ChessTheCompleteBeginner’sGuidetoPlaying

ChessChessOpenings,EndgameandImportantStrategies

ByHenryIngram

Copyright2016byHenryIngram-Allrightsreserved.Thisdocumentisgearedtowardsprovidingexactandreliableinformationinregardstothetopicandissue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to renderaccounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary, legal orprofessional,apracticedindividualintheprofessionshouldbeordered.-FromaDeclarationofPrincipleswhichwasacceptedandapprovedequallybyaCommitteeoftheAmericanBarAssociationandaCommitteeofPublishersandAssociations.Innowayisitlegaltoreproduce,duplicate,ortransmitanypartofthisdocumentineitherelectronicmeansorinprintedformat.Recordingofthispublicationisstrictlyprohibitedandanystorageofthisdocumentisnotallowedunlesswithwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher.Allrightsreserved.Theinformationprovidedhereinisstatedtobetruthfulandconsistent,inthatanyliability,intermsofinattentionorotherwise,byanyusageor abuseof anypolicies, processes,ordirections containedwithinisthesolitaryandutterresponsibilityoftherecipientreader.Undernocircumstanceswillanylegalresponsibilityorblamebeheldagainstthepublisherforanyreparation,damages,ormonetarylossduetotheinformationherein,eitherdirectlyorindirectly.Respectiveauthorsownallcopyrightsnotheldbythepublisher.The information herein is offered for informational purposes solely, and is universal as so. Thepresentationoftheinformationiswithoutcontractoranytypeofguaranteeassurance.Thetrademarksthatareusedarewithoutanyconsent,andthepublicationofthetrademarkiswithoutpermissionorbackingbythetrademarkowner.All trademarksandbrandswithinthisbookareforclarifying purposes only and are the owned by the owners themselves, not affiliated with thisdocument.

TableofContentsIntroductionWhereChessOriginatedABriefHistoryofChessOriginsofChessTheRulesoftheGameChess101-HowtoPlayTheDistributionofthePiecesKnowingtheChessPiecesandTheirAbilitiesTheBoardSetupCastlingandPromotionCastlingCastlingStrategyPromotionPromotionStrategyCompetitionChessRulesBasicRulesTheTouch-Move-RuleTheFifty-MoveRuleTheRuleStatementTimeControlinaChessTournamentorMatchTimeControlMethodologyOvertimeFormatsPenaltyGameFormatofChessCompetitionsRecordingChessMovesAlgebraicNotationsinChessNamesoftheSquaresNamingtheChessPiecesMoveNotationsCaptureNotationsNotationsforIdenticalMovesandPiecesNotationsforPawnPromotionOffertoDrawaGameCastlingNotationsCheckmateGameCompletionIrregularitiesIllegalMovesIllegalPositionsPlayerConductTheArbiterandTheirRoleduringtheMatchEquipmentDifferentChessEquipmentOtherEquipmentChessStrategies

ThreeBasicOpeningChessMovesRuyLopezTheSicilianDefenseTheItalianGameorGiuocoPianoOffensiveandDefensiveStrategiesDefensiveStrategiesTheFrenchDefenseCaroKannThePircDefenseTheDutchDefenseTheAlekhineDefenseTheBenoniDefenseTheSlavDefenseTheGrunfeldDefenseTheKing’sIndianDefenseOffensiveStrategiesTheKing’sGambitTheBenkoGambitTheLayDownSacrificeTheBird’sOpeningTheBudapestGambitTheCalabreseCounterGambitTheScotchGameTheSmithMorraGambitTheViennaGameConclusionChessTerms–AGlossary

IntroductionLet’sbeginbyaskinganimportantquestion,“Whyshouldyouplaychess?”Doyouwanttobecomeanexpertandmasterallthenecessaryskillsandstrategies?Surely,many of youwill buy this book, but will doubt your ability to successfully play chess. Ageneralmisperceptionisthatchessisonlymeantforthoseoverfifty,andthatitisrarelyplayedbychildrenorteenagers.Infact,chessisextremelypopularamongpeopleintheirteens,twenties,andearlythirties.Today,chessisplayedinmajorcountriesaroundtheworldandispartofmanygametournaments.Youmayfeelanxiousaboutgettingstartedwithchess,becauseyouthinkit’sonlyagameforthosewhoareexceptionallyintelligentorclever.Thetruthismostpeoplebecomechessexperts,becausetheyreadmanybooksand/orlearntheskillsandmasterthemfromtheiracquaintances.Amongst all the invented games, chess is the game of royalty, held in considerable prestigethroughoutthecenturies.Originallyinventedtobeplayedbytwointellectuallycuriousplayersinthe6thcenturyAD,overtheyears,ithasevolvedintoitspresentform.Oneplayertakestheblackpiecesand the other takes thewhite pieces.They use their armyof chess pieces until one player puts theother ’skinginasituationwheretheyhavenochoicebuttosurrender:checkmate.Chess exercises and stretches themind; it develops importantmental abilities that are useful in allaspects of life. It teaches critical thinking, concentration, problem solving, abstract reasoning,evaluation,strategicplanning,patternrecognition,andcreativity.Chesswillteachyouhowtobetterableanalyzesituationsandfocusonimportantfactorsbyeliminatingdistractions.Thegameisself-motivating. Your goal will be to attack and defend your key pieces, and fight your way to“checkmate.”Thebookisaperfectguideforbothbeginnersandexperts.Youwilllearnthebasicsofchess,learnabouthoweachpiecesitsontheboard,masterthemovesandrules,andlearnallthestrategiesthatwillhelpyouwinallyourmatchesagainstyouropponent.Learnmoreaboutthisgameofkingsbyreadingon.

WhereChessOriginatedABriefHistoryofChessChessdatesbackmorethan1500years.ThegamemayhaveoriginatedinIndiainthe6thcenturyAD(or sometimeearlier, in the5th centuryAD). Somehistorians, however, claim that the game likelyoriginatedinChina.Recordsareunclear.But,mostevidencepointstothegamestartinginIndia,andlater spreading to Persia. After Arabs conquered Persia, chess spread across the Muslims world.Later,itreachedSouthernEuropeancountries.Modern chess evolved in Europe beginning in the 15th century. The game ruled countries and theperiodwas referred to as the “RomanticChessEra.” In the1800s, thegamewascharacterizedbyclever combinations ofmoves, a swashbuckling attitude, and brash sacrifices.Winningwasn’t thatimportant; rather, style was what mattered most. The game focused more on one’s creativeexpressions than on technical skills or long-term strategies. Soon after, chess moved into theDynamismEra.At thebeginningof the19th century, chess, in itsmodern form, became a part of tournaments andchampionships.ThefirsteverWorldChessChampionshipwasheldin1886.Intheearly20thcentury,chesstookagigantic leapforwardandachessfederationwasestablished,whichsetstandardchessrules.Inthe21stcentury,chess’popularityskyrocketedandsoftwarewasdeveloped.Playerscanalsoplaychessonline.

OriginsofChessChess originated in the6th century in India’s “GuptaEmpire.”The gamewas called “Chaturanga.”This word translates from the fourmilitary divisions: cavalry, chariotry, infantry, and elephantry.Theseformshavenowevolvedintomodernpieces:knight,rook,pawn,andbishop.ChesslatermovedfromIndiatoPersia,andsoonbecameanimportantpartofPersianeducation(forthe noble and elite classes). The Persians called it “Chatrang.” It was later renamed “Shatranj,”because ArabMuslims struggled with the “ch” and “ng” sounds. New rules were invented in thisperiod.Aftersometime,playersstartedtousetheword“shah”(meaning“King”inPersian)whenevertheywouldattack theopponent’sking.Theyalsoused the term,“shahmat,”meaning“helplessking” inPersian.Inthemoderngame,thistranslatesas“checkmate.”Checkmatehappenswhentheopponent’skingcan’tescapeanincomingattackordefendhimself.Chess later spread to many other countries; other variants of the game began to take shape. Silktraders, pilgrims, and other people soon carried chess to other areas. Slowly, the game became agameforthemasses,ratherthanoneonlyplayedbytheelite.Inthe10thcentury,chessmovedfurtherintoEurope,anditwasherethatthegamebegantodeveloprapidly.Many historical figureswere avid chess players, includingKing Ferdinand andQueen Isabella ofSpain,Euler(thefamousmathematician),andBenjaminFranklin.Forthesepeople,chesswasmorethanamereidleamusement.Byplayingthegame,theywereabletohonevaluablequalities,suchasforesight,perseverance,andcircumspection.

TheRulesoftheGameThelawsofchess,ortherulesofthegame,refertocertainrulesthatdeterminehowoneshouldplaythegame.Whiletheoriginsofchessaresomewhatvague,themodernrulesofchessfirstoriginatedintheMiddleAges.Theruleshavebeencontinuouslymodified.Inpreviouscenturies,rulesalsovariedfromplacetoplace.Theworldchessorganizationhasnowsetuniversal standardized rules (whichareslightlymodified fromnationalones).Fastchess,chessvariants,onlinechess,andcorrespondencechesshavetheirownslightrulevariations.Themostbasicruleisthatchessisplayedbetweentwopeople.Eachplayerhassixteenpieces(ofsixdifferent types). The pieces are arrayed on the board. The ultimate goal of each player is to“checkmate”his/heropponent.Thismeanstheopponent’skingisputintoasituationinwhichcaptureisunavoidable.Achessgamedoesnotnecessarilyendwitha“checkmate.”Often,playerssee theirdefeat coming andbelieve theywill lose thegame.Therefore, theyvoluntarily resign. In addition,sometimes,agamemayendinadraw,calleda“stalemate.”Theplayerstakealternatingturns.Aplayerisentitledtomoveonepieceeachmove.Ifthepieceyoumoveendsonaboxoccupiedbytheopponent’spiece,thismeansyouhavecapturedtheirpiece.Itisthenpermanentlyremovedfromthegame.Onceyoucanmakeamovethatleadstothecaptureofyouropponent’sking,youwin.Thisisknownasthe“checkmatestage,”inwhichanopponenthasnoothermovelefttosavehis/herking.It is considered illegal tomakeanymove that easilyexposesyourking to immediatecapture.Youcannotmove into “check.” It is also illegal to attempt to force a draw or avoid defeat simply byrepeatingthesamemoves.Inparticular,onecannotmakerepeatedchecks.Theresponsibilityliesontheattackertouseothermovestocapturetheking.Apartfrombasicmovementsofchesspieces,therulesofthegamealsogoverntimecontrol,playerethics,andconduct,recordingmoveswiththeappropriatechessnotation,resolvinganyirregularitieswhichmayoccur,andusingthecorrectequipment.

Chess101-HowtoPlayPlayingchess requiresaboard.Thechessboard isa specialboardwith64preciselydivided, smallsquares. These squares are arrayed across the board in an eight by eightmanner (with alternatingcolors).Theboard is quite similar to theoneused in checkers (commonly calleddraughts) set byFIDEint2008.Usually,boardcolorsalternatebetweenthestandardwhiteandblack.Thesecantrulybeanycolor,buttheymusthavealighteranddarkercolorscheme.Nomatterwhatcolorstheboardhas, the lighter colored squares are referred to as white, or light, boxes, and the darker coloredsquaresarereferredtoasblack,ordark,boxes.The game has two players.One plays thewhite pieces, and the other controls the black ones.Theplayerwiththewhitechesspiecesis“white,”andtheplayerwiththeblackpiecesis“black.”Thefirstrule is that thewhite playermakes the firstmove.At every turn, playersmustmake amove; it isagainsttherulestoskipamove.Evenifmovingapieceisdetrimental,youmustmakeamoveorelsethegamewon’tcontinue.Thegamehastocontinueuntilonekingendsupina“checkmate”situation,orthegameisdrawn,oruntiloneplayerchoosestowithdraw.Inaddition,chesscanalsobeplayedunder“timedconditions.”Thismeans that theentiregameplaywillbeplayedwithina fixed time,whoeverexceeds the timelimit prior to declaring a “checkmate”will ultimately lose the game.However, if you are able tocapturetheopponent’skingbeforetimerunsout,youwillwinthatmatch.Thetimedchessgamehasdifferenttypesoftimecontrol.Playerscaneitherhaveafixedtimeorplaythegameduringthatentireperiod, or they can decide tomake a certain number ofmoveswithin that time period. In such aplannedgame,playersalsohavetheoptionofextendingthetime,therebyincreasingthenumberofmovestheywilllikelymake.Theofficialrulesdonothaveasetruleondeterminingwhoplaysthewhitepieces.Thisdecisionisopentospecifictournamentrules,inwhichcaseplayersmutuallyagreetoletthecolorsberandomlyassigned.Abasicmethodfollowedbymanyplayersistograbarandompiecefromthebagofpieces.Theythenrevealthecoloroftheselectedpiece;ifitiswhite,he/shehasthefirstmove.Oncethegamestarts,piecesaremovedacrosstheboardusinglegalmoves.Thegoalistocaptureasmanypiecesofyouropponentaspossible.As thegameadvances, thegame reachesapointwhereeither youwill put the other player into “check” and ultimately “checkmate,” or youwill have toacceptdefeat.Ifyouarein“check,”youcanescapethesituationby:

Capturingthepiecethatisthreateningyourkingwithanotherpiece,orusingyourkingdirectlytoremovethatparticularpieceMovingyourkingawayfromthedangerzoneandplacingitinasafesquareBlocking your opponent’s path to your king bymoving another piece in front of theopponent’spiece.

However,ifyoucannotdoanyoftheabove,thenyouwillneedtoadmityouarein“checkmate”andacceptdefeat.Alsonotethatyoucannotputyourselfin“check.”Thismeansyoucan’tmakeamovethatwillallowyouropponenttocaptureyourkingonthenextturn.

Thereareotheroptionsoutlinedbelow.StalemateThisisaspecialcaseinwhichaplayerisleftwithnootherlegalmoves,butheorsheisn’tincheck.Astalemate isadraw. It is thespecial fiftymoverule,whichmeans that ifbothplayershavemadefiftymoveswithoutanycapturebypawns,thenthegameisadraw.ResignAtthisstage,aplayercanwithdraworquitatanytimeandacceptdefeat.

TheDistributionofthePiecesInachessgame,theplayergetssixteenpieces.Therearesixteenwhitepiecesandsixteenblack.Thepieces consist of one king, one queen, two rooks, twobishops, twoknights, and eight pawns.Theboard has eight rows (also known as ranks numbered from one to eight), and it also has eightcolumns(alsoknownasfiles,whichareletteredfrom“a”to“h”).

KnowingtheChessPiecesandTheirAbilitiesManybeginnersareconfusedaboutthedifferencesbetweenthequeenandtheking.Inalmosteverychessset, thekinghasasmallcrownoracrosson.Thequeen isusuallysmallerandhasa ridgededgeatthetopofherhead.Tobetterunderstandtherules,itisimportanttoknowaboutallthechesspiecesandhowtheymove.So,let’stakealookatallthepiecesandhowtheymove.KingThekingisthemostimportantpieceinthegame;however,itisalsotheweakestone.Thekingcanmoveonlyonesquareinanydirection,whetheritisforward,backward,orsideways.Thekingalsohasaspecialanduniquemove,knownasthecastlingmove(whichisdiscussedbelow).Thekingcannevermovehimselfintoapositionthatisdangerousforhim.Thegameislostifyouloseyourking.CastlingThisspecialruleappliestothekingandtherook.Castlingallowsyoutodotwoimportantthings:

GetyourkingtosafetyMoveyourrookoutofthecornerandintothemiddleofthegame.

Youcanmovethekingtwosquarestooneside,andthenshifttherookrightnexttothekingontheoppositeside.However,tobeabletocastle,thefollowingconditionsmustbefulfilled.

Fortherook,itmustbethefirstmoveFortheking,itmustbethefirstmoveThepathbetweenthekingandrookmustbeclear(nopiecescanblockthem)Thekingcannotbeunder“check,”ormustnothavepassedone

Ifyoucastleinonedirection,thekingwillgetclosertothesideofthechessboard.Thisiscalleda“kingside castling.” If you castle to the other side, where the queen sits, it is called a “queensidecastling.”Nomatterwhatsideittakes,thekingwillmoveonlytwosquareswhencastling.QueenThequeenisthemostpowerfulpieceinchess.Shecanmoveanynumberofsquaresalongtherank,file, or diagonal.However, she is not allowed to leap over any other piece. She can attack in anymannershemoves.However,likeeveryotherpieceontheboard,ifsheiscaptured,sheisoutofthegame.RookTherook,commonlyknownasthecastle,maymoveasfarasitcan,butitcanonlymovebackwards,forwards,orsideways.Itcanalsonotleapoveranyotherpiece.Rooksareconsideredtobepowerfulpieces,especiallywhenitcomestoprotectingandworkingwitheachothertoattacktheopponent.Capturesinachessgameareoptional.Therookdoesnotnecessarilyhavetomakeanycapture;itisallowedtocaptureotherpiecesonlyifyouwantitto.

BishopThe bishop canmove any number of squares, provided they are all diagonal. It cannot jumpoverpiecesinitsway.Ifthebishopstartsonablacksquare,ithastomovediagonallytoablackone,andviceversa.Thebishopisgoodforcoveringorprotectingotherpiecesontheboard.On the board, youwill have just two bishops for your chosen color. The one that sits on awhitesquareisallowedtomovediagonallyonthewhite,andtheblackmovesonlyontheblacksquares,diagonally.KnightComparedtoalltheotherpieces,theknightmovesinthemostdifferentways.Theheadoftheknightlookslikeahorse.Itmovesthreesquaresintotal—twosquaresinonedirection,andthenonemoreboxatarightangle.Thisresultsinan“L”shape.It isalsotheonlypiecethatcanmoveoverotherchesspieces.The knight canmove two squares vertically or horizontally, and then one perpendicularly. Otherpieces can never block the knight. It can easily jumpover other pieces and capture the opponent’spieces. However, if it isplacedinacorner, theknightisevenmorehandicappedthanthequeenorbishop,andisevenmorevulnerabletobeingcapturedbytheopponent.PawnPawns,ontheotherhand,areclassifiedasthemostcomplexpiecesontheboard.Pawnsareunusual,because they can capture other pieces and move in different ways. They move forward, but theycaptureotherpiecesdiagonally.Pawnscanonlymoveonesquareatatime,exceptforfirstmoves,inwhichcase,thepawnscanmovetwosquaresforward.Pawnscancapturepiecesdiagonallyinfrontofthem. They can never capture another piece going backwards. If a piece is blocking the pawn, itcannotmoveuntilthepieceinfrontmoves.PawnPromotionIf a pawn successfully reaches the other side of the board, then it can become any other piece(promotion).Notesomepeoplebelievethatapawnmayonlybeexchangedforachesspiecethatwaspreviouslycaptured.Thisisnottrue.Apawnmaybepromotedtoaqueen.EnPassantAnother rule that applies to pawns is “en passant,”which in Frenchmeans “in passing.”During agame,ifthepawnmovestwosquaresonitsfirstmove,andbydoingsoendsupnexttoanopponent’spawn(meaningthatthispawnmovestwosquaresawaytoescapetheriskofcapture),thatpawnthenhastheoptionofcapturingthisfirstoneitpassesby.Thismoveisonlypossibleiftheplayernoticesitatfirstandactsimmediately.Otherwise,theoptiontocapturethepawnwillexpire.Onceyouunderstand thenamesof thepiecesandhowtheymove, thenextstep is to learnhowtheboard is setup.Wheredoeseachchesspiece siton theboard?Readon to learnhow to setup theboard.

TheBoardSetupThefirststepwhenplayingchessistocorrectlysetupthepieces.Youhavetobeginbyfirstsettingtheboardsothatthebottomwhitesquarefacestherightside.Thismeansthatbothplayerswillhavewhitesquaresintherightcorneroftheboard.Yourpiecesaresetuponthetwohorizontalrowsthatareclosesttoyou(onthebottomside).Unlikeagameofcheckers,chesswilluseallthesquareontheboard.Thenextstepistoplacearook(alsocalledacastle)onthetwocornersoftheboard.Makesurethatyoustartwiththerooks,whichareeasytoidentifyastallpiecesthatmoveonlyinstraightlines.Once you have placed the rooks on the edges, place the knights (which have horse heads) besidesthem.Remember thatknights canmovea total of three squares, but theycanonlymove in an “L”shape.Theycanalsojumpoverotherpieces.Afterplacingtheknights,placethebishopsimmediatelynexttothem.Whilesettingthepieces,keepmovingtowardsthecenteroftheboard.Placetheround-headed,tallbishopsnexttotheknights.Bishopscanonlymovediagonally.Whileplacingthebishops,checktoensurethatoneisonablacksquare,andtheotherissittingonthewhitesquare.Now,ifyouareplayingwhite,placeyourqueenontheremainingwhitesquare(dothereverse ifyouareplayingblack).Thequeen,as the tallestpiece, iseasy to identify.Shealsohasaspikedcrownonherhead.Sheisthemostvaluablepieceinthegame.Onthelastsquareremainingsquareof the first row,place theking.Theking is the tallest piece. It has a roundedcrownwith araisedcross.Onceyouhaveplacedtheking,yourentirefirstrowisready(thisrowisknownastherank).Thekingcanmoveinanydirection,butonlyoncesquareatatime.Thismeansthatyouhavetomakesurethatotherpiecessurroundandprotectit.Lastly, you place all the pawns on the second row. They stand arrayed in front of the other chesspieces.Pawnsmoveforwardonlyonespaceatatime.However,onthefirstmove,theycanmovetwospaces.Onceyouhaveplacedallthepawns,yourboardissetandcomplete.

CastlingandPromotion

CastlingInchess,castling involvesexchanging theplacesof thekingandoneof the rooks.Twopiecesaresimultaneouslymovedinasinglemove.Thismoveisonlypossibleifneitherthekingnortherookhavepreviouslymoved.Thesquaresbetweentherookandthekingmustbeunoccupied,andthekingmustnotbein“checkmate.”The kingmoves two squares towards the rook, and the rookmoves to the other side of the king(puttingitimmediatelynexttotheking).Usually,castingprotectsthekingbehindawallofpawns.

CastlingStrategyIntheopeningphaseofagame,thismoveisanimportantone.Itservestwovaluablepurposes:

Itmovesthekingintoasaferposition,farfromthemiddleoftheboard;Itmovestherookto“anactive”positioninthecenter.Withthismove,itispossibletoputtheopponent’skingin“checkmate.”

Itisusuallybettertooptforkingsidecastling,becauseitkeepsthekingatasaferdistance.Thekingstaysclosertotheedgeoftheboard,andallotherpawnpieceswillstandclosertotheking,inafile,protectingthekingfromattacks.Inqueensidecastling,however, theking isplacedcloser to theboard’scenterandpawns in the“a-file”(firstrow)willbeundefended.Duetothismove,thekingisoftenmovedovertothe“bfile,”sothatitcandefendthe“a-pawn.”Duringthiswholeprocess,thekingwillmoveawayfromthecenteroftheboard,andtheriskofattackswillincrease.Inaddition,thecastlingmovewiththequeenwillrequirehermovingawayaswell.Itwilltakelongertoachievekingsidecastling.Ontheotherhand,queensidecastlinghasadvantageaswell.Itplacestherookefficientlyintheboard’scentral“d-file.”Inchess,itismorecommonforbothplayerstooptforkingsidecastling(ratherthanthequeensideone).However,inrarecases,ifoneplayeroptsforkingsidecastling,andtheotherchoosesqueensidecastling, it is known as “opposite casting,” or the “opposite side castling.” This castling strategyusually ends in a fierce fight between the two players, as both players’ pawns are free to moveforwardandattacktheopponent’sking.ExamplesofsuchmovesaretheDragonVariation,SicilianDefense,andtheYugoslavAttack,whichwewilldiscussinfuturechapters.Ifthekingendsupmovingbeforeitgetsthechancetocastle,theplayerwillstillhavethechoicetomaneuverthekingtotheedgeoftheboardandtherooktothecenter.Iftheplayerchoosesthiswaytoreach a castling stage, by taking two to four moves, it is referred to as “artificial castling,” or“castlingbyhandstrategy.”

PromotionInchess,onceapawnreachestheeighthrank,itcanimmediatelybepromotedtoanypiece,basedontheplayer ’spreference.Thepawncouldbecomeaqueen,bishop,rook,orknight.Afterpromotion,aplayermayhavetwoqueens.Thethreatofapawnpromotionoftendecidesthegameandleadstothe“chessendgamemove.”The queen is the most powerful piece on the board. Thus, the majority of pawns end up beingpromoted to a queen (rather than any other piece). This is often referred to as the “queeningpromotion.” If a player decides to promote the pawn to another piece, it is known as “underpromotion.”

PromotionStrategyPawn promotion is often considered a key goal of a chess game. Pawns are not able to movebackwards.This iswhypromotingthemis important. Ifanypawnsreachtheeighthrank, theymaypromotethemselvestobeaqueen,rook,bishop,orknight.Usually,whenagamereachesthisstage,the board is half empty, which gives pieces more freedom to move. Since the queen can movediagonally,mostpeopleprefertopromotetheirpawntoherstatus.So,whathappensifyouexchangeapawnforaknight?Imagineascenarioinwhichtheblackqueenisunderthreatfromthewhitequeen.Withinthenextseveralmoves,shecanmovebacktothekingonthec7row.Onwhite’sthirdmove,theplayercouldputthekinginto“checkmate”withknighttoe8orqueentoh7.Attheendofthismove,thewhitepawnwillbepromotedtoaknight,andtheblackkingwillbeunderpressure.Ifthepawnwaspromotedtoaqueenintheabove-mentionedscenario,itwouldhavebeeneasiertocheckmate the opponent’s king with a single diagonal move. However, promoting the pawn to abishopalsohelpsinattackingtheopponent’skingfromadistance(ultimatelyaidinginvictory).Anotherscenariowouldhavebeenwhentherookattacksthekingalongalinefromadistance.Thepawn can be promoted to a rook and can attack the opponent’s king in single file, leading to theplayer ’svictory.With a queen promotion however, the pawn can easily put the opponent’s king under checkmatepressurewithasinglediagonalmove.Tomostplayers,thisseemslikethemostappealingoptionontheboard,ultimatelyleadingtovictory.

CompetitionChessRulesNomatterwhen,withwhom,orwhereyouplaychess,initialrulesremainthesame.Thesamegoesfortournamentsandcompetitions,whereplayersmustplayonachessboardandstrategicallymovetheirpiecestocheckmatetheopposingplayer ’sking.However,duringcompetitionsandtournaments,some special rules are put in place, to better organize the game. These rules are set by the FIDEBoard,andtheyexistmainlytoregulatethedurationofthegameandtoavoidplayerdisputes.Readontolearnmoreaboutthecompetitionrulesthatyoumightencounterwhenplayingacompetitionortournament.

BasicRulesBasiccompetitionrulesarethesameasinanormalchessgame.Youmustuseonlyonehandtomoveapiece, andyoumust take it off as soon as youhavemade the appropriatemove.Onceyouhavemovedapiece,itisillegaltoreverseamove.Ifaplayercastles,he/shemustfirstmovethekingwithone hand, and thenmove the rook with the same hand. Once a pawn is promoted and pieces aremoved accordingly, players are not allowed to touch those pieces again to reverse the moves.However,ifthepromotionisnotfinal,thenanewpiececanmakeanyvalidmove.Inagame, theplayerwhosuccessfullycheckmatesanopponent’skingwillbedeclared thewinner,and the game ends. The player has to ensure that all themoves he/shemakes are valid and legal.However,ifanopponentbelievesthathe/shewillultimatelylosethematch,theyhavepermissiontoresignandlettheotherplayerwin.Thegameisadrawwhenaplayerhasnootherlegalmovesleftandhis/herkingisnotincheck.Atthis stage, the gamewill reach a “stalemate.” Thiswill immediately end the game, as long as themovethatleadstothestalematewaslegal.Thegamealsoendsinadrawwhenthetimecomesthatneitherplayercancheckmatetheopponent’sking,norcanhe/shemakefurtherlegalmoves.Atsuchapoint,thegamehasreacheda“deadposition.”Thiswillendthegame;neithercanclaimvictory.Thegamealsoendsinadrawifpieceshavebeenmovedtoanidenticalpositionontheboardatleastthree times. Another draw situation results if both players have made fifty moves consecutivelywithoutmovinganypawnsandwithout capturinganypieces.Let’s lookat somebasic competitionrulesyouwillencounter.

TheTouch-Move-RuleDuring a tournament or competition, if a player touches a piecewith his/her hands in a way thatindicates they want to make a move, then no matter what happens, they must move that piece.However,thisisonlypermissibleifthemoveislegal.Aslongastheplayerdoesn’tmovethepieceonto a new square, the piece can bemoved to any other accessible square. If a player accidentlybrushesagainstapiece,thenitdoesn’tcountasanintentionalmove.Iftheplayertouchesanopponent’spiece,thenifthemoveislegal,he/shemustcaptureitwiththeirpiece.Ifthemoveisn’tlegal,thenhe/shemustcaptureoneoftheopponent’sfirstpiecesontheboard,aslongasthemoveislegal.Iftheplayersareunabletodecideonwhethertheytouchedtheirpieceoroneof theiropponent’s, itwillbeassumedthat they touched theirownpieceand thecaptureof theopponent’spiecewillbeannulled.Ifoneplayertouchesmorethanonechesspiece,thenhe/shemustcaptureeachoneinlegalmoves.Anexceptionismadewiththeillegalcastlingmove,inwhichcasethekinghastomoveifitcan,otherwisetherookwon’tbeallowedtomove.When theplayer iscastling,he/shemust touch thekingfirst. If theplayer touches therookfirstorboth pieces simultaneously, then he/shemust use the rook first and carry onwith castling.This ispossibleonlyifthemovesarelegal.Iftheplayerisabletocompleteatwosquaremovewiththekingwithouttouchingtherook,thenheorshemustmovetherookinthecorrectmovesthatwillmakeitalegalmove.Otherwise,thewholecastlingwillbeconsideredillegal,anditmustbewithdrawn.Whenaplayersuccessfullymovesthepawntotheeighthrank,iftheplayertakeshis/herhandoffthepiece, then it can no longer be promoted to a different piece.However, themovewill also not beconsidered valid unless the player promotes his/her piece before moving it to the next square.Basically,when a player decides tomake amove, theTouch-Move rule states that theplayermustlegallymovethepiecebeforetouchinganyotherchesspieces.Thiscanbeaslightchallengeformostplayers.Playersmuststayvigilantwhileplayinginacompetitionandmakelegalindividualmoves.If a playerwants to adjust a piece on the board, he/shemust first announce “j’adoube,” a Frenchphrasemeaning“Iadjust.”Aplayerisstrictlyprohibitedfromtouchingotherpiecesontheboardifit’snothis/herturn,andhe/shemustwaituntiltheirturntomakeamove.

TheFifty-MoveRuleThisisanotherrulethatstatesthatifnocapturehasbeenmadeinthegame,andifnopawnhasmovedinthepreviousfiftymoves,theplayerscanthenclaimadraw.Thisrulewasintroducedtopreventaplayerwhohadnochanceofwinningfromcontinuouslyplayinguntilanindefiniteendcomesabout.Thiswasastrategyusedbysomeplayerswhosoughtawinbyexhaustingtheiropponentandforcinghim/hertoquitthegameinstead.There is no doubt that amaster can easilymake the necessarymoves to earn a checkmate inwellunderthefirst50moves.Later,inthe20thcentury,itwasobservedthatcertainstrategiesandmovesdidn’tleadtoavictory.Thismeantadditionalmovesandextratime.Therulewasthenchanged,allowinganadditional50movesforplayerswhowereunabletoendthegamewithinthefirst50moves.However,thisrulewasonlyapplicableiftheplayerhadn’teliminatedanypawns.Withthisnewrule,playerswereabletocarryoutadditionalcombinationsandfindapathtovictory.Over theyears,moreandmorewinningmoveswerediscovered,making itsignificantlyeasier forplayerstowinthematch.In1992,FIDEabolishedallotherexceptionsandsetthefiftymoveruleasthegoverningstandard.Now,playersmusteitherwinthegameintheestablishednumberofmoves,claimadraw,orsimplyacceptdefeatandquitthegame.

TheRuleStatementTherulesaysthatadrawisgrantedtoplayersunderthefollowingconditions:

Theplayerwrites it on their score sheet anddeclares their intentions to arbiters abouttheir nextmoves,whichwill result in the final 50moves. The player has to carefullyassessandensurethattheydidn’tmoveanypawnspriortoinformingthearbiter;Theclaimshouldonlybemadeafterthefirst50moves;Under the 50move rule, the gamewon’t be automatically declared a draw unless theplayerhimself/herselfclaimstodosoundertherule.Thismeansthatthegamecangoonforaslongasitcanonlyuntilapointisreachedwhennoothermovewillbevalidandtheplayerhastodrawfromhis/herturn.

Practicallyspeaking,whenaplayerclaimsadrawunderthefiftymoverule,theyarehappywiththeirdecision.FIDEamendedsomerules in2014,whicheliminatedthepossibilitiesofa“neverending”game. The FIDE rule states that if players make 75 moves consecutively without any capture ormoving of a pawn, the game will come to a draw unless the players can manage to achieve acheckmate.It is rare to see a game end under the fifty move rule. An example is the match played betweenFilipowiczandSmederevacinPolanica,Zdroj(1966),whichwasdeclaredadrawonthe70thmovewithouteitherplayerhavingcapturedanypieces.

TimeControlinaChessTournamentorMatchIn chess tournaments, it is important thatplayers recordgameplay time.This isdone so that eachroundcanendappropriatelyandthetournamentcansuccessfullyproceed.Timeisusuallymonitoredwithagameclock,whichhandily records the totalmatchduration.Sometimes,playersendup ina“timepressure”situation(alsoknownasZeitnot),whichisascenarioinwhichplayershavelittletimelefttomakeremaininggamemoves.ForallmajorFIDEevents, theWorldChessFederationhas set a single timecontrol; thismeansastandard90minutesisgiventobothplayers.Thistimelimitisenoughfor40movesafterwhichtheplayerscanstillgetanextra30minutestocompletetheentiregame.Anadditionof30secondsperpieceisgiven.Eventhoughthisisstandard,exceptionsmayalsobegrantedtoplayers.SomeWorldChampionshipshave lastedforas longas120minutesfora totalof40moves.Some,on theotherhand,havelasted60minuteswith20movesandanextra15minutestoendthegame.In general, the time durations given to each player will vary depending on the utilized gamestrategies.However,theclassificationofthetournamentchangesaccordingtothetimegiventobothplayers.

ShortTimeLimit:thistimecontrolgamecategoryisnotconsideredtobeasimportant,becausetheplayersdonotmakethenumberofmovestheyshouldinthattimeperiod;Lightening:thisisthequickesttimelimit;thisrepresents3minutesorlesspermove;Blitz: this refers toa time limitof approximately4 to15minutespermove.Anythingunder20minutesisconsideredablitz;Active:thiscategoryisformovesmadebetween15and30minutes.

TimeControlMethodologyThis refers to the time control approach that uses a game clock to regulate time variations. Themethodsusedtomeasuretimevary;let’sassesssomeofthecommonmethods.SuddenDeathThisisthemoststraightforwardtimecontrolmethodintournamentchess.Eachplayerisassignedaspecificamountof timefor theentiregame.Once the timelimitexpires, thegameultimatelyends,anditmeansthathe/shelost.UsinganHourglassInthismethod,eachplayerisgivenaclock.Eachclockstartswithaspecifictime,forexample,oneminute, fiveminutes,or tenminutes, andsoon.Whileoneplayer takes time todecideonamove,theirtimewilldecrease.Ontheotherhand,timeonthesecondplayer ’sclockwill increase.Thisissimilartohowanhourglassworks.Thesandinoneportionofemptiesoutandfillstheotherside.Itmovesslowly,givingyouropponentmoretime.However, itshouldbenotedthat thesumof timeonbothclocksrepresents thesameduration.Thismeansthateachplayerisallottedthesameamountoftimeforthegame.Itjustdependsonwhoendsthegamefirst,orifthegamecontinuesuntil itsnaturalend.Oncetimecompletelyrunsoutononeplayer ’sclock,thegamewillendandtheywilllose.

OvertimeFormatsInthiscategory,gametimeisfurthersplitintotwocategories:themaintimeandovertime.Toswitchbetweenthetworequiresplayerstotriggeraseriesofevents.Thisoftenmeansthatplayersmustuseupthemaintimeallottedtothem.Inchess,iftheplayerreachesthefixednumberofmovestheycanthen trigger “bonus time,” which is in addition to the fixed time. In chess competitions, this is ageneralrule,anditusuallycomesintoplaywhenthegamegoesbeyondthestandard40moves.Thismeansthatplayerscanchoosethismethodfor120minutelonggames,completethefirst40moves,andthenaddonanextra30minutestocompletethegame.IncrementorDelayMethod(Compensation)Thistimecontrolmethodrequirestheuseofaspecialclock,knownasthe“delayclock.”Therearethreeotherformsthatcompensateplayerswholosttimewhenmakingamove.Tobeabletomakeamove,theplayermustavoiddecreasingavailabletime.TheSimpleTimeDelayIfaplayerwantstomakeamove,theclockwillwait(adelayperiod)beforeitwillsubtracttimefromtheplayer ’sremainingtime.Forabetterpicture,considerthefollowingexample.Let’ssaythatthedelaytimeisfiveseconds.Theclockwillwaitforfivesecondsbeforeitbeginsitscountdown.Timedoesnotaccumulate,meaningthatiftheplayermakesamovewithinthatdelayedtime,notimewillbesubtractedfromtheremainingmatchtime.TheBronsteinTimeDelayThiswasacontrolmethodinventedbythefamousDavidBronstein(achessgrandmaster).Thistimecontrol method utilizes the same principles as that in the Simple Delay one. However, the onlydifference is that during each turn, players can see the amount of time they have before the clockstartscountingdownagain.Oncetheplayer ’sturnisover,andiftheyendedupusinglesstimeinthedelayperiod,timewillbereturnedbacktothem,asiftheyhadn’tinitiallyusedit.Ifthetimetheyusedexceedsthedelaytime,thelengthofthedelayedperiodwillthenbeaddedtotheplayer ’stime.TheFischerTimeDelay(TimeIncrement)InventedbytheAmericanWorldChessChampion,BobbyFischer,thistimecontrolmethodsaysthatwhenaplayer ’s turncomes, thedelayor incremental timewillbeadded to theplayer ’s remainingtime.Forexample,ifthetimedelaywasfivesecondsandthetimeremainingontheplayer ’sclockistenminutes,theywillhavetenminutesandfivesecondsaddedtotheirinitialremainingtime.Thissimplymeansthattimecanbeaccumulated.Iftheplayermovesapiecewithinthedelayperiod,theirremaininggametimewillactuallyincrease.InmostcompetitionsorFIDEevents,thismethodisverycommon,anditisalsoseenoninternetchessgameservers.Thistimedelaytermisusuallyreferredtoasan“increment.”Thisisbecausedelaytimeandovertimesum together to give players extra time. In this case, the game is further divided into other timecontrol fractions. The first fractionwill include 40moves, and the next one can be used tomake

remainingmoves.Withtheseseparatefractions, timecontrolcanbesplitbetweensuddendeathandtheincrement.InmostFIDEevents, thismethod is usedwhen the first 40moves have beenmade in less than 90minutes.Afurther30minutesisthengiventotheplayerstocompletethefullgame.Thisaddsanother30minutestothecompletegametime,andtheyhavemorethanenoughtimetoenditnaturally.

PenaltyGameFormatofChessCompetitionsThismethodimposesapointpenaltyorafinetoaplayerwhobreachestheirtimelimit.However,thisismorecommonlyseeningameslike“GO,”aChineseversionofchess.Inchesscompetitions,iftheplayerbreachesthetimelimit,theirpenaltyisclearenough--“loss”.Iftheylosetheirgamewithinthetimelimit,theopponentwillbedeclaredthewinner,whereasiftheyexceedthetimelimit,theywillhavetoclaimadraw.

RecordingChessMovesBynow,youunderstand that the chessboard is denotedwithpairs of numbers and letters.Verticalfilesareletteredfrom“a”to“h”(fromtheleftsideofthewhitepieces,thisisthequeenside,allthewaytotheright).Likewise,horizontalranksarenumberedfrom“1”to“8”(startingfromthenearestendofthewhitepiecesideofthechessboard).Withthisletteringandnumbering,itiseasytoidentifyeach square, and ranks can alsobedetermined.For example, you shouldknow that thewhite kingstartsfromthee1square.Theblackknightsitsonb8,anditcanmovetoeithera6orc6.Inaformaltournamentorcompetition,eachplayerhasthechancetorecordthemovestheymakeinchessnotation.Thishelpssettleanydisputeor legalopposition.Incase theyviolateanytimedelaymethodsorcontrols,theycanmaketheirclaimsbyreferringtothemovestheyhavemadeandeitherdrawonthefiftymoveruleorrepeatpositions.Inmatchesheldnow,AlgebraicChessNotationsarethemostpreferredwaytorecordagame.Otherrecordingsystemsarealsoavailable.However,inmatches,thecurrentrulesaysthateachmovehastoaccuratelycorrespondtothechessnotationsbeforewritingthemdownonapaperorusinganyelectronicdevicetomakerecordings.Beforeplayingagame,eachplayerhastofirstindicatean“=”signonthescoreboard.Timenotationsshouldalsobeaccuratelyrecordedonthescoreboardortherecording sheet. In case the player has less than the prescribed fiveminutes left to complete theirmoves, they will not be required to record unless an extra thirty minute delay is added. With ascoreboardandarecordingsheet,playersmustrefertothemeachtime.Thismeanstheyhavetoseethemovestheopponentplayerhasmadeandthenrecordtheirownastheyproceed.

AlgebraicNotationsinChessTheAlgebraicNotation (AN) is a standardmethod to describe and recordmoves in chess games.Among all organizations, magazines, newspapers, books, competitions, and tournaments, thesenotationsarenowcommonandserveasbasicstandards.Algebraicnotationsareavailableinvariouslanguagesandforms.However,theyaremainlybasedonsystemsandstandardssetbyPhilippStamma,apioneerandmodernchessmaster.HeismostfamousforthechessbookshepublishedinFrancein1737(TheNobleGameofChess).Today,hisrulesareusedbyFIDE,aswellasinmostcompetitions.

NamesoftheSquaresOnthechessboard,eachsquarecanbeidentifiedbyadistinctivecoordinate,whichisaletterfollowedby a number. The files (vertical square columns) from queenside to the right of the kingside arelabeled,a-to-h.Theranks(horizontalsquarerows)arenumberedfrom1to8,startingfromthewhitesideofthechessboard.Eachsquarehasauniquenumberandlettertoidentifyitsposition.

NamingtheChessPiecesOtherthanpawns,whichareletteredwithalowercase“p,”theotherpiecesareallidentifiedwithanuppercaseletter.Thefirstletterisusuallytakenfromthenameofthepieces.Thisappliesindifferentlanguages. ForEnglish-speaking players, “K” represents theKing; “Q” represents theQueen; “R”representstheRook;“B”representstheBishop;and“N”standsfortheKnight(becauseKhasalreadybeenusedfortheKing).Otherlanguagesusedifferentletterstorepresentchesspieces.Forexample,inFrench,playersreferto theBishopas “F,”which inFrench is “Fou.”However, theuniversal symbols and shapesof thechess pieces remain the same. Pawns are represented with lowercase letters mainly becausedistinguishingbetweenthemisnotreallynecessary;thisisbecauseapawnonlymovesonesquareatatime.

MoveNotationsTo indicate a piece’smovement, the first uppercase letter is used, and then the square towhich itmoved.Forexample,Be5meansyoumovedtheBishoptothee5square.Nf3meansthatyoumovedyourknighttothef3square.c5meansyoumoveda“pawn”tothec5square(forpawns,youdonotneedtousealowercasep).

CaptureNotationsWhen a player makes a capture, they have to denote that on the score sheet with an “X,” beforedescribingthepiece’sdestination.Let’ssayaplayermakesacaptureBxe5.Thismeansthatthebishopcaptured a piece on square e5. If a pawn captured a piece, the file from which it left is key toidentifyingthepawn’slocation.Forexample,ifthepawnone-filecapturesapieceond5,thiswillbenotedasexd5.Sometimes,playersusethe“:”signinsteadof“X”todescribethecapture.Theycaneitherputinthe“:”signinthesameplacewherethe“X”wouldgo,orattheendofthenotation.Forexample,either“B:e5,”or“Be5:”areappropriate.ThecapturesmadebyenpassantrulesareindicatedbyspecifyingthepawncapturefilewithXandthenthedestinationsquare.Note,thissquareisn’ttheoneofthecapturedpawns.Afterthis,youcanaddthe“e.p.”suffix,whichrepresentsenpassant.Anexampleisexd6e.p.

NotationsforIdenticalMovesandPiecesIf twoormoreidenticalchesspiecesmovetowardsthesamesquare, thepiecemakingthemoveisthen uniquely identified by specifying the letter of the piece, and then the notations follow inascendingordescendingorder.Thenotationdependsonthe:

Thefileandtheirdifference;Therankofthedepartingpiece,whetherthefilesarethesame,buthavedifferingranks;orBoth the rank and file. This occurs in rare cases where two or more pawns have beenpromoted.

Let’slookatanexampletobetterunderstand.Withknightssittingontheg1andd2squares,whichinboth cases canmove to f3, themovewill be noted as Ngf3. If not, it can also be noted as Ndf3.Knightssittingong5andg1canmakemoves,suchasN1f3orN5f3.Asdescribedabove,“X”canbeincludedtoindicateacapture.

NotationsforPawnPromotionOncethepawnmovestotheeighthrank,itispromotedtoeitheraqueenoranotheroption.Oncethepiecehasbeenpromoted,itisthenindicatedattheendofthemove.Forexample,apawnpromotedtoa queen is described as e8Q. Sometimes, the addition of an ‘equal to’ sign is also seen, but thisrepresentsthesamepromotion.Forexample,apawnpromotioncouldberecordedase8(Q)ore8=Q.These,however,arenotFIDEstandards.

OffertoDrawaGameInFIDErules,an“=”signisusedtodenoteadrawonthescoresheetrightnexttothepiecemove.However,thisdoesn’tfallunderchess’algebraicnotation.

CastlingNotationsSpecialnotationsareusedtorepresentcastling.Forkingsidecastling,0-0isnotated,0-0-0isusedforqueensidecastling.

CheckmateToshowacheckmatestate,the“+”symbolisusuallyused.Sometimes,thesignappearsasadagger,oralternatively,a“ch”abbreviationmaybeused.Iftheplayer ’skingisinadoublechecksituation,thisisindicatedwithadouble“++”or“dblch.”

GameCompletionOnceagameends,ifthewhiteplayerwins,itwillbedenoted1-0,alternatively,0-1willbeusedforablack victory. If the scoreboard shows½-½, this indicates a draw.Other than these indications, noothersymbolisusedtodescribeawinoraloss.Sometimes,thescoreboardwilllistinformationthatstatestheblack(orwhite)playerresigned;thisissimplyanarrativetodescribethescenario.

IrregularitiesLike every other board game, chess also has some irregularities and exceptions that playersmustnote.Thesearebasicallydividedintoillegalmovesandillegalpositions(whicharediscussedbelow).

IllegalMovesIfaplayermakesamovethatisillegal,theymustretractthemoveandmakeonethatisconsideredtobelegal.Ifpossible,theplayershouldmakethemovewiththatverypiecetheyhadmovedinitially.Thisisbecausethetouch-moverulewillapplyhere.Iftheplayerhadmadeanillegalcastlingmove,thenthetouchmoverulewillapplytothekingandnottotherookpiece.Whenthishappens, thejudgeorarbiterhastoensurethat thetimeontheclockisreadjusted.If theplayersdidn’tnoticethemistakeuntil theyplayedahead,thegamewouldhavetoberestartedfromthepointoftheincorrectposition.Iftheplayerswereplayingablitzmatch,inwhichcasethebothplayershaveaveryshorttimelimittomakeamove,thentherulewillvary.Aplayerisonlyallowedtocorrectanillegalmoveiftheyaren’tunderanytimepressure.Iftheplayerisunderpressure,theopponentmayultimatelyclaimvictoryiftheymakethenextmove.If theopponentmakesamovethat isalsoillegal, itwill thenbeacceptedwithoutbothplayershavingtofaceanypenalties.BasedonstandardFIDEchesslaws,anopponentisawardedanextratwoclockminutesforanillegalmovepenalty. Ifasecondillegalmoveismadebythesameplayer, thenthegamewillendfor thatplayer.Iftheopponentisabletomakelegalmovesthatwillhelpthemwin,itispossibleforthemtowinthegame.

IllegalPositions

Ifagamegoesonforawhile,andlateritwasdiscoveredthatthestartingpositionwasincorrect,thegamehastorestartfromthebeginning;Ifthegamecontinuesforawhile,andtheboardwasnotappropriatelysetup,thegamecancontinue.Thearbiterjusthastomakesurethathe/shecorrectstheboardandplacespieceswheretheybelong;If thematch startedwith players playing thewrong colored pieces, the game can stillcontinue (unless the judge proposes a new rule for that particular game). Someorganizations prefer to set other rules, depending on the particular game or matchsituation;If theplayerendsupknockingsomechesspiecesover, it is still their responsibility toreplacethemintheircorrectpositions;Iftheplayersnoticethatanillegalmovehasbeenmade,orpieceshavebeendisplaced,thegamemustberestoredtoaregularorlegalstate;Ifplayersareunabletodeterminetheexactpositionoflegalmoves,thegamehastogobacktoapositionthatwasrecordedaslegal.

PlayerConduct

Theplayersare strictlybarred fromundertakingany illegalaction(s) thatcanabruptlyendagame;theplayersarealsonotallowedtopickupacapturedpieceandtrytoreplaceit on the board. This is illegal andmay result in the player being dismissed from thematch;The two players are strictly prohibited from bringing any technological device to thegame; this includes mobiles, pagers, laptops, iPads, or other similar items. Only thechessboardandscoresheetsareallowed;Unlessthejudgeallowsit,playersarenotallowedtoreceivecallsduringthematch.Ifaplayerbringsinhisorhermobilephoneanditrings,thegamewillbeforfeitedandendimmediately;Scoresheetsareprovided toplayersstrictlyfor thepurposeofrecordinggamescoresandgame-relatedmatters;Playersarenotallowedtoannoyordistracttheiropponentsinanyway;Ifplayersdonotfollowtheserules,theywillhavetoquitthegameoracceptthepenaltysetbythearbiter;In case both players are unwilling to comply with basic rules, they will both bedeterminedtohavelost,andtheywillhavetoleavethegamearea.

TheArbiterandTheirRoleduringtheMatchJudgeskeepasharpeyeonthingsanddecideifpeopleareproceedingcorrectlyornot.Aswithanyother task. The chess arbiter monitors players and helps make decisions that are best for thecompetition.Theydonothavethepermissiontointerfereinanywayelse.Iftheplayersbreakrulesofthegame,thearbiterisallowedtoimposepenaltiesasdescribedbelow:

TheyhavetherighttowarntheplayerwhoisbreakingtherulesTheycanincreasetheopponent’stime;If theplayer is cheatingor trying tobreak the rules, thearbiter can reduce theirgameplaytime;Theycanimmediatelydisqualifyaplayer;Theycanremovepointsfromthescoreboard;9Theycanincreasethenumberofscoresmadebyplayers;Theycanexpeltheoffendingplayerfromthematch,venue,ortournament.

Tournamentarbitershavepermissiontomakenecessarydecisionsinaccordancewithchesslaws.

EquipmentPlayingchessisnotpossiblewithoutequipment.Thischapterprovidespreliminaryinformationaboutchess pieces, sets, clocks, boards, and other important items that are specific to national orinternationaltournaments.Chessisagamethatfitsperfectlywithinanybudget.Thecostofachesssetrangesfromafewdollars(forcardboardandplasticsets)tohundredsofdollarsforwell-carvedsetsthatappealtocollectors.

DifferentChessEquipmentChesssetThe set includes the board plus all other pieces (pawns, bishops, rooks, knights, the king, and thequeen).Chesssetsareaestheticallyattractiveandsleeklydesigned.Thecolorandsizesofpiecesarepreciselychosentomatchandcontrastwiththeboard’ssquares.Chesssetscomeinspecialtravelversions,whichareperfectforusingduringatrain,plane,orcartrips.These sets usually have peggedormagnetic pieces and a separate section or pocket to storeremainingpieces.Forpeoplewhowanttoadda“funtouch”totheirgamingexperience,theycanoptforthemedsets,whichhave specialmotifs anddesigned armies that canbattle eachother.Thesepieces are custommade. You can find examples, like cats versus dogs, cowboys versus Indians, or other traditionalrivals.These pieces not only lookmoredecorative on the board, but theymake the game fun andthrilling.These special sets, however, aren’t suitable for matches or tournaments. Imagine playing atournamentwithacustomboard.Youwouldhavetorepeatedlyaskthearbiter,“Sorry,whichoneistheknightagain?”TheChessBoardOn the chess board, the squares are 1.25, and the size of the king’s base is 1.3 (approx. 65mm).Squareswithasizeof57mmareusuallyidealforpiecesinthisagerange.Thedarkersquaresonthechessboardcanvaryfromblack,todarkgreen,orbrownthelightercoloredsquarescaneitherbewhiteoroff-whiteincolor.Althoughmost chessboards have standardwhite and black squares, you can also find special onesmade from black and red squares. Though this looks attractive,most players have said that thesecolorstendtostraineyesduringaplay.Fortournaments,specialchessboardsaremade,whichmeanstheyarebuiltrightintogamingtables.Like a standard chess board, the squares must have the right dimensions, and they should haveadequatespacesorborderstoplacecountdowntimersandallcapturedchesspieces.Most boards have coordinates printed on the sides, which show the algebraic notations for thesquares.These come inhandy for both amateur andprofessional players, giving an ideaofwhichsquareeachpiecemovesonto.Thesedays,themostcommonchoiceamongallplayersisthevinylrollupboard.ChessTablesFortournaments,thesizeofthetablemusthaveaminimumlengthtwicethatofanactualchessboard,andthewidthshouldbe15to20centimetersmorethanthatofachessboard.FoFIDEtournaments,playersmustusea table that is120by80centimeters.Forbothplayers, theheightof the tableand

chairhastobecomfortable.Itisnecessarythatchairsandtablesdonotmakeanynoisewhileplayersplay.ChessPiecesIn1849,thefirsteveroriginalpiecescreatedwerereferredtoas“Stauntonchesspieces.”Theyarestillthestandardonesusedinallmatches,andmaybemadeoutofplasticorwoodenmaterials.Theyareusuallywhiteorblack.Sometimes,youwillfindtheminothercolors,likedarkwoodorred.Eventhoughcolorsmayvary,playersstillrefertothemas“black”or“white.”Onastandardchessboard,thekingmustbe85to105millimeterstall(thisisabout3.35to4.13inches).Thediameterofthekinghastobeapproximately50%ofitsactualheight.Allotherpiecesneedtobeproportionaltotheking.Thismeanspieceshavetobewell-balancedforheight,width,andshape.For beginners, youwill find special pieces that have legalmoves printedon the individual pieces.Thismakesiteasierforbeginners,liketrainingwheelsonabicycle.Beginnersquicklyreplacetheseintroductorysetswithnormalones.Whennot it inuse, it is important tostorepieces insomekindofcontainerorpouch.Appropriatestorage increases the lifespan of a chess set, and also makes it easier for people to transport it.Sometimes,youmayalsofindspecialcustommadeorpersonalizedgiftboxes,whichareidealgiftsforchessplayers.ChessClocksInchessgameswhereplayersusetimecontrol,adjacentgameclocks(consistingoftwobuttons)maybeused.Onebutton stops theclockand theother starts the timer.Thesebuttonsprevent theclocksfromsimultaneouslyrunning.Theclockscaneitherbedigitaloranalog.Beforethegamestarts,thearbiterhastodecidewhichkindshouldbeusedforthegame.Historically, thefirsteverclocksused torecordgametimeinachess tournamentwereback in theearly19thcentury.Inthatera,hourglasseswithsandwerecommonclocks,keepingtrackofthetimespent to finish thegame.Eachplayerhad separatehourglasses to track time.Theywereeventuallyreplacedbyconnectingtwoanalogclocks.Thetimeononeplayer ’sclockstarts tickingassoonastheotheronemakesamoveandpunchestheclock.In the analog clock, a flagwill be sandwiched between 11:00 and 12:00 on both clocks. Once theminutehandcomescloser to12:00, the tip touches theflagand theclockcontinues tomoveahead.Thismovestheflagfromaverticalpositiontoahorizontalone.Oncethehandreaches12:00again,theflagdrops.Iftheplayerhasn’tmadeanymoveswithinthattime,itwillberecordedasatimeloss.Thesedays,digitalclocks—whichallowplayerstomoreeffectivelycontroltime—havebecomemorepopular.Wheneveraplayermakesamove,theypunchtheclock,anditsavesadditionaltime.Animportantfeatureofchessclocksistheirsturdiness.Duringamatch,playersunderpressuretendtopunchtheclockhardandsometimesevenknockthemtothefloor.Thisisseenmostlyintimesoftroubleandduringblitzgames.Anotherqualitytonoteisloudness.Theclockhastobeaudible,butnotdistracting.

BasicRequirementsforChessClocks

Intournaments,allclocksmustoperateinaccordancewithFIDElaws;Thedisplayhastoclearlyshowthetimeremainingforeachplayer ’snextmove;Thedisplaymustbevisiblefromadistanceofthreemeters;From10meters,theplayermustbeabletoclearlyseemovingclockhands;Inapassingtimecontrolscenario,theremustbeasignontheclockdisplaytoclearlysignalwhenplayerspassthefirsttimelimit;Iftheclockisbatteryoperated,itmusthavea“lowbattery”sign;Evenifthebatterygetslow,itisimportantthatitcanrunforatleasttenmorehours;Forpassingtimecontrols,specialattentionshouldbegiventotheannouncements;Fordelaytimingsystemsoraccumulativesystems,ifthetimecontrolhasbeenpassedbyaplayer,theclockmustnotaddadditionaltime;Incasesofatimepenalty,anarbiterisallowedtograntcorrectionsonlywithinthenext60seconds;Withasimplemanipulation,itshouldbeeasytoadjustthetime;Theclocksmusthaveaneasy-to-understandmanual.IftheclockisFIDE-endorsed,therulesmustbestated.

OtherEquipmentApartfromtheabove-mentionedequipment,youshouldalsohaveatravelchessbag,whichmakesitaloteasiertocarryyourboard,clock,pieces,andotherequipment.Thisisespeciallyimportantfortournamentplayers in theUnitedStates. InEurope, tournamentsprovideplayerswith all necessaryequipment.ScoreSheetsTo record your chess moves, it is important to keep a score sheet, especially in tournament andmatches.Usually,thesearedistributedtoplayersatthestartofeveryround.However,mostplayersprefertorecordtheirindividualscoresinscorebooks.

ChessStrategiesChess strategy is a key factor that makes the game royal and beautiful. Once youmake the rightopeningmoves,youandyouropponentcanbeginunfoldingnewapproaches.Soon,the“realchessgame”beginsandbothofyouwillinevitablybehooked.Everyonelovestostudythetheoriesbehindopeningmovesandtolearnnewstrategiesandtechniquesthatwillpaveyourwaytovictory.However,themiddlegameiswhereplayerseitherwinorgiveup.Endgamestrategiesarequitestraightforward;youeitherwinorlose.Manychessplayersgiveupbeforetheyreachtheend.Readingon,youwillsurelylearnsuccessfulnew tactics and strategies. This is an important area of chess. Without having an idea of basicstrategies,youwon’tbeabletowin.Atthispoint,thereissomuchinformationthatcomesyourway,andplayingthegamecanleaveyouoverwhelmed.Let’slookatstrategiesthatcanhelpyouwininnotime.

ThreeBasicOpeningChessMovesLet'slookatthreeopeningchessstrategies.Whenyouseethechessboardwithallthechesspiecesintheirrespectiveplaces,thefirstthoughtforabeginneris,"now,whatamIsupposedtodo?TherearesomanypiecesontheboardandwheredoIbegin?”Let’slookatthreemovesthatwillhelpyoumakeastrongandconfidentopening.Thefirst thingyouhave tounderstand is that thefourcentersquaresare “powersquares,”mainlybecausethatiswheretheboard’scenterisandthat'sexactlywhereyouhavetoseta“controlcenter.”For example, if your knight sits on the center square, it controls up to eight additional squares.Clearly,that’saverystrongposition.However, ifyourknight ison thecentersidesquare, itcontrolsonlyfoursquares.Likewise,otherpiecesalsohavestrongcontrolonlyinthecenteroftheboard.Asyoubeginthegame,thefirstthingto think about is "center control." The first move you shouldmake ismoving your pawns to theboard’scentersquares.It’salwaysveryimportanttotryandgetpawnsintothecentertobettercontrolthegame.Thenextvitalstepis"piecedevelopment."Justlikeabattle,youhavetorememberthatthepiecesareworkingforyou.Youhavetogivethematask.Iftheysimplysitinthelastrow,theyarenothappy,becausetheyhavenoworktodo.Thismeansyouhavetoconsiderawaytotryandgetthelastrowofpiecesoutontheboardandworkingforyou.Usually, thenextpiecesthat theplayersmoveoutare theknights,whichsitbesidethebishops.Youcouldmoveaknightto“f3,”andtheotherknightto“c3.”Theseknightsmovetheknightsclosertothecenteroftheboard.Youdidn’tmovetheknightto“h5,”becauseitgivestheknighttheoptiontocontrolonlyfoursquares(insteadofeight).Alwaysfocusontheboard’scenter.Next,youneedtomovethetwobishopsout,againkeepingyourfocusonthecenteroftheboardandcontrolling the center squares.Aftermaking this openingmove, your next focus should be on the“safetyoftheking,”whichobviouslyisthekeytaskofachessgame.Asaplayer,youshouldconsiderthekingtobeababy.Weknowitisimportanttoprotectbabies.Thesameappliestotheking.Thekingmustalwaysbeprotected.Thebestwaytoprotectyourkinginthefirst fewmoves is “castling.”Youcan either castleon the “kingside”or the “queenside.”Kingsidecastlingismostpreferable.Todothat,youhavetomovethekingtwospacestowardstheside,andthenmove the rook to the other side of the king. This keeps the king in a fortress-like position,guardedbyotherpieces.Now,let’slookatsomeothercommonopenings.

RuyLopezThisopeningstrategy isalsoknownas the“Spanishopening inchess.”TheRuyLopezstrategy isquite simple and straightforward, just like the previously discussed strategy. This strategy doesn'trequiremuchbrainpower.Itissocommonthatyouwillseeitinfriendlygamesortournaments.Imagine that you are playing a match against your friend. You play the white pieces, and youropponenttakestheblackones.Basicmoveshappen,likethewhitepawn(you)willmovetoe4andtheblackpawn(youropponent)moves toe5.Next,youwillmoveyourknight tof3,and theblackknightwillrespondbymovingtoc6.Further,you,asthewhiteplayer,willpindowntheblackknightwithyourbishop;thismoveputstheknightindangerofbeingcaptured(aswellasthepawnate5).Themostcommonresponsebyblackistomovetheirpawntoa6.Thismoveisdonetotryanddivertthebishopfromattacking theknight.However,as thewhiteplayer,youhave twooptions, toeitherattack theknight,or to retreat. Incaseyoudecide toattack theblackknight, theopponentwill stillcapturethebishopwithhis/herpawn.Another move you can make is to keep the bishop, because we all know it has many distinctcapabilities.Youcouldpull thebishopback toc4ora4.At thispoint, it is advised thatyoushouldretreatwiththebishoptoa4fortworeasons.

Itwillkeepthebishopsafefromtheblackpawn’sattack;andItpinsyourbishoptotheknightyouwereinitiallytargetingatthestartofthegame.

Withsuchamove,theopponentwillhavetothinkcarefullyaboutotherpawnsandtheknight.Instead,he/shewillmovehis/herpawntob5.Thewhiteplayerwillthenmovethebishopbacktob3.Thisisalsoagoodposition,becauseitallowsthebishoptotargetopponent’sf7pawn.Withthismove,iftheopponentdecidestomovethepawnfroma6totryandcapturethewhitebishop,thewhiteplayercanequallycapturetheblackpawnwithhis/herpawntoa3.However,theblackplayerwilltrytomovethebishoptof6.Afterthis,theblackplayerwillbeabletocapturethewhiteplayer ’spawnone5.Inthissituation,youshoulddecidetogoforkingsidecastling,becauseiftheknightcapturesthepawn,thenwiththecastling,yourrookandqueencanmoveouttocontrolthecenterandgetreadytoattacktheopponent.Onceyoumove theking,youcanmoveyourknightandcapture theopponent’spawnone5.Theirkingwillbein"check."Thisisaverygoodsituationforthewhiteplayer.Thisisacommonwayofplaying theRuyLopezopening.Fromthismove, theopponentwill likelymove theirbishop toe7,andthencastle.Youcanthencontinuetoattacktheblackpieces.Thistacticattimesseemsboring,butifyoumasterthemoves,thensurelyyouwillbeabletomakebettermiddlegamemoves.Sofar,withthesemoves,youmusthavenoticedthatnoneofyourwhitepieceshavebeencaptured.

TheSicilianDefenseLet'sseeSicilianDefensebasics.Whenmostpeopleseethisopening,theyarestartled,becauseitisoneofchess’biggestopenings.ThereareprobablymorethantenvariationsthatcanbeplayedintheSicilianDefense.Nomatterhowmanytimesyouplaythisstrategy,youwillalwayslearnsomethingnew.Here,wewilllookattherawbasicsofthisdefensestrategy.Usually,whitewillbeginbymovingitspawntoe4andtakingcontrolovercentersquares.Insteadofmoving theblackpawn toe5, thepawnonc7willmove toc5,which iscountercenter.White thenproceedswithitsknightonf3.Atthispoint,therearesomanyothervariationsthatyoucouldplay,but themost typicalone is tomove thepawnfromd7 tod6; thiscreatesa“smallpawnchain”andopensthewayforthebishop’sadvance.Thewhitepawnthenmovesfromd2tod4;thisisamustcapturefortheblackpawnandthenthewhitecapturestheblackpawn.Withthismove,youwillseethatwhitehasagreateradvantage,becausetheknightisoutinthecenter,andthepawnaswell.Now,themainaimoftheblackplayeristotryandstopthewhiteplayerfromremovingitspawnfromc2toc4,whichwouldcreatea“MaroczyBind.”TheMaroczy Bind allows an opponent to take greater control over the center and increase theirchanceofwinning.Tostopthatfromhappening,theblackwillmovetheknightfromg8tof6;thismakesiteasiertoattackthepawnone4,andstopthewhiteplayerfrommakingtheMaroczymove.Atypicalmovethatthewhitewillmakeistomoveitsknightfromb1toc3.Now, to stop an attack on the b5 square, which aims directly at the black’s king, it is extremelyimportantthattheblackplayermovesitspawnfroma7toa6tostoptheattackontheb5square.Thismovestopsthewhiteplayer ’sknightfromgoingtotheb5square.Additionally,itwillalsostopthewhitebishoponf1frommoving tob5. Itwillbe forced tomove toc4,orsomewhere in theback.Fromthispoint,thegamecanmoveinanyotherdirection.

TheItalianGameorGiuocoPianoInthehistoryofchess,thisisprobablyoneoftheoldesteverrecordedgameopenings.Itissaidthatthesemovesweredevelopedbychessplayers,suchas,PolerioandDamianoaroundthe16thcentury.ItwasfurtherimprovedbyGreco(1962),whogavethisstrategyitsmaintheme.Formorethan300yearsnow,thisstrategyhasbeenanalyzedextensively.PeoplesometimesrefertoitasGiuocoPiano.However,thistermparticularlyreferstotheplayafteraplayermovesthebishoptoc5.Thisopeningisslightlydifferent.Mostchessgrandmastersneverpreferit,becauseitcanleadtoadraw (if not played well). However, this opening is considered a good one and helps to developpieces. If thewhiteplayermoves itspawn frome2 to e4, apossiblemove for theblackwill be tomove its pawn from e7 to e5. If black moves its knight from b8 to c6, the Italian move ischaracterizedby thewhiteplayermoving theirbishop toc4 (asopposed tob5).Theopponentwillthenmovetheirbishopfromf8toc5.Thebestplayforwhitewillnowbetomovetheirwhitepawnfromc2toc3tobeabletocontinuethegameinapropermanner.Theplayer can thenmove their knight to f6,whichwillmake it easier to attack theopponent’s e4pawn. The white player will thenmove their pawn to d4, and the black player will continue withkingsidecastling.

OffensiveandDefensiveStrategiesWhether you are new to chess or an expert, themost important thing to understand is the crucialbalancebetweenoffensiveanddefensivestrategies.Mostinexperiencedplayersarequicktogoontheoffensive to quickly crush their opponent. Although pulling this off can be rather impressive, theprobabilityofsuchaquickoffensivewin(particularlyagainstexperiencedplayers)ishighlyunlikely.Themainflawwithanall-outoffensiveisthatanyexperiencedplayercaneasilyseethegapingholesinyourdefense.Expertplayerssimplysitbackandwaitfortheiropponentstomakeamistake.Thinkofchessasawar,inwhichyouhavetodefendyourking,andsimultaneously,makeattemptstotake your opponent’s capitol. An army that bravely charges onto the battlefield with no defensiveprotectiontendstoquicklyexperienceacrushingdefeat.Thisisthereasonwhyitisessentialtostartagamewithabalancedapproach.Itisessentialtohavebothdefensiveandoffensivestrategiesupyoursleeveifyouwanttowin.Therearetimeswhenthebest offensive move is to simply wait for your opponent to start an offensive attack and simplyrecognizetheflawsintheirapproach.Thiswillgiveyoutheaddedadvantageoffindingloopholesintheirdefense,ratherthangivingthemanopportunitytofindyourownweaknesses.It isessential toworkonbothyourdefensiveandoffensiveskills.Belowaresomegreatdefensiveandoffensivestrategiesthatyoucanutilize.

DefensiveStrategies

TheFrenchDefenseThis move is a counterattack against the first white move – 1.e4. For the first blackmove, whiteexpects black to move diagonally, a2-g8, which is the biggest weakness of black and allows theopponent to take control of center squares after 2.d5. Even some of the most experienced chessplayersfinditdifficulttoplayagainsttheFrenchDefense,sinceitisauniqueandunexpecteddefense.The greatest problem black will encounter is the blocked bishop on the queen side (which wasblocked by the first 1.e6move). Typically, the entire game revolves around this major flaw. It isessentialtounderstandyourweakness(es)ifyouwanttowinachessgame.Amajor French Defense element is that black typically counterattacks on the queen’s side, whilstwhiteusually focuseson theking’s side.TheFrenchDefense is rankedsecond inpopularity to theSicilian (againstwhite’s1.e4move).Since themajorityofgamesstartwith1.e4, this strategy isanidealtooltolivenupyourchessgameandthrowyouropponentofftrack.

CaroKannThis is one of the most popular defensive openings, in response to the King Pawn 1.e4 openingstrategy.Blackcanthenrespondwith1.c6withaplantothrustforwardwithd5inthenextmove,andtoattackthewhitecentralpawnone4.Thisisoneofveryfewstrategiesthatwillputblackinequalcompetitioninthemainline.Youcouldconsiderblackasbeinginabetterposition,specificallyattheend of the game (when the main line is played). This happens, because black doesn’t have tocompromiseitspawnstructurethroughthismoveandwillhaveaconsiderablyeasyendgame.TherearenumerousCaroKannDefensevariations,butthemainlinecarriesonwith2.d4d53.Nc3dxe44.Nxe4Bf5.Thisisacrucialsetup,whichyoumustunderstandifyouwanttouseCaroKann.Invarioussituations,openingwiththisstrategycangraduallychangetotheFrenchDefense.However,when playing themain line, blackwill typically have a pawn on c6.Afterwards, the light-squaredbishopwillbebroughtoutbyblackandwillmakeamovetoe6.Whenblack’spawnisonc6,thenextmovewouldbetobringtheknighttod7,whilesupportingthefutureknightonf6.Theblackqueencanbeplacedonc7,whilethedark-squaredbishophasvariouslines,andisn’tblockedbypawns.WhentheCaroKannDefenseisn’tfollowingthemainlines,itwilltypicallychangeintotheFrenchDefense.ThismeansthatyoumusthaveproperknowledgeabouttheFrenchDefense,ifyouwanttouseCaroKannDefense.Thisstrategyisn’taflashyopening,anditisn’tveryaggressive.However,itisarathersounddefensethatresultsinblackhavinganadvantageduringtheendgame.Ifyouhaveastrongfoundationofendgamestrategiesandpawnstructure,thisdefenseisdefinitelyforyou.

ThePircDefenseThisstrategyisahypermoderndefense,whichmeans that itdoesn’tmakeanattempt tocontrol thegamewithpawnsearlyon.Infact,blackattacksthecenterwithminorpiecesfromthesides.Whenthefoundationhasbeenset,itstartsunderminingwhite’scentercontrol.ThereareonlytwomajorattacksthatwhitecanplayagainstthePircDefense.ThefirstmoveistheAustrianAttackwhichisoneofthemostaggressivemovesinchess,inwhichwhitemovesitsfpawntowardsf4.Thisstepexposeswhite’sking,butputsextrapressureontheblack’skingside.Agreatideaistoattackthekingaggressively,whichiscastledonthefianchettoedbishop’sside;thisiswhatblackdoesinthePircDefense(throughtheg6movefollowedbyBg7).ThesecondattackofwhiteistheClassicalSystem,inwhichthesecondknightmovestof3andpositionsitselftocreateastrongercentercontrolbeforewhitepreparestoattack.Inbothattacks,blackhasstrongcounterplays,butmustbecautiousaboutplaying toopassively. Ifblack isn’t careful, it can find itself in a dangerous position in which it is too cramped to moveforward.Thebestthingforblacktodoistoattackthecenterforwhite,beforetheopponenthasanychanceofattacking.

TheDutchDefenseThisstrategyisafairlyactivedefense,especiallyagainst1.d4.WiththeDutchDefense,blackaimstocontrol the e4 square whilst entirely unbalancing the position. Further down the road, black willstrengthentheattackonthewhite’skingside.Themainstrategicelement is thatblack’susualweaksquare (f7) becomes an even greater target. White will usually focus entirely on targeting thatweakness.As a response, blackwill have someactivepieces that aren’t crampedandwill offer anexcitingattackagainstwhite.White typically fianchetto the bishop of the king towards g2 aiming to place some support on e4square which is being attacked by black. Black would probably fianchetto its bishop as well foradding pressure towards the dark squares. Since both black andwhite have various strategies, themajorityofthegameisquiteactiveandlivelywiththeDutchDefense.Ifyouareoneofthoseplayerswhooftenencounter1.d4anddislikeplayingtheQueenGambit,thisdefensestrategygivesyouplentyofcounterattackingoptionsandisarathergoodalternative.

TheAlekhineDefenseThisstrategyisanotherhypermoderndefenseagainstthemostusedwhitee4opening.Blackallowswhitetostartchasingitsknightthroughouttheboardbytempogainingpawnmoveswhichwillassistwhite in gaining center control of the board. In the meantime, black will undermine white’soverextendedpawns.Theonethingblackmustrememberisthatonceyourknightisbeingchasedaroundtheboard,blackdoesn’thavetheoptionofplayingpassively.Itisessentialthatblackattackwhite’scentercontrol,orelsewhitewillearnadevastatingvictory.Whitetypicallyhasthreemainlinestoselectfrom.However,itusuallybeginswith1.e4Nf62.e5Nd53.d4d6.Thisiswherethingsbegintochangebasedontheselectedvariant.Whitehastheoptiontochoose from an aggressive line of four pawn attacks, inwhichwhitewould aim to place its fourcentralpawnsnearthecenter.Whitemayalsoplayexchangevariationswhichfollowthepawnattack.However,thelastpawnitwouldopttoexchangewouldbethed6pawn.Blackhastheoptionofplayingasharplinetocapturewithitskingpawn.Itmayalsochooseanuber-aggressiveandexcitingstrategy,capturingwithitscpawn.

TheBenoniDefenseThis strategy is an extremely aggressive one that can be played by black in response to white’scommond4opening.Whilstnumerousdefensestrategiesaimtoearndrawsandcloseupagainstthepawn queen opening, theBenoniDefense provides blackwith numerous opportunities to not onlyequalizethegame,butalsogainanadvantagetostartplayingforthewin.WiththemodernBenoniDefense,themajorfocusiswhite’scentercontroloflightsquares,withthekeypawnsplacedond5,andblack’scentercontrolofdarksquares.Blackwouldaimtofianchettoitsking-sidebishoptowardsg7,toaddsupportonthedarksquares.Asawhiteplayer,youwanttomaintainconstantpressureonthed5square,usingittosetupoutpostsforminorpiecesandtoputmorepressureonblack.Asablackplayer,youwouldwanttopreventwhitefromputtingpressureonyouandpreventingthemfromgainingoutpostsonthec6ande6squares.TheBenoniDefensestrategytypicallyopensupaftertheopeningmove.Thisindicatesthatbishopshavemorepowercomparedwithknights.Thisiswhyitisimperativetobecautiouswhenitcomestotradingbishops.Blackwouldgetmanycounterplaysandwouldbeabletoplayagreatgame,oncethingsstartopeningupinthemiddleofthegame.

TheSlavDefenseThisstrategyisoneof themostusedopeningdefenseswithGM’s.This isprimarilydrivenbytwomajorfactors.Firstly,itisthemostsolidlinetoplayagainsttheQueen’sGambit.SincetheQueen’sGambitisthemostpopularopeningathigherplayinglevels,themajorityofexpertplayersarefansof theSlavDefense.Thisdefensestrategyalsoprovidesopportunities formultiplevariations.Thismeans thatplayers,whoprefer tobecreativeanddislikeplayingsimilarvariations ineverygame,willratherenjoyusingtheSlavDefense.Blackseekstodefenditspawnond5withitsc6pawninthesecondmove.Thisisbecausethepawnontheefilestaysasrequired,anddoesn’tblockthelight-squaredbishop.In theSlavDefense’smain line,whiteaims todominate thecenterof theboard, andblackaims tocontroltheb4square,makingapushtowardsthee5andc5squares.

TheGrunfeldDefenseThisstrategyisanotherhypermoderndefense.Thismeansthatblackdoesn’t try to initiallycontrolthecenterwith itspawns. Instead, it focusesonattacking thecenter from the sides,utilizingminorpieces.Oncethefoundationhasbeenbuilt,itstartsunderminingthewhite’scentercontrol.Thereare threemajor lines in thisdefensestrategy.Themain line isexchangevariations,and it iswhatthemajorityofplayersaimforwhentheyapproachtheGrunfeldDefense.Blackallowswhitetoentirely dominate the center with its pawns, focusing its own energy on the d4 square. Instead ofutilizingitsspecialadvantageinthecenter,whitehastoreacttothisthreatbyfocusingitsenergyondefendingitsd4pawn.Withallwhite’spiecesandpawnsinthecenter,andnootherstrategytorelyon,thingstakeanastyturnforwhiteifitstartslosingfocus.Forwhite playerswho dislike defending and prefer to attackmore, theRussian variation promptsthemtogiveuptheirstrongpawncenterandgetthequeeninvolved,topressureblack.Sincewhite’sd4openinghasgainedpopularityfromtheGMseachyear, it isn’tsurprising that theGrunfeldDefense strategy is regularly utilized in the game. It becomes quite deadlywhen capablyusedandcansuccessfullyhaltevenanexperiencedd4player.

TheKing’sIndianDefenseThisstrategyisoneofthestrongestdefensivechessstrategies.Blackcreatesasoliddefensearounditskingandaimstocounterattack,dependingonwherewhiteistheweakest.PlayintheKing’sIndianDefensestartswith:1.d4Nf62.c4g63.Nc3Bg74.e4d6.Thisstrategyisahypermodernconceptthatofferscentercontroltothewhitewithoutattemptingtocontrolthegameearlyonwithpawns.Instead,blackaimstodevelopitsminorpiecesearlyon,andthenmoveitspawnstothecenterfurtheroninthegame.Eventhoughthisdefenseisastrongopeningforblack,it’salsoratherpassiveintheinitialstages.Ifyouareanaggressiveplayer,thismovewon’tbeenjoyableforyou.Similartootheropeningchessstrategies, this strategywill provide numerous opportunities for counter play in themiddle of thegame.

OffensiveStrategies

TheKing’sGambitThis offensive strategy is one of the oldest chess openings, for a good reason. The possibilitiesofferedbythisopeninghaveintriguedsomeofthegreatestchessminds,including:Fischer,Tal,andSpassky. White challenges black’s center control in the second move and starts attacking blackkingside.Blackhastheoptiontodeclineoracceptthegambit.Themajorityofblackplayersprefertoacceptthisgambit,andtrytocounterattackwhite’snowsemi-exposedkingside.Ifblackacceptsthegambit,whitemustfocusallofitsattentiononthef7square,whichbecomesblack’sbiggestweakness.Afterthemove2exf4,whitehastwoidealoptions.Oneoptionistostartattackingimmediatelywith3.Bc4toinstantlypressurethef7square.Thesecondoptionforwhiteis3.Nf3.Thiswillhelpdefendagainst3Qh4+andstarttodevelopakingsideattack.ThebestthingabouttheKing’sGambitisthatitisratherunpredictable.Iftheopponentisn’tfamiliarwith the correct defense, theywill soonget into trouble.Themajorityof thegames areopenwithdynamicandexciting lines. Ifyouareacreativeplayerandpreferusingwildsacrificesandexoticcombinations,theKing’sGambitisanidealopeningforyou.

TheBenkoGambitThisoffensivestrategyisawell-respectedandpopularchessgambit.ThisisthereasonwhyitisthemainlinestemmingfromBenoniDefense.White has an option to either decline or accept this gambit by using Nf3. A few players preferdeclining the gambit, if they aren’t familiar with it. However, you almost always witness whiteacceptingwithcxb5.Black’s entiregoal is togiveupapawnearly togain a larger advantageon thequeen side.Blackcontinuestryingtogiveuponemorepawnwitha6.Numerousblackplayershavenoproblemsgivinguptheirpawnduetotheidealattackinglineswhichresultfromthequeensideoftheattack.IntheBenkoGambit,ifyouareplayingasawhiteplayerandwanttoavoidgettingintothemainline,defendingyourqueensidethroughoutthegame,thenitistypicaltogiveupapawnandstartfocusingoncentercontrol.Rememberthisopeningisn’tforfaint-heartedplayers.Itisanextremelyaggressiveopeningandmustbeplayedaccordingly.

TheLayDownSacrificeThisoffensivestrategy isanotherdangerousattackingweapon inchess.Duringnon-mastergames,this strong move is hardly ever seen. The main aim of the sacrifice is prying open defensiveprotectioninfrontoftheenemyking.Thisstrategyismosteffectivewhenyouropponentisforcedtoacceptmaterial.Itisessentialtoavoidsituationsinwhichyouropponenthasanoptionofleavingapiecehangingandignoringyourgift.Insuchascenario,thismovewouldprobablyfallundertheHopeChesscategory.Youmustcreateasituationinwhichyouropponenthasnochoicebuttoacceptyoursacrifice,sothatyoucanachieveanadvantage.

TheBird’sOpeningThisoffensivestrategyhasbeenrankedthe6thmostpopularopening; it isprettyaggressive.Whitebeginsbyweakeningitskingsideandinitiatesaflackattackwithitsfpawnonthecenter.TheBird’sOpeningisinfrequentlyutilizedatthetoplevels.However,afewgreatgamesinchesshistoryhaveusedthisopening.Onceblackdefendswithad5move,thegamestartstotransposeitselfinareverseDutchDefense;inwhichwhite’sopeningmoveisd4andblack’sresponseisf5.Themainfocusisonthedarksquares,whichmakesamajordifferencecomparedwiththetypicallightsquaresthatawhiteplayergenerallyfocuseson.Whilstwhite’smainminorpieceisthelight-squaredbishop,intheBird’sOpening,anodisgiventothe dark-squared bishop.White typically fianchettoes its bishop towards the queenside to b2, andplacesextrapressureonthedarksquares.

TheBudapestGambitThisoffensivestrategyis the leastpopulargambit.Yet, it isarather interestingplayforblack.Forinstance,inthemainline,whitemayfallintoatrapeasilyleadingtoanearlycheckmate.Black, in itssecondmove,aims togiveup itspawnone5,andbeginsdeveloping itspieces toaddpressureonthee5pawn.Duetothis,whitewon’tbeabletoholdontoitsextrapawn.Therefore,itwill have to give up its pawnmany times and continue to develop pieceswithoutworrying aboutachievingapawnadvantage.In the majority of gambits, the side giving up pieces usually dictates how the game continues.However,intheBudapestGambit,awhiteplayerdetermineshowthegamewillcontinue.Onthemainline,whitedetermineswhetheritwantstoacquiredoublepawnsbystayingupinmaterialoracquireadoublebishoppairbygivingbackthepawn.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatthegameisn’tplayableforblack,bututilizingthismovegiveswhitebetteroptions(comparedwithothergambits).

TheCalabreseCounterGambitWhiteusestheItalianstrategyinhopesofquicklydevelopingitslight-squaredbishopanddominatingthecenter.BlackusestheCalabreseCounterGambitstrategytogiveupitsfpawntothwartwhite’sentiregameplan.Themoreaggressiveattemptsormoveswhitemakesintheopening,themoretrapsitmaypotentiallyfallinto.Black typically ends up with powerful center control, whilst white pieces struggle to locate goodsquarestodevelopon.Thewhiteplayerhastobeverycarefulandpreciseoritcangetintotrouble.Ifyouplayblackandwantapowerfulattack,thentheCalabreseCounterGambitistherightstrategyforyou.

TheScotchGameThisisastrategythathasregainedpopularityrecently,asnumeroustopplayershavestartedusingtheScotchGameasawayofsurprisingtheiropponent(whoismorelikelypreparedtofaceRuyLopez).This strategy is like theCenterGame strategy, inwhich d4 opens lines for development and alsoofferswhitecentercontrolearlyon.IntheScotchGame,blackhasanoptiontodevelopeasily,whilewhitemustaimtotakeadvantageofitsspecialcentercontrol.Chess playerswhoprefer playing 1.e4must learn theScotchGame, since there are various subtletrapsinwhichblackcanfallintowhichwouldgivethewhiteplayeranoverwhelmingadvantage.Themajorityofplayerswouldexpectwhitetoplay3.Bc4or3.Bb5.However,whenwhiteincorporatestheScotch Game by making a different move, 3.d4, the opponent is bound to make some amateurmistake,whichwouldopenthedoorforthewhiteplayertotakebettercontrolofthegame.It is essential for the black player to learn the Scotch Game to better understand and recognizedifferentlinesandspottheonethatbestfitsyourplayingstyle.Thisstrategyisanopeninginwhichifyouaren’tpreparedcanleadyoutowardstroublequiteearlyoninthegame.ThisisthereasonitisessentialtolearnconceptsoftheScotchGame.

TheSmithMorraGambitThisstrategyisanaggressiveandsharplineagainstblack’sSicilianDefense.Ifyouplaywhiteandmakeane4moveforanylengthoftime,thenyouareboundtoencountertheSicilianDefensemanytimes.Thisgambitisbestonlyforplayerswhoprefertoplayaggressively(justlikewiththemajorityofgambits).WhiteaimstonotjusttakeoutblackfromthenormalSicilianlines,butalsotouseitsdevelopmentadvantagetooverwhelmtheblackking.White typically aims to put its bishop on c4 to attack the weak f7 pawn, focusing on the castlekingside,onceitsknightisonf3.Eventually,whiteaimstoplaceitsrooksonthesemiopendfileandtheopencfile.Afterwards,whitewouldhavevariouspotentialattackinglinesatitsdisposal.Theblackplayermustplayverycarefully.VariousSiciliandefendersendupplayingtheSmithMorraGambit.

TheViennaGameThis strategy is a fundamentally sound chess opening. The Vienna Game follows themajority ofcentralopeningprinciplesandenablessignificantcreativityforbothnon-aggressiveandaggressiveplayers.TherearethreeoptionsforblacktorespondtotheViennaGamestrategy.Theseoptionsare:2.Nf6,2.Bc5,and2.Nc6.Everyblackresponsepavesthewayforwhitetoselecthowtomovethegameforward.Whitehastheoptionofleadingaquietgamethroughsimplydevelopingminorpiecestowardsthemiddle,optingtostayaheadinspaceandtime.Whitealsohastheoptionofmovingtof4,andplayingthegambitandtransposingitintodifferentKing’sGambitlines.ForplayerswhoenjoyplayingtheThreeKnightsGame,theHalloweenGambit,theKing’sGambit,orsimplypreferadifferentmovethanRuyLopes,thisopeningisbestforthem.TheViennaGameiseasytolearnandoffersplentyofoptions,whichtheopponentisn’tpreparedfor.

ConclusionChess is an ideal exercise for your mind. It develops crucial cognitive abilities, such as patternrecognition,strategicplanning,increasedconcentration,andcriticalthinking,aswellasmanymore.Learningtheartofplayingchesswillenhanceyourfocusandyourabilitytomoreeffectivelyanalyzesituations.Aftercompletingthisbook,younowhavebasicchessknowledge.Innotimeatall,youwillbecomeanexpertplayer.Thisbookhastaughtyoudifferentstrategies.Youhavelearnedhowtodefendandhowtoattack.Whatareyouwaitingfor?Gochallengeyourfriendtoagameofchessandapplythenewtechniquesandstrategiesthatyouhavelearnedwiththehelpofthisbook.Goodluck!

ChessTerms–AGlossaryActivity–definesthefreedomofmovementorthemobilityofchesspieces.Eachactivepiecehasabetterpossibilityofpositivelyinfluencingthegame’soutcome,comparedwithaninactivepiece(anunderdeveloped, blocked, or cramped piece). An active piece is a key way of assessing a chessposition.Adjournment – an over-the-board gamemight get adjourned,when it isn’t concluded in a singlesession.Once thegame is adjourned, oneplayer get to seal their nextmove inside an envelope tokeepitsecret.Thesealedenvelopeisonlyrevealedoncethegameisresumedatthespecifiedtime.Anadjournmentisarareoccurrencetoday,sincetournamentorganizerspreferconcludingevenlonggames in a single session. The play rate required bymost international tournaments is 40moveswithin2hours,20moveswithinanhour,andfortheremaininggame,playersget30extraminutes.Thelastpartoftimecontrolissuddendeath,whichdoesn’tneedanyadjournment.Advantage–thistermdefinesthewinningpotentialofacolor(oronesideofthechessgame).Itistypicallybasedonchesspiecepositionsontheboard.Ifonecolor(oroneside)appearstobewinningthegame, then that side is said tohaveaplus,pull, edge,or an ’advantage.’Forexample, a ‘clearadvantage’ is sufficient to win if correctly played, whereas a ‘slight advantage’ simply providesimproved practical chances, even though the player may draw the position with a better play. Ajudgmentofanadvantageshouldtakeintoconsiderationcomplexcriterialiketheking’ssafety(oneside’skingismoresafecomparedwiththeother),activity(theenhancedinfluenceofpieces),space(moreroomformaneuvering),material(morepawnsorpieces),orothermajorweaknesses(suchasabackwardpawn).Attack–acoordinatingattempttoaggressivelygainadvantage.Themainaimofthemajorityoftheattacksistocheckmatetheopponent’sking.Acarefullyexecutedattackusuallyforcestheopponenttosacrifice pieces as a defense or to accept weaknesses that lead to an advantage for an opponent’sattack.Blockade – a tacticalmethod and a special decoy.This termdefines a scenario inwhich thepawnadvanceispreventedbyplacingapiecedirectlyinfrontofthepawn.BackwardPawn–thisisapawnthatcan’tbeprotectedbytherestofthepawnsonitsflanks,astheyhavemovedfarahead.Thebackwardpawnisaprimaryweaknessinthechessposition,sinceithasmorechancesofgettingattacked.Itsdefenserequirespiecesthatarebetterengagedinanotherplan.BadBishop– this isabishopwhosemovementhasbeentypicallydecreased,becauseofafriendlypawnpositionedonthesamecoloredsquares.Checkmate–apositioninwhichthekinghasnochancesofavoidingcapture.Thisistheobjectiveendofachessgame.Closed–thisisatermwhichdefinesapositioninwhichpawnsblockthemovementofpiecesaroundacertainareaorthewholeboard.Thisistheveryoppositeofanopenposition.

Combination – this is a position’s tactical exploitation (forced moves) that lead to a player ’sadvantage.Cramped – this is the quality of the chess position, which prevents freedom ofmovement or themobilityofpiecespositionedbehindpawnsofthesamecolor.Acrampedpositionmeansthereisalackofspace.Ifaplayer ’spositioniscramped,thentheplayerlacksthefreedomtomove(comparedwithitsopponent).Acrampedplayercan’tswitchplayfromacertainpartoftheboardtoanother,asquicklyastheopponentcan.Thecrampedpositionisoneofthemajorelementsinassessingachessposition.Development–thisisthemethodofmovingpiecesfromtheiroriginalplacestoapositioninwhichthesepiecescanbetterhelptheplayer.DoubledPawns – thismeans two same-colored pawns on the same file. This is usually seen as adisadvantage,sincethepawnscan’tdefendoneanother.Fianchetto – this is a chess position, evolved through developing the bishop on a long diagonal,specificallyg2and/orb2squares.Thisisaprettystrongposition,asthebishopcanexertmaximumpressure along its longest diagonal. The term is derived from ‘fianco,’ an Italian word meaning’flank.’File–thisisthevertical(downandup)rowofsquares.Bothplayers’kingsstartthegameonthesamefile.Fish–thisreferstobadchessplayers.Forced–asetofmovesorasinglemoveneededtopreventabadresult.Gambit–thisisaspeculativematerialsacrificeforsomecompensation,likeanadvantage.Gambitstypically involvesacrificingapawnoraminorpiecewhenthegamehasreachedacomplexphase(likeamiddlegameoranopening).Thismoveischallenging,butpossibletocounter.Anobviousmaterialsacrificeforanapparentadvantageisknownasacombination,notagambit.Grandmaster–ahighlyratedandoutstandingchessplayer.Horse–thisisaninformalwordthatreferstoaknight.Thiswordistypicallyusedbyyoungplayers.Howler– thisrefers toabadmove.It isamistakewhichoverlookedaclear tacticalresponse.It isalsoreferredtoasablunder.Mate–thisisashortenedversionofcheckmate.Itmeansakinghasnochancestoavoidcapture.Material–thisreferstochesspieces.Theplayerwhohasbettervaluedpieceslefttoplaywithhasamaterialadvantage.Materialisanothermainqualityusedtoassessachessposition.MiddleGame–thisisthesecondphaseofagame,rightaftertheopeningandbeforetheendgame.In

themiddlegame,pieceshavefinisheddevelopingorarealmostcomplete,andnumerouspieceshavebeentradedorcapturedasplayersinitiatecreativeplansorstrategies.Open–thismeansapositioninwhichpawnsaren’tblockingpiecesfrommovingincertainpartsoralloftheboard.Thisisthecompleteoppositeofaclosedposition.Opening–thisreferstotheinitialphaseofthegamebeforethemiddleandendgame.Inthisphase,playersattempttorapidlydeveloptheirpieces,trygainingspaceforthepiecestomovearound,andstart bringing their king to safety.Various interesting opening lines are documented and analyzedextensivelyincomputerdatabasesandtexts.Overtheboard–thisreferstoplayingchessonachessboard,asopposedtobyemailorpost.PassedPawn–thisisanadvantageinachessgame,inwhichthepawn’sprogressisn’tblockedorguardedbyenemypawns.Position–thisreferstothearrangementofchesspieces.Theplayerwhohasabetterplacementofpieceshasa‘positionaladvantage.’Promotion – once the pawn reaches the last rank, the player can replace itwith their choice of aknight, bishop, rook, or queen. If a pawn survives and reaches the last rank, it is rewardedwith apromotiontoahighervaluedpiece.QueeningaPawn–thisisauniquescenarioofapawnpromotiontoaqueen.Thistermisusuallyusedtodefineapromotioningeneral,asapawnistypicallypromotedtoaqueen.Rank–thisreferstothehorizontal(righttoleft)rowofsquares.Allpawnsstartthegamefromtheplayer ’ssecondrank.Rating–thisreferstotheabilityoftheplayer,usuallyanumericscore.Sacrifice–deliberatelylosingpiecestogainapotentialadvantage.SealedMove–thisisawayofsecretlyrecordingthenextmoveinanadjournedgame(tillthegameisresumedatalatertime).Space–thisreferstoachesspositionthatenablesbetterfreedomofmovementorimprovedmobilityforpieces thatarepositionedbehind thepawns.This is theveryoppositeofcramped. Ifaplayer ’sposition appears to have more space, then it means that the player has more freedom to movecomparedwithhis/heropponent.Theplayerwithbetterspacecaneasilyswitchthegamefromoneendoftheboardtoanother,ratherquickly.SmotheredMate–thisisaphrasethatdefinesacheckmateinwhichthereisn’tanyescape,asitsownpiecesareblockingitsescaperoutes.Stalemate–thisreferstoagamethatendsinadraw,astherearen’tanylegalmovesleft.

Strategy–thistermdefinesausualthoughtprocessneededtoplanthechessgame.Thestrategyhasmoretodowithmovesthatwillbeperformedinthedistantfuturethancalculatingthenextmove.Study–thisreferstoacomposedendgameposition,inwhichsignificantthoughtandartfulplayisneededendthegameinadraworvictory.Commentatorstypicallyrefertoapositionasastudyifitisunusuallyartisticand/ordifficult.SuddenDeath–thisisthetimedurationinachessgameduringwhichallremainingmovesshouldbecompleted.Theusuallyrateofplayinthemajorityofinternationaltournamentsis40moveswithin2hours,20movesin1hour,and30minutesfortheremainderofthegame.Thelast30minutestofinishtherestofthegameiscalledsuddendeath.Tactics – this is a termwhich refers to a short sequence ofmoves, including threats and counterthreats.Tempo– thisrefers to theturnatmove.Thismeanschesstimeasopposedtoclocktime.This isaslightadvantageoraninitiativeintimeforpursuingone’splans.Itisalsocalledahalfmoveoraplyincomputerchessterminology.Itmeansthecharacteristicrhythmorrateofachessgame.TimeControl – this indicates the time limit that a chess player has to finish a certain number ofmoves.TimeTrouble–thisreferstoasituationinwhichaplayermustfinishupadisproportionatenumberofmovesbeforetimecontrol.UnderPromotion – thismeans a pawn is promoted to a piece other than the queen.Aplayer canunderpromotethepawntogainabetteradvantageortoavoidastalemate.Weakness–thismeansaflawinaposition,forexample,abadbishop,ashortageofspace,ablockedpawn,oranyotherflawwhichupsthechanceoflosing.Win– thishappenswhen thewinningplayercheckmatesoraccepts the resignationofanopponentbefore a checkmate. A win usually occurs when an opponent makes a second to last blunder ormistake.WinningPosition–thisreferstoachesspositionfromwhichaplayershouldwinwithcorrectplay.Therearenumerouschallengingwinningpositions that can still end inadrawor a losswithalertplaybytheopponent.Woodpusher–thistermreferstoabadchessplayer.