Tag Archives: chess

Forks, Pins and Discoveries

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I wrote a first post on chess here, and I mentioned I would update my thoughts or lack thereof as I had something I wanted to note for myself. Here is the first of the updates.

Chess it seems is like any serious undertaking. To become skilled takes time and dedication. I can appreciate why so many people prefer to do something other than sit at a chess board. On another note, I think those few now dusty games that have been around forever, will be making a comeback soon.

The world of electronic gaming, unless some new genre is discovered and catches on, will grow old in the most developed countries. How many ways can you shoot ‘em up, track them down, or whatever else is the game play before one game starts to run into one another game. The movies are already experiencing an exhaustion of usable material, resorting to remakes and remakes of remakes. Electronic gaming can not be too far behind if it is not way ahead already.

Trying to play better chess is a lesson in humility and some frustration. One Sage suggests concentrating on opening moves, the next promotes learning the end game (when only a few pieces are left), while a third thinks the middle game is most important. I can appreciate all points of view.

Without an understanding of, or at least the mimicry of a good opening, most players worth their salt almost immediately turn into aggressive serial stalkers. Systematically removing my pieces from the board faster than I can get them in front of the the pawns they stand behind and the middle game is a dream that never happens.

On the other hand without learning how to checkmate your opponents King, excellent winning opportunities are missed and the win happens with something akin to dumb luck. Playing the few others around my level of play, I occasionally see potential checkmates my opponent would probably make if they were aware enough of the end game to see them also. Instead they miss their opportunity allowing me to save my King, and play on to at least a drawn game, if not a thundering win.

I am getting better at creating a drawn game. Having your King run for its life every other game gives me solid practice on the fine art of not being forced into checkmate too quickly, and occasionally winning a fifty move draw. Of course with better players, fifty moves is a pipe dream, let alone not having my King in a steady state of fleeing across the board trying to avoid checkmate.

Learnings that have helped most are spotting simple Forks, Pins, and Discoveries. Being able to identify them in the process of being conjured up, or noticing I myself am creating a Fork, Pin, or Discovery has helped my game more than anything else to this point. Of course there may be learning’s that are helping me of which I am not skilled enough to realize I am getting value from.

I am also learning to think well for longer periods. I find myself myself thinking, “I am doing better”, as I notice my army is being decimated a few moves slower than my previous personal best. There is light at the end of the tunnel. I can see it when I replay some of the games from the best players in the world, and notice they too make mistakes.

Replaying games played by some the worlds greatest players and noticing they make mistakes has helped my game. I know there is a ratio of errors in a master game compared to the games I am able to play. Master mistakes are noted in mistakes per hundred, while mine are easier to track  because I can count in sets of five moves per mistake.

It is easy to draw inspiration from sports figures and gamblers when playing chess. If I can keep my skill level creeping along, I may make it to the (for me) coveted pinnacle of ‘average’ in the chess world. From there life is not so bad, because from average there is still a world of room for improvement.

Yes, the board is backwards, unless White moved his camp from one end to the other chasing Black away in the process.

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Chess For the Rest of Us

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I want to keep some notes on my playing chess. What better place than my blog which keeps better track of what I write than I do? I became interested in Chess again earlier this year. We go to bookstore for coffee on Thursday nights and a Chess Club meets there. The club members set up boards and start playing each other in rotation. It made me think about time before computers, when people socialized in person and used their minds more. Back when there were coffee shops and chess cafe’s where players would study their moves, and afterwords discuss life over coffee.

I watch the club players from a table or two away. Until recently I have not played chess  for many years other than a game or two on the holidays when the family is around. I tried to get serious in seventh grade when one of the teachers was a chess player, but chess ground to a halt as other interests took over.

I am grateful for modern computer chess, where I can tone down the computer opponent to a level where chess can be a challenge and not a slaughter. The last time I bought a chess game for my computer, the challenge was to survive longer than twenty moves. When I played the computer the first time a few weeks ago on the default settings, I made it to twenty-one moves before the game was over.

I found a few free online chess sites, and played a few games with them. One, a university site has one of those computer chess games who’s job it is to show you how bad you play. I made it to twenty-three moves

I was searched chess clubs around my local area, and saw there was a chess tournament coming up. I did not understand all of what the post said, but I did understand one-thousand dollars in prize money. That was enough to get me interested in chess again. Go play a few games and pocket some serious money? How hard could that be?

I read more chess sites, and I found a chess server where I could play online. The server gave me a preliminary rating of 1200 which I understand is an average rating of online players. I was not sure what 1200 meant, though I read about a teenage chess player who has a rating around 2800. I knew I was no where around 2800, but I was sure I would be rated over 1200 after I played a few games. The number 2000 had a nice sound to it. I decided that number was attainable. I decided I could improve from there as I became more familiar with chess again.

I have now played a few rated games. I can write with certainty that the number 1200 is indeed a fine number to be rated at. My rating as of this weekend is almost 800, with enough deviation to settle in at a lower level when the smoke clears.  It is always nice to know there is room for improvement.

I get to play a number of 1200 and above rated players so all is not lost. The reason I have been able to play them is there are so many of them, and so few players at my level. After having watched them take my chess army apart move by move, I can appreciate the effort they have put into achieving their ratings.

I played one bored player who rating was in the1400′s and it was like watching a Michael Jackson video the way his/her pieces danced around the board in seeming randomness, cleaning the board of my pieces no matter how I tried to save them from slaughter, or mount an attack of my own. The game ended with me capturing a pawn or two, and being offered a draw rather than accepting another loss.

I neglected to mention that before venturing online to find what my skill rating is I bought a book or two. When I checked the books out in the bookstore, they seemed to be pretty straight forward, and I thought they would be good for me to brush up with. After trying to follow the verbiage and envision the moves, I found a book or two geared towards those people in the lower ranks of the rating system. People like me who have a tentative rating of about 800 on a good day.

I may update my progress or adventure as as I progress, if I do. For now, if you think you may be interested in playing chess yourself , you can search: chess, chess tactics, and online chess. Your local library and bookstores are also good sources for books. If you want to find a chess club in your area, search chess club and your city and state.

At the moment, I am a little too humbled to think about joining a chess club. Maybe after I break the 800 level I will give it more consideration. What I have found interesting is the only difference between a high level book and the books on chess I can understand is the presentation. One book has lots of words and a few big pictures. The high level books have few words with lots of chess move annotation and small pictures.

On the artistic side, I have been able to watch some very skilled players play out their games. When I replay their play games what they are doing is pretty to watch and appears so simple. When I try to match their artistry, it lasts about nine moves. I have a little more understanding to grasp before I will be a danger to anyone with more than a few games under their belt.

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Life on a Chess Board

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I change from interest, to interest looking for hobbies that are fun, and also be a brain challenge No matter what our ages, or occupation, we all have a curiosity that drives us ever forward to places we either have never been or have not spent much time in. Lately Chess has caught my interest again.

If you have never played Chess, it is outwardly a simply game with a number of pieces most of which look pretty much alike. Once you understand what those wood or plastic curiosities represent, the game starts to take on new dimensions, and can jump realities if your imagination is up to the task.

The smallest pieces are lowly pawns, peasants of old who were probably conscripted to fight a war they have little chance of living through. Like all men, they have dreams of riches and power. They are the foot soldiers who generally make the first move starting the battle as the two armies stand immobile facing each other. The lighter colored conscripted soldier steps out of the ranks, scoffs at the enemy some yards away, and he pulls down his zipper and begins to mark his territory.

Next out of the ranks and into the fray are usually the Knights. Powerful servants or friends of the King. They ride powerful war horses on the battle field, looking for victims. Generally ruthless in close proximity, they fell pawns and pieces with ruthless cunning, and surprising strength.

Those lanky Bishops are another matter, their allegiance is to the King on the surface, but their habits always leave me wondering who they really serve. Bishops have a long reach in the form of distant power. They may have spies and friends in the enemy camp. Outwardly Bishops appear innocent enough, but they too are killers; with a little more discretion. It seems Bishops kill close up by virtue of their long reach. They get close and poison or stab between the ribs those who thought they were friends. After their fiendish acts, they wrap themselves in their cloaks, and slink off feigning shock and innocence over the ghastly murders.

Out on the edge of the field are the Rooks. They look like simpletons until they have a foe in their sights and they unleash their destructive power raining down death and destruction from far away and up close. Defending possibly many acres of territory, able to traverse the country side carrying their own protection with them, they are much feared by the opposing armies, as well they should be.

The King of course is very powerful in his own right. Young and strong, , directing his armies, and managing to a large extent his own safety. No member of the opposing army wants to get close to the King without some protection from other members of their own army. The King once he decides where his encampment generally does not like to break camp and travel to a new location. There are too many risks for the King to move across the country early in the battle. Plus it does not look Kingly fleeing across the board.

The Queen is the most powerful piece though it was not always so. Through her cunning and ruthlessness, even the King gives the Queen more than a little respect. With all the power and protection of a Rook, the long arms of a Bishop, and her ear on the gossip channel, the Queen is a formidable enemy most do not want to have the unfortunate pleasure of facing. The Queen’s weakness of course is she is female, and liable to be struck down by a lowly foot soldier if she does not watch her step.

Chess as it is played is also very dynamic. The soldiers take on different roles as the game progresses. They start out scanning the fields looking for the enemy, working as sappers, and snipers, picking away at soldiers who dallied around instead of forming strong defenses with their compatriots.

In the middle game, the blood flows freely. Pieces and foot solders hack, slash, and cry out in pain. Some soldiers on the board are trapped and/or tortured, others are cut down so swiftly they do not even have time to realize they are dying.

Later still, in the end game, the remaining Soldiers become wild dogs, chasing the scent of spilled blood. The few pieces that remain standing at the battles end, work together to hunt down the enemy King, and give him the death he deserves for making their life so miserable.

Occasionally, a foot soldier, a simple pawn, survives the bloodshed and makes it to the far end of the board. For that lowly peasant, the power and riches of the Kingdom await him. With that final step he can ask to be changed into any piece in the battle! Instantly his wishes are granted. Behold his wrath as he is transformed from a nothing, and given the power of a Queen! The enemy King shudders at the sight, knowing his end has come much closer.

At the lowest levels of play, the battles are horrid, slashing, spearing, and hacking. Resembling a rabid pack of wild dogs, hot on the scent of fresh blood, only dimly mindful there is victory and treasure if they win the battle.

On the highest levels of play, chess battles take on a unique form, almost a dance. Perhaps a choreographed ballet, where the battle is not only be fought with precision and maximum effect; the battle can also be visually stunning, carefully crafted to give the look of simplicity. For of course the spectators looking on from the sidelines might imagine their games look as good, and one day they too will rule battlefields around the world.

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