Sunday, October 14, 2012

Recap of Chess Class 10/13/2012

In yesterday morning's chess class, conducted by Columbia Academy at Caldwell College,  I taught the students how to keep score using algebraic notation. I also showed the symbols used in chess notation for equal, White is better, Black is better, check, checkmate, good move, bad move, winning move, losing move, risky move, and dubious move.

Then I discussed strategy, which is another word for planning. Because there are more possible moves in a game of chess than there are atoms in the universe, the human brain can not cope with such a high number. Playing an intelligent game of chess becomes impossible for us. But if we have a plan and follow it, chess is not only possible for us, it can be simple.

To illustrate one strategy out of dozens, at the demonstration board I presented a game by Anatoly Karpov as White where Karpov's simple strategy was to obtain a better king bishop than his opponent's queen bishop, because Karpov's bishop actively controlled the long diagonal while his opponent's bishop was passively placed.

For the last half hour, the students played chess while keeping score.

Next class, the students will bring their scoresheets. I will analyze their games at the demonstration board.