Lesson 13: Halloween Army

Plague
A piece is picked randomly using cards or secretly by yourself to be plagued. When  apiece kills it - it is also killed too.


Zombie
The idea here is that a killed piece turns into a zombie (of the same piece type - ie - a killed bishop becomes a zombie bishop). Zombie pieces can not be killed by normal pieces and normal pieces also cannot jump over zombies. Similarly - zombies cannot jump over anything and cannot kill normal pieces. They are a bit like dead weight and clutter on the board - however, if you have more than one zombie piece - you can use one to kill another one of your zombies - which actually reincarnates it as a normal piece again!!(alternatively you could think of ZOMBIES as "Captured" pieces  - - so rather than any piece being "killed" they are "captured" - ready to be freed by a fellow captor).  NOTE: The zombie piece is placed on the square the normal piece was captured as soon as the capturing piece leaves on their next turn.  Similarly, the reincarnated piece is placed on the same square the zombie was captured when the capturing zombie leaves the square.

Cowardly King
This is where your King is not really the King and if it is killed or checked it will not matter - the game will go on. Your true king is masquerading as another piece. Or, put another way, one of your other pieces is the King, although it moves as normal, if it is killed then you lose the game!! Yes - your king may even be a pAWN! -- you cannot choose who your King hides as - or it may start to be predictable after you keep choosing the QUeen! It is chosen at random. You may do this by picking a card at random. King=King (yes - it may simply be the correct piece), Queen=QUeen, Jack=Bishop, 10=Rook/Castle, 9=Knight/Horse, 8=eighth pawn, 7=7th pawn, 6=6th pawn, 5=5th pawn, 4=4th pawn, 3=3rd pawn, 2=2nd pawn, Ace=1st pawn - Players should keep their cards till the end so that when the game is over they can verify they did not cheat and change which piece was king half way through.

Lesson 12: Mini Chess

(Single Player) - The Queen's Dinner Party
This game is played on a 4x4 board (use a quarter of a normal board).  It is not a battle but a peaceful dinner party with laughing and dancing - and so no attacking or killing takes place..only dancing (moving)!  All pieces (except pawns as they are not invited) from both armies are placed randomly onto the 4x4 board (except the other Queen who does not arrive as she did not want to come to her rival's party).  This leaves one empty square in the 4x4 board.

The aim of the game is to get the one Queen to the edge of the board...without killing anyone!

(Two Player) - Baby Chess
The board is a 5x5 grid - using about half the size of a normal army. Pawns at front as per usual and back row is set up as shown. All other rules apply. This game is good for a quick battle or skirmish.

Lesson 18: Visualisation Training

There is a really simple way to improve your visualisation skills fast. Play imaginary chess.
1) Start by doing some simple visualisation exercises like i) visualising one or two plus pieces on given squares and say the colour of that square then ii) visualise pawns on given squares and saying if they can move to the next said square and iii) visualising a bishop on a square and saying if it can move to the next squares said then iv) place a knight on a square and say if it can move to a said square in one move and then v) the same but if it could reach there in 2 moves.
2) Then move onto simple chess puzzles. i) Start by visualising setups with 1 white rook and king vs 1 black king.  ii) then 1 white rook and king vs 1 black pawn and king, iii) then 1 white rook, bishop and king vs 1 black pawn and king iv) then 1 white rook, knight and king vs 1 black pawn and king. v) Then finally moving multiple pieces to solve an end game puzzle in a few moves (you can use the puzzles at the bottom of this blog).
3)Then move onto playing Alice in Wonderland Chess (explained below) which forces you to visualise missing pieces.
4) Then play normal chess but have one side as real pieces and the other as imaginary pieces.
5) then eventually progress to both sides being imaginary and finally do this completely in your mind - without a board

ALICE CHESS

This requires two boards as opposed to only one!

 Game play is as normal - except at the end of each pieces move - it goes through the looking glass and gets transported to the exact same spot onto the alternate reality chess board (the second chess board) and there it remains until it makes another move, at the end of which it gets transported back through the looking glass into normal reality again (the first board!) - - it gets very difficult to keep track

The main thing to remember is that you can only move to a square if you are able to transport though it at the end of the go - if there is a piece occupying the square on the other board (blocking your ability to transport to it) you cannot move there! - - You only 'kill' pieces on your side of the looking glass (on your board) and cannot kill the alternate reality piece (i.e. cannot transport through to the otherside at the end and then kill the piece you land on!)..

this means you can keep your king safe by moving him through the looking glass onto the other board! it also means that it is a lot harder to check the King as you must move into position on the other board so that you transport into the position of check (otherwise if you attempt to check him on the same board - you will simply transport to the alternate board at the end of your move and so the King will not be in check - you can not check THROUGH the looking glass!!) 

WHAT IF I DON'T HAVE TWO CHESS BOARDS!!
If you dont have two chess boards - then this game can be modified slightly to be played on two halves of one board - imagining a giant mirror inbetween the two halves of the chess board!

Of course - this means there is less space to set up your army (4 squares wide as opposed to 8 squares) -
so to compensate each army will start in THREE rows instead of the usual two -
the front row will consist of 4 pawns (not 8), the second row will have your semi-precious pieces: knights on the outside and bishops in the middle, and the back row will have your rooks on the outside protecting the King and queen on the inside. - Remember - at the end of each move - the piece is transported to the same spot on the alternate side of the board! enjoy

PRACTICE: 1) play alice chess - both armies starting in normal reality (same board).  2) play alice chess - one army starting in alternate reality / wonderland (one army starts on the second board). 3) play alice chess with a third chess board - so there are three possible worlds - and you have the option of which board you teleport to!

Lesson 9: Special Rules: the Pawn

En Passant
We have already seen that our pawn can move two squares on its very first move (as opposed to its ordinary One).

 But lets suppose that an enemy pawn does this and if it hadn't (i.e. it only moved one square forward) - he would have been in the diagonal forward position - in place for your pawn to kill him (but since he moved two he is not diagonal from your pawn but beside him - so not in a position to be killed). In this rare case - your pawn may still kill the enemy pawn as if it were diagonally in front (even though it is actually besides) and so your pawn moves into the diagonal forward position killing the enemy pawn besides him as he passes!

Promotion

If a pawn ever makes it to the opposite side of the board (i.e. the enemies starting side) - then it gets promoted!!! You can change the pawn into any other piece that you like (apart from a King) - but it could become a Queen for example!! so you COULD have 2 queens - or 9 if you got all pawns there safely!! how amazing is that!

PRACTICE: 1) Set up the board as normal - with one slight exception - all of YOUR pawns are where your opponents' pawns should be, and all your opponents pawns are where your pawns should be - one step away from getting a promotion! and right infront of your major pieces! - this set up is called Upside-down Chess! 2) Set up the board as normal - except pretend all your pieces are pawns (16 pawns) and your enemy is as normal.  You have no king - so you lose when all your pieces die. Then swap round with your partner. 3) This game is called peasants revolt - The white team are the peasants: they have a King and 8 pawns. The black team are the nobles: with a King, a pawn and FOUR knights. The additional knights should be placed where the bishops would be. The single pawn should be infront of the King.

Lesson 11: Antichess

The game is played with all the rules we have learnt and from the normal start position - the only difference this time is the AIM of the game!!

Rather than trying to Kill the King - in this variation you don't care if the king is killed. In fact - you don't care if any piece is killed. The AIM of Antichess is to get rid of all your pieces - the one to have their whole army killed first is the winner!!

(note: if you are in a position to kill an enemy piece - you no longer can choose - you MUST kill them).

PRACTICE: 1) Play Antichess! 2) Play Antichess...but you must make it so your King is the last to die!

Lesson 10: Special Rules: the King

Castling

This is a special collaboration between your Rook and the King.  In order to use this move - you must NOT have moved your rook or King from their original starting positions yet. (i.e. the rook in the corner of the board and the King in the middle). In your go - you move your king TWO squares towards the rook (as opposed to its usual one) and then the rook moves past the King to his other side for protection. In essence - they have swapped sides with each other (and thats right! this is the only move that requires TWO pieces to move!! a truly special move)

This move is usually good to use if your king is in danger in its current position and needs to get out quick. (remember - it can only be used if your King and Rook are in their original positions - - not if they've moved about the board)

PRACTICE: 1) play a full game. 2) Use a special type of random starting set up: the pawns are as normal but all the major pieces are put on the back row in random order!  (the opponents army could either mirror your random set up - or you could both have your own random set ups) - - important to note you can not use castling in random set ups unless the rook and king are in their normal start positions.

Lesson 8: Playing a Full game of chess

The board - always start so that a white square is on the bottom right hand corner (white to the right).

Every piece in chess has its own starting position. Typically - both teams start on opposite sides of the board. The pawns line up in the front row of each army.

In the back row you have the rooks guarding the outer edges, followed by the knights who are the next ones in, then the bishops who always stay close to the King and Queen in the middle. (Note: the Queen goes on her own coloured square - i.e. a Black Queen will go on the black square and a White queen will go on the White square. This is important as it means that both Kings and Queens on each team are facing directly across from each other).

To decide who starts - try holding a pawn from each side - one in each hand - Then ask your opponent to pick a hand to decide which team starts.

TIPS:
I have two pieces of advice for all beginners of Chess:

1) Your best strategy in Chess is Attack, Attack, Attack (every move you make is valuable and should be done for some sort of attack - dont waste time making lovely patterns or retreating without a plan in mind - except as a last resort)

2) Make effective use of Wait time. This is not the time to relax but it is the time to plan your moves. (when it is your turn you should not really give your enemy lots of wait time so they can plan - it should be quick because you have already planned.)

1. Immediate Defense/Attack (this means protecting any piece from being killed by your opponent in their next turn - check for pieces in lines of attack. The main ways to protect pieces are to reposition them somewhere else or to block the line of attack with another piece. The better way to protect your piece is by attacking - the best defense is attack! This could be by taking out enemy piece who is about to kill your piece. It could also be by positioning another piece in a place to kill another piece of the opponent that is just as or more valuable than your piece so that your opponent will be reluctant to kill your piece at the cost of losing theirs on the next go - they may rethink their plan of attack and your piece will be saved for now)
2. Short Term Attack (this is any form of attack to kill a piece that will require more than one move to execute - perhaps even more than one piece being moved. the options here are many and varied and is where the real fun of chess lies)
3. Long Term Attack (never lose sight of the overall aim of chess - to kill the King! sometimes players can get so caught up in a mini battle happening on the board only to find that the enemy has been using this distraction to position their pieces in place to get your king in checkmate - so all your mini victories of killing their Rook or Queen has been a waste - as your King is dead! - make sure you always have in mind a long term plan of attack on the enemies King - make it as efficient as possible - i.e. if you can kill the King without killing any other enemy piece all the better (in fact, a good chess player is not simply measured on how few pieces they lose and how many enemy pieces they kill - but the best chess player will be the one who kills as few of the enemy pieces as possible to win the game (of course without having any of their pieces killed either).

PRACTICE: 1) Play a full game with all the pieces and use their proper starting positions! 2) If you want to practice more but do not have enough time for a full match - play using points - so the game could end at any time but the person who has the most points at that moment is the winner - use the relative values of each piece you have captured / killed *(e.g. a pawn = 1, knight = 2, Queen = 20, etc) to count up how many points you have by the end.  3) Want to practice but have no one around to play with? There is a link at the bottom that will let you play for free online - or alternatively you could play a 1 player chess game - Use the daily puzzle at the bottom of the page to suggest a challenging starting scenario - then see how many turns it takes for you to win!

Lesson 7: Rules of Chess: the Pawn (Soldier)

And finally...we arrive at the bottom of the ranks. The Pawn (a.k.a. the ordinary soldier).  you have 8 of them. They are the simplest piece to learn as they do very little (but as you learn later - they do have a few tricks up their armless sleeves).

They move one square only. And they only move forwards. Not sideways, backward nor diagonally...just ONE square forward (*except on its very first move where it can move an extra square as he rushes off with a burst of adrenaline ...so TWO squares forward if its his very first time moving - although its optional)

Unlike the other pieces, a pawn can not simply kill a piece in its way and take over its place! If an enemy piece is infront of it, your pawn is essentially blocked - as it cant move back or sideways - and cant kill forwards!

Then how does a pawn kill?!  - The only way a Pawn can kill an enemy piece is if the enemy happens to be DIAGONALLY in front of it - NOT directly infront.  If it is - then your pawn kills it and take its place - moving DIAGONALLY forward one square (the only time it can move other than directly forwards!!) NOTE: where other pieces can CHOOSE to kill a piece or make a different move - a pawn has no choice - if it is in a situation where it can move forward or kill diagonally - it MUST KILL!

Pawns on their own are not much use...but used in groups they can mean the difference between winning and losing. They are also great for simply blocking the way!

So to sum up - the pawn moves and kills in the following way:

PRACTICE: 1) use all 8 pawns and a king against an enemy of one queen only - then swap round. 2) use all 8 pawns and a king vs an equally matched enemy. 3) use all pieces vs a player with all pieces - (scatter starts though)

Lesson 6: Rules of Chess: the Knight (Horse)

Everyone always thinks the Knight (a.k.a. Horse) is the hardest piece to learn to use. - This is only because the other pieces are soooooo easy to use.

The knights (you have two of them) - are very useful for they move like no other piece on the board! they are your cavalry and hence need to move round corners and jump over other pieces in the way!

They cannot move as many squares as you like. They move in an "L" shape (i.e. 3 squares in one direction (counting the one it starts on) and then change direction left or right one square).

Although the 'L' can be any orientation you see fit

There are 16 possible ways to make this 'L' shaped move from one spot: The dots below show 8 possible squares the knight can move to, each having 2 possible L shaped routes - see if you can trace out all 16 possible L shaped routes with your finger to get to these dots.

The other special thing about knights is that if another piece (be it your own or the enemy) is in the path of the L shape - it doesn't matter - the knight will jump over them to its final position! This can be useful if you are trying to get out of a tight spot...or trying to get into one to save the day!

Of course, if there is an enemy piece on the final square the knight lands on, the knight may kill it and take its place as per usual.

PRACTICE: 1) using your two knights and King only, face an enemy of equal size. 2) using your two knights and King only, face an enemy of any size. 3) using your two knights, two bishops, two rooks, Queen and King face an enemy of equal size or larger.

(use 'scatter starts')

Lesson 5: Rules of Chess: the Bishop

Your army also has two bishops, which work best as a team. 

They do the opposite to the rooks...so they can only move in diagonals but NOT sideways or backwards or forwards! Again, they can move any number of squares (so long as no piece is in their way).

Like before, if they choose to kill a piece and take its place, its go has ended.

The bishops are often not seen coming by an opponent as they do seem to come out of nowhere (diagonals are not the most obvious pattern on a chess board).  This is in stark contrast to a castle who is very obvious in the way it can move! So use them to their strengths - castles to protect and fear off pieces, and bishops to sneak up on an opponent like an assassin!

PRACTICE: 1) using your two bishops and King only, try to kill your enemy who has only a King...and then swap round 2) then using your two bishops and King only, try to kill your enemy of equal size. 3) Then using your two bishops and King only, try to kill your enemy who has two rooks and a King only - and then swap round. 4) Now using your two bishops and two rooks and a King, match your enemy of equal size. 5) Now using your two bishops, two rooks, Queen and King - match an enemy of equal size.

(use 'scatter starts')

Lesson 4: Rules of Chess: the Rook (Castle)

Every army has two Rooks (a.k.a. Castles).

They move either sideways, forwards or back...but NOT diagonally.
They can also move as many squares at a time as you like...so long as they go in a straight line (no turning corners) and there is no piece in their way.

Again, if there is a piece in the way (like the white horse shown above on square E7)- the Rook may choose to kill it and take its place.

PRACTICE: 1) use your two rooks only against an enemy king and try to get him into checkmate.  2) use your two rooks only against an enemy queen and try to kill her before she kills you. 3) use your two rooks and king only against the enemies two rooks and king - and battle to the death. 4) use your two rooks, your queen and king against an equal sized enemy army. 5) use your two rooks, your queen and king against an enemy of any size!

(use 'scatter starts')

Lesson 3: Rules of Chess: the Queen

So we come to the Queen. She is your most valuable piece on the board (after the King) and also the most dangerous (as you will soon see). Like the King, there is only one of her...so try not to get her killed.

She can move in ANY direction (forward, back, side, diagonal) and as many squares at a time in that one direction (in other words - so long as you don't turn corners, she can move there). 

Again, if there is another piece already occupying one of the squares in her path, she cannot go through it, however, if it is the enemy she can choose to kill it and take it's place (which ends her go).

For example: the Queen (shown in Black on square C8) could have moved diagonally all the way to square H3...if there wasn't a pawn blocking her path (shown in white on square D7). Fortunately, it is an enemy piece, so the Queen can kill the pawn by taking its place (D7). Alternatively, if the Queen is feeling in a less blood-thirsty mood, she can simply move in any of the other directions at her disposal (diagonally left, left, right or down).

PRACTICE: 1) using just your King and Queen, face an enemy army of equal size (one King and Queen) and try to kill the enemy king and Queen before they kill you! 2) using just your King and Queen, face an enemy of any size and see how many pieces you can Kill using your mighty duo. If your Queen dies, carry on playing as before, trying to keep you King alive for as long as possible.

(use 'scatter starts')

Lesson 2: Rules of Chess: The King

When you play chess, each player takes it in turn to move ONE piece at a time. Here we shall learn the RULES of moving each piece.  Each piece has a specific way it can move and interact with other pieces. We shall start from the top - The King.

Surprisingly, the King is one of the easiest pieces to learn to use - since he does very little! - its too dangerous for him really - if he's killed - you lose..chess is all about PROTECTING your king, not moving him or using him to attack!! However, when push comes to shove, and you find yourself in a situation where you do need to move or attack with the King (usually as a retreat or last resort)...

The King can move:  ONE Square only, in ANY direction (forward, back, side, diagonal) - so long as its not already occupied.

If there is another piece already occupying that square...then the King may chose to 'kill' that piece and take its place (whereby you'd remove that piece from the game - note: you can not kill your own pieces).

For example: the King (shown in black just moving to square F7) could kill the knight (horse shown in white on square G7) if it chose to move onto the square to its right on the next go!

And last note on the King. If your King is in danger of being killed by a piece on the next move - your opponent must say "CHECK" to alert you.  This means you must get your King to safety on your go (and cannot finish off any other moves you were thinking of making - which would be pointless anyhow if your King dies).  So - remember - if you hear your opponent tell you "Check" - then check you King and stop any other plans you had - get your King to safety (i.e. by Killing the attacking piece, blocking it's line of attack with another piece or moving your King out of the way)!

PRACTICE*: only using the King - ask your opponent to use any pieces they wish. Your aim is to stay alive for as long as possible! See if you can beat your record.

(you will learn much later how to set up the pieces correctly on a chess board - as every piece has its rightful starting position. For these practice games - use what is called "scatter starts" - where you literally lay down your pieces at random on the chess board and play from there. This will give you numerous possible starting positions so you never get bored of practicing!  - the only exception should be that you do not put the King in check during setup)

Lesson 0: Aim of the Game

Chess is a 2 player game. Each player controls an army. Your aim is to kill the other player's King, before they kill yours! As soon as their King is dead - ("Checkmate") - you have won! - even if all their other pieces are still alive

Lesson 1: Introducing the pieces & their ranks

There are 6 different pieces in Chess. The King being the most important! Followed by the Queen (worth less than half of a King), the Rook (worth half the value of a Queen), the Bishop (worth half a Rook), the Knight (worth half a Bishop) and lastly, the Pawn (worth the least and half the Knight).

Lets introduce each character, starting from the bottom and working our way up the ranks - i shall use their nicknames and put their proper names in brackets:

(There are 8 pawns in each army)