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1. CHESS: A WONDERFUL GAME
by: Vicente González

2. INTRODUCTION
 Chess is an exercise of infinite possibilities for the mind
which develops mental abilities such as concentration,
critical thinking, abstract reasoning, problem solving,
pattern recognition, strategic planning, creativity, analysis,
synthesis, and evaluation, to name a few.
 Chess can be used very effectively as a tool to teach
problem solving and abstract reasoning. Learning how to
solve a problem is more important than learning the
solution to any particular problem.
 Through chess, we learn to analyze a situation by
focusing on important factors and by eliminating
distractions. We learn to devise creative solutions and put
a plan into action. Chess works because it is self-
motivating.

3. IMPORTANCE OF CHESS
 The game has fascinated humans for almost 2000 years,
and the goals of attack and defense, culminating in
checkmate, inspire us to dig deep into our mental
reserves.
 In approximately 30 nations across the globe chess is
incoporated into the country´s scholastic curriculum. Just
as athletics are a part of the required agenda at schools
in the United States, Chess has been that way in the
European Nations abroad.
 In this technologically driven world, chess helps aid in the
synthesis and growth of certain areas in the brain and
mind where many children can benefit as they grow older
from the game.

4. HISTORY OF CHESS
 The history of chess spans some 1500 years. The earliest
predecessors of the game originated in India, before the 6th
century AD. From India, the game spread to Persia. When the
Arabs conquered Persia, chess was taken up by the Muslim
world and subsequently spread to Southern Europe.
 In Europe, chess evolved into roughly its current form in the 15th
century. In the second half of the 19th century, modern chess
tournament play began, and the first world Chess Championship
was held in 1886.
 The 20th century saw great leaps forward in chess theory and the
establishment of the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Developments in the 21st century include use of computers for
analysis, which originated in the 1970s with the first programmed
chess games on the market. Online gaming appeared in the mid-
1990s.

5. POSITION OF THE PIECES ON THE CHESSBOARD
 -Place all the pawns on the second line in front of you so
that you have a wall of pawns between you and your
opponent.
 -Place each rook on a corner of your side of the board.
 -Place a knight next to each rook and a bishop next to
each knight.
 -Place the queen in one of the two spaces left, according
to her color (i.e. if you have a black queen, it should go on
the black square, whereas if it's white, then it should go
on the white square).
 -Finally, place the king on the last remaining space.
Check that your opponent has the same arrangement of
pieces.

6. MOVEMENT OF THE PIECES THROUGHT THE
CHESSBOARD
 The pawn is the most basic piece in the game. On its initial move, it can move forward one
or two spaces, but it is only allowed to move forward by one space afterwards. Pawns are
only allowed to attack other pieces one space diagonally from it, and cannot move
backwards.
 b. The rook, which looks like a castle tower, can move horizontally and vertically as many
spaces as are available. It can attack pieces in its path.
 c. The knight, represented by a horse, is the most complicated unit. It moves in 'L' shapes
that consist of two spaces horizontally then one space vertically, or one space horizontally
then two spaces vertically, in any direction. The knight is the only piece that can jump other
pieces. He attacks only the pieces that are in the spaces he settles.
 d. The bishop can only move diagonally, but it can move an unlimited amount of spaces until
it attacks.
 e. The queen is the most powerful piece. She can move either horizontally, vertically, or
diagonally by any number of spaces and attack from any of those directions.
 f. The king can only move one space each turn in any direction and attacks in the same
manner. He is the unit you do not want to lose at all costs, as it will make you lose the game.

7. OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME
 Chess is a game of intelligence and strategy.
The goal is to force the other player to yield. To
do this you must trap the other player's king
(this will be explained). Being a strategic game,
chess has many moves and rules that
beginners often find confusing.
 In other words, the objective in chess is to
checkmate your opponent's King. Checkmate,
or just "mate" occurs when a king is attacked
and the king cannot escape capture on the next
move. Chess is played on a board with 64
squares.

8. TIPS
 Always remember to have many advanced
pieces in the middle of the board. The more
pawns you leave behind, the better to defend
your king with.
 Be sure to watch your opponent's moves
carefully.
 A special move that helps your king out is called
castling. It requires that one side of your king is
free of pieces except for the rook, who is in his
original position unmoved. With this kind of set
up you may now move your king towards the
rook two spaces and then place the rook on the
opposite side of the king from the rook's
previous location.

9. STEPS TO WIN
 Step 1: Identify the weakness
 The first step is simple enough. You will win many
games if you train yourself to be aware of and to
identify quickly all of your opponent's pawn
weaknesses.
 Step 2: Fix the weakness
 It is advantageous to place knights in the center of
the board where they cannot be attacked by pawns.
 Step 3: Attack the weakness with your pieces
 Once you have identified and fixed the weakness, it is
time to attack the weakness with your pieces, but not
your pawns.

10. STEPS TO WIN
 Step 4: Your opponent will be forced to defend the weakness
with pieces
 If you have successfully carried out the first three three
steps, your opponent will have to carry out the fourth step. For
every attack upon the weak pawn, your opponent will have to find
a defender.
 If your opponent fails to defend the pawn adequately, look to take
the target-pawn "with the little thing." What "the little thing" is
obviously depends upon the position, but is often a knight.
 Step 5: Then, AND ONLY THEN, attack the weakness with a
pawn
 By the time you've completed step #4, your opponent will know
that there's trouble ahead. All of your pieces will be
active, focusing their energy upon a single fixed point. By
contrast, all of your opponent's pieces will be relative
weak, defending rather than attacking a weakness.