Improve In Chess! 5 PRO Tips To Help You Improve In Chess

We all want to improve in chess. That's for sure.

That's precisely the reason why we spend countless hours:

- Studying the intricacies of the Ruy Lopez.

- Play through games of today's chess greats like Carlsen and Anand, which is usually beyond the amateur's chess mind.

- Burn the midnight oil as we try to discover the secrets of Rook and Pawn endgames.

- Try to master the art of attack in chess.

And those are just to name a few. Now, here's what's surprising: a lot of amateurs spend hundreds of hours studying BUT only a handful improve in chess SIGNIFICANTLY and make it to the expert level. And even fewer are the blessed amateurs who break into the master's realm.

This could only mean one thing: the chess training regimen of most class players are inefficient! Unless you want to get stuck in your current level and admire the chess greats from afar, you may want to give your chess training regimen an overhaul. To improve your chess game, you should focus on things that matter!

And that's what this page is all about - the 5 PRO tips (which is surprisingly ignored by many) that will answer the question: "How to get better at chess?"

Improve In Chess PRO Tip 1

Learn an adequate thinking process. This is number one folks! After all, chess is a thinking game. And if you don't know how to think right during the game, no matter how much tactical patterns you have studies, how many endgames you have memorized, etc., you can hardly bring that knowledge over the board. NM Heisman, GM Smirnov, IM Silman - these renowned chess coaches are saying the same thing. Don't you think it's about time you listen to them?

Improve In Chess PRO Tip 2

Learn the BASIC tactical motifs - know them by heart! And by saying know them by heart, I mean the moves come as quick and natural as multiplying 4 by 4. Pins, double attacks, trapping pieces, removing the defender, skewers, etc. - all of these are basic tactical motifs.

There are a lot of amateurs out there who think they are already good at tactics BUT can't count the material correctly after a simple capturing sequence! Guys, I know you know it. An amateur game, most of the time, is NOT decided on how well you have played the opening or how good you are at chess strategy. It all boils down to basic tactics.

Go back to the basics!

Improve In Chess PRO Tip 3

Proper time management - this is a very neglected part of chess. The clock is part of competitive chess. It can be your best friend or worst enemy if you don't know how to handle it. Play too fast and you will end up making second-best moves or worst blunders. Play too slow and you will end up in time trouble.

Improve In Chess PRO Tip 4

Play enough slow games! NM Dan Heisman recommends playing at least 100 games at G/60 or slower every year. This should give your chess thought process (yes, back to pro tip 1) excellent practice. Don't be lured by the convenience of online speed games where you cannot bring what you have learned forward.

Improve In Chess PRO Tip 5

Learn how to evaluate properly. When we calculate a series of moves for different candidates, here comes the evaluation phase. If you don't know how to evaluate properly, you can end up dismissing a good move, thinking that it's a mistake when, in fact, the position it brings is winning!

The Most Popular Strategy Board Games

Ever antiquity mankind has entertained him self with strategy board games. The phenomenon continues even today, despite the popularity of video games. Why? Well, strategy board games challenge the mind while giving people a chance to relax with one another. And, they offer a classic form of entertainment that's not dependent on batteries or electricity.

So, what are the most popular strategy board games on the market? Well, technically there are hundreds, but when it comes to worldwide popularity, there are seven strategy board games that are at the top of the list. They include: Chess, Cribbage, Mahjong, Go Game, Sudoku, Backgammon, and Checkers.

1. Chess

Chess is one of the world's most popular strategy board games. Originating in ancient India and Persia, the game has emerged in many forms. The most common form is known as Western chess. This is where two opponents must capture each other's kings. This is done through chess pieces that have different levels of power, (kings, queens, rooks, etc.). Strategy must be used to determine how a particular piece can result in a checkmate.

2. Cribbage

When it comes to strategy board games, cribbage is one of the most unusual. While a 'board' is used during the game, cribbage is played with cards. The board is used to help keep score. Either way, cribbage is a great alternative for people who want to play a card game that relies more on thinking than luck.

3. Mahjong

Unlike other strategy board games, mahjong was actually created based on spiritual and philosophical principles. So, if Eastern philosophies are your thing, you could be helping both your soul and you mind after a game of mahjong.

4. Go Game

Go Game is another strategy board game created from Asia. It works like chess, as players must dominate their opponent's spaces on the board. However, the pieces are much simpler, as they consist of black and white stones.

5. Sudoku

Sudoku is a strategy board game where you must fill in a grid with numbers 1 through 9. However, the catch is you must use the numbers once for each section. It is this characteristic of Sudoku that makes it one of the most sought after strategy board games of all time.

Chess Games for Kids

Studies carried out in different countries have clearly shown that chess games build up concentration, perception, self-discipline, planning and much more. In other words, chess games for kids combine developmental thinking and enjoyment.

Kids' chess games undoubtedly raise the intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of kids. They strengthen problem solving skills and the ability to make difficult and abstract decisions independently. Chess puzzles teach children to think logically and efficiently. As they learn advanced techniques from chess books and tutorials, children also pick up the good habit of reading.

Chess games are won or lost due to a tactics mistake. Identifying frequently-occurring tactical ideas is very important to success. Online chess games, chess instructive books, chess puzzles, etc, help kids practice and learn the game. An online chess game is one of the fastest and most enjoyable ways to improve at chess. It provides interactive chess lessons, quizzes, games and puzzles for kids. The kids can play chess against the computer with a variety of chess software packages.

Kids of all levels, from beginners to advanced tournament players, can find many instructive books in the market. In a simple, easy-to-understand format, these books explain different topics such as how to play, basic strategies and advanced tactics. Players can select from these sections according to their needs. For beginners, the first two sections are helpful to understand basic concepts, such as how to utilize a fork, pin, or skewer. The advanced tactics section gives additional information on opening, middle game planning, endgame strategies, piece activity, pawn structure and weak squares.

Many parents are beginning to learn that chess helps to develop the latent skills in children. Every piece on the chess board has a value and some have greater value than others. Losing stronger pieces for lesser ones may cost a player the game. Thus chess brings into focus ideas of mathematics for kids. Chess games for kids thus boost reading, memory, language and mathematical skills.

Chess Openings - Closed Games

If the first two moves of a chess match are 1.d4 d5, then the opening is called a Closed Game or a Double Queen Pawn Game. An important thing to remember about a Closed Game is that it does not automatically result in closed positions. The term "closed" is simply a label, not a reflection of the pieces.

The 1 d4 d5 approach offers similar advantages to 1.e4 e5 approach. Both methods help the player control the center squares of the board and both methods clear the pathway for the Queen and the Bishop-two musts for a good opening. But with the e4 opening, the pawn is without defense, while with the d4 opening, the pawn has the advantage of being protected by the Queen. This important detail is part of what distinguishes closed openings from other types of openings. This is why many chess players prefer the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4) over the King's Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.f4). Furthermore, note that a closed game opening often turns into another type of opening, whereas an open game opening does not.

The Queen's Gambit

The Queen's Gambit openings are definitely the favorite out of all the closed openings. Each begins with 2.c4, which offers the pawn. Then, the opening divides into variations depending on how Black responds. Remember that this particular closed game opening is not actually a gambit because the pawn is recovered every time.

A Queen's Gambit Accepted occurs when black takes the pawn using 2...dxc3. This capture is usually coupled with later c5 and cxd5 moves. In doing this, Black gives up control over the central section of the board in order to isolate the White d pawn. White then can stay in control of the center board as well as keep the initiative by way of good piece development.

On the other hand, Black can ignore the offered pawn. He may play 2...e6, which would produce Queen's Gambit Declined, or he may play 2...c6 which produces Slav Defense. Each of these openings has multiple variations-it takes a lot of patience to learn each opening fully. The following are only some of the variations of Queen's Gambit Declined: Lasker's Defense, Orthodox Defense, Cambridge Springs Defense, Tartakower Variation, Tarrasch Defense, and Semi-Tarrasch Defense.

Other less common responses to the offered gambit include Chigorin Defense (2...Nc6), Symmetrical Defense (2...c5), Baltic Defense (2...Bf5), Albin Countergambit (2...e5), and Marshall Defense (2...Nf6). You will not see these often, but some masters do prefer them.

Additional Closed Games

If White never offers the c pawn, it produces other openings like Stonewall Attack and Colle System. While these are not too popular for masters, they are great for general club play. Each method is fairly simple and offers many options to White. If Black is somewhat familiar with these closed openings, it makes for a good competition.

Many variations exist of Stonewall Attack and Colle System. Colle System usually follows this pattern: 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 and Stonewall Attack often moves 1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Bd3 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.f4. The pawn structure in the Stonewall Attack (c3, d4, e3, f4) can be achieved through different moves, but that causes different positions for Black. In both the Stonewall and Colle closed games, White's goal is to create a certain arrangement of pieces no matter how Black moves.

Richter-Veresov Attack (1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5) and London System (1.d4 d5 2.Bf4) are some other uncommon closed openings. Blitz chess players love the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.e4) because it opens up the lines for attacks.

D00-D69 are the ECO codes for the closed games.

Magic The Gathering Vs Chess: Which Of These Games Is Truly Worth Your Time And Money?

On one side we have Magic The Gathering (MTG), which is the tabletop game that forged the concept of "strategy based on trading cards" and is considered by many to be the best game of its genre. The more than 20.000 unique cards in MTG can be combined to create an almost infinite amount of different strategies and a unique experience in each new match that is played.

Then we have Chess, which is without a doubt the most known abstract strategy game in the world and is also recognized as an official sport by the International Olympic Committee. Although it doesn't involve producing 'mana' to cast spells, the pieces that are used in each match always start the same, and the rules are relatively simple to learn, Chess offers such a grade of tactical complexity that one could study different strategies and moves in the game for a lifetime and still find a fresh and surprising experience in every match. Both games are a lot of fun, and both have the potential of being studied in great depth in order to forge strategies and tactics to develop greater skills.

Usually the argument arises: is X game better than game Y? At the very end, even if you are comparing games of the same genre (e.g. MTG vs Yu-Gi-Oh), which game is truly the best is something that depends entirely on you and which game you find more attractive, fun and fulfilling overall. If you like to play casually both MTG and Chess, that's cool. However, if you decide that you'd like to be more than just a casual player and you want to dedicate more time studying and playing one game in particular, then I recommend you have in mind the following aspects:

First, in MTG you need to constantly spend money on cards. After you buy your first set of cards (an intro deck, a fat pack, etc.) and start playing and learning about the game, you will want to create custom decks that would follow strategies developed by you, which is something that requires that you get more cards by trading some of yours and buying more. Once you have researched exactly which cards you need to implement a certain strategy you could either: ask people that have them to trade them to you, buy them individually online or at hobby stores (the rarer a card, the more expensive it is), or buy packs of cards from the set they are from (Mirrodin, Kamigawa, etc.), hoping that you will obtain the exact cards you need. Another thing is that a new set enters the market every three months or so, and with it a whole new bunch of cards with different powers and effects; thus, expanding the possible strategies you could create (and would have to face), AND requiring you to spend more money in this new cards if you want to be able to take advantage of them. All of this without mentioning buying accessories like card protectors, deck boxes, etc.

In Chess however, while you could spend some bucks in a digital Chess clock, a score-book, Chess software and other goodies, the only thing you essentially need to be able to play this game is a Chess set: a chessboard with two sets of pieces; each one of a different color (usually black and white). You could have a portable magnetic set, a big wooden set, or an "Egyptians vs Romans" themed set; as long as you have one set you can use it to play the game with anyone for a lifetime.

Talking about money, in MTG the person that has the most money to invest in the game has an unfair advantage over people that don't. While just buying the rarest cards in the game won't make you a better player, having true knowledge of the game, skill AND plenty of money to spend in cards gives you the power to forge almost any kind of deck you desire, and with it any kind of powerful strategy you wish to implement (some decks can win the game on the very first turn!) In Chess however, you cannot use money to give you an edge in the game. While you can manage to get a Black Lotus card (the most valuable in MTG) with your year's savings and use it to almost bash your opponents, it would be no use to buy 8 queens and replace your pawns with them in Chess. Now, it is true you can buy strategy guides and training material for both games; however, in that case you are investing in upgrading your skills, not in a tangible that gives you more power in the game directly (like a rare card).

Another aspect to have in mind is the actual amount of people that play each game, and where you can find them. For MTG, you can find most players dueling and hanging out in hobby stores. Below that, some school and college/university students like to play during breaks. It is possible to find people having a match in a park or a coffee shop, but this is a rare sight. In general, it is not that easy to find MTG players outside of hobby stores; most people don't even know that this game exists.

On the contrary, Chess has a much, much wider demographic. Almost everyone has heard about the "game of kings" and most know the basic rules of the game. While the sure-fire way to find players is to visit a Chess club, you can find folks that would enjoy a game of Chess in a lot more places. It can safely be assumed that a lot more people, from a wider age range, and from all roads of life play Chess in comparison to MTG. This is something important to have in mind if one of your objectives is to socialize and make plenty of friends through the game you choose.

Now, both of these games have a shady reputation of being played only by "nerds", people with detrimental social skills and in some cases, terrible personal hygiene. You should not let those rumors or dumb sayings like "duhrr, only fat virgins play Magic The Gathering!" stop you from engaging in either of these fun games. While you might stumble with a "dork" every once in a while, you can just ignore the person in question, leave the place politely, and keep searching for more appealing people to share the game with. Now, if you are a "dork" yourself... you should consider taking a bath and be polite with the people you play with!

Another aspect to have in mind is the involvement of 'luck' in both games. In MTG, given that you draw cards one at a time without knowing which card you will get next, chance is involved, which is a variable that is NOT under the control of the player. On the other hand, classic Chess does not involve luck in any form (not counting Chess variants); it is purely deterministic. Some people like to experiment some chance while others hate not having full control of a game.

MTG involves lots of different variables that have to be analyzed and manipulated during each match, like mana, life points, attack and defense points of creatures, counters, and others that require you to keep track during the game by using dice, pen and paper, or other elements. Also, the number of cards you have in a certain zone (hand, battlefield, etc.) counts for the effects of several cards. In Chess there are not a bunch of numbers you have to keep track of; rather, you have to check the current position of the pieces on the chessboard each turn, and analyze which combination of moves would be best to make, and how the opponent might respond to those.

A final aspect I would like to discuss is multiplayer gameplay. While classic Chess is to be played only by 2 persons at a time, variants exist that allow for 3, 4 and more players to play at the same time. These kind of variants usually involve a larger board where 4 sets of pieces of different color (e.g. black, white, red and blue) are placed, and the rules of Chess are followed with certain variations (like being able to actually capture a King). Some of these games are called Chess-4, Vendetta and Conquer The Kings. Unlike classic Chess, MTG can be played by three people and more at the same time, given that each player has his/her own deck. Not only that, but in 2009 a new game mechanic was introduced into MTG to spice up multiplayer games, called 'Planechase', where over-sized cards named 'Plane cards' are used in conjunction with a 'Plane die' in order to trigger special effects that affect all players participating in the current game.

After taking a look into all these different aspects, it's up to you to make a decision on which game you would like to spend more time and money into. Is either MTG or Chess worth your time and money? It really depends on how far you would like to get on any given game. As it was said before, if you plan to just play casually, you can just buy a couple of Magic decks, a chessboard, and be good with it. If you want to participate in tournaments and maybe even become a pro, you will have to invest in training material, a LOT of cards in the case of MTG, and plenty of time for practicing and research. Whatever path you choose, remember: keep learning, and never forget to have fun!

Have Fun With Chess - Throw a Chess Party!

I confess, I'm not much of a party animal. I suppose in general that people suppose that persons who are interested in chess aren't really so much interested in parties. However, such a supposition is not only somewhat prejudiced, it is also downright wrong!

Ever heard of a chess party? The truth is that until recently, neither did I - but they do exist - and not in tiny numbers either.

One day recently, just for fun, I decided to combine the two words "chess" and "party" and to toss them into my browser just to sit back and watch the computer cry foul. But, to my surprise - the computer was two full steps ahead of me - turning up a huge heap of indexes and beating me at my own game.

Chess parties aren't a new fad. They've been around for a long time, and are usually offered as part of a club or chess themed entertainment package. But, there are an equal number of private chess parties - where private folk like you and me buy up a lake of beer and invite friends over to play chess. Now THAT's entertainment!

Okay, maybe chess parties is not for every chess enthusiast - but you've got to admit that it does the heart good to know that people out there are actually having fun playing our favorite game. Usually, the whole competition thing requires the chess aficionado to be all too serious. And - it is inexpensive fun too.

If you want to throw your own chess party, all you'll need is some chess boards and pieces, some tables, some chairs and - of course - plenty of drink. The theme of the party is up to you. It will add spice to the party, for example, to have the players to compete for a prize. Something in keeping with the theme of chess - of course.

After poking around on the Internet, I discovered these things are everywhere. YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, you name it. Why some folks even throw such events as a birthday party. Go figure.

For some reason - that even I can't explain - this excites me - enough to write this article on the subject. Usually I am always extolling the benefits of training - but here is a chance to point out that chess can be fun, too!

Chess has to be as much about fun as it is about brains. This seems like a truly novel approach to mixing your business with your pleasure. So, the next time you are in a partying mood - you might consider a chess party. You'll find videos, articles and whatever else you need on the net to help you to plan one.

You chess will show improvement - after you sober up - and if not - think of the years of fun you'll have trying to push your chess rating into the zone.

Chess - The Life of Wilhelm Steinitz

Wilhelm Steinitz is noted as one of the world's best chess players. This should come as no surprise, especially since the Steinitz Gambit is a chess move that is still used today, over 100 years after his death.

Steinitz was born on May 17, 1836 to a Jewish family in a ghetto in Prague. He was born as the youngest child to a hardware retailer with 12 older siblings. He started playing chess at the age of 12. At this time, no one could have guessed that he was going to amaze the world with his chess strategies. It was not until 1861 when when he tried his hand at chess in a championship that he won in Vienna, where he had recently moved to work as a journalist. The very next year, in 1862, Steinitz competed in London, representing Austria in an international chess tournament. He came in sixth place. Wishing to prove his excellence in the game of chess, he challenged Dubois, the fifth place finisher, to a match. Steinitz won five games, lost three, and tied in one game.

Not long after his match against Dubois, Steinitz realized that he had the potential to be a chess player that would go down in history. He moved to London and become a professional chess player. In 1863 Steinitz gained recognition as one of the world's leading chess players. This occurred after he won a match against Blackburne. Blackburne was considered an English grandmaster and a "top ten" chess player for many decades. Steinitz won seven games, lost one, and tied in two games in his match with Blackburne. This success was quickly followed by successful wins against Mongredien, Green, Deacon, and Robey.

In 1866 Steinitz faced his ultimate chess challenge: a match against Adolf Adersson. Andersson was revered as a German legend and the best chess player on the planet. Steinitz won with eight wins and six losses. This was the moment that the world truly started to believe that Steinitz was the best chess player in the world.

Steinitz continued to play chess and write about it until his death in 1900. He married a woman named Caroline in the 1860s and had a daughter with her named Flora. Caroline in 1892 and Flora died at 21 years old in 1888. A few years later he married his second wife and had two more children with her.

Chess For Kids

I have been asked before to tutor kids on chess however time is the enemy and I cannot fit this in to my schedule. I started playing chess at the age of 5 and to be honest, I did stop for a few years; well just to get married and then I started again. I believe chess is the best game in the world for kids to learn. It teaches patience, tactics, strategy, thinking outside the box, respect for an opponent but most of all, it is the most fun you can have with a slab of wood and marked out into squares and 32 pieces of plastic or wood shaped like wee horses or castles. And once you have purchased these items you can play as many times as you want free of charge, forever.

Kids and chess just go together. It is a natural way for children to utilise their energy which has been bottled up sitting in school all day. It gets their brain working. Did you know that kids are getting more dense than at any other period in history. This is because they are not taught to think. They have computers and calculators to do their thinking for them. I don't think they realise the joy you get when you resolve a problem all by yourself without using an electronic crutch to help you out. And this is where chess and kids are perfect partners.

Throughout a chess game many challenges, problems, irritations and much more will arise and the child will have no alternative than to try and work out a solution. If he or she does not, it's no big deal, they have tried and that is the point. The experience will be stored in their memory and will be used to good effect the next time a similar situation arises and that is not only for chess. These experience will help them resolve life's challenges.

I was a shy kid growing up in Glasgow, Scotland and went to an inner city school. I could not fight to save myself. To compensate I relied on a lot of the problem solving experiences from chess games which gave me some confidence in my own capabilities. I would say to myself "they may be stronger than me but I could stuff them at chess".

Children should be taught chess, they will not always win but but they will not always lose. It is an imitation of life. An opponent of mine, when we were kids, used to accidentally knock the board over if he was losing or he would leave the table saying he had to go in for his tea. Guess what, I have just been told by his wife that when he gets beat at any board game against his kids he still makes excuses not to finish the game and storms out. Chess is for kids and hopefully it will teach them to take defeat in their stride. Put it down to experience and learn from it. This will be an invaluable attitude for any child to learn and they will be able to take this characteristic through to adulthood.

Winning Chess Player Leonardo Di Bona

Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona lived in Italy, but was not the painter Leonardo Da Vinci. He was probably one of the greatest chess players in Italy at that time. He was the master teacher and chess player to the Prince in Naples at that time.

Not noted for his moves, he was noted for his winning. It is said he was equal to Paolo Boi in winning strength. A painting depicting the royal company with Di Bona playing chess was well known in the era. It depicts Di Bona defeating Ruy Lopez in Spain.

An historical figure, Di Bona, had the edge on a modern chess player due to the fact that philosophers and thinkers were greatly known at that time. Chess strategy fit in well with the culture. Unlike today where thinking is planning a simple battle strategy, thinking strategies meant thinking logically, philosophically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. All that is in life was considered and gave depth to the chess player strategy. In other words, they lived to think.

Di Bona was born in 1542, studied law in Rome, and played chess not only in Rome but abroad. He was a lawyer and was able to fit in with many of the higher class chess players. This is only one reason he could play against many of the best chess players. He himself was an accomplished thinker probably making him a great lawyer also.

Teachers of chess cannot be beat easily. There are different levels of chess master. In the History of chess, a chess player will become a chess master of a certain country that he plays in most, or that he has been born in.

Giovanni was seldom beat. There was only one time noted that he had lost a game in Rome. That very well could have been because of the difference in chess pieces. It was difficult to distinguish the chess pieces due to the fact that they were similarly carved at that time. Also it may be possible that one region might have several different styles in the same game. During the lifetime of Di Bona, game players were just starting to lay the ground rules for Queens Chess and he very well may even have played a variation of the game.

How To Play A More Aggressive Chess Game

In the game of chess there are a variety of strategies that you can use that will help you win the game. Some people play more defensively waiting for their opponent to mess up. Others will play more aggressively constantly attacking the opponent. Find out what you can do that will help you be more aggressive with your chess game.

Know all your openers. There are many ways of starting each game. If you have memorized the most common openers, you can move quickly and know what your opponent is probably doing. This will help you know where to attack if you can guess what your opponent is doing.

Move your pieces quickly yet still carefully. This is a trick that you can use that will help you gain an advantage over your opponent. If you play like this, many opponents will start to feel some anxiety. They will question each of their moves while it looks like you are not. This confidence is part of the aggressive strategy.

Be sure that you are always covering the center four squares of the board. When you are being aggressive, this is your defense. If those are covered, you are protected enough to attack.

Always take an equal trade if you see one. Take this as often as you can. Doing so will ruin your opponent's defense leaving them having to come up with a new strategy.

Don't be aggressive with your queen early in the game. A good opponent will see what you are doing and will trap your queen. If you lose her, you have lost in most cases.

Practice speed chess. This will make you act faster with less thinking. The faster you learn to play, the more aggressive you will seem while playing. When you play live opponents with more time, your game will be much faster.

Online Chess - Are You Up To The Challenge?

The game of chess can be a wonderful challenge that uses the brain power of the two opponents. Many people love to play, and have loved to play the game for hundreds of years. People of all ages, genders and skill levels can play the game, but it is not very interesting if the opponent has far superior or far inferior skills.

Online chess has made the possibility of challenging play more available to people around the world. The knowledge of the game is important as the strategies devised are matched against a worthy opponent. If one player can win quite easily, the play loses its edge and excitement. The internet has made it possible to have online chess games with skilled opponents from around the world.

Online chess has become popular and has improved for use by people around the world with access to computers and the internet. There are several online chess communities where people can sign up to play against opponents in places remote from their position. There are sites that can be played for free while others charge a fee.

Online Chess Games Include Novice And Experienced Players

Players arrange their games according to their skills, and fortunately there are people of all skill levels interested in playing with opponents. There are some players who are just learning the game so they do not have much experience playing the game. These people will easily find others with similar skills so they will not be overwhelmed by their opponent after a few minutes. The skill levels can be matched so the two opponents will have similar skills and a challenging game.

Skilled players often have a difficult time finding worthy opponents that will provide them with some challenging games. The online chess facilities have some very skilled players who can provide challenging games for those with similar skills. Some allow for players to arrange for tournament play with a group of players of similar skill. These tournaments can provide some interesting games for the people who sign up. Players can also team up with other players to challenge other teams.

Chess is a stimulating game for the mind of the players. The chance to play online with other players is a wonderful opportunity for those looking for a great time. And you never know. You may even find yourself playing online with a chess master...if you are up for the challenge.

Chess - The Purpose of Each Piece

My favorite joke about chess is that it must have been designed by a feminist. Why? The King is the target. His movements are very limited. In fact, there is only one way that a King can move more than one square at a time. We'll discuss that later in the article. However, the only feminine piece on the board is the Queen. The Queen can move any direction on the board, and any number of squares. Her only limitation is that she cannot jump over other pieces. This makes the Queen the most powerful piece on the chess board, and the King is the most vulnerable with its limitations.

The pawns are the least valuable of all of the game pieces. On their first move, a pawn can move either one or two spaces forward. However, they can only capture another piece on the forward diagonal, to either side. Pawns are primarily defensive. How the pawns are developed is very important for the protection of the King. Pawns must work together, with the assistance of stronger pieces, in order to provide a good defense for the King. There is one other feature about pawns that most players fail to respect: Pawns are baby Queens. If a pawn makes it all the way to the 8th rank, it is promoted to whatever piece the player chooses, usually a Queen. This reality can have a major impact on the strategy of some chess games.

Bishops flank the King and Queen. Bishops can move an unlimited number of spaces, at diagonals only. However, bishops cannot jump over other figures. This means that a pawn must be moved to give a bishop a way to move out of the first rank and become an offensive weapon. There is one bishop on a white space and one bishop on a black space. And, these bishops never leave the color of spaces that they begin on. This fact plays into the strategies a player uses in developing his or her attack or defense.

Knights are to the outside of the bishops. Knights have to unique move characteristics. Knights can jump over the opponents figures. The Knight is the only one that moves two spaces and then one space to the right or left, in any direction. When a player learns how to use Knights and Bishops in combinations, their game will become much stronger.

Rooks are two tower-like figures on the outside squares, beside the Knights. Rooks can move freely on the rank and file, but cannot jump over the opponent's figures. Rooks are strongest when they work together, linked on a rank or a file.

Finally, what is rank and file? There are 8 files, straight forward and backward, on the chess board. There are also 8 ranks, straight side to side, on the chess board. This means that the chess board has a total of 64 squares for the chess figures to play on and develop a win by placing the King in check with the inability to move out of check. This is the object of the game, known as a checkmate.

Chess Resources - Learn Chess Your Way

Ever wonder why you cannot learn chess the way another player does? Just like there are millions of ways to do math, there are the same combination of ways to learn chess. No one will learn it exactly the way you do, and you will not learn chess exactly the way others learn it. You are an individual. You have your own thinking pattern. While you play a game with the exact same rules, the way you apply the rules are distinctly you. That is why this game is so unique. It stretches your mind to think the best, and you can always come up with a powerful strategy that no one else can beat. When you learn to think logically, strategically and purposefully your whole life will be affected. If you have the motivation and desire to learn, you will learn to play well. So how do you start? What are the advanced chess strategies you need to learn? There are many chess resources to help you.

Educational Resources:

Chess books help the player learn basic principles, advanced strategies and theories independently. If you are this kind of learner, there are myriads of resources at your fingertips. Books are available for opening game, middle game, and endgame strategies for beginners and champions alike. Paid e Books are great to download so the player can start immediately. Free Chess Libraries, and free downloads are available for chess players who want to find the best resource before purchasing.

Educational visual chess resources help the visual learner. A video, DVD or a demonstration on playing chess would be your key to learning. Take advantage of your unique style. You will learn quickly.

Mentors are good educational resources. Search online for a mentor, tutor, and chess school or lessons. Valuable for fine-tuning chess skills for competition, this is a must for hands on players who need a little push in the right direction. Mentors are great at keeping the player on target thus gaining an edge above the competition. If you learn best working along someone who already knows the game well, you can leap forward with confidence.

Competition Resources:

Social competition from chess clubs and chess communities is valuable. Social settings are extremely motivating tools for many players. Check online, books and the yellow pages for them. Chess clubs and chess communities promote your game with great practice, great games and great learning opportunities. Play chess and develop practical and ethical thinking skills. Play chess better, think better.

Correspondence chess and email chess are competitive resources that give the player an abundance of practice as well as actual chess game competition in a less social setting. Good for concentration in developing your strategy, this method of playing is gaining ground fast. It gives a challenging outlet for developing your skills.

Competitive resources for competitive chess are available online and through correspondence chess, email chess, newspaper chess and puzzles. Search the internet or do book searches to find a one that is fun for you. Pick the type that will motivate you to keep playing chess.

Chess History Resources:

Read an abundance of history resources. Learn the history of chess, how it started and why people play it. Your game will improve, your enthusiasm and motivation will skyrocket and your love for the game will soar. Enjoy and reap the benefits of learning history while you improve your chess game.

Decorative Resources:

Decorative resource books can help your game by increasing the aesthetic value of chess. Whether you love to play chess or love the thought of playing chess or just love the look and decor of chess sets, learn how to show off the chess theme as much as the trophies you win in playing the game. Decorate with chess themes or let your chess sets fit in with your home and office decor theme. Learn how to decorate from decor magazines, books, articles and videos. Then just sit back and enjoy your games.

In conclusion, there are an abundance of resources that are available to you. Use them as education to learn game rules, for competition, for entertainment and history enjoyment or as home and office decoration. Chess is much more than just a board game.

Theme Chess Pieces and Style Selection Tips

Theme chess pieces have a distinction all their own. Besides the decorative stone and marble chess sets which have distinguishing features, there are a variety of high quality theme chess pieces that have a distinction all their own. Themes can represent sports, animals, pets, culture, history, battles, and much more. There is a large variety of styles of chess pieces to choose from. Teaching material is abundant in the theme selections. It is very important to teach students the magic of thinking strategies and logical thinking.

Sports are a hot item because of the great emphasis put on sports, especially with the emphasis our society has on physical fitness. School age children are very interested in activity and learning chess with sports theme chess pieces like football, baseball, wrestling and even golf would be just as exciting as getting a trophy in the sport they really like.

Farm animals such as chickens and roosters and hunting animals such as bears and wildlife are good teaching tools and they encourage a fun game of chess. The farming lifestyle is still enjoyed by many cultures. The reasons for farming are very diverse and lead to independent thinking, which is logical thinking at its best and a great reason to play chess.

All combinations of pets influence the theme chess pieces, including dogs and cats. Not only can students learn about how to care for animals and pets, but they can develop a love for the animal world. Hands on teaching can occur naturally with theme chess sets.

Try the Dinosaur theme for effect. Teach history and fiction with these awesome creatures. Imaginations can go wild if guided in the right directions.

Cultural influence is portrayed in Oriental, Japanese, Chinese and Asian themed chess pieces. The closeness and working relationship with other cultures is more prevalent now than at any other time in history. Playing chess with several cultures is a great way to teach awareness, respect and cultural difference in a healthy manner.

Ancient history is represented in Roman, Greek, Egyptian, African, English and French chess pieces. Discussing the different beginnings of other cultures as well as their different battle plans, living styles and customs are only the beginning of the teaching possibilities.

Historical battles in the United States and Europe are fascinating chess themes. Think of all the relevant historical themes in history that many students consider boring or irrelevant to life today. When students understand history, their own lives take on new meanings. They will understand why our nations are the way they are and be able to make logical decisions regarding their own future. They will understand the significance of the United States history, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and all the wars that lead up to today. In playing chess, students can relive the logical thinking that lead to decisions in the wars and that lead to the developments of the lifestyles at that time.

Chess Piece Styles are as varied as the individual carvers and the countries they came from. The English style of Staunton is the most traditional and there are variations from different countries of that style. Many a war was influenced by chess games. Some of the most famous ones in different time periods include: the French Regency Chess set, Washington Chess Set, Germany Selenus Style Chess Set, Calvert English, St George Chess Set and English Barley Corn Chess Sets. Many theme chess pieces were made in chess clubs or they were made for the aristocracy. When chess pieces became affordable, there became chess players all over the world. Chess pieces were carved to play out any battle the carver would choose. The chess sets were used to tell the story of the battles and the styles of the chess playing pieces showed the character and sentiment toward the battle.

Playing With or Against Chess Software: This You've Got to Try!

Human vs. Computer

Computer chess software really came into its own in February 1996 when legendary Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov played a six-game match in Philadelphia against IBM Chess software nicknamed "Deep Blue". Although he declared his 4-2 score a "win for mankind", he also admitted that it was the most difficult tournament of his career.

IBM, sporting their next generation of chess software named "Deeper Blue" demands a rematch which in played in May of 1997 in New York. The chess software puts a whuppin on Kasparov and defeats him 3.5-2.5.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon your point of view, IBM didn't sell their chess software and the industry kind of went to sleep for a while. Well, it wasn't really sleeping, big things were going on behind the scenes. And that's great news for us chess software geeks!

The availability of chess software has exploded since the days of Deep Blue. Now you can run chess software on all of the popular computer operating systems including Windows, MAC, Linux, Unix, and the Palm. You have choices when it comes to the categories or functions of chess software as well.

Chess Training Software

Chess software in this category is designed to improve visualization and move calculation skills in Chess. These are basic essential skills that need to be honed in order to move from being an amature to a master.

Many chess software training titles also teach strategies for the opening middlegame and endgame so you can learn how to strategise and thwart your opponent's moves while still executing your game plan.

Peer-to-Peer Chess Software

The chess software category is simply amazing. Peer-to-peer chess software enables you to play chess against remote opponents without connecting to a chess server. You simply connect directly to each other over the Internet or via any other network connection including your home Windows LAN.

Most titles give you the opportunity to connect directly to a pre-arranged player or to find an available player through available message boards.

Peer-to-Peer software may likely become the dominant chess software in the future and replace chess servers as the preferred method of playing chess on the computer.

Chess Software Database

Chess software databases are like holding the sub total of the world's chess knowledge on your local PC. Most programs offer thousands of past grandmaster games for you to review either in text or video format. There are endless opening, middlegame, and endgame strategies. You can read annotations and some titles even have photos of the world's grandmasters.

Some chess software databases come with built-in chess software that lets you play out the games that are in the database and even allow the database to analyze your game.

Prices are low and chess software databases make a great learning and analytical tool.

Computer vs. Computer Chess Software

These chess software programs pit computers against computers using an Internet or LAN connection. They are good learning tools in some ways but you shouldn't read too much into their strategies. These chess software programs can't actually "think" like humans do. Theirs is a mathematical world where moves are calculated according to a set of formulas that allow it to determine the "best" move based upon all possible moves at the moment.

In spite of their "non-thinking" processing, chess software has evolved to become a formidable opponent even for the grandmasters.

In my opinion nothing beats a head-to-head game with a living breathing opponent who is seated a few feet away from you on the other side of a real chessboard. However, I realize that today's lifestyle does not always allow us the luxury of pre-planned leisure time and they have to pick up a game whenever and wherever we can. With that it mind, you should pick yourself up some chess software for those times when a human in he same room is not an option.

Magnetic Chess - The Turning Point in Chess History

Through the ages, regular chess has been played. Then in 1996, there was a defining moment in the history of chess. Jao Pedro neto along with Claude Chaunier invented the magnetic modification of chess. The magnetic chess has somewhat different set of laws from the regular one. The checking of king, stalemates and checkmates do not apply to the magnetic chess. It follows the FIDE rules though. Also the en-passant rule in inapplicable. Castling does apply thereby making it possible for any white pawn in 7th or 8th rank to move 2 squares forward. Same is the case with the one in the 1st or 2nd place.

You have to actually capture the king as it is done in so many other games. You have won the game once that is done. You should not be surprised to learn that the pieces are positively or negatively charged, considering this is a magnetic chess. The pieces bearing positive charge are placed on the white side and those bearing negative charge on the black. The charge that these pieces carry does allow them to produce their own magnetic field. The king however is neutrally charged, which implies that it neither repels nor attracts any other piece. It also does not get repelled or attracted by any piece.

If a piece is moved to already occupied space, it will repel closest chess pieces, provided they are of the same rank. The pieces placed diagonally will not be affected. The closest piece on the side will be attracted, provided it is of the different color. No piece attracts or repels the king as it is neutral and hence forms a shield against the magnetic field. This makes way for a lot of new strategies which do not apply to the normal game, making it more interesting.
Aspects of physics are incorporated in the game along with chess strategy and mathematics as well. It forces a person to think and plan on a different plane altogether. This is thus, a mentally stimulating game. The magnetic chess also has variation namely the anti- magnetic chess. In this kind of chess, rules are same as the magnetic chess except that repetition in the position is not allowed and friends as well as enemy pieces are repelled. Thus magnetic chess has ushered in a whole new phase for chess playing.

Chess Basics and Strategy to Dominate the Home Game - Beat Your Friends at Chess 1

4 Basic Chess Strategy Factors

In general, we will focus on four basic factors that need to be taken into account when choosing your opening. Each opening in this book will include a gauge to measure how powerful each opening is for each factor. Keeping these factors in mind during the entire course of the game will give you a good idea of how to react to any situation.

Tempo

Tempo means making every move count. It's closely related to speed, and is needed both offensively and defensively. To keep tempo when opening, one must avoid moving the same piece twice. Another way to loose tempo is to move pieces that do not work together or do not accomplish anything quickly.

Keeping tempo throughout the opening means more flexibility, quicker attacks, and a more fluid defense. On higher levels of play, being a single move ahead in tempo is a solid advantage. On the home game level, a mistake in tempo is much more likely and therefore the advantage from keeping your tempo can be enormous.

Center Pawns:

Despite their appearance, pawns may just be the most powerful piece in the game. Think about it - the only piece worth trading for a pawn is a pawn. Forcing your opponent to trade when you have better center pawn control will give you an advantage and give your opponent a chance to make the game ending mistake.

Having pawns in the center means having pawns that are either positioned in, or able to attack, the four squares in the middle of the board. This can drastically reduce your opponents options, and eventually tighten a noose that will likely end in your victory. Just don't forget to keep the pawns protected from a distance. As long as your center pawns are protected, you want them up as far as physically possible.

Minor Pieces:

Minor pieces are everything other than pawns, the king, and the queen. Advancing the minor pieces is vital to both attack and defense. Where you place your pawns early on will be the biggest factor in how easily your minor pieces can advance.

The most important role of minor pieces is to put pressure on the opponent's king. This pressure doesn't just mean an immediate checkmate but also includes locking down the minor pieces or queen of your opponent, forcing them not to move and expose the king.

King Safety:

While some players may prefer more aggressive strategies, the defensive player will be most interested in this factor. The first opening we will work through is a perfect example of a formation with high king safety. Check our ebook for more beginner chess openings.

The king is typically safest after castling, which can be performed as soon as there are no pieces between the king and one of the rooks. The king is even safer if there are also a number of pawns close by. Openings which leave room for the king to castle, and don't remove defensive pawns, will develop a safer king.

Two Important Elements to Help You Win at Chess

Chess is a game like no other, and its battles are classic. There is always an underdog and a battle of good and evil. It is a game of incredible strategy and complex traps and attacks. The game of chess is centered around the idea that the king is the most valuable chess piece on the chess board. If either player declares a check, the first priority is to defend the king, at all costs. If you cannot save your king from being checked, then the game is over and you have lost in a checkmate.

As much as chess is a game of strategy, your attitude counts for a lot. Almost always, a player will play a better game of chess if his mindset is serious. There is a connection between seriousness and concentration, so the more serious you are, the more you are concentrating. If you want to have really good concentration you should practice exercising self control.

If you really want to concentrate, the first thing you should do is simply see all the squares that your pieces could occupy. Don not try and seek out the absolute best move because this will narrow your field of vision and you might miss an important opportunity. This way you have a larger view of your possible moves and you can see the bigger picture. From there you can just follow your basic chess guidelines and develop your chess pieces.

Winning chess games is not about making the best move but understanding that you have made it. It is the person who knows the most that has the upper hand.

One thing you can do to improve your chess game is to read books of famous past chess matches. Lots of these books will have commentary explaining important things about each chess move and discussing each player's strategy.

Another excellent way to get better at chess is to play a lot of games. The more you play chess and the more experience you get, the more you will learn and become familiar with the game. As you play more and more games, you will begin analyzing moves and strategy on a whole new level, because your brain's memory will have improved. If you're a beginner chess player, it can help to have a mentor or someone who can give you advice and tips on how to win at chess.

Chess Tactics - 15 Must Know Chess Tactics

Introduction To Tactics

Tactics are often confused with Strategies, but there are comparable differences.

Strategies help you plan how you intend to play your army, in battle against the enemy army.

Strategies give you a rough idea of what to do in certain situations, such as dealing with a Material Advantage; helping you determine where best to place your Pieces, to maximize their individual strengths; and creating the conditions that help you to target and capture enemy material.

In contrast, Tactics are used to take advantage of short-term opportunities...

Like a boxer would tactically decide when to jab, or when to use an uppercut to inflict damage on their opponent; the chess player would be vigilant to specific peculiarities that lend themselves to one tactic over another.

Not only are there Tactics for use in attack; some Tactics exist to defend; while others lend themselves to deceiving your opponent into thinking you're going to do one thing, only for you to carry out your real objective.

The 15 Chess Tactics we have here are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Chess Tactic #1: Battery Attack

When thinking of a Battery Attack, imagine a typical household electrical battery... Each battery is a single cell of power. If you want more power, you need to join more cells together.

In Chess, a Battery Attack is formed on the straights (the Ranks and/or Files) by stacking Rooks and Queens; while, on the diagonals, a Bishop and Queen are stacked, or combined, to increase the power directed at the enemy's position.

Both armies can have Batteries pointing at each other...

However, let's assume that White's Battery consists of 2 Rooks, while Black's Battery consists of 2 Rooks and a Queen... Black would have the more-powerful battery and White would be wise to reinforce his 2 Rooks, or avoid attacking Black's Battery, at this point.

Chess Tactic #2: Block

A Block is a defensive tactic, called upon whenever an opposition Bishop, Rook or Queen manages to put your King in Check.

All you're doing is placing an available Pawn or Piece in between your King and the attacking enemy unit - you Block the Check and, temporarily at least, safeguard your King.

Be aware, even if your Blocking unit has back-up from either the King, or another Pawn or Piece, the attacker may decide to capture your Blocker, in a sacrificial maneuver designed to remove part of your King's defenses.

Chess Tactic #3: Clearance

This is also known as a "Clearance Sacrifice", which better describes what's going on here...

Imagine you want to put a Piece on a specific square, which will enhance the attack you're mounting... Trouble is, one of your own Pieces is already on that square.

The trouble is, by moving that Piece, it will result in its capture. However, due to the superior position that you stand to gain by getting your other Piece on that square, you deem it worthwhile to "Clear" that obstructing Piece, accepting its Sacrifice, for the compensation you stand to gain (improved position).

Chess Tactic #4: Decoy

The Decoy involves sending a Pawn or Piece to a specific square, as a sacrifice, in order to get the enemy to capture it...

Upon doing so, your 'real' objective is realized, as your 'waiting' Piece gets to Checkmate the enemy King, or swoop down on to capture another critical Piece of the opposition (typically the Queen).

Chess Tactic #5: Deflection

Imagine throwing a stone that with enough force behind it, at another stone... When it strikes, the less-mighty stone gets 'deflected' away from the position where it had been resting.

In Chess, you can build up an attack, with enough weight behind it (in the shape of supporting Pieces) that you strike the enemy's position at a specific point, which forces your real target, such as the enemy King, to flee its current position... The King gets "Deflected" away, leaving you in a stronger position.

The famous Checkmate sequence known as "Legall's Mate" contains a Deflection. It happens on Move 6, when White's Bishop captures Black's f7-Pawn, which puts Black's King in Check.

Because of the protection from White's Knight, from the 'e5' square, Black's King has no choice but to move - it gets Deflected onto the 'e7' square (and Checkmate follows on White's very next move).

Chess Tactic #6: Discovered Attack

This tactic requires two of your Pieces working together. One will be in front of the other; the one to the rear is considered the hidden unit waiting for its attack to be uncovered - or, "Discovered".

At the chosen moment, the Piece in front will move - usually to attack another enemy Pawn/Piece - and the Piece that was to the rear will be revealed, attacking another enemy Pawn or Piece (but not the enemy King. More on that, in the next Tactic).

The result of the Discovered Attack is your opponent will be forced to choose which attacked Pawn/Piece to rescue... The other, you'll bag!

On a defensive note, before you make your next move, study the board and look at your opponent's Pieces...

If you see two Pieces on neighboring squares (also any sitting on diagonals, next to each other), look first at the one to the rear and follow the line down in the direction of your army...

If it leads to one of your Pawns/Pieces, and if the neighboring enemy Piece is within range of another of your troops, your opponent may be working up to catch you out, with a Discovered Attack.

Chess Tactic #7: Discovered Check

This involves the same principles as the standard Discovered Attack. The only difference is the enemy King is one of the Pieces that gets attacked.

Because the King is attacked, it will be in "Check"... This means the King must be protected, at ALL COST.

Discovered Checks are designed to capture the 'other' enemy victim.

Chess Tactic #8: Fork Attack

When one Pawn or Piece attacks two (or more) enemy units in one maneuver, this is known as a "Fork Attack".

Fork Attacks can be "Relative" or "Absolute".

Relative Forks attack two or more enemy units, but not the enemy King.

Absolute Forks attack two or more enemy units and, this time, one of the Pieces IS the enemy King.

When it's a Relative attack, the player may choose which unit to save and which one to leave at the mercy of the attacker.

When it's an Absolute attack, the player's King must be safeguarded, as it's in Check. The other Pawn(s)/Piece(s) under attack will be left to their own fate.

Chess Tactic #9: Intermezzo / Zwischenzug

In English, both "Intermezzo" and "Zwischenzug" respectively mean "Intermediate Move".

This Tactic involves a bit of deception.

First, you play a sort of bogus move, which makes your opponent react to it - this is the "Intermediate Move"... Then, you play your intended move.

Chess Tactic #10: Pin Attack

Pins involve attacking a less-valuable Pawn or Piece, which is in front of a more-valuable Piece sitting behind.

If that more-valuable Piece happens to be the enemy King, then this is known as an "Absolute Pin" and the less-valuable Pawn/Piece that's sitting in front, CANNOT move to escape the threat - it's "Pinned" against its King.

If the more-valuable Piece behind happens to be just another Piece, then the less-valuable Pawn/Piece CAN move out of the way, but often it remains "Pinned" in place, to prevent the more-valuable Piece from getting captured.

Chess Tactic #11: Sacrifices

Sacrifices are deliberate attempts to play a Pawn or Piece into such a position that it will get captured. But, in return, your compensation is either the capture of one of the enemy Pawns/Pieces, or the ability to gain a lead in development.

Chess Tactic #12: Skewer Attack

The pattern of the Skewer is kind of the reverse of the Pin.

When a Skewer occurs, the attack is against a more-valuable Piece, which is unfortunate enough to be sitting in front of a less-valuable Pawn or Piece.

The idea behind the Skewer is to get the more-valuable Piece to step-aside, so you can capture whatever 'victim' is sitting behind.

Just like the Pin, Skewer Attacks can be either "Relative" or "Absolute".

Chess Tactic #13: Traps

Setting a Trap can be a bit of a gamble...

If your opponent spots your hidden agenda, you will quite possible end up wasting a move.

On the flip side, if your Trap works and your opponent falls it, your reward will be realized - this could be either a material gain; a positional gain; or it'll put you on course for a sweet victory!

Well known Chess Traps include:

- Blackburne Shilling Gambit
- Elephant Trap
- Lasker Trap
- Magnus Smith Trap

Chess Tactic #14: Windmill Attack

Windmill Attacks get their title from one observer, who saw this played in a game and likened it to the rotating blades/sails of a Windmill... and the name was forever applied to this most rare of tactics.

What happens is, due to the positioning of a supporting Piece, the attacking Piece will put the enemy King in Check, which will have to spend a turn to move out of Check...

This will allow our attacking unit to capture one of the enemy... That allows the enemy King to move back... But the attacking Piece then goes on to Check the King again, which has to spend a turn to move to safety, but that allows the attacking unit to capture another of the enemy.

This rotational series of Checks and Captures is the cause of the sequence being referred to as being like a Windmill.

Chess Tactic #15: X-Ray Attack

When we refer to X-Rays, in Chess, we're likening it to the X-Ray vision that Superman had. The term "X-Ray" was coined to describe a Piece's ability to "see-through" objects, in order to focus its sights on whatever happens to be behind.

It's more of a 'threat' than anything else, as the target of an X-Ray cannot be captured, as the object (another Pawn or Piece) is blocking the way.

In total, there are three different forms of X-Ray Attack. Two of them are full-on "Offensive" attacks; while the third incorporates both "Defensive" and "Attacking" elements.

Type 1 is another term for a Skewer Attack.
Type 2 threatens through one or more friendly pieces.
Type 3 defends a friendly Piece through one or more enemy pieces.

Chess & the 7 - Dimensions of Life

"The chessboard is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the
Universe, the rules of the game are what we call the laws of Nature
and the player on the other side is hidden from us"

(Thomas Huxley)

Our universe is in a constant process of deterioration. Our sun will one day burn out just like every other star eventually does in the universe. Our earth is not in the same condition that it was when our ancestors lived on it. It should be no surprise then, when scientists speak of global warming and its' negative effects on our environment.
From the moment we are conceived, we as human beings also start the aging process. Even though we are just beginning to develop, our life "time line" begins and the clock starts ticking towards our death. Due to our genetic and socio-cultural inheritance, our faulty DNA continues to deteriorate up until an average age of 80 years, assuming that we do not prematurely die from other causes.

Don't Get Old

My father whom I never seen sick a day in his working life, retired at age 55. He just turned 90 and it wasn't until the last couple of years that when I asked him how he is feeling, he started replying, "Lousy - my shoulders hurt, my hips hurt, and my body aches all over - Don't get old." How do you respond to these words of wisdom - Don't get old? The fact is that everything and everybody in this world is getting older each day, because we are in a constant state of deterioration just like our universe, sun and earth.

So if it is just a matter of time before I die, is there a way to slow down this aging process? Medical doctors tell us that by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, we may be able to add up to 20 -years to our lives. When I bought my Honda Civic new in 1997, the dealership salesman gave me an owners' manual along with a maintenance schedule. Because I wanted to prevent my car from rusting and breaking down prematurely, I have attempted to follow that maintenance schedule for regular oil changes, tune-ups, new tires, and brakes, (etc.). My mechanic recently informed me that even though this car is now over 10-years old and I have put 140,000 miles on it, that if I continue to follow my maintenance program, I may be able to drive this car another 60,000 miles.

Other forms of life (animals, plants, etc), do not need to decide on and act upon a scheduled maintenance plan to adapt to their deteriorating physical forms and environments because their DNA comes equipped with a built-in maintenance system that automatically directs them on what to eat, when to sleep, when and who to have sex with, and where to live. As so-called higher forms of life, the DNA plan within every one of our (trillion some) human cells gives us the power to choose from a plethora of options and alternative lifestyle activities. Considering the history of mankind over the centuries, we know that whole cultures and societies have not survived the gene pool cleansing process because they did not learn to adapt to their environment.

If we do not learn to adapt to and maintain our lives and environment - we also will not survive the gene pool cleansing process (or your premature death due to ignorance, fear of change, laziness, and/ or stupidity - prior to the reproduction of all that you are made of). The point being made here is that we as human beings all need a maintenance program. The problem is that no one gives us this maintenance plan at birth. We learn some things from our imperfect parents and some things from our imperfect peers, teachers, and supervisors, but ultimately, it is up to each one of us to decide how we will choose to live our lives. This lack of a scheduled maintenance program, along with our faulty learning system, puts the majority of us at high risk for premature diseases, disorders, addictions, and a myriad of psych-social and cultural stressors.

Chess ?

So what does this all have to do with the game of chess? Like Thomas Huxley, I have also come to see the world, the universe, the laws of nature, and how we choose to live our lives - from a chess game perspective. I believe that we all could and would make better moves (decisions for our lives) if we were all more aware of the options/ strategies/ resources, etc. - available to us and the consequences of our choices prior to making our decisions. My wife taught me how to play chess a few years ago (in my late 40's). Growing up, I always considered chess a game for "nerds," or for those "book worms" that were not very good at sports. I also (secretly) thought that those who played chess were just more intelligent then me, and maybe I just wasn't smart enough to learn the game. After being beaten numerous times by my wife, I found a computer chess game and began playing daily during my lunch breaks. Since this programmed chess game had different levels of difficulty, I could choose to play the seven year olds - and began to win a few games. These successes helped me to start winning some games with my wife.

Subsequently, I started playing against an on-line chess program. The difference was that there were no difficulty levels to choose from and I was forced to play the chess master every game. Needless to say, my success rates at winning dropped dramatically. In fact, I was losing 4 - 5 times a day, and this continued for over a year. I didn't give up trying to win, however, because the program itself stated, "Don't get discouraged if you lose! Remember, we don't race against motorcycles, and in the weight lifting events, we don't compete against forklifts! After a few months of solid losing, I had lost all hope of ever winning. It was during this depressing period that I began to think about how this game of chess related to the "game of life," and I began to see chess from a seven dimensional perspective that would eventually develop into a maintenance plan for my life and a formula for progress in my chess game.

7 - Dimensions of Life

1. Social / Cultural Dimension - I started seeing that your chess pieces are like family members and significant others in your life that you try to protect the best you can. We are all alike (black or white in chess) and we try to move and communicate in ways that will support our mutual goals. Unfortunately though, you end up losing the ones you love.

2. Medical/ Physical Dimension - In order to maintain a healthy body we must maintain a balance of moving (exercise), eating (our opponents pieces), and resting (knowing when not to move).

3. Mental/ Emotional Dimension - Chess forces us to think really hard about our actions, the consequences of our actions, and how our behavior affects others and the world around us. It also gives us opportunities to experience and deal with emotions - like anger, revenge, grief, and joy, etc.

4. Educational/ Occupational Dimension - Chess develops our attention span, concentration abilities, and memory - so that we can learn, be trained and skilled, and maintain satisfying work experiences.

5. Spiritual/ Religious Dimension - I didn't notice a spiritual side to chess until one of my pawns first got transformed (born-again) into a Queen. At that point, I realized that our weakest members in life have the potential to become our strongest heroes. Chess also develops our faith in a set of organized beliefs and practices much like religion.

6. Legal/ Financial Dimension - Chess teaches us that there are consequences for not obeying the law (not playing by the rules of the game). There are also rewards for logically and systematically making the right moves in life.

7. Self-Control/ Higher Power Control Dimension- Chess teaches us that even though we may follow all the rules, all of the time - we do not have total control of our destiny (who wins the game and who loses). As Thomas Huxley so eloquently put it in his famous quote above ("the player on the other side is hidden).

Even with my above-noted humble insights, I was still convinced that it was impossible for me to beat this "Chess Master" program, so I just began measuring my progress by how long it would take the chess master to beat me. Within a few more months - my times had increased from approximately 2 - minutes to 5 - minutes, and I began to see that although I was sacrificing my pieces, I was also taking my opponents pieces at the same time. To make a long story shorter, one evening after over a solid year of losing, (approximately 1000 games), - I WON !!! I yelled at my wife to come and look, because I couldn't believe it. The problem was that I couldn't remember how I moved to win again. So after losing for a few more months, I finally memorized my game to beat him almost every time.

Note: You may not have the time to lose a 1000 times - so following are the first 20 moves - just to get you started. (First search for "Chess is Fun").

Chess is Fun

1. 1g - 3f

2. 2g - 3g

3. 1f - 3h

4. 2d - 3d

5. 1c - 3e

6. 2f - 3e

7. 1b - 3c

8. 3h - 8c

9. 2h - 3h

10. 3d - 4d

11. 3f - 5e

12. 5e - 6c

13. 1e - 2d

14. 1d - 1g

15. 1h - 1g

16. 3c - 4a

17. 4a - 5c

18. 4d - 5c

19. 1g - 1b

20. 2b - 4b

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS (of playing chess)?

Source: library.advanced.org/10746/reasons.html

Chess is a game for people of all ages. You can learn to play at any age and in chess, unlike in many other sports, you don't ever have to retire. Age is also not a factor when you're looking for an opponent --young can play old and old can play young.

Chess develops memory. The chess theory is complicated and many players memorize different opening variations. You will also learn to recognize various patterns and remember lengthy variations.

Chess improves concentration. During the game you are focused on only one main goal -- to checkmate and become the victor.

Chess develops logical thinking. Chess requires some understanding of logical strategy. For example, you will know that it is important to bring your pieces out into the game at the beginning, to keep your king safe at all times, not to make big weaknesses in your position and not to blunder your pieces away for free. (Although you will find yourself doing that occasionally through your chess career. Mistakes are inevitable and chess, like life, is a never-ending learning process.)

Chess promotes imagination and creativity. It encourages you to be inventive. There are an indefinite amount of beautiful combinations yet to be constructed.

Chess teaches independence. You are forced to make important decisions influenced only by your own judgment.

Chess develops the capability to predict and foresee consequences of actions. It teaches you to look both ways before crossing the street.

Chess inspires self-motivation. It encourages the search of the best move, the best plan, and the most beautiful continuation out of the endless possibilities. It encourages the everlasting aim towards progress, always steering to ignite the flame of victory.

Chess shows that success rewards hard work. The more you practice, the better you'll become. You should be ready to lose and learn from your mistakes. One of the greatest players ever, Capablanca said, "You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player."

Chess and Science. Chess develops the scientific way of thinking. While playing, you generate numerous variations in your mind. You explore new ideas, try to predict their outcomes and interpret surprising revelations. You decide on a hypothesis, and then you make your move and test it.

Chess and Technology. What do chess players do during the game? Just like computers they engage in a search for the better move in a limited amount of time. What are you doing right now? You are using a computer as a tool for learning.

Chess and Mathematics. You don't have to be a genius to figure this one out. Chess involves an infinite number of calculations, anything from counting the number of attackers and defenders in the event of a simple exchange to calculating lengthy continuations. And you use your head to calculate, not some little machine.

Chess and Research. There are millions of chess resources out there for every aspect of the game. You can even collect your own chess library. In life, is it important to know how to find, organize and use boundless amounts of information. Chess gives you a perfect example and opportunity to do just that.

Chess and Art. In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia chess is defined as "an art appearing in the form of a game." If you thought you could never be an artist, chess proves you wrong. Chess enables the artist hiding within you to come out. Your imagination will run wild with endless possibilities on the 64 squares. You will paint pictures in your mind of ideal positions and perfect outposts for your soldiers. As a chess artist you will have an original style and personality.

Chess and Psychology. Chess is a test of patience, nerves, will power and concentration. It enhances your ability to interact with other people. It tests your sportsmanship in a competitive environment.

Chess improves schoolwork and grades. Numerous studies have proven that kids obtain a higher reading level, math level and a greater learning ability overall as a result of playing chess. For all those reasons mentioned above and more, chess playing kids do better at school and therefore have a better chance to succeed in life.

Chess opens up the world for you. You don't need to be a high ranked player to enter big important competitions. Even tournaments such as the US Open and the World Open welcome players of all strengths. Chess provides you with plenty of opportunities to travel not only all around the country but also around the world. Chess is a universal language and you can communicate with anyone over the checkered plain.

Chess enables you to meet many interesting people. You will make life-long friendships with people you meet through chess.

Chess is cheap. You don't need big fancy equipment to play chess. In fact, all you may need is your computer! (And we really hope you have one of those, or else something fishy is going on here.) It is also good to have a chess set at home to practice with family members, to take to a friend's house or even to your local neighborhood park to get everyone interested in the game.

CHESS IS FUN! Dude, this isn't just another one of those board games. No chess game ever repeats itself, which means you create more and more new ideas each game. It never gets boring. You always have so much to look forward to. Every game you are the general of an army and you alone decide the destiny of your soldiers. You can sacrifice them, trade them, pin them, fork them, lose them, defend them, or order them to break through any barriers and surround the enemy king. You've got the power!

References

[1] Robert Ferguson, ``Chess in Education Research Summary,'' paper presented at the Chess in Education A Wise Move Conference at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, January 12-13,1995.

[2] Albert Frank, ``Chess and Aptitudes,'' doctoral dissertation, 1974, Trans. Stanley Epstein.

[3] Johan Christiaen, ``Chess and Cognitive Development,'' doctoral dissertation, 1976, Trans. Stanley Epstein.

[4] Donna Nurse, ``Chess & Math Add Up,'' Teach, May/June 1995, p. 15, cites Yee Wang Fung's research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

[5] Robert Ferguson, ``Teaching the Fourth R (Reasoning) through Chess,'' School Mates, 1(1), 1983, p. 3.

[6] Robert Ferguson, ``Developing Critical and Creative Thinking through Chess,'' report on ESEA Title IV-C project presented at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 11-12, 1986.

[7] Robert Ferguson, ``Teaching the Fourth R (Reflective Reasoning) through Chess,'' doctoral dissertation, 1994.

[8] Isaac Linder, ``Chess, a Subject Taught at School,'' Sputnik: Digest of the Soviet Press, June 1990, pp. 164-166.

[9] Rafael Tudela, ``Learning to Think Project,'' Commission for Chess in Schools, 1984, Annex pp. 1-2.

[10] Rafael Tudela, ``Intelligence and Chess,'' 1984.

By James Slobodzien, Psy.D.

Are You Using a Chess or Checkers Small Business Marketing Strategy?

Until the day I learned to play chess I loved playing checkers. Both games require a strategy that maximizes a player's ability to capture her opponents pieces without first losing her own. Checkers was fun. But the complexities of chess lead to more satisfying victories and defeats.

Chess is a more complicated game than checkers as there are more variables. Therefore, much more thought and concentration is required to win a game of chess than is required to win a game of checkers.

Like chess, marketing your business is a complicated endeavor. A successful chess player anticipates future moves and will position his pieces in such a way that each piece helps add strength to other pieces already in place.

A successful marketing strategy is no different than a winning chess strategy. Every move you make must reinforce previous and future moves. Instead of rooks, bishops and queens the moves made in the game of marketing are made with advertisements, web sites, marketing messages, brochures and so on.

As a small business owner you don't risk losing pieces to your opponent you risk losing business to your competitors.

Great chess players have a strategy that helps them win with consistency. Here's a marketing strategy you can use to consistently win new business.

Focus Your Marketing

Target your market with a marketing message that speaks directly to the population you serve. A marketing message is a phrase or sentence that clearly demonstrates who you help and the problems you solve.

Develop and use your marketing message as often as you can. Doing so will help get your business get noticed by those most likely to buy from you. Use your marketing message in your marketing materials, your website and any and everywhere your business comes in contact with potential clients.

Effective use of a marketing message can be a small business owner's best friend. A good one will work hard for you to generate new business and will never ask for anything in return.

Inspire Action

Once you've used your marketing message to grab hold of your prospects' attention, be it at your website, after reading one of your ads or an article you've written, be sure you clearly instruct them to take the action you want. It doesn't matter what the action is as long as it requires them to provide you their contact information so you may continue marketing to them.

Offer something useful and free in exchange for their information. Give away free recipes if you're a caterer or tips on designing bouquets if you're a florist. Just be certain to give clear directions about what should be done next to move your sales process along.

Build a Relationship

After you've successfully culled from your prospects' their contact information it is now time for you to develop a relationship with them. The nature of the relationship you develop should be one that makes it clear that you know your prospect is out there, that you understand your prospects' problems and that you can help solve your prospects' problems.

Common methods for developing relationships with prospects are distributing articles, publishing an ezine and conducting surveys. Be sure to include your marketing message with every article, ezine or survey.

Over time you will become the obvious solution to your clients' problems when they decide to take action to solve what concerns them.

Move Your Marketing forward

Using each of the above methods will help you position your business much like a champion chess player positions his pieces. In the end victory and more sales will be yours.

Copyright 2005, Jeremy Cohen and Better Marketing Results.

Teaching Chess to Children

An interesting aspect of chess is that it can be played equally well by adolescents and seniors alike. Famously, Bobby Fischer shot to stardom at a young age and even played a game touted as "the game of the century" at age 13. There are many concepts though that young children find hard to grasp including consequence of action, tactics and thinking several moves ahead. Luckily though these skills find their way into the game automatically with practice and time. Like many things in life, if chess is learned early it will remain entrained in the memory of the player and will only continue to progress and mature. Learning chess can be a long and arduous endeavor for many children and therefore to enhance the level of succes, chess should be taught incrementally and must (and I mean must) remain fun and exciting at all times. The remainder of this article is devoted to explaining tried and tested methodologies used to teach chess in phases by progressively introducing piece recognition, board configuration, piece movement, piece capture and finally chess itself.

Piece recognition can be taught with a game I like to call Shout Chess. The aim of the game is to simply pick a piece, shout it's name and move the piece to an unoccupied square anywhere on the chess board. The game starts with the board configured as if you were about to play a game of chess. Players take turns in moving. Pieces are removed from the board (captured) when they are surrounded by two or more opponent pieces on adjacent squares. If a player moves out of turn, incorrectly names a piece or plays an opponents piece, the move is forfeit and the piece is returned. The game is won when the king is taken, or the king is the only piece remaining. This simple game has few rules but does require forethought and simple strategy. For example, pieces may be safely captured by first placing a guard piece. The introduction of strategy is by design as the child will progressively realize that some strategy is required. This game is designed to teach piece recognition, taking turns, the concept of capturing and simple strategy.

Once the child is comfortable with Shout Chess, introduce a means of picking the player to move first by initially playing a quick game of Speed Board. Speed Board simply involves the act of taking one turn each to setup the chess board as quickly as possible. While one player configures the board the other player counts 60.The winner is the player who configures the board in the least possible time or was not the player who failed to configure the board within 60 seconds. The winner of this prestigious game will have the honor of moving first in the next game of Shout Chess.

The next variation of Shout Chess may be introduced after the child is confidently familiar with the rules of Shout Chess. This variation inherits all the previous rules of Shout Chess with the exception that pieces can no longer be placed anywhere on the chess board, but must now instead be moves as per the rules of normal chess. Depending upon the age of your child, you may need to introduce this rule progressively by first allowing pieces to jump each other or move only like a bishop or a rook. Slowly introduce the moves of each piece and ultimately end by teaching your child that knights are the only piece that can jump and that the pawn can move two squares on the first move. This is the most complicated step in the learning process and care must therefore taken to ensure your child enjoys this phase. Measure your child's enjoyment levels and slow the introduction of new moves if the fun factor diminishes. Patience and perseverance are necessary requirements.

The final phase is to introduce the concepts of piece capture, check and checkmate. At this point, your child should fully understand what it means to capture a piece. Here we tweak the rules of Shout Chess by explaining that you no longer need to surround a piece to capture it, but instead knock them off the board when you land on the same square as them. We may also remove the mandatory requirement to shout the name of each piece as it is played and may even start calling the game chess. Wait a few matches before explaining the diagonal capture rule of pawns. Explain check as a warning the your king may be captured on the next go. Protection of the king is a crucial part of Shout Chess and therefore should not be a foreign concept to your child. Eventually introduce the more advanced concepts of castling, pawn promotion and en passant as your child's confidence levels increase.

At this point, your child is now able to understand the rules of chess and can play chess at a basic level. Using incremental techniques the process has remained fun and exciting and your child has therefore enjoyed the learning process. Good luck and happy memory building.

A Brief Chess History

Want a brief chess history? Variations of chess have been played for thousands of years, but the history of chess we play today developed in the 15th century in southern Europe.

Early Chess History

Chess originated in India as the 6th century game "caturanga," which featured a military theme. Pieces were named after military divisions of the time. Infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots in Indian chess sets later evolved into the pawn, knight, bishop, and rook we know today.

Persian and Arab traders later brought the game into the Middle East where it became "shatranj." Some areas used the name "shah," which is Persian for "king". This usage may have involved into the current terms "check" and "chess."

In the 10th century, Moorish traders introduced the game into southern Europe, where it became popular in Spain and Italy.

Modern Chess Becomes Popular

In the 15th century, rules changes by Spanish and Italian masters began to spread throughout Europe. Pawns became more active, bishops more mobile and the queen became the most powerful piece on the board. The changes made to the game at this time have held up into the modern era.

Spanish and Italian chess masters produced many books on theory and began formalizing opening and endgame strategies. By the 18th century, chess masters in France began to refine strategies and chess became a popular game in coffeehouses across Europe.

In the 19th century, chess continued to grow in popularity with clubs, books and journals appearing all over Europe. Newspapers began to print chess problems in daily papers, and in 1843, German chess masters von der Lasa and Bilguer produced the first complete manual of chess theory.

The Age Of The Grandmaster

In the 20th century, competitive chess became the search for a world champion. In 1914, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia conferred the title of Chess Grandmaster to several of the best players of the day.

In 1924, the World Chess Federation was formed and quickly began tournaments to establish a World Champion of chess. Beginning in 1948, Russian chess players dominated the top of the world rankings and the title of World Chess Champion was associated with names like Boris Spassky, and Garry Kasparov.

The current World Champion is Viswanathan Anand, of India who won the title in 2007, bringing the history of chess full circle.

Ways to Improve Your Chess Game

Chess is considered by many to be one of the ultimate tests of intelligence and skill. It takes clever planning and a large amount of strategy to do well in this game. One not only needs to have a thorough understanding of the pieces and how they work, but they have to be familiar and comfortable enough in the game to relax enough to think through all of their potential moves. Understanding the opponent is another huge factor into how a chess game will run. Knowing your opponent's skill level as well as the types of moves they favor and are likely to make will go a long way in playing a strong chess game.

Firstly, you will only grow better at chess by playing it and playing it often. The more you play chess, the more you will understand the relationships between the pieces and the better you will be able to manipulate them into performing some brilliant moves. Playing often, especially with a variety of opponents, will teach you a number of different approaches to the game. You will begin to be able to learn your opponents, how they think, and be able to identify moves which they might be planning based on the moves that they are making. Being able to see into the future with chess is one of the strongest qualities that any player can have because, when you know what your opponent is planning to do, you can build a strategy around that and combat them effectively.

Reading more about chess in your spare time can also go a long way into preparing you to play a strong game. There are a number of books available which focus on every aspect of the game. You can learn how to play a strong opening, setting yourself up to dominate the board. You could read a book solely about the endgame, learning how to best use all of the pieces remaining so that you can earn yourself a checkmate. There are pieces which focus only of specialized and famous moves that have been performed in different games, each with their own name and history.

Websites can also give you a lot of practice in building up your chess strategy. There are many sites available which show you a new chess move of the day as well as providing you with a chess problem to solve. These problems will give you an example of a chessboard and all of the pieces on it, telling you that a checkmate or a capture of a certain piece is possible within a set number of moves. It is then your goal to try and figure out what those moves are to solve that problem.

Chess is a difficult game, yes, but one that can be learned. Being a strong chess player can be a great advantage, both because it is impressive but also because it can help you to begin to look at the world in a new way. It will give you a new perspective on solving problems and this, in the end, can be invaluable.

Chess Computers - The Novag Carnelian II

If you're thinking of buying chess computers - the Novag Carnelian II is a good candidate for under £100. The Carnelian is an improved version of the Carnelian I version which originally had the same software as the Novag Opal Plus. Novag have seen fit to improve the software to enable the Carnelian II to stand out as a program in it's own right and superior to the Opal Plus. They've succeeded royally. The C II is superb as a software diven chess engine with a well endowed database of openings.

The cabinet falls short of the genuine wood cabinet of it's big brother Citrine, but does at least have real wood (sheesham) pieces. The pieces have some magnetisation and interreact with reed switches below the surface to register the move from the 'from' square and the 'to' square. The board is strictly press sensory, but you'd hardly notice the pressure needed to make the computer recognise a 'move. The faux wood is a little irritating, but since we've been conditioned to think of the computer as unnatural, it's kinda reassuring. Real wood-everything might confuse our concepts. The chess machine has LED's on the x-axis and y-axis to indicate the 'from' square and 'to' square. It knows you can read algebraic notation, it's just making sure - a kind of belt and braces approach.The machine has over 100 levels of teaching modes, hints, take-back etc. and has a 8,500 move openings database. Here is a summary of it's features:

• 16K RISC Style processor with 28Kbyt ROM, 1K Ram, 8 MHz
• Wide-ranging opening book with more than 24,000 half-moves
• 128 level settings, including training, tournament and problem solving levels
• Move TAKE BACK, HINT, TRAINING, and REFEREE features
• Can play against itself and also makes Check, Stalemate and Mate announcements
• Overall Dimensions 300mm x 273mm
• Requires 6 x AA batteries or an optional mains adapter
• Hand carved wooden Staunton chess pieces
• 81 LED lights to indicate each move, i.e. each square has 4 LED lights
• Will connect to the PC to print/store/follow games
• 1900 elo - able to beat very strong players on it's higher settings

When you're ready to play the machine, it feels like a huge computer ready to receive it's first instructional challenge. What? Just this feeble human? Don't insult me. It's understated nature feels like it's waiting for your initial attempt before it helps you - trains you - to make the right evaluation, the right build up of strategy which it's silicon zero's and one's have mastered. Don't feel intimidated, don't feel stupid - you're only human. After all - humans are it's programmers - so the Carnelian's intelligence is about to take over your miserable chaotic world with an abscence of strategy or logic. Just press the button, it won't change anything, press it - it's safe, you'll still be in control.