Attack

Good day everyone!

I read the following articles on the website, chess-teacher dot com.

Attack is one of the most important and essential skills in chess. You cannot win a chess game if you cannot attack. But many chess players don’t know where to attack and how to start an attack. The right plan is required to deliver a proper and successful attack.

“Attack is the best form of defense” is a well-known phrase, and it means that to attack or to strike is the best way to protect oneself. Apparently, this applies to the chess game as well. However, most of the chess players do not know HOW to deliver a successful attack. 

Even the first undisputed world chess champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, used to say that “Only the player with the initiative has the right to attack.”

Today our guest coach CM Tryfon Gavriel has prepared a very instructive video lesson for you. In this video, he will show you a great game played by the 12-year old Magnus Carlsen, where the current World Champion had delivered a successful attack with an amazing Queen sacrifice.

Click on the following link: https://youtu.be/xqso5IYse7o

and

https://youtu.be/vPlzkrBzlko

Author information

Tryfon Gavriel is a FIDE Candidate Master (CM) with a rating of 2170. He has over 35 years of playing actively both online and offline.

He won the Lloyds Under-18 national UK tournament in 1989, and was awarded with the trophy by Grandmaster and PHD Mathematician Dr John Nunn. He also played twice in the main British Chess Championship.

WP Closed 2014 Schools Chess Trials

Good afternoon everyone!

I'm officiating at the WP Closed Schools Chess Trials today and tomorrow.  I would just like to wish three of our schools learners good luck! They are: Craig Strydom, Kiara Blows and Kalim Meyer.

Congratulations also to Craig - he was named headboy in our school last week!

Thus, follow the blog for round for round results in each section.  I will try my best to keep you up to date.

Kind regards,

:-)

           

Chess improvement for beginners and novice players

This morning I saw the following post on Susan Polgar's Blog, and thought this is excellent for especially all our beginners and novice players.  Thanks to technology, I sent her a tweet and she gave me permission to use anything I wish!  Thanks again Susan. :-)

The Importance of Defense in Chess
Susan Polgar

We all like to be in a position to attack freely and look for ways to checkmate our opponents. However, we cannot always get to that position. In fact, at times we end up on the other side of the coin and need to find the right defensive moves to avoid losing or to turn things around.

In this column we shall examine four examples of successful defense in dangerous looking positions.

In this column we shall examine four examples of successful defense in dangerous looking positions.  (I'm only going to use 3)

1)


In the position above, white’s Rook and Knight work together well in creating a checkmate threat with Rxh7. How can Black defend against it? The solution is: 1...Nf3+ 2.Kg2 Ng5 and Black is out of danger.

2)


Do you see what is White’s sneaky plan in the position above? The plan is to checkmate with Qxb7. So as Black, how would you defend against it?
If, 1...Qb6 then Black’s Knight remains unprotected and White can simply capture with 2.Qxe7.

How about blocking the threat with 1...c6? That seems to work except it allows the highly unpleasant pin by 2.Bf4! So what is the solution?

The right answer is: 1...Nc6! and Black is out of danger.

3)

In the final position above, white’ main threat is Qh8 checkmate. Would 1…Kh6 solve the problem?

No, as after 2.Qh8 the King has no escape on g5.

Would 1...g5 work, freeing up the g6 square? Not quite, because after 2.Qf6, Black cannot properly defend against the upcoming Rh8 threat.

Therefore, the only correct solution is: 1...Be5! and if 2.Qg8+ Kh6 3.Qf8+ then 3…Bg7 saves the day.

Remember, if you are under attack, do not panic! Not every attack leads to checkmate if you defend correctly! And always look out for your opponent's plan.

Chess puzzle

I recently 'liked' the facebook page, Chess Club Live.

Today I got the following puzzle:  White is going to win after 5 moves, but he sacrifices series pieces.
Just have a look:

For the beginners, following the previous post, you have to say which Knight moves to c4, because the Knight on e5 can also move to that spot.
1) Ndc4      dxc4 (pawn takes the Knight)
2) Qxg6      hxg6 (pawn takes the Queen!)
3) Nxg6      fxg6 (pawn takes the Knight)
4) Bc4+      Kf8
5) Rh8#

WOW!! Brilliant play by White.

The whole game can be seen on the chess-king.com website.  Click here to go to that website.
Also note on that website, is that this game was played in 1901, in Antwerp!

:-)

10 Big Brain Beniefits of Playing Chess

Good afternoon everyone!

The following I got on a website named africanchesslounge.  They got it from onlinecollegecources.

Click on the links above to go to those two websites.

Just from my side: good luck to all the learners writing exams next week.  Remember to play a game of chess in between the studies - it may just help you!

:-)

Not for nothing is chess known as “the game of kings.” No doubt the rulers of empires and kingdoms saw in the game fitting practice for the strategizing and forecasting they themselves were required to do when dealing with other monarchs and challengers. As we learn more about the brain, some are beginning to push for chess to be reintroduced as a tool in the public’seducation. With benefits like these, they have a strong case.

1. It can raise your IQ

   Chess has always had an image problem, being seen as a game for brainiacs and people with already high IQs. So there has been a bit of a chicken-and-egg situation: do smart people gravitate towards chess, or does playing chess make them smart? At least one study has shown that moving those knights and rooks around can in fact raise a person’s intelligence quotient. A study of 4,000 Venezuelan students produced significant rises in the IQ scores of both boys and girls after 4 months of chess instruction.

2. It helps prevent Alzheimer’s

   Because the brain works like a muscle, it needs exercise like any bicep or quad to be healthy and ward off injury. A recent study featured in The New England Journal of Medicine found that people over 75 who engage in brain-stretching activities like chess are less likely to develop dementia than their non-board-game-playing peers. Just like an un-exercised muscle loses strength, Dr. Robert Freidland, the study’s author, found that unused brain tissue leads to a loss of brain power. So that’s all the more reason to play chess before you turn 75.

3. It exercises both sides of the brain

   In a German study, researchers showed chess experts and novices simple geometric shapes and chess positions and measured the subjects’ reactions in identifying them. They expected to find the experts’ left brains being much more active, but they did not expect the right hemisphere of the brain to do so as well. Their reaction times to the simple shapes were the same, but the experts were using both sides of their brains to more quickly respond to the chess position questions.

4. It increases your creativity

   Since the right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for creativity, it should come as no surprise that activating the right side of your brain helps develop your creative side. Specifically, chess greatly increases originality. One four-year study had students from grades 7 to 9 play chess, use computers, or do other activities once a week for 32 weeks to see which activity fostered the most growth in creative thinking. The chess group scored higher in all measures of creativity, with originality being their biggest area of gain.

5. It improves your memory

   Chess players know — as an anecdote — that playing chess improves your memory. Being a good player means remembering how your opponent has operated in the past and recalling moves that have helped you win before. But there’s hard evidence also. In a two-year study in 1985, young students who were given regular opportunities to play chess improved their grades in all subjects, and their teachers noticed better memory and better organizational skills in the kids. A similar study of Pennsylvaniasixth-graders found similar results. Students who had never before played chess improved their memories and verbal skills after playing.

6. It increases problem-solving skills

   A chess match is like one big puzzle that needs solving, and solving on the fly, because your opponent is constantly changing the parameters. Nearly 450 fifth-grade students were split into three groups in a 1992 study in New Brunswick. Group A was the control group and went through the traditional math curriculum. Group B supplemented the math with chess instruction after first grade, and Group C began the chess in first grade. On a standardized test, Group C’s grades went up to 81.2% from 62% and outpaced Group A by 21.46%.

7. It improves reading skills

   In an oft-cited 1991 study, Dr. Stuart Margulies studied the reading performance of 53 elementary school students who participated in a chess program and evaluated them compared to non-chess-playing students in the district and around the country. He found definitive results that playing chess caused increased performance in reading. In a district where the average students tested below the national average, kids from the district who played the game tested above it.

8. It improves concentration

   Chess masters might come off like scattered nutty professors, but the truth is their antics during games are usually the result of intense concentration that the game demands and improves in its players. Looking away or thinking about something else for even a moment can result in the loss of a match, as an opponent is not required to tell you how he moved if you didn’t pay attention. Numerous studies of students in the U.S., Russia, China, and elsewhere have proven time and again that young people’s ability to focus is sharpened with chess.

9. It grows dendrites

   Dendrites are the tree-like branches that conduct signals from other neural cells into the neurons they are attached to. Think of them like antennas picking up signals from other brain cells. The more antennas you have and the bigger they are, the more signals you’ll pick up. Learning a new skill like chess-playing causes dendrites to grow. But that growth doesn’t stop once you’ve learned the game; interaction with people in challenging activities also fuels dendrite growth, and chess is a perfect example.

10. It teaches planning and foresight

    Having teenagers play chess might just save their lives. It goes like this: one of the last parts of the brain to develop is the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for planning, judgment, and self-control. So adolescents are scientifically immature until this part develops. Strategy games like chess can promote prefrontal cortex development and help them make better decisions in all areas of life, perhaps keeping them from making a stupid, risky choice of the kind associated with being a teenager.

Holiday puzzles VII

Good morning!

Three more puzzles this morning, like yesterday - the last one is to find checkmate in 3 moves.
Remember the hints at the bottom of the page if you struggle to get the correct move.  For more information on that, just click here to go to that post.

Enjoy!

:-)

Something amazing I found

I found this while searching for something on the internet.

I would like to share it with you:  click here to have a look at a YouTube video clip of just under 2 minutes, named: The Most Inspirational PowerPoint Ever Created

Enjoy!

:-)

Chess Quiz 3

Hello everyone!

I created a new chess quiz, using the website: http://www.go4quiz.com

Please click here to enjoy the newest quiz on the blog.  In the beginnnig I ask that you must count the number of questions you have correct, please don't forget.

At the start of the each question (except nr.1), you will find out of the previous question was correct or not.

Enjoy!

:-)

District Trails results

Good afternoon everyone!

Just a short note to say that all four districts results are available on Wepsso's website.

Just click on the following link: http://wepsso.co.za/chess/news

Or you can click on the following link to go to this weekends tournament at Aristea's results
District North:

http://wepsso.co.za/chess/news/results-district-north-trials-8-9-feb-2013not-team-lists

I hope all parents remembered to confirm your child's participation in the WP Closed, if he/she made the district team.  (This is also done directly on the wepsso website)

Have a nice day!

:-)

New chess quiz!

I was searching for some more quizzes to put up on the blog, to test chess players knowledge, and came across this puzzle that I recreated.

Click here to take our beginners class chess quiz!

Enjoy!

:-)

WP Schools Chess District Trials results

Good morning everyone

The full results (I think) will be available on the wepsso website.  Please remember to check if your child has made the team or not and then confirm participation and t-shirt size.  Also remember, it is not to say that if he is not in the top ten, that he is not in the team - if there are girls in the top ten, then the 11th or 12th place player is also included in the team!

JUST A NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE TEAMS FOR THE WP CLOSED, IT IS JUST THE RESULTS AS I READ THEM OUT YESTERDAY AT THE PRIZE GIVING!!

The primary school's results per section is as follows:  Only the top 10 players per section.

I will post some pictures and our schools players' results later in the day. 

Have a great day and week!

:-)

Map to Aristea

Good evening everyone!

If you don't know where Aristea Primary is situated, click on the picture below.
Click on the picture to go to the interactive Google Maps website.

We look forward to hosting you at the District North Chess Trails on the 8th and 9th of February 2013.

A tuck shop will be available the whole Friday afternoon and Saturday.

:-)

Letter 2/2013

Letter 2/2013                                                                               28 January 2013

Dear Parents

With the first week behind us, we had two very good practise sessions on Tuesday and Thursday.  I could clearly see who has been practising during the holidays, and who are still a bit rusty.  Chess players are encouraged not to miss any practise sessions!  If you want a shot at WP Schools Chess colours, you will have to work hard, because you only have one tournament to prove your worth.

Venue confirmed

Talking about the tournament, the venue has been confirmed – we are going to play in our school hall, which is a great privilege for all our players, indeed.  See the back of this letter for the tournament poster, confirming the dates, times that rounds start, when everyone must be there and the age groups.  Please take note that the tournament takes place on Friday afternoon and –evening, Saturday morning and –afternoon.

Entries

If you want to enter your child in the tournament, you will have to fill in the entry form accompanying this letter and poster, and send it to school (me) by the 5^th of February.  NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED!  NO EXEPTIONS.

You can also enter online, just click here to go to the post with the link.  Just remember that the online entry fee is R30 in stead of R20, when you send the entries to me.

Advancing to the WP Closed

In order for you to advance to the WP Closed tournament, you will have to end at least 10^th in your age group.  This tournament will take place on the 1^st and 2^nd of March.  Only players advancing from the respective age groups in each district trial will be able to enter in this tournament.

Practises

We are practising in the Arts & Culture Room, on a Tuesday and Thursday, from 14:45 to 15:45.  Each player’s results are recorded to determine the top 20 list of players in the school.  We will also have a beginners’ class on Tuesdays, in my class, from 14:45 to 15:15. After this, they will join the games in the Arts & Culture room.

Kind regards

Mr. R. Bekker and Mrs. C. van Niekerk

Online entries for District Trials

Just a short note to say that you can enter online for the District Trials.

Click on the banner below to go that page.
Please note that online entry fee is R30, in stead of R20 if I do the entry manually for you.

I will send out those letters with the forms, on Monday.

:-)

District North Trials

Good evening everyone

I hope you had a good week so far and that Friday and the coming weekend will only have more positive things ahead!

I have some news, as I always say to my class:

Click on the picture below, to go to the rest of the poster for more information regarding the District North Trials taking place at Aristea Primary on the 8th and 9th of February 2013.

The link will open in a new window.

More news, is that the chess practise started this week - and some very interesting matches have been played.  Some new players joining this year and already beating some more experienced players.  We also had our youngest member joining us on Tuesday - Caleb Meyer, a grade R learner, and brother of Liam Meyer. 

A warm word of welcome to him!

:-)

Geri's Game Video link

Look what I have found, boys and girls!

Last year's grade 5 English classes will know what this is all about.  For all the others in school - if you are searching for my class, just look for this photo on my door.  (Thx to Mrs Geldenhuys for the photo!)  Click on the link below to see what the fuss is all about.

Click here to see the video clip on YouTube

(Links will open in a new window)

Enjoy!

:-)

Reasons Chess Should Be a Part of Every Child’s Education

I found the following article on the internet (click here to go the blog):
Thanks, NM William Stewart for the link on your twitter feed!

Reasons Chess Should Be a Part of Every Child’s Education

Imagine a world where people all have excellent problem solving skills, where they are patient and respectful of each other on a daily basis. A society where citizens live for the future and plan long term, thinking of where their children’s children will be, following through, seeing each goal to its conclusion with ease. Now add to that an indefinable quality of artistic imagination, dreaming for more than can be reasonably expected, reaching beyond the status quo.

Chess can teach our next generation all these skills and more!

I learned the game when I was young and to this day I see the world as a giant chess game where any barrier can be conquered and any victory can be achieved. No goal is impossible and when I have a target in sight there is no stopping me. The same glint I had in my eye when I faced an opponent at a chess tournament still exists today when I face a challenge, along with the insouciant grin that comes from the pure joy of the experience.Intuitively most would agree that chess improves a student’s grades and ability to study. Numerous studies have been done over the years throughout the world that show this to be the case. IQ increases, reading test results improve as do math and science scores. However there are so many other skills children pick up naturally from learning and becoming good at chess.

Imagination is a must in chess. You cannot form strategies and tactical plans without being able to envision your goals. It is impossible to win a game without first imagining the victory. You are the one to make the pieces dance to the rhythm you choose. Without the player the pieces just sit dormant on a dusty board.

Chess helps build self-confidence in children

A child’s self confidence soars as the victories pile up, especially when...

click here to read the rest of the article.

All the links in this article will open in a new window.

Great endgame practise

Hi everyone!

I just came across this puzzle on the internet, and thought I must share this with you.
The link to the website is on the board - click on it and it will open the website.

The board was a bit small, but I sort of enlarged it. :-)

White to move, checkmate in 7 moves! (Try it first and then look at the answer!)

The Puzzle Answer
1. Ra1!  Kxa1
2. Kc2!! ... { Zugzwang *}
2. ...      g5
3. hxg     h4
4. g6      h3
5. g7      h2
6. g8=Q  h1=Q
7. Qg7#  1-0

*
Zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move", pronounced [ˈtsuːktsvaŋ]) is a situation found usually in chess, but also in various other games, where one player is put at a disadvantage because he has to make a move when he would prefer to pass and make no move. The fact that the player must make a move means that his position will be significantly weaker than the hypothetical one in which it was his opponent's turn to move.

The above paragraph, courtesy of wikipedia.  I also had to look up the word.
Learn something new everyday.  You never to old to learn something new!

:-)

Chess tactics

Good afternoon (my time) to everyone!

I recently ordered two chess books for our learners (especially the juniors) written by Garry Kasparov - Checkmate! My first chess book and Checkmate tactics. In the last week, I paged through them and had a very interesting read.  I can really recommend parents buying these books for your children to read through with them.

While I was reading and paging through the books, I just thought of the blog and that I must share some of the tactics that I found in the books.  Some of them I have put up on the blog already, but that was almost 6 months ago!

Here are the links to those posts, click on them, go through them before you scroll down to the next post. Click on each word, it won't open in a new window, so be sure to press the 'back' button to come back to this post.

The Fork

The Pin

The Skewer

In the post below this one, I will have more and better examples of each of these, and I will include a section where you have to sacrifice a valuable piece to gain advantage or even win the match later.

Enjoy!

:-)

The Pin, Fork and Skewer

The Fork

If you attack two of the opponent's pieces at the same time by using one piece , this is called a fork.

A white bishop attacks to a black king and knight. Black is obliged to lose his knight.  (Diagram 1)  A white knight attacks to a black queen and rook. Black is obliged to lose one of its pieces.

A queen and a pawn can also fork the opponents (see Diagram 2)

The Pin

Black knight can't move because it will lose his king. (see diagram 3) This position is called as a pin. The black bishop is also pinned by a white queen. 

The Skewer
The white rook is attacking to more valuable black queen . The queen must escape but the black rook will be lost. This is called a skewer. (see Diagram 4)

All this I got from the following website: usefullchess.com
Click here to go to their website.

Then, a sacrifice to put the other player in a bad position - when you play again, you have forked him. (diagram 6) OR you win the game (diagram 5) 
Let's have a look:

This is an easy example. White wins after the sacrifice of a queen.
1. Qd8 + Rxd8 2. Rxd8 mate

No. 6
1. Rxf7 !! 
A sacrifice of a rook . Qxf7 2. Nd6+ !! (this is a fork. Knight attacks the Black king and queen at the same time. Black's queen is captured)