## Friday, September 7, 2012

### Explainer: Proper chess notation

 Photo credit:  Petr Novák, Wikipedia
Hello, viewers of the Chesswise universe! Today I shall show you how to use proper chess notation!

First, the symbols for the pieces:
King=K
Queen=Q
Rook=R
Bishop=B
Knight=N
Pawn=nothing
Capture=x
Check=+
Checkmate=#

Okay, so let's say your queen took the pawn about to be promoted on the d7 square. It would look like this: Qxd7. The "Q" at the beginning means Queen, the letter "x" in the middle means the Queen just took something, and finally, d7 is the square.

Tips: In chess notation the piece symbol always goes first [unless it's a pawn, because they don't have a symbol.] Also, if there is a capture, the x would go after the symbol. Finally, if a check or a checkmate, the + or # always goes last.

So, if white plays "Knight takes e3 check," then that would look like this: Nxe3+. Or, if Bishop moves to b4, you would say Bb4. Castling is trickier. Castling on the kingside of the board [the side that the king is on] looks like this: O-O. Castling queenside looks like this: O-O-O. These rules are the basic rules of chess notation, and if you need help, feel free to ask in the comments.

## Wednesday, August 22, 2012

### Chess Openings: e4

 The classic e4 opening
Hello and welcome to a post about the classic e4 opening! It has been played by millions of chess players ever since the rule that pawns could move 2 spaces on their first move was added around 300 years ago.

Here is a demonstration:

1. e4 e5 okay, pause here. Queen's Gambit and King's Gambit opening's is possible for white here even though the move e5 for black is recommended. But I will describe both the Queen's Gambit and King's Gambit in a future post. So, white should play [besides Queen's Gambit] 2. Nf3. Black then plays 2. Nf3 Nc6 to defend his e-pawn. In order to develop his pieces efficiently, White plays 3. Nc3 and black, doing the same, plays 3. Nc3 Nf6. [Keep in mind that both sides could have done the Italian or the Ruy Lopez, but that isn't the idea.] The opening eventually escalates from there, with moves such as 4. Bd3 and/or Bd2 to castle kingside or defend from the Lopez. This opening will lead to a very exiting, tactics filled game [and, personally, is the opening I prefer.] Thanks for reading this post!

## Saturday, August 4, 2012

### Garry Kasparov: The best ever

 Similar to Kasparov's greatest rival, Deep Blue.Image via Wikimedia Commons.Credit: James the Photographer
Garry Kasparov was- and still IS one of the greatest players ever. He dominated the game and won literally every tournament he played in for 8 years in a row. His closest rivals were Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, Magnus Carlsen, and Veselin Topalov. He is recognized among many experts to be the best player ever due to his endless studying of different openings, positions, and puzzles on the board. He crushed top grandmasters with his endless foresight ability until Kramnik finally defeated him in the world championship match of 2000. Back in the late 1990's, Kasparov had one ferocious rival. Not a human rival, but a supercomputer named Deep Blue. Deep Blue was programmed by IBM to play against Kasparov and win. Kasparov won most of the early matches they played, but a few years later in 1996-97 Deep Blue began to finally beat him. It was a huge disappointment for Kasparov, and he demanded a rematch. IBM refused and then dismantled Deep Blue. Video of Kasparov vs Deep Blue Feb. 1996:

## Friday, August 3, 2012

### Caro Kann Opening

Hello! This is the famous Caro Kann opening played by many amateurs/grandmasters. It has many different variations, such as the classical, the exchange, and the advance variations. First, let's look at the beginning of the Caro Kann: 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5. Okay, I think the best move for white here is to play Nc3, as it attacks black's d-pawn, defends the e-pawn, and develops the knight to a good square. Another possible move is to move Bd3. This protects the e-pawn and helps castle possibilities on the king's side. So let's say white plays 3. e5. that's the advance variation. Or white could play dx5, the attack variation. The possibilities are endless. If white plays the attack variation, black will usually play his c-pawn to dx5. This can develop into a good game, and it is a very simple opening that has been played millions of times. Video of Caro Kann:
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