Notes on Chess

I. Chess for dummies

O. Resources

https://www.chessable.com/?page=landingpage

A. Roadmap

The pawns’ placement is collectively referred to as the pawn structure, and I examine
this concept in detail in Chapter 3.

You also have some special moves at your disposal that your opponent (if a novice)
may not know about — namely, en passant, promotion, and castling. To give you an
edge (and a resource to help quell any arguments that may arise after you make one of
these tricky moves!), I provide the inside scoop on these special moves in Chapter 5.
(…)
I cover pawn promotion and something called en passant (or “in passing”) in Chapter
5, which deals with special moves.

Chapter 8 provides examples of when sacrifices are justified.

(…)
Chapter 8 deals with the most common types of sacrifice in chess.

Chapter 9 deals with building pattern recognition in chess.

Certain pawn positions, or formations as players often call them, have occurred in so
many games that they have their own names. Chapter 10 presents some of the more
common ones and shows how the pawns guide you on where to put the pieces.
(…)
I also devote a whole chapter to pawn structures that are associated with particular
openings — see Chapter 10 for information on pawn formations.
(…)
A move that secures a spatial advantage for you by restricting your opponent’s space is
a cramping move. On the other hand, a freeing move is a move that gains back space. I
expand on these ideas in Chapter 10.

Chapter 11 illustrates a number of common ways to deliver checkmate. These types of

checkmates appear so often in chess games that players refer to them as mating
patterns.

At this point, the principles of play, or strategies, are necessary to make further
progress. Chapter 12 provides an introduction to chess strategy.

check out Chapters 14 and 15 for details on middlegame and endgame strategy
If you’re the type of player who wants to be tested in competition, check out Chapter
16.

In this day and age, you don’t need to be physically located next to an opponent in
order to play, and Chapter 17 gives the lowdown on computer chess and chess in
cyberspace.

B. Notation
1. The Chess Board

2. The Pieces and Pawns

 C. The structure

D. Elements of Chess

1. Space

The battle for space is fiercest in the center of the board. Controlling squares e4, e5,
d4, and d5, as well as the squares adjacent to them, is like seizing the high ground in a
skirmish. (See the later section “Maneuvers with minor pieces” for more information
about the space at the center of the board.)

Control: Space is little more than the number of squares you control. Control refers to
the number of squares attacked — not necessarily occupied — by your pieces and
pawns. (Attacked squares are those squares that your pieces can go to on your next
move or that pawns can capture on.)

If a square is contested, you can use a kind of chess arithmetic to determine which side
is more likely to end up controlling it. You can count the number of your pieces
attacking the square and then count the number of your opponent’s pieces contesting
it. The side with the highest number is the side most likely to seize control.

i. Space Strategies and Introduction to Openings

[The key to controlling space is controlling the center. Space is more important during
openings and middle-game, as end-games are rarely cramped].

The most common opening strategy in chess is to try to maneuver your minor pieces
(the bishops and the knights) and central pawns so that they control the four center
squares and strike out into enemy territory. The minor pieces increase in power when
mobilized toward the center. If you can post your pieces there and prevent your
opponent from doing the same, you secure greater control over the center and a
spatial advantage, and your pieces become stronger than your opponent’s.

Chess isn’t a static game — it’s important not only to establish a spatial superiority but
also to maintain it! Having one or two pieces cross over into enemy territory does little
good if they’re cut off from the rest of your troops. You must keep the supply lines
open and invade only when you can adequately support the advanced pieces.

2. Material

It is commonly better than the other elements.

The Pieces themselves gain or lose power depending on their positioning. Having an
advanced pawn deep in enemy territory may be far more important than having a
measly knight tucked away in a corner. A bishop locked behind its own pawns may not
be worth a fraction of a free roaming knight.
 i. Simplification Strategy

The strategy of simplification illustrates how you can force additional concessions from
your opponents. If you keep offering to exchange pieces and your opponents keep
refusing, they’ll be forced to retreat. The result? You wind up with a spatial advantage,
too!

3. Development

Development is the element of time. In chess, players take turns moving. You can’t
pass or give up a turn, so you must make a move at every turn. Not all moves are
equal, however, and only those moves that contribute to the increased mobility of
your pieces are said to be developing moves. In practice, nearly every time a piece
moves from its original square, that move is a developing one.

If your opponent is playing developing moves and you’re just marking time, you’ll soon
lose the game. Every move is a precious resource, not to be wasted! Chess players call
a move a tempo. For example, one often hears, “I just gained (or lost) a tempo.” This
lingo means that you have (or have allowed your opponent to get the chance to move,
in effect, twice in a row!

4. King Safety

Of all the elements, king safety can be the most dramatic. If the king is in jeopardy,
nothing else matters. It doesn’t matter how many pieces you have in your pocket if
your king is checkmated, because that’s the end of the game.

[As a beginner, protect the king before going offensive]

5. Pawn Structure

»»Try to keep your pawn structure intact.

»»Because some pawns must be advanced, try to keep them mobile or in pawn
duos because immobile pawns are easy to attack.

»»If some pawns become locked, use neighboring pawns to pry them free.
»»If you have an isolated pawn, keep it mobile to keep it strong; if your
opponent
has one, blockade it!
»»Create a passed pawn and, when possible, a protected passed pawn.
»»Push your passed pawns toward the eighth rank and promote them if
you can.
»»Attack backward pawns with the heavy pieces (the queen and rooks) to force
your opponent to defend them.
»»Try to provoke a hanging pawn into an advance and then blockade the
hanging pawn to immobilize it.
»»Avoid doubling your pawns, but if you can’t, try to exchange one of the
doubled pawns to repair your pawn structure.
»»Attack pawn chains at the base, where they’re weakest.

II. Personal Observations

A. General Principles of Chess

1. The Principle of Spatial Control

Controlling more space gives advantage over opponent. This includes spaces that are
viable for attack. Space control is calculated based on how many spaces one may
attack and, subsidiarily, with how many pieces and pawns.

Control the center; however, do not move hastily to opponent’s grounds if the piece’s
lifeline and supply cannot be secured. If opponent attacks on the wings, retribute on
the middle. Divide and conquer is applicable here.

Be attentive to not lock you bishops and knights away. If they control the center
(possibly attack central spaces), they are stronger.

 Benefits

More mobility options

 Exceptions

B. Principle of Materiality

Number of pieces and relative value according to its natural and circumstantial
strength.

C. Principle of Time (Development)

Number of moves.