Classic Chess : “Still Better Than Checkers” : Board Game Review
Everyone has probably played Chess at one point in they’re lives. If you haven’t then you might not know how simple and yet extremely complicated and skillful this game is. On first glance its just a checker board and a set of black and white grown up checker pieces. Honestly now that i think about it, Chess just feels like grown up checkers to me.
First Experiences
My first experience of playing Chess was back in middle school, probably like most of us. I was in 7th grade and it was some random “Fundamentals class” or “Start of the day” class. I vaguely remember my teacher showing us random puzzles and brain teasers, so maybe the class was more of a “Problem-solving” type of class, either way. We had a whole tournament after a few games of practice. I don’t recall how far i went in the tournament but i do remember there being quite a few smart students in my class. Including two of my good friends Nick and Alex, both of which at the time could whoop me at Chess. Since then i’ve picked Chess up here and there playing it randomly at friends houses or with my family. I’ve even spent a little time looking into different strategies and moves to try and understand the fundamentals better. I found that a little bit of time invested in learning fundamentals and starting moves can seriously help you improve at Chess.
How To Win A Chess Match
If you’ve never played or haven’t got it explained to you before ill try describing it to you simply. Chess is like a game of war, each one of your pieces have different abilities or moves that they can perform. The goal is to slowly and careful extend across the board or battlefield and capture your enemies pieces. The way to speed up the process and win quickly is to attack the enemies KING without your enemy being able to block or move his/her KING out of the way. Trap the KING and its CHECKMATE!
Names Of Chess Pieces & How They Move
KING – The most important of all the pieces is the KING. He’s the guy that keeps you in the game. Keeping him safe and protected, while always making sure he’s got a way out of danger. The KING can move one space in all directions. The KING also has a special move with the ROOK thats called “Castling.” This move is often used to reposition your KING out of the middle of the board to a more protected and defendable area. A lot of players rush to “Castle” their KING for early protection.
QUEEN – The QUEEN can go in all directions as long as nothing is in her way. The QUEEN is the grim reaper of the board. She goes where she wants, when she wants, she is feared by all. The QUEEN is the go get stuff done piece. She’s possibly the most important piece just because of the power she has. Use the QUEEN to apply heavy pressure to your enemy. She does it all attacks and defends. Keep your QUEEN for as long as you can. But also keep in mind, trading QUEENs can make the game a little less hectic.
BISHOP – The BISHOP is a pretty straight forward and simple piece. It moves diagonally across the board. They’re positioned on each end of the board and are on opposite colors. Since the BISHOP can only move diagonally that means whatever color your BISHOP starts on, it will remain on for the rest of the game. So if it starts on a white square, it’ll stay on the white squares. The BISHOP is great in my opinion to just post up in the back and pick off unknowing pieces or backup your friendly pieces from across the board. Sometimes BISHOPs can be so tucked away that even you will forget they’re there.
KNIGHT – The KNIGHT is the favorite of many, including me. The reason i love it is probably the same as most. The KNIGHT can jump over other pieces and moves in such a way that it can attack multiple pieces at one time if positioned correctly. It attacks in a kind of “Y” shape, or “L” shape. It probably doesn’t happen often but you could possibly attack 8 different enemy pieces at once. Since it has this amazing range it allows it to “Fork” two pieces at the same time while remaining completely safe. Which causes your enemy to have to choose which piece they would like to lose. Which is great for getting you a free lead over your enemy. Maybe even taking out his precious QUEEN.
ROOK – The ROOK similar to the BISHOP moves in a line. Instead of moving diagonally it moves only in straight up, down, left, and right lines. Its great to help defend your KING or take a whole column of the board and make it the “Danger Zone” for your enemy. Many players double these ROOKs up on a single column to help defend each other. In my mind i think of it as a kind of long range bodyguard.
PAWN – Pawns are the grunts of the Chess world. They’re great for setting up a defensive line and making plays to move into a different region of the board. Keep in mind something really special about pawns, if they make it all the way to the other side of the board they may transform into any piece in the game (Except the KING.) There are many times you’ll get close to the other side of the board and just knowing that a simple pawn can transform into a powerful QUEEN can put a lot of pressure on your opponent. Before i forget to mention for each pawn on they’re first move, they have the option to move up to 2 space straight forward. After that they can only move forward one space at a time. Oh and they capture other enemy pieces in a diagonal. Oh and they can also make a super secret special move called the “en passant.” Its very rare that you see any normal player use this move, but it is a legal move to use in a very special circumstance. I don’t feel like trying to explain it so i would recommend just Googling it like we all do. Sorry not sorry.
Skill Doesn’t Matter For Chess
Okay so obviously skill makes a huge difference when it comes to Chess. When i say that skill doesn’t matter, i’m speaking about 2 different reasons why.
Reason #1: Playing against high skilled Chess players in person. Many times now if i’m teaching someone how to play Chess, i will change the rules a little bit to help give them a bit of an advantage. Like for instance i will take out my QUEEN or both of my KNIGHTS. Whatever it is that i think might help bring it to a fair matchup. It also makes it a more of a challenge for myself so that i have to thinking about what i have to do. Usually this will also bring down the walls of a new player so they know that your not just going to completely ruin them in a game. As time goes on and they start to feel more comfortable with the pieces, make sure to take away the training wheels, and get to a proper match of Chess.
Reason #2: As my time with Chess has expanded, i’ve came across the great website of Chess.com. The great thing about a website like this is after you make a account and start playing against real people you’ll slowly be rated into your own skill group. Which makes it perfect to learn and get plenty of practice and challenge yourself.
QUICK SHORT STORY : When i was teaching my brother Chess for the first time, he very surprisingly really into it. He’s one of those people who is very aware of sensations and how something feels in his hands. I’m mentioning this because he mentioned it to me one of our first few games together. We were playing on one of those cheap plastic wood and cardboard sets, and he mentioned how the pieces felt “fake.” I agreed. I told him of my desire to possibly getting a nicer set in the near future. Conveniently his birthday was coming up so i looked online for a nice decent sized mat/board, one that folds up and doesn’t need to be worried about very much. With the mat came these very nice smooth high quality plastic pieces. They had nice wide bottoms and were just the right kind of weight and feel. Its hard to really explain but the pieces just made you feel really grounded and kinda of like your playing a special kind of new Chess. For anyone wondering it was one of his favorite birthday gifts by me still to this day. It was probably about $60 at the time and it really made him light up. (For anyone wondering here is a Chess Mat and Pieces thats similar to the one i got for my brother, the feel of the pieces will blow your mind!)
If you or a loved one are really interested in Chess, i would look into getting a nice set online somewhere. The world has a huge range of Chess sets, from all wooden custom crafted sets, to full metal decor chess sets. For me personally, i’m prefer the simple $30-$60 Chess sets (This is the Chess set i personally own). Its just enough money put in that you get something of nicer quality without feeling like you broke the bank. The cheap $5 dollar store sets are also always an option too.
My Final Thoughts
Chess will always be a classic board game in my life. Its stood the test of time and hits so many of boxes in my mind, that make a great game a great game. It easy to learn and to teach. The range of skill is so very vast that you’ll be able to properly see all of your progress overtime. Once you start to understand it more and more you start to even get excited and find a real passion to try and find the peak of your Chess skills. If your someone that likes to dive into a game and learn every little thing about it, then you’ll love Chess. Theres endless things to learn about Chess. Also another awesome thing is theres still millions of people obsessed with Chess, to be able to share in the game with you.
The cost of entry into Chess is also a honorable mention for a huge pro. You can play for free on Chess.com. Buy cheap board at a dollar store or any big grocery store. The game stays the same no matter how much the board and pieces cost. Now with that being said i personally find it extremely satisfying to play with a nice Chess set. I’ve always imagined i might grow up to be that old man with a Chess board on my coffee table. If i do become old man, i’m going to make sure its a nice little center piece to try and entice people to play with me. Till i’m old and gray and can’t think anymore, i will never turn down a quick game of Chess.
Thank you as always for taking the time to look over my review. I tried my best in this post to explain how Chess is played and to give some pointers of how to get an advantage over your opponent. Chess is a classic game and will always have a special place on my families shelf. God bless…