I decided to check the time of my last post.
January 1st, 2020.
Ok it’s been a long… um… errr… 7 months, but I was busy, ok?
Look, this global health crisis and all of this crazy 2020 stuff has got me down the tubes, but don’t worry, I am still active — on the internet, that is. It’s kind of like this:
(If you don’t know how to play chess or don’t get it — don’t worry. I’ll explain it later.)
During this time, I have started to have an addiction for chess. No, like, really. I have. It’s simple to learn, but hard to master. It’s 100% skill, as you get the same layout of pieces every time, and you have to use them to their full extent to get that sweet, sweet, checkmate or make your opponent resign.
First, to understand the basics of chess, click here for this handy article by chess.com. While it is long, it has many pictures and videos to help you follow along.
(By the way, that meme is funny is because the knight has to move two squares forward, one to the side. However, it cannot do that due to the size of the chess board.)
Now, let’s go over the strategical value of each piece.
(Note: all chess board setups were created by me and me only. I used chess.com to create the setups and did not use anyone else’s.)
#1: the knight and pawn
The knight, which is represented by a horse, is very useful. It is the only piece in the game that moves in an L-shape, and can jump over pieces.
This makes the knight good at forking, which is when a piece is able to threaten the capture of 2 pieces in one move. Here is an example:
As you can see, the white knight on c3 threatens the capture of black’s bishop and rook, highlighted in red. Since the rook has a greater point value than the knight, the rook should move out of the knight’s reach, letting the knight take the bishop, which is of equal point value. Black’s rook or pawn on c6 can take the knight.
Not just that, but forking is great when you check the king and nothing can take the knight. For example:
Here, the black knight is putting the king in check while threatening the queen. Since nothing can take the knight, the king is forced to move out of check, leaving the queen to to be taken. The rook can then take the knight. Black has lost a knight, but it has captured the queen in the process.
The pawn is also good at forking, as it is low value. To best fork with a pawn, have a piece that can capture on the pawn’s square — even a pawn will work well. Here is an example:
White’s pawn on g4 is threatening to capture both black’s bishop and knight, highlighted in red. If the bishop takes the pawn, white’s rook on g1 can simply slide in and take the bishop. Either the bishop or knight can move away, but if the bishop moves away, then the knight is captured, and vice versa. Hence, either way, white will win material in the process.
2: The Bishop
The bishop can only move diagonally, so it can attack pieces like the rook and the knight from a safe distance without having to be captured. It is also great for pinning and skewering.
Pinning is the act of attacking a piece, but if the piece moves, it will attack a better piece or put the king in check. For example:
The black queen cannot move out of the white bishop’s path because if she does, the black king will be in check. And if the queen takes the bishop, the knight can always swoop in and take the queen. In the end, white will always gain material here — and a crucial advantage in the game, as the queen is the only piece that can move horizontally and vertically.
Pinning can also be used to stop a piece from capturing another piece. Here is an example:
White’s pawn on e5 really wants to capture black’s queen, but he cannot move out of the rook’s lane or the king will be in check. Hence, white is stuck in this situation. However, white could then use the bishop on f1 to create another blockage — letting the white pawn on e5 move again. This way, black’s queen is forced to move.
Skewering is the opposite of pinning: it’s when you make a piece move out of the way to capture another one. For example:
Here, the white bishop skewers black’s queen and rook on a8. If the queen takes the bishop, the rook will simply take the queen. Black’s queen can move out of the way, but if it does so, white will simply take the rook with the bishop. Hence, white always gains material.
4: The rook
The rook is good for creating an impassible wall for the king. For example:
All of the red squares show what is inaccessible for the white king. It’s almost like moving the edge of the chess board inwards. This cuts off a huge region that the white king could access.
This is, however, not the strongest method. The rook can always be blocked by another piece. For example:
Because the bishop is blocking the rook’s path, the king can simply go around the bishop in order to get to the other side. and if the rook tries to take the bishop, the king will take it, leaving the game in a draw (due to insufficient material to checkmate.) The rook, however, can always put the king in check, simply by sliding on over to f1.
4: The Queen
The queen. The most important piece on the board, due to the fact that it can move horizontally and vertically, like a rook and a bishop combined. (fun fact: pawns can be promoted to queens if they reach the other end of the board!)
The queen is the best at checkmating, Due to the fact that it can block the king in many directions. One of the most common ways that people will checkmate with a queen is the pin with support. Here’s what I mean:
The white queen puts the black king in checkmate. Why? The king cannot move to e7, because the queen also defends that spot. The queen also cannot be taken by the king, because it will be checked by the bishop. Hence, that is checkmate.
Queens are also good at cornered mates. Here’s what I mean:
here, the queen is the only thing providing the checkmate. This is because the king cannot move forward to e8 or diagonally to e7, as the queen blocks all of those spaces. Cool, right?
Conclusion
Chess is hard, gosh darn it.
