Chess

Chess opening involving the e4 square is by far the most favored move among the chess players – irrespective of their level of skill in the game.

Based on white’s first move to e4, chess games can be classified into two broad categories

1.Open games

2.Semi-open games

Before dwelling further on the open games and semi-open games, let us try to understand the importance of making e4 as the first move by White.

In the game of chess, according to the classical opening principles of the game, controlling the center of the board is of paramount importance. Of all the sixty-four squares in the board, the four squares in the center of the board, especially the squares of e4, e5, d4 andd5 assume importance, as they are part of the center of the board.

The opening move of e4 by the White pawn is the preferred one among the openings, primarily for the [...] Continue Reading…

Chess opening refers to a series of moves made by the players in the initial stages of the chess game that will pave way for the game to progress further involving threats, sacrifices and captures in the pursuit of gaining control over the game and saying “checkmate” to the opponent’s King.

What is the need for a series of moves in the opening stages? Can it not happen in a single move from one player over the other player? Chess is not a game of dice or any other game involving chance or luck and as such, there is no possibility of winning over the opponent in a single move. The effectiveness of the chess openings and the subsequent tactical ploys, involving effective planning and careful execution, ultimately determine the fate of the game.

In a game of chess, each player is provided with a set of sixteen pieces, and [...] Continue Reading…

Chess is a challenging board game that requires a lot of thinking on the part of the players. The one predominant quality of the game of chess that helped this ancient game, played since the 6th Century, survive the travails of time and technology and still fascinate people across the world to take up this game is its fairness. In other words, there is no room for chance or a hand of god or luck to win in a chess game. The only possibility that can help you achieve success in the game is through an accident – an accident that results from the mistake of the opponent.

A mistake is possible in the game of chess due to inattentiveness, lack of understanding, lack of skill, lapse of concentration, pressure of time, and other emotional disturbances. This mistake on the part of a player is the [...] Continue Reading…

To many of us, the word “chess” refers to a board game played across a square board having 64 squares in alternate colors distributed across eight rows and eight columns by two players sitting opposite to each other with the board placed in front of them. Each player is provided with a set of 16 pieces comprising eight major pieces that include two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a Queen and the King, and eight minor pieces in the form of pawns. One set of pieces will preferably be in white color, called White pieces, and the other set of pieces would be referred to as black pieces. The objective of the game as understood generally is to capture the opponent’s King and say checkmate.

This is the general notion of the game. A little introspection into the game reveals that the pieces provided to each player [...] Continue Reading…