Wednesday 27 November 2013

Chess Champs!

Our first ever chess tournament took place yesterday after school. Each pupil played several games with Tony recording scores.
After lots of moves and concentration, we had 2 finals; Callum v's Christopher in the boys final and Ava v's Yana in the girls final.
Callum and Ava were the winners in their games and received their trophies.
Tony awarded Christopher in 2nd class "Best Improver" trophy for the hard work he put in, and for all the enthusiasm he showed.
Well done to everyone in the club, we hope you enjoyed the classes, and keep playing at home.

Tuesday 19 November 2013

Chess tournament

Next week will be our last chess lesson this year.
There will be a tournament and everyone will play several games.
Tony will be using the Swiss system for scoring.
1 point will be awarded for a win, 0 for a lose.
In round 2, players will meet opponents with the same score, and so on for as many rounds as we play.
Games will be timed as there will be a time limit.
Pieces remaining on the board will be added up according to their value if the game is not finished, and a win will be determined by the highest score.
(Garry Kasparov)

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Homework

Tony showed us how to write down our moves today.
Grid references on the board are always letter then number e.g h4
These letters are always in lower case (small letters) because the pieces are written in capitals.
Each piece has an initial except the pawn. A bishop is B, the king is K, queen is Q etc.
As knight also starts with k, (and we use the K for king) we use N for th knight.
Castling is written as 0-0 (on the
King's side) and 0-0-0 on the Queen's side.
Try to practice this at home this week.

Tony wants you all to play these moves and figure out white's 4th move, and proceed with the game from there. Try as many combinations as you can to see how you can impact the game.

white          black
e4                e5
Nf3             Nc6
Bc4             Nf6

Tuesday 5 November 2013

Chess homework

Tony gave us homework to prepare for next week.
There are several plays to practice, as well as the Italian opening to become familiar with.
It is important that you can "checkmate" your opponent, because in some plays, you can end up with a draw
if you don't think it through enough.
Tony talked about "forks" and "pins".
Try to remember what these were; if you need help, or have lost your homework, make sure to ask me as soon as possible.

Tuesday 15 October 2013

15th October

Today, Tony talked about how important it is to have a plan when you play a game of chess.

There are several steps to take:
* develop your pieces
* protect your King
* castle early
* play knight before bishop
* attack the centre.

Chess Openings - m3_e4-e5_2Nf3-Nc6_3Bc4 - Italian Game

This is the Italian opening that we practiced today.
Go over this a few times so that you are familiar with the moves and can recognise when it is being played.
Now try to develop it from first the perspective of white, then black. 

We also learned about endgames.
It is very important that you can finish well and gain as many points as you can. 
You may not be able to win a particular game but with practice, you may be able to get a draw.





Friday 11 October 2013

Monday 7 October 2013

 




Here is a position we got in class and it's Black to move. What is the danger?  What is White up to? Can Black protect the King?

Thursday 3 October 2013

Try this at home!




Can you see how the White Bishop can 'capture' all the Black pawns if they didn't move?


White can win this game, but how?

Remember, when a pawn reaches the opposite rank, it gets promoted to Queen. 
Try each set-up a few times, and if you have someone to play with, swap places so you can practice from both perspectives. 

Tuesday 24 September 2013

Week 2

Today, we started by revising the pieces, their values and how they can move around the board.
We need to practice lots because Tony will be starting a chess league shortly!

Here is what we learned today:
The pawn moves straight ahead but captures diagonally.
If the pawn makes it to the 8th rank, it is promoted.

Knights can jump other pieces, either opponents or its own side.

Pieces are referred to depending on whether they are on the side of the King or Queen, so we talk about the King's bishop or the Queen's bishop.

Tony advised not to bring out the Queen too early in the game, keep her safe because she is very important!

The King is priceless.When he is checked (cannot avoid capture), the game is over.                                  He can move in any direction, 1 square at a time.

Another very important thing to remember is that once you touch a piece, you have to move it, so think carefully before you move!

The weakest squares on the board are F2 (white), and F7 (black).

"Scholars Mate" is a series of moves that can win or lose you the game in just a few moves!
Have a look at this website to learn the moves so you can beat your friends and family!
 www.chesscorner.com

If I have forgetten anything from the lesson, please tell me.
Get out those chess boards and start playing!

Tuesday 17 September 2013

1st lesson

Today, Tony showed us the different positions on the chess board.
They are all numbered and lettered.
Each square has its own unique name.
This is important to study for future lessons.
Each piece was introduced and we learned how they move around the board.
Look at some of the websites in the sidebar to help you practice and revise pieces and their moves.

Tony gave homework to prepare for next week.
Place 3 white pawns at a5, b5 and c5.
Place 3 black pawns at a7, b7 and c7.
You must try to get the white pawns to rank (row) 8.
You may have to try a variety of combinations to get this.
It might help to have a small notebook or page and write down the steps you took.
Good luck!

Welcome!

Today we had our first ever chess club with Tony.
Lots of children are eager to learn this exciting game, and we hope to improve greatly in the course of lessons.
You can use this blog to remind yourself of what we learned this week.
We also hope to get lots of games going in school.
If you have any ideas or questions please get in touch!