Archive for August, 2010

The Game of Chess

Chess is probably one of the oldest and most famous games in the world. It is believed to have originated from India as early as the seventh century, although the exact origins of chess are unknown. Chess has appeared in many shapes and forms. Today most people play what is known as Europeans chess. Chess is a universal game – universal in the sense that it is accepted and played in every country and culture. There are many tournaments held worldwide and many more in each individual country.

The basic rules of chess are simple, however to be able to play strategically and master tactics requires skill and dedication. In its modern form the game consists of an eight by eight board of alternating black and white squares and chess pieces. Each player has sixteen different pieces, which are used to play the game with. A player starts off with a king, a queen, eight pawns, and two each of bishops, knights and rooks. The aim of the game is to corner and immobilize the opponent’s king so he cannot make any further moves.

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How to Understand Descriptive Notation in Chess Strategy Books

“Notation” is a method in chess strategy books that is used to describe the movement of pieces on the chess board, without needing a visual diagram of the chess board for each move. It greatly increases a chess author’s ability to describe a large number of chess games in compact form, leaving more room for game analysis. It also allows the author to concentrate on chess strategies and tactics, rather than requiring hundreds and hundreds of cumbersome diagrams of the chess board for each move.

If you are a chess player, aspiring to improve through strategy books, understanding the two chess notation styles is crucial to your improvement. Most chess strategy books are either written in “Descriptive Notation,” or “Algebraic Notation.”

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Chess Sets and Boards – What You Need to Know

Chess is a very famous game played by two players on a specifically designed chessboard. The game, as we know it today, emerged in the southern part of Europe during the 15th century. The European chess evolved from a similar but much older Indian game.

Nowadays, chess is still one of the most popular games worldwide and it is played by many people at home, in tournaments, clubs and online. It is a game that solidifies relationships between family and friends, especially when mentoring is involved.

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Guide To Matching A Chess Board To Your Chess Pieces

One of the nicest things about putting your own chess set together is that there are no rules. After all, this is one of points in matching a set of chess pieces to the chess board by yourself, instead of looking for a chess set that has already been put together for yourself.
Still, there is a set of guidelines that can be followed to make this process fast and easy for you.

Match the size of the King to the board square:

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