Monthly Archives: March 2009

Check and Checkmate in Chess

4
Posted by on March 31, 2009 – 3:01 pm
Filed under Chess Basics
Tagged as , , ,

check

What is a check?

In the game of chess, any move of a piece that attacks the opponent’s King is called as a Check. Similarly, if an enemy piece attacks your king, then your King is in check.

One important point worth noting is that of the 16 pieces, any of the 15 pieces only can enforce a check on the opponent’s King and the Chief piece, the King cannot directly enforce a Check on the opponent’s King. If it attempts to do so, the opponent king will simply capture the attacking king immediately and the game is lost at once by the attacking king.

The immediate response for a check enforced on the King should be to protect the King and all other things need to wait before the check is released.

An attack on the King can be tackled in any one of the following three ways.

  • Move the king to a safer square away from the check
  • Place a different piece in between the king and the opponent piece that enforced the check, or
  • Either capture the attacking piece by the king if it has no other consequences or use any of the other pieces to capture the attacking piece of the opponent, wherever possible and feasible.

A check need not be enforced by a direct attack on the opponent’s king all the time.  There are other means of enforcing a check on the opponent’s king.

Discovered Check

A Discovered check results when you remove a piece that has been standing in between an attacking piece or a checking piece and the opponent’s king.  In such cases, the checking piece or the piece that attacks the opponent’s king has not been moved from its position.  Another piece, which was standing between the King and the checking piece, is removed, and thus a Check is enforced on the opponent’s King.

Double check

Another form of check is Double Check.  The double check comes about when the unmasking piece also gives check.  In that way, the opponent king is attacked from two pieces, one by the piece that opens up the check from the other square, and the unmasking piece itself.

When a double check is enforced on the opponent king, the opponent player has to move the King only and the two other options discussed earlier would not become applicable, as the King is attacked from two sides.  As such, Double Check is a unique form of check in which only the King has to move to a safer position.

checkmate

What is a checkmate?

A checkmate is a stage in chess where, in response to a check, the King has no squares to safeguard and has to succumb to the attack.

When the King could not be moved to any square away from the attack, he is said to be checkmated and that is the end of the game, with one player emerging winner over the other.

Checkmating the opponent is the strongest move in the game of chess as it wins the game for you against your opponent.

All about Castling in Chess

0
Posted by on March 31, 2009 – 2:47 pm
Filed under Chess Basics
Tagged as , ,

One of the special moves in the game of Chess is the “Castling”. Not only is “Castling” special in that the King is allowed to move two squares in a single move, it is the only move in Chess where two pieces of the same color are moved at the same time in a single move. Is this not a special case? The other piece involved in Castling is the Rook, either on the queen-side or on the king-side.

Some basic conditions, however, need to be fulfilled in order to effect Castling. The primary requirements for castling are –

  • 1.The king is on the original square and has not moved – White king should be in e1 and black king should be in e8.
  • 2.The rook with which you want to castle is on its original square and has not moved – For white, queenside rook at “a1” and kingside rook is at “h1”. For black, queenside rook is at “a8” and kingside rook is at “h8”.
  • 3.The squares between the King and the Rook with which you want to castle are free and not occupied by any other pieces.

If any of the above conditions are not met, Castling cannot be done during the course of the game permanently.

Once the above conditions have been fulfilled, you can resort to Castling, either on the queenside or on the king side.

If you are using white pieces and prefer to do the Castling on the queenside that is with the rook at “a1”, then the king at “e1” will be moved to “c1” and the rook will be moved to “d1”. In Chess Lingo, this is referred to as “castling long”. The notation records this castling as “0-0-0”.

Instead, if you prefer to do the castling on the kingside that is with the rook at “h1”, then the king at “e1” will be moved to “g1” and the rook will be moved to “f1”. This kingside castling is called as “castling short” in chess lingo. The notation for this castling is “0-0”.

In addition to the above primary conditions, some minor conditions are there that will not allow Castling for a brief period.

  • You cannot castle in reply to a check. That is, if your opponent attacks your King with a check, then you cannot reply that check with a castling.
  • Castling cannot take place if the destination square of the King, upon castle, is under the attack of opponent’s piece.
  • If there are any pieces in between the King and the Rook, castling cannot be done. However, if those pieces are removed, you are free to do castling.

Now comes the vital point. Is castling compulsory or only optional? Why should one castle in the first instance?

Castling is a means of protecting your King. You might be aware that the primary objective in a game of chess is to checkmate the King of the opponent. The greatest mobility in the game takes place at the centre of the board, while the mobility is somewhat less in comparison to the centre. Since the King is at one of the central files, he is likely to find himself in the crossfire of the enemy pieces. By castling, the King is moved to any one of the sides and is adequately protected. Another important reason for castling is that the move opens up the Rook and brings it to the centre.

It is advisable that Castling is done at the earliest possible period, preferably as part of the opening moves, to have better control over the game, while at the same time, providing safety and security to the King from enemy attacks.

When you really need to think deep in chess?

2
Posted by on March 30, 2009 – 6:28 pm
Filed under Chess Tutorials
Tagged as , , ,

In an earlier article, I pointed out that in the middle games, you cannot possibly visualize all the positions that can emanate from your next 4-5 moves without having a computer-like memory. Most likely, you will decide on the next move based on your reading of the overall position.

But in the endgame, with few pieces standing on the board, it is possible to make a deeper analysis and this often makes the difference between a win and a draw or loss. But it is easier said than done, as even experienced players sometimes fail to see the right moves available as it is, or fail to identify a bad move from the opponent that could be exploited.

The following two examples will make the point clear and establish the importance of studying endgame tactics. You should also see the 4 endgame tactics given before as some of those themes occur in the following examples also.

endgame2

In the position shown, Black seems to have the advantage because of an extra pawn plus the poor pawn structure of White due to doubled pawns. In this position, Black played h5 which was a bad move as it deprives black king of one of the two escape squares at h3 and h5. But White could not utilize this opportunity and ended up a loser.

How could White turn the table after Black’s move? Here is the possible sequence:

1. … h5  
2. Qf6 Qh3  

 

You can see that Black cannot afford to exchange Queens on f5 or f6 square as after that, White’s KP cannot be stopped from ‘queening’.

Even retreat to f4 square does not help as White’s Queen will capture Black’s KP, thus freeing his own KP to advance. Advancing NP by Black to create a counterplay also fails as it allows check by White Queen along d8-h4 diagonal forcing exchange of Queens. In the race for ‘queening’, White KP gets it one move before Black’s QP does and White gets the chance to finish off the game before Black’s promoted Queen can move!

3. Qf7 d4  
4. Qf8 d3  

 

White is maneuvering to force Black to advance the pawn so that he can strike at the right moment.

5. Qb4+ g4  
6. Qe7#  

 

 

endgame1

In this position, White has a Bishop and Pawn against Black’s single Pawn. But the Bishop has no control on white squares, so it cannot capture Black’s pawn. So long as black King is hovering around the pawn, White’s King cannot get near the black pawn to capture it. White’s pawn cannot advance past Black’s pawn without getting captured and a King and Bishop are inadequate to deliver a mating attack. Even if White Pawn could proceed to “queening” square (a8), the bishop will not be able to support it. On the other hand, Black also cannot advance the Pawn without handing over the game to White. It looks like an impasse, doesn’t it? So your conclusion will be the same as that of the actual players who agreed to a draw. But is a draw inevitable?

You know what strategy Black has to follow. So, to prevail upon Black, your strategy should be to push the Black King away from the 3×3 square (a8-c8-a6-c6) through Bishop checks. At the same time, your White King should try to gain the opposition to prevent Black King from reentering this square. Black in turn will try to use opposition to block White King’s approach or to take refuge at a8 square. So White has to follow some precise steps as follows.

1. Kd4 Kc6   If White K moves to c5 or c4, Black delivers check by advancing pawn and White has to capture it. Black then proceeds to a8 square to create a stalemate situation.
 
Black in turn cannot advance his pawn or move K to d-file without giving the initiative to White
 
2. Bb6 Kd6   If Black goes to b5, White King can occupy d5 preventing Black King from going back to save his pawn
3. Kc4 Kc6  
4. Kb4 Kd6  
5. Kb5 Kd7  
6. Kc5 Kc8   Other moves of Black King will allow White Bc7 and then Kb6 to keep Black King at bay
7. Ba7 Kc7  
8. Kb5 Kd7  
9. Bb8 Kc8  
10. Bh2 Kd7
(or Kd8)		  
11. Kb6   and White wins as he will soon capture Black’s pawn and promote his pawn unhindered