Archive for June, 2011

The Benefits of Magnetic Chess Sets

Magnetic chess sets are a truly innovative idea. They use magnetic fields to secure the chess pieces to the board during play, insuring that the pieces will not move. Magnetic chess sets are perfect for travelers and anyone who wants to play on the go. Since the pieces and board are magnetic, people are able to use these sets in moving vehicles or during airplane flights. Sometimes the magnetic fields are so strong that people can turn the board upside down and the pieces still won’t fall off or shift.

Magnetic chess sets come in a variety of sizes. Some of them are as small as a checkbook, while others have boards that measure a square foot. Any size is good for travel, even the square foot models are still very small by chess set standards. Another feature of magnetic chess sets is that most of them allow for the pieces to be stored inside the board. The chessboard opens to its full size during play but often has a large storage compartment between the two halves to stow the pieces when they are not in use. Most sets also have hinges and latches to secure the board and keep it closed when the pieces are contained within.

Read the rest of this entry »

Setting Up a Chess Game

Over the past 1500 years, chess has gone through many modifications before ultimately becoming the game we now know. Some people hate the game, finding it tedious and dull. But the people who play it every single day, join chess clubs, play online, and enter chess tournaments will tell you that chess is actually very exciting. You just have to understand the way the game works.

The History of Chess

Read the rest of this entry »

Chess – The Life of Wilhelm Steinitz

Wilhelm Steinitz is noted as one of the world’s best chess players. This should come as no surprise, especially since the Steinitz Gambit is a chess move that is still used today, over 100 years after his death.

Steinitz was born on May 17, 1836 to a Jewish family in a ghetto in Prague. He was born as the youngest child to a hardware retailer with 12 older siblings. He started playing chess at the age of 12. At this time, no one could have guessed that he was going to amaze the world with his chess strategies. It was not until 1861 when when he tried his hand at chess in a championship that he won in Vienna, where he had recently moved to work as a journalist. The very next year, in 1862, Steinitz competed in London, representing Austria in an international chess tournament. He came in sixth place. Wishing to prove his excellence in the game of chess, he challenged Dubois, the fifth place finisher, to a match. Steinitz won five games, lost three, and tied in one game.

Read the rest of this entry »

The House of Chess Strategies

Chess Strategies are a vital part in a Chess Player’s life. He is not like other people who you meet on the road when you go to the supermarket. Real Chess players are living in their own reality, in their own world, in the house of chess strategies. They tend to think about chess when they are away from the board, in everyday life.

Their memory is full of chess variations like the Sicilian defense, the Ruy Lopez or the Kings Indian defense and countless others. They live in a big house of chess with many rooms, each room leading to a different chess opening, chess ideas or chess variations.

Read the rest of this entry »