Chess has attracted attention for a long time. After all, this is not only a game of intellectuals. It combines creativity and mathematics, logic and a non-standard approach to solving situations.
So, let's see how it all began.
Game History
The unusual word "chaturanga". Few have heard it today. In fact, this is the name of the game in ancient India, which became the progenitor of chess. Four of them played it, and each had only eight pieces. Raja (king), chariot (boat), cavalry, elephant and four pawns. Colors also differed from modern ones. On the board were red, green, yellow and black figurines. Not easy - check and checkmate!
There was, however, an option for two players. In terms of number and arrangement of pieces, it corresponds exactly to chess today.
The second version of the origin is Byzantine. In the Middle Ages, the Romance nobility had fun in Zatrikion. Two opponents, 16 pieces each. It seems that everything is as it is now ... But not everything is so simple! The board was round! Sixteen fields along the outer circumference and four along the width of the game ring.
In the Russian Empire in the 18th – 19th centuries Chess was popular for four players with fortresses. 76 pieces, 192 cells and a hexagonal board!
Today there are fields in the form of a cylinder and a torus (bagel). You can put the check and checkmate bypassing the back!
And a modification of this fun, invented in 1948, is supplemented by the rules of checkers and is called chess. You can only walk in black squares, and each participant has 8 pawns, 2 kings, 1 elephant and 1 camel (another name is a nanny; the same as a horse in standard chess).
The “combat” version of the game suggests the following. The board is divided horizontally into two halves, and opponents deploy troops covertly from each other. Then it is assembled into a single unit and continues according to the usual rules.
What is a check
So, back to the standard field. The aim of the game is to destroy the king of the second side. So, an attack on him is a check. If the enemy was able to defend or avoid him, the fight continues.
Let's look at an example. The figure shows this position: a white elephant attacks the black king.
Chess in chess can be of several types:
Eternal (as soon as the player leaves the threat, the next move he is again under attack).
This method of attack will greatly extend the time of the game, up to a few hours. However, on the other hand, it is very beneficial for the loser. You can make a repeated move three times and, if desired, the player will be declared a draw.
Hidden (a figure that previously was hidden by another of the same color. That is, one went away, the second attacked).
A fairly common type of attack. Its charm is that when you create a suitable arrangement on the board, you can pick up one of the enemy fighters, while the enemy king will be under attack. The next step of the opponent will also be a plus for you, since he will have to defend himself, and not attack and develop his position.
Cross (closing yourself from the threat, you will attack the enemy king in response with the same move).
A very common answer to the previous version that was not thought out in all its details. Often, beginners have a situation where the opponent seems to “gape”. A tremendous figure stands under battle, or the check begs. If it seemed to you that the situation is completely in your favor, and everything is going smoothly, stop and look at the board from a different angle. Perhaps you are proudly raising your head to your own defeat, right in the set trap.
What is a mat
This is not a scolding of the defeated party, but simply a word similar in sound. In Persian, it means "helpless, immobilized", and in Arabic - "died."
Your king is being attacked, but nowhere to run, there’s nothing to beat and nothing to close? This is what happened. Everything, check and checkmate, which means "end of the game."
The main task is to prevent such a turn of events at all costs. It can turn out to be a draw, create a stalemate. But it is better to understand in detail all the intricacies of the game and conduct the very position on the board.
Analyze games by records, analyze decisions of grandmasters at world championships. Finally, learn how the debut differs from the middlegame!
This amazing game is so diverse and multifaceted that, making friends with it, you will begin to change for the better. Even if now not everything is as good as we would like.
Well, nothing, soon master the strategy and tactics so that you can fight several opponents at once!
Now let's look at the main options for victory.
Queen Queen
One of the first two sketches for beginners. We know how to walk, learned how to record parties. It's time to put the first mat in greenhouse conditions. Well, training is necessary. It’s hard to learn, easy in battle.
We carefully consider the composition. Great combination for beginners. It is solved elementarily, wherever the figures are. The white king stands on A1, and the next move the black queen attacks him, moving to A3. Can I close or beat the attacker? And to escape from the blow? A difficult situation. The game is over, and the loser should parse the game by record and analyze the mistakes made.
Mat elephants
Also a fairly common variation of victory. One or two officers can play a key role in the battle. And if the enemy still short-sighted leaves the flanks open, it’s a sin not to take advantage of the moment. Checkmate, gentlemen.
Please note that stronger figures have not actually moved yet. The cavalry with the elephants did all the work! This happens in games when players are carried away by some strategic ideas. Imagine yesterday you were examining the debut of Capablanca, and today the opponent walks in such a way that it becomes possible to realize it. Beauty!
Rook Mat
The classic composition for beginners. One or two rooks, two kings and an empty board. One of the first sketches you will meet in the process of mastering this wonderful strategy. The white king holds the blow of G7 and H7, the tour attacks in the eighth horizontal. "Finita la comedy."
Mat with an elephant and a horse
More difficult task. The cavalry goes with the letter "G", the officer - only on the diagonal of the same color, in our case - white. The black king can run for a long time from such a company until it is clamped into a corner. And there are already three for one.
Such moments, of course, happen in a regular game, but more often it happens in sketches. Start with short examples, work through all the options for events. Later you will go to a more difficult level, figures will be added. Decisions will begin to hide not after three moves, but after seven. We develop combinatorics, tighten observation. It's only the beginning!
Checkmate king and pawn
Another element of the composition. Even if there is no rival, and you only learn the basics. Take a couple of puzzles, a board and a set of figures. Try to record parts for further analysis.
In our case, there are several plot developments. Checkmate in chess in this way is placed by pawns or, if one of them reaches the last horizontal, in one of the previous ways.
You can choose any piece instead of a pawn.
So, today we met with you the history of an amazing game - chess, looked at basic etudes. Understood concepts such as check and checkmate.
But this is only the first step. We have not even entered the threshold of this magical palace. Ahead of you are still waiting for the joys of the greatest victories and sorrows of irreversible defeats. Happy tears of the champion of the country or the world, the proud title of grandmaster.
Who knows, having become infected with prospects, perhaps you will begin to develop and carry the idea to the masses. Logical thinking will become flexible, and a careful look will become tenacious.
The versatility of the world of chess is breathtaking and striking in its prospects. As the classic said, Moscow will be renamed New Vasyuki, and Vasyuki will be renamed Old Moscow.
The rest is a matter of practice. Good luck, dear readers!