At Forked River Elementary School, students were introduced to the various sizes and shapes of Chess boards and pieces. No electronic devices necessary. Just good clean fun with an enormous, life-size chess set.

Purchased through a grant from Plymouth Rock Assurance-Teacher’s Insurance Plan of New Jersey, the enormous set was designed to be a learning tool. Although students needed to give up their recess-time to play chess, Andrea Blatt, one of the adviser’s for the school’s chess club says, “We often take the set outside to the playground”, turning a seemingly ancient game into a new and exciting challenge.

For the show case, Andrea Blatt donned a black costume, becoming a chess set queen, and taught students how to implement innovative strategies and learning techniques for both chess and the classroom.

According to Melissa DeGennaro, Plymouth Rock Spokeswoman, “The grant application notes the benefits of chess to develop young minds and meeting curriculum standards for gifted education, mathematics, language arts, and higher level thinking skills.

Although the set isn’t nearly as grand or magical as the sets found in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, students were completely captivated with the enormous gaming pieces, and the success found at Forked River Elementary School is inspiring schools around the country to revive an interest in the game.

Ideally, the more children we have playing chess, the fewer children we have playing mind-numbing video games (with the exception of online chess, of course). According to research, test scores improved by “17.3% for students regularly engaged in chess classes, compared with only 4.6% for children participating in other forms of enriched activities.

Additionally, by inspiring more of our nation’s youth to play chess, we may even snag a few more fans in the older generation as well. So congratulations Forked River Elementary School – for adding a new twist to an old game.

For more information about how Forked River Elementary School is encouraging chess in the classroom, click here.

The two main pieces in the four move checkmate are the Queen and the Bishop, the most adaptable and far reaching pieces on the board. If you catch your opponent using either of these two pieces early in the game, you can bet that they’re setting up for the checkmate. Although this move can be done in four moves, an experienced player may disguise the Checkmate with distracting pieces, like a magician using slight-of-hand to draw the attention away from the disappearing coin or scarf.

The Steps
1. Move your King’s pawn forward two squares. Wait for your opponent to move the King’s pawn forward two squares as well to begin the overall process.

2. Move the King Bishop to attack your opponent’s King Pawn. Assuming your opponent is unfamiliar with the move and does nothing to counter it, this move sets up the board for your Queen to attack next.

3. Move the Queen to attack the King Bishop Pawn. Their King will then be in check. If your opponent cannot defend against the attack, then you can easily move in for the kill.

4. Use the Queen to attack the King Bishop Pawn – and the game is yours!

The Counter
The four move checkmate only works when surprise is on your side, and it is incredibly easy to counter if you’re familiar with the technique. To defend against the four move checkmate, move your knight in front of the king bishop pawn, or simply move the king bishop pawn forward one square instead of two.

Watch it Done
Sometimes the best way to learn a technique is to watch how it’s performed on an actual game board. The following video can teach you how to accomplish the four move checkmate.

So bravo to Armenia for making it a compulsory part of the primary school curriculum. Educationists in that former Soviet republic argue that playing chess will breed a sense of responsibility in young children and be character-building. Well maybe, though in my experience the most likely result is that you go to bed at 2am having roundly abused someone in Minnesota who has just beaten you in an online game they should have lost. Chess is a vicious game – kill or be killed – in which you are supposed to lose with grace. I have yet to learn that art.

Armenia is an obsessive chess-playing country, one of the strongest in the world despite a population that is the same as – yes, you guessed it – Wales. In fact, Wales – and New Zealand, too – are good parallels. In the way that rugby defines those countries, chess defines Armenia. Another Soviet world champion of the 1960s, Tigran Petrosian, was born in Armenia, and the Armenian Lev Aronian is currently No 3 in the world and a credible challenger for the world crown.

The Armenians say their move is about making better adolescents rather than breeding great players, but it’s hard not to see a bit of nationalist sentiment at play. Armenia is locked in an endless chess war with neighbouring Azerbaijan, which produced the great Garry Kasparov, and the viciousness of the trolling between Armenians and Azerbaijanis on chess websites is unbelievable. Armenia wants its national team to be world-beating (and above all Azerbaijan-beating), and will be very happy if the new programme produces a few more Aronians.

Three former world champions: Zhu Chen, Antoaneta Stefanova and Alexandra Kosteniuk were in the list of competitors. The Russian top women players: two sisters, Nadezhda and Tatiana Kosintseva and also former World candidate Alisa Galliamova. The champion of Europe Viktorija Cmilyte, and the number one of the Ukrainian national team Kateryna Lahno.

This phenomenal achievement of Zhao Xue reminds us of Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov at their best. But the 11th and the 13th world champions achieved such success in a period when they dominated their opponents. But we couldn’t say that Zhao was a favourite in this tournament.

But it was possible to send all initial prognosis in a pile after crazy start of the Chinese – 6 from 6! And it is necessary to give the due to Zhao Xue, who did not relax and kept her motivation at the highest level until her inevitable victory. “I remember the tournament where I was a leader with the result 7.5 out of 9. But then I lost the last 2 games. So I was really worrying until that moment when I was unapproachable by the others.”

What is the difference between Zhao Xue nowadays and her play last year? Here is her own opinion on this question: “There is not much difference but I feel myself more confident here. The matter is sometimes I rely not only on variations, but more on intuition. Feelings can deceive when you are in a bad shape. But it is perfect here that I can combine them both”.

Does Zhao Xue consider challenging the world champion title in this cycle? “ I haven’t had such an aim yet. I played in the semifinal in the last world championship and did not get to the first 3 places in general standings in Grand Prix. Now I want just to play better”.

What we can also say about the Chinese chess player? She is very nice and pleasant to talk to (as the other participants of Grand Prix, by the way) though she is rather too modest for a player of such level.

It looks like there is no aggression in her character which is really peculiar for great champions. It is obvious that the she just loves chess and enjoys it. Nothing personal towards her opponents. Moreover at every press conference it seemed that Zhao Xue was a bit shy after every victory. “ I was very lucky”- it is the traditional summary of Zhao Xue after every game. Though “very lucky” she was just against Ekaterina Kovalevskaya who really had a chance to stop the winner. But it has not happened. So amazingly the result of Zhao looks natural!

The participants of Grand Prix also give the due to Zhao Xue, though they are not ready to consider her as the new leader of world chess. This means that the Chinese woman played one fantastic tournament, but it cannot guarantee her the next results. But of course everybody agreed that it was a brilliant performance. “ My congratulations to Zhao, she achieved phenomenal result which is perhaps unrepeatable at all” – said Kateryna Lahno.”

“Zhao is a good girl, – says Nadezda Kosintseva. – Recently she had been playing unsuccessfully and lowered her rating. A lot of people have written her off. Nothing to say – she is a fighter!”

“My congratulations to the winner. And we promise that we will do our best to provide her a “harder” tournament life the next time”- assured us Alexander Kosteniuk.

But let’s not forget about the world champion Hou Yifan who obviously has her own chess opinion on her compatriot’s victory. Will this phenomenal success of Zhao Xue be the only one or is it a sign of an appearance of a new leader in female chess for the following years? We can get an answer in the next Grand Prix.

Development

Chess.com does not prioritize playing, sharing, or studying chess, which allows it to expand into the different online chess markets. However, taking part in discussions, posting comments, and being a greeter are all considered beneficial to the site’s reputation. To recognize a player’s contributions, players have a user profile where all activities are listed, and member points are rewarded to value these activities. The website is divided into the following sections:

1) Play: The play section implements six ways to play chess- turn-based, live, tournament, vote, against the computer, and mobile chess. You can also play chess on Facebook and iGoogle though Chess.com. Basic members can use all of these, but cannot create tournaments. Live chess had been a beta feature until recently. Turn-based chess offers both standard and Chess 960 games.

2) Learn: Various tools are available in the learn section, which encourages players to improve their chess skills. The majority of the tools offer a free trial, but are generally not accessible by basic members. These include video lessons, Chess Mentor, a game explorer, book openings, tactics trainer, a daily puzzle, and a computer workout.

3) Read: Articles, news and personal blogs are posted in the read section. Columns are also posted weekly by several different grandmasters, and there is a chess encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

4) Forums: This section houses the Chess.com forums, where everyone can talk about whatever they want.

5) Resources: This section includes an analysis board, downloadable items, Chess.com gear, classified ads, a site map, a welcome video, books & equipment, a browser toolbar (powered by Conduit), and widgets & badges.

6) Members: This section lets users search for members & titled players, invite friends, look at photos, buy a membership, or look at a country list & an interactive map.

7) Groups: Users can choose to join a public group, a private group, or a team. These teams can compete with other teams in regular and vote chess matches. Some examples of team names are ‘NBAfanclub’ and ‘Team USA’.

Local: This section allows users to search for local tournaments, coaches, and clubs. There are maps for locating where all of these things are.

9) Fun: The ‘fun’ section is available to all users. It includes Chess.com TV, an endless quiz, trophies, free videos, surveys, chess quotes, fun articles, and a Chess.com podcast.

In a 1973-74 Zaire study, employing 92 students, age 16-18, the chess-playing experimental group showed a significant advancement in spatial, numerical and administrative-directional abilities, along with verbal aptitudes, compared to the control group. The improvements held true regardless of the final chess skill level attained.

This means that it doesn’t matter how good at chess you are – just learning it and playing it gives you an advantage over people who don’t.

According to a two-year study conducted in Kishinev, grades for young students taking part in the chess experiment increased in all subjects. Teachers noted improvement in memory, better organizational skills, and for many increased fantasy and imagination.

Not just logic or mathematical reasoning improves, but creative abilities as well. There has also been proof that playing chess improves a child’s self image and confidence, especially over a long period of time.

Does this mean that you should buy your toddler a chess set today? Maybe not. But encouraging your children to engage in intellectually stimulating games such as chess can have a positive influence on their development.

Pawn structures

1. Pawns are strong when they are in a chain; try to avoid splitting them into isolated groups.
2. Isolated or hanging pawns tend to be a liability, try to avoid at least till the end game.
3. Pawn chain shapes that look like /\ (an inverted V) from your side tend to be stronger than those that look like a \/.
4. Doubled pawns are weak, try to avoid getting them.
5. If you can maintain center pawns, you get more options to organize attacks.
6. Your own pawn chains may block free movement of your pieces, mainly the bishops if stuck behind the chain. Avoid this disadvantage.
7. Pawns cannot move backwards. Sometimes the opponent will deliberately lure you to advance your pawns to create weaknesses in your pawn structure. So think carefully before pushing them forward.
8. Pawns in front of your castled king are there to guard the king. Try to avoid breaking up their line unless you have planned to launch a king-side attack with those.
9. Check the possibility of getting a passed pawn and then defending it. A passed pawn becomes a thorn in the opponent’s flesh and even when it fails to become a queen, it can gain you significant material advantage through opponent’s efforts to neutralize it.
10. Passed pawns in rook’s file are weaker than passed pawns in other files in the end game as it is easier for the opponent’s king to block the pawn in rook file.

Knights

1. Knights play well in complex and locked positions. Assess their value and plan their movement accordingly.
2. A knight posted on d6 and e6 squares can be a nuisance to your opponent. Try to get them there (with adequate support of course).
3. Knights play well in the center part of the boards. Try to avoid keeping them at the sides (a- and h-files) unless your tactical plan calls for such positioning.
4. Knight fork can be a very potent weapon. Creating such possibility can upset the plans of your opponent.
5. Knights have a relatively poor play in the end game when the board is fairly open but with a number of opponent’s pawns ready to advance.
6. In the end game, a knight may be helpless in preventing your opponent’s pawns if those are on two sides of the board.

Bishops

1. Bishops, if not developed early, may get bogged by your own pawns blocking the diagonals. Be aware of this.
2. Bishops play well if there are many open diagonals and a bishop pair in such situations can give you a great advantage.
3. For above reasons, bishops are more helpful in the end game.
4. If your bishop can control the long diagonal towards your opponent’s castled position, it can give you considerable leverage in your attack on the king.
5. If you have only a single bishop in the end game, half the squares on the board are inaccessible to it. But with a few linked pawns of your own, a bishop can be a great help to support your pawn march and delay your opponent’s pawn advance (if you can position it in time).
6. In the end game, a bishop can be better than a knight if the pawns are at two sides of the board.
7. In general, bishop pair is more advantageous than the knight pair during the end game.

Rooks

1. Rooks, like bishops, play better if there are some open files.
2. Try to take control of open files with your rooks. Two rooks in same open file provide a lot of opportunities for attack.
3. Rook positioned in the 7th or 8th row becomes a headache for the opponent. Two rooks on that row can often provide mating attack or gain of material.
4. Two rooks with lots of maneuvering space can often stand up to the opponent’s queen, particularly when minor powers and pawns are absent in the end game. You will find many games in chess archives where one player has given up the queen in exchange for two rooks.
5. In endings where you have King, Rook and Pawn against King and Rook, your rook should be behind the pawn and your king should be next to the pawn to get a win.

Queen

1. Even though it is the strongest piece, it needs a rook or some minor pieces for its most effective use.
2. Avoid taking the queen too far out during the openings as it is likely to get ‘harassed’ by opponent’s minor pieces to cause you a loss of tempo.

King

1. Always a liability, is it? It becomes more so, if it is at its original position. Aim to castle at the earliest opportunity.
2. Both kings castled on the same side normally do not get an immediate early attack. You have to maneuver through the Queen’s side. But castled on the opposite sides allow both players to launch direct attack through pawn advances.
3. Kings come into their own in the end game with major pieces removed from the board. Try to keep king near your pawn group for their advance. Be aware of the ‘Square’ and ‘Opposition’.
4. In the endings with King and Pawn vs. King, make the king lead the pawn, not the other way.
5. Make yourself familiar with the standard strategies for handling different types of endings with pawns, minor pieces, rooks etc. Learn to identify situations that may give win or only a draw.

Positional

1. Initial pawn movements facilitate the development of your minor pieces. Do not get distracted from this objective.
2. In the opening phase, avoid moving the same piece twice (unless forced to do so and learn to avoid those kinds of positions). It loses you tempo.
3. You gain tempo when you can achieve two objects in one move. For example, a pawn move may attack some piece while opening a line for your own pieces. Look for such opportunities.
4. Try to seize control of the center (d4, d5, e4, e5 squares) as this will give you more play and better attacks. Of course, some opening strategy, particularly for black), may deliberately surrender some control in the center to gain more play in the flanks to neutralize opponent’s advantage.
5. Don’t be greedy! Sometimes you may find an easy pawn to pick up but it may be a trap (‘poisoned pawn’). Accepting it will often allow the opponent to launch a powerful attack and often the best way to neutralize is to return that material instead of trying to hold on to it.
6. Do not launch a premature attack. Develop your pieces such that they coordinate well with one another and then plan your attack. Unless you do this, you may find your attack to lose steam and that may put you at a disadvantage.
7. A locked center (your and opponent’s pawns facing each other without being able to capture any) restricts movement of pieces in the center and thus facilitates flank attack without fear of counter-play at the center. Keep this possibility in mind.
8. Check which of the opponent’s pieces is controlling the play. Try to capture it at the earliest.
9. Exchanging your inactive piece with a similar but active piece of the opponent gives you an advantage. Try to avoid such exchange if the reverse is true.
10. When in trouble, remember that attack is often the best form of defense. Look for such possibility.
11. Since coordination of pieces gives advantage, try to cut off communication between opponent’s pieces e.g. by advancing a supported pawn in the opponent’s line of communication.
12. Be aware of pins and how to create one. Properly handled, they can yield significant advantage.
13. When cornered in the end game, look for opportunities to get into a position allowing stalemate and draw. Sometimes, a piece sacrifice may offer you this opportunity in an otherwise desperate situation. When you have an upper hand, guard against the opponent taking this route to draw the game.
14. Whatever openings you normally adopt, learn the ideas behind the moves and the targets to be achieved. Without this focus, you will only create weaknesses for yourself.
15. In general, King’s pawn openings lead to more open games and direct attacks on the king. Queen’s pawn openings create somewhat closed positions that need more maneuvering and positional play to launch indirect attacks.

A chess master died – after a few days, a friend of his heard a voice; it was him!
“What’s it like, where you are now,” he asked.
“What do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news.”
“Tell me the good news first.”
“Well, it’s really heaven here. There are tournaments and blitz sessions going on all the time and Morphy, Alekhine, Lasker, Tal, Capablanca, Botvinnik, they’re all here, and you can play them.”
“Fantastic!” the friend said, “and what is the bad news?”
“You have Black against Capablanca on Saturday.”

In a park people come across a man playing chess against a dog. They are astonished and say:
“What a clever dog!”
But the man protests:
“No, no, he isn’t that clever. I’m leading by three games to one!”

A guy gets on a long-distance flight. He’s just getting comfortable when somebody sits down next to him. He looks up and wow, it’s Garry Kasparov. Kasparov basks for a moment in the recognition. Some way into the flight, the meals are cleared away and Garry produces an elegant little wooden travel chess set. He begins to play. After a while Kasparov asks the guy whether he would like to play chess to kill time. The guy replies, “Hey Garry, You think I don’t know who you are?  I can’t compete with a world champion.”  Kasparov replies, “‘How about if I play left handed?” The guy thinks about this for a minute, then agrees. He is demolished in 8 moves, and is inconsolable for the rest of the journey. On landing he meets his friend, who asks him how the flight was. “It was terrible,” he says. “Completely humiliating. I played chess with Garry Kasparov and he beat me in spite of him playing left-handed!” His friend replies – “Ha! You were swindled! Dude, Garry Kasparov is left-handed!!”

Tournament play has developed over the turn of the 19th century, and world championships have been held since 1886 when the first world champion was named (Wilhelm Steinitz.) Chess has also seen development in the form of computers. Computer vs computer chess competition has been a sport of technology and programming universities in the last 20 years. The first computer to ever beat a world champion was called Deep Blue. It defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997. Since it’s emergence in the competitive scene, chess has been recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee. Though tournament games range from ten minutes to six hours, an average casual game lasts ten minutes to an hour. Chess is a great way to twist your mind and force yourself to think in compartmentalized strategy. Chess can be a fun way to compete against your friends in an intellectual way, a refreshing contrast to the general friendly competition that we see in modern society today. Almost every home has a chess board, why not sit down and give it a shot?