double and discovered check: discovered check for effect. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3
Nf6 3.Nxe5 Nxe4? A very bad move.
Example 20 ○ 4.Qe2 Nf6 5.Nc6+! (D)
XABCDEFGHY situation. Note the black queen in the firing
line of the white rook, but only after White
8rsnlwqkvl-tr( moves the bishop.
7zppzpp+pzpp' Example 23 ○
6-+N+-sn-+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-+-+-+-% 8-+-wqk+-+(
4-+-+-+-+$ 7+-+-+-+-'
3+-+-+-+-# 6-+-+-+-+&
2PzPPzPQzPPzP" 5+-+-+-+-%
1tRNvL-mKL+R! 4-+-+-+-+$
xabcdefghy 3+-+-+-+-#
Discovered check from the white queen
and an attack on the black queen. Black
2-+-vL-+-+"
must lose his queen! 1+-+RmK-+-!
Example 22 ○ xabcdefghy
XABCDEFGHY 1.Lc3 Discovered attacks and discovered
checks more often than not lead either to the
8r+-wqkvl-tr( immediate win of the game or to material
gain.
7zppzp-zpp+p'
6-+-+-+p+& Example 24 ○
5+N+-+-+-% XABCDEFGHY
4Q+-+P+-+$ 8-+-+-+k+(
3+-zP-+-+-# 7+-+-+rzp-'
2PzP-+-zPPzP" 6p+-+l+-zp&
1tR-+-+RmK-! 5+p+-+-+-%
xabcdefghy 4-zP-wqLwQ-+$
White is about to play a lethal double 3zP-+-+-zP-#
check. 1.Nxc7# Checkmate! Check both
from White's queen and knight at the same
2-+-+-zP-mK"
time and the black king has nowhere to go. 1+-+-+R+-!
1-0
xabcdefghy
Discovered Attack Here is a discovered attack from a real
A discovered attack is the same type of game. White notes that the black queen is
powerful tactical idea that we saw under unprotected. 1.Lh7+! Sacrificing the bishop
discovered check. A discovered attack oc- in order to uncover a discovered attack on
curs when a piece or pawn moves aside to Black's queen. 1...Kxh7 2.Qxd4 This type
unleash the power of another piece, lurking of idea is very common and forms an impor-
behind the first, on the enemy position. tant building block in the acquisition of tac-
The diagram will illustrate a very basic tical skill.
Removing the Guard
We now come to an idea called 'removing
XABCDEFGHY
the guard'. This describes a situation where 8r+-+kvlntr(
an enemy piece or pawn is taken that was
defending another piece or pawn. Once the
7zppzp-+pzpp'
protection is eliminated, it might be possible 6-+L+-+-+&
to win material. The next diagram shows a
very basic example: 5+-+-+-+-%
Example 25 ○
4-+-wq-+-+$
XABCDEFGHY 3+-+-+-+-#
8-+-+r+k+( 2PzP-+-zPPzP"
7zpp+-+-+-' 1tRNvLQmK-+R!
6-+p+-+-+& xabcdefghy
9...bxc6 10.Qxd4.
5+-+n+-+-% The games of beginners are littered with
4-+-+-vl-+$ examples of this type and a lot of opening
traps are based on this theme. Learning to
3+N+-+L+-# 'remove the guard' will instantly result in
improvement and understanding.
2-zP-+-+PzP"
Perpetual Check
1+-+-+RmK-! Perpetual check describes a situation
xabcdefghy where a player is checking continuously in
1.Lxd5+ Suddenly the bishop on f4 is no order to draw the game and the opponent
longer protected; the knight that had been cannot escape. This is a device which helps
protecting it has been taken. Furthermore, a player to save the game in what might be
Black is in check. 1...cxd5 2.Rxf4 White an irretrievable position otherwise.
wins the bishop. In the next diagram, White is a pawn
down, but he can immediately give up his
Removing the guard can be seen as a way rook for perpetual check. Let us see how this
of breaking down the opponent's defences. is done:
In order to succeed in a game of chess, this
is what a player must do. Let us now see a Example 27 ○
basic game example where our theme proves XABCDEFGHY
decisive:
8-mkr+-+-+(
7zp-+-+-zp-'
6-zpQ+-+-+&
Example 26 5+-+-+p+-%
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 This is the ‘Scotch
Opening’. 3...exd4 4.c3 d5 5.exd5 Qxd5
4-+-+pwq-+$
6.cxd4 Lg4 Black pins the white knight. 3+-+-+-+-#
7.Le2 Naturally, White unpins. 7...Lxf3?
8.Lxf3 Qxd4?? A crazy move. Black 2P+-+-zPPzP"
thinks he has everything defended, but 1+R+-+-mK-!
White now wins by removing the piece that
is protecting Black's queen. 9.Lxc6+ (D) xabcdefghy
1.Rxb6+! axb6 2.Qxb6+ Ka8 3.Qa6+ Black, to move, is a pawn down and his
Kb8 4.Qb6+ As White is now a rook queen is under attack. Technique at this level
down; he takes perpetual check on b6 and is so good that White would normally expect
a6. to win. However, Black spots a terrific per-
petual check: 1...Nxe3!! Sacrificing the
Example 28 ○ queen. 2.Rxc2 Ra1+ 3.Kh2 Nf1+ 4.Kg1
Ne3+ 5.Kh2 Nf1+ 6.Kh1 Ne3+ Sax,G-
XABCDEFGHY Mariotti,S Las Palmas 1978. ½-½
8-+-+-+-mk(
Pawn Promotion
7+-+-+-+-' The pawn has a very important role to play
6-tR-zp-+pzp& in a game of chess. In the opening, pawns
provide cover and back up for the pieces. In
5+-zp-zp-+-% the middlegame, they often lay the founda-
4-+-wq-+-+$ tion for an attack, but it is in the endgame
that pawns become most influential.
3+-+-+-+-# 'Pawn promotion' describes the situation
where a pawn reaches the eighth (or first)
2-+-+-tRPzP" rank and transforms into a new piece of the
1+-+-+-mK-! player's choosing. In virtually all cases this
will be a queen, but there are rare occasions
xabcdefghy when a rook, knight or bishop might be
Here is another basic perpetual check. The taken. Once a pawn reaches the end rank, it
black queen is so strong in the middle of the cannot remain there without promoting.
board, pinning the rook on f2, that White The diagram shows a simple situation,
takes the draw: 1.Rb8+ Kh7 2.Rb7+ Kg8 where White, to move, is about to promote.
3.Rb8+ Kg7 4.Rb7+. The black king can-
Example 30 ○
not escape the checks.
Spotting a perpetual check in a real game XABCDEFGHY
situation can be complicated, but the new- 8-+-+-+-+(
comer to chess is well advised to look out
for this possibility. Here is an example from 7+-zP-+-+-'
Grandmaster play:
6-+-+k+-+&
Example 29 ○ 5+-+-+-+-%
XABCDEFGHY 4-+-+K+-+$
8-+-wQ-+-+( 3+-+-+-+-#
7+-+-+pzpk' 2-+-+-+-+"
6-+-+-+-zp& 1+-+-+-+-!
5+P+-+-+-% xabcdefghy
4r+n+-+-+$ 1.c8Q+ There is no reason not to take a
3+-+-vL-+P# queen. White should win.
Underpromotion is a situation where pro-
2-+q+-zPP+" moting to a queen would result in a loss or a
1+-tR-+-mK-! draw.
In the next diagram, ‘queening’ will end in
xabcdefghy stalemate. White must play carefully:
Example 31 ○ Deflection describes a situation where an
XABCDEFGHY enemy piece is lured away from defending a
specific line or square.
8-+-+-+-+( In the next diagram, White would be able
to checkmate on the back rank if the black
7+-+-+P+k' queen could be deflected away from her
6-+-+-mK-+& defence of e8 and the back rank.
5+-+-+-+-% Example 33 ○
4-+-+-+-+$ XABCDEFGHY
3+-+-+-+-# 8-sn-wq-+-mk(
2-+-+-+-+" 7+-+-+-zpp'
1+-+-+-+-! 6-+P+-+-+&
xabcdefghy 5zp-+-+-+-%
1.f8R! Underpromoting in order to leave 4-+-+-+-+$
Black a move. 1...Kh6 2.Rh8# 1-0
3+-+-+N+P#
Now let’s take a look at a Breakthrough
Promotion. This is a classic example which
2-+-+-+P+"
beginners will find very instructive. A 1+-+-wQ-+K!
teacher might invite the class to see if they
can find a way to promote one of White’s xabcdefghy
pawns by breaking through the black wall. 1.c7! White wins a piece with this excel-
lent move. If the black queen captures the
Example 32 ○ pawn, it's checkmate! 1...Qxc7 2.Qe8# A
XABCDEFGHY classic deflection. 1-0
8-+-+-+-+( The ideas of decoy and deflection are often

confused, but there is a definite difference
7+-+-+pzpp' between the two.
6-+-+-+-+& An enemy piece is decoyed when it is
lured into a position which might allow a
5mk-+-+PzPP% trap or winning combination to be played.
4-+-+-+-+$ Vivid examples of the decoy are often to
be found in opening traps.
3mK-+-+-+-#
Example 34
2-+-+-+-+" 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Lg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Lc4 Nd7? A
1+-+-+-+-! very poor move which allows White to decoy
the black king on to a very bad square.
xabcdefghy 5.Lxf7+! Kxf7 6.Ng5+ Ke8 Other moves
1.g6! hxg6 1...fxg6 is similar: 2.h6! gxh6 are even worse: 6...Kf8 7.Ne6+ or 6...Kf6
3.f6. 2.f6! Smashing through. 2...gxf6 3.h6 7.Qf3#. 7.Ne6 White wins the black queen.
Pawn promotion cannot be prevented.
Smothered mate is a simple example of a
Deflection and Decoy decoy.
The twin ideas of deflection and decoy are
important tactical themes. Example 35 ○
XABCDEFGHY Square Vacation
The idea of 'square vacation' describes a
8-+-+r+-mk( situation where a friendly piece leaves a
certain square to let a fellow piece take its
7+-+-+-zpp' place. This will usually result in an im-
6-+q+-sn-sN& provement of the position or in some cases
the immediate win of the game.
5+-+-+-+-% For instance from the next diagram, Black
4-+-+-+-+$ plays and wins using this idea:
3+-+-+-+P# Example 37 ●
2Q+-+-+P+" XABCDEFGHY
1+-+-+RmK-! 8-+-+-+-mk(
xabcdefghy 7+-+-+-+-'
1.Qg8+! Black's knight or rook is de- 6-+-+-+-+&
coyed, forced into a poor position. 1...Nxg8
2.Nf7# 1-0 5+-+-+-wq-%
4-+-+-+-+$
Line Vacation
Line vacation occurs when a piece moves 3+-+-+-trP#
away from a certain line, allowing another
friendly piece to come into the game.
2Q+-+Rvl-mK"
In the next diagram, Black would love to 1+-+-+L+-!
get his queen in an attack against the white
king. He does so with a line vacating move. xabcdefghy
1...Rxh3+! Vacating the g3-square for the
Example 36 ● black queen. 2.Kxh3 2.Lxh3 Qg1#.
XABCDEFGHY 2...Qg3# 0-1
8-+-+-trk+(
7+p+-+-zpp'
6-+-zp-wql+&
5+-zpPtr-+-%
4pzPP+-+R+$
Zugzwang
3zP-+-+P+-# Zugzwang is a German word, used by
2-+-wQP+-+" chessplayers to describe a situation where
every move loses.
1+-mKR+-+L! Zugzwang is most common in the end-
game and it is very rare that this type of
xabcdefghy situation crops up in the middlegame, where
1...Rxe2! 2.Qxe2 Qc3+ The line for the the board can be full of pieces.
black queen has been opened and she enters For beginners and young players, this con-
the game with decisive effect. White is in cept is best presented very simply indeed. In
checkmate just one move later: 3.Qc2 the next diagram Black to move is in
Qxc2# (Trifunovic,P-Ragozin,V Moscow zugzwang. He has to allow checkmate on the
1947) 0-1 next turn:
Example 38 ● with the threat of a skewer. 2...Lb1!! Black
XABCDEFGHY counters with a zwischenzug, winning the
game. 2...f1Q 3.Rf8+. 3.Rf8+ 3.Kxb1
8-+-+-tR-+( f1Q+, promoting with check. 3...Lf5.
Blocking the check and forcing promotion.
7zp-+-+-+k' This was an intricate passage of play and
6P+-+-mK-+& teachers must make sure all the basic tactical
ideas have been mastered before proceeding
5+-+-+-+-% to zugzwang and zwischenzug. There is no
4-+-+-+-+$ real way to present these ideas simply.
3+-+-+-+-# Overloading
2-+-+-+-+" A piece is said to be overloaded when it
has too many jobs to do. This is an advanced
1+-+-+-+-! but quite common tactical theme.
xabcdefghy Example 40 ●
1...Kh6 2.Rh8# 1-0 XABCDEFGHY
Zwischenzug 8r+-tr-+-mk(
The zwischenzug, or 'in-between' move is
a very advanced concept and difficult for 7+-+-+qzpp'
beginners to take on board. It is interlinked 6-+-+-zp-+&
with the concept of a combination.
The zwischenzug can occur at any time 5+-+-zp-+-%
during the game. 4P+Q+-+-+$
The in-between move basically throws a
spanner in the works, disrupting the normal 3+-+-zP-zP-#
flow of a game.
Consider the following diagram. Black
2-+-+-zP-zP"
seems to be winning here by a simple pawn 1tR-tR-+-mK-!
promotion:
xabcdefghy
Example 39 ● Consider the diagram, where the white
XABCDEFGHY rook on c1 has to protect both his queen and
the back rank at the same time. Black moves
8-+-+-+-+( in for the kill with 1...Rd1+! 2.Kg2 White
7+-+-+-+-' has no defence. If 2.Rxd1 Qxc4 wins the
queen. 2...Qxc4 3.Rxc4 Rxa1 Black wins.
6-+-+-+-+& 0-1
5+-+-+-+-% Summary
4-+-+-mk-+$ Teachers should emphasize that chess is a
battle of tactics and strategy, but that without
3+p+-+ptR-# tactical control, it will prove impossible to
2lmK-+-+-zP" realize strategic plans.
The previous pages are intended to equip
1+-+-+-+-! the newcomer to chess with knowledge of
essential tactical motifs and it is crucial that
xabcdefghy all these ideas have been mastered before
1...f2 2.Rg8! White fights by countering going on to acquire further knowledge.
Checkmating Ideas
Andrew Martin
Concept 1.Kg2 Kd5 2.Kf3 Ke5 3.Rd1! Black's
The concept of checkmate is very impor- king is already being imprisoned. 3...Ke6
tant for the beginner and so, as soon as the 4.Kf4 Kf6 5.Re1! Kg6 6.Re6+ Kg7
basic idea has been understood, the teacher 7.Kf5 The king closes in. 7...Kf7 8.Re5
should follow up with a session on typical For some reason, beginners find this type of
checkmating patterns. waiting move difficult to see. The teacher
These patterns should be recognizable and should emphasize that, in general, the rook
likely to occur in the games of the novice. It operates best at long-range and not close to
is no good showing complex checkmates at his own pieces. 8...Kg7 9.Re7+ Kf8 10.
this stage. Kf6 After ten accurate moves, White has
forced the enemy king to the back rank.
Basic Rook Mates 10...Kg8 11.Re8+ Kh7 12.Rd8 Kh6 13.
Here is the basic checkmate with the rook. Rh8# 1-0
Black's king will be mated on an edge of the
board or in the corner. It is important to use Basic checkmating drills such as this are
both white pieces to win. extremely important for the newcomer to
The following example introduces the nov- chess and should be practised over and over
ice to the idea that in chess, superior force until perfected.
usually decides the game. The technique for Double Rook Mate
White is as follows: The power of the rook at long-range is
1. Bring the king up towards the enemy king seen in the following easy example. Black is
whenever possible. The king is a slow- helpless as the white rooks push him back.
moving piece and the rook can look after
itself. Example 2 ○
2. If the king cannot be advanced further, XABCDEFGHY
use the rook to limit the actions of the op-
posing king, gradually driving him towards
8-+-+-+-+(
the edge of the board. 7+-+-+-+-'
Example 1 ○ 6-+-+-+-+&
XABCDEFGHY 5+-+-+-+k%
8-+-+-+-+( 4-tR-+-+-+$
7+-+-+-+-' 3tR-+-mK-+-#
6-+-+-+-+& 2-+-+-+-+"
5+-+-mk-+-% 1+-+-+-+-!
3+-+-+-+-# 1.Ra5+ Kg6 2.Rb6+ Kf7 3.Ra7+ Ke8
4. b8# 1-0
R
2-+-+-+-+" This may seem very simplistic, but for
1tR-+-+-+K! some peculiar reason which I have not yet
fathomed, beginners take a big step forward
xabcdefghy when they master this example.
Doubled Rooks - The Back Rank 1...Re3+ 2.Nxe3 Re7# 0-1
The concentrated fire of two or more chess
pieces working together is called a battery. Summary
In the next diagram, Black has two rooks Rook checkmates are very common, sim-
aiming at White's back rank and checkmates ply because the rooks are usually the last
easily by uprooting the defender. Doubled pieces to be developed and exchanged.
rooks often work very well together. Beginners don't always use the rooks sen-
sibly as their games are often over before the
Example 3 ●
rook even comes into play!
XABCDEFGHY Going through these checkmating drills at
8-+-+r+k+( an early stage will redress the balance.
7zp-+-trpzpp' Basic Queen Mates

Learning how to checkmate with a lone
6-zp-+-+-+& queen is most important for a beginner to
5+-zp-+-+-% master. It can be done in ten moves or less
from any position.
4-+P+-+-+$ As with the rook, there are a few stages in
3+P+-+-+-# the process:
1. Bring the king up wherever possible.
2P+-+-zPPzP" 2. Gradually drive the enemy king towards
the edge of the board.
1tR-+-tR-mK-! 3. Checkmate the king on the edge or in the
xabcdefghy corner.
Beginners usually become obsessed with
1...Rxe1+ 2.Rxe1 Rxe1# 0-1
the power of the queen when they first start
to play chess. Without instruction, you will
Complex Rook
see the novice giving lots of checks with the
Now a more complicated example, which
queen and not using the king at all!
shows that it is possible to checkmate with
It is important to emphasize once again
the rook when the board is full of pieces.
that superior force decides this battle and
The student should be told that it is Black to
both the king and queen must be used - a
play and checkmate in two moves, using his
case of teamwork.
rooks alone.
Example 4 ● Example 5 ●
8-tR-+-+-+( 8-+-+-+-wq(
7tr-+-+-+-' 7+-+-+-mk-'
6-+-+Kzpk+& 6-+-+-+-+&
5+-vlP+Nzpp% 5+-+-+-+-%
4p+-+-+-+$ 4-+-mK-+-+$
3+-tr-+-zP-# 3+-+-+-+-#
2PtR-+-+-zP" 2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-! 1+-+-+-+-!
Starting from the position in the above Example 7 ○
diagram, here are the two pieces working in XABCDEFGHY
harmony, together putting in a great team
performance. 8-+-+-+k+(
1...Kf6! 2.Ke4 Qd8 Cutting off the white
king and keeping him in the same half of the
7+-+q+pzpp'
board as the black king. 3.Kf3 Kf5! 4.Ke3 6-+-+-sn-+&
Qd1 White's king only has one square now.
5.Kf2 Kf4 6.Kg2 Qe2+ 7.Kg1 Kg3 5+-+-+N+-%
8.Kh1 Qh2# 0-1 4-+-+-+Q+$
Because this procedure is such an impor- 3+-+-+-zP-#
tant foundation stone, it is well worth getting 2-+-+-zP-zP"
the class to repeat this exercise over and
over, from many different starting positions, 1+-+-+-mK-!
until you are sure that the technique has been
completely mastered. xabcdefghy
1.Qxg7# 1-0
The queen is a tremendous attacking piece
and works well with all the other chess Example 8 ●
pieces. XABCDEFGHY
Here we see the white queen and bishop
working together to deliver checkmate. 8-+-+q+k+(
7+-+-trpzp-'
Example 6 ○
6p+n+r+-zp&
XABCDEFGHY
5+pzp-+-+-%
8-+-tr-trk+(
4-+-+-+-+$
7+pzp-vlpzp-'
3+PsN-+-+-#
6p+-wq-+-zp&
2P+PwQ-zPPzP"
5+-+-+-+-%
1+-+RtR-mK-!
4-+-+-+-+$
xabcdefghy
3+-zPQ+-+-# Black, to move, has a heavy concentration
2PzPL+-zPPzP" of pieces on the central file. He swoops
down, removes the guard from White's back
1+-+R+RmK-! rank and checkmates: 1...Rxe1+ 2.Rxe1
xabcdefghy Rxe1+ 3.Qxe1 Qxe1# 0-1
1.Qh7# 1-0 Queen checkmates are possible at any
moment in the game if conditions are right.
Queen and knight are a tremendous attack- In games between beginners you often see
ing combination and complement each other. games ending very quickly, with mates on f7
The knight does all the jobs that the queen or f2, in precisely this manner. I give a
does not do. slightly more sophisticated example:
Queen and knight checkmates are very
common and a typical finishing position is Example 9
shown here. 1.d4 e5? This opening is called the ‘Englund
Gambit’; it is not good, but Black is playing Basic Bishop Mates
for a vicious trap. 2.dxe5 Of course White We now move on to look at a few bishop
takes. 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7?! Blocking in the checkmates. Pure bishop mates are very rare
bishop, but it has the merit of attacking the and normally the bishop would be working
pawn on e5. 4.Lf4 Qb4+ (D) with other pieces to deliver the final blow.
XABCDEFGHY First, the basic checkmate with two bish-
ops. As usual, the first idea is to bring up the
8r+l+kvlntr( king.
7zppzpp+pzpp' Example 10 ○
6-+n+-+-+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-+-zP-+-% 8-+-+-+-+(
4-wq-+-vL-+$ 7+-+-+-+-'
3+-+-+N+-# 6-+-+k+-+&
2PzPP+PzPPzP" 5+-+-+-+-%
1tRN+QmKL+R! 4-+-+-+-+$
A three way fork! Note the power of
Black's queen. 5.Ld2 Qxb2 6.Lc3? 6.Nc3
2-+-+-+-+"
is correct, when Black is hard-pressed to jus- 1vL-+-mK-+L!
tify his queen adventure. 6...Lb4 A pin on
the bishop. Black now threatens both xabcdefghy
...Lxc3+ and ...Qxa1. 7.Qd2 Lxc3 8.Qxc3 1.Ke2 Kd6 2.Kd3 Ke6 3.Ld4 Kd6
White defends his rook. 8...Qc1# (D) 4.Kc4 Ke6 5.Le4 (D)
8r+l+k+ntr( 8-+-+-+-+(
7zppzpp+pzpp' 7+-+-+-+-'
6-+n+-+-+& 6-+-+k+-+&
5+-+-zP-+-% 5+-+-+-+-%
4-+-+-+-+$ 4-+KvLL+-+$
3+-wQ-+N+-# 3+-+-+-+-#
2P+P+PzPPzP" 2-+-+-+-+"
1tRNwq-mKL+R! 1+-+-+-+-!
A checkmate out of a clear blue sky. I The white bishops form a barrier in the
have seen this trap played many times. 0-1 middle of the board beyond which the black
king cannot pass. The second phase begins,
Summarizing, it is with the queen that with White driving the black king to the edge
most novices are going to execute their first of the board. 5...Kd6 6.Lf5 Ke7 7.Kd5
checkmates, so plenty of practice in this area Kf7 8.Kd6 White is using all three pieces to
is called for. achieve his goal. 8...Kf8 9.Lg6 Kg8 10.
Ke6 Kf8 11.Kf6 Kg8 The final stage is a This is a position from a middlegame. All
little bit fiddly and most novices go wrong at of White's pieces are working together and
this point because they do not understand the he mates in two moves using his bishops.
concept of a waiting move. That is why this is 1.Le7+ Ke8 2.Ld7# 1-0
such a good example to show. 12.Lc5 Kh8
13.Le4 Making room for the king. 13...Kg8 Throughout these checkmating drills, the
14.Kg6 Kh8 15.Ld6 Waiting one move. idea of using all the pieces as a team should
15...Kg8 16.Ld5+ Kh8 17.Le5# Powerful be constantly stressed.
bishops! 1-0
Example 13 ●
Bishop checkmates often occur when the XABCDEFGHY
enemy king is jammed up in the corner:
8-+-+-+k+(
Example 11 ○ 7+l+-+pzpp'
XABCDEFGHY 6pvl-+-+-+&
8k+L+-+-+( 5+p+-+-+-%
7zp-mK-+-+-' 4-+-+-vLn+$
6P+-+-+-+& 3+-zP-+-zP-#
5+-+-+-+-% 2PzP-sN-zP-zP"
4-+-+-+-+$ 1+-+-+LmK-!
3+-+-+-+p# xabcdefghy
2-+-+-+-+" Black to play and checkmate in one move:
1+-+-+-+-! 1...Lxf2# 0-1
abcdefgh The queen, rook and bishop are long-

1.Lb7# Something like this! Note the close range, powerful pieces and it is they that
cooperation with the white king. Teamwork usually administer checkmate. The short-
again! 1-0 range pieces, the knight, king and pawn
mostly support them in this role.
Example 12 ○
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-mk-+-+(
7+-zp-+-+p'
6-+-+-mKp+&
5+p+psN-+-%
4pvL-+l+LzP$
3zP-+-+-+-#
2-+P+-+r+"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
Basic Knight Mates As with the bishop, snap knight mates
Pure knight mates are extremely rare, but are possible when the enemy king is bottled
knight checkmates are certainly possible up.
with assistance from the other pieces. This would be a rare example in mid
A typical knight mate would be something board. In the next example, White is to play
like our next position, where White mates in and mate in one:
one, with a choice of two different ways:
Example 16 ○
Example 14 ○ XABCDEFGHY
XABCDEFGHY 8r+-+-tr-+(
8-+-+-trk+( 7+-+-+-+-'
7+-+-+p+p' 6-+-snp+-+&
6-+-+-+p+& 5+-+pmkp+R%
5+-+-+N+-% 4R+-+-+-+$
4-+-+-+-+$ 3+-+-+P+-#
3+-+-+-+-# 2-+-+-sNPzP"
2-vL-+-zPPzP" 1+-+-+-mK-!
1+-+-+-mK-! xabcdefghy
xabcdefghy 1.Ng4# Note the pin on the f5-pawn. Ba-
1.Ne7# or 1.Nh6# 1-0 sic tactics come into play all the time. 1-0
Example 15 ● There are opening traps based on the

XABCDEFGHY knight checkmate. Observe this following
brief game:
8-mk-+-+-+(
Example 17
7zp-zp-+-+-' 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7
6-zp-+-+-zp& 5.Qe2 Not a very good move, but it sets a
trap which Black is obligingly going to fall
5+-+-+-+-% into. 5...Ngf6?? If I could put three question
4P+-wq-+-+$ marks behind this move, I would. 6.Nd6#
Smothered mate after 6 moves. Black goes
3+P+-+-+-# back to the books. 1-0
2-+P+-snPzP" Checkmates Summary
1+-+R+RmK-! Throughout this small section on check-
mates, we are trying to get the beginner used
xabcdefghy to a powerful concept:
The most famous 'pure' knight checkmate. If you can checkmate, you can finish off a
Black to play and mate in three moves: game of chess!
1...Nh3+ 2.Kh1 Qg1+ 3.Rxg1 Nf2# Repeated checkmating practice will al-
Smothered mate. White's king is entombed ways be useful and the teacher may obvi-
by his own pieces. Newcomers to chess ously introduce more and more sophisticated
are usually very pleased with this example. examples as the students increase in
0-1 strength.
Strategy - Teamwork
Kevin O’Connell
Concept Black has an extra rook. White could peg
Teamwork permeates our lives. The best back the material deficit by taking the f6-
teams, no matter the individual talents, gain knight, but his pieces can work even harder:
success by working together. 1.Lg5-h6+ Kf8-g8 2.Re1-e5 Black resig-
ned since mate (on g5 or e8) is unavoidable.
Example 1 ○ 1-0
XABCDEFGHY A lack of harmony spells trouble and leads
8rsnl+-vlntr( to poor or disastrous results.
Beginners chase all over the board with
7zppzp-+-zpp' just a single piece, until she is lost, and then
continue with another and so on …
6-+-+-+-+& Beginners, and not only beginners, place
5+-+Q+-+-% far too great an emphasis on material values,
counting up how many ‘points’ advantage
4-+L+Nmk-+$ they have …
3+-+-+-+-# Example 3 ○
2PzPPzPKzP-zP" XABCDEFGHY
1wq-+-+-+-! 8rsnl+-vlntr(
xabcdefghy 7zppzpp+-zpp'
Black’s 'advantage' of four extra pieces is 6-+-+-wq-+&
worth nothing because his pieces have gone
walkabout or are on strike. White's pieces 5+-+-tR-sNk%
are working overtime and the end of the 4-+-zP-+-+$
black monarch’s walk is nigh: 1.Qd5-g5+
Kf4xe4 2.d2-3+ Ke4-d4 3.Qg5-e3# 1-0 3+-+Q+-+-#
Example 2 ○
2PzPP+-zPPzP"
XABCDEFGHY 1tRNvL-+-mK-!
8r+l+-mk-tr( xabcdefghy
Black's king has gone walkabout. It cap-
7zppzpp+p+p' tured a piece on the way to h5, but now it
6-+-+-sn-+& perishes to White's team. Note how the c1-
bishop is working hard, even though un-
5+-+P+-vL-% moved, and far harder than the f8-bishop,
4-+-+-+-+$ despite 'controlling' fewer squares. 1.g2-g4+
Black resigned here, just ahead of the forced
3+-zP-+N+-# mate: 1...Kh5-h6 (1...Kh5-h4 2.Qd3-g3#
or 1...Kh5xg4 2.Qd3-h3#) 2.Ng5-f7# (the
2P+-+-zPPzP" power of the double check - Black can't take
1+-+-tR-mK-! the f7-knight because his king is in check
also from the c1-bishop, so it is checkmate).
xabcdefghy 1-0
□ Anderssen Adolf White is in no hurry to play an ending
■ Kieseritzky Lionel here, but the white queen is not doing a lot
London 1851 (Immortal Game) ○ on e7, so where to put her? The obvious an-
XABCDEFGHY swer is that she could work far harder if she
could get at the exposed black king. 1.Qe7-
8r+l+k+ntr( b4 Rf8-c8 2.Qb4-g4+ Kg8-f8 3.Qg4-g7+
Kf8-e8 4.Qg7-g8+ Ke8-d7 5.Qg8xf7+ If
7zp-+p+pzpp' the black king advances then Rf1-f5 is sim-
6n+-vL-+-+& ple, if it moves sideways then Rf1xf6+,
while if it retreats then Ne7xc8+ is curtains.
5+p+NzPN+P% 1−0
4-+-+-+P+$
□ Fishbait
3+-+P+Q+-# ■ O’Connell Kevin
2P+P+K+-+" Internet 1995 ●
1wq-+-+-vl-! XABCDEFGHY
xabcdefghy 8-tr-+-+-mk(
Black has a very large material advantage, 7+p+-trpzpp'
but his pieces are asleep in the four corners. 6-+-zp-+-+&
White's pieces are working together as a
team and occupy the central high ground. 5wQ-+-vlPzP-%
1.Nf5xg7+ Ke8-d8 2.Qf3-f6+ Ng8xf6 3. 4-+Pwq-zp-zP$
Ld6-e7# 1-0
3+-+P+-+-#
Teamwork also involves ensuring that in-
dividuals do not just stand around looking 2-+-+-zPL+"
good, what Leonard Barden called ‘window 1+R+-+RmK-!
dressing’ but actually work flat out.
xabcdefghy
□ O’Connell Kevin Black stands clearly better, probably win-
■ Sales Keith ning after taking the d3-pawn. As so often,
London 1975 (training game) ○ though, increasing the workload of the
pieces is better than merely capturing mate-
XABCDEFGHY rial. 1...f4-f3 2.Lg2-h3 (2.Lg2xf3 Qd4-f4
is also an easy win.) 2...Qd4-f4 0-1
8r+-+-trk+(
7zp-+-wQp+-'
6-+-+-zp-+& Conclusion
Learn to be a good team manager!
5+-+-wqN+-% Make sure you get your players out of the
4-+-+-+-+$ dressing room and onto the pitch. Coax
them, coach them to work together. Listen to
3+-+-zP-zP-# your pieces - they often have valuable sug-
gestions to make - they sometimes know
2PzP-+P+-zP" better than you do where they should go and
1+-+-+RmK-! what they should do.
There is also an important place for team-
xabcdefghy work in the classroom.
Strategy - The Centre
Efstratios Grivas
Concept The Centre is usually controlled by pawns
The occupation of the Centre in a chess and the previous diagram is a good example
game is an important asset. But of course, in of Centre Occupation.
order to evaluate and to understand this asset By placing our pawns on the Centre we
properly, we have to deeply examine it. succeed in obtaining various advantages,
such as:
What it is - Where it is Located 1. Our pawns are perfectly located on the
The central complex of squares e4, d4, e5 Centre, controlling one or more important
and d5 is called the Centre: central squares: c5, d5, e5 and f5.
XABCDEFGHY 2. Files and diagonals are opened, allowing
our pieces an easy, quick and harmonious
8rsnlwqkvlntr( development.
3. Knights and bishops are ready in no time
7zppzppzppzpp' to occupy important central squares and if
6-+-+-+-+& necessary, they will be helped by the queen.
4. Our king will be able to castle quickly,
5+-+{}-+-% finding safe shelter and allowing our rooks
4-+-}{+-+$ to connect and assist the rest of our army.
5. All the above will create the ideal pre-
3+-+-+-+-# conditions to grab the initiative and create
various threats towards our opponent’s
2PzPPzPPzPPzP" pieces.
1tRNvLQmKLsNR! The next diagram shows the (nearly) ideal
development strategy:
xabcdefghy XABCDEFGHY
If we add the neighbouring squares c4, c5,
f4 and f5 as well, then we have the so-called 8rsnlwqkvlntr(
Expanded Centre; a simply wider version.
7zppzppzppzpp'
Why it is so Significant 6-+-+-+-+&
8rsnlwqkvlntr( 4-+LzPPvL-+$
7zppzppzppzpp' 3+-sN-+N+-#
6-+-+-+-+& 2PzPPwQ-zPPzP"
5+-+-+-+-% 1+-+RtR-mK-!
4-+-zPP+-+$ xabcdefghy
3+-+-+-+-# White needed just ten moves to develop all
his eight pieces to perfect squares and castle
2PzPP+-zPPzP" and he is ready to assault the black camp or
1tRNvLQmKLsNR! even push back the black pieces by further
pawn advance(s) - a good deal for just the
xabcdefghy first ten moves of the game!
And this is all based on the Centre Occu- □ Schmidt Olaf
pation which was started by the pawn moves ■ Carl Werner
on the earliest steps. E76 Boeblingen 2000
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Lg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4
How it can be Done c6 6.Nf3 0-0 7.Ld3 a6 (D)
□ Strange Mikkel
■ Petersen Tom Petri XABCDEFGHY
B06 Denmark 2002 8rsnlwq-trk+(
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Lg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Nc3 Nd7
5.Lc4 e6 6.0-0 a6 7.a4 b6 8.Re1 Ne7 7+p+-zppvlp'
9.Lg5 0-0 10.Qd2 Lb7 11.Rad1 Kh8 6p+pzp-snp+&
12.h3 Qe8 (D)
8r+-+qtr-mk( 4-+PzPPzP-+$
7+lzpnsnpvlp' 3+-sNL+N+-#
6pzp-zpp+p+& 2PzP-+-+PzP"
5+-+-+-vL-% 1tR-vLQmK-+R!
4P+LzPP+-+$ xabcdefghy
Black has chosen a passive approach and
3+-sN-+N+P# White’s Centre Occupation is impressive.
2-zPPwQ-zPP+" The assault begins! 8.e5 dxe5 9.fxe5 Ne8
10.h3 Nc7 11.0-0 b5 12.Qe2 Ne6 13.Le3
1+-+RtR-mK-! Lb7 14.Rad1 Completing the development
- Black barely has any counterplay due to
xabcdefghy White's excellent central control. 14...Nc7
White has achieved the ideal set-up and he is 15.h4! Qc8 16.Ng5 f6? 16...Nd7 was bet-
ready now to launch an attack on the black ter, although after 17.h5 White's attack keeps
king. 13.Lh6 Ng8 14.Lxg7+ Kxg7 15. growing. 17.Nxh7! A simple piece sacrifice
Re3! White firstly weakened the black king which destroys Black's defence - his king is
by exchanging an important defender and he helpless... 17...Kxh7 18.Qh5+ Kg8 19.
is now transferring a rook to the attack - the Lxg6 Rd8 20.Qh7+ Kf8 21.Lh6! 1-0
Centre Occupation is really helpful! 15...Qe7
16.Nh2 e5 17.Ld5 c6 18.Lb3 Ngf6 19. Conclusion
dxe5?! White voluntarily destroys his pride The Centre is the most important part of
and joy - there was no good reason for this the board; try to occupy it first with pawns
action! The simple 19.Ng4 Nxg4 20.hxg4 and later on with pieces as well!
Rad8 21.Rh3 would give him the advan-
tage. 19...dxe5 20.Qd6 Qxd6 21.Rxd6
White now stands only slightly better but later
went on to win the game: 21...a5 22.Rf3
Rad8 23.Ng4 Ne8 24.Rd1 h5 25.Nxe5
Nxe5 26.Rxd8 Nxf3+ 27.gxf3 Nf6 28.
Rd6 Re8 29.Nd1 Re7 30.Ne3 b5 31.axb5
cxb5 32.Rb6 a4 33.Ld5 Lxd5 34.exd5
Ra7 35.Rxb5 h4 36.c4 a3 37.bxa3 Rxa3
38.c5 Ra1+ 39.Kg2 Nh5 40.Rb4 g5 41.c6
Rc1 42.d6 Nf4+ 43.Rxf4 gxf4 44.Nf5+
Kf8 45.d7 Rxc6 46.d8Q# 1-0
Strategy - Attacking Teamwork
Efstratios Grivas
Concept spectacular queen sacrifice, leading to a
The idea of a successful attack seems to be smothered mate! 28.Rxc1 Nd2# 0-1
easy to identify, but on the other hand, many
chess players seem to forget it during the □ Grivas Efstratios
heat of battle. ■ Szkudlarek Franz
Here we should be aware of the concept of Dortmund 1991 ○
the Centre of Gravity (CoG) developed by XABCDEFGHY
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz
(1780-1831 - Prussian soldier and German 8r+-+-vl-tr(
military theorist, who stressed the moral and
political aspects of war). It is a powerful tool
7zp-zpk+-+p'
that can be applied in chess as well as war. 6-+pzpl+pzP&
It’s a practical method for determining a
specific target, the most critical one in the 5+-+-+-sN-%
opponent’s position to attack. Thus, CoG 4-+P+P+P+$
gives your campaign efforts more focus and
increases your chances of success. 3+-+-vLQ+-#
You must always be aware that if the team
works together, the pieces can mount a
2Pwq-+-zP-+"
meaningful attack, not just threaten to take 1tR-+-+RmK-!
something that is left unprotected.
xabcdefghy
□ Manthe Barry Black has retained material parity, but at the
■ Alexopoulos Georgios cost of leaving his king in the centre. White
Philadelphia 1993 ● now sets his sights on the usual target: the
XABCDEFGHY black king. 20.Rfd1 Qe5 21.Lf4! Qc5
22.e5 Opening lines. The black king already
8r+l+-+-+( feels the draught! 22...Le7 22...d5 23.Rac1!
Qa5 24.Nxe6 Kxe6 25.cxd5+ cxd5 26.
7zpp+-wQrmkp' Rc6+ +–. 23.Ne4 Qxc4 24.Rac1 (D)
6-+-+p+p+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-+-zPp+-% 8r+-+-+-tr(
4-+-+-wqP+$ 7zp-zpkvl-+p'
3+-zpL+n+N# 6-+pzpl+pzP&
2P+P+-+-zP" 5+-+-zP-+-%
1tRK+-+R+-! 4-+q+NvLP+$
xabcdefghy 3+-+-+Q+-#
This seems to be a complicated position, but
soon it becomes clear who is in the driver's 2P+-+-zP-+"
seat... 25...Nd2+! 26.Kc1 Nb3+! Team- 1+-tRR+-mK-!
work by the pair of black queen and knight.
27.Kb1 If 27.Kd1 Qd2#. 27...Qc1+!! A xabcdefghy
All white forces are directed against the Rh3#) 26...Rxc3 –+. 22...Rxc3! 23.gxh4
black king - this concentration of power is (D) 23.Lxc3 Lxe4+ 24.Qxe4 Qxh2# or
difficult for Black to meet ... 24...Qxa2 25. 23.Lxb7 Rxg3 24.Rf3 (24.Lf3 Nxh2 –+)
exd6 cxd6 26.Lxd6 Ld5 27.Lxe7 Black 24...Rxf3 25.Lxf3 Nf2+ 26.Kg1 (26.Kg2
resigned due to 27...Kxe7 28.Qf6+ Kd7 Qh3+ 27.Kg1 Ne4+ 28.Kh1 Ng3#) 26...
29.Qxc6+, winning material. 1-0 Ne4+ 27.Kf1 Nd2+ 28.Kg2 Nxf3 29.
Qxf3 (29.Kxf3 Qh3+ 30.Ke4 Rd3!! 31.
Did you notice the coordinated effort of
Qxd3 Qg2+ 32.Qf3 Qc2+ 33.Qd3 Qc6+)
the pieces? They must establish a certain
degree of unity and cohesion through mutual 29...Rd2+ –+ are wonderful variations,
contacts. It’s all about teamwork, or division proving the validity of Black's attack.
of labour, or as ex-World Champion Mikhail XABCDEFGHY
Tal’s trainer Koblencs put it, ‘it’s a wonder
formula in chess’. 8-+-tr-+k+(
So, you should know the enemy and know 7+l+-+pzpp'
yourself. You, as a commander-in-chief,
need to know how your and the opponent’s 6pvl-+p+-+&
army operate and determine strengths and 5+p+-zP-+-%
weaknesses on both sides.
□ Rotlewi Georg 4-zP-+LzPnzP$
■ Rubinstein Akiba 3zP-tr-+-+-#
Lodz 1907 ●
XABCDEFGHY 2-vL-+Q+-zP"
8-+rtr-+k+( 1tR-+-+R+K!
7+l+-wqpzpp' xabcdefghy
23...Rd2!! The hidden point of Black's
6pvl-+psn-+& queen sacrifice. 24.Qxd2 There was no sal-
5+p+-zP-+-% vation any more: 24.Qxg4 Lxe4+ 25.Rf3
Rxf3 –+ or 24.Lxc3 Rxe2 25.Rf2 Lxe4+
4-zP-+-zP-+$ 26.Kg1 Lxf2+ 27.Kf1 Lf3 28.Rd1
Nxh2# or, finally, 24.Lxb7 Rxe2 25.Lg2
3zP-sNL+-+-# Rh3! –+. 24...Lxe4+ 25.Qg2 Rh3!! and
2-vL-+Q+PzP" White had to resign: 26.Rf3 (26.Rf2 Lxf2
27.Qxe4 Rxh2#) 26...Lxf3 27.Qxf3
1tR-+-+R+K! Rxh2#. Rubinstein's 'Immortal Game'. 0-1
xabcdefghy Using a holistic approach, you need to
20...Ng4! A bolt from the blue! 21.Le4 identify a critical vulnerability, a component
The black knight is untouchable: 21.Qxg4? vulnerable to attack or disruption. Focus
Rxd3 and ...Rxc3 or 21.Ne4 Rxd3! 22. your effort against that. Think about activity,
Qxd3 Lxe4 23.Qxe4 Qh4 24.h3 Qg3! 25. coordination, harmony, interdependence and
hxg4 Qh4# or, finally, 21.Lxh7+ Kxh7 mobility.
22.Qxg4 Rd2 –+. 21...Qh4 22.g3 The al- To wrap up, let us look at the strategic
ternative was 22.h3 Rxc3 23.Lxc3 (23. relationship between the critical capability,
Lxb7 Rxh3+ 24.gxh3 Qxh3+ 25.Qh2 or power of pieces to act (attack, defence)
Qxh2# or 23.Qxg4 Rxh3+ 24.Qxh3 and the centre of the board. In order to
Qxh3+ 25.gxh3 Lxe4+ 26.Kh2 Rd2+ 27. achieve strategic objectives, you must act
Kg3 Rg2+ 28.Kh4 Ld8+ 29.Kh5 Lg6#) from a position of strength, to be able to
23...Lxe4 24.Qxg4 (24.Qxe4 Qg3 –+) attack. For that, you need to construct a solid
24...Qxg4 25.hxg4 Rd3 26.Kh2 (26.Rac1 position in the middle of the board.
Strategy - The Opening
Efstratios Grivas
Concept many times, to be afraid that the opponent
The theory of the middlegame and the will prove more ‘informed’ or more compe-
endgame are essential parts of the struggle tent than oneself? It would practically
for victory. However, just as important is amount to ‘suicide’ for our opponent to enter
our theoretical preparation in the opening, to an opening that we have mastered when s/he
lay solid foundations on which to build doesn’t possess analogous experience.
soundly the stages that follow. Naturally, there are occasions when the
In contrast to the middlegame and the end- opponent’s preparation can prove deadly. It
game, where theory is objective and ac- is possible even to lose games due to a spe-
cepted by everyone, in the opening each cific opening discovery by the opponent; this
player makes his choices in accordance with has happened before and will surely happen
his emotions and his personal experience. again.
No opening loses, no opening wins. All However, we can learn from such defeats
other viewpoints on the openings are point- and delve even deeper into our chosen open-
less and potentially harmful to the progress ings.
of a chess player. Opening knowledge is Choosing which openings ‘suit us’ is a
both important and essential, but it cannot tricky process. Every chess player will, dur-
constitute the panacea of chess education, ing their competitive career, change several
nor can we possibly demand to win solely of their openings or variations within them.
thanks to this knowledge. Personal experience, difficult situations,
Selection of a chess player’s openings is a alterations in one’s personality will, to a
purely personal matter. It is his duty to study great extent, determine these changes that
in depth and comprehend topics such as the are considered natural and desirable in the
correct move orders, the ideas behind these quest for general progress.
moves and the plans to be employed in the Openings, unlike the middlegame and the
middlegame. endgame, demand perpetual study, refresh-
One great paradox is common among ment and proper information.
young chess players (and not only them).
This phenomenon is called ‘fear of the op- Opening Principles
ponent’s preparation’ and is expressed by a 1. Occupy the centre as much as possible.
disproportionate appreciation of his own Make your first move with the pawn in front
abilities, relative to those of the opponent, of either your king or queen. Try not to ad-
with regard to the openings he has chosen. vance more than one or two pawns.
In simple words, the concept of ‘falling 2. Develop all your pieces. Make good de-
into the opponent’s preparation’, a concept veloping moves, and generally develop your
that is so commonly encountered on a young knights before your bishops. Try not to
chess player’s lips, is nothing other than a move the same piece twice in the opening
deeply hidden insecurity regarding the me- and when you develop your pieces try to
diocre or even weak understanding of the make moves which threaten something. Fi-
chosen openings. nally, don't bring your queen out early.
A player who has studied and understood 3. Castle. Your king's safety is crucial; castle
the openings that he has chosen cannot pos- early if you can. Do not move pawns in front
sibly be afraid of his opponents in this par- of your castled king unless you really must.
ticular field. 4. Prepare your plans for the coming mid-
How is it possible, having gained so much dlegame and even start to plan for the end-
experience and played a specific opening so game!
Strategy - Proverbs & Sayings
Sophia Rohde & John MacArthur
Concept ● Not all artists are chess players, but
Many of the following proverbs and say- all chess players are artists.
ings have been shared as pieces of chess ● No one ever won a game by resigning.
wisdom by generations. Enjoy! ● Methodical thinking is of more use in
chess than inspiration.
● A pair of pawns on the 6th rank is worth a ● Kings play active roles in the endgame.
rook. ● It is not enough to be a good player... you
● To avoid losing material, many have lost must also play well.
the game. ● In blitz, the knight is stronger than
● Time, space and material are measures of the bishop.
an advantage. ● When you see a good move, look for a
● A winner is one who makes the next-to- better one.
last mistake. ● When ahead in material, trade pieces;
● The knight is the best blockader of a when behind in material, trade pawns.
passed pawn. ● Help your pieces so they may help you.
● The hardest game to win is a won game. ● Good players defend and attack with the
● The beauty of a move lies not in appear- same moves.
ance but in the ideas behind it. ● Every pawn is a potential queen.
● Strategy requires thought, tactics require ● Every chess master was once a beginner.
observation. ● Don’t move the same piece twice in the
● Rooks prefer to be doubled on open files opening, unless necessary.
as well as on the seventh rank. ● Develop your pieces with a purpose, gain-
● Rooks belong on open files, and behind ing time with threats.
passed pawns. ● Chess is thirty to forty percent psychol-
● Pieces gain strength in the centre. ogy.
● Pawns capture best towards the centre. ● Chess is 99 percent tactics.
● Pawns are the soul of chess. ● Before the endgame, the Gods have placed
● Pawn snatching with the queen is an art, the middle game.
when it succeeds... ● A position is only as good as its worst
● Pawn majorities farthest from the kings placed piece.
are more favourable. ● A passed pawn increases in strength as the
● One doesn't have to play well; it's enough number of pieces on the board diminishes.
to play better than your opponent. ● A master of defence returns material in a
● One bad move nullifies forty good moves. timely manner.
● On the chessboard, lies and hypocrisy do ● A good player is always lucky.
not survive long. ● A bad plan is better than none at all.
http://www.fide.com
Chess Culture - History - Champions
Kevin O’Connell
Concept resources’. Many kings and queens have
Chess has an extremely rich culture. Even played, including King Philip II of Spain,
more than other sports, it features in almost whose court in Madrid hosted the first ever
all areas of human activity and many famous international match in 1575.
people play or played. Great thinkers who loved to play include
Chess often makes an appearance in the Albert Einstein, Alan Turing (father of com-
movies and in advertisements, frequently puter chess), Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Karl
when the director or advertiser wants to cre- Marx and Dmitri Mendeleyev.
ate an atmosphere suggesting intelligence Among writers, Lewis Carroll, Ian Flem-
and sophistication. ing (the creator of James Bond), Stefan
Composers have written about chess, for Zweig, Ivan Turgenev and Leo Tolstoy (War
example the ballet Checkmate by Arthur and Peace) were devotees, as were Nobel
Bliss, and many others, such as Chopin, Laureates Samuel Beckett and William
Prokofiev and John Cage. Many musicians Golding. All trainers and players should read
have been strong players, especially violin- (or watch the movie) Vladimir Nabokov’s
ists such as Mischa Elman, Fritz Kreisler The Luzhin Defence (Zashchita Luzhina) and
and Yehudi Menuhin, and pianists from Zweig’s The Royal Game (Schachnovelle).
Moritz Rosenthal to Sviatoslav Richter. Movie stars who have played include
There is a lovely story, apparently true, Humphrey Bogart, Bollywood’s Amir Khan,
about the pianist and chess problem com- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith (Men in
poser Rudolf Heinrich Willmers - during a Black) and John Wayne. Many movies have
recital in Copenhagen, he suddenly stopped had a chess theme or famous scene featuring
playing, wrote something on his cuff, and chess, among the most memorable being
then continued; he explained that he had Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Ca-
suddenly thought of the solution to a very sablanca, 2001, The Thomas Crown Affair,
difficult chess problem that he had been try- From Russia with Love, Blade Runner and,
ing to solve for a week. Modern musicians of course Satyajit Ray’s The Chess Players.
are also well represented, such as Bono of Sports stars include some very strong
U2, Madonna and the American rapper players: Sir George Thomas, perhaps the
RZA. greatest player ever born in Turkey, played
Major historical figures abound, such as tennis at Wimbledon, was British Chess
Ivan IV (‘the Terrible’), the first ruler to be Champion in 1923, at the same time holding
crowned Tsar of All Russia, who died while the national Badminton title (21 times).
playing chess (we do not know what his po- Grandmasters Simen Agdestein (Norway),
sition was like). Then we have Lenin, Napo- who scored a goal in one international
leon Bonaparte, and Benjamin Franklin who match, and Lars Bo Hansen (Denmark) both
wrote an interesting article The Morals of represented their countries on the soccer
Chess and whose face appears on US $100 field. Ex World Heavyweight Boxing
bills. In that article, published in 1786, Champion Lennox Lewis is an avid player.
Franklin was perhaps the first to link chess Collectors of postage stamps may put
and education, writing that ‘life is a kind of together a large thematic collection and even
chess’ and that by playing chess, we may collectors of coins and banknotes can add
learn foresight, circumspection and caution items featuring chess events and players.
and also ‘the habit of not being discouraged Every trainer, every player should build up
by present bad appearances in the state of their chess culture, starting with knowledge
our affairs ... persevering in the search of of chess history and the great champions.
History of Chess FIDE introduced the first codified Laws of
We are unsure about the precise origins of Chess.
chess. Leaving aside mentions of early
chess-like games, it is widely (although not
universally) believed that chess developed
from Chaturanga in Northern India about
1500-1600 years ago.
‘The first unmistakable reference to chess
in all literature is in Harscharita by the In-
dian court poet Bana, written between 625
and 640. Contemporary Chinese texts may
also refer to chess.
Recent finds in Butrint, Albania challenge Chess Champions
the statement that ‘no authentic chess pieces Players such as al-Adli and as-Suli (in 9th
earlier than the 7th century AD have been ad 10th century Baghdad) were renowned in
identified beyond question’ - Hooper & their day and each, for a time, seemed al-
Whyld, Oxford Companion to Chess. most invincible.
The games of Xiangqi and Shogi devel- Europeans began to be the dominant force
oped at about the same time and remained from the 15th Century, names such as Lopez
the dominant forms of chess in East Asia and Leonardo, Greco, Salvio and Philidor
right up to the present day. being clearly the foremost players of their
Chess, almost as we know it, passed day.
through Persia to the Arab world; there it As chess began to develop more widely in
achieved great heights in the 8th-10th centu- the industrializing West during the mid 19th
ries. Century, so the position became more con-
As Islam spread from Baghdad, across fused, with many strong players vying for
North Africa, and into Spain, so chess trav- the title of leading player - the likes of la
elled with it … on boards with all 64 squares Bourdonnais (France), Ireland’s McDonnell
of uniform colour. (Belfast 1798-1835 London), Saint-Amant
It was after chess arrived in Europe that (France), Staunton (England) and Anderssen
the familiar chequered board of light and (Germany).
dark squares was introduced. North America also began to make its
Five centuries or so later, during the Ren- presence felt, most notably in the person of
aissance, the game underwent some major Paul Morphy, who shone like a blazing
changes. The pawn acquired its double step comet during the years 1857-1863.
possibility. The bishop gained greater mobil- However, even though ‘British’-French
ity (previously, it jumped two squares along jousts (such as Labourdonnais-McDonnell
the diagonal). and Staunton-Saint-Amant) were widely
The queen was the biggest gainer - from a regarded as matches between the best play-
miserable single step along a diagonal, a ers of the day, it was only late in the nine-
grand total maximum of four squares, she teenth century that a match was generally
acquired her current powers of movement, recognized as one to determine the title of
with access to as many as 27 squares at one World Champion.
time. In 1886, the Austrian-Czech US citizen
Little has changed since the late 1400s, Wilhelm Steinitz defeated the German-
although some new rules (e.g. en passant Polish British citizen Johann Zukertort 10-5
capture) or new interpretations of old rules (with five draws) in a match played in New
(e.g. stalemate changing from win/loss to York, Saint Louis and New Orleans and took
draw) have been introduced. Local varia- his place as the first to enter the pantheon of
tions continued right up until 1929 when recognized World Champions.

Chess Culture - FIDE World Champions
Kevin O’Connell
Concept b. Moscow 31 October 1892
The FIDE World Chess Championship is d. Estoril, Portugal 24 March 1946
open to all, men and women, boys and girls
alike. 5 Dr Machgielis (Max) Euwe 1935-1937
A private fiefdom for 60 years, FIDE took b. Amsterdam 20 May 1901
control of the Championship in 1947, the d. Amsterdam 26 November 1981
year after the death of Alekhine. That was
achieved largely thanks to the efforts of the 1946-1948 title vacant
only surviving ex-champion, Dr Euwe.
There was a hiatus (1993-2006), when the 6 Mikhail Botvinnik 1948-1957, 1958-
reigning world champion and his challenger 1960, 1961-1963
(Nigel Short) broke away. Our roll of honour b. Kuokkala, Grand Duchy of Finland, Rus-
follows the official sequence (the break- sian Empire (now Repino, Russia) 17 Au-
aways claimed their own sequence of 1993- gust 1911
2000 Garry Kasparov, 2000-2006 Vladimir d. Moscow 5 May 1995
Kramnik). There has even been an attempt to
interfere with our list by the US House of 7 Vasily Smyslov 1957-1958
Representatives - in 1987 it passed House b. Moscow 24 March 1921
Resolution Bill 545, recognizing Bobby d. Moscow 27 March 2010
Fischer as World Chess Champion.
Who is or was the greatest of the champi- 8 Mikhail Tal 1960-1961
ons? That is an ongoing debate, with many b. Riga 9 November 1936
differing views, but Lasker, Capablanca, d. Moscow 28 June 1992
Alekhine, Botvinnik and Fischer, of those
who are deceased, are most often cited in 9 Tigran Petrosian 1963-1969
such discussions. Among living ex- b. Tbilisi 17 June 1929
champions, Karpov and Kasparov occupy a d. Moscow 13 August 1984
special place - they played 144 World
Championship match games against each 10 Boris Spassky 1969-1972
other! b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) 30 Janu-
ary 1937
World Chess Championship
1 Wilhelm Steinitz Champion: 1886-1894 11 Robert Fischer 1972-1975
b. Prague 17 May 1836 b. Chicago 9 March 1943
d. New York City 12 August 1900 d. Reykjavik 17 January 2008
2 Dr Emanuel Lasker 1894-1921 12 Anatoly Karpov 1975-1985, 1993-1999

b. Berlinchen, Prussia (now Barlinek, Poland) b. Zlatoust, USSR 23 May 1951
24 December 1868
d. New York City 11 January 1941 13 Gary Kasparov 1985-1993
b. Baku, USSR (now Azerbaijan) 13 April
3 Jose Raul Capablanca 1921-1927 1963
b. Havana 19 November 1888
d. New York City 8 March 1942 14 Alexander Khalifman 1999-2000
b. Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) 18 Janu-
4 Alexander Alekhine 1927-1935, 1937-1946 ary 1966
15 Viswanathan Anand 2000-2002, 2007- 1940-1950 title vacant
present
b. Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, India 11 2 Lyudmila Rudenko 1950-1953
December 1969 b. Lubny, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) 27
July 1904
16 Ruslan Ponomariov 2002-2004 d. 26 February 1986, Leningrad (now St.
b. Horlivka, USSR (now Ukraine) 11 Octo- Petersburg)
ber 1983
3 Elizabeta Bykova 1953-1956, 1958-1962
17 Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2004-2005 b. Bogolyubova, Russia 4 November 1913
b. Tashkent, USSR (now Uzbekistan) 5 De- d. Moscow 8 March 1989
cember 1979
4 Olga Rubtsova 1956-1958
18 Veselin Topalov 2005-2006 b. Moscow 20 August 1909
b. Ruse, Bulgaria 15 March 1975 d. Moscow 13 December 1994
19 Vladimir Kramnik 2006-2007 5 Nona Gaprindashvili 1962-1978

b. Tuapse, USSR 25 June 1975 b. Zugdidi, Georgia (USSR) 3 May 1941
Shortly after publication of the first edition 6 Maya Chiburdanidze 1978-1991

of this book, the 2012 World Championship b. Kutaisi, Georgia (USSR) 17 January 1961
match was played in Moscow between
Viswanathan Anand and challenger Boris 7 Xie Jun 1991-1996, 1999-2001
Gelfand of Israel. Anand won and retains the b. Baoding, Hebei, China 30 October 1970
title at least until November 2014.
8 Susan Polgar 1996-1999
Amateurs and Professionals b. Budapest 19 April 1969
Two World Amateur Championships were
held in Paris 1924 and The Hague 1928. The 9 Zhu Chen 2001-2004
title holders: b. Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China 16 March
Hermanis Matisons 1924-1928 1976
Dr Machgielis (Max) Euwe 1928-
The event was discontinued because, at the 10 Antoaneta Stefanova 2004-2006
1929 FIDE Congress in Venice, it was de- b. Sofia, Bulgaria 19 April 1979
cided that FIDE would no longer recognize
any distinction between amateurs and pro- 11 Xu Yuhua 2006-2008
fessionals. b. Jinhua, Zhejiang, China 29 October 1976
A World Amateur Championship was rein-
troduced in 2011 for players rated below 12 Alexandra Kosteniuk 2008-2010
2000. b. Perm, Russia (USSR) 23 April 1984
Women’s World Chess Championship 13 Hou Yifan 2010-present

The Women's World Chess Championship b. Xinghua, Taizhou, Jiangsu, China 27
has been organized, since its inception in February 1994
1927, by FIDE. The roll of honour:
Indisputably the strongest female player of
1 Vera Menchik 1927-1944 all time, Judit Polgar has never competed for
b. Moscow 16 February 1906 of Czech fa- this title.
ther & British mother FIDE also organizes many other individual
d. London 27 June 1944 by a V1-rocket World Championships for Seniors and
different age groups among juniors.
Basic Checkmates
John MacArthur
Concept
All of the basic mates require the coordi-
XABCDEFGHY
nation of at least two pieces. The king plays 8-+-+-+-+(
the main role of containing the opponent’s
king on the edge of the board.
7+-+-+-+-'
6-+-+-+-+&
Checkmate with the Queen in Theory
5+-+k+-+-%
XABCDEFGHY 4-+-+-+Q+$
8-+-mk-+-+( 3+-+-+-+-#
7+-+-+-+-' 2-+-mK-+-+"
6-+-mK-+-+& 1+-+-+-+-!
5+-+-+-+-% xabcdefghy
4-+-+-+-+$ 1.Kc3 Ke5 2.Kc4 Kd6 3.Kd4 Kc6
3+-+-+-+-# 4.Qe6+ Kb5 5.Qd6 Ka4 6.Kc4 Ka5
7.Qh6!
2-+-+-+-+" All waiting (non-checking) moves along the
6th rank work, but for one! Not 7.Qc6??
1+-+Q+-+-! stalemate (!), a common beginners’ mistake.
xabcdefghy 7...Ka4 8.Qa6# 1-0
The white king on d6 dominates Black’s Strength of the King with the Rook
king on d8 and is perfectly placed. Note the ‘opposition’ of the kings in the
1.Qd5 following diagram: White mates in three
The solution is found by simply improving moves. Centralizing is a good habit, but any
the worst placed piece. Students often find rook move will do, as White will use the
this centralizing move last! The forcing al- rook to cut off Black’s king on either side.
ternatives 1.Qa4 and its mirror, 1.Qg4, are
more often found first. All three moves lead
XABCDEFGHY
to mate on either a8 or g8, depending on 8-+-+k+-+(
Black’s reply.
1...Ke8 7+-+-+-+-'
Or 1...Kc8 2.Qa8#. 6-+-+K+-+&
2.Qg8#
1-0 5+-+-+-+-%
Checkmate with the Queen in Practice
4-+-+-+-+$
The simplest mate is a coordinated effort 3+-+-+-+-#
by the pieces, the king holding back the en-
emy monarch, with an occasional check by 2-+-+-+-+"
the queen, to push the opponent to the edge 1+-+-tR-+-!
of the board.
Let’s see the next diagram: xabcdefghy
1.Re5! Kf8 White's king may force the mate within this
If Black tries 1...Kd8, White cuts Black’s a- to c-file tunnel using 'opposition' alone
king off on the c-file: 2.Rc5 Ke8 3.Rc8#. (with the help of the king being cut off by
2.Rg5 the rook, of course).
Black’s king is cut off from the g-file. 1.Ka2! Ka7 2.Ka3 Ka6
2...Ke8 3.Rg8# Much more resistant is 2...Kb7!? 3.Kb3!
1-0 Ka7 4.Kc4 Kb8 5.Kb4 Ka8 6.Kc5 Kb7
7.Kb5 Ka7 8.Kc6 Ka8 (if 8...Kb8 9.Kb6
Waiting Move for Zugzwang Ka8 10.Rc8#) 9.Kc7 Ka7 10.Ra1 #.
White, to move, checkmates in two moves.
3.Ka4 Kb6 4.Kb4 Ka6 5.Kc5 Kb7
In the next diagram, given that Black’s king
6.Kb5 Ka7 7.Kc6 Kb8 8.Kb6 Ka8
has only one move and that a detrimental
9.Rc8# 1-0
one, White may choose any one of five wait-
ing move retreat squares for the rook. The next diagram illustrates the power of
XABCDEFGHY White’s king once the black king has been
adequately ‘cut off’ by the rook.
8-+-+-+k+(
7+-+-+-+-' XABCDEFGHY
6-+-+-mK-tR& 8-+-+-+-+(
5+-+-+-+-% 7+-+-+-+-'
4-+-+-+-+$ 6-+-+-+-tR&
3+-+-+-+-# 5+-+-+-+-%
2-+-+-+-+" 4-+-+-+-+$
1+-+-+-+-! 3+-mk-+-+-#
xabcdefghy 2-+-+-+-+"
1.Rh4! Kf8 2.Rh8# 1+-mK-+-+-!
1-0 xabcdefghy
Checkmating Power of the King
1.Rd6! Kc4 2.Kc2 Kc5 3.Rd3! Kc4
White, to move, checkmates with only one
4.Kd2 Kb4 5.Rc3 Kb5
rook move allowed.
Black's king is boxed in to just two files and
XABCDEFGHY all of the remaining work can be done with
'opposition' by White's king!
8k+-+-+-+( 6.Kc2 Kb4 7.Kb2 Kb5 8.Kb3 Ka5 9.
7+-+-+-+-' Kc4! Kb6
Black's king must run as 9...Ka4? is quickly
6-+-+-+-+& mated by 10.Kc5 Ka5 11.Ra3#.
5+-+-+-+-% 10.Kb4! Ka6 11.Kc5! Kb7
Again, the side of the board is unacceptable
4-+-+-+-+$ as 11...Ka5 allows 12.Ra3# and 11...Ka7
3+-+-+-+-# shortens the mate, e.g. 12.Kc6! Kb8 (12...
Ka8 13.Kc7 Ka7 14.Ra3#) 13.Kb6 Ka8
2-+-+-+-+" 14.Rc8#.
1mK-tR-+-+-! 12.Kb5 Ka7 13.Kc6 Ka8 14.Kc7 Ka7
15.Ra3#
xabcdefghy 1-0
Notice in this example that White's rook 1.Ra5 Ke6 2.Kc2 Kf6 3.Kd3 Ke6
need not move until checkmate thanks to the 4.Kd4 Kd6 5.Ra6+ Ke7 6.Kd5 Kf7
use of 'opposition'. 7.Ke5 Kg7 8.Kf5 Kf7 9.Ra7+ Ke8
Boxing in or Cutting off the Opponent’s 10.Ke6!
King Black's king may head to attack the rook, so
Improving the king - while boxing in or starting the chase early costs a tempo: 10.
Kf6 Kd8 11.Ke6 Kc8 12.Kd6 Kb8
'cutting off' the king with the rook.
13.Rc7 Ka8 14.Kc6 Kb8 15.Kb6 Ka8
XABCDEFGHY 16.Rc8#.
10...Kd8 11.Rh7 (D)
8-tR-+-+-+(
7+-+-+k+-' XABCDEFGHY
6-+-+-+-+& 8-+-mk-+-+(
5+-+-+-+-% 7+-+-+-+R'
4-+-+-+-+$ 6-+-+K+-+&
3+-+-+-+-# 5+-+-+-+-%
2-+-+-+-+" 4-+-+-+-+$
1+K+-+-+-! 3+-+-+-+-#
xabcdefghy 2-+-+-+-+"
1.Kc2 Ke7 2.Kc3 Ke6 3.Kd4 Kd6
1+-+-+-+-!
4.Rb6+ Kc7 5.Rh6 Kd7 xabcdefghy
White's next move threatens to push Black's
king to the 8th rank or to box the king toward A waiting move, to begin the chase into the
the closest corner. corner.
6.Ke5! Kc7 7.Rd6 Kc8 8.Kd5 Kc7 11...Kc8
9.Kc5 Kb7 10.Rc6 Ka7 11.Rb6 Ka8 The only direction: 11...Ke8? 12.Rh8#.
12.Kc6 Ka7 13.Kc7 Ka8 14.Ra6# 12.Kd6 Kb8 13.Kc6 Ka8 14.Kb6 Kb8
1-0 15.Rh8# 1-0
The Chase! Basic Two Rook Ladder Mate

8-+-+-+-+( 8-+-+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-' 7+-+-+-+-'
6-+-+-mk-+& 6-+-+-+-+&
5+-+-+-tR-% 5+-+-+-mk-%
4-+-+-+-+$ 4-tR-+-+-+$
3+-+-+-+-# 3+-+-+-+-#
2-+-+-+-+" 2-+-+-+-+"
1+K+-+-+-! 1tR-+-mK-+-!
The basic 'ladder' or 'staircase' mate. Two Bishops
1.Ra5+ Kf6 2.Rb6+ Ke7 3.Ra7+ Kd8 The major piece ladder illustrated what is
4.Rb8# required to deliver checkmate. Centralizing
If Black's king was able to attack either of and using the king are paramount.
the rooks, they would shuffle to the g- and h-
files and continue up the staircase.
XABCDEFGHY
1-0 8-+-+-+-+(
Queen and Rook, Ladder or Funnel Mate
7+-+-+-+k'
XABCDEFGHY 6-+-+-+-+&
8-+-+-+-+( 5+-+-+-+-%
7+-+-+-+-' 4-+-+-+-+$
6-+-+-+-+& 3+L+-+-+-#
5+-+-+-+-% 2-+-+-+-vL"
4-+-+k+-+$ 1+-mK-+-+-!
3+-+-+-+-# xabcdefghy
1.Kd2 Kg6 2.Ke3 Kf6 3.Ke4 Ke7 4.
2-+-wQ-+-+" Ke5 Kd7 5.Lg1
Improving the bishop to help extend White's
1+-+-+RmK-! coverage of space.
xabcdefghy 5...Ke7 6.Le6 Kd8 7.Kd6 Ke8 8.Ld4
Kf8
The ladder is simpler with a queen and rook. Black's king is cut off by the two bishops.
It’s possible to funnel Black’s king straight White begins a diagonal ladder to box
to e8 with mate. Black's king on a8.
1.Rf4+ 9.Lc4 Ke8 10.Lg7 Kd8 11.Lf7 Kc8
The ladder with the queen on the inside of 12.Kc6 Kb8
the rook is slightly awkward, but still effec- If 12...Kd8 then 13.Lf6+ Kc8 14.Le6+
tive: 1.Qe2+ Kd4 2.Rd1+ Kc3 3.Qd2+ Kb8 15.Kb6 Ka8 16.Ka6 Kb8 17.Le5+
Kb3 4.Rc1 Ka3 5.Rb1 Ka4 6.Qa2# or Ka8 18.Ld5#.
6.Qb4#. 13.Lf6 Ka8
1...Ke5 2.Qd4+ Ke6 3.Rf6+ Ke7 4.Qd6+ If Black tries to run with 13...Ka7 White cu-
Ke8 5.Rf8# ts him off again: 14.Lc4 Kb8 15.Kb6 Kc8
1-0 16.Le6+ Kb8 17.Le5+ Ka8 18.Ld5#.
14.Kb6 Kb8 15.Le6 Ka8 16.Ka6
Or any waiting move other than 16.Le5??
stalemate!
16...Kb8 17.Le5+ Ka8 18.Ld5# 1-0
Conclusion
When teaching basic checkmates, be sure
to allow plenty of time. These foundations
need to be solid as a rock.
You can spare your students the effort of
mastering checkmate with bishop and knight
against lone king - even some Grandmasters
don’t know how to do that!
Basic Endgames
Andrew Martin
Concept We begin with just kings and pawns and the
Many of the strongest players in chess position reduced to a bare minimum. In the
history have stated that the endgame should diagram, it is White to play and win. 1.Kd2!
be studied first, before the opening and mid- In order to win this endgame, white must get
dlegame. Through endgame work, the nov- his king in front of the pawn. Pushing the
ice learns what the pieces and pawns can do pawn is bad, yet this is what most beginners
in simple situations, when only limited ma- do when encountering this endgame for the
terial remains on the board. first time. White cannot get his king in front
The endgame is the most difficult part of of the pawn then: 1.e4? Ke7 2.Ke2 Ke6
chess to master. With only a few pieces left, 3.Ke3 Ke5 4.Kd3 Ke6 5.Kd4 Kd6!
it is important to be accurate. Second-rate 6.e5+ Ke6 7.Ke4 Ke7! (the key defensive
moves are no good. With a board full of move. Whichever side White goes, Black
pieces, a small imprecision may not matter; will take the opposition, blocking him)
in the endgame, this can be fatal. The very 8.Kf5 Kf7 9.e6+ Ke7 10.Ke5 Ke8!
basic rules of endgame play are as follows: 11.Kf6 Kf8 12.e7+ Ke8 13.Ke6 stale-
1. Play slowly and carefully. Do not rush! mate! 1...Ke7 2.Ke3 Ke6 3.Ke4 (D)
2. The king is a strong piece in the endgame.
Use the king aggressively.
XABCDEFGHY
3. The object of an endgame is to create a 8-+-+-+-+(
passed pawn and promote that pawn. After
that, hopefully, comes checkmate. 7+-+-+-+-'
The endgames and ideas presented here 6-+-+k+-+&
are those which will prove most useful to
teacher and student alike at the beginning. 5+-+-+-+-%
They all have practical use and can be ex- 4-+-+K+-+$
pected to feature at any time. They will be
the building blocks of endgame technique. 3+-+-+-+-#
Basic Pawn Endgames 2-+-+P+-+"
Example 1 ○ 1+-+-+-+-!
8-+-+k+-+( The kings are in 'opposition'. An under-
7+-+-+-+-' standing of the opposition is critical to most
king and pawn endgames. White has taken
6-+-+-+-+& the opposition with his last move and now
Black must give way: 3...Kf6 4.Kd5 White
5+-+-+-+-% bypasses the black king and makes huge
4-+-+-+-+$ strides towards the win. 4...Ke7 4...Kf5?
5.e4+ Kf6 6.Kd6 Kf7 7.e5 Ke8 8.Ke6
3+-+-+-+-# Kd8 9.Kf7 Kd7 10.e6+ Kd6 11.e7 Kd5
2-+-+P+-+" 12.e8Q. 5.Ke5! Continuing to take the op-
position. 5...Kf7 6.Kd6 The second bypass.
1+-+-mK-+-! 6...Ke8 7.Ke6 (D) Try to remember by any
means this very important position. Black loses
xabcdefghy whoever is to move:
XABCDEFGHY There are various kinds of opposition, in-
cluding diagonal, side and distant opposi-
8-+-+k+-+( tion.
7+-+-+-+-' Example 3 ○
6-+-+K+-+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-+-+-+-% 8-+-+-+-+(
4-+-+-+-+$ 7+-+-+-+-'
3+-+-+-+-# 6-+-+-+-+&
2-+-+P+-+" 5+-zp-mk-+-%
1+-+-+-+-! 4-+-+-+-+$
7...Kf8 8.e4 Ke8 9.e5 Kf8 10.Kd7 Kf7
11.e6+ The pawn promotes.
2-+-+-+-+"
1+-+-mK-+-!
Example 2 ● xabcdefghy
Now let us return to the first diagram, but This is a classic example of the distant
this time it is Black to move. This makes all opposition. Note the kings with an odd num-
the difference and with aggressive play and ber of squares between them. White, to
knowledge of how to take the opposition, move, must play accurately to make a draw.
Black draws. 1...Ke7 2.Kd2 Ke6 3.Ke3 His first move is very important. 1.Kd1!
Ke5! (D) Both 1.Kd2? Kd4! and 1.Ke2? Ke4! are
XABCDEFGHY poor and allow Black to take the normal
opposition and win. 1...Kd5 1...Kd4 2.Kd2
8-+-+-+-+( Kc4 3.Kc2 =. 2.Kc1! Excellent play!
White is waiting for 2...Kc4 3 Kc2 when
7+-+-+-+-' it's a draw. Black now tries his last trick.
6-+-+-+-+& 2...Ke4 3.Kc2! (D)
5+-+-mk-+-% XABCDEFGHY
4-+-+-+-+$ 8-+-+-+-+(
3+-+-mK-+-# 7+-+-+-+-'
2-+-+P+-+" 6-+-+-+-+&
1+-+-+-+-! 5+-zp-+-+-%
xabcdefghy 4-+-+k+-+$
White cannot make progress now. 4.Kf3 3+-+-+-+-#
Kf5! Black is in charge of the opposition.
5.e3 Once White moves his pawn, the posi-
2-+K+-+-+"
tion becomes a draw. 5...Ke5 6.e4 Ke6 1+-+-+-+-!
7.Kf4 Kf6 8.e5+ Ke6 9.Ke4 Ke7! It will
end up in stalemate, as before. 10.Kd5 Kd7 xabcdefghy
11.e6+ Ke7 12.Ke5 Ke8! 13.Kd6 Kd8 Taking the diagonal opposition. White is
14.e7+ Ke8 15.Ke6 ½-½ very careful. 3...Kd5 4.Kd3 c4+ 5.Kc3
Kc5 6.Kc2 Now it is easier. 6...Kd4 7. Example 5 ●
Kd2 c3+ 8.Kc2 Kc4 9.Kc1 Kb3 10.Kb1
XABCDEFGHY
c2+ 11.Kc1 Kc3 Stalemate. ½-½
8-}{}{}-+(
Example 4 ○
7+{+-+{+-'
XABCDEFGHY 6-}-+-}-+&
8-+-+k+-+( 5+{+-+{+-%
7+-+-+-+-' 4-}{}{zP-+$
6-+-+p+-+& 3+k+-+-+-#
5+-+-zP-+-% 2-+-+-+-+"
4-+-+-+-+$ 1+K+-+-+-!
3+-+K+-+-# xabcdefghy
2-+-+-+-+" 1...Kc4! Even 1...Kb4 is good enough:
1+-+-+-+-! 2.f5 Kc5 3.f6 Kd6 4.f7 Ke7. 2.f5 Kd5
3.f6 Ke6 and Black easily catches the pawn.
xabcdefghy
An interesting position where a fierce bat-
tle to gain the opposition is about to take
place. White to play and win! 1.Kc4!
1.Kd4 Kd8 2.Kc5 Kc7 is only a draw with
White to move. White will try and engineer
this position with Black to move. 1...Kd7
Black can try for a counter-attack, forcing
White to be very accurate after 1...Kf7
2.Kc5 Kg6 3.Kc6!! (but not the careless Passed Pawns
3.Kd6 Kf5 when White loses the pawn) We spoke in the introduction about passed
3...Kg5 4.Kd7 Kf5 5.Kd6. 2.Kb5! Di- pawns and they are very important indeed in
agonal opposition. 2...Kc7 3.Kc5 Mission the endgame. A passed pawn is a pawn that
accomplished. 3...Kd7 4.Kb6 Ke7 5.Kc6 cannot be exchanged off by an enemy pawn
Kf8 6.Kd6 Kf7 7.Kd7 Kf8 8.Kxe6 Ke8 and which has no pawn in front of it.
9.Kf6 Kf8 10.e6 Ke8 11.e7 Kd7 12.Kf7 The whole point of the endgame is to cre-
It may be worth going through this interest- ate a passed pawn, promote it and then
ing example more than once. 1-0 checkmate. There are different kinds of
passed pawn.
Rule of the Square In the next diagram, Black has an outside
We now introduce the 'rule of the square'. (distant) passed pawn on h5. Outside passed
Nobody can expect beginners to indulge in pawns are very dangerous and the enemy
lengthy calculation, so here is a useful short- king can get very tied up dealing with them.
cut - take a look at the next diagram: White meanwhile has a normal passed pawn
Black (to move) would like to know if he on e4 and a protected passed pawn on c4.
can stop White's pawn. Protected passed pawns are the most pow-
All he needs to do is draw an imaginary erful of all. In our example White wins eas-
square in his mind as indicated in the dia- ily, because Black cannot attack the pawn on
gram by the black dots. c4. He must sit and watch as White demol-
If his king can step into that square, he ishes his position.
draws! Thus: Example 6 ○
XABCDEFGHY pawn, obstructing any movement.
We have discussed the importance of
8-+-+k+-+( passed pawns earlier. They need to be free to
advance, not blocked by their own pieces.
7zp-+-+-+-'
Example 7
6-+-+-+-+& XABCDEFGHY
5zp-+-+-+p% 8-+-+k+-+(
4-zpP+P+-+$ 7+-+-+-+-'
3+P+-+-+-# 6-+-+-+-+&
2P+-+-+-+" 5+-+-+-+p%
1+-+-mK-+-! 4P+-+-+-tr$
1.Kf2 Ke7 2.Kg3 Ke6 3.Kh4 Ke5
4.Kxh5 Kxe4 5.Kg5 Kd4 6.Kf5 Black is 2-+-+-+-+"
finished. 6...Kc5 6...Kc3 7.c5! Kb2 8.c6
Kxa2 9.c7 Kxb3 10.c8Q a4 11.Qc1 a3 1tR-+-mK-+-!
12.Qb1+ Ka4 13.Qc2+ b3 (13...Kb5 xabcdefghy
14.Ke4 a5 15.Kd5 +-) 14.Qc4+ +-. 7.Ke5
Kb6 8.Kd6 Kb7 9.Kc5 Kc7 10.Kb5 Example 8 ○
Kb7 11.Kxa5 Kc7 12.Kxb4. XABCDEFGHY
Pawns Summary 8r+-+k+-+(
The ideas of pawn promotion, the opposi- 7zP-+-+-+-'
tion, the square and passed pawns are all the
beginner needs at an early stage. Pawn end- 6-mK-+-+-+&
ings are very complex, because every move
is so important, but it will only clutter the
5+-+-+-+-%
brain of the poor student to go into further 4-+-+-+-+$
detail at this time.
3+-+-+-+-#
Basic Rook Endgames
Some very basic ideas in rook endgames
2-+-+-+-zp"
will be considered next. Rook endgames are 1tR-+-+-+-!
statistically the most common of all, because
the rook is often the last piece to be devel-
xabcdefghy
oped and exchanged. This position could easily be an extension
The rook needs to be kept active and posi- of the previous diagram. White has pushed
tioned as aggressively as possible, especially his passed pawn and his rook has excellent
in the endgame. The rook dislikes being freedom of movement. Black, meanwhile, is
tucked up next to his own pieces; he likes all bottled up. Therefore, White wins imme-
space around him. diately with 1.Kb7 Rxa7+ 2.Kxa7 Ke7
There is an old chess maxim: Rooks be- 3.Rh1 White rounds up the remaining black
long behind passed pawns and our next dia- pawn.
gram (example 7) illustrates this concept. Tactical ideas abound in all endgames.
White's rook is perfectly placed to support Here, the white rook appears to be mis-
the advance of his passed pawn. Black's rook placed, but White can win, using the concept
is clumsily placed in front of his passed of a skewer to help him:
order to shield his king. 1...e5 2.Rb5 Kf5
Example 9 ○ 3.Rb4 Repeating the same idea. 3...e4
XABCDEFGHY 4.Ra4 Kf4 5.Ra3 e3 (D)
8R+-+-+-+( XABCDEFGHY
7zP-+-mk-+-' 8-+-+-+-+(
6-+-+-+-+& 7+-+-+-+-'
5+-+-+-+-% 6-+-+-+-+&
4-+-+-+-+$ 5+-+-+-+-%
3+-+-+-+-# 4-+-+-mk-+$
2-+-+K+-+" 3tR-+-zp-+-#
1tr-+-+-+-! 2-+-+-+-tr"
xabcdefghy 1+-+-mK-+-!
1.Rh8! Rxa7 2.Rh7+ 1-0 xabcdefghy
The critical position. White employs an
We spoke about the frequency of rook and idea discovered by Philidor over two hun-
pawn endgames. Rook and pawn versus dred years ago. 6.Ra8! White goes active.
rook is most common of all. 6... Kf3 6...Rh4 7.Ra4+ Kg3 8.Rxh4
In the diagram, White is a clear pawn Kxh4 9.Ke2. 7.Rf8+ Ke4 8.Re8+ Kd3
down and his king is trapped on the back 9.Rd8+ Black can’t escape the checks. ½-½
rank. Black will try to win by gradually ad-
vancing his pawn, supported by the king and Example 11 - Lucena ○
setting up checkmating ideas.
This is where technique comes in and a
XABCDEFGHY
little knowledge about how to defend such 8-+-+K+-+(
positions goes a long way. This position is a
draw if White plays perfectly: 7+-mk-zP-+-'
6-+-+-+-+&
Example 10 - Philidor Francois Andre ○
8-+-+-+-+( 4-+-+-+-+$
7+-+-+-+-' 3+-+-+-+-#
6R+-+pmk-+& 2-+-tR-+-+"
5+-+-+-+-% 1+-+-+r+-!
White would like to and can win this posi-
3+-+-+-+-# tion, but at present his king is trapped. This
2-+-+-+-tr" is the Lucena position, another timeless les-
son in technique. 1.Rc2+! An excellent first
1+-+-mK-+-! move, driving the black king further away
from the white pawn. 1...Kb7 1...Kd6
xabcdefghy 2.Kd8 wins at once. 2.Rc4! Beginners find
1.Ra5! Forcing Black's pawn forward in this move very obscure and there seems little
point to it. However, White has a plan to get cannot win then: 2.Rc8 Kd4 3.Kf6 c4
his king out and so this endgame can also 4.Kf5 c3 5.Kf4 Kd3 6.Rd8+ Ke2! 7.Ke4
serve as a very basic introduction to plan- c2 8.Rc8 Kd2 draw. This is the type of
ning. 2...Rf2 Black has nothing better than defensive idea White is fighting against.
to pass. 3.Kd7 Rd2+ 4.Ke6 Re2+ As ad- 1...c4 If 1...Kc6 White marches to victory
vertised, Black unleashes a barrage of an- after 2.Kg7 Kb5 3.Kf6 Kb4 4.Ke5 c4
noying checks. 5.Kd6! Rd2+ 5...Re1 6. 5.Kd4 c3 6.Rc5. 2.Kg7 c3 3.Rg3 White
Rc5! wins, intending Re5. 6.Ke5 Re2+ rounds up the pawn. This is a splendid ex-
7.Re4 (D) ample of cooperation between White's rook
XABCDEFGHY and king.
8-+-+-+-+( The subject of rook endgames is a vast

topic and it is quite useless clogging up the
7+k+-zP-+-' brain of the novice with too much detail.
6-+-+-+-+& My final position though, shows how
White may win when two pawns ahead and
5+-+-mK-+-% is another useful lesson in technique. This is
actually a game: Hunt,H-Makropoulou,M
4-+-+R+-+$ Pula 1997:
3+-+-+-+-#
Example 13 ○
2-+-+r+-+" XABCDEFGHY
1+-+-+-+-! 8-+-+-+-+(
xabcdefghy 7+-+-+-+-'
The excellent point of 2.Rc4 is revealed.
White forces his pawn home. 1-0 6-+-+-+-+&
Example 12 ○ 5+-+-+-mk-%
XABCDEFGHY 4-+-+-+-+$
8-+-+-+RmK( 3+-+-tRKzPP#
7+-+-+-+-' 2-+-+-+-+"
6-+-mk-+-+& 1tr-+-+-+-!
5+-zp-+-+-% xabcdefghy
4-+-+-+-+$ 1.h4+ Kg6 2.Re4 Rf1+ 3.Kg4 Gradual
progress is the order of the day, with White
3+-+-+-+-# using rook, king and pawns as a team.
3...Ra1 4.Rb4 Ra3 5.h5+ Kh6 6.Rb6+
2-+-+-+-+" Kh7 7.Kh4 Rc3 8.g4 Rc5 This is the
1+-+-+-+-! most annoying move, preventing White from
bringing the king up. 9.Rf6 Kg7 10.Rf5!
xabcdefghy Rc4 11.Kg5 Ra4 12.Rb5 Rc4 13.h6+
Here we examine another typical position, Kh7 14.Rb7+ Kg8 15.Kh5 Rc5+ 16.g5
which crops up all the time. Can White, to Ra5 17.Re7! Do not hurry in endgames!
move, win? It seems unlikely with his king 17.h7+? Kh8 would have been a serious
so far away. 1.Rg5!! Excellent. Black's king mistake by White, allowing stalemate tricks:
is cut off. 1.Kg7 Ke5! is a 'body-check' by 18.Kh6 (18.Rb8+ Kxh7 19.Rb7+ Kg8
the black king, gaining a whole move. White 20.Kh6 Ra1) 18...Ra6+ 19.g6 Rxg6+!.
17...Rb5 18.Kg6 Rb6+ 19.Kf5 Rb5+ XABCDEFGHY
20.Kf6 Rb6+ 21.Re6 Blocking the checks
at the right moment! 21...Rb1 21...Rb8 8-+-+-mk-+(
22.g6 Ra8 23.h7+ Kh8 24.Kg5 Ra5+ 7+-+-+-vl-'
25.Kh6 (there is no stalemate trick here)
25...Ra8 26.g7#. 22.Re8+ Black resigns, 6-+K+-zp-zp&
unwilling to allow 22...Kh7 23.g6+ Kxh6
24.Rh8#. Hunt played carefully and accu-
5+-+PzpNzpP%
rately throughout this endgame. 1-0 4-+-+P+P+$
Summarizing 3+-+-+-+-#
1. Keep the rook active.
2. Rooks belong behind passed pawns, not in 2-+-+-+-+"
front.
3. Tactics abound in rook endgames.
1+-+-+-+-!
4. Technique in rook and pawn endgames xabcdefghy
can be learned. The Lucena and Philidor Therefore, White wins easily after 1.d6
positions are two excellent examples. Ke8 2.Kc7 Lf8 3.d7+ Kf7 4.d8Q.
Example 15 ●
XABCDEFGHY
8-+-+-+k+(
7+-+-+-vl-'
6-+-+-+-+&
Good vs Bad Pieces
The idea of good and bad pieces should be
5+-+-+-+-%
introduced at this stage. 4p+-+-+N+$
As the endgame approaches, it is vital that
every piece and pawn is as well placed as 3+-+-+-+-#
possible. 2-+-+-+-+"
Endgame technique demands that we im-
prove the position of our pieces and pawns 1+-+-+-mK-!
to the greatest possible extent before under-
taking decisive action.
xabcdefghy
In the next diagram, White has a good Here we have a good bishop versus a bad
knight versus a bad bishop and a good king knight. Black's bishop is unobstructed and
versus a bad king. White's knight is beauti- helps to escort the pawn home. The slow-
fully positioned and can roam around the moving knight is very poor against outside
board at will. passed pawns. Therefore 1...a3 2.Ne3 Ld4,
Black's bishop is trapped in behind his pinning and winning, is the quickest way to
own pawns. White's king dominates and finish things off.
supports his passed pawn. The ‘Saavedra’ position (Barbier, 1895)
Black's king is helpless and even adds to highlights the idea of good and bad pieces.
the obstruction of the bishop. Black's king is bad because he is on the back
In the opening and middlegame, with the rank in a corner. Black's rook is bad, because
board full of pieces, details such as this it is too close to the white king and pawn.
might not matter, but in the endgame, every White uses these features of the position to
detail counts. win beautifully:
Example 14 ○ Example 16 ○
XABCDEFGHY open, which makes that piece very bad in-
deed. Black seizes his opportunity:
8-+-+-+-+(
Example 17 ○
7+-+-+-+-'
XABCDEFGHY
6-mKP+-+-+&
8-+Q+-+-+(
5+-+r+-+-%
7+-+-+-+-'
4-+-+-+-+$
6p+-+R+-+&
3+-+-+-+-#
5zP-+-+-zpP%
2-+-+-+-+"
4-+-zp-+P+$
1mk-+-+-+-!
3+-+k+-+-#
xabcdefghy
1.c7 Rd6+ 2.Kb5 Rd5+ 3.Kb4 Rd4+
2-+-wq-+-+"
4.Kc3 Rd1 5.Kc2 Rd4 Black thinks he 1+-+-+-mK-!
has pulled the game out of the fire with the
devilish trap. 6.c8R!! (D) xabcdefghy
XABCDEFGHY 1...Qc1+ 2.Qxc1 Stalemate! ½-½
8-+R+-+-+(
7+-+-+-+-'
6-+-+-+-+&
5+-+-+-+-%
4-+-tr-+-+$
3+-+-+-+-#
2-+K+-+-+"
1mk-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy Other Useful Ideas
A marvellous move, threatening Ra8+. To close this section on endgames, I am
Now we see how poorly placed the black going to concentrate on simple ideas, which
king really is. He intends 6.c8Q? Rc4+ I think will be most useful at an early stage
7.Qxc4 stalemate! 6...Ra4 7.Kb3! Threat- of development.
ening Rc1 mate, as well as the black rook. Games between strong players are almost
7...Rh4 8.Rc1# 1-0 always tightly contested. By contrast, games
between beginners are wide open and it is
The idea of good and bad pieces (and I usually the person who makes the last mis-
think we can extend this to pawns) under- take that loses.
pins endgame theory. Pieces and pawns are won, lost, thrown
Of course it is relevant to the entire game, away, and regained. I think the teacher must
but with only a few pieces remaining, the make a key point at this early stage that ex-
concept becomes magnified. tra material does matter and in the endgame
My final example features a tactical trap. it usually proves decisive.
White is a rook up, but his king is wide Exchanging
Here is an extremely simple example of XABCDEFGHY
the exchanging theme. White wins easily by
exchanging both pairs of rooks: 8-+-+-wqk+(
Example 18 ○
7+p+-+pvlp'
XABCDEFGHY 6p+-+r+p+&
8-+-trk+-+( 5+-+-+-+-%
7+-+r+-+-' 4-+P+-zP-+$
6-+-+-+-+& 3+P+-+KzP-#
5+-+-mK-+-% 2PvL-+-+-zP"
4-+-tR-+P+$ 1wQ-+-tR-+-!
3+-+R+-+-# xabcdefghy
1.Lxg7 Qxg7 2.Qxg7+ Kxg7 3.Rxe6
2-+-+-+-+" fxe6 4.Ke4 White has transposed into a
1+-+-+-+-! winning king and pawn endgame and he left
Black with no choice throughout the proce-
xabcdefghy dure. He made his own life very easy by
1.Rxd7 Rxd7 2.Rxd7 Kxd7 3.Kf6 playing in this way. As we learned in our
Ke8 4.Kg7 Ke7 5.g5 Ke6 6.g6 Ke7 introduction, White will now try to create a
7.Kh7 Kf6 8.g7 Kf7 9.g8Q+ 1-0 passed pawn and push it. 4...Kf6 5.c5 Ke7
6.b4 Kd7 7.a4 Kc6 8.Ke5 Kd7 9.b5 (D)
This may seem very trivial, but it is pre- XABCDEFGHY
cisely the type of idea that will be an eye-
opener to the beginner. 8-+-+-+-+(
White transposes from one type of position
to another; from an unclear ending to a win-
7+p+k+-+p'
ning ending. The technique can be set down: 6p+-+p+p+&
1. Count the pieces.
2. If you are ahead, try to exchange pieces at 5+PzP-mK-+-%
every opportunity to reach a winning end- 4P+-+-zP-+$
game.
3. Chess games are best won simply, not in a 3+-+-+-zP-#
complicated way. Extra material is used
most efficiently in the endgame.
2-+-+-+-zP"
1+-+-+-+-!
xabcdefghy
White has a pawn majority on the queen-
side, three pawns to two, and he uses it to
create a passed pawn by force. 9...axb5
Transposition 10.axb5 Ke7 11.c6 bxc6 12.bxc6 Black
Take a look at the next diagram. You must now look after the passed pawn. 12..
could call this a middlegame, but it is about h6 13.c7 Kd7 14.c8Q+ Kxc8 15. Kxe6
to become an endgame. White counts the Kc7 16.Kf6 The white king mops up. This
pieces, finds he is a pawn up and so swaps ending is simple fare for a strong player, but
everything off: for the beginner, it may be a revelation. 1-0
Example 19 ○ Illustrative Game
It is time now for a full game, where the White is thinking about attack!
opening, middlegame and endgame are all XABCDEFGHY
interlinked. The class will enjoy White's
logical and simple play. 8r+l+k+-tr(
It is worth pointing out that this game
comes from a simultaneous display, where a
7+-+-vlpzp-'
Grandmaster is playing White and a much 6-zpp+-sn-zp&
weaker player has Black.
5zp-zp-+-+-%
□ Danielsen Henrik
■ Amarapala Sherington
4-+-+PvLPzP$
C68 Copenhagen Simul 2010 3+-sN-+P+-#
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lb5 a6 4.Lxc6 dxc6
5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 (D)
2PzPP+N+-+"
XABCDEFGHY 1+-mKR+-+R!
8r+l+kvlntr( xabcdefghy
14...Le6 15.Ng3 c4 16.g5 hxg5 17.hxg5
7+pzp-+pzpp' Rxh1 18.Rxh1 (D)
6p+p+-+-+& XABCDEFGHY
5+-+-+-+-% 8r+-+k+-+(
4-+-sNP+-+$ 7+-+-vlpzp-'
3+-+-+-+-# 6-zpp+lsn-+&
2PzPP+-zPPzP" 5zp-+-+-zP-%
1tRNvL-mK-+R! 4-+p+PvL-+$
xabcdefghy 3+-sN-+PsN-#
The opening is known as the ‘Exchange
Variation’ of the ‘Ruy Lopez’. White has a
2PzPP+-+-+"
kingside pawn majority, from which he can 1+-mK-+-+R!
try to create a passed pawn. Black's majority
on the queenside is less effective, as Black is xabcdefghy
unable to create a passed pawn if White With every exchange, White's vision of a
plays perfectly. White's game plan is very winning endgame comes closer. Black tries
easy and he will try to exchange pieces at to muddy the waters by a queenside pawn
every opportunity, angling for a winning advance, but there is very little hope.
endgame. Black should keep the pieces on 18...Nd7 19.Rh8+ Lf8 20.Ld6
and try to conjure up some complications. Pinning the bishop and tying Black up.
7...Nf6 8.f3 c5 9.Ne2 h6 10.Nbc3 b6 20...0-0-0 21.Lxf8 Rxf8 22.Rxf8+ Nxf8
11.Lf4 c6 12.0-0-0 More exchanges and more pleasure for
White speeds ahead in development and White.
unless Black is very careful, he may not 23.Nh5
even reach the ending! Attacking the pawn on g7.
12...Le7 13.g4 a5 14.h4 (D) 23...g6 24.Nf6 Nd7 (D)
White starts to push his kingside pawn ma- Exchanging off the good white knight on f6,
jority forwards. This will be very useful later but this is not really what Black needs at this
on in the endgame, but for the time being, stage.
with the black king stuck in the centre,
XABCDEFGHY the threat.
30.b3! b4 31.Nb7 (D)
8-+k+-+-+( XABCDEFGHY
7+-+n+p+-' 8-+-+-+-+(
6-zpp+lsNp+& 7+N+-+p+-'
5zp-+-+-zP-% 6-+p+l+p+&
4-+p+P+-+$ 5zp-+-mk-zP-%
3+-sN-+P+-# 4-zp-+P+-+$
2PzPP+-+-+" 3+Pzp-mKP+-#
1+-mK-+-+-! 2P+P+-+-+"
xabcdefghy 1+-+-+-+-!
25.Nxd7 Kxd7 26.Kd2
The king is a strong piece in the endgame xabcdefghy
and so White centralizes his king. The position is quite hopeless for Black.
26...Kd6 27.Ke3 Ke5 28.Na4 b5 29.Nc5 White's knight is going on the rampage
c3 (D) against the queenside pawns and there is an
XABCDEFGHY additional threat of checkmate. Even if
Black finds a way to defend, he will be un-
8-+-+-+-+( able in the long term to stop White from
creating a passed pawn on the kingside.
7+-+-+p+-' Black prefers the quick way out.
6-+p+l+p+& 31...a4
Or 31...Lc8 32.f4+ Ke6 33.Nd8+ Kd7
5zppsN-mk-zP-% 34.Nxf7, or 31...Ld7 32.f4+ Ke6 33.Kd4
4-+-+P+-+$ Ke7 34.Nxa5, with a decisive material ad-
vantage in each case.
3+-zp-mKP+-# 32.f4#
1-0
2PzPP+-+-+"
1+-+-+-+-! Summary
Teaching the endgame to beginners is all
xabcdefghy about sticking to what is understandable. I
The final trick from Black, opening fire on hope I have shown what is relevant at the
the a2-pawn. White remains calm and blocks earliest stage.

Mistakes - Teaching Mistakes
Kevin O’Connell
Concept
Please don’t, teach mistakes that is! It is an
XABCDEFGHY
unfortunate reality that no matter how good 8-+-+-+-+(
the teacher, no matter how hard we try, we
do make mistakes when teaching, just as we
7+-+-+-+-'
make mistakes in everything we humans do. 6-+-+-+-+&
The first thing we must do is recognize the
truth of this. Then we must set about me- 5+-+-+-+-%
thodically trying to eliminate our mistakes,
just as we will try to eliminate the mistakes
4-+-+-+-+$
that the children make on the chessboard. 3+-+-mk-+-#
What we do Wrong
2-+-+-+-wq"
Recognizing that we make mistakes is not 1+-+-mK-+-!
enough. However, before we set about trying
to remedy them, we should consider what xabcdefghy
the main mistakes that we make are. Here Take your pick of the three moves that
they are: give mate, but many beginners struggle with
● We choose ‘easy’ examples which are this. They have two problems:
much too difficult for the students (they are 1. They do not 'see' that the queen on e2 will
easy for us). be protected - they expect Ke1xe2.
● We take many things as read or ‘obvious’ 2. It is 'obvious' but they do not 'see' that the
and to us they are, but not to our students. white king on e3 'attacks' the squares d2, e2,
● We confuse the kids. f2, thus making possible a corridor mate.
● Ceteris paribus, we do not explain ade- Bear this one in mind; it should help you
quately that, aside from a very few absolutes to choose examples of appropriate difficulty
(like checkmate or stalemate); just about for your audience.
everything in chess should be understood
with the caveat ‘other things being equal’ Confusion
(which, of course, they never really are). XABCDEFGHY
● No sooner have we raced through how the
pieces move, than we pour them all out on to 8-+-+-+-+(
the board and away we go with Italian
Games and Sicilians! It's a bit like laying
7+-+-+-+-'
some foundations and then putting on the 6r+-+k+-+&
roof.
● We pay too much heed (or not enough) to 5+-+-+-+-%
educational theory
I will illustrate these difficulties and mis-
4-+-+-+-+$
takes with real chessboard examples so that 3+-+-+-+-#
you can better understand them, place them
in proper context and then consider ways in
2-+Q+-+-+"
which you can do better! 1+-+-mK-+-!
Too Easy & Obvious xabcdefghy
What could be easier than this position? The author of a popular book for chess tea-
chers has just explained that a fork occurs and trying his hardest to follow all the useful
when a piece attacks two or more pieces at words of advice imparted by his coach and
the same time ... The importance of the fork other helpful adults. It transpired that he had
depends on the power of the attacked piece. been facing inner turmoil, not wanting to
After plenty of examples of forks, we come give away a piece for nothing, but also
to a section of exercises, among which is wanting to follow the advice I had given him
this one (White to play). ‘Show the fork’. just a few days before. I had been off my
1.Qc2-c4+ And that is the answer - ‘the guard and had said ‘you must not damage
queen should go to c4’. I am certain that the pawn defence in front of your castled
thousands, perhaps many thousands of kids king’. Generally, I would have prefixed that
have been confused. I imagine them putting with a ‘usually’ or have substituted ‘should’
their hand up in class, suggesting forks both for ‘must’ or even both.
good (Qc2-c8+, Qc2-e2+) and bad (Qc2-
a2+, Qc2-c6+ but forks nonetheless) and Conclusion
being told by a class teacher, who is perhaps Be positive, not negative! In that spirit,
not very familiar with the game, that they here is a list of things to do:
are wrong and that ‘the answer’ is Qc2-c4, Be patient: what is a simple question to
after all, it's the only one given in the teach- you may require considerable thought for
er's answer book! some students.
Avoid asking trivial or unanswerable ques-
Ceteris Paribus tions; ask only those that will carry the
XABCDEFGHY teaching and learning process forward.
Make it clear exactly what you want your
8-+-+-trk+( students to do.
Select teaching methods which will best
7+-+-+pzpp' help your students to learn the particular
6-+-+-vL-+& topic at hand (and remember that different
students will have different favoured learn-
5+-+-+-+-% ing methods).
4-+-+-+-+$ Set attainable goals - goals which are nei-
ther too easy nor too difficult.
3+-+-+-+-# Prepare well - not just your material, but
also your methods.
2-+-+-zPPzP" Praise when possible, but only sincerely.
1+-+-+RmK-! Develop specific rewards for the students.
Praise hard work, while avoiding competi-
xabcdefghy tion between students.
In this simplified position (I have removed Facilitate relationships within the group.
the unnecessary elements), White has just Stand to the side of the demo board!
played 1.Lg5xf6, capturing a knight. Black Challenge the children to make judgments
is one of my students. Black is taking a sur- and manipulate ideas, rather than having
prisingly long time to make his reply. He them sit and listen passively.
also looks perplexed. When he notices that I Build up active participation.
am watching, his expression turns to one of Share some responsibility with your stu-
positive anguish. What could he possibly be dents (see also Dr Boensch-Kauke).
thinking about? 1...Rf8-e8 What on earth? Prepare enough material for a session, but
Why didn't he recapture? My heart sank bear in mind that if you teach less, the chil-
when, after the game, which White unsur- dren may learn more!
prisingly won, I discovered the answer. Reflect on each class that you give - what
The player of the black pieces was a very did you do?, what did the children achieve?
diligent student, always anxious to please, Make no mistakes!!
Mistakes - Children's Mistakes
Kevin O'Connell
Concept
Children's mistakes are often basically the
XABCDEFGHY
same kind that adults make, and I will 8r+-+-trk+(
examine some of the most important, but
there are a couple of types that are especially
7zppzpq+pvLp'
prevalent among kids: 6-+-zp-+-+&
1. Rushing their moves, usually because of
fear and stress, which they try to reduce by 5+-vl-zp-+-%
moving instantly, making the first move that
springs to mind, no matter how absurd it
4-+L+P+-+$
may be. 3+-+P+l+-#
2. Learning to be stupid or being taught to
have less skill and understanding than they
2PzPPwQ-zPPzP"
previously had. 1tR-+-+RmK-!
The American educator John Holt wrote a
lot about children's fear in the classroom and abcdefgh
their stress reducing mechanisms. If you When I showed this position to the player
have ever walked among the rows of young concerned and asked him what he would
children playing in a tournament, you have play as Black, he immediately plumped for
seen (and felt) the fear that pervades the hall. 1...Kg8xg7 which succeeds only in snatch-
The need to reduce stress levels dictates that ing a draw from the jaws of victory - 2.
many children will rush through their games Qd2-g5+ etc. Instead, 1...Qd7-g4 wins ea-
as quickly as possible. What advice do we sily, White being unable to avoid mate (not
give them? 'Slow down! Take your time!' No even by giving up his queen). Before three
chance; we must gradually work at building intervening years of 'coaching', he had pla-
their confidence and reducing their stress. yed the queen move and had won the game.
Learning to Get Worse Can’t

This particular problem applies especially to I’m afraid that this one is closely allied to
children because they are constantly brain- the last one. ‘You mustn’t do that, s/he just
washed that Teacher, Mummy, Daddy, Coach takes it’ soon turns into ‘I can’t do that’.
or some other adult ‘knows best’. Of course, XABCDEFGHY
that is often, but by no means always true.
As coaches and teachers, I believe that our
8r+-+-+-mk(
number one objective should be to avoid 7zpp+-+-zp-'
making players weaker. You may think that
any and all coaching can only add something
6-wqn+Q+-+&
to a player, but it is simply not so. It is very 5+-+-+-+-%
easy to reduce a player's ability, especially if
we concentrate on 'bean counting'. This posi- 4-+-+-+n+$
tion is from one of the very first games 3+-+-+NsN-#
played by a young boy, three years before he
was brought to me for coaching. Before 2PzPL+-+PzP"
coaching any child, I always insist on seeing 1tR-vLrvl-+K!
their earliest recorded games - it gives me a
chance to assess their innate talent. xabcdefghy
Many bishop moves lead to mate in 5, and considered. As with all bad habits, it is very
1...Ng4-f2+ as played in the game (Arthur hard to break. Ideally, one should avoid ac-
Potter-Edmund Player, Norwich 1994) is quiring it in the first place. So, faced with
mate in four but Nick Pert (then 13) pointed this bad habit, what can be done to kick it?
out something even better when this position Train yourself - when you hear ‘can't’ inside
was first published, 1...Qb6-g1+ 2.Kh1xg1 your head, force yourself to look beyond it
(2.Nf3xg1 Ng4-f2#) 2...Le1-f2#. (especially with ‘checks and captures’). If I
‘Can't’ may work in several different go there, and she takes it, what then? Is there
ways. Sometimes a player will think ‘my another check or something?
opponent can't take that (pawn d4) because I Reflex
have a check that discovers an attack...’ We all have them and sometimes they are a
XABCDEFGHY lot more painful than a simple tap on the knee.
8r+-+k+-tr( XABCDEFGHY
7zpp+l+-zpp' 8-+r+r+k+(
6-+-vlpsn-+& 7zpl+-vlpzp-'
5+-+p+-+-% 6-zp-+psn-zp&
4-+-wq-+-+$ 5+N+qvL-+-%
3zP-sNL+-+-# 4-+pzP-+-+$
2-zP-+-zPPzP" 3zP-+-+-+P#
1tR-vLQ+RmK-! 2-zP-+LzPP+"
xabcdefghy 1+-tRQtR-mK-!
1.Ld3-g6+ h7xg6 2.Qd1xd4 Yes! I've xabcdefghy
won the queen, but then... 2...Ld6xh2+ And Black has just played ...Qd8-d5. Reflex -
White, realizing that he had made a terrible that move attacks my knight - I'll defend it.
blunder, resigned because he saw that after 1.Qd1-a4 Qd5xg2# 0-1
the forced continuation: 3.Kg1-h1 Lh2-
e5+ 4.Kh1-g1 Le5xd4 Black has 'ex- Tournament Mistakes
changed' queens and gained a bishop and As soon as a child starts to play competi-
two big central pawns. In my coaching, I tive games, whether in an organized tourna-
devote a great deal of time and energy to the ment or just in the classroom, a whole new
concept that, having found a continuation category of mistake appears, and few, if any,
that you would like to play, spend a moment, of these mistakes are entirely the children’s
before rushing into it, to inspect the resulting fault. More often than not, they have simply
position (here, that would be after not been taught the basics well enough.
2.Qd1xd4). The absolute minimum for an Do all your students know the necessary
inspection is to consider any checks that are about:
in the position. There is only the one and ● Setting the board up correctly.
when White did eventually look at it, he ● Checking that the board has been set up
resigned! (Incidentally, I coached the player correctly.
of the black pieces, but not the one on the ● The touch-move rule.
white side; McDonnell,J-Player,E London ● How (and why) to keep score of a game.
2000). 0-1 ● … And dozens more …
Conclusion
‘Can't’ is a kind of mental block; it stops Make sure you are helping children to re-
us looking at moves and ideas that should be duce their mistakes, not adding to them!
Mistakes - Trainers’ Obligations & Mistakes
Adrian Mikhalchishin
Concept pupils and get them concentrating. Some-
Our motto: we learn from our mistakes. If times TT underestimate the importance of
wise, we also draw useful conclusions and such ‘concentration’ tests.
learn from the mistakes of others! 4. The next step is to check the homework.
Theoretical knowledge has to be tested in Afterwards - presentation of the main sub-
practice and here we can't avoid making ject of the lesson, but not more than 10-15
wrong decisions. However, we can gain use- minutes to avoid pupils getting bored. Then
ful experience. Conducting proper thorough a few tests on the material studied, and then
analysis of games played, we can avoid 10 minutes of practical games - pupils need
making similar mistakes in the future. The to be active participants in the lesson! Last
thing is that in chess we can't avoid all mis- part - set homework (2-4 exercises).
takes, but we can gain significant experience 5. It is very important not just to show
after game analyses, detecting and correcting pupils the material, but to try to communi-
mistakes. cate with them. Allow the pupils themselves
A similar situation arises in the work of a to draw some conclusions.
trainer. We are capable of making mistakes, 6. As usual, we start from simple examples
but afterwards we improve ourselves, recog- and continue with more complicated ones. It
nizing our mistakes and finding the correct is preferable to choose subjects and positions
way of handling certain aspects of chess with a minimum of pieces. Such examples
teaching. Generally the following typical make it easier to understand the coordination
trainers’ mistakes can be distinguished: of the pieces.
1. Organizational & methodological mistakes.
2. Technical mistakes. Technical Mistakes
3. Psychological mistakes. These mistakes are mainly chess mistakes.
The most important thing is to work on our TT have to explain that chess is a logical
own mistakes and try to eliminate them. In game - every move should be based on
most countries, education for trainers is not knowledge and logical thinking.
organized. That's why trainers should take Chess is the game of rules, but sometimes
every single opportunity to gain more theo- dynamics are more important, notably those
retical knowledge, attending special courses, connected with tactical elements, especially
and to master the art of self-education. For with an attack on the king.
this purpose there are many books of classic Endgame knowledge consists of knowl-
games, important endgame manuals and new edge of exact theoretical positions and
products such as instructional DVDs. methods of play; very different from the
middlegame.
Organizational & Methodological Mistakes With these methods, we transform com-
1. Trainers-teachers (hereafter TT) have to plicated endgames into theoretical (basic)
organize their work in accordance with a ones.
long-term plan (usually a year). The role of the king is especially important
2. Every lesson (we mean teaching period here, becoming dominant.
of 45 min.) has to be conducted according to A useful feature of most endgame posi-
that plan. Every lesson should have a main tions is that such positions have few pieces,
subject and clear objectives. In case of need making it much easier for pupils to under-
TT can add some material spontaneously. stand the art of coordination of the pieces.
3. The general rule is to start a lesson with It is widely believed that studying the end-
one or two easy tests in order to settle the game is extremely boring. But with careful
selection of nice examples, TT can make this majority of educational plans lack it! That's
subject very interesting for pupils. why TT must make their own homework.
Middlegame knowledge incorporates a lot Pupils learn in different ways and every
of tactics. TT must teach a lot of tactics, as human psychological type sees chess differ-
these elements often show magnificent co- ently.
ordination of few pieces. It has been said Some kids can get knowledge easily, but
that chess is 90% tactics! may have problems demonstrating it in prac-
For planning, the key element is weakness tice. Here TT should try to persuade pupils
- pupils have to understand that the attack to play freely and aggressively, that in every
should always be targeted on the weakest game the result is not so important.
point in the opponent’s position. Every Of greater importance is post game analy-
opening pawn structure has its own typical sis of what happened, and study of the cor-
plan of development. rect way to handle this kind of position.
That's why TT must show pupils elemen- First of all TT are responsible for basic
tary plans in their openings. The main rule knowledge and get feedback by observing
of the attack is to bring more pieces to bear how the kids solve the tests and how they
on the target and to eliminate (exchange) play.
opposing pieces which defend the weakness. Most successful trainers are known for
Openings - TT have to teach how to start their individual approach - it means that TT
playing open positions, explaining the role have to use different methods for different
of development, the centre and king safety. pupils in order for them to achieve their
Many experienced trainers have a rule for maximal results even in internal school
pupils - castle first and then start to play! competitions.
Here are a few typical mistakes - the most Playing chess is stressful, especially for
common is to teach so-called ‘safe openings’ certain kids and in dealing with them it is
or ‘closed positions’. useful to develop an approach that is less
Some top trainers even make a list of for- like a competition, but more like solving
bidden openings: Caro- Kann, French, Eng- puzzles or mathematical tests, where it is
lish and a few similar ones. With White important to establish logical bases to help
there are closed systems involving both fi- find the correct move.
anchettos. Psychological preparation of the young
There are no bad openings, but young player starts when TT help him or her to
players have to study the role and impor- choose the right opening, to study it properly
tance of development and the power of the (studying theory and typical plans of the
centre. In an open position, beginners find it classics in this opening) and to use it against
easier to understand these factors and can any opponent, as the highest form of psy-
understand the role of piece coordination in chological preparation is an absolute convic-
order to attack weaknesses (f7 for example). tion in the high quality of one’s own prepa-
Closed positions demand huge experience ration.
and the ability to find the proper time to Another part of TT activity is coaching
open the position, which beginners lack. during schools competitions. Here, as I men-
tioned previously, preparation for the game
Psychological Mistakes is the most important part of TT work.
Sometimes TT transmit knowledge in a After the game, a short analysis, with con-
dry, boring way. The main task is to make clusions drawn, then get ready for the next
lessons interesting and enjoyable for kids. game. One very important part of this is to
For this purpose there are many interesting reduce psychological problems of those pu-
stories about World Champions, sometimes pils who have lost one or two games.
even mistakes (told in the form of a joke). Different psychological types react differ-
Chess history is an extremely important part ently in such circumstances and TT must be
of education and TT have to realize that the very careful to prepare players individually.
Literature
Kevin O’Connell
Concept Openings
There are many good books. This list Emms Discovering Chess Openings.
includes just a selection of some of the best. Everyman 2006
The categories 'kids' and 'older children' Watson & Burgess Chess Openings for Kids.
are approximate, much depends on their Gambit 2011
educational level, their chess knowledge,
chess understanding and especially reading Tactics
level. However, in general, 'kids' refers to Kids:
those 10 and under. Sukhin Chess Camp, Volume 1: Move,
Attack, and Capture. Mongoose Press, 2010.
Beginners Chandler Chess Tactics for Kids. Gambit
Kids: 2003.
James Chess for Kids. Right Way 2010. Older children:
Polgar,J Chess Playground, Part 1. Cityvet Polgar,L 5334 Problems, Combinations, and
2010 - suitable for very young children. Games.
Sibbing and van Wijgerden Learning chess,
Stepping Stones 1 & 2. Van Wijgerden, 2010 Checkmates
Sukhin Gary's Adventures in Chess Country. All ages, in this order:
Mongoose Press 2008. Sukhin Chess Camp, Volume 2: Simple
Checkmates. Mongoose Press, 2010.
Courses Sukhin Chess Camp, Volume 3: Checkmates
These are probably best used with kids by with Many Pieces. Mongoose Press, 2010.
trainers, teachers and parents. Sukhin Chess Camp, Volume 5: Two-Move
Kids: Checkmates. Mongoose Press, 2011.
Brunia and van Wijgerden Learning chess
(Step series). Van Wijgerden 2004. Trainers, Teachers, Parents
Older children: Bosch and Giddins (eds) The Chess
Ehlvest Chess Gymnasium. Argo Kirjastus Instructor 2009. New in Chess 2008.
2011. Sherman & Kilpatrick Chess is Child’s Play.
Khmelnitsky, Khodarkovsky, Zadorozhny Mongoose Press, 2012.
Teaching Chess Step by Step. Russell Martin-Dagher Classroom Chess: The
Enterprises 2009. Primary Teacher's Handbook. Xlibris 2011.
Root Children and Chess, A Guide for
Endgames Educators. Teacher Ideas Press, Libraries
Kids: Unlimited 2006.
Sukhin Chess Camp, Volume 4: Elementary Root Science, Math, Checkmate, 32 Chess
Endgames. Mongoose Press, 2011 Activities for Inquiry and Problem Solving.
Older children: Teacher Ideas Press, Libraries Unlimited
Silman Silman's Complete Endgame Course. 2008.
Siles Press, 2007. Root Read, Write, Checkmate, Enrich
Snape Chess Endings Made Simple. Gambit, Literacy with Chess Activities. Teacher Ideas
2003. Press, Libraries Unlimited 2009.
Root The Living Chess Game, Fine Arts
Fun Activities for Kids 9-14. Libraries Unl. 2011.
Avni The Amazing Chess Adventures of van Delft & van Delft Developing Chess
Baron Munchausen. Mongoose Press2011. Talent. KVDC 2010.
Pedagogy - Educational Benefits of Chess
Kevin O’Connell
Concept ● Visualizing - Children are prompted to
The educational benefits of chess are many imagine a sequence of actions before it
and varied. They are well documented by a happens. We actually strengthen the ability
large body of research papers from around to visualize by training them to shift the
the world. pieces in their mind, first one, then several
There is so much evidence, that it is easy moves ahead.
to miss the wood for the trees, therefore this ● Thinking Ahead - Children learn to think
article is intentionally brief. If detailed evi- first, then act. They learn to ask themselves
dence is required, please refer to the sources ‘If I do this, what might happen then, and
and links cited at the end of this article. how can I respond?’ Over time, chess helps
Presidents of Cuba and the United States develop patience and thoughtfulness.
agree: ● Weighing Options - Children learn that
they don't have to do the first thing that pops
‘Playing chess helps students develop think- into their head. They learn to identify
ing and analyzing skills, concentration, alternatives and consider the pros and cons
greater self-control and self-confidence ... of various actions.
We have hard evidence that chess in the ● Analysing Concretely - Children learn to
schools works’ evaluate the results of specific actions and
William Jefferson Clinton sequences. Does this sequence help me or
hurt me? Decisions are better when guided
'El ajedrez debe formar by logic, rather than impulse.
parte del programa escolar' ● Thinking Abstractly - Children learn to
[Chess ought to be part step back periodically from details and
of the school curriculum] consider the bigger picture. They also learn
Fidel Castro Ruiz to take patterns used in one context and
apply them to different, but related
The most frequently cited general benefits situations.
include the development of: ● Planning - Children learn to develop
● Cognitive abilities, such as attention, longer range goals and take steps towards
memory, and logical thinking; essential bringing them about. They also learn the
skills for the development of the individual. need to re-evaluate their plans as new
● Creativity, through problem solving. developments change the situation.
● Critical thinking, improving the ability to ● Juggling Multiple Considerations Simul-
assess strengths and weaknesses, establish taneously - Children are encouraged not to
value judgments and make decisions. become overly absorbed in any one
● Ethical sense. Improvements in attitude consideration, but to try to weigh various
and general behaviour are often noted. factors all at once.
Specific benefits that are often mentioned ‘The main benefit being that it
include: contributes to the development of
strategic thinking as well
● Focusing - Children learn the benefits of as concentration, analytical skills
observing carefully and concentrating. If and problem solving’
they don't watch what is happening, they
can't respond to it, no matter how smart they His Excellency President Jacob Zuma
are.
Ministries of Education around the world Chess as an innovative school subject in the
have been convinced. Among the more no- education system, Moscow 2010.
table developments have been those in Tur- www.moscowchessopen.ru/scientific_confer
key, the United States and South Africa. ence/resolution_eng.php.
In 2005, the Turkish Ministry of Education 2nd George Koltanowski Memorial Confer-
commenced a plan to teach chess to all pri- ence - Chess and Education, Dallas 2011.
mary school children, with the objective of www.utdallas.edu/chess/education-
making them more intelligent and better camp/second-koltanowski-conference.html.
citizens. The Turkish Chess Federation, un- Chess and Education Conference, Istanbul
der its President (2000-2012 and Chairman 2012. This was the first in a series of FIDE-
of FIDE's Chess in Schools Commission), CiS conferences sponsored by Rosneft.
Ali Nihat Yazici, has trained almost 50,000 http://cis.fide.com/en/chess-news/197-
teachers and about 2,500,000 children are videos-from-fide-cis-qchess-and-educationq-
now learning chess. conference-
The 2011 budget for New York City's
Chess-in-the-Schools programme was The bibliographical references within the
$3,200,000. It is noted for its achievements following works (several of which are
in raising educational standards and improv- available for download from the Information
ing socialization in inner-city schools in the and Resource Centre at http://cis.fide.com)
Bronx and in Harlem. refer to many hundreds of books and
The government of South Africa is one of papers:
the latest to announce a major programme. Ferguson, R. (1995). Chess in Education
Moves for Life is a joint effort between the Research Summary.
Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Sport O'Connell, K.J. (1997). Sport and
and the Supreme Chess Trust. Education: transferability of skills, an in-
depth examination of chess.
President Zuma said: Blanco, U. (1998). ¿Por qué el ajedrez en
In summary, the benefits that accumulate las escuelas? - Chairman of FIDE Chess in
from the teaching and promotion of chess in Schools Commission 2006-2010.
schools include the following: Noir, M. (2002). Le Développement des
1. The game teaches patience. You have to habiletés cognitives de l'enfant par la
give the opponent time and space to think pratique du jeu d'échecs.
and make his or her own move. Forrest et.al. (2005). Chess Development
2. It teaches that a decision must be an in Aberdeen’s Primary Schools: a study of
outcome of a serious thought process. literacy and social capital.
3. Chess teaches discipline, for example as Laplaza, J. (2006). Cuando hablamos de
chess players would know, ‘touch is a ajedrez escolar queremos decir…
move’. When you touch, you must move, you McDonald, P.S. (2005, 2006) The Benefits
have to be disciplined. of Chess in Education, a collection of studies
4. Chess teaches fairness. You alert the and papers on chess in education.
opponent before you strike, and keep them
informed of your moves and intentions.
Conclusion
Numerous colloqiums have taken place in Educational benefits are complemented by
the past few years, for example: social and health benefits.
Chess in the Schools and Communities Con- Schools chess programmes in many coun-
ference, Aberdeen University 2007 tries have reported improvements in attitude
www.abdn.ac.uk/rowangroup/cisccon.shtml. and general behaviour (‘ethical sense’).
Chess, a game to grow up with, Turin 2009 Chess leads to an improvement in cogni-
www.turinchessinschools.com/en_presentazi tive functioning and has been cited as a tool
one.php. in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.
Pedagogy -
Teaching Methods & Class Organization
John MacArthur
Curriculum Classes After School
Chess as a part of the curriculum should be This is by far most common and possibly
well organized and responsive to the needs the longest period available to further the
of a variety of levels among the students. learning of aspiring students. After school
The first classes of the calendar year may programs can be as long as 90 minutes, with
be very dry, so be sure to include a certain ample time for serious play, practice and
amount of theatre as well as history, stories instruction.
or anecdotes to entertain the stronger stu-
dents who may already have a good bit of Lunch Clubs
chess knowledge. Many wonderful ideas have been born
Do not necessarily trust students to know during a discussion while dining. Consider-
what they are doing, especially early on, ing that a game of chess is a discussion of
when you have no experience with them. ideas debated through abstract elements,
Many students exaggerate their abilities, then a midday game scheduled around a
especially in front of their peers. meal may be just the ticket for many stu-
Students who claim a certain degree of dents.
proficiency can be a part of the class in even Lunch periods are often divided up, with
the dullest of areas, such as learning the half of the period allocated to a break. A 45
moves. minute period then may consist of 20-25
Refer to them as essential to the question minutes for eating and a roughly equal
and answer parts as you will need someone amount of time for recreation.
to nail answers and keep the instruction Two or more days of the week may be
moving. needed to accommodate students within
They are expected to learn ‘how to grades. Students are occasionally hesitant to
teach’ others from this part of the program, socialize with others of varying ages, so be
whether in the classroom or outside of careful to schedule accordingly.
school.
Attending and participating in the intro- Sunrise Chess
ductory part of the curriculum ensures their This period may run from 45-60 minutes
‘deputization’ to the teacher as assistants and prior to any student being called into class
as possible arbiters should disagreements for the start of the school day. The program
occur and the teacher is occupied elsewhere may be very casual, with supervised play
in the classroom. and pairing of players based on age and
Each may be assigned a table during the playing strength. Parents will often stay and
early game periods of the year to monitor you will have opportunities to form teams,
illegal moves or misunderstandings. find parent-leaders, and pin point contacts to
Having them participate allows you to expand your program.
determine which of the strongest students As this period is before normal hours, it
have the proper personalities for additional will be very difficult to expect on time arri-
responsibilities. vals ... therefore any team or organized dis-
While many educational institutions have cussions should take place 15 minutes before
little room for intellectual tools such as dismissal to the classrooms, yard or pick-up
chess during academic schedules, three addi- areas. Take into account the differing start-
tional periods are available. ing times of various grades.
Organizing Classroom & Semester Expec- ing time is essential to applying lessons
tations learned as well as reinforcing each student’s
In the beginning, identify yourself and tell fluency in handling the pieces.
a few ice-breaker stories to warm the class to
your methods and expectations. Content
Be certain to ask who believes they are the Short, complete games may be chosen if
strongest students in the room and perhaps they illustrate in 15-20 minutes certain
relate the tale of Zukertort and Steinitz at the themes and elements of the game. The clas-
closing dinner of the London tournament of sic game, Paul Morphy vs the Duke and
1883. Count in Paris is a workhorse of many first
Both men standing in response to a request year lessons.
for the strongest player in the world to
please rise, led to a match for the 1st official □ Morphy Paul
World Championship in 1886. ■ Count Isoard & Duke of Brunswick
Students who think they are the best need C41 Paris 1858
not play each other during the early weeks of 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Lg4 4.dxe5 Lxf3 5.
term. Qxf3 dxe5 6.Lc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3
They help act as benchmarks for evaluat- c6 9.Lg5 b5 10.Nxb5 cxb5 11.Lxb5+
ing the rest of the class. These students help Nbd7 12.0-0-0 Rd8 13.Rxd7 Rxd7 14.
less experienced ones with the moves of the Rd1 Qe6 15.Lxd7+ Nxd7 (D)
pieces when you can’t be there. XABCDEFGHY
Establish Classroom Rules
Clarify for students what is expected of
8-+-+kvl-tr(
them during class periods. Rules help to 7zp-+n+pzpp'
avoid class interruptions. Identifying signals
such as standing to use the lavatory, or the
6-+-+q+-+&
proper times for water breaks - usually be- 5+-+-zp-vL-%
tween the transition periods rather than dur-
ing instruction - is always necessary. Set 4-+-+P+-+$
your class expectations with students early
in the year and be consistent throughout.
3+Q+-+-+-#
2PzPP+-zPPzP"
Organization of the Class Period
Class periods are often 45-55 minutes with 1+-mKR+-+-!
five minutes of transition time between sub- xabcdefghy
jects. Adequate preparation is necessary to
limit instruction to the first third or 30 per- 16.Qb8+ Nxb8 17.Rd8# 1-0
cent of the class period. It will take three to
five minutes to pair students for playing in A staple that fits into every course is the 4-
the final two-thirds of the period and a move, Scholar’s Mate and how to stop it.
minimum of five minutes to clean up at the □ Spreitzer Elias
end. ■ Wurzer Miriam
Lesson Plans C20 Bad Leonfelden 2010
Laying the foundations of understanding 1.e4 e5 2.Lc4 Nc6 3.Qh5 Nf6 4.Qxf7#
from the basics of moving pieces, tactical 1-0
devices and more strategic concepts may all □ Avramidis Steven
be found elsewhere in this guide. ■ Alexopoulos Georgios
It is important to entertain and instruct C20 Deal 1975
while not overwhelming any students in the 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Lc4 g6 4.Qf3 Nf6
short space of instruction time allotted. Play- 5.d3 Nd4 6.Qd1 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Nf3
Lg4 9.Lxd5 Qxd5 10.Nc3 Lxf3 11.Nxd5 move contests. These competitions should
Lxd1 12.Nxc7+ Kd7 13.Nxa8 Lxc2 involve every member of the class and offer
14.Lg5 Lxd3 15.Lf6 Lb4+ 16.Kd1 Le2+ equal opportunities. One method is to have
17.Kc1 Rc8+ 18.Kb1 Ld3# (D) the stronger players suggest moves later in
XABCDEFGHY the order so they don’t influence others, and
have some penalty for calling moves out of
8N+r+-+-+( the order of listing.
7zpp+k+p+p' Ladders and Pairing Charts
6-+-+-vLp+& Keeping a spreadsheet of the class is ideal
for quietly ranking students as you observe
5+-+-zp-+-% them. Giving credit for castling, controlling
4-vl-sn-+-+$ the centre, or using all, hanging on to, or
capturing ruthlessly more valuable pieces
3+-+l+-+-# may earn as much credit as an actual win.
Common ladder charts with names on a
2PzP-+-zPPzP" bulletin board allow students to only chal-
1tRK+-+-+R! lenge players within one or two levels from
themselves, and restrict them from picking
xabcdefghy on the weaker members of the class.
0-1
Sportsmanship and Fun!
Another great example of the comparisons Put as much emphasis on team work
of the relative and absolute pin device is the within the classroom as you can. The stu-
short trap game... dents will become stronger only if the entire
class improves.
Example 1 Students obsessed with winning can be
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Lc4 Nf6 4.d3 d6 reminded how results count in tournaments,
5.Nc3 Lg4 6.Lg5 h6 7.Nxe5 Lxd1?? but in the classroom, everyone must do the
8.Lxf7+ Ke7 9.Nd5# (D) best with what they have at all times.
XABCDEFGHY Enjoy teaching your class at least as much
as the students love learning and playing the
8r+-wq-vl-tr( game!
7zppzp-mkLzp-'
6-+nzp-sn-zp&
5+-+NsN-vL-%
4-+-+P+-+$
3+-+P+-+-#
2PzPP+-zPPzP"
1tR-+lmK-+R!
xabcdefghy
1-0
Quiz Games
It is possible to harp on themes and in-
volve the class with quiz games or find-the-
Pedagogy - Piaget, Gardner & Holt
Kevin O’Connell
Concept easily conserve things in mind and think
Pedagogy is simply the method and prac- logically about them.
tice of teaching. Jean Piaget is still the Abstract reasoning begins. The child can
dominant name in the field, while Howard now manipulate ideas in her mind as well as
Gardner achieved fame and fortune in the actual objects and people; she can speculate
latter years of the last century. For practical about the possible; she is able to reason
help, there is surely no one better than John deductively, and formulate and test hypothe-
Holt. ses. Smith, Cowie & Blades, Understanding
Children’s Development, 4th ed. 2003.
Piaget Richard James, who has spent many years
Piaget divided the mental development of teaching chess to children in and around
children into four stages, each further di- Richmond, London, believes that one reason
vided into sub-stages. The four stages of that so many children give up chess after
development are: leaving primary school is closely associated
1. Sensorimotor intelligence (birth to 2 years). with Piaget’s theory.
2. Preoperative intelligence (2 to 6-7 years). Children - of Junior School age and at the
3. Concrete operations (6 -7 to 10-12 years). concrete-operational stage of development -
4. Formal operations (10-12 to 16 years). will be able to grasp the basic concepts and
Stages of interest to us (ages approximate): logic of the game, and, within a year or two,
will be able to play to a reasonable stan-
The Preoperational Stage dard. But there their development stops.
So-called ‘magical thinking’ predominates Although they will continue to enjoy the
(from toddlerhood to early school age, chil- game, they eventually become frustrated by
dren will often link the outside world with their lack of progress and by Year 6 are
their internal consciousness, e.g. ‘It is rain- starting to drop out. I believe that this is due
ing because I am sad’). to their inability to bring formal-operational
It is also noteworthy that at this stage the thinking techniques to bear on their games.
child lives in conflict in the sense that he can James in Bosch & Giddins (eds) The Chess
say one thing and its opposite immediately Instructor 2009.
without any discomfort. As part of the logi-
cal operations, the child begins to be able to Gardner
rank or classify objects but with no notion of Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of
reversibility. Cognition and Education at the Harvard
Graduate School of Education, propounded
The Concrete Operational Stage his theory of Multiple Intelligences in 1983;
Children begin to think logically but are it took off following the publication, two
very concrete in their thinking. Includes: years later of Frames of Mind: The Theory
● Conservation of numerical quantities (7 of Multiple Intelligences. He claims to have
years). identified different kinds of intelligence.
● Classification (8 years). Children have different strengths (and
● Seriation (8 years). weaknesses) according to their competencies
● Multiple groups: ability to combine clas- in nine areas:
sification and seriation. Visual-Spatial - learning visually and orga-
nizing ideas spatially.
The Formal Operational Stage Verbal-linguistic - learning through the spo-
Children develop abstract thought and can ken and written word.
Mathematical-logical - learning through The most important thing any teacher has
reasoning and problem solving. to learn, not to be learned in any school of
Bodily-kinaesthetic - learning through inter- education I ever heard of, can be expressed
action with one's environment. in seven words: Learning is not the product
Musical-rhythmic - learning through pat- of teaching. Learning is the product of the
terns, rhythms and music. activity of learners.
Intrapersonal - learning through feelings, And let us never forget it. Unfortunately,
values and attitudes. we do. I often hear coaches boasting about
Interpersonal - learning through interaction their protégés, and what they have done to
with others. make them successful. Ugh! What we do is
Naturalist - learning through classification, facilitate.
categories and hierarchies. If we do it well, then, yes, our students
Existential - learning by seeing the ‘big pic- will achieve more than they otherwise would
ture’. have done, but it is they who achieve, albeit
It is an interesting theory and I am sure it is very gratifying to see kids achieving
you can see many possible connections to success beyond their expectations (and even,
chess. However, it should be noted that Gar- sometimes, beyond the expectations of their
dner’s ideas remain controversial. parents!).
Is it simple common sense or is it simply a
medley of unscientific simplistic tautological Chess Practical
statements? Finally, I give a couple of practical ideas
Having a high musical ability means being of mine that have been labelled ‘pedagogi-
good at music, while at the same time, being cal’ by educators in France.
good at music is explained by having a high ● Checks & Captures.
musical ability. ● Make the Pieces Work - Teamwork.
Karl Popper argued that a hypothesis, pro-
position, or theory is 'scientific' only if it is, Checks & Captures
among other things, falsifiable. Tautology is It is a very good habit always to glance at
inherently unfalsifiable. every check in a position. It is surprising
how often those 'can’t' go there checks, eit-
Holt her for you or your opponent, are actually
John Holt (1923-1985) was an influential 'can' moves, and seeing them can both gain
educator. Anyone who is in any way invol- you points and save you losing them.
ved with teaching children should, as a mat-
ter of duty, read at least these two books: Make the Pieces Work - Teamwork
Holt (1964), How Children Fail and Holt Chess is a team game - get your players on
(1967), How Children Learn. These two the pitch, manage them well and meld them
classics of child development literature are into a team. There is more on Teamwork in
very, very readable and illuminate his view previous chapters.
of children learning (or not).
He held that the primary reason children
did not learn in schools was fear: fear of
getting the wrong answers, fear of being
ridiculed by the teacher and classmates, fear
of not being good enough.
Holt’s chilling conclusion emerges that
children who fail do not do so despite the
teacher’s ‘best efforts’ but because of them.
Among the many notes I have taken from his
books, there is one quotation that should
take pride of place (my emphasis):
Pedagogy - Differences Between Boys and
Girls in Chess Susan Polgar
Concept which leads to discouragement and eventu-
Can female players be as good in chess as ally they quit. In addition, boys are usually
male players? The answer to the above much more rough and competitive; many
question is, ‘yes’. But then how come very girls are teased and rather than fighting back,
few female players can compete on the same they just don’t come back.
level as their male counterparts? Different approach to the game: Boys and
It seems that very few people are con- girls approach the game of chess very differ-
cerned about finding the answer, so I will ently. Most boys are results-oriented and
discuss the reasons for this and then I will focus on winning and losing.
offer my solutions for change: Girls are very different; they have a greater
appreciation for the artistic and social aspect
Reasons of chess. The problem we face is that most
Social Acceptance: In general, society people expect girls to learn the game and
does not encourage or really accept the con- enjoy it the same way as boys do. They
cept of girls playing chess. That makes it don’t, and we as educators, parents or
difficult to get girls involved in chess and coaches need to understand this.
even more difficult to maintain their interest. If we do not recognize these differences in
Family Acceptance: There is also little how boys and girls approach the game, how
family acceptance for girls playing chess. can we find a solution to fix it?
Many parents do not really understand or Different interest: If we want to keep girls
play chess well themselves. Some do not in chess, we must keep the girls interested in
understand the benefits of their daughters the game. We must find out what makes
playing chess. chess fun for the girls and what motivates
Therefore, if the girls are not encouraged them to maintain their interest.
to play chess, it is more natural for them not Physiological and Physical differences: As
to play at all or to abandon it quickly. This is they get older, girls tend to develop faster in
similar to the stereotype of boys playing many ways. They develop different interests
with cars and trucks, while girls play with and are often treated differently; they also
Barbie dolls. have different social problems. It is not easy
Boys don’t play with Barbie dolls because being the ‘only’ female player at a tourna-
it is generally considered a girl thing. Many ment. Many older girls have to fend off un-
parents consider chess to be a boy thing. wanted advances and are often subjected to
Opportunities: This point directly links to inappropriate remarks.
the social and family acceptance issues. Be- Being chess pioneers, my sisters and I
cause of the lack of family and social accep- faced many of these issues while competing
tance, fewer parents actually invest the time in a male-dominated chess environment. No
and money to encourage their daughters to female player is immune to this. But I was
play chess. And the lack of encouragement able to focus on my chess because I was
or assistance directly leads to fewer girls encouraged and supported by my parents,
taking chess seriously. and I was given the opportunities to learn
Intimidation: Because the ratio between and compete in chess.
girls and boys at tournaments is so skewed Different standard and expectation: A
(9 to 1 boys vs. girls), girls often get very chess rating is just a number that measures
intimidated. the competitive success of a player. Yet, as I
And because girls have fewer opportuni- mentioned above, girls are much less com-
ties to learn and play it leads to poor results, petitive than boys.
So if everything revolves around ratings, would give them a chance to advance and
can we expect the same success by girls? catch up with the boys. My solutions have
Career Longevity: Female players often been to:
must interrupt their careers in order to raise a 1. Create more fun and exciting events for
family. girls to motivate them to stay in chess
Chess Development and Improvement: We longer.
do not have specialized chess development 2. Create a better atmosphere so young girls
and improvement courses geared towards will be less intimidated.
girls, something that addresses the differ- 3. Create activities that girls would enjoy
ences between the ways boys and girls ap- and appreciate more.
proach the game. 4. Create more college scholarships as an
The same goes for chess camps or chess incentive for girls to achieve better results.
classes. The activities and methods of teach-1. 5. Create a free training program to help the
ing chess are more orientated towards boys more serious and more talented girls excel to
than girls. be top-level players.
All of the above initiatives have been
Solutions funded by the Susan Polgar Foundation. My
Now I will offer some of my solutions to idea has always been that the more girls who
the above problems. Through my numerous successfully play chess, the more motivated
experiences with thousands of young female they will be to remain in chess, which will
players and their parents across the country, increase the quantity of good players. It’s all
I discovered that girls do need and want a about the numbers.
separate chess environment in which they In conclusion, girls can compete equally
are comfortable. against boys and they can excel in chess if
Only in such an environment can you en- they are given the same opportunities. Only
courage more girls to stay, play and learn then can we expect a growth in both num-
chess at a much higher ratio and level. This bers and strength.
FIDE Trainer’s Badge

Contact your federation and provide your face-photo to
grivasefs@yahoo.co.uk.
FIDE Senior Trainer
Fédération Internationale des Échecs

Name Grivas Efstratios
Federation Greece
FIDE ID 4200039
Title Awarded FIDE Senior Trainer
Year Awarded 2005
Licence 2011-2014

Psychology - Performance Anxiety & Error
Kevin O’Connell
Concept It is helpful to be acquainted with the three
Psychology is a hugely important part of main theories:
any sport. It has been said that chess is 90% The first such theory was the so-called
tactics, but that does not acknowledge the Yerkes-Dodson Law, or Inverted-U hy-
significance of psychological aspects. pothesis, which dates back to 1908. The idea
The captain of one international sports is that performance improves as arousal in-
team (cricket) was probably much closer to creases, up to an optimum arousal point,
the truth when he said Cricket is 50% in the after which, as arousal continues to increase,
head, 50% in the heart. so performance tails off.
Hardy and Fazey (1987) proposed a Catas-
Performance Anxiety trophe Model. Basically, when cognitive
This is standard terminology in psychol- arxiety is high, the effect of physiological
ogy, but I think all those who have played arousal is both large and catastrophic; after
chess for more than a few weeks will recog- reaching an optimal level, performance
nize it and understand what it refers to. breaks down and falls off dramatically.
There is a wealth of evidence pointing to The third is that of psychological rever-
the importance of performance anxiety in sals (Apter, 1982) or Reversal Theory, ac-
sport, not least a plethora of self-help books cording to which, much human behaviour
to enable sports performers of all kinds, may be explained with reference to pairs of
from beginners to champions, to cope better states and reversals which occur between
with their anxiety (with or without assistance them. The most important pair for chess is
from coaches) by adopting one or more of the telic-paratelic pair, akin to a work-play
the known therapies. Individuals react dif- pair.
ferently to the stress of competition, which The results of my 1997 research project
may be either facilitative or debilitative, (see Literature), with the help of Anand,
perhaps even both at the same time. Gelfand, Shirov, Short, Topalov and others,
It is not so much the quantitative level of supported the important hypothesis that un-
anxiety (neutral in facilitative/debilitative forced errors would most frequently occur
terms) that is most important but the way in after a reversal from the paratelic to the telic
which (directionality) an individual per- state. The implication is that we might im-
ceives that anxiety (determinational in re- prove performance by using cognitive inter-
spect to facilitative/debilitative), with any vention methods to monitor state and then to
mismatch between how a performer actually engineer appropriate reversals.
feels and how they want to feel being debili- Many therapies have been suggested, The
tative, while 'matched pairs' are facilitative. range is vast and runs the gamut from ac-
Performance anxiety varies, even for a cepted to zany: acupuncture, biofeedback
single individual, according to a host of fac- training; breathing control, cognitive orien-
tors, such as the importance of the competi- tation, concentration, coaching performance
tion (actual or perceived}, the perceived routines, deconditioning, discussion with
ability of the opposition, standing in the pre- team-mates, distraction control, focusing,
sent competition, performance in recent goal-setting, meditation, mental im-
events, standing in current rankings, need to agery/visualization, positive self-monitoring,
achieve a specific result (or, even worse, relaxation, self-confidence, self-control, self-
trying to impress) in order to qualify for a reliance, self-talk techniques, stress inocula-
higher level of competition or to be selected tion, thought stopping, Yoga and (ulti-
for a particular team or squad, and so on. mately?) the Zen Approach.
Take your pick, but Gallwey, as so often, Inspect the move. This is an inspection
provides some useful practical help, describ- pure and simple, NOT a check of any calcu-
ing concentration and, by implication, how lation involved in making the choice of
to improve it: Concentration is not staring move.
hard at something. It is not trying to concen- First, the FROM square - what was it do-
trate; it is not thinking hard about some- ing there? NEVER say ‘nothing’. It may
thing. Concentration is fascination of mind. have been defending something, but, at the
My chess-playing experience convinces me very least, it was blocking one or more lines.
both of the truth of this and its immense im- Now the TO square.
portance. It is remarkable how often players of even
This ties in also with educational theories moderate ability put something on a square
about the way in which very young children where it can be taken for little or nothing.
learn by being fascinated by something. The If the move passes inspection, then make it
practical (not to say paratelic) implication is on the board and write it down.
to ‘play' with the task at hand, to ‘have fun' For years I wondered why it was that, al-
with it. most without exception, the top Soviet play-
‘I was beginning to learn what all good ers all used long-form notation, while West-
pros and students of tennis must learn: that ern players didn’t. The penny dropped after I
images are better than words, showing bet- ‘re-invented’ the wheel with TRIM.
ter than telling, too much instruction worse
Checks and Captures
than none, and that conscious trying often
It is the ‘checks’ part of this that is the
produces negative results’ (my emphasis).
most important. It is closely connected to
‘can’t’ (which we examined in the chapter
Error
on Children's Mistakes).
We can never eliminate errors entirely, but
It is a very good habit always to glance at
there are useful things that we can do. They
every check in a position. It is surprising
are even more useful if we teach them as
how often those ‘can’t’ go there checks, ei-
foundation stones to young children.
ther for you or your opponent, are actually
Bear in mind that: the opponent within
‘can’ moves, and seeing them may both gain
one's own head is more formidable than the
you points and save you losing them.
one the other side of the net - W. Timothy
Even when it seems that a check really is
Gallwey.
‘just a check’ it may give you the germ of an
Two practical recommendations to help
idea.
cut down on errors, both of commission
(TRIM) and omission (Checks and Cap- Literature
tures). Apter, M.J. (1982). The Experience of
Motivation: The Theory of Psychological
TRIM Reversals. London and New York:
I first developed this in the 1980s as Academic Press.
Think, wRite, Inspect, Move but The Laws Gallwey, W. Timothy (1975). The Inner
of Chess have been changed since an alterca- Game of Tennis. London: Jonathan Cape.
tion at the Bled 2002 Olympiad and now it Hardy,L., and Fazey,J.A. (1987), The
has to be: Think, Restraint, Inspect, Move. inverted-U hypothesis - a catastrophe for
Restraint is called for before making your sport psychology? Paper presented at the
move and writing it down, which you will Annual Conference for the North American
do using long form algebraic notation. Society for the Psychology of Sport and
Think of the move you are about to make, Physical Activity. Vancouver, Canada.
think of it in long-form notation. Yes, it is O'Connell, K.J. (1997). Reversals in Chess:
going somewhere, but when it leaves its pre- Right or Wrong. MSc Dissertation, Essex
sent post, it will change the shape, if not of University. Presented at 8th International
the board itself, at least of the position. Reversal Theory Conference, London 1997.
Psychology - Learning to Play Chess
PD Dr habil. Marion Boensch-Kauke
Theoretical Remarks standing of how to play. Prevention of prob-
Chess is none too easy, neither learning lems in chess classroom management is only
nor teaching. To teach it to children in realistic if both sides communicate with one
schools needs a pedagogue, a psychologist another in a manner such that they under-
and a classroom manager rolled into one stand each other. Success in instruction and
person. Our concern is to advise you from a education is grounded on interpersonal
chess psychological viewpoint. Next, we relationship. That is the key!
will enlighten the interaction between the
playful chess teacher and his or her school Playability of the Teacher and the Pupils
children. We will make clear the difference The game of chess, in its abstract manner,
in psychological development from a chess challenges children to develop mental abili-
instructor to a chess teacher: the pedagogical ties, which adults already have. Therefore
know how! the teacher must be able to adopt the con-
crete perspective of the children. Sometimes
Instruction as a Potential Problem Process this can be difficult. Children get their say
In its origin, learning and teaching are an by ‘teaching’ the teacher to understand them
interpersonal relation. The people concerned with their heart and soul.
are constantly interacting and influencing If it is possible to share the child’s miracu-
each other. Even if each participant does not lous play fascination, the adult comes to the
have the same say, both parties are involved true motives of his or her profession as a
in chess lessons and their successful out- teacher. It could be a stroke of luck if adult
come, or otherwise. Let’s take a look at the chess novices share the fascination of learn-
participants. ing together with the children. A lack of
What do children want? Children want to strength in Elo-rating does not seem to be a
play - children all over the world. That de- drawback. Older ones and youngsters be-
sire does not end at school enrolment. Seven come confederates in completing their inner
to twelve year old pupils feel alive among forces: naive heads of children amazed by
their peers. Keen on adventure, challenge their vivid ideas, how to learn chess - step by
and fun, they can’t be overruled. Take them step - from the very beginning. Thoughtful
seriously in their wish: ‘Children are human tutors fulfil the leading role in pedagogical
beings too, if less big’. management. Their duty is to plan, initiate
What are schoolteachers to do? and organize the chess curriculum.
Children should behave obediently, The teachers convey elementary knowl-
bravely and reasonably. Their duty should edge of rules, the board and pieces. He or
be to learn to be disciplined, while at the she controls the acquisition of concepts by
same time hearing the experienced teacher’s questions and exercises. Evaluation of learn-
voice. The adult teacher usually knows best. ing progress follows next. Teachers watch
He or she wishes to transfer higher knowl- thoroughly in which way children become
edge to the mind, soul and heart of each pu- skilled in playing chess. They are always
pil. Respect and some thanks are not too connected with the class to give appropriate
much to ask in return. feedback.
The aspirations of impulsive children and A playful atmosphere of well-being is the
those of reflective adults are somewhat dif- sine qua non for the development of playing
ferent. But that don’t necessarily lead to a abilities. This means first creating a calm
drama. Concordant solutions generate a sur- classroom atmosphere. If so, each of them,
prisingly good development in the under- not only the children but the teacher too,
becomes free to deepen their involvement in 4. Let them work at it ‘blindly’ by means of
their game. Open minded are keen to try mind’s eye and plan moves only in the mind.
innovations within the rules and become 5. Allow the transfer of ideas to the board.
eager to convince themselves quasi- 6. Analogize the principles inherent in solu-
experimentally of their self-efficacy. Let’s tions to everyday life situations.
feel the teamwork of harmony in chess les- ‘Deistvovat v ume’ (work in mind) is how
sons! FIDE Senior Trainer and Grandmaster Yuri
Heuristic emotions and so called experi- Razuvaev defines the core of this very effec-
ences of ‘Aha!’ will be helped by humour. tive procedure to optimize chess teaching.
Humour can be a mighty instrument to bal- Moves in mind are viewed as the underly-
ance emotions, both consonant and disso- ing developmental process in learners, who
nant. Mood, seriousness and hilarity are wise learn to learn. Inner tools to analyse situa-
feelings. Play at the piano of humour! tions, goal setting, plan realisation and deci-
Avoid sarcasm and cynicism. Ludic en- sion making are generated.
gagement and mental transformations are The teacher has to detect constraints in the
vulnerable. children’s thinking. It is necessary to find
out the causes. Otherwise it is not possible to
Methodical Chess Teaching give appropriate helpful hints. Failure may
The following steps comprise a well- hinder the realistic next step of mental de-
proven methodology of chess teaching: velopment.
1. Try to demonstrate comprehensible ex- Don’t look down on ‘childish’ play. Bet-
amples of positions and key ideas on the ter, experience the natural course of under-
board. standing chess together with the children.
2. Ask the children to recreate verbally the That is the basis of teaching chess effec-
position with its main features. tively. Long lasting impressions and satis-
3. Invite them to imagine elements of the faction as a teaching professional will hope-
position without sight of the board. fully be the reward.
http://trainers.fide.com
The Trainers’ Site!

Psychology -
Solving Pedagogical Problem Situations
PD Dr habil. Marion Boensch-Kauke
Practical Tips critical and psychological thinking will be
Thanks to about 60 ‘Train the trainer’ improved. Prophylaxis and solving of prob-
courses at the FIDE Trainer Academy (FTA) lems get mentally simplified. Children be-
in Berlin, as well as many further education come smart and very alert.
courses for schoolteachers, I have gained Adults may be convinced by these argu-
modern consolidated pedagogical findings. ments more or less. But how to motivate
Based on chess psychological research, they children? There are many incentives to play
are useful for optimizing chess instruction chess.
by solving typical pedagogical problem The promise of mental adventures perhaps
situations. Grounded in heuristic principles, attracts boys rather than girls. For girls, the
they are helpful as practical tips. interpersonal contacts and influence of the
mighty queen may be motivational.
1. Widespread Sceptical Opinion: Does Children in general are interested in trying
Chess Playing Make Sense? to amaze adults with what’s in their bright
This touches on the question of questions: heads.
What does chess mean for life? Isn’t it far The intrinsic reward shines through their
from daily life; or too abstract for children? voice: ‘Playing chess gives me a pleasant
And so on. mood. I’m feeling great’.
The metaphor of chess as simply a war
game for military training is archaic. More 2. Lack of Will Power and Determination
than that, chess is proven to generate wis- To some adults, the game of chess seems
dom for competitive situations. Personality too ambitious. Image loss by embarrassment
in conflict, ‘war of nerves’, has to clear wor- as an authority could be their hidden fear. To
ries for decision making. Many kinds of teach chess - can I make it?
psychic suppressions can be overcome by ‘Please do what you fear most!’ ‘Impro-
means of methodical chess instruction vise!’ ‘Encourage yourself like actors on the
(Boensch-Kauke 2008a, b). Being unfit to stage!’ Role playing can be helpful. Children
resist life’s diversity of dangers, the prob- can play the teacher’s role and vice versa.
ability of failure seems high. A worst case Pretend you have to do the other’s work and
scenario could be encapsulated by manipula- try to do it better.
tion, ‘pins’, far away from free will, ‘self What is the benefit? Mutual understanding
checkmated’ in life situations. and cooperation will grow. Imagine you are
In contradiction to widespread opinions, in the footsteps of a great master. ‘Here I
the game of chess facilitates not only logical present you the next world champion!’ With
knowledge but also desire. Chess playing this self fulfilling prophecy a creative
promises to enhance activation, concentra- teacher might encourage a hopeful but inse-
tion, will power, emotional stability, self- cure boy.
confidence and social competence. Knowl- Keep as many students as possible in-
edge in action! volved in activities without inefficient delay
Chess works as an eye opener. It gives (e.g. avoid insufficient instruction, lack of
you a reality check. chess material or technical troubles).
Cognitive abilities, such as perception, Disinterest, boredom, distractions, rest-
imagination, memory or reasoning skills are lessness, tiredness and stimulus satiation by
developed by chess instruction. Creative, chess in the lesson must alarm the teacher.
Make sure the tasks and exercises are appro- courage are necessary in order to learn to
priate. play chess play well.
Avoid monotony. A change of methods is Set standards of behaviour both outside
important from time to time. Chess permits and within chess. Always care for accuracy,
many didactical modifications. Entertain by utility, elegance, completeness and integrity
using intelligent tutoring systems and ani- of playing the game of chess.
mation games. Walk across the classroom. Be aware of everything happening in a
Simply fool around. It makes sense to free classroom. Supervise several activities at
the brain. once. Don’t wait too long (nor not long
Play physical and mind games; instruct by enough) before saying ‘Right, go on!’ or
using elements of them. Use story telling, ‘Stop, better this way!’
painting or a physical workout to match the Disruptions of lessons by permanent nag-
level of children’s concrete operational ging, babble, impertinence and cheek may
thinking (e.g. for outliers or underachievers). mask the desire to play a leading role in the
The endurance of concentration in playful class. The teacher can turn this to advantage
immersion and flow is much stronger than in if he is wise enough to ennoble the trouble-
too serious activities. Never disturb the flow maker into a responsible assistant.
of ideas by premature evaluation. Unmedi- A wonderful release! Sometimes children
ated spontaneity brings problem sensibility, follow better their peer-boss. Make him your
fluency, flexibility, originality and elabora- voice and the chess tutoring becomes ac-
tion. These are the essentials of creativity. cepted in the group.
Who disrupts whom actually? Finding out
3. Disobedience, Provocations and Trou- the frustration of troublemakers in chess
bles class and helping them to find acceptable
Make clear the teacher is the head. Play directions enables the pedagogical profes-
your guiding rule smoothly in words and sional to channel destructive impulses into
body language. Take the central position in enthusiasm and to cool down hostility. Vio-
the room. Speak clearly, be charismatic and lence, damage to property and destruction of
resolute. Demonstrate you are the coordina- personal dignity are unacceptable. Don’t
tor, a generalist; others can be specialists. abuse your mighty power. Everyone loses in
Convince yourself and the audience: ‘With a public power struggle. Channel destructive
me we shall overcome’. impulses into enthusiasm: Rage to encour-
Make it clear, what is allowed and what is age!
forbidden. A joke goes: ‘Be a barbarian for The ability to ‘read’ body language con-
one week and you have got the class quiet tributes to understanding emotional states.
one year on’. A winner’s euphoria may need to be
Signal sanctions against misbehaviour, for cooled down a little bit. Empathy with the
example hold eye contact with or move loser must be learned; try to comfort a
closer to the offender. But only denote loser’s disappointment. Arrogance some-
threats to avoid unpleasant reactance (‘boo- times is born of self-doubts or a lack of self-
merangs’). Attempts at changing the atti- esteem. To teach a loudmouth speaker a les-
tudes of another (children, parents or col- son in humility could be a counterproductive
leagues) may work or they may not, and on sanction.
occasion have a reverse effect in which the Anxieties are inner barriers to the learning
attitude is changed but in a direction oppo- progress. Anxieties of evaluation, bad audi-
site to that intended. ence, loss of self-confidence and self decep-
That is a common enough outcome of ex- tion (‘It’s not me?!’) we meet in schools.
cessive and insensitive attempts to dissuade High arousal is sometimes caused by unreal-
the prejudices of others. Children are not istic aspirations. Sorrows destroy the con-
easy to tame. Why should they be? Their centration of restless children. Try to cool
self-esteem, aggressive (brave) power and down.
The ‘language of music’ can relax and consequences. Education to fairness is an
activate. Use elements of classical concerts important goal of chess lessons.
in chess class. Mutuality means not only the teacher has
Change fear of failure to hope of success. the right to measure children up. Note: Here
Never ever hurt feelings. Share them. Go are two opinions: my own and the incorrect
ahead! one!
Children x-ray the adult too. Authenticity,
4. Stupid Failures trustworthiness, reliability, credibility, affin-
‘How could you make such a stupid ity to chess and pupils are all examined.
move?’ ‘How many times have I told you?’ Children use pranks to try to find out, is he a
Torture of and by the struggling teacher of- ‘sport’?
ten follows: Would a stupid pupil learn to Don’t mistake pupils who laugh at you.
play well? Laugh with them. Your sense of humour is
Critical thinking is a gift. Push for excel- in demand.
lent performance! Be aware: We are all
human beings. We all fail sometimes. Mis-
Conclusion
takes need closer attention! Avoid feelings
Learning to play is the goal of chess teach-
of shame and guilt. Better find out first, what
ing in schools. Potential problem situations
is the characteristic of a childish blunder!
between teachers and pupils are normal.
An example: A little girl doesn’t learn to
The gifted teacher always has to find a
avoid dangerous pins or she gives the queen
way (‘a knack’) by an inventive pedagogical
away for nothing. It could be that she is an
idea to cope with tricky situations in chess
interpersonal giant, cooperative-altruistic
lessons in order to prevent escalation to
motivated (likes more to give than to take)
critical events, so that there is no disruption
but a little bit fight-shy. In this case, try to
to the tuition process.
explain by using analogies to worse depend-
Ideas are always necessary to present the
encies, victimisations and exploitations in
tasks and exercises, challenging acquisition
real life. Teach her how to sacrifice, while
of knowledge and developing the individ-
avoiding damaging disappointments.
ual’s potential to play chess well. Those who
Never lose your temper; otherwise chil-
find and use them are the creative teachers.
dren could learn that from teacher. Stop
Last but not least a joke: A child comes
prejudices, discrimination and bullying.
home from his first chess lesson at school.
Manage integration. Practise rituals.
His parents ask: ‘What did you learn today?’
Feelings of security, confidence and a
The kid replies: ‘Not enough. I have to go
sense of belonging to the chess community
back tomorrow.’
should arise in the group. Name buddies as
supporters for their unprotected peers. A
negative explanatory style can be changed Literature
into a positive one. Boensch-Kauke, Marion (2003) Psycholo-
Experience the power of positive persua- gie des Kinderhumors. Schulkinder unter
sion. Invent energetic sentences to develop sich. Leske + Budrich, Opladen (e-book
self-confidence and playing power. ‘We Kindle edition VS-Verlag 2011).
learn to play chess and that’s good. We are Boensch-Kauke, Marion (2008a) Klüger
proud to have the chance to be taught. Teach durch Schach, in Wissenschaftliche For-
me! Teach me!’ schungen zu den Werten des Schachspiels.
Leibniz-Verlag, Sankt Goar.
5. Morality is Respect of the Rules Boensch-Kauke, Marion (2008b) Nerven-
The game is broken by cheats. Trust and krieg - von Aura bis Zweikampf, in Ange-
acceptance vanish. Try to catch actors of wandte Psychologie für Trainer, Schachleh-
malpractice before they break the rules. But rer und Spieler. Frank & Timme. Verlag für
if rules are broken, be consistent in applying wissenschaftliche Literatur.
How to Organize a Chess Club & Tournament
Sophia Rohde
How to Organize a Chess Club tivating. Have the kids set up and then put
Starting a scholastic chess club is not that away the sets after play. It will teach struc-
hard. If the school can provide a usable ture and rules, and lead to fewer lost pieces.
room for chess, it only takes a little more to
get going. Resources, Funding and Publicity
Get advice from nearby chess clubs, re-
Where and When is Important to Get Right gional and national chess organizations.
The room must be big enough for one Links to all federations can be found at
chessboard per pair of players. Tables www.fide.com - FIDE - Directory.
should be square or rectangular, and hold the Parents and others may help out with prac-
full board (no dripping over the edges!). tical matters, but you will eventually need
Standard tournament size roll-up vinyl coaches with more advanced chess knowl-
boards are around 20x20 inches / 50x50 cm edge.
(squares 2¼ inch / 5.5 cm wide). A demonstration board, a small chess li-
Solid plastic pieces are affordable and du- brary, chess clocks and maybe some chess
rable, and should be sized accordingly. software will be natural next steps for your
Make sure the boards have numbers and club.
letters along the edges, to help the kids learn Though chess is cheaper than most sports,
chess notation. Don’t forget you will need the more equipment and travel, the more
somewhere to store the equipment safely. funding is needed. Apart from school and
Unless you are able to get chess into the parents, look for local sponsors.
curriculum, lunchtime is the best time for Publicity about the chess club is essential
club meetings. for getting players, help and funding. Chess
Early ‘Sunrise’ sessions might work better is easy to promote.
for students with busy schedules, while after Kids get to socialize in a competitive envi-
school is the least easy choice. It’s better to ronment, learn about the connection between
have several shorter sessions, rather than one actions and consequences and improve their
long one each week. concentration skills, all the while having
great fun.
What to Do at the Chess Club
The most important thing is to motivate by How to Organize a Chess Tournament
having fun. Start as soon as possible to play Tournaments are an important part of
chess. Pair kids according to ability, not age. chess. They make it possible to evaluate the
Giving piece odds might be necessary if one strength of players.
player is much stronger.
Have them write down the moves, so that Round Robin
games can be analysed afterwards. Tradi- The easiest tournament to run, after knock
tional chess culture, like ‘Touch Move’, po- out competitions, is a round robin (all
liteness and sportsmanship, should be taught against all) tournament where participants
from the start. keep their order while moving from board to
Club tournaments follow next. Outside board after each game.
team events encourage socializing and coop- If the boards are set up side by side on one
eration, while individual tournaments lead long table, they move around the table until
the more competitive to further study and they have sat at each chair once.
improvement. These activities give the With an even number of players, one
player a rating, which most find highly mo- player stays put, just turning his board
(switching colour) for each new game. With
an uneven number of players all that is Index of Games
needed is to have a chair for the player hav-
ing the free round. When a player’s name appears in bold,
Pre-printed charts are available (and that player had White. Otherwise the first-
online) so all that is needed is a drawing of named Player had White. A total of 19
starting numbers. This works best when the games are analysed in this book.
tournament lasts longer than one session.
When the number of participants is so high Alexopoulos Georgios - Avramidis 81
that the time it takes to finish the tournament Alexopoulos Georgios - Manthe 48
Amarapala Sherington - Danielsen 69
is more than desired, you may split them Anderssen Adolf - Kieseritzky 45
into divisions, with players moving up and Avramidis Steven - Alexopoulos 81
down based on results. Carl Werner - Schmidt 47
Count Isoard & Duke - Morphy 81
Ladder Danielsen Henrik - Amarapala 69
Another easy tournament type is the lad- Fishbait - O’Connell 45
Fool’s Mate - 24
der. Players move up and down based on the Grivas Efstratios - Szkudlarek 48
result of every game. This can run for as Hunt Hurriet - Makropoulou 65
long as you want. Rules may be needed Kieseritzky Lionel - Anderssen 45
to regulate how often each player gets to Makropoulou Marina - Hunt 65
play. Manthe Barry - Alexopoulos 48
Mariotti - Sax 34
McDonnell James - Player 74
Swiss Morphy Paul - Count & Duke 81
Of the more advanced tournament sys- O’Connell Kevin - Fishbait 45
tems, the Swiss are the most popular. Many O’Connell Kevin - Sales 45
similar Swiss tournament systems exist. Petersen Tom Petri - Strange 47
All share a common set of rules and prin- Player Edmund - McDonnell 74
Player Edmund - Potter 74
ciples, the main one being that each player Potter Arthur - Player 74
can only play any other player once. The Ragozin Viacheslav - Trifunovic 36
limited number of rounds in a Swiss tour- Rotlewi Georg - Rubinstein 49
nament also means that each player gets to Rubinstein Akiba - Rotlewi 49
play against only a few of the others. Sales Keith - O’Connell 45
Pairing rules are used to match players Sax Gyula - Mariotti 34
Schmidt Olaf - Carl 47
with the same score throughout the tourna- Scholar’s Mate - 24
ment. These scores are calculated by sum- Spreitzer Elias - Wurzer 81
ming up results, 0 for losses, ½ a point for Strange Mikkel - Petersen 47
draws and 1 point for wins. Szkudlarek Franz - Grivas 48
Much effort is also spent on giving players Trifunovic Petar - Ragozin 36
Wurzer Miriam - Spreitzer 81
a roughly equal number of white and black
games, as well as avoiding the same colour
in consecutive games.
Ratings may be applied to rank players
with equal scores before pairing each round,
to improve the likelihood of a fair final re-
sult.
Without proper training, it is hard to pair a
Swiss correctly. There are, however several
software programs available that will do the
pairing for you.
Contact your national federation for guid-
ance.
Index of Topics
Attack and Defence 24 Opposition 56, 60
Back Rank 39 Overloading 37
Can't 73 Passed Pawns 62
Checks and Captures 84, 88 Pawn Endgames 60
Castling 19 Pawn Promotion 34
Checkmate 22 Perpetual Check 33
Checkmates - Bishop 41, 59 Philidor Position 64
Checkmates - Knight 43 Pieces - Good vs Bad 66
Checkmates - Queen 39, 56 Pieces 11
Checkmates - Rook 22, 38, 56 Pin 28
Decoy 35 Reflex 74
Defence 24 Removing the Guard 33
Deflection 35 Reversal Theory 87
Discovered Attack 32 Rule of the Square 62
Discovered Check 31 Saavedra 66
Double Check 31 Skewer 30
En Passant 21 Square Vacation 36
Exchanging 68 Stalemate 18
Fork 25 Traps 24
Line Vacation 36 TRIM 88
Lucena Position 64 X-ray 30
Notation 12, 22 Zugzwang 36, 57
Opening Principles 50 Zwischenzug 37
Notes

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FIDE Trainers’ Commission

Foundation Trainer Guide

FIDE TRG Foundation Trainer Guide 1

Cover by Nicolas Sphicas

Edited by Efstratios Grivas (www.GrivasChess.com)

FIDE Trainers’ Commission (TRG)

● Dr Alexander Rueb 1924-1949

8-+-+-+-+( The ideas of decoy and deflection are often

7zp-+-trpzpp' Basic Queen Mates

abcdefgh The queen, rook and bishop are long-

Example 15 ● There are opening traps based on the

FIDE TRG Foundation Trainer Guide 53

2 Dr Emanuel Lasker 1894-1921 12 Anatoly Karpov 1975-1985, 1993-1999

19 Vladimir Kramnik 2006-2007 5 Nona Gaprindashvili 1962-1978

Shortly after publication of the first edition 6 Maya Chiburdanidze 1978-1991

Women’s World Chess Championship 13 Hou Yifan 2010-present

The Chase! Basic Two Rook Ladder Mate

8-+-+-+-+( The subject of rook endgames is a vast

FIDE TRG Foundation Trainer Guide 70

Learning to Get Worse Can’t

FIDE Trainer’s Badge

Fédération Internationale des Échecs

FIDE TRG Foundation Trainer Guide 86

FIDE TRG Foundation Trainer Guide 90

FIDE TRG Foundation Trainer Guide 96

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