Garry Kasparov - Checkmate - My First Chess Book PDF

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The text provides an overview of chess pieces, their movement, notation, and some basic strategies and terms.

There are 6 different chess pieces: king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, and pawn. Each side starts with 16 total pieces arranged in the same starting position for every game.

The rook can move any number of squares in a straight line horizontally or vertically. It cannot jump over other pieces. The knight moves in an L-shape, two squares in one direction then one more square perpendicular.

To 11, Beloved lananodal Fo••• F•lends

...................
the pieces and their moves 8

notation 28

winning and drawing


t I
more about the pieces 36

tactical play 40

checkmate 52

opening play 60

endgame play 70

solutions to puzzles 80

glossary 92
First published in 2004 by Gloucester Publishers pie
(formerly Everyman Publishers pie)
Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V OAT

Copyright 2004 Everyman Chess


All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored 1n a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
n"eans, electron c, electrostatic, magnetic tape, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data


A catalogue record for this book is available
from the Brit sh Library. ISBN 1 85744 358 6

Distributed in North America by


The Globe Pequot Press, PO Box 480,
246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437-0480

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Editor· Byron Jacobs


Design, typesetting and illustrations. Horatio Monteverde
Production: Navigator Guides
Printed and bound in China

Everyman 1s the reg stered trade mark of Random House Inc.


and 1s used in this work under license from Random House Inc
Checkmate! will teach you how the pieces move and what
they're worth. You'll quickly learn how to attack and defend
and how to win your first game, your first checkmate!

Start to play immediately. l'lt teach you about tactics and


strategy and soon you'tl be playing with your friends and
family, at home, at school or even on the internet.

I hope you enjoy these first lessons of this wonderful game.

~. Good Luck!

Garry Kasparov
,.


what you need to know


There are six different chess pieces: king, queen,
rook, bishop, knight and pawn.

Each side starts the game with·a total of 16 pieces.


I
The starting position is the same for every game.
We will start with the easiest of all the pieces
to understand - the rook.

The rook is the second most ·powerful piece -


stronger than the knight and the bishop, but
weaker than the queen. The rooks and the
queens are known as major pieces.

From this position the rook can move


to any of the indicated squares.

As the rook cannot 'jump' over pieces,


its movement here is slightly restricted.
It cannot move to h7, hB, as or bS.
However, it can capture the knight on cs.
The rook cannot 'capture' the pawn on h6 -
you can never capture your own pieces.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
,n n
abcdefgh

Each player starts


with two rooks:
a8 and h8 for Black
a 1 and h 1 for White
The bishop's value is about the same as the
knight's but it is much weaker than the queen.
The bishops and knights are called
the minor pieces.

In the first diag ram the bishop can move to any Sometimes a bishop can be bad ly blocked in
of the marked squares. Like the rook and all the as you can see in the diagram below.
other pieces except As we wil l see later, these white pawns are
the knight, the blocked by the black ones and cannot move.
bishop cannot Therefore they are blocking their own bishop.
jump over A bishop that is stuck like this is often called
pieces. a 'bad bishop'. Try to avoid having one !

So, in the second diagram, the bishop


cannot move to a4, e2 or f1,
but it can capture
the rook on e2.
Remember - you can
never capture your own
pieces. This is why the
bishop cannot move to a4.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1 lQJ il
8 b C d e f g h

Each player starts


with two bishops:
c8 and f8 for Black
cl and fl for White
The queen is the key player in your army. It is
the most powerful piece and can cause havoc,
especially if it gets near the enemy king. However,
because it is so valuable, you must use it carefully.
It's worth almost as much as two rooks. The
queens and rooks are called the major pieces.

In the first diagram the queen stands in the


middle of the board and can move to any of the
marked squares - a total of 27 possible moves.
This is almost half the squares on the chessboard.
No doubt about it - the queen is a mighty piece.
But remember that, as with rooks and bishops,
she cannot jump over other pieces and this limits
her mobility. We see this in the second diagram.

It is easy to be carried away by the power of


the queen and to want to bring her into the
game as soon as possible. Be careful, though.
At the beginning of the game when there
are many pieces on the board, the queen can
easily be attacked. It is usually better to be
patient and keep her safely behind the other
pieces and pawns for a while.
abcdefgh

Each player starts


w ith one queen :
1 for White and
r Black
A knight is worth about the same as a bishop.
Bishops and knights are ca ll ed minor pieces.

Here are three different ways to explain how t he


knight moves - choose the one that is easiest for Imagine a box - five squares by five with
.
you to picture in your mind. the knig ht in the middle. It can move to
any square at the edge of the box that it
The knight moves in an would not be able to move to if it
L-shape - two squares along were a queen. Here it has
a rank or file and then a maximum of
one square to eight possible
the side. moves.

Imagine a box - three squares The knight is the on ly piece that is


by two squares. The knig ht moves allowed to hop over other pieces,
from one corner to the so in the next
opposite one. diagram it can
move to the
four marked
squares, even
though other
pieces are in
the way.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
a b c d e

Each player starts


with two knights:
b8 and 98 for Black
bl and g1 for White
Pawns are the foot soldiers of chess.
They can only move a very short distance. Pawns capture by moving one square
However, pawns have an extraordinary forwards, but th is time diagonally, to the
ability - to 'promote' when they reach the left or to t he rig ht.
opponent's back rank. This power is one of
the most important featurns of the game The white pawn on b3 can capture the black
- overlook it at your peril! knight on a4 or the rook on c4.
The black pawn on f6 can
Pawns are often ca ll ed by the letter
capture the white
of the fi le they are standing on.
pawns on
For example, a pawn on the b-file is
es or gs.
a b-pawn and a pawn on the f-file is
It cannot
an f-pawn.
capture the
white pawn on fS
which is blocking its
path up the board.
In an ordinary move,
a pawn simply moves
one square up the
board (away from
its player). You can
only move a pawn one
square at a time unless
it is still standing on its
,"' The black pawn on f7 {again, on its
starting square. In that origina l square) can move to f6 or fS
specia I case you can, if you and the pawn on h4 can move to h3.
want to, move it two squares Here the white b-pawn (which is on its
forward. You can never move original square) can move to b3 or b4 and
a pawn backwards. the pawn on d4 can only move to dS.
8
7
6
5
4
3
2 -=1f-'\-=-l"""''"t=:..r";.:::~9
1
abcdefgh

Each player starts


with eight pawns:
a7 to h7 for Black
a2 to h2 for White
There are two special facts about the pawns White, with only a king and a pawn, seems
that you need to know. They are: to have no hope of being able to checkmate
the black king. But. by playing his pawn from
Pawns can promote. g7 to 98, he can get it to the back rank and

.
Pawns can capture en passant. promote it to another piece. He will choose
a queen to replace the pawn and can then
(as we shall see later) easily checkmate the
black king in a few moves.
Pawn promotion is a really important idea in
chess. The basic idea is that, if a pawn reaches
the opponent's back rank, it can be replaced
with any piece, except a king. We say the
pawn has 'promoted'. You can choose any
piece you like to replace the pawn but.
since the queen is the most powerful
piece, it is nearly always chosen.
Here is an example to show how pawn
promotion works.

In the diagram above the white pawn on c7 can


promote either by moving to c8, or by capturing
the knight on d8.
The black pawn on e2 has just one way to reach
the back rank- by capturing the rook on dl.
The idea of turning a pawn into a queen is so This is now the position. White can capture
fantastic that some new players try to move Black's b-pawn as if it had moved just one
their pawns up the board as quickly as they square - to b6.
possibly can. Unfortunately, when there are a
lot of pieces still on the board, you are more
likely to lose your pawn than to promote it.
Advancing pawns a long way up the board is
more effective in the endgame when there
are fewer enemy pieces about.

The en passant (French for 'in passing') rule is


a funny one which confuses many beginners. White has
The rule says that if your opponent's pawn captured the pawn.
moves two squares from its starting position
then you may capture it with one of your
pawns (not with a piece) as if it had moved
just one square. However, you can only
make th is capture on the very next move. If
you choose to make another move then the
chance for the en passant capture is gone. It
is easy to see this with the help of a diagram.

E,

Black to play. Black


advances his b-pawn
two squares, moving
it from b7 to b5
I

The king is never exchanged from the board and so


it has no trading va lue. However, if it did, it would
be worth about the same as a bishop or knight.
Learning how the king moves is easy. It simply
moves one square - and one square only -
in any direction, along a file, rank or diagonal.

In this diagram the white king has six possible


moves and can also capture the black bishop.
The black king, at the edge of the board, is more
restricted and has just five possible moves.
abcdefgh

Each player starts


with one king:
e8 for Black
el for White
When you castle, you move your king two squa res
from its sta rting squa re, either to the left or to
.
Your king and rook must both be on their
the right. For White this means that the ki ng
starting squares, and neither of them must
moves from el t o either g1 or cl. The rook w hich
have moved during the game. There must
is nearest to the king then hops over the king and
not be any pieces between the king and rook.
lands on the next square. For Whit e this is d 1 or fl.
You cannot castle if you are in check.

You cannot castle if it means that you


will move your king through a check.

Here Black cannot castle queenside


as the king is in check (from
White can castle. the white kn ight).

White has castled kingside.


4
3
2
1
L~--- Here White
cannot castle
kingside as his
king would have to pass over the f l square
White has castled queenside. which is attacked by the black bishop.
This is the kind of position that you will often White solves both these
find after the first few moves of a game. problems by castling.

We shal l look at opening play in more detail Now the king has a safe haven behind a wal l of
later in the book, but here I would like you to pawns. Meanwhile the rook is ready to join in the
think about just two important principles: game. It is not doing much, at the moment but it
could soon move to el where it would be active
Develop your pieces.
along thee-file.
Get your king to safety.

If you look at White's position in the above


diagram you can see that he will have little
trouble developing the queen, the bishops
and the knights - all of these have clear
lines to join in the game. But the rooks are
buried away in the corners - how on earth
will they ever join in? And how can White
make sure his king is safe?
The white king is in check from the knight,
which also covers the d2-square. However,
The word 'checkmate' comes from an Arabic there are still four squares that the
phrase meaning 'the king is dead'. But the king could move to.
strange thing about chess is that the king never
in fact dies. Instead of actually taking your
opponent's king, you only need to attack it so
that it cannot escape and would be captured
on the next move. When a king cannot avoid
being taken in the next move, then we say it is
'checkmated' and the game is over.
It is not just the checking piece
which can cover squares
around the king. Other
When your king is threatened by an enemy piece pieces can help,
you are 'in check' and you must escape from the as we
check on your very next move. The simplest way see in the
to do this is to move the king to a safe square. following
examples.
Here are some examples of check. In all cases,
the safe squares for the king are shown. The white bishop
(giving check),
The king is in check from the rook and the
knight and king
rook covers (is attacking) the squares e8 and
cover a total of six
g8 on the back rank. However,
squares. Black has just
the king can move up the
two escape squares. In
board as shown.
the lower diagram, the white king has just one.
Note that the two kings can never stand right next
to each other as then they would both be in check.
This is not allowed, because you must never move
your king into check.
Now White
cannot deal with
There are two other ways to deal with a check: the check in any
of the three ways:
You can capture the checking piece.
The pawn is attacking
You can put a piece of your own in the
the d2-square, so there
way to block the check. This is called
is no safe move for the
'interposing' a piece. Here is an example:
white king.
White is in check from the black
The pawn is stopping the bishop
rook. As we have seen, there are
from capturing the rook.
three possible ways to deal with
this check and all of them are The pawn is stopping the white
possible here: rook from moving from b3 to e3.
White has been checkmated!
The game is over and Black wins.

Move the king


to a safe square -
in this case d2.
Capture the checking piece. Here White can
take the rook on es with the bishop on b2.
Block the check. Here White can do this
by playing the rook from b3 to e3 .
If we now change the position slightly
by adding a black pawn on c3,
the situation is very different.
This is a well-
known opening
position:

5 a. Find all the pieces


4 (not pawns) which
3 currently have no
legal moves.
Identify all the
8 b. Find the three
possible moves and
1 pieces on the board
captures that can be
6 which have precisely
made by:
5 one legal move.
4 a. The white
3 bishop on e3.
2 · We know that
b. The black
1 the players move
rook on 96.
alternately. However,
6 for the sake of this
6 puzzle assume that
4 only White moves.
Identify all the 3
8 2 a. How can the
possible moves and
1 1 bishop on e5 capture
captures that can
6 the black pawn on a3
be made by:
5 1 in two moves?
4 f) a. The white
b. How can the knight on f3 capture the black
3 'f!J queen on b3.
rook on h8 in three moves?
2 .8, .8. .8. b. The black
1 c. How can the rook on e1 capture the
knight on f6.
a b c d e black bishop on a8 in three moves?
In this If it is White's
position each side move here, can he
has three pawns. castle kingside
Identify the or queenside?
possible moves : If it is Black's
and captures for move here, can he
each pawn.
castle kingside
or queenside?
abcdcfgh

The black In these four


8 pawn has just 8 positions the
advanced from 7 king is either:
b7 to bS. 6
5
a. Not in check.
a. White now b. Has been
has two possible
3 checkmated.
2 pawn captures.
What are they? c. In check.
1
Which is correct
1 :i in each case?
b. What options are available to: the white
a b C d
pawn on g7; the black pawn on f2. What will
happen after either of these pawns moves?
A tremendous feature of chess is the ability to By now you wi ll be familiar with the
write down the moves of a game while it is be ing chessboard and the labelling of the squares.
played. If you play a game against a computer
then the ever-helpful mach ine will usua lly record
To record a move
t he game for you. However, if you are playi ng 8
against a friend you can, if you wish, record you simply write
7
the moves yourself. 6 down the ~ymbol
There are many good reasons to do this. 5 of the piece
If you have played a beautifu l game you may 4 followed by
wish to play over it aga in at you r leisu re. If you 3
th ~quare 1
are serious about improvi ng your play then, with 2
1 has moved to
a record of the game, you can look over it later
abcdcfgh
and try to see what you did right and wrong,
possib ly with the help of a coach. There is also a
huge amount of chess literature to be found in The 'symbol' of the piece is the initia l letter or,
newspapers, magazines, books and on the web. in the case of the knight, 'N', so as not to be
In order to access this material you need to confused w ith the king. Sometimes in chess
understand chess notation. publications a 'figurine' is used. This is an
actual symbol of the piece.
Fortunately, chess notation isn't complicated
and can be picked up easi ly.
Piece Symbol f"r,, r, e

King 1K (!;;
Qu een @ ~
Rook m E
Bishop ID 11
Knight ~ f)
In this diagram, if the Sometimes a piece is captured. In that case we
8 white queen moves to insert an ·x· between the symbol and the square.
7 the square marked with
6
the star we write Qb6. Or For example White can play
5 8 Bxd5 and Black can play Nxc2.
if the knight moves to
4 7 If a pawn capture is made, we
the square marked with
3 6 write down the file from which
a cross we write Nc3.
2 5 the pawn has just moved.
1 White can play cxb3 and
a b C d Black can play bxc2.

The exception to this rule is


when a pawn moves. In this a b C d
case we only write down the
square that the pawn moves to. Sometimes a move is check. In
So on the right hand side of the that case we add a '+' at the end
diagram, White can play h5 and of the move. So if it is White's
Black can play es. Note that we move (on the right hand side of
do not write Ph5 and Pe5. The the diagram) he can play Rf7+
·p· is irrelevant as, if you think or Rh5+. Black can play Nxh3+
e f g h about it. you will see that only (note that this is also a capture).
one pawn can ever move to a
particular square and so there
is no confusion. e f g h
There are three other things you need ' When pawn promotion
to know to master chess notation. occurs you add
the symbol for the
promoted piece. In
Castling kingside is
the following diagram
written as 0-0 and
White could play c80
castling queenside
or cxb80. Black could
as 0-0-0
play fl N (note that this
gives checkmate and so
Here White can play a b C d is one of the rare cases
0-0-0 and Black
when it is better not to
can play 0-0.
promote to a queen!)

Now play through the following sequence,


starting from the initial position.

If an en passant 1 e4 es
8 capture is made 2 Nf3 Nc6
1 then the move is 1 3 d4
8 written as if the 6 This opening is called
6 pawn had only 6 the Scotch Game.
4 advanced one 4
3 square and then 3 ... exd4
2 been captured. In 2 4 Nxd4 Bb4+
1 this diagram Black 1 5 Nc3 Nf6
a b C d e f g h plays c5 and White 6 Nxc6 bxc6
can then play dxc6. 7 Bd3 0-0
Alternatively if 8 0-0 Bb7
White plays g4 Black 9 Be3 Oe7
can reply hxg3. 10 Oe2 Rfe8
D.n t ... tn nntP

The figures at the start of each line simply It is also possible to indicate the strength
indicate the move number. (or weakness) of a move by adding symbol(s)
after the move, as follows:
After White's third move we have written a note
and the game then resumes with Black's third
move. To make it clear that this is a black move D Good move
we insert'..'. before the move.
On the tenth move Black moved a rook to e8. This
OD Brilliant move
is a slight problem as either black rook could have ~ Bad move
moved to e8 and so writing simply 'Re8' would
not make the move clear. Therefore we indicate m> Blunder
which rook had moved by identifying the file from
which it had moved, i.e. Rfe8 - meaning the rook 0~ Interesting move
from the f-file has moved. Occasionally even this
may not work. Perhaps two rooks are on the c-file ~ Dubiou~ move
and both can move to c4. In that case we use the
rank and write, for example, R6c4.
If you have played al l the moves correctly
you should now have the following position
on the board.

5
4
3

cdcfgh
what yo.u need to know
Stalemate occurs when one side has no legal
moves, but is not in check.

Sometimes it is possible for one player to give an


endless series of repeating checks. If they choose
to do this, the game is drawn by perpetual check.

At any stage during a game you can offer a draw.


If your opponent agrees, then the game is 'drawn
by agreement'.
We have already seen that the pieces are not all The advantage in material does not have to be
equal. Some are more powerful than others and huge. At a high level, players are so skilled at
thus have greater value. Here is a reminder of winning with sma ll advantages that games are
their relative value. oft en resigned after the loss of just a pawn.
Pawn - 1 unit
Knights and bishops - 3 units
The fol lowing are all more or less equivalent:
Rook - 5 units
• Bishops and knights are about equal.
Queen - 9 units
• A bishop or knight is worth about three pawns.
Although the ultimate aim of the game is to
deliver checkmate, this is not how most games
are decided. Most games are decided when one
~=~=&&&
side makes a significant gain in material and this
advantage is slowly nursed to victory. Gaining • A rook is worth a minor piece plus two pawns.
material, or at least avoiding losing it, should be
your priority in the early part of the game.
i:! = ~ or ~ + &&
• A bishop and knight equal a rook and a pawn.
Hopefully, this should be obvious. If you are in
charge of an army, would you rather have ten
soldiers and your opponent five, or the ot her
way round? The situation is not quite so clear
cut in chess as the pieces have different values.
However the basic principle applies. If you have • Two rooks are equal to a queen and a pawn.
more pieces, or better quality pieces than your
opponent, you have a much greater chance to
win the game.
Knowing the The situation becomes more complicated
values of the when you can take a piece but your
pieces allows opponent can then recapture. Then you
us to make good
need to do some basic maths to see if the
decisions when trade is good for you .
faced with the
prospect of various
captures during a game.

Here is an example. White is a piece down, but


has four possible captures. Can you find t hem
and say which one is the best?
1 Rxb7 - White wins a bishop.
1 Rxe7 - White wins a knight. Here White has five
1 Qxb4 - White wins a rook. possible captures but
only one of them is good:
1 Nxg4! - White wins the prize piece -
black's queen. The best move. 1 Bxg7? White captures a pawn but this is bad as
Black replies 1 ... Kxg7 and White loses a bishop
for a pawn (1 - 3 = -'2)

1 Rxe8+? Th is is also bad. Black replies 1 ... Oxe8 and


White has lost a rook for a bishop (3 - 5 = -2)
1 QxgG? This is disastrous. Black replies 1 ... fxg6,
and White has lost a whole queen for a mere
knight (3 - 9 = -6)

1 Qxc8. This is okay. Black will recapture, 1 ... Rxc8,


and the queens have been exchanged with no
advantage to either side (9 - 9 = 0)

1 Bxa8! This is best. Black can recapture, 1 ... Oxa8,


but White has gained rook for bishop (5 - 3 = +2)
The bishop on a3 is threatened 'by the
When it is your turn to move you must look black queen. This piece is not protected
carefully around the board to see if there is and White must do something about
any immediate danger to your own pieces. it. A good, safe move is 1 Bb2,
To achieve a reasonable standard of play removing the bishop
in chess it is essential that you are able to from danger.
spot threats quickly and to decide if they
are dangerous or not.
Here is
another
In this position example.
there are Try to work it
various out for yourself
potential before reading
'threats' the text.
against the
The knight on f3 is threatened by the black rook
white pieces.
on f8. However, it is protected by the white queen
Let us consider
on e2 and the pawn on g2. A rook is more valuable
each in turn.
than a knight so there is no danger there.
The knight on e4 is threatened by the black bishop The bishop on d3 is threatened by the black queen.
on b7. However, it is protected by the white rook However, it is protected by the white queen on e2
on e1 so 1 ... Bxe4 can be met by 2 Rxe4. Bishop so 1 ... Qxd3 can be met by 2 Qxd3. Clearly this
and knight are equal in value and so this is fine would be a disaster for Black.
for White.
The rook on c4 is threatened by the black bishop.
The rook on e1 is threatened by the black queen. It is protected by the white bishop on d3, but this
However, it is protected by the white queen on d1 does not help, as a rook is much more valuable
so 1 ... Qxe1 + can be met by 2 Qxe1. The queen is than a bishop. White must pay attention to this
far more valuable than the rook, so this exchange threat. A good move is 1 R4c2, getting the rook
would greatly benefit White. away from danger.
The white bishop on dS is threatened by the
Sometimes you find that one of your pieces is black rook. However, the bishop is on a good
threatened, but you are not keen to move it. If central square and so, rather than moving it,
the piece that is attacking it is of greater value, White can protect it with 1 c4. The bishop is
you can consider protecting your piece. Here is now firmly anchored in the centre.
an example.
Another way to deal with an attack is to
block it, as in the following posiiton.

The white queen is threatened by the bishop on


e6. Moving the queen is fine but perhaps better
is 1 Bc4, which gets a piece into the game
as well as blocking the t hreat.
Now 1 ... Bxc4 is met by 2 Oxc4.
Also possible is 1 c4, which blocks
the attack with a pawn.
46 tactical play

try it yourself
l_n the following p!Jz~Jes tn~re. are opportunities to make use ttic tasti~~ U
id~as discussed: in the previous three sections. Hav~ .a good gor ~:t ~QlVi.rHi:
t~e puzzles, ·lookinglfor the right tactical ideas.-Gaining. a feel' f6_r fi_
ow~··
.,
tactical ideas work in chess· is a basic and crucial skill in chess .

1.1.1
1

fl
g
'{!J 3.
~
8 ~
abcdefgh
nn f) i
.8. il .8.
<!]
abcdefgh

.8. f)
.8. .8. .8. f) .8.
~ .8. .8. .8.
n <!J <!]
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84 solutions to puzzles

combining tactics


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9~! glossary

glossary

algebraic notation chess clock


The standard chess notation which is used in this A special clock which is used in almost
book and also in almost all chess publications all serious chess games. See page 33.
around t he world.
chess symbols
blunder Chess annotators use symbols such as '!', ?!' etc,
A very bad mistake, typically one that cha nges to indicate good or bad moves. See pages 28-31.
the outcome of the game at once. For example
it might turn a winning position into a draw or combination
a drawn position into a loss. A (clever) sequence of moves which usually
results in an advantage for the player. For
castling example, a combination might involve an
A move where the king moves two squares immediate sacrifice of a knight in order to win
towards the rook and t he rook hops over the the opposing queen two or three moves later.
king and lands one square beyond. This is fu lly
explained on pages 22-23. descriptive notation
This is the old form of notation, which featured
check moves such as 1 Kt-KB3 and 23 OxRch. It is
Check occurs when a king is threatened by an sometimes found in old books but is not used
opposing piece. Checking is fu lly explained on in any modern publications.
pages 24-25.
development
checkmate Bringing the pieces into the game
Checkmate occurs when a king is threatened by in the opening stage.
an opposing piece and there is no way to deal
with the threat. See pages 24-25.
immediate!~ afte~
. r
·r

queenside skewer
The board area consisting of all squares An attack on a piece that cannot move off the
on the a- , b- , c- and d- files. line of attack without exposing a piece behind it.
The skewer is ful ly explained on pages 44-45.
rank
A line of squares running from side to side stalemate
across the board. See page 7. Stalemate occurs when a player, whose turn it
is to move and who is not in check, has no legal
rating way of continuing. If this happens the game ends
All serious chessplayers have ratings. The in a draw. Stalemate is fully explained on page 34.
international system is the Elo rating system
(named after a Hungarian professor), but several tactics and tactical play
countries also have their own independent rating The hand-to-hand fighting that occurs when the
systems. On the Elo system, the world champion pieces interact. Tactics often involve pins, forks
is usually around 2800, a grandmaster about and skewers.
2550, and an international master 2400. A strong
club player would be about 2000 and a moderate trade
strength club player about 1600. Another word for exchange.

resign under-promotion
To concede defeat before reaching checkmate. The promotion of a pawn to a piece of lesser
value then the queen. This is very rare.
sacrifice
Deliberately giving up material for other gains. zugzwang
This is a situation in which a player is obliged to
simultaneous display make a concession as a result of having to make a
A simu ltaneous display occurs when a very move. It is of most importance in the final stages
strong player plays a number of weaker players of endgames, especially king and pawn endgames.
at the same time. The boards are usually set up
in a circle and the master moves from one board
to the next, replying immediately to his or her
opponent's moves.
ISBN 1-85744-358-6

II Ill II 11
9 78185 7 443585

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