Win At Chess With These Special Moves

By Lee Dobbins

The game of chess has many interesting moves and some that can only happen under certain circumstances. In order to play the best game you can, it is wise to know about all the moves so that you can best outwit your opponent.

In order to effectively talk about chess a special method of notation has been devised. This helps identify the squares and positions without having to have a board and pieces always in front of you to illustrate. In this notation the columns (or files as they are called in chess) are identified with a letter and the rows (or ranks) are identified with a number. If you are looking at a chessboard from the perspective of the white player, the leftmost file is 'a', the one next to it 'b' and so on until the last file which is 'h'. The back or closest rank for white is 'rank 1', the next one (the one the pawns are on) is 'rank 2' and so on until the last rank, which is the back row for black and is 'rank 8'. So the when using chess notation, the leftmost back square for white would be called 'a1', the square directly above 'a2' an so on. See how easy that is?
Now that you know how chess notation works and you have a chess board visualized in your head, we can talk about some of the special chess moves.

En Passant
If you have played even only 1 game of chess you know that pawns have some special rules. For example, they can only capture a piece that is placed diagonally in front of them. Also, on it's initial move, a pawn can move up two squares instead of just one. However, there is a special case for this - if an enemy pawn could have captured it had it only moved 1 square, the enemy is still able to capture.

This move is called 'en passant' and can only be used on the very next move after the pawn is advanced 2 spaces - if you do not capture then, you cannot do it at a later move.
Here's an example - BLACK has a pawn at d4; WHITE moves his e2-pawn to e4; had WHITE moved to e3m the BLACK d4 pawn would have been able to capture so now he can capture en-passant on his next move. But if BLACK decides to make another move instead, he gives up his right to capture.

Castling
The King can make a special chess move called 'castling' and it is, in fact, recommended that you do this during the opening phase of the game. This is a defensive move which increase thesafety of the King. Castling has two forms - 'short' and 'long'. Here's how it works:
Say the white King is on e1 with the white Rook on h1 (this is the initial setup at the start of the game). You can make the move called short castling by moving the King to g1 and the Rook to f1. This move does have some restrictions - the squares in between the Rook and King must be empty, neither the Kind or Rook can have been moved before and the King cannot be in check. Note that even though you move two pieces, this is considered to be one move.
Long castling has the same rules and is a similar move but uses the Rook on the a file instead. In this scenario, the King ends on c1 and the Rook ends on d1.

Promotion
You might think the pawns are not very useful but if you can get your pawn to the other side of the board he can be promoted. This means the you can replace the pawn with any same colored piece you want with the exception of a king or pawn. Needless to say most people choose to replace the pawn with a queen.
There are some other situations in chess that novice players might not be aware of. For instance, a game can very easily end in a draw. This can happen when neither side has enough material to checkmate the opponent. This would happen if one player had a Bishop and King while another had only a King - no matter how many times you try you cannot get the opponent into checkmate so the game ends in a draw.

The chess game might also end in a draw if you have to repeat the same move 3 times as their are no other choices, if no advance or pawn capture has happened in the last 50 moves or stalemate. Stalemate can happen when a player who is not in check has no valid moves. If a player can continuously checkmate another player any time he wishes then he can claim a draw by "continuous check".

Lee Dobbins writes for many online publications. Visit http://www.chess-moves.info to learn more about the game of chess and see this article in more detail and with diagrams of the special moves.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lee_Dobbins

Chess Strategies

By Chad Kimball

If you are a chess student or even an experienced player, the power of the Internet to improve your game cannot be denied.

However, anyone who has typed "chess strategies" or "chess tactics" into a search engine will agree with me that the results can be confusing. Where do I start? What kind of chess strategies websites are out there? Are any of them useful? Which chess strategies information is accurate, and which of it is misleading, incorrect, or erroneous? Which chess products are worth buying?

Well, there are a few crucial pieces of information that I'd like to give you to simplify your search for chess strategies. This information will enable you to use the Internet to the maximum, so you can find the exact chess strategies information that you need to increase your chess rating.

The first thing to remember, is to do a quick bit of research on the author of the text you are reading. Have they posted their chess rating? If they are a coach, how long have they been coaching? Have their students demonstrated success at the chess board? Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

The second thing to do is to do a quick search at the chess exchange forum for the writer's name or the resource that you are recommending. I've found the chess exchange forum to be a great resource. There are a large number of experienced players posting chess strategies, chess tactics, and tips on this forum. Again, you can't believe everything you read, meaning, just because someone said it on a forum doesn't mean it is 100% accurate. However, if a majority of forum posts are positive about the resource or author in question, you can usually trust the majority consensus. You can also click on the forum poster's profile (usually if you click on their name to the left of the post) where they often provide their experience level, chess rating, and other information. This information can help you evaluate the validity of their post. (You can access the Chess Exchange Forum by going to my chess strategies site, scrolling to the bottom of the page, and clicking the "resources" link.)

I've also found the chess exchange forum to be a great place to discover new resources for chess improvement, as well as a great place to ask chess strategies related questions. The forum contributors are very generous with their time. They will often discuss your questions at length, providing great answers that you won't find anywhere else (especially for free).

The third way to leverage the Internet to improve your chess game is to simply play chess online! One of the best places to play is the Free Internet Chess Server (FICS). FICS requires that you install a small program on your computer in order to play, but it is well worth it. This allows you to gain experience at the chess board whenever you have a free moment: lunch break, late at night, after work. Study is important, but in order to improve you must actually play chess against real opponents! (You can find more information about the Free Internet Chess Server by going to my chess strategies website, scrolling to the bottom of the page, and clicking the "resources" link.)

Online chess coaching is the forth way to utilize the Internet to gain valuable chess strategies and chess tactics. A simple google search can bring up many chess coaches who will charge you a fee to analyze your games and coach you to improve. Often you can email them your previous chess games, and they will respond with a written analysis of the games, including tips for how to improve. Again, remember what I've shared already about evaluating information you read on the internet, and apply those principles to choosing your chess coach. The chess exchange forum is a great place to research and contact prospective chess coaches.

The last way to use the Internet to improve your chess game is by downloading chess software. There are a few pieces of chess software that are crucial to have:

ChessBase. The ChessBase format is quickly becoming a standard on the Internet. Many resources, annotated games, tutorials, etc... are being produced in this format. ChessBase has a full version that you can purchase online, but they also provide a free, pared down version which is more than enough to open and view resources that are in ChessBase format. (Download ChessBase by going to my chess strategy website link provided above, scrolling to the bottom of the page, and clicking the "resources" link.)

Finally, a Good Chess Engine is also essential for improving your game. A chess engine refers to the part of a chess program that deals with the intelligence of game play. Chess engines can analyze games, moves, mistakes, and more. Most chess engines use the common approach of attempting all possible moves from a given position and then choosing the best one with the help of a search. (Access a long list of chess engines by going to my chess strategy website link above, scrolling to the bottom of the page, and clicking the "resources" link.)

Bio: Chad Kimball has been playing chess since he was a young boy, and is now an editor and publisher, publishing chess instruction books and courses on the Internet. He is responsible for bringing an exciting resource to the Internet: "The Grandmaster Strategy Training Library."

This Video Training Kit contains 22 Videos and 2,213 Pages of Winning Chess Strategies for the price of a single chess tips book at the bookstore. These 22 videos and 14 books enable you to confidently sit down at the chessboard, knowing that you are prepared with years of tested strategies to DEFEAT your opponent. Click here for more information about this exciting chess resource: chess strategies.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chad_Kimball

Chess Games for Kids

By Eddie Tobey

Studies carried out in different countries have clearly shown that chess games build up concentration, perception, self-discipline, planning and much more. In other words, chess games for kids combine developmental thinking and enjoyment.

Kids' chess games undoubtedly raise the intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of kids. They strengthen problem solving skills and the ability to make difficult and abstract decisions independently. Chess puzzles teach children to think logically and efficiently. As they learn advanced techniques from chess books and tutorials, children also pick up the good habit of reading.

Chess games are won or lost due to a tactics mistake. Identifying frequently-occurring tactical ideas is very important to success. Online chess games, chess instructive books, chess puzzles, etc, help kids practice and learn the game. An online chess game is one of the fastest and most enjoyable ways to improve at chess. It provides interactive chess lessons, quizzes, games and puzzles for kids. The kids can play chess against the computer with a variety of chess software packages.

Kids of all levels, from beginners to advanced tournament players, can find many instructive books in the market. In a simple, easy-to-understand format, these books explain different topics such as how to play, basic strategies and advanced tactics. Players can select from these sections according to their needs. For beginners, the first two sections are helpful to understand basic concepts, such as how to utilize a fork, pin, or skewer. The advanced tactics section gives additional information on opening, middle game planning, endgame strategies, piece activity, pawn structure and weak squares.

Many parents are beginning to learn that chess helps to develop the latent skills in children. Every piece on the chess board has a value and some have greater value than others. Losing stronger pieces for lesser ones may cost a player the game. Thus chess brings into focus ideas of mathematics for kids. Chess games for kids thus boost reading, memory, language and mathematical skills.

Chess Game provides detailed information on Chess Game, Free Chess Game, Online Chess Games, Free Chess Game Downloads and more. Chess Game is affiliated with Glass Chess Sets.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddie_Tobey

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Excerpts taken from Chess-Success.com

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*The Relative Values Of The Chessmen...And Why Experienced Players Try To Capture A Bishop In Return For A Knight
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*What "Castling" Is...And Why You Should Do This No Later Than 10 Moves Into The Game
*How To Use The Powerful Technique Of "Double Attack" To Get The MAXIMUM Effect From Your Pieces
*Why You Should Avoid An Excessive Number Of Pawn Moves (They Contribute Little Or Nothing To Development)
*What You Need To Know About Chess Notation...And Why The Difficulty Of Learning It Is Nothing More Than A Myth. (Hint: If You Can Count To 8, You'll Have No Problem Mastering This)!
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Other valuable resources:

Chessmaster - includes Audio

Chess Secrets

Net Chess

Chess Online

Chess Success

Chess - mastering the art

Any good at chess? Well, I usally am ... when I'm playing against myself!!!
I've found some decent links to help me. See them?