Jono has had 2 chess lessons and I sat in on one. Here
are some things we have been learning:
Corrections and additions welcome.
Learn the names of the spaces. From White’s side, A, B,
C, Rook, Knight, Bishop etc. 1, 2, 3 down the board. http://chess-tips.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/chess-board-details-positions.html
The en passant pawn capture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_passant
(Back in the day, pawns could only move one space at a time)
When developing pieces, knights before bishops is a rule
of thumb. Quite often all 4 knights will be out at an early stage.
A rook might be a little bit better than a bishop.
Fianchetto bishop - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fianchetto
Bishops are powerful on a long diagonal.
Control the centre 4 squares.
Pieces can be pinned if you attack two pieces with the same piece in the same direction, i.e. your opponent can’t move a piece without exposing another. If you can pin a piece to your opponent's king he won't be able to move it since it would be moving into check.
The knight would like his opponents in a fork so he can
take either.
The knights are less use stuck out on the wings.
Double pawns (one in front of the other) are weak as the
back one can only move by taking something.
You can threaten an empty square (e.g. in the centre,
e.g. with a pawn) so that your opponent can’t move there. Dominate the centre
this way.
There is value in double defending a piece.
Try to avoid a passive move or a retreat. Could you develop
a piece or counter attack or something?
Attack the king! Or at least head in his general
direction!
You should probably castle early to defend your king. The
more defensive and easier move is to castle king’s side. You castle by moving
your king two and then the rook jumps over. http://www.learnchessrules.com/castling.htm (Remember you can't castle through or out of check or if anything is in the way or if rook or king have already moved!)
You should make sure your king isn’t stuck on the back
file behind a row of pawns where he could easily be put in check mate. Does he
have an escape? Shift a pawn.
In considering a move, does the piece have a retreat?
If you touch a piece your opponent can require you to
move it so sit still and decide on your move. When castling you must move your
king first or your opponent could insist you move your rook rather than castle
(if he were being very mean and pedantic).
Finishing off can be tricky. It is easy to throw a game
away when you scent victory! Don’t lose concentration.
Learn some openings etc.
Get a couple of books. Maybe Nigel Short, Chess Skills or On Chess. 101 Questions on
How To Play Chess.
Write down some moves.
[Do we want a computer chess game? Does it matter which
one?]
[Good free online resources or tips?]
What would you add?
Posts
3 comments:
All good stuff.
Lichess and chess.com (chesskids) are great websites to play/learn on. Don't get a chess game, just use those, particularly lichess for speed, free in every way, top quality computer analysis etc. Chessable is also neat.
John Bartholomew would be the top Youtuber for kids to look through - lots of foundational, solid chess with nothing inappropriate. But there are loads of superb channels.
Apart from the rules, all of the advice above are rules of thumb. They virtually all have exceptions.
Make it fun. Fight hard, but losing is fine as long as you learn.
Don't play moves in the hope that your opponent will mess up - try to play moves that work, don't rely on setting traps.
I could go on. But enjoy!
Thanks, Paul. Much appreciated.
Another friend recommended https://www.365chess.com/
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