Pamphlet chess

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MERIT B DGE SERIES

HESS


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owTO UsE T H ~ s P M ~ J I L E J ' '''.The secret to successfully earning a merit badge:i,s ~ yo tt 11 liM) I

the pamphlet and the suggestions of your counselor:Your counselor can be as important to you as a coach is to .111 tllli 11Use all of the resources your counselor can make avai lable lO ytlllThis may be the best chance yo u will have to learn about tll iH llllli 111,subject. Make it count.If you or your counselor feels that any information in th is p,1111pl tl11Iincorrect, please let us know. Please state your source of in flll lildllttllMerit badge pamphlets are reprinted annually and requirenwntll

regularly. Your suggestions for improvement are Wl'lt'llllllcomments along with a brief statement about yoursl li to Y1111tli

i.p5;yelopment, S209 Boy Scouts of America 1325 West W.1l11111 IIIII P.O. Box 152079 Irving, TX 75015-2079 .

WHO PAYS FOR THIS PAMPHLET?This merit badge pamphlet is one in a series of more than 100 ' all kinds of hobby and career subjects. It is made available lo t Y ''to buy as a service of the national and local councils, Boy SCOi lh tilAmerica. The costs of the development, writing, and editing of 11merit badge pamphlets are paid for by the Boy Scouts of Anwtlt ;t 11 1order to bring you the best book at a reasonable price.

BOY SCMER

. .t1\_ BOY


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equirements

35973ISBN 978-0-8395-0000-1

1 Discu ss wi th your merit badge counselor the history ofthe ga me of chess. Explain why it is considered a gilmcof planning and strategy.2. Discuss with your merit badge cou nselor the following:

a. The benefits of playing chess, including developingcritical thinking ski lls, concentration ski lls, anddecision-making skills, and how these skills canhelp you in other areas of your lifeb. Sportsmanship and chess etiquette

3. Demonstrate to you r counselor th at you know each of thefo llowing. Then, using Sco uting's Teaching EDGE, teach thefollo wing to a Scout who does not know how to play chess:a. The name of each chess pieceb. How to set up a chessboardc. How each chess piece moves, including castling anden passa tcaptures

4. Do the fo owing:a. Demonstrate scorekeeping using the algebraic systemof chess notation.b. Discuss the differences between the openi ng, the mid-dle ga me, and the endgame.c. Expla in four openin g pr inc ipl_s.d. Exp lain the fom rules for castling.e. On a chessboard, demonst rate a scholar's ma te anda fool's mate.f. Demonstrate on a chess board four wa ys a chess gam ecan end in a draw.

2011 Boy Scouts of America BANG Brainerd MN201 1 Printing 8-201 062 144

5. Do the fo llow ing:a. Explain four of the folloexploiting weaknesses,space, temp o, time.b. Explain any five of thesdecoy, discovered attackoverloading, overprotec

skewer, zwischenzug.c. Se t up a chessboard wiwhite roo ks on a1 andWith Wh ite to move ficheckmate on the bla c

d. Set up and solve five dyour merit badge coun6. Do ONE of the follow ing :

a. Play at least three gameand/or your me rit badgfrom your score sheets how yo u might have plb. Play in a scholastic yoyour score sheets fromgames with your merityour counselor how yogame differe ntly.c. Organize and run a chefour players, plus you . least two games.


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Iontents

What Is Chess?he History of Chess

How to Play ChessOpeningsMiddle GamesEndgames Chess ProblemsChess TournamentsGlossary of Chess TermsChess Resources


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What Is ChesChess is among the oldest boardranks among t e most pop ular gplayed worldwide even over thand in competition, everywherebenches to formal international at youth clubs senior centers, sThough the game pieces mno t difficult to lea rn the basic mchess players find new and interplay. Each game unfo lds differenunexpected ways. To play chessand mental alertness .

What s t like?Chess is a game for two players.To some, chess resembl es amilita ry battle with each playerhaving an army Of pieces. Thegame is also similar to checke rsand even American football. Infootball , each side ha s playerson the field. In chess, each playehas 16 team members, cal ledpieces. You are the coach, orleader, in charge of you r team.The pieces line up simi larto football players, each sidestarting play wi th two row sof players. The pieces in frontresemble the linemen, and thepieces in the back row are mu chlike the backfield, as in the figushow n here, right.


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I WHT IS C ESS

10 CHESS

More Than a amePlay ing chess is not just about winning or lea rni ng the best plays .The game teaches its players many thin gs abo ut themselvesand others.Aside from social skills, which you sharpen as you interactwith other players, chess will tes t your thinking. The first test ofyou r thinking will be your attitude toward yo urse lf, your oppo-nent, and the game. Sometimes yo u may play under pressure,and the end of a hard-fought chess ga me wi ll test yo ur attitudeabout wi nning and losing. Keep a positive attitude u st havefu n. Accep t your wins modestly, and learn from your losses withgrace and a smil e.

Learn to appreciate all of yoget from the game. In several spethink better.Playing chess builds concentron your moves and yo ur opponemajor mi stakes.Chess builds critical thinking aEvery game will require you to dwill be better for your position, oSome moves are riskier than othyou one of your pieces, or even compare the risks and make the

You ma y have to use your cthat you thin k might work, perhbefore. u may have noticed hoform ations to surprise the otherha ppen. Coming up with a surpthi nking) may cause yo u and yowhat you would normally do .

Every player m kes good mwinning moves nd losing m


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WHAT IS CHESS?You willleam to recognize many patterns of offense anddefense, just as a football quarterback does. By looking at youropponent's chess pieces during the game, you will Jearn , overtime, to recognize good positions and poor ones. A good quarterbac k can often tell if a play will succeed just by the way thedefensive players are positioned. Chess players like quarterbacksmust be good at pattern recognition. They must notice howthe opponent is lined up for each play and spot po ssible threatsor wea esses

Football players meet with their coaches to plan whatplays they will use in a game. This is strategic plan-ning and it is done not only by football players, but alsoby chess players, police officers, firefighters militarypersonnel, and anyone else who must plan how toaccompl ish a goal. It takes strategic planning to catch acr iminal douse a fire surround the enemy-or capturethe king in a game of chess.

i tl /In chess you need to be able to care fully observe yourposition, your opponent's position, the pieces you want tomove, and the locations where yo u want to move them.Analysis is the process of bringing together all the factsplanning for th e risks and predicting the consequencesof your position and yo ur move, to reach a decision.il

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12 CHE SS

~ ] Being good at anything requires commitmenthard work, study, honesty, respect for others, adesire to learn and improveand the courage to

m k e mistakes and learn from them . Chess helpsus learn the consequences of our decisions, good

and bad, whether we win or lose.

Many chess players like toreco rd their moves so they cananalyze and evaluate them. Formost tournaments a playe r isrequired to record his moves. Aneva luation of the co nsequencesof a speci fic move or play helpsa chess playe r rememberthe good plays and avo idrepea ting the errors.

.


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============

The HistoryChess originated in India aroundcalled "Chaturanga"-a name thaarmies of that time. Chaturanga mto the four parts of the army: charinfan lly. The game had four correhorses, elephan ts, and foo t soldiea ruler and his minister.

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r ... _ \ ~

Those six kind s of ea rly gamkinds of pieces found in modern The cha riot (like chariots of w

needed clear paths) beca me tnumber of vacant squares ver The horse (wh ich could leap o

became the knight (which mosteps in one direction, a right-new direction) . The knight caLike the horse, it leaps over th


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TH E H ISTORY OF CHESS =

Great American Chess ChampionsThe United States has had three world champions. Paul Morphy of NewOrleans was widely regarded as world champion by 1858. Although henever used the title, Morphy is still considered one of the most brilliantplayers in history. He retired undefeated. Wilhelm (William) Steinitz, thefirst officially recognized world champion, became a U.S. citizen in 1888,while still holding the title.One of the most dominant world champions in history was BobbyFischer (1943-2008), a native of Chicago. Fischer learned chess as a smallchild. By age 14 he was U.S. champion. He played in and won eight U.S.championship tournaments. He then defeated two past world championsto win the world titl e in 1972. Although he played little public chess afterthat, Fischer remains a legend. His games are models of deep strategy andplanning that still fascinate players.

X IX. Schach Ol ymp l adec A= J - - F.-ccLe. ... ~ ~ o _ x f __ uS A . Atscni ik\

This is Bobby Fischers notation from a game against Argentinian Miguel Najdorfduring the 1970 Chess Olympiad in Siegen, Germany.

18 CHESS

Original Staunton chess piecesThe Staunton StaDuring its ea rly years, the gparticular style or standard.the popularity of chess rosefor standardization in the dewho could more readily idetage- the opponent wouldwhile trying to analyze a strOne proponent of the sStaunton, who lent his namwas not designed by him, hwell-ba lanced, we ll-proport

To this day, the Stauntoevents. At smaller events, thof non-Staunton sets, but o


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'ft ' A ~l

How to PlayTo play chess, you must first knto se t up a chessboard, and howThe Pieces At the s tart of the ga king, a queen, two bishops, twpawns. One player (ca lled Whitepieces ; the o ther player (ca lled Bhe Chessboard The c hessbo

with eight rows a nd eight columsquare in each playe r's lower-rito right. ) At the start of the gamset up in this order: rook, knighknight, rook. Eigh t pawns line u

Figure 1 Starting po sitio


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HOW TO PLAY CHESS

In casual games,players genera llydec ide who wi play with the whitepieces (and get togo firs t) by flipp inga coin or by havingone player guessthe co lor of thehidden pawn in th eother player's hand.

22 CHESS

he Moves. Players take turns. Wh ite (the player with thewhite pieces) always moves first, by moving one piece to adifferent square, following the ru les of movement for that piece.By moving a piece to a square that contains a piece belongingto the opponent, a player captures (takes) that piece. The opponent 's piece is then removed from the board, and it is out ofplay for the rest of the game.

Scouting s Teaching EDGEFor requirement 3 you will need to teach someone elsehow to play chess. As you teach keep in mind what youhave learned and what has been helpful to you .Whenyou are ready use the Teaching EDGE as your guide: Explain how i t is done. Demonstrate the steps. Guide learners as they practice Enable them to succeed on their own.

The essentia l thing that makes chess a fascinating gameis th e ex iste nce of seve ral kinds of pieces that havedifferent moves.

The ules of ovemenHere are the rules for how the vachess pieces move.The rook moves in a straightnumber of vacant squares horizonvertically. The rook may not jumpother pieces. If the rook's path is bby a piece of the same co lor, it muIf it comes up to an opposing piecstop , or it may capture U1 e enemyand occupy that square. (This ruleor capture pplies to eve ty piecfor the knight.)The knight moves two squahorizontally or ver tica lly, then oneat a right angle, forming an L. Iland on a square U1at is a differenfrom tJ1e on e on which it started iTh e knight is the only piece that mjump over anotJ1er piece (of eiU1eJumping another piece does no t athe jumped piece. A knight captuopponent's piece by landing on tJ1which contains that piece.Th e bishop moves any numvacant squares in a straight diagoAt the beginning of the game, eahas a bishop on a white square aon a dark square. The bishop s retheir respective co lored diago nalentire game.


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HOW TO PLAY CHFSSA player who succeeds in moving a pawn to the las t ran k of

the board can pro ote that pawn by rep lacing it with a queen,rook, knight, or bishop (of the same color). Usual ly, playe rs willpromote the pawn to the most powerful chess piece a queen-but replacing the pawn w ith the other types of pieces is allowed .This makes it possible for a playe r to have two or more queenson the board at the same time.

In cstling w hi ch each playe r can do on ly once in a game, th e kingand rook move s imu ltaneously, w ith th e king moving two squarestoward the rook, and the rook moving over th e king t o th e nex t square.Ca st l ing is allow ed if1. Neither the king nor the rook have yet moved in the ga m e.2. ll squares between the king and the rook are emp ty.3 The king is not in check (under attack by an opponent 's p iece or paw n)

at th e time of castli ng.4. The king does not move over or to a square that is under attack by an

enemy pi ece du ring th e castl ing move.That is, there m ay not be anenemy pi ece that can m ove to any square w hich the ki ng moves over,and you may not end t he castling m ove w ith the kin g in check.

Figure 9. King and rookcastl ed kingsi

26 CHESS

Figure 10 . King and rookcastl ed qu nsi

heck and heckmateWhen a player moves a piece inopponent 's king, i t is polite to sarequi red. When a king is in checone of three things mus t happensible, then the king is checkmatl The king mus t move out of ch2. The enemy piece th at has the3. A piece can be move d be tweeatta cking piece.

Figure 11.The black king is checkwhite king.


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peningsAfter learning how to set up andhow to begin the ga me The firsform the opening In most chessfour to 10 moves. Some sequencestablished and well-known, wito the same squares in the sameopening is played.

No one opening is best. If oothers, then everybody would uthe player wit h the white piecesdoes not happen.

To find an opening you areplayer shou ld experiment withga me in any order you want (aopening principles di scussed Do not move your pieces hPay attention to wh t youror you could suffer a quick


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OP INGS======================

30 CHESS

Chess NotationTo understand about openings you need to understand howchess players refer to the squares on a chessboard.

Figure 12.The letters a through h indicate the files. The numbers 1to 8 indicate the ranks.Figure 12 shows a chessboard as it should appear at the

beginning of a game. No tice the letters a through h along thebottom of lhe board-they indicate the vertical fi les (columns) .The num bers 1 to 8 on the left indicate the horizontal ranks(rows) . Each square on the board is identified by its file letter andits rank number. For example, the white rook in the lower-leftcorner is on square al The white queen (it is symbolized by thecrown with four points) is on dl The black king is on e8This system of giving every square on a chessboard aletter-number name makes it easy to record and describe themoves in a game of chess. Move the white pawn on square e2two squares forward, fo r example, and you see that it comesto rest on square e4 The grid of letters and numbers lets youknow exactly where the pieces are, and allows you to followalong as they move.

======================In chess notation , the piece{queen), R {rook), {bishopP but normally no abbreviasquare where it lands. For mTournaments in this pamp

Opening PrinciplesWhen playing any opening paydevelopment, control the centerDevelopment means getting psquares and moved to squaresattack and defense. Here are se Do develop the minor pieces

major pieces (rooks and quee Do make a knight s first mov

For the wh ite knight startingusua lly {3. (See figure 13.) F

the best first move is usuthe best squares are {6 and c

Figure 13. For th e white knightmay be f3.


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OPENINGS================================================

34 CHESS

Quick heckmatest is possible to lose (or win) a game of chess in only two or

four moves. The most common types of qu ick checkmates(which often happen to beginners because they ignore theopening principles ) are the fool 's mate a nd the scholar's mate.

The fool's mate is atwo-move checkmate forBlack. A fool's mate canhappen as follows. (In theshaded boxes that ap pearon the following pages,White's mo ves are listed onthe left; Black's moves areon the right. )

Figure 15. Fool s Mate

2Pawn to 4Pawn to f

Pawn to e5Queen to h4 fo r checkmate

Figure 5 shows the position after th e second move forBlack. Note that White ignored the principles of ) gettingpieces developed, and (2) not moving side pawns. These mistakes handed Black a quick victory. To avoid losing this way,White should get pieces developed to con trol the center of theboard, and leave the side pawns in place to protect the flanks(the sides of the fo rmation) .

You must be ab le to handle a variety of move ordersduring the first five or six moves-otherwise you' ll findyourse lf 't ricked' time and t ime again:'

C hess Grandmaster Edmar Mednis

The scholar's mate is a fousually in this order:

- Pawn to e4 l [ l awkn

Bis hop to c4JCRnQueen ca pturespaw

PaKnRn

Queen captu res pawFigure 16 shows the checkm

While. Black can not capture thebishop on . ( f the black kingthe black king wou ld move into

To de fend aga inst the schofrom among several effective th.. Pawn to e4 a

Queen to h5 KnBishop to c4 Kn

toAll of these moves are again

discussed earlier in this chapteryour opponent is more importanprinciples. A good player alwa

moves and how U eopponent m


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iddle amAfter the opening comes the mistart from the o riginal positionsboard, a ll the possible openingsand used cou ntless times. The mcomplicated. Players face a vastto play, helped only by general gpositions and develop plans.

To develop winning plans iunderstand some concepts for sbasic st rategies and tactics

hess StrategyStrategy in a chess game meansover your opponent. T his involvreasoning, concentration, evaluaproblem solving.) Seven commoexploiting weakness, force, king tempo, and time.Exploiting a weakness of an opof where a ll the pieces on the bopiece unprotected? Is an opponeone piece, while you have two poverloaded by protecting severalyour opponents king protected b

In the opening a master shmid-g me he should p lay likhe should play like a machin

- Chss Gra


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MIDDLE GAMESA zw ischenzug (the word is German for

in-between move ) is a threat that can happenduring a series of expected moves, like the exchangeof multiple pieces. Rather than making the expectedmove to continue exchanging pieces, your opponentcould put your king in check (or make a differentthreat) and force one of your defenders to move,leaving you with fewer defenders to continue theexchange. The player who makes the zwischenzugmove often gets a big advantage after the exchangeof pieces.In figure 27, it is Black's move, and Black's

Figur 27. Zwischenzug pawn on square d takes the white pawn on eS

44 CHESS

d6xe5) . Black expects White's queen to race to dBto capture the black queen QxdB) .Then Black'sking would capture the white queen KxdB). Instead of exchangingqueens, however, White uses the bishop to capture the pawn on fBxf7 +), a zwischenzug that puts the black king in check. Blackmust respond by using the king to capture the bishop Kx[7) . ThenWhite's queen takes Black's queen QxdB). White has lost onlya bishop, while Black has lost the queen and a pawn.

It's a lways better to sacrifice you r opponent's men:'hess Grandmaster Savie llyTartakower

Think efore ach oveAnalyzing chess positions accurately is a way to find threats andpossibilities that others miss, even though those opportunitiesare there for everyone to see. Analyzing chess positions requiresmethodical thinking. As you analyze your opponent's move andyour in tended response, running through a mental checklist ofquestions can keep you from making a rookie mistake and guideyou toward better moves for your situation.

hings to onsidin the Middle GaBefore each of your moves, Does my opponen t's last

If it does, respond to it.) Did my opponent meet t

last move? Is my king safe? Is my op Have I adequate ly protec Has my opponent left a p

to captu re, risk-free? Do I st ill have p ieces tha Can I move a rook to an

midd le ( d or e ) fi le? Does my opponent have

weakness that I can takeadvantage of? Can I makplan to exploit that weakHow cou ld my opponentmy plan?

Does the move I intend tomake overlook somet hingbasic-like the loss of a por the risk of checkmate?


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MLDDLEG MES

46 CHESS

Transition to a on ndgameHaving more pieces or more valuable pieces than your opponen tgives you a material advantage. When you do not have enough ofa material advantage in the middle game to force checkmate onyour opponent the general plan to w in the game is by transitioningto a won endgame. To make this transition: Exchange pieces evenly rook for rook, queen for queen, etc.)

when yo u are ahead. This small difference in a ma terialadvantage will become more important. Position your piecesso that the player who has fewer pieces must either movethem to avoid an exchange) or must go along with your plan

Keep bishops trade off knights) ifthe game can develop into an opengame few pawns on the board) .Keep knights trade off bishops) ifthe game is developing into a closedgame many pawns on the board) .

Use a tempo advantage to win a raceto promote a pawn to a queen.f yo u carefu lly consider strategy

and tactics before each move, thinkmethodically and remember how totransition to a won endgame, yo u willhave a strong middle game.

f you are do ing everythingconcentrating on your chesstion will benef it you in man


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ng amiles per second, to be exact-pondering his next move. Chamitoff

challenged the rest of the Expedition 17 crew members to a friendly game ofchess in space.

) Endgames,,

l

In the final stage of a chess gama few pieces are left on the boaradvantage at this stage or you hopponent, the ultima te outcomdepe nds on how well you playTips for ndgame SucTake yo ur time and think aboutboard looks simpler because theat this stage, however, it is easyyou the game. A game tha t shoudraw because you caused a stalmove, think about what yo ur op

A sta lemate happens whenmate but has no legal moveStalemates at the end of th

Push your passed pawns. Oneis to promote your pawns into quseful pawn to advance towardpassed pawn one that has no pand cannot be stopped by a pawit. Figure 28 shows a passed pawThe white a pawn has a clear roit can be promoted . The rook onprotect the pawn. A passed pawsupport (like a friendly rook behking alongside it to reach p rom


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ENDGAMES

Figure 29. The black king protectsthe black pawn .

50 CHESS

Use your king. In the earlier stages of a game, it isoften dangerous for the king to be out in the open-away from the first row and out from behind a wallof pawns. But in the endgame, the king can be avaluable piece that should see action. The king canattack and capture the opponent s pawns, protectyour own pieces and pawns and shepherd pawnsthrough to become queens, by protecting them asthey move forward. Figure 29 shows a black pawnthat only needs to move two more squares to reachdl where it can be promoted to a queen. The blackking sitting on e2 protects the pawn and also blocksthe white king on g2 from reaching the black pawnin time to stop its promotion .

Use each piece well. In the endghave only a few pieces on the boato make good use of all of them . Iwhite rook and bishop are active atogether to att ack the queensideblack rook and bishop, however, acorne neither defending the queattacking. By the time the black pthe game may be lost.Control the queening square Tsquare is where a pawn will prom(or to any other piece except a kinpawn, but usually to a queen) . Yocontrol this square, often with youand promote your pawn. Figure 31ning position for White when thertwo kings and one pawn remainine7 is one move away from promot(The queening square, e8 is markBecause the two kings cannot stanWhite will be able to promote theno matter whose turn it is to mov

Every pawn counts. Every pabecome a queen so dont beabout losing your pawns. Jupawn-like a f ree throw in bcan win you the game. If youbecause your opponent haspawn or an extra pawn thenstop that pawn f rom becomiTry to block its advance conqueening square capture thlaunch some threats of your


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I

ENDG MES

If you are losing a game don t give up hope.Your opponent may not knowhow to win, v n with a large material advantage. If your opponent cannotwin in 50 mov s or stalemates you, then you have escaped with a draw.o accomp lish this try to avoid having your king trapped on the edge orin a corner.

58 CHESS

raws and StalematesHere are the ways a game of chesdraw (deadlocked or tied).Stalemate. The game is automatithe player whose turn it is to movbut has no legal move. This situatistalemate. Figure 42 shows one exInsufficient material. The game no possible sequence of legal movto checkmate. his usually happeinsufficient material (too few piecexample, one player may have a kor knight and the other player haMutual agreement. Aplayer maythe opponent at any stage of a gamagree to a draw, the game is a draw

The player whose turn it is tby declaring that one of the followdeclaring his or her intention to mabout one of these conditions. If(by means of an accurate scoresh The 50 move role. Fifty moveplayer without any capture or Triple-occurrence rule. The sa

occurred three times. That is ain the same identical positionhaving the same rights to movcastle or capture en passant.


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hess robleA chess problem is like a puzzleproblem challenges the so lver toDirect MateIn direct-mate problems, White ocheckmate in one or more movemost common type of chess probhelpful in honing yo ur attacking

Start with mate-in-one-movproblems with more moves as yocheckmates. Mate-in-two-move plooking a t all possible moves. Fomoves, however, you will need twill learn with practice, solving

In a competitive chess gametelling you t hat checkmate caof moves.

Tips for Solving DirectMatAnalyze options in a methodicalthe solution. Look t the king's field , whi

occupies and the squ res surroally squares the king c nnot leoccupy them, or there is a thre

Often, ti1e set of squares to whthe kind of moves that will delare a ll on a diagonal, a bishop,to cover the diagonal squares.


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CHE SS PRO LEMS===========================================

62 CHESS

(rank) or column (file , a rook or queen often covers thosesquares. A discovered check can threaten ll the squares ina triangle nex t to the king in a single move. Look fo r the flight squ res to which the king can move.

The king may be able to move away, or forcing the kingto move to another square could create an opportunity todeliver checkmate.When no other move seems to work the composerof the chess problem may have imp lied a move likecastling or an en passant pawn capture. If th e king androok are on t heir original squares assume they havenot moved and castling is possibl e. If pawns are positioned on adjacent f iles in row four or five assume thefi rst move could be to capture a pawn en passant.

Figure 43. In th e situation shown White is to checkm ate in on emove and all th e squares that need to be attacked are on th efi rst row.A lso th e white king cannot move to th e second rowbecause of the black rook at c2 White castling king side is th eonly possible solution to this problem.

===================Sample Direct ate ProblemImprove your ability to de liver chefollowing di rect-mate problems. Befor Solving Direct-Mate Problems.checkmate- in-one-move.

For the solutions see the end oand f lipping to the back of the pcan be tempting but you w ill mthe solution on your ow n.

OM 1- White to mo ve

DM3- Biack to move


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CHESS PROBLEMS

OMS White to move OMS White to move

OM7 White to move OMS Black to move

OM9 Biack to move OM Biack to move

64 CHESS

_;Other Kinds of Chess Prllere are brief descriptions of otheYou r merit badge counselor can hetypes of problems if you wish to wIf you have a losing position,force a dr w or stalemate is an ithe game. Stalemate and draw proto either force a draw though a repstalemate by eliminating all your l

In study problems White is todraw. Studies call for the same kiposition that is done during tourna

In helpmate problems Blackwith White to checkmate the blackWhite moves first and forces BlackSolving helpmate and self-mate proyour oppon ent could use against yoavoid the beginner's mistake of mamoves n actual games.

In a series-move problem oof moves without the other playerchess game, it is simpler to develoseries of moves to reac h a goal, wifrom your opponent. So lving seriesvisualizing plans before considerinBut before you commit to a plan ymoves your opponent can use to re

In a retrograde analysisthe problem-solver mu st find themoves that led to the problempos ition. The methods learnedfro m solving this kind of problemcan help you correct your chessscoresheet (which lists the movesin your game), if you made anerror in recordi ng moves during atournament game.


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l

H E ~ S PROBLEMS=============================================

66 CHESS

The Immortal GameAdolf Anderssen vs. Lionel Kieseritsky, London, 1851

This game was reported in newspapers aroundthe world. One chess journalist called it The ImmortalGame;' believing it would always be among the greatestchess games ever played. (You can learn from it byplaying the moves on a chessboard as they are listedand described. Remember that, in each pair of moves,White moves first.)

1 e4 e52 f White's second move leads up to a

pawn sacrifice known as the King'sGambit. White's idea is to sacrifice aside pawn to gain a majority of centerpawns, potential open files for hisrooks, and a lead in developinghis pieces.

2 exf43 B-c4 O-h44 K-f1 b55 Bxb5 N f66 N-f3 Both sides are hurrying to mobilize

their pieces for the attack. Here,White develops his knight to attackthe black queen .

6 O-h67 d3 White defends the e4 pawn and frees

the bishop on c17 N-h58 N-h4 O-g59 N-f5 c6

10 g4 N-f611 R-g1 cxb5

__::=====================12 h4 O-g613 h5 Q-g514 Q-f3 N-gB15. Bxf4 Q-f616 N-c3 B-c517 N d5 Oxb218. B-d6 Oxa1 Wh

thrfigsur

Figure 44. The Immortal Gam


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CHESS PROBLEMS

8 CHESS

19 K-e2 Bxg120 e This is a crafty move. White has no

intention of llowing the black queen totake part in the defense of Black s king.

21 ... N-a621 Nxg7+ K-dB22 Q-f6+ White draws the knight away from the

defense of the e7 square.22 Nxf23 B-e7 White has sacrificed the queen,

both rooks, and a bishop to obtaina checkmate with minor pieces.Figure 45 shows the fina l positionof the game.

Figure 45. The Immortal Game, final position


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hess TournaChess competitions are held at th ena tional levels. Tournaments maycalled over theboard or OTB tourncorrespondence (mail and e-ma il)compete in chess competitions ev

ypes of ournamentsChess tournaments can be informhome, for example, with four orcouple of hours. Tournaments caas 10 players or with many thousvenue, playing over the course of

Everyone can img ine sittinga friend ly game of chess withBut can you picture yourselfhotel or in a convention centeas hundreds or thousands of

In competitive chess, the wotournaments that are not sanctiongoverning body. Informal tournamin pairings.

An important part of fo rmaluse of official chess ratings. Ratinplayers based on thei r strength ofthe stronger the player. There areand ratings assigned by the membthat belong to FIDE. As you mighis much lower than the rating of a


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CHESS T O U R N M E N T S

With your pare ntspe rmission, searchth e USC Fwe bsite(uschess.org fo ra listing of stateaffiliates an d localclubs by state.

74 CHESS

More than 4,300 chess players ages 4 to 18) played inSuperNationals II in Kansas City in April 2001, making it t helargest chess tournament ever held in one room.

ScoringThe method of scoring used in a chess tournament is one pointfor a win, a half point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. Forexample, if you play in a five-round Swiss-system tournament,and you checkmate th ree of your opponents, one of your gamesends in a draw, and your op ponent checkmates you in one game,your score for that tournament is 3.5 points out of a possible five .

In scored tournaments, tied scores are common .A system of tie-breaks may decide which player finishesahead of another. In Swiss-system tournaments,ti e-breaks are established by the U.S. Chess FederationsOfficial Ru les of Chess.

urname t irectorsA tournament director (TD is retournament. TDs make the pairinttny disputes that may arise durintournament begins, the TD recorohOut the participants. During a I ll forces the rules of chess and kmatches are played. After a tournl he final standings and awards (ioften have assistant TDs, or are ahelp in organizing and running aTournament RulesFormal tournaments are subject to,1re established by the U.S. Chess Fwritten rules are extensive. The toumust know all the rules and en forcyo u know just some basic rules, yoproblem successfully participatingtournaments have rules, so it is imknow the basic rules and etiquette< chess tournament.

Once you join the U.S. Chessand a re rated , yo u w ill neverrating v n if you haven t pin t ou rnamen t play fo r a longYou ca n p ick up where yo u leby co ntacti ng t he to u rnam en


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CJ 1 ESS TOURNAMENT =

If you stay true to the Scout Law, you will find it hard togo wrong w hen it comes to the rules of play in g c hess .For instance, the first act in a ches s match, before yo ubegin moving pieces, is to shake your opponent's hand .That's friend ly, courteous, kind, and cheerful right fro mthe start The more you play, the more you may noticehow the ru les, etiquette, and skills of chess tie in withthe values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

The first thing to remember in a chess tournament is to berespectful of the game and your opponent. f a dispute arises

En joyparticipa ting between you and your opponent or you have a question about thefor the ch ance to game you are playing, simply raise your hand and the tournamentdirector will come over and settle the matter.comp ete, and fo rthe fel lowship ofbe ing with otherchess players.

76 CHESS

Secondly, have realistic expectations. No player wins everymatch. You are going to win and lose. Be humble and respectfulof your opponent (don't get too happy when you win), and be agood sport (don't get too upset when you lose) .

= f he Touch Move Rule

1 h ll rule that will be enforced, esI the touch move rule If you toul'licssboard, and you can make allill1 you must move that piece. Aopponent's pieces and the move t,tkcjcapture that piece. Fina lly, i.1 piece after moving it, your movl1t{tll one.

The ea siest way to avoid viois to think w ith yo ur brain, nno t tou ch any chess p ieces uw hich piece yo u want to movwa nt to move it.

f you must handle a p iece bknocked over, or it is incorrectly psitting on, tell your opponent thatbefore you touch it-by sayin g, "as a way to ge t around the touch-poor sportsmanship.


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CHESS TOURNAMENTS=========================================

78 CHESS

EtiquetteChess players always behave like ladies and gentlemen. Whena chess game begins and end s, the two players shake handsDuring the game, there is little conversation betwee n t 1e players.Normally, the only conversation after a game begins is if oneplayer offers the other a draw near the end of a game, or whenthe game is completed and both players say "Good game"

In many tournaments, the boards and pieces are provided. hen th ey are not, it is th e responsibility of theplayer with the black pieces in that game to provideth e equipment, if th e player ha s equ ipment that isconsidered a normal chess set as described in th eUSCFs Official Ru les of Ch ess.

Dis actions A player must do nothing that the opponent mayfind distracting A player may not make any kind of noise, suchas tapping a pencil on a table, humming, w histling, or talking tosomeone. The tou rnament d irector has the authority to forfeit aplayer (declare that the player has lost the game) for trying todistract the opponent

===================Music Chess players are al lowed. II phones while playing a tournado so to keep background soundsII ,t player turns tl1e volume up sollu players seated next to them caol distraction.

No i itzing lloKibitzing is talking to a playeis st ill playing t he game or in-progress ga me wh ere theA chess game is between thone else. In most cases notdirector may inte rrupt or maabout a game in progres s.

All observers must remaNo one may comment abouta bad move, the amount of tianything else in that game. Iftournament di rector may forwho benefited f rom the comfrom the tournament t he perthe comment.


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CHESS TOURNAMENTS

Digital chess clocks are the most common type of timer used in t ournaments. This typeof timer has two displays, each of which can be set to a specified time (such as 45:00minutes), and each of which will count down to 00:00 when time has expired. Besideshaving two timers, all chess clocks have two buttons to start and stop time .

Analog, or mechanical, chess clocks have traditional clock faces w ith hour and minutehands, and a device call ed a flag that signals when a player's t ime is up.The flag ispushed up when the minute hand approaches the hour the 12 o'clock position).Whenthe flag falls, t ime has expired .

84 CHESS

Ma ny ru les apply to using timers in chess tournaments.Bas ically, the idea is that the players have a certain amount oftime in which to make a certain number of moves, or they havea limited amo unt of time in which to make all of their moves.Th e tournament director will be available to help everyoneunderstand the rules , and will be responsible for resolvingany issues stemming from time controls.

==

rganizing a TournamThe Scout who chooses to organserve as the event coordinator anplayer to serve as the tournamendirector might be your Chess mewho already serves as an officialKeep in mind that yo ur touscale that you determine is approf players. You might organize afor your fellow Scouts, fam ily, aWhat does it take to organitournamen t As the event coordthe following. What type of tournament do yments have es tablished ru les, bwould be appropriate for even Who will serve as the tourna Who are the like ly participant Where is an appropriate loca What equipment and supplie When will the tournament be How long will the tournamen


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CHESS TOURNAMENTS=========================================

Remember tosen d each personwho helped withthe tournament athank -you note.

Will there be awards? Will breaks be needed, and will breaks include refreshments? What will the costs be? Will there be a fee to participate? Will additional people be needed to help run the event? How will you promote and advertise your tournament?

Even if you never get to compete in a formal tournament,you can enjoy the game for its own benefits. You are part ofthe rich heritage of the royal game, which is played on everycontinent. Like other players, you are develop ing your criticalthinking skills and improving your ability to make choices. Youare part of a world that enjoys the game simply because of theendless possibilities it offers.

You may discover that wherever you travel you are likely to f ind a newfr iend someone who plays chess

. 86 CHESS

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To have a successfu l event, tuse the answers as a guide twill help an event coordinato

Tournament Checklist1 Type of tournamen2. Event name:3. Event description:4. Event coordinato r:5. Event assistants:6. To urnament directo7. Date and start t ime8. Location:9. Pe rmi ssion to use

10 . T ime controls:11 Approximate end t12. Sections (if applica13. Awards (if applicab14. Equipment and su

15. En try fee (if applica16. Registrat ion info rm

17. Who w il l advertise18. Will food and drin19. List the participant20. Sketch the setup o

or diagram).21. Provide directions (22. Expenses:


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hess ResouVisit the Boy Scouts ofAmerica s official retail webs(with your parent s permissihttp: www.scoutstuff.org forcomplete listing of all merit pamphlets and other helpfulScouting materials and supp

BooksBasman, Michael. Chess for KidsChildren, 2006.Chandler, Murray. Chess TacticsGambit Publications, 2005.Coakley, Jeff. Winning Chess ExeKids . Chess n Math Associatio

. Winning Chess Puzzles {Chess n Mat h Association, 2- - . Winning Chess Strategy fChess n Math Association, 2Emms, John. Concise Chess: TheCompact Guide for Beginners

Everyman Chess, 2003.Horowitz, AI Chess for BeginnerPicture Guide. Harper PerenniMednis, Ed mar. Practical iddleTips. Eve1yman Chess, 1998.


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