The History of Chess

Whether you play the game of kings on a wooden chess set or with an electronic chess device, chess is a game that is rich with history. Chess most likely began in the Indus Valley with the game of Chaturanga, which means "four parts," because two to four people played it. Each player had fewer pieces than players of today's modern chess game do. With Chaturanga, instead of rooks there were chariots, or even ships, and the king could move two squares at a time. But this ancient game was definitely similar to today's chess, and many gaming historians believe it is the root of the game of chess.

The Arabs would have learned chess from the Persians and then introduced the game to the Europeans, with whom they were fighting, and whose lands they sometimes occupied. Being unfamiliar with Persian names and courtly customs, the Europeans renamed the pieces to reflect their own society. So, with today's game of chess, whether it is played on a traditional wooden chess board or using a 21st century electronic chess device, we are actually playing with European medieval history.

The pawns in chess are serfs. These serfs outnumbered the nobility and clergy in medieval Europe just as the pawns outnumber every other piece on the chess board, and they were considered the nobility's property. While the nobles were actually supposed to protect the serfs, they often got caught up in their own petty wars and intrigues. In fact, the serfs were often made to fight alongside the nobles--only to be sacrificed to the enemy in order to protect the regular army and nobles. This scenario actually mimics the use of pawns in chess today--as they are mainly used as blockers and sacrifices to capture the more powerful pieces.

On each extreme side of the chess board when the game begins, a player has a rook or castle. These were the protective safe havens in medieval times. Set up next to the rooks, one on each side of the board as well, are the knights. The knights were the regular soldiers of the day and lived in castles, and of course they were mounted (typically) and thus with their horses they could make leaps or end-runs around others. Knights were often landed barons and the primary defenders of serfs and commoners. Chess strategies of advanced players put the knights into action very early, sometimes even opening the game with a knight's move. As we move in closer to the royal court (the king and queen) we find it flanked by two bishops. The bishops have great power in chess and this and their positioning on the board symbolize the medieval Church's great power, which often got caught up with that of the secular royal court. Chess players dispute whether the knights or the bishops are truly more powerful in the game. The diagonal-only movement of the bishops probably symbolizes the indirect political machinations of the Church.

Now we come to the court, where the greatest power and the most important piece are. The queen is without question the game's most powerful piece, symbolizing the fact that queens in medieval Europe often pulled the strings behind the scenes, at once protecting, yet at the same time, manipulating the king and the court so as to keep their own power (and lives) intact. And then we have the king--the game's most important piece and the root of all of a player's power, since if the king is check-mated the player loses--symbolically, the player's kingdom has fallen, as his king has lost all of his power.

So whether you play the classic wooden chess game or the modern electronic chess game, be mindful of the history before you.

Chess--It's Not Just for Geniuses

Chess has a rather undeserved reputation as being a game played only by eggheads, a game so far out of the reach of the normal human being that it can only be truly comprehended by intellectual giants. While intellectual giants do indeed play the game, savant status is not a prerequisite. In fact, chess is a surprisingly simple game, and most adults can learn the rules in one sitting.

In Europe and in many Latin American countries, chess is not viewed as an unapproachable pastime of the elite. Rather, it is a hobby and passion for the masses. The reason for the popularity of chess is easy to see--you can learn to play the game in a single day but you can spend a lifetime trying to master it. Chess games are like snowflakes; they never repeat. Except for games that feature a few well known opening traps, each and every chess game is unique. It has been estimated that there are more possible chess games than there are particles in the entire universe.

For those who take the time to delve into the art of chess, they soon discover that improvement comes quickly in the beginning. Mastering a few basic techniques and strategies makes the difference between a novice and a competent player. No extraordinary mental facilities are needed to play a great game of chess and have a good time doing so.

That being said, playing chess well does involve exercising your brain. Chess involves attack and defense, tactics and strategy, skill, insight, and patience. You try to implement your plan while discerning and foiling your opponent's strategy. You know your opponent is doing the same, so you try to fool him. A feint on the wing disguises your real plan of a center thrust, or vice versa. For these reasons, it is said that General Douglas Macarthur advocated making chess a required subject for military officers in training.

Chess is a simple yet deceptively deep game. It can be enjoyed by anyone. Those who choose to delve more deeply into the secrets of chess are rewarded with a mentally stimulating and rewarding lifelong hobby.

The Effects of Chess on Leadership

Napoleon and Chess

"A leader has the right to be beaten, but never the right to be surprised."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon Bonaparte was with no doubt one of the greatest military leaders of his time. For him, failing to prepare meant preparing to fail. Without a plan there was certainly no victory. Without a great strategy you were doomed to lose in battle. And back then that meant your life.

And Napoleon had all the attributes a great leader must have to be successful, and he worked on them by playing an ancient game; a game that has never lost its popularity: Chess. And he sharpened his strategic senses by playing it on a regular basis. And as you might have correctly assumed, he was a master at it.

So I asked myself:

What are the specific positive side effects by playing this game?

And how can we profit from it?

Reason #1 - Creativity

Playing chess will benefit your creativity. While the various opening scenarios of the game might appear similar (I have never played a game that was totally the same), the possibilities afterwards are simply too complex. In this way you really encounter new situations with every game you play - guaranteed. And there are no limits to your creativity. Every game asks for new ways to beat your opponent, you need to vary your tactics in order to outsmart your opponent. For Napoleon these patterns were important for his military strategies: Every battlefield had different conditions and different settings; and not to mention the many different moves of his opponents. Chess seemed to be the perfect practice for this kind of thinking.

Reason #2 - Concentration

In Chess situations can get really complicated and difficult. You have to take several options into account before you finally make your move. This demands a lot of concentration and focus. This is the tough part of chess. Having the will to really think things through.

Imagine how Napoleon would sit over a plan for hours and hours. I don´t know how many hours of the day he used for sleeping but I bet he was simply to focused and concentrated on the task at hand that he might have forgotten to go to bed.

Reason #3 - Logical Thinking

Another great attribute that chess is adding to your life is the improvement of your logical thinking processes. In chess the playing figures are inter dependent, this means that you have to use the figures in harmony with each other. And you do this by logical thinking. You also have to take your future moves into account and most importantly how your opponent might react on this move. You need to think in logical patterns.

Reason #4 - Problem Solving

One of the greatest feelings a chess player can get is the feeling of a successful solution of a problem. Sometimes you can literally feel the pressure when a player is in the aggression mode and is attacking your armies. You need to bring all of the mentioned aspects together to master this difficult situation. By playing chess you not only get used to problems you also get used to start thinking about reasonable solutions. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don´t, but the important thing is that you start the process of trying to solve them.

Reason #5 - Importance of Sacrificing

Back in the days of Napoleon sacrificing was certainly not the best option - resulting in the death of a lot of soldiers. But in chess it sometimes becomes inevitable. You sacrifice in chess in order to get an edge either in your position or in material. Great players are masters of this principle of sacrificing. They draw the attention of their opponent to the initial sacrifice while planning a completely different, more complex way to beat them. I highly recommend to study the following game that was played in 1871 between Glinksberg and Miguel Najdorf. It is called the "Polish Immortal". In this game Najdorf sacrifices like crazy only to beat Glinksberg with a tiny bishop move at the end. This is art.

Reason #6 - Decision Making

In life and as well in chess you are presented many options. And you are the one to figure out which move is the best in each situation. And it is so nice to see how a chess game develops. With only one move of your opponent many new options are created and presented. And with every new move you have to think them through and make the best possible choice. What a great practice for real life.

Napoleon recognized all these benefits and sharpened his mind by playing a lot of chess. This was a part of his preparation. This was his way of making sure never to end up being surprised.

Today, most of us are not facing a military battlefield but there are a lot of personal ones in our lives:
Our careers, our relationships and even our faith.

So let's use chess to sharpen our minds and prepare ourselves for all the possible battlefields out there.

Chess Game

Chess is a game that requires a lot of mental skill and concentration. It is a game for two people who try to adopt different strategies to defeat the other player. It is a very complex game that has infinite possible moves and tactics. Almost every move depends on the other person's moves. The earliest chess games were traced to the 2nd century BC although there is no evidence to its exact existence. There is evidence of a type of chess game being played in India in the 6th century AD; some modern versions were found in Persia.

The main equipment required for playing chess is a chess board and chess pieces. The board is square with 64 equal-sized squares drawn across. The squares are of alternate colors- generally black and white or any other contrasting colors. The chess pieces are totally 32 in number: 16 for each player, comprised of eight pawns, two knights, two bishops, two rooks, one queen and one king. Each player has one set of these sixteen pieces, which are all of the same color - either black or white.

There are unlimited moves in chess, each depending on the strategies of the opponent. The openings or the first moves a very important part of the game, and so are the rest of the moves. Each piece moves differently: the rooks can move any number of spaces vertically or horizontally; bishops can move any number of spaces in any direction diagonally; the queen can move any number of spaces diagonally, horizontally, or vertically; the king can move only one square horizontally, vertically, or diagonally; Knight can move in L shape, i.e. two spaces horizontally and one space vertically - they can jump over occupied squares and moves. When one piece comes in the way of another, it is removed from the board. Each player has to protect his/her pieces and also aim to eliminate the king of the opponent. When the king is eliminated, the game is over. However, the game can also end in a draw, with neither player defeating the other.

There are many variations in chess: blitz chess (timed by a chess clock), bullet chess/lightening chess (very fast); correspondence chess (by mail), computer chess (played with the computer) and Internet chess/online chess (played online with another player or the computer).

Chess games can be bought from any games store. They can also be downloaded from the Internet. There are hundreds of free chess games that can be played online or downloaded for free. Some have to be purchased.

No Stress Chess - An Easy Way to Learn Chess

"No Stress Chess" is an easy game based on "real" chess and it is a learning system for beginners and even young children. It works using two key elements which are an annotated chess board and a card system and it removes the difficulty of setting up the board correctly and the strategy part of the game (although you will learn this later as you progress). The simplicity of the system means that children as young a five can play against someone else and they will both be evenly matched

One of the difficulties in a young family is that the very young children can not normally join in a game of chess firstly because they don't understand strategy and secondly they don't remember all the chess moves. In this game you don't have to remember all the moves as the card system deals with that. Youngsters can even join in in setting up the board as the starting position of each piece is shown. As anyone plays the game they will be learning the piece positions and also the moves made by each piece without any effort.

The "No Stress Chess" game system uses an annotated chess board with pictures showing where each piece is to be placed and some additional information such as the pawn "first moves" (1 or 2 squares). The cards in the game each have the picture of the piece to move and also exactly how you can move it.

To play the game each player in turn takes a card and moves the specified piece which means the that game is now a game of chance - although you are really learning how to play "real" chess at the same time.

Why is Chess So Popular?

Chess can safely be considered to be one of the most popular games that exist in the world today. Having roots that go back many hundreds of years, this game has been in existence in its current state since the late Middle Ages, making it into one of the games with the longest lifespan that has ever existed!

Chess is relatively simple to understand despite some of the intricate moving patterns that the pieces employ and new players can master the basics of Chess in under 5 minutes. With only a little effort, the movements of all the pieces can be thoroughly explained, the game's concepts can be illustrated, and the objectives made clear. This easy-to-learn approach to the game gives new players the ability to get right into crafting their own strategies and start to learn the intricacies of the game, making it enjoyable for all.

The game has a wide following among more experienced players as well because it is one of the best mental exercises that one can receive when playing a game. It provides a thrill because there are an infinite number of possibilities that could happen during the course of any game, giving any player a wide opportunity of actions to initiate and react to. Long term strategies can often be enacted on a Chessboard against an opponent, allowing anyone to test out their knowledge and execution of tactics. Competing against a skilled Chess player can provide heavy stimulation for one's intellect, allowing this to be a perfect game to play with a partner.

Popularity of the game has allowed it to grow to the extent that worldwide Chess tournaments are often held, many of them annually. Nearly every country in the world is represented in these tournaments as the reach of Chess is widespread. These tournaments test the skills of all the best Chess players from each country attending, pitting them against one another until one player stands out, above the rest, as the Chess champion. Not only does notoriety play a huge role in these high-stakes tournaments, but often a large cash prize will be up for grabs as well to the Championship winner.

Chess is a great tool, not only for mental stimulation, but also for teaching discipline. Sitting down to solve Chess problems can help train the mind to look at problems in a new light. Sitting down for an actual game of Chess allows players to think creatively and strategically, helping their brains to adapt quickly to circumstances and to weight out all of their options before taking an action. This can be very helpful in everyday life, as many people do things without thinking about them, often being disastrous. Playing Chess frequently can help those people to slow down and evaluate the circumstances first, enabling them to become better, smarter people for it. Analyzing the situation has always proven to be beneficial to a person and Chess is just one of the most fun examples of how this can be done in everyday life. For this reason, the game of Chess has remained a part of popular culture for many hundreds of years, and should remain in that position for many years to come.

Chess - Playing Without a Second Player

Chess is one of the most extensively played and popular games I know of. Chess is also one of the oldest board games. The game is made up of two sets of 16 pieces, including one king, one queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks, and 8 pawns.

For those of us who love to play, it feels like we can never get enough of it. It is also one of the oldest board games around, and it is definitely the most popular and competitive one. If you like to play chess, and you can't find anyone to play with you should look for chess game download sites on the internet. There are plenty of web sites on the internet that offer free games to download.

Games for kids involve simple techniques, puzzles and quizzes, which not only introduce children to basics, but also teach them. It is a wonderful game to encourage your children to learn, for it develops thinking, planning and strategic skills in them. When learning to play chess, one of the most important things that one needs to know is names of the pieces. Mastering strategy and tactics is amateur of constant practice and analysis. While many of us wish to uncover how to play,were not sure about a chess board set up.

The initial moves of a game, which can eventually resolve the course of the game, is mostly known as a chess opening. Practice is the key each time you get better you will feel that all the hours you have put into dominating the game of chess seem to be paying off. Chess strategy deals with evaluation of chess positions, fixing up goals and long term tactics before play.

When you imagine a game of chess, you see a picture in a quiet setting with two persons sitting opposite each other, with serious faces.

Are you getting bored with your games? There are chess books developed for advanced players that will go by means of very specific formats for trying counter strategy reference. Infuse an amount of added competition and excitement by timing your moves with a chess clock.

Chess Over the Years

Over the years, chess spread throughout the world and enjoyed massive waves of popularity. Undoubtedly, reality is reflected in the idea that chess originated either as an aid or substitute for warfare. This stemmed from the notion that chess was invented as a war game and so, that is the manner in which it should executed. In fact in order to be knighted, it helped if you played a good game of chess.

And finally, a mention should be made of pawns; those so adequately named pieces which are even denied the status of chess 'men'. Pawns were sacrificial pieces.

While chess might have originated as a war game, it was seen as a game of nobility and education in Europe in the 1500s. It can be seen that from actions in Europe around the year 1500 that chess had become strongly ingrained in western society. Within European Aristocracy, the concept behind chess became a royal court rather than a battlefield. However, the game's popularity was helped by its social cache: a chess set was often associated with wealth, knowledge, and power. As a result it became fashionable for aristocrats to have live-in chess masters. In fact during difficult times in Protestant Europe there were massive attacks on "ungodly pursuits," but chess was often defended while other pastimes were denied.

As a result chess has long been considered the ultimate test of intellectual activity. Some feel that because of its difficulty and boorishness, chess diminished in its traditional appeal. However, most will agree that the chess community has traditionally been more enlightened than the larger society.

Mass production of chess sets helped introduce chess to the lower class. The low cost to produce the Staunton set allowed the masses to purchase sets and helped to again popularize the game of chess. But chess is more than just a game of skill. Chess stood a turn in education as teachers noted that students' behavior improved upon learning chess. How far beyond chess such aptitude can be expanded is the next big question.

One that is still argued today. Playing chess by computer began in the early 1950s, nearly as soon as computers became available. The rules of play early intrigued computer scientists-MIT wrote the first chess program in 1957. Some programmers believe that work on computer chess led to important software techniques still in use today. The worldwide fascination for chess has been astonishing. It has been said that there is more literature devoted to chess than for all other games combined. Today, chess is played world wide with international appeal.

Social Play Is The Best Chess Teacher

The best chess teacher is simply to play, play and play some more. Chess is a detailed strategy game that can be taught at an early age. Most children begin learning chess when they are young, taught by a parent or relative. This involves simple introductions involving a few pieces and expands to more strategic game play but can only be according to the parent or relatives knowledge base. Many parents wonder how to bring their child to the next level in chess if they prove to enjoy it. The good news is that any individual can advance to the next level through social play. Chess is such a popular game that there are worldwide organizations and mentors available to teach. Once the basic rules and game play have been mastered, an individual may want to consider advancing their skills through a chess organization.

USCF

When you are ready you can visit the United States Chess Federation online and look up local chess chapters. Within these social clubs you will gain a higher level of playing prowess. There are many styles and techniques and playing socially will enhance your knowledge base of this delightful game. Many masters and champions are active in their local clubs and serve to mentor budding players. Having personal contact is much better than the alternative, online game play. Strategies can be rehashed, discussed and a player learns about the intensity of pressure during social play. Educators can coach on play by-play scenarios and the environment is much more fun.

Competitive Play

Once you feel confident in your ability as a chess player, you may wish to enter into a chess tournament. Chess tournaments will certainly kick your game up a notch as you will now be dealing with rated players and a time clock. Initially you will be unrated but as you win matches your rating will increase allowing you to enter future competitions. There are many tournament levels from beginners to masters. Your rating will be based on the number of wins, losses and draws in your competitive history. After time, you will become seeded, reflecting on your level of skill.

Although there is plenty of alternative instructional information available both in book form and online, playing socially can introduce new challenges and offer a more real approach to strategies. Developing your game through mentors and competitive play will ultimately serve to be the best chess teacher in the long run.

You, Yes You, Are You a Psychic World Chess Player?

The standard chess game can be taught quickly although you may lose the first 20 games until you can learn strategies. The King is the feature of the game. You have to put the opposing player's King into such a position that he cannot move in any direction without being taken. This is called checkmate. All the other pieces are there to attack and defend the King. Next to the King you have the Queen, she can attack and move in any direction she is the mightiest piece on the board. On either side of the Queen are 2 Bishops. Here restrictions come into play. The Bishop can only travel diagonally across the board on its own colour square. On either side of the Bishops are Knights that move in an L shape configuration. At the end of each line are the Castles or Rooks that move square in any direction. On the forefront of each major piece are the pawns. Pawns can only move 1 forward: and diagonally 1 forward to take another piece off the board. The first pawn move can go forward 2 places. Stalemate is a drawn game where neither King can be placed in 'Check'. When a pawn reaches an opponents back line it becomes another Queen.

It is an exciting game that engages the brain to invent strategies, cunning, deviations and moves that distract your opponent.

In analogy the world is a huge chess board of intrigue and manipulation. There are many games being played at any one moment and each game has its own title. For instance the head of a country would be the king. Gender does not count they could be male or female. They could also be an elected leader or a despot. The queen is the symbol of an energetic policy, force or strategy and she both attacks and defends. By the side of the King and Queen are two Bishops. They are limited as to direction but can move in long or short play and defend or attack symbolising strategy. The Knights and Rooks become the 'back-up' or supporting entourage but also have the power to defend and the capability to destroy the Queen.

Finally, we arrive at the pawns the power or symbol of the people. They stand in line in front of the elected or positioned backline until they are worn down over a period and obliterated. In analogy this would mean they would be defeated by the oppositions supporting entourage, meaning a change of board. (Leader or Government.)

The power of the pawns is limited and after election or change becomes insignificant. Even though they elect the back line it is the King and Queen who dictate the policy. If the Queen is taken the knights, Rooks and Bishops have to mount a defence.

In undemocratic countries the opposition start the game lacking several pieces that in turn extends the time period and causes inaction on part of the opposition paralysing their positions. Once the opposition can support a full board their chances are evened.

In democratic countries the surprise forage by the opposition can quickly put the King in check and depending on the position of the Queen, checkmate, thus a change of power or Government. Another such action would be the loss of the Rooks and Bishops in support leaving the limited resources of the Knights. A coalition would be like playing with an extra back line they would need a long time extension causing an overcrowded board and confusion in movement. The Queens' in particular would have to know their moves and to play in conjunction. Finding the right moves would make them a formidable force but this could be wrecked by too many Rooks, Knights and Bishops. This crowded board could cause inaction or a step forward into danger.

The European chess board has slowed to a halt, the Queen not moving and changing her tactics over a long period. Here, the opposition goes to sleep and will in time be overrun. It is at the moment a never-ending game of stalemate still not finished. The game will never reach full play until the Queen finalises her Federal State the pawns will have then completely released all power to the back line. The board will be swamped with several back lines completely destroying any opposition. The backline from this will be reduced to a super King and Queen that are unstoppable. Two Rooks will become super banks controlling all before them with a ruthless doctrine disregarding their own and opposition pawns. The game now won, the opposition Queen and all her support are taken off the board. Several games and a while later a new game ensues the pawns gather strength filling 3 full lines in front of a new backline finally defeating the super Queen and King.

In the United States the game moves predictably into the next round. For years a near stalemate has existed but in the final moves a winner has to be found. The pawns have nearly wiped each other out as they move up the board. The Queens rallying support for their Kings try to out manoeuvre their opposition.
One King, a venture capitalist, represents big business and needs to control his pawns. The beliefs of this King are in a financial bottom line policy, and he will use his Queen to take opposition pawns off the board.

The other King who won the last game has a struggling Queen. He needs more time to help make his strategies work. His rooks, Knights and Bishops need to be stronger and work harder. Pawns are a way forward and will be protected not sacrificed needlessly.

Your personal life is a three stage game. The stacked board before you represents your political leaders who semi- dominate your lifestyle. The local council is your first democratic vote yet very few people turn out to register their views. The national election is your second democratic vote but we are now sceptical of our MP's because their actual power has dwindled. The European election is your third democratic vote. This is a voice in the wilderness as few people know who their EMP's are or what they do. Very little is shown on TV as to how this huge machine works. How can 27 countries have the same values and ambitions?

As you reach the European chess board the game is massed against you as the board doubles in size. It is a mad clutter of differing ideologies and philosophies. Your opposing board is filled with kings and Queens and pawns and your moves are limited for there is nowhere to go without being taken. You are swamped as a great many pawns from the poorer countries head towards you for there are no restrictions laid down to follow. The dictates are now free entry to any part of this European Empire without obligation to any countries personal needs.

As you are outnumbered several European Rooks will become dominant taking over financial control of this huge beast. They will become omnipotent causing your part of the board to become paralysed and subjugated without a voice.

Don't worry, after all, it's only a game of chess... or is it?

Chess for Beginners

Strategy

Chess strategy is the ability to realize that certain positions or structures are more favorable than others and to form plans to reach these types of positions. Tactics, then is a means by which we use threats and tricks to realize these plans.

Let me give you the picture of a football team, composed out of egoistic players only after showing off their own abilities, not caring as much about the team as about themselves. When they get the ball, their aim is to put it behind the goal keeper single handedly. They dribble away, by all means skilfully, but the chances of scoring alone are much slimmer than if they teamed up with their comrades. Even if every player was very skilled this team´s results would be poorer than that of a team consisting of less skilled players but playing in concord.

Many beginners in chess go through a phase where they use only two or three pieces to launch a direct attack on the opposing king - preferably the queen and a light piece, bishop or knight. After much practice with this strategy they might become very successful until they play someone handling their pieces as one team. The guerrilla tactics may disturb a little, but in the end the "teamplayer" wins the game more often than not. That is because they defend each other´s backs, and when the guerrilla spear has been broken the guerrilla king is in poor shape to defend himself, since he has wasted a lot of time on the premature solo attack, and the rest of his pieces stand undeveloped and cramped in their starting positions.

For a long time this doesn´t deter the fierce attacker as he is not convinced that his "strategy" is a poor choice. He stubbornly continues and becomes very good in sharp tactical play, but since there is a gaping hole in his play where strategical understanding should be, he will eventually reach a point where he can develop no further.

So now that we realize the importance of cooperation between the pieces, we understand the importance of spending time economically. Time, or tempo in chess language, meaning one move. It´s important to not spend more time on individual pieces than necessary. Develop the piece and go on to the next - if possible, so that when the opening phase is over, all the pieces are prepared and ready to do battle in concord.

What should be our first aim in the game. In one word - to control the center. He who controls the center will have very good prospects for the rest of the game. The reason being that a piece posted in the center is ready to launch an attack either directly on the king, or on the queen´s wing, which ever is the weakest. A chain is only as strong as it´s weakest link.

Sales Strategy - Chess Or Checkers?

The term strategic selling is brought up frequently when describing complex or sophisticated selling. And while there is an element of truth in this, I think it has more to do with the way you approach a sale rather than that the actual sale is actually complicated.

Firstly it may be useful to define what the word 'strategy' means. I have found a number of different definitions of the word:

Strategy (definitions) - A scheme or an elaborate and systematic plan of action - The differentiating activities an organization pursues to gain competitive advantage - A systematic plan, consciously adapted and monitored, to improve one's performance

All of the above definitions are acceptable but I think in a selling situation, the third definition is the most accurate.

Strategic selling means to develop a plan to win and then to monitor it and adapt as necessary. Therefore if the situation changes, for example the customer's need changes or the competition makes a move that positions them in a more favorable position, it is our job to reposition ourselves so that we can improve our chances of winning.

Note that I use the word position a couple of times as I think that this is more important than actually 'competing'. Competing implies that whenever the competition makes a move, we move another move to counter it. A 'tit for tat' type of situation.

This is fine but it is important not to mistake activity for achievement. Just because one salesperson makes a lot of moves and competes for the business by having lots of meetings, phone calls or presentations does not mean that salesperson is actually winning. A strategic thinking salesperson may only make a few moves according to a plan but knows that each move positions her closer to the winning of the sale.

This reminds me of the analogy of checkers versus chess. In checkers, when the opponent moves a piece, you react by moving a piece, usually to take their piece (or pieces) off the board. This is a tactical play and usually is done without a lot of thinking.

However like chess, strategic selling is a more complicated undertaking. Chess players anticipate future moves and will position their pieces in such a way that each one strengthens other pieces on the board. They are working together for the common goal in a common plan which is to checkmate the opponent's King.

So in chess, the move you make is a move that involves thinking ahead a great deal of the time to gauge how this will benefit you in the longer term. This should be the rationale for any sales activity - will it benefit you in the longer term, positions you to win and strengthens the previous work you have done? To continue the analogy, chess is a more complex game than checkers because there are many more variables; just like in the selling world. It requires more thinking, planning, concentration and hard work and sometimes revisions of the plan. To win also takes the qualities of perseverance and stamina with many obstacles to navigate.

Checkers is easier and demands very little forethought and concentration. Because it is easier, it is often the manner in which most salespeople approach their sales opportunities.

That is why strategy is much more important in chess than in checkers and why complex, competitive sales situations should be approached this way.

To use a real life example of what a strategic sales approach looks like, I would like to point out a simple example of two car salespeople.

One salesperson (let's call him Bob) was very good at asking the husband what he is looking for. The husband said he wanted something fast and easy to drive. Consequently, Bob pointed out how fast his manufacturer's car was in getting to 100 km/hour, and how well it can be handled and how many horsepower the turbo charged engine had. Bob took the family out on a test drive and it was certainly a great performance car. This demonstration was very compelling and the married couple with the three year-old child was impressed.

The second car salesperson (let's call him Bill) asked the same kind of questions but he noticed the three year-old child and the mother were not involved much so he decided to include them in his conversation. This was a clever strategic move. Bill found out what was most important was the child's safety. Everything else was nice to have. Guess who got the business?

I know this sounds like common sense but let's face it, we have all experienced situations where common sense was not that commonly used.

So to summarize, strategic selling is nothing more than gaining a stronger awareness of the situation and developing a plan to win.

It also helps if one uses the brain before using the mouth.

Learn The Right Moves For Sucessful Chess Play

For many people they find the tactics and strategy of chess play very complicated, even computers are unable to work out the best strategy against every situation in a game of chess. As there are literally millions of different possibilities involved in each game of chess it is impossible for us to evaluate them all.

Over the years chess strategy has gradually been getting more advanced and the Chess Masters who write books about their various strategies will eventually influence the next generation of chess players to come along. It also means that being able to observe a particular player's strategy can often make it easier for other players to work out how to beat them, despite them not knowing much about the game of chess itself.

Whilst the more advanced chess play strategies and tactics can take some one years even a life time to learn and in fact you will soon discover it is pretty much impossible to learn everything about the game of chess. However, below are 2 of the more basic moves which should help get you started.

Generally the most common move made in any game of chess is to ensure that you pin the other player's pieces. What we mean by pinning is that you use one of your pieces to stop your opponent from one of theirs and thus allowing you to take one of their more important pieces such as the Rook or Queen. Certainly a more skilled chess player will be able to easily stop you from moving anywhere and thus controlling not only their side of the board but yours as well.

Then there is the skewer move which is very similar to the pin move, but only the other way around. So the more important piece (Rook or Queen) is at the front and the less important one is behind. Although it looks as though you are moving your most important piece into the line of fire you have actually in reality got it covered. Thus if your opponent decides to take your important piece they will then leave their most important piece open to be taken by your less important one. Because of this your opponent will be forced to move their more important piece out of the line of fine and leaving their weaker ones that are behind open to attack.

Learning Decision-Making From the Game of Life and the Game of Chess

"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

Life can be likened to a game of chess. In chess you have to read the board, look out for obvious signs of danger and even try to predict your opponent's next move. However, human beings can be unpredictable and your opponent can often make a move that takes you completely by surprise. One thing is certain. Whatever happens, you have to respond to your opponent's move and you keep doing so until - checkmate.

For some people decision-making is an agonisingly slow process. Yet, whatever decision you make, you will set in motion a series of changes or responses in your environment. Some will be predictable; others not. Some will be favourable; others not. Nonetheless, to make progress you will have to respond to those changes in your environment.

While you can influence the outcome of the game unless you are playing against yourself you cannot control how the game unfolds. This is what makes the game of chess and the game of life so fascinating. However, there is no forward motion until you make your move, until you make a decision and take ACTION.

One of the reasons why you are likely to hesitate in making a decision is because you want to make the 'right' decision. Lighten up, it's a game - remember.

"You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good idea and whether there are other better ideas."

Stanley Kubrick

In life, you often immediately have the answer to what you should do. Your intuitive self is able to analyse situations far more quickly and accurately than you can do consciously. So by all means review your options but keep in mind the game grinds to a halt while you stall. Meanwhile, other games are also being enacted and, while you procrastinate, opportunities that these games create evaporate. Timing is everything so you need to hone your decision-making skills.

As you develop awareness you will be able to predict with greater accuracy how your opponent will respond. You will be able to evaluate possible moves and their outcomes more quickly and you will be able to develop effective strategies for dealing with each scenario. However, you will only develop this awareness by raising your game.

"Suddenly it was obvious to me in my analysis I had missed what Fischer had found with the greatest of ease at the board."

Mikhail Botvinnik

You will need to study the strategies and tactics used by chess masters and you will need to play against more and more advanced opponents. In life, at times you will win; other times you will lose. Win or lose, you can always learn from the experience and so you can always make progress.

"I had a toothache during the first game. In the second game I had a headache. In the third game it was an attack of rheumatism. In the fourth game, I wasn't feeling well. And in the fifth game? Well, must one have to win every game?"

Siegbert Tarrasch

At times you will struggle. You will want to throw your hands up and strike the pieces from the board. Stop! It is at these times when you must be calm and focused for they mark the advent to some of your greatest lessons and greatest triumphs. So welcome your challenges.

"I love all positions. Give me a difficult positional game, I will play it. But totally won positions, I cannot stand them."

Hein Donner

In life, you will have mentors - those who have achieved what you are striving to achieve; and coaches - those who will help to elevate your level of thinking so that you not only develop your own success strategies but also your style of doing things. Modelling success has its place but you are also one of a kind with a unique contribution to make. Dare to be brazen. Play the game of life like no one else has. Dare to win.

You don't get a second chance at life. This is it. You don't get to reinstate the chess pieces back on the board and start over. The good news is that you can start today, right now to create your ideal life. No matter what your circumstances you were born free. You have the freedom to choose your life. Somehow, we forget this and we act as though we are in chains.

"Pawns are born free, yet they are everywhere in chains."

Rick Kennedy

It's a game remember - a grand illusion. You can break free of any self-imposed chains and live your best life now. All it takes is a decision. Play the game of life to win!

Chess - How to Master the Secrets of the Masters

It has been said that chess is an art and not just a game. Whether you are an expert, a master of strategies, a guru of techniques, or only a beginner, there is always something fresh and innovative, which you can try. The secret is to be good at planning, sharp and quick witted and able to discern your opponents moves. This is the beauty of chess. It never becomes boring, because the challenge is always there. The variety of moves in the game is almost endless, which is not the case with most board games.

In the game of chess, there is no such thing as chance, Lady luck, or Kismet. Chess is all about skill, concentration, manoeuvring, and that little something extra that we call intuition. The ability to think and plan ahead of your competitor is of vital importance.

The old Greek saying; "know thyself", applies very much to the game of chess. Perhaps I should say not really the game but the player. To know yourself; to have true understanding of who you are is a prerequisite to becoming what you want to be. In this case, it is becoming a top player. However, being a top player isn't just a matter of making decisions, but knowing how you make them, why you make them and having the courage to make them! You need the ability to take risks and not be overly cautious. Fix your mind on the game and nothing else. If you 'snooze you lose'! Of course there are some that like to play defensively and this is OK too.

When in motion, your focus needs to be concentrated on the positioning of your pawn. This is where most of the ground play will take place and this is where you need to play defensively at least for a time. Be alert and look for openings where you can break through. Try as much as possible not to exchange pieces. Block and wait. Sooner or later, you will have an opportunity to go on the attack! If you can live with the idea of taking a chance in order to gain the advantage, then let your play be aggressive by reinforcing your pieces. If you are playing this kind of strategy, you must put your hope in the knights.

You can see here how your knights can engineer an open position for your bishops and Queen. Distractions can be used through your pawns in order to attack. This strategy is used often and successfully by many chess "gurus", and you would be wise to follow suit. Having said that, you should try to play the game just the way your personality flows. We are not all the same. Some like bitter some like sweet. If you are a risk taker, like living on the edge and enjoy the thrill of adventure, then simply be yourself!

Make a militant opening move and try to shore up the centre of the board. Don't worry about swapping over pieces but be careful to preserve your rooks and Queen for later.

This particular method whereby one exchanges pieces aggressively is termed the "Butcher Method". It forces your adversary to dislodge his king, and then benefits through assailing the place where the king is positioned.

My advice is to practice the basics of chess to the best of your ability, and refine your game by playing more experienced opponents as often as possible. The old saying "iron sharpens iron" is never truer than in the game of chess.

Study the famous strategies played by the grand Masters of chess and think about their thought processes. Then go out and do likewise if you can!

Do not make the mistake of simply copying others, no matter how good they are. Do not neglect to develop your own particular style, moves, methods and strategies. Keep foremost in your mind this thought; if you know yourself--and believe in yourself--you will have insight into your opponent too. That is a key to victory in the game of chess.

Setting Up a Chess Game

Over the past 1500 years, chess has gone through many modifications before ultimately becoming the game we now know. Some people hate the game, finding it tedious and dull. But the people who play it every single day, join chess clubs, play online, and enter chess tournaments will tell you that chess is actually very exciting. You just have to understand the way the game works.

The History of Chess

Although there is no official documented proof to support the theory, most historians believe that chess was first played in Persia. The historians also believe that chess was not meant to be a game at all, but rather to help the army generals learn and develop battle strategy. During the medieval era, chess made its way into Europe where it quickly became very popular. Everyone from members of the royal family all the way down the lowliest of peasants knew how to play chess. It is believed that it was in Europe that chess evolved from a battle plan and into a game of intelligence and strategy.

Board Placement

Before anyone can play chess, the board has to be properly set up. Every little detail of the set up is crucial. There is even a rule written in the "Laws of Chess'' that explains that before two players an engage in play, the board must be positioned in such a manner that the bottom right square should be white, and that it should be the same for both players.

The Game Pieces

The chess pieces are meant to mirror the hierarchy of a European nation. The pawns represent the commoners, and are believed to be the most dispensable pieces. When playing chess, you should think of the pawns as foot soldiers. Next are the rooks. The rooks represent home or sanctuary. After the rooks, come the knights. During the medieval era, the knights were valued soldiers, prized by the royal family. On the chess board, the queen is the most powerful character. Even though the queen is the most feared game piece, the king is the one that must be protected at all times. If the king is captured, the game is over.

The placement of the game pieces is very important. When the pieces are set up properly, the order of the white King and Queen should be reversed from the black King and Queen. The pawns line up in front of the royals, When a player is playing whites, the pieces need to be set up left to right in the order of rook, knight, bishop, Queen, King, bishop, knight, rook.

Technically, chess has no set rule about starting a match if the pieces are not in the correct placement, but just because there is not a written rule it does not mean an unspoken one does not exist. Making sure that everything is in the proper order is a sign of respect towards the game and your opponent.

Today, thanks to the internet making it easier to find opponents, chess is starting to enjoy a slow rise in popularity.

Have an Intimate Relationship With Your Chess Pieces

Chess is a very easy game to play. However, winning a game requires a lot of practice and critical analysis. In some ways, chess is similar to life, not because life is like a game but because one small decision on your part affects the entire outcome of the match.

Take chess tournaments for example; some say that for the level of chess the professionals play, that one mistake can easily give the match away. Others even say that the entire outcome of the game is set during the opening moves of the players. How many outcomes in life are similarly set in motion at the beginning stages?

By viewing things from this vantage point, one can only imagine the amount of time and effort players put into perfecting their strategies and counter strategies. To develop such advanced skills, they surely must have a grandmaster's knowledge about the chess pieces under their command.

Seasoned players often say that in tight spots, where the opposition corners you, one must choose which chess pieces to sacrifice and which ones to keep. This is similar to life, in that sometimes we need to make difficult choices that help us to move forward.

As any experienced chess player might point out, it is a good idea to know as much as you can about all the pieces you control. Knowing everything you can about your pieces and how they move gives you two benefits.

1. You get to see which chess pieces have great synergy together at early, mid and late game.

2. Knowing how they move gives you an idea of what your opponent is going to do next.

Chess is an open game, meaning anything can happen. Knowing which piece your opponent is trying to put in an advantageous place on the board can really help you counter his strategy.

On a side note, always remember that each piece is inherently limited and vulnerable when it is alone, except maybe for the knight and the queen. As for all the other pieces, most of them need to be combined with another chess piece for them to be effective. But that's the great thing about chess. Everything is balanced and there are no imbalanced pieces used in the game. You'll need to use your wit and knowledge of your pieces to out smart your opponent and come out on top of the match.

There are some pieces that have good synergy with other pieces. The rook or simply the tower, is a chess piece that's often used during the late game. However, if you could get this powerhouse out early, it has the potential to work well with almost all of the other chess pieces.

Another chess piece, which you can use to catch your opponent off guard, is your bishop. This piece is certainly the bread and butter of most chess strategies and once partnered with your queen, can devastate the board. These are only some of the chess pieces that have synergy with one another and it is up to you which ones to use against opponents.

Chess With Cards: Three Obscure Card Games To Spice Up Your Chess Matches!

Chess, the most famous abstract strategy board game in the world, is played by people from all ages, all professions and all paths of life. There are champions, masters and grand masters of the game, as well as people that play it every now and then with friends, or every Friday night at their local chess club. Despite its shady reputation of being a boring and tedious game, once you actually play it and really get into it, you discover how much of a challenging yet fun experience it is. Moving your pieces, eating your opponent's, sacrificing yours, trying to figure out tactics... it is all a pure exercise of the mind where no "chance" is involved!

One of the big beauties of Chess is that one, that there is no randomness involved: it is purely deterministic. A player will never lose because of a die roll or a coin flip that went against her, but because the moves she made were not the best ones for that game. While this is a defining aspect of Chess, adding some form of chance to the game doesn't mean it becomes less fun in any way (depending on your own tastes).

While Chess is a great game by itself, there are several ways to expand the classic game, like adding extra rules (e.g. if a king becomes checked three times that player loses the game), adding and/or removing pieces (even pieces with different movement options), playing in a wider or smaller board, and even playing pieces depending on the roll of a die, or the number and suit of a card you just draw from a common playing deck.

A very peculiar way of expanding a game of Chess is by using cards; but not normal "hearts, spades, etc." playing cards, but cards that state a specific effect that occurs in a player's turn. One card could say something like:

"Change places of both kings on the board, given that doing so would put neither in checkmate."

Another could say:

"Select a piece you own; that piece may move as a knight this turn."

Yet another would probably say:

"Select an empty square; it cannot be occupied by any piece for the rest of the game."

And so on...

This kind of gameplay idea is common in trading card games like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh, where you draw and play cards each turn in order to win the game. So, how does one incorporate such chaotic (and believe me, very fun!) mechanic into the game of Chess? While you could try creating cards of your own, a much better alternative is to buy a card set specially designed and created for this whole purpose. Not all card sets work the same way, but the essence is the same: you use cards to create unexpected effects every turn. The most iconic game of the "Chess with Cards" genre is called Knightmare Chess, which is developed by Steve Jackson games (creators of the Munchkin series).

If you want to play Knightmare Chess you will need to buy a "Knightmare Chess 2" set of 80 cards, which costs US$15.00 more or less. There was an original Knightmare Chess set that came before that one, but it is out of print permanently, which makes it hard to find and thus very expensive (around US$200 for a new set). Provided that you already have a Chess set, you will also need some way to "mark" pieces and squares (like poker chips, small cardboard tokens, coins, etc) in order to point out effects, and also some piece-like objects (extra pieces, miniatures, dice, whatever) that fit well in a square, and that you can put on the board in case an entirely new piece enters it (such as the "princess"). Oh, and you will also need a friend willing to play some crazy Chess with cards matches!

Once you have all the materials, read the rules and check out the cards. Get used to them, visualize how their effects work, and learn when and how you can use each card. Have your opponent take a look at the cards this way too. Once you both are ready, either create two custom decks out of the 80 cards according to the rules, or use a shared deck with all the cards. Draw 5 cards each, start playing Chess as normal... and then, unleash the chaos on the chessboard!

Other games of the same genre are Chaos Chess and Chess Heads. They are made by Hammerdog games and Chessmate.com respectively. Both follow different sets of rules: while Chaos Chess focuses on sacrificing cards in your hand to be able to use one of them, the other focuses on producing "entigy", which is kind of a resource that allows you to play cards, and that you primarily obtain by capturing opponent pieces. Also, both developers not only offer their card-sets, but also special chess sets specially made to be played with the cards. Finally, both developers offer "beta-cards" in PDF format, which can be printed and play-tested in order to decide if it is worth it to buy the complete set of cards or not.

It is a shame to see that these games are not as popular and widespread as they deserve to be. They provide not only a chance of enhancing the game of Chess up to chaotic proportions, but also encourages people that have avoided Chess because "it's boring" to actually give it a try. Also, these card games, combined with multiplayer Chess variants, create a surefire formula of chaos, laughs and an overall fun night.

Give one of them a try; you will never look at Chess the same way again!

Chess Software for Improving Your Skills

Most people who play chess find it to be somewhat addictive, so it's not a surprise that chess software for improving your skills is popular. Chess is a game of strategy and focus, and while some games are a game of luck where practice doesn't have the possibility of improving your game, practicing chess can really have some positive effects on your game, including your strategy and focus alike. There are a number of chess software programs for improving your skills available, and if you are considering using them, here are a few ways you can expect to benefit:

Strategy

Chess is absolutely a game of strategy. It involves developing a good plan of attack for taking your opponent's pieces, setting a trap for capture of the King, and more. It also involves developing a strategy for defending your own King and outlasting the other player. When you use chess software for improving your skills, you will find that you can more fully develop your own strategy for the game, which improves your likelihood of triumphing during game play.

Thinking Ahead

Another area where chess software for improving your skills can really help you is by developing your ability to think ahead. The game requires you to really think out your own moves, and the farther out you can plan your moves, the more successful you will be in the game. More than that, however, is the ability to try to think ahead and determine where your opponent will move. You will find that the better you get at anticipating your opponent's moves, the more likely you will be able to plan great moves of your own.

Focus

Adults and kids alike often have a difficult time focusing on anything for more than a few minutes. We all do live in a fast-paced world where the concept of multitasking and dividing your focus is honored and revered, but sometimes you really need to focus on one specific thing in life, and chess is a game that can help you learn how to do that. Through the use of software, you will get repetitive practice at focusing on the game without distractions, and this can help you to improve your own game as well as improve other areas of your life, too If you love to place chess, you should absolutely spend some extra time practicing the game.

Opponents to play against are not always around, and when they are, they may not be ready to play whenever you are. There are some fabulous software programs available that can help you find a great partner to play with at any time, and this is a partner who can play at your level to give you the challenge you really want and need. You can play whenever you want and for however long you want without worry about dealing with someone else's schedule. What's more, chess software for improving your skills can help you to become a better player and can help you improve life skills outside of the game, too.

Kill Your Opponent Until He's Dead, And Other Lessons From CHESS

I played competitive chess in high school, and those games taught me 3 things that have carried me through life and love: first, you must kill your opponent until he's dead; second, don't make a move unless you mean it; and third, mercy is for God, because your opponent has none. Too cynical? Get a clue.

Chess is a great game. People love to compare OTHER things to it: boxing is like a chess match; litigation is like a chess match; romance is like a chess match. Chess, however, is not like a chess match. Chess is a locking of intellects, an imposition of your will on your opponent. Even more than wrestling, or MMA, chess involves the wills of opponents as directly as possible. And from that contest, you can take away experiences and strengths that you can use in other situations that involve an opposing will.

First, you must kill your opponent until he's dead. The game of chess ends when you checkmate your opponent's king or your opponent resigns. Until that happens, however, your opponent is fighting - desperately - to prevent that from happening. The more you are winning, the more desperate will be the fight. I remember watching my opponent scan the board, searching for that one move to stave off defeat, and then making a shocking or unexpected move. After searching for the motive, I would realize that my opponent had laid a trap, usually a gambit (an apparent offer of a piece or attractive position) that appeared attractive but would lead inexorably to loss of material or position for me. I would ponder what my opponent was thinking as I avoided the trap and continued the pressure, the slow move-by-move tightening of the noose. But the strategy had to be driven home, sidestepping or thwarting every last-ditch attempt to prevent the inevitable.

Second, don't make a move unless you mean it. Tempo (time) is one of the most important elements of chess: it determines who has the momentum; it can decide your fate (or your opponent's) by making your piece arrive one move too late. The best way to keep the tempo on your side is to make sure that every move advances your strategy. Also, each move should be threatening to your opponent, should force him or her to respond. Otherwise, if your opponent feels no pressure, that is just more time to think about how to hurt you.

Third, mercy is for God, because your opponent has none. This is the other side of the coin from the first one: your opponent is trying to kill your king. Your opponent won't let you take back a move, won't let you take a second move, and won't let you back up the board a few positions. You make a weak move, and your opponent is on your throat, strangling you. You fall for the trap, and your opponent will execute and close it - and won't give you back the piece he is now up.

People will tell you that you can learn these lessons from other sports, or other business or legal activities. But few sports offer the immediacy of chess - you fail on 1, 2, or 3, and you die. Few activities offer the context of chess - there is no availability of an external excuse. The game is you and your opponent. You don't win because the pieces were bigger, or the weather was too wet. You win because you locked your will directly with your opponent's - and you prevailed. Take that lesson to marketing, litigation, business, or landscaping. And win.

Learn Chess - Tactics

Tactics play an essential role in all chess games, and are the ingredients of any strategy. A strategy is an overall game plan, a statement about where you want to be at each point in the game. Tactics are used to execute a strategy. Obviously your opponent will not sit back and watch you play out your strategy without opposition. Tactics are used to force your opponent into accepting your moves. Tactics represent one or more moves used to obtain a short term advantage. They are the stepping stones in progressing an overall strategy.

There are many tactics that can be memorized or learned and deployed when required. As more tactics are learned, the players arsenal becomes more powerful. Learning new tactics, when to deploy the tactics and what combination of tactics work best together is an ongoing activity throughout a players entire life.

Explained below are several tactics that are very common and well worth practicing:

• Guarded Piece: This is simply the act of protecting one piece with another that is in turn protected or out of harms way. This tactic is often used when attacking or defending valuable real estate such as the center of the board.
• Attacking With Pawns: Pawns are generally the lowest valued pieces on the board. Attacking with a guarded pawn may force an opponents higher value piece to retreat from an attacking position.
• Pinning: Pinned pieces are pieces that are forced to remain on their current square as moving will expose a greater value piece to the same attack. For example, a bishop may be attacking a pawn. If the pawn is moved, it may expose the queen behind the pawn to the same attack. In this instance, the bishop will likely take the queen as it is of a higher relative value.
• Skewer: Similar to the pin, except the piece being attacked is of higher relative value. When the piece moves away, it will expose a lesser value piece to the same attack. For example, If a guarded bishop is threatening a queen and the queen is forced to move, it may expose a rook to the same attack. The rook may then be taken as it is of higher relative value than the bishop. This is a very common tactic.
• Fork: The fork is achieved by attacking two or more pieces with a single piece. The fork is normally executed using a pawn or knight, however it can be achieved using other pieces. The opponent is forced to sacrifice one of the attacked pieces as only one piece can be moved per turn.

Have You Ever Wanted To Learn How To Play Chess?

Chess is a game of strategy. It looks difficult and appears to be very complicated. But, you can learn how to play it. It is the most popular game in the world! Buy yourself a book on how to play chess. Just think how impressed your friends will be when they see that you have learned this interesting game. Look forward to your first win. Chess has a long and impressive history. It has been both frustrating and enjoyable to those who have taken the challenge and learned to play it.

The history of the game of chess started 1500 years ago in India and advanced through various cultures to Southern Europe where it has evolved into the modern chess that we know today. There are large chess tournaments and even computer generated chess for online gamers.

The chess pieces are representative of the various branches of military. Each piece has its own particular purpose and a specific way it can move across the chess board. The design and purpose of each piece has changed over the years as it has advanced through different cultures, but the overall theme of the game has remained the same.

If you want to learn how to play the game of chess, it is recommended that you buy a book on how to play it. You can easily find books for both children and adults online. Once you have your book, study it for a while. First you'll get acquainted with the name of each piece and the way it can move across the board. Once you've learned these things, next comes the most challenging part... learning to plan strategies of play to win the game. Next, find a friend to play against. You will learn as you go. Once you've checked mated the king the game is over and you can do your happy victory dance. Well, maybe that wouldn't be appropriate for chess but you could do one in your mind.

Chess is a complicated and challenging game with a 1500 year old history. The game is based on military strategies but the names and purpose of the various pieces have changed over the years. Buy yourself a chess book to study. Then find yourself a chess buddy to play against. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you can learn to play and enjoy the challenges chess will bring to your life.

Chess for Children in New York

At the 2011 National School Chess Championships, New York City schools dominated in all age categories. New York's best elementary school team demonstrated how powerful the city's scholastic chess scene has become by beating opponents nearly twice their age. The Panda Pawns from P.S. 124 in Manhattan won top honors in the second-toughest division. "New York teams are so dominant, they might as well call this the state championships," Matthew Noble, a chess coach at a school in Tucson, Arizona, said during the tournament.

"That these elementary school kids could win at that level is quite surprising and quite an accomplishment," revealed Bill Hall, executive director of the U.S. Chess Federation. "It was a miracle," added the coach of the P.S. 124 team, who holds the title of international chess master. "We had a strong team, but it was a tough competition."

Chess has entered New York schools, both as part of the curriculum and as an afterschool activity. It provides a large pool of talent for local tournaments at which young players gain competitive experience. Immigrants from cultures where playing chess is a national pastime have helped popularize the game in New York City. They foster interest in the game as parents and often serve as instructors. During the school year, tournaments are held every weekend. The purpose of tournaments is to expose kids to more players so they can gain experience vying against a wide range of strategies, which helps players become better at the sport. Kids are encouraged to understand all the rules before playing in a tournament.

Robust instruction isn't limited to private schools. The nonprofit Chess-in-the-Schools is Manhattan's largest provider of chess instruction for afterschool settings and curricula. The organization works with 13,000 students at 50 schools that serve low-income populations. The organization also trains teachers on how to start chess programs. It's just one of several organizations in New York working in schools and setting up tournaments. While the vast majority of kids don't advance far in tournaments, they are still able to enjoy learning the basics.

Parents and educators see how learning chess can help children develop critical thinking skills and other academic and non-academic abilities. Children who play chess learn to see patterns, solve problems, plan ahead and to think before they act. If you don't pay attention in school, you might not see the consequences right away. But if you lose your queen in chess, it forces you to pay immediate attention. Although playing chess encourages a great deal of concentration and interaction, the best part about the game is that children find it fun to play. Most children love games. And chess motivates kids to become willing problem solvers and spend time quietly immersed in logical thinking. Yet, many of these same young people often cannot sit still for 15 minutes in a classroom setting.

Furthermore, many studies demonstrate that students who participate in chess programs show improved scores on standardized tests. The gains are even greater among children with low or average initial scores. In chess, you win and you lose. While you have to be competitive, you understand that having an opponent is OK. These are important life skills to grasp that have been removed from many traditional academic activities.

The average student has much to gain from learning how to play chess without performing enormous chess calculations. When compared to other games, chess provides a far greater quantity of problems for practice.

One of the largest chess books ever written, Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games (Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers) by László Polgár, the father of three chess prodigies, has more than 5,000 puzzles. There are also thousands of other chess books, making it easy to find one that appeals to your kids. Chess-playing students become accustomed to looking for different alternatives in games and puzzles, something many chess books provide. In his book Your Child's Intellect, (Olympus Publishing Company) former U.S. Secretary of Education Terrell Bell encourages some knowledge of chess as a way to develop a preschooler's intellect and academic readiness.

How to Become a Better Chess Player

I have played chess for 35 years now, but only in the last 8 years or so have I taken the game seriously enough that I could consider myself an avid student. By reading books, using chess software to analyze games, and by hiring a coach I have been able to raise my game to a reasonable level (about 1800 FIDE rating, about one class below "expert", two below Master). Due to lack of time to commit to the game I did not pursue a higher rating, but I have gained a solid understanding of the path that must be walked in order to master the game. I still have much of the path to walk, but I do own the road map, so to speak.

Chess is broken down into various facets for the purpose of teaching and learning. Aside from the obvious necessity to learn how the pieces move, and the other rules of the game, chess lessons come in four basic subjects:

1. The opening. Sometimes this is simply common or "accepted" opening moves annotated for the purpose of memorizing, and sometimes it involves more principles than specific moves.

2. Tactics and combinations. This is how the pieces interact in the short term, and how one might take advantage of a weakness with a sacrifice, in order to gain a major advantage, or even an outright win. Checkmating falls into this category, except where it relates to the end game.

3. Strategy. This is the subject of long term objectives and how to obtain them. It can be sub-divided into two categories: piece placement and pawn structure.

4. End game. This is where the majority of the pieces are traded off and the emphasis turns to the attempt to promote a pawn to the last rank to gain a queen or another piece. The end game is often considered to have started when the King becomes a fighting piece.

Learning all of these subjects was an eye-opening experience, as I had no idea there was such a vast amount to learn. In fact, as I mentioned before there is still a lot left for me to work on! But I have always been a student of learning as well as a student of whatever subject I am studying, and I was left with a feeling that there was something missing from the process that could have made it easier, or perhaps more efficient.

My understanding of the chess learning process deepened when I started teaching a young fellow by the name of Tanraj Sohal. I learned as much by teaching him as he did, perhaps more so since he is a much more gifted player than I am. However, I had wisdom and experience on my side, and together we improved his game to the point that he won the Canadian Championship for his grade that year. To be fair, I should point out that he placed second the year before, when I was not coaching him, so I cannot take much credit for this. But I can say that I did learn a lot about learning chess!

More than learning how to make good moves, getting better at chess is about learning how to not make bad moves. You can play solid chess for 30 or 40 moves, and then make one bad move and lose the game. The quality of your other moves may not have made a difference in your game, but the bad move certainly does. To prevent these bad moves, we have to overcome weaknesses in understanding, and we need to learn them so well that we will recognize them when the situations arise in game play.

Memorizing, or even being able to explain something is not enough. There needs to be an "aha!" moment that forever changes the way you look at the game. I have experience this enough, and seen it happen in other players enough to know that this is an absolute requirement to deepening your understanding of the game.

There are two problems with this, though. First, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of "ahas" required to master the game. Second, they can be tough to achieve.

Why is this? Mostly because the average player has had most of his instruction from books. The "aha" factor occurs mostly with a combination of instruction and repetition. Books can certainly offer instruction, but if you have to set the board up all over again just to repeat a lesson, or even move on to the next one, how often are you really going to repeat it? I know from experience it is often too much work to do the first time!

E-books may be even harder, since most players will find it difficult to set up a board on a computer desk; plus, flipping between text and board diagrams is harder with a PDF file than with a physical book.

In recent years there have been many new chess programs, and these are great for repetition, but I have yet to see one that gives adequate explanation for anything other than the basic lessons.

More recently there has been an introduction of chess videos that can be downloaded and played on your computer. These are usually just videos of a board from a chess program that the instructor is using to play through the moves of whatever he is teaching. The beauty of the video lesson is that not only does it come with verbal instruction (much easier to follow while watching the board than reading), but it is easily repeated. There is so little effort required that repetition seems to happen naturally.

I recently purchased a chess video lesson package, and I was amazed at how many "aha" moments I had. I was able to approach the lesson with more anticipation than with any other method. By anticipation, I don't mean eagerness; what I mean is that I was "seeing" the moves before they were played. Sometimes I was wrong, but the amount of times I was right told me that my game was already improving. Or, at the very least I was learning something new!

A Few Tips on Chess For Kids

Chess is a great game. It teaches strategy and thinking skill and can be wonderful for children to learn early. Here are a few tips on chess for kids to help determine when the best time for them to learn is.

While it is true that kids can learn just about anything, chess is a very complex game and require a lot of thinking skill. I taught my son to play at 4 years of age but each child is different. Some children may need to wait until they are older in order to be able to grasp such a complex game. Also you can't expect most kids to master the game at a young age, only learn the basics.

With a game this complex it is very easy for a child to become discouraged. As with all things you will need a great deal of patients. If they get bored easily or have a short attention span then it may be better to wait to teach them this. This game requires a lot of time and thought; some kids may decide playing with other toys or games is much more interesting.

If you have not yet learned how to play yourself then it would be best to learn before you try and teach a child rather than learning with the child. This will avoid confusing the child and teaching them to play wrong. Maybe you will even find that you don't like the game and change your mind about teaching your child at all. Or you may decide to let someone else teach your child to play instead.

Chess boards range in price from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars. A cheaper board may be best for a beginner. If you child has the basics and likes the game you may even want to get an electronic game. These are for one or two players and have training levels as well as giving tips during play. Another plus is they can play against the computer to help improve when they don't have anyone else to play against.

Once your child learns the basics then it will require a lot of practice to learn how to play well. There are books that help to teach strategy if your child is old enough. Also they can play online against other people from around the world. This will give them a chance to practice with someone else and see how others play. Of course you should always be cautious with allowing your child on the internet and be prepared to supervise them.

Remember that games are supposed to be fun. If your child has fun playing then this will be something they love for many years to come.

Why Kids Who Play Chess Outperform Their Classmates - Part I

Success at the strategy board game chess has long been considered an activity requiring superior mental abilities. What is becoming increasingly clear, however, is that chess can be used as a valuable tool to help develop various cognitive skills, especially in school-aged children.

This is the first in a three-part article that will present some scientific research about the value of chess in improving skills in traditional educational fields such as mathematics, science and language.

Several scientific studies have been published investigating the area of pattern recognition and recall between individuals of varying chess ability, ranging from master to novice. Evidence has shown that chess playing ability correlates strongly with recall of typical chess positions. When the chess pieces are arranged in random order, no such correlation exists. This indicates that memory is closely linked to the structure and relevance of the subject being recalled, and that the experienced chess player searches for familiar patterns and ideas.

Other studies have dealt with the more important issue of skill transference and the use of chess in facilitating the development of thinking and reasoning skills in children.

Christiaen Study

A study performed in Belgium in 1975 (later translated into English) was part of the doctoral thesis of Johan Christiaen ("Chess and Cognitive Development", 1976). He studied a group of 40 students for a two year period as they progressed through grades five and six to determine if chess playing could enhance their cognitive development. Much of this study focused on testing the theories of renown child psychologist Jean Piaget - in particular, his theories on cognitive development. Piaget holds that an intellectual maturation occurs between the ages of approximately 11 and 15. During this stage, the child moves beyond physical trial and error and begins hypothesizing and deducing, developing more complex logic and judgment. In Piaget's terms, the youngster moves from the "concrete" stage to the "formal" stage of intellectual development.

In Christiaen's study, half of the students were given chess instruction after school, while the other half received none. Several tests were conducted to evaluate the cognitive transition to formal operational thought processes from the preceding level of concrete operational thought processes. When the students were tested for this transition, slight but not significant improvement was seen in the group receiving chess instruction. However, significant improvement in academic performance at the end of each of the two years of the study (end of grade 5 and grade 6) was noted for the chess group in comparison to the non-chess group. Clearly, the group receiving instruction in chess had somehow gained an academic advantage over the control group not receiving chess instruction.

To read about more evidence on how chess can improve your children's scholastic abilities, check out the next part of this article series, entitled "Why kids who play chess outperform their classmates - part II".

Life Is a Game of Chess

If there is anything that is a paragon for human life it is the game of chess. For in this unique game all of your moves lay bare to your opponent and you are completely responsible for your actions!

When you look at the papers and news on the Internet you are given account after account of the deeds and action of people. Some of these deeds are good and others not but they all have one thing in common - final account of previously made moves. Just like the game of chess where the pieces are exchange or even taken to advance your position and take control, so too are the motives and moves of people everywhere.

If you look at the chessboard and study the game you can easily see the parallel to the game's play and human interaction. There are two parts to the game of chess, strategy and tactics. Strategy is likened to the Generals and Admirals in war rooms planning the moves of the next battle, so too the chess players look at the board and study the moves. They are engage in the theoretical stage of the game. Tactics is the action in the battle field, the actual taking or exchanging of the pieces. This is where the blood is shed!

No other game has the unique quality of complete reliance of move on the part of the players. There are no cards, dice, or sticks to blame for your mistakes or losses. Each and every move is based on your actions, so too in real life for all of your actions lead you to the situation that you are presently in.

Stephen F. Condren - Artist

Theme Chess Set Purchasing Tips

The first purchasing tip: It is very simple to make sure you are satisfied with your purchase. Take some time and do a little work. Use the purpose you decide to use the chess board game for to guide you in this decision. Decorative, theme and travel chess sets, inspirational chess pieces for gifts and tournament chess for competition chess are only a few of the ideas for fun chess games. There are many more ideas or purposes for chess piece and board selections.

Secondly: If you want it to fit in with your home decor or home theme then you will pick the color or material that will fit in with your home. Stone and marble chess sets elegantly accent stone flooring, stone fireplaces, stone counters and other stone furnishings such as patios. The color of the chess set should accent or blend in with your home furnishings. There are decorative metal, glass and pewter chess pieces. They make particularly great gifts or office decor. When you buy them for your home make sure you match them with your home decor. Matching could be according to theme or purpose.

Next: Pick a theme chess set for your children that you can use to teach them history or about animals, hunting, love of sports, American or European battles, ancient battles, cultures, countries, heroes, mythical heroes or an appreciation for art. Children and adults too, get inspired by learning through playing board games. If your children are just beginning to learn to play chess you would want one that they will respect, have fun playing with and be eager to learn the chess game with.

Furthermore: Travel chess sets are great to keep minds occupied and make the time go faster while traveling. Since chess keeps the mind sharp in learning strategies, it is a great way to teach a child character and ethics. Games are the best way to improve communication and thinking skills.

Lastly: To purchase chess sets for tournament competition look for a classic style that chess clubs would use. Federal regulation specifications are 3 3/4 inch size, 2 1/4 inch squares on a 20 inch chess board. The classical style of the Staunton Chess Sets is the favorite competition style.

In summary: The possibilities in choices are limitless but it takes time to make good choices. When you answer the question of what the purpose of your chess set is, you are ready to buy. It is a great idea to make your purchase a wise one and save you the headache of disappointments.

Becoming a True Master at Chess

You have to give the creators of chess credit - it is one of the oldest games in history, and even today, many people are still crazy about it. There are various reasons for that, but the most notable thing about chess is that it is a very deep game, and no matter how much you have played it, someone might still be able to beat you using a strategy that you have never seen before.

For many people who have tried chess a few times, it seems very mystical and complex. If you have played against someone experienced, you know how it is - you're struggling to figure out what move to make without shooting yourself in the foot, and meanwhile your opponent seems to know exactly what they have to do every time their turn comes around. It is like fighting against a brick wall, only the wall actually fights back too.

The thing is, you cannot expect to just pick up chess and become a master in it in a few moves. Some people of above average intelligence think that just because they can think logically, they can get good at this game faster than others can. That is not how it works - sure, chess involves a lot of logic and precise thinking, planning and trying to outwit your opponent. To do those things properly, you have to know how the game works and understand its flow on a more complex level.

And this only comes with enough experience - you have to play round after round in order to see as many moves and situations as you can. That is how those more experienced players always know how to move so quickly - after you have seen a certain situation dozens of times, you get a good idea about the ideal move in it and it just becomes a habit to move the right figure.

With enough practice, you will even be able to predict your opponent's moves - and that is when it gets interesting. At a higher level of play, chess is all about tricking your opponent to do what you want, while making it look like you are trying to trick them into doing the opposite. It's a game of outwitting each other on many complex levels, which is its main appeal for most people - it's a very social game deep in its roots, while it also allows you to perfect your logical reasoning and critical thinking if you're interested enough in the game.

While practice makes human perfect, you should keep away from making the entire process mundane too. While practicing, look for people who have distinctly different playing styles, or even look for people with lesser experience and better experience. Do not be afraid of losing, because you will, eventually, but try to learn anything and everything that you can while you are playing.

To do this, you can always join a local chess club and play tournaments and games to practice. If you do not have a local chess club, you can always go online and look for groups and forums that dedicate themselves to chess.

Learning How to Record Chess Moves

Recording chess moves or sometimes called chess notation can be done in many different interesting ways during a game of chess. The two most popular ways to record moves in a game is to record what specific moves were made and to record what game pieces were moved. These two ways to record are important for the output of the game and to make sure that novice players are following all the rules of the game.

Notations have been created in many different languages all around the world as well as notation systems for online chess playing. Online chess playing has become very popular as a way to practice for tournaments etc., and to increase your brains thinking and analytical skills. Chess is a very slow, thought provoking game that is quiet and never rushed.

In tournaments and competitions there will also be recordings of each move a player makes in case any questions on play may come up later in review of the game. Chess is a game of critical thinking and strategy. It is not a very fast paced game so therefore it is fairly easy to be able to make all necessary recordings of each players move.

There are several different ways of recording or notation. Those include, algebraic recording, descriptive recording and coordinate notation.

With algebraic notation, each different chess piece is either a letter or symbol and will have a number with it. Notation are not long written out sentences of what moves a player made but more of a shorthand description of what moves occurred during game play. Each move will have at least one letter or symbol and number.

Descriptive notation is similar to algebraic notation with letter and symbols but is not as popular today and is used to be. Most tournaments and competitions do not allow this form of recording to be used anymore.

Coordinate style notations can be more difficult to read then the other two types. The checker board, which is made up of alternating white and black squares is laid out like a grid with letters and numbers depicting the rows and columns of the board. In coordinate recording, each move is indicated by the start point on the grid to the end point of each piece moved. For example, B4-D3. This form of recording is typically not used in games or tournaments but more widely used with computer games.

Chess is played with two people, one on each side of a checker board. Each player has a certain number of chess pieces in their own designated color. Each piece is represented as either a king, queen, bishop or pawn.

The object of the game is to protect your king from the other player and "checkmate" or get close to capturing the other teams king. Once the other player cannot move their king, then you have won the game and checkmated that opponent. These few simple moves are recorded and notated while the game is in play. Learning the notations use will make it easier for you to followed the games and strategies of others through chess playing books and recordings of historic games.

The Chess Challenge

One day that I was old enough to understand the importance of strategic maneuvering when playing a game, my father decided that it was time for me to learn chess. Within a couple of months, I was carrying the chess board everywhere I was going, inviting friends to challenge my new game abilities. I still remember the reactions of those who have never been introduced to chess. They used to look me straight into the eyes asking me why they should waste their time playing such a difficult and boring game. I do not know even where to begin in order to describe what a beautiful game chess really is. With its variety of sacrifices and combinations, those who are eager to learn how it feels to belong to the winner's side can advance their gaming experience through chess. Having the opportunity to outwit your opponent either on the tactical or the positional level, chess is in fact a game that requires a constantly working mind. Perhaps it is "difficult" game, but this is the only way one can really be proud of the attained goal of winning a worthy opponent. Now in relation to the accusation of chess being boring, after playing chess frequently for more than ten years in a row, I really cannot describe how far away from the truth this statement really is.

First of all, if you are up to the chess challenge, you have to begin by learning the rules of the game. Being an abstract strategy board game, chess is played by two players on a square board that combines eight rows-called ranks -and eight columns-called files. Its simple design creates sixty-four squares of alternative color; one darker than the other. Each of the players is assigned to sixteen pieces (units) at the beginning of the game, which as the game progresses they are eliminated by the opponent's movements on the board. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent. This practically means that one of the players has successfully managed to perform all the appropriate strategic movements so as to threaten the opponent's king from moving. It has to be stressed that due to the variety of the chess pieces and their distinct abilities on the game's board, chess has successfully become one of the world's most popular games.

Garry Kasparov and Robert Fischer-or Bobby-have been famous chess players worldwide, due to their exceptional abilities in combining the art of chess with the strategic maneuvering entailed in disciplines of science. Considered by many funs to be a "mental martial art," chess has gained its popularity among the nations of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Generally known as Western Chess or International Chess, to be distinguished from its many variations, the chess I was taught by my father is currently being played in a number of counties, some of which claim to have invented its original form. The most commonly held view is that chess originated in India, since the Arabic, Persian, Greek, Portuguese and Spanish words for chess all come from the Sanskrit game Chaturanga.

Currently, chess funs can be found anywhere from Japan to Sweden and chess players can locate their future opponents on the online forums and websites specifically designed to the pleasure of playing chess. If you are considering taking up the chess challenge, visit your local chess listings and you will be surprised of how many people are daily committed in exercising their mental abilities via a fun and instructive game like chess.