Fair play in chess

In this game, as in life it is important know how to win, but also to know how to lose. The players must have an exemplary conduct and be cordials for his adversaries, independently of the result of the play.

In this video the GM Korchnoi (defeated finalist of 3 matches for the Chess World Championship), show what the strength of play has nothing to do with the good manners, and has an exaggerated reaction when he loses for time in a wining position against Sofia Polgar (the younger of the clan Polgar).

Probably it was only a bad moment of one of the most emblematic figures of our art...

Restart

After the presentation of the basic rules of the game, we enter now in a 2nd phase of our project. From now on the boarded subjects will be varied and in accordance with the demands of our readers.

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In other words, we will try that in the analysed games is used a rigorous language, but simple, which allows both the initiates and the stronger players to withdraw their lessons.

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We hope that the reports of the tournaments thatt we will post are of your pleasure and we are available so that you send to us suggestions, doubts or criticize whenever to find them relevant.

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We will put new texts and analyses, trying not to be any more than three days without putting new articles, having certainly days with multiple entries.

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What joins us all is the magic of 64 squares, let us be your masters and be our masters in this beautiful travel that is only to begin...

Chess Rules X - The annotation

For being possivel to all the readers to accompany the analyses of the plays that we will do, I start to explain how the annotation is carried out in chess.

The system used at present is the Algebraic annotation, this system numbers the eight Lines from 1 to 8 and eight Columns of A to H, the annotation is always carried out from the White's point of view.

To write down a play, each player registers his move and the adversary's move.

To write down the move:

• Normal move:

1st - It Is Written down by capital letter, the initial of the Piece that was moved;

2nd - Next, with small letter, the square for where the piece moved.

Important: The square is identified writing first, with small letter, the corresponding Column of the square, following the corresponding number of the Line that belongs to target square of the piece.

• Capture's move:

1st - There Is Written down the initial of the Piece that moved;

2nd - following it's Written down an "X", that is the sign of capture;

3rd - finally, it's written down the square of the Captured Piece.

Obs.: 1-It's not necessary to write down the name of the captured piece, just identify correcly the square where the captured piece was.

2-when the piece is a Pawn, it is not necessary to write the initial of the Piece. So, whenever a move is written down without the initial capital letter, it is already known that is a Pawn's move.

• Promotion's move:

It is written down normally the movement of the Pawn up to the final rank. After the written down move, there is registered a sign of equality (=) and the initial capital letter of the new piece that is promoted. Ex.: c8=Q or cxd8=R. In the first case, the Pawn who was in c7 advanced for c8 and promoted a Queen; in the second case, the Pawn who was in c7, captured a piece (Knight e.g.) in d8 and the Rook was promoted. In both cases, the player is free to chose what piece is promoted.

Example:

White, Black

1- e4, e5

2 - Nf3, Nc6

Conventional signs: There are several signs used during the play or in annotations of the play, with the objective to point out determined specific aspect of the move. Let's see the most used ones:

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Captures x

Check +

Checkmate ++

Good move !

Very good move !!

Bad move ?

Very bad move ??

Castle King Side 0-0

Castle Queen Side 0-0-0

' en passant ' e.p.

Proposal of Draw (=)

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Attention: It is very common among beginners not wanting to write down the plays because of thinking that it loses the concentration (generally, in tournaments among not federated).

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NEVER THIS MISTAKE IS ALLOWED!

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The accomodation of this task, it obstructs the player of later to analyse the play and to correct the committed mistakes. Then, if his wish is to become a good player, it follows the example of the best.

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WRITE DOWN YOUR PLAY!

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It still can happen, that the habit of writing down the moves favors the development of the concentration. So that, the annotation of the play, it must always be stimulated.

Chess Rules X - The value of the pieces, the importance of the centre

The value of the pieces



Has come the time of talking about the value of each piece:

Pawn - 1

Bishop - 3

Knight -3

Rook - 5

Queen - 9

King - infinity

These are approximate values, but gives an idea of the value of these pieces. It attributes infinity to the King because, in spite of being a weak piece, it is on his protection that the whole play depends.

The values are not always like these, because if a piece is well positioned it can worth more, in the same way, if it is badly positioned it worth's less.

The importance of the centre

In the beginning of the play, one of the most important things to do is to control the centre, a good rule that we should follow while developing our pieces is to move them for central squares or near to the centre, so it is where they manage to reach the whole of their strength. We can exemplify the importance of the centre with the next images referring to the possibilities of Knight's movement:

In this position the white Knight is at one of the extremities of the board and can move only for 2 squares where there are the black Pawns

Here, while being at a central square, it reach his whole power and it has 8 squares to move

Chess Rules IX - Exceptions in the movement of the pieces - Castle

Castling is the only movement where it is possible to move two pieces in the same move, the King and the Rook. this move allows to place the King more near to one of the corners of the board, where it will be more protected.

The movement consists in moving the King two squares for one side and pass the Rook for the square immediately situated in the opposite side. The castle can be made to the King side (Castling King side) or the Queen side (Castling Queen side).

There are some rules to Castle:

1. The King and the Rook must be at his initial position;


2. None of the two can already have moved;


3. There cannot be pieces between both;


4. The King cannot be in Check, pass or be at a square that is being attacked;

Castling King side:

Castling Queen side:

Cases in which it is not possible to Castle:

The white King is in Check

white King cannot Castle since it would be going to be placed at a square that is being attacked by the adversary's

Both Kings moved already, because they cannot Castle

Chess Rules VIII - The King (check, checkmate and stalemate)

Such as it was told before, the chess play finishes with the Checkmate to the adversary's King. The King is never captured and removed from the board, but when it is attacked (put in check), it must go out from the check in the next move (if this rule is not respected, the player will turn back and effectuate a new move, an illegal move is written up).

If there is no way of going out from check, the position is " checkmate ", and the player who took the checkmate loses the game.

If you are in check, there are three ways of playing:

1. To capture the attacking piece;
   
2. To put one of your pieces between the attacking piece and your King (unless the offensive piece is a Knight);
   
3. To move the King for a square where it is not being attacked.

If the player who's in check is not able to carry out any of the operations above mentioned, he is in checkmate and the play finished.

Both Kings have to maintain at least 1 square of distance between them, in order to not place themselves in check.

If a player is not in check, but it will not be able to do any legal move (not even with the King or the remaining pieces ), the position is of "stalemate" and the play is a drawn.

Examples of Checkmate:

Examples of check:

Example of stalemate:

In this position is the White to play and they have not any legal move to do.