Archive for November, 2009

King and One Pawn Vs King Endgame

A typical game ending is when a player has one pawn and the king and the other one just got a king. If this endgame is played wisely, the player with the pawn can promote it to queen and then finish the game quickly, but a player who is not very good will end up either losing the pawn or forcing a draw game.

By knowing defensive techniques you can improve your game and easily know how to defend against this game. It is an easy to remember and master technique, no need of advanced playing to know how to defend or attack from this position. Once you know them very well you can use the previous moves to get to the position you will need later.

The most obvious is when the pawn can be captured before promoting to queen before the king can defend it. The following picture illustrates this very well:

In the above position, black king easily can capture the enemy pawn before white king can support it. It doesn’t matter at all who is moving first, because the game will end up in draw unless black king moves away from the pawn allowing it to promote to queen.

Then, there is a more complicated version of the same, when the king can support the pawn. If so, the defending king has to “block” the way of the pawn. It looks so simple, but if the defending king effectively blocks, the game usually ends up in draw. Knowing how to properly block is something that must be instinctive in a chess player.

This situation reflects very clearly the “blocking” technique. Let’s assume it is black’s turn. Most beginners will play Ke4 to “attack” the pawn right away, but this move will leave white the chance of moving Kc4 to defend the pawn and win the game. On the other hand if black king moves Ke6 will be able to force the draw.

It is necessary to know how to count the moves you need to catch a pawn before it queens. If the pawn and the king are very close it is very easy to know if the pawn will promote or not, but when they are apart it is easy to make a fatal mistake and leave a pawn with enough space to promote. To know if the king will be able to reach the pawn you can just use the rule of the square.

Mentally draw an equal-sided square from the actual position of the pawn to the promotion position towards the king. If the king is inside this square or is its turn to move and can move into the square, the king will catch the pawn, but if the king is outside the square and can not move into it, will lose and the pawn will queen. This is a very easy way to know if the pawn will be able to queen without needing to count position by position, it never fails.

What Is The Importance Of Employing Strategies In Online Chess?

The rules in playing online chess are almost similar with the traditional chess game. In like manner, the strategies that are used are also similar but with a little variations. Learning the strategy in chess is like learning anything else. Strategies are involved in making a move as well as defenses. However, it is important to know the significance of adapting several strategies in winning the game. Setting up goals as well as chess positions are the concerns of chess strategy. Even if you are playing online, you should take into consideration the value of pieces, the structure, the safety as well as the position of pieces. Likewise, you should also be aware of the possible moves that your opponent could make you control the game.

However, you can only do this if you are knowledgeable on the moves needed to attack your opponent. It is important for chess player to be equipped with strategies in order to maneuver the complex variations in playing chess over the internet. You can obtain much possible information by reading books or directly from chess game sites. In addition, you should practice the different chess strategies to make it perfect.

Knowing the best strategies is significant especially in the opening moves. The strategies could help you in developing your pieces to make powerful attacks against your opponent. Just like in the traditional chess game, playing chess online is characterized from quiet to aggressive play. You should not be hopeless and impatient in learning the strategies because even the professional chess players had spent years in mastering the strategies of the game.

Strategic goals in the opening game are significant as the game progresses. Thus, developing your pieces on the useful squares will have great impact in winning the game. However, it is not only the opening that is important in the game because the other part of the game also has its important role in winning the game.

On the other hand, playing chess online doubles the excitement because of the animated and colorful pieces. You can also find chess pieces that resemble animated troops that show different movements just like in a true battle. In addition, some features of chessboard are changed that enable the players to view the different angles of the board. Furthermore, playing chess over the internet provides useful tips and suggestions to develop effective strategies. In like manner, you need not to look and wait for someone who can play with you because in online chess you can play the game without any opponent around.

You can play chess either by registering in a game site or against the computer. The first option gives you access to play the game directly from the different sites if you are a member. On the contrary, the latter option requires chess game software to be installed in your computer. However, whichever option you would choose, the main goal is to improve your skill about the game. Similarly, in viewing previous games, you can also obtain strategies that you can use in your future games.