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Chess

King - Priceless, Queen - 9, Rook - 5, Bishop (better than knight) - 3, Knight - 3, Pawn - 1

Algebraic Notation​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebraic_notation_(chess)

Files​

  • Closed file - Contains 1 or more white pawns, AND 1 or more black pawns
  • Opened file - No pawns
  • Half-opened file for white - Contains no white pawns, AND 1 or more black pawns
  • Half-opened file for black - Contains no black pawns, AND 1 more white pawns
  • Pawn Break - A pawn advance or capture that opens a position

Moves​

Each move of a piece is indicated by the piece's uppercase letter, plus the coordinate of the destination square. For example, Be5 (move a bishop to e5), Nf3 (move a knight to f3). For pawn moves, a letter indicating pawn is not used, only the destination square is given. For example, c5 (move a pawn to c5).

Is it possible to checkmate with only a knight and a king against a lone king?

  • If you drive an enemy king into a corner, you still need to control four different squares to checkmate him. Your king can control two of those squares (but cannot approach the enemy king), your knight can control the third, but there is no way of controlling the fourth. That is, it is impossible for the knight to control both the corner square and the one adjacent to the enemy king (the one your own king doesn't control).
  • So the result would be a draw -- insufficient material to win.
  • Not only this, but N+N+K vs. K can't even win! This is one of the great tragedies of chess
  • Checkmate with either 1 bishop or 1 knight and a king against a lone king is IMPOSSIBLE.

Principle​

  • Never move a chess piece twice before 1st 10 moves
  • Try to control as much of the center as possible (Control the center)
  • Do castle in first 7 moves

Tactics and Strategy​

Tactics - Play characterized by short-term attacks and threats

  • Developing / Productive Moves
  • Non-developing / Un-productive moves
  • Reacting moves
  • Tempi / Moves / Time

Opening​

  • Pawn duo
  • Don't block your central pawns

What to do in a chess opening? - Beginner to Chess Master #5 - YouTube

Others​

  • Double attack
  • Fork (royal fork - when both king and queen are attacked)
  • Pin
    • Absolute pin (pin on king)
    • Relative pin
  • Skewer
    • When you attack a valuable piece, compel it to move to avoid capture, which then exposes a less valuable piece for capture
    • You may be vulnerable to a pin or skewer tactic if you have multiple pieces on the same file, rank or diagonal
  • Deflection
    • When you chase away a piece from an important square
    • You may be vulnerable to a deflection tactic if one of your pieces has a defensive responsibility
  • Discovered check or discovered attack
  • Double check - when two pieces attack the king simultaneously, a double check by it's nature involves a discovered check.. In most cases king has to move
  • Clearance - When you move one of your pieces out of the way of another. This will allow one of your pieces to then make use of a certain square, file, rank or diagonal
  • Interference - When you disrupt the coordination between enemy pieces
  • Staying coordinated (Having your pieces defending one another) makes it more difficult for your opponent to use a tactic to win material
  • Windmill - A combination where two pieces work together to deliver an alternating series of checks and discovered checks
  • Tactics are the servant of strategy

Chess Tactics | Terminology - Beginner to Chess Master #9 - YouTube

End game​

How do you promote a pawn? - Beginner to Chess Master #8 - YouTube

Checkmates​

Chess Pawn Basics​

  • Passed Pawn (Passer) - A pawn that no enemy pawn can stop on its way to queening
  • Protected Passed Pawn
  • Isolated Pawn - a pawn with no pawn of the same color on the files next to it
  • Doubled Pawns - two pawns of the same color that are on the same file
  • Hanging Pawns - two pawns of the same color that are together and don't have any pawns of the same color on the files next to them
  • Backward Pawn - a pawn that trails behind a pawn of the same color on an adjacent file
  • Candidate Passed Pawn - the pawn of a pawn majority that can produce a passed pawn and that is on a half-opened file. Candidate passed pawns should lead the way.
  • Fixed Pawn - a pawn that cannot move (capture) due to an enemy pawn blocking it
  • Pawn Island - a group of pawns of one color on consecutive files with no other pawns of the same color on any adjacent files. In general, the fewer pawn islands you have the better.
  • Pawn Chain - a fixed and connected diagonal formation of pawns

Chess Pawn Basics | Terminology - Beginner to Chess Master #10 - YouTube

Time​

Having a direct connection between the rooks is often regarded as "completing development"

The Element of Time in Chess - Beginner to Chess Master #11 - YouTube

Terms​

Gambit​

A gambit is a term used to show that a player has sacrificed one or more of their pawns for early development of their pieces

e.g. The Danish gambit, The Queen's gambit, King's gambit

Patzer​

Player who is very poor at chess (German origin)

Fianchetto​

Refers to the development of a Bishop along the longest diagonals on the Chessboard (b2 and g2)

image

En Passant​

Special capturing right in Chess for pawn

Exchange​

When during a game the players capture pieces of equal value.

Smothered mate​

When a checkmate occurs in which the mated king is surrounded by its own pieces

Promotion​

When a pawn reaches the eighth rank, it gets promoted and becomes any piece of the player's choice (a pawn cannot remain a pawn)

  • The centre (e4, d4, e5, d5)
  • Sacrifice
  • Blunder
  • Hope chess

Making a threatening move towards your opponent even though you know it's bad, and hope they won't respond well

Others​

  • Hope Chess - Make a threatening move towards your opponent even though you know it's bad, and hope they won't respond well

Fast Chess​

Fast chess is a type of chess in which each player is given less time to consider their moves than normal tournament time controls allow. Fast chess is further subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz chess, and bullet chess.Armageddon chess is a particular variation in which different rules apply for each of the two players.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_chess

FIDE - World Chess Federation

ELO Rating System​

The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players inzero-sum gamessuch as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor.

The Elo system was originally invented as an improved chess-rating system over the previously used Harkness system, but is also used as a rating system for multiplayer competition in a number of video games, association football, American football,basketball, Major League Baseball, table tennis, board games such as Scrabble and Diplomacy, and other games.

The difference in the ratings between two players serves as a predictor of the outcome of a match. Two players with equal ratings who play against each other are expected to score an equal number of wins. A player whose rating is 100 points greater than their opponent's is expected to score 64%; if the difference is 200 points, then the expected score for the stronger player is 76%.

A player's Elo rating is represented by a number which may change depending on the outcome of rated games played. After every game, the winning player takes points from the losing one. The difference between the ratings of the winner and loser determines the total number of points gained or lost after a game. If the high-rated player wins, then only a few rating points will be taken from the low-rated player. However, if the lower-rated player scores an upset win, many rating points will be transferred. The lower-rated player will also gain a few points from the higher rated player in the event of a draw. This means that this rating system is self-correcting. Players whose ratings are too low or too high should, in the long run, do better or worse correspondingly than the rating system predicts and thus gain or lose rating points until the ratings reflect their true playing strength.

An Elo rating is a comparative rating only, and is valid only within the rating pool where it was established.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system

Learning​

  • Youtube - chess.com
  • Youtube - Chess Network

Others​

Beginner to Chess Master - YouTube

Chess Tactics - YouTube

Can Chess, with Hexagons? - YouTube

A Scientific Approach to Understanding Chess - Beginner to Chess Master #3 - YouTube