Posts Tagged chess
Forms of Chess
Posted by in General on January 18, 2010
Chess is one of the ancient games which we have been playing since countless cultures In fact when it was started through Indians or Persians then moved to Islamic Regions to North Africa and then Europe. Every region that the game has moved to has added its own variation. Basis these variations here are some forms of Chess across the globe:
Traditional Chess – The most well known form of chess which has no region as the limit. It is one of the most played on board games. It originated in southern Europe during the 15th century. It’s played by 2 players on a square checkered board with 64 squares. This form is now available online and played at most of the clubs. In fact it’s one of the recognized sports of International Olympic Committee.
Xiangqi – As the name signifies this form is originally from China and known as Chinese Chess. If we look at the name, xiang means image or representational. So this form is also known as representational chess; again played by 2 players on Chinese board, however here it’s more of a battle between 2 armies. Another unique quality of the game is that the board has the river and palace features which limit the movement of some pieces
Shogi – The word means Generals in Japanese. Hence it’s a form originated at Japan. The chessboard remains same here. The only difference is that the captured pieces could be returned to the board and used as one’s own.
Chaturanga – It’s a Sanskrit word and started in ancient during 6th century in Gupta period. Later it was adopted by Persia and the game got a different name
Shatranj – It’s the second known variant of chess. As mentioned it was a modification to the Indian form of Chess. The game originated in Persia around the 7th century. Now it’s the most well known form of chess which is unique and adopted by the wealthy class in
Arab. It doesn’t have the traditional chess board.
3 D Chess – This form was originated in Germany in 19th century. Here the board is a cube sliced into 5 equal spaces across each of its major coordinal planes. In fact the section yields a 125 cell playing volume. This form of chess could be seen in certain TV shows like Star Trek as the show was assembled using board from 3-D checkers which has added to the popularity of the game.
Chess tips: Useful tips for novices to approach the middle game
Posted by in General on December 7, 2009
In the game of chess, the most fascinating and challenging segment is the middle game. In comparison to the other two segments, the opening game and the end game, there is not enough material to walk us through this vital segment of the game, the middle game. Even after more than 1400 years of existence in this world, there is no clearly defined strategy or blue book that can be prepared or used with conviction in the case of this middle game. And absence of any specific strategy or approach in this aspect is the most important reason, I personally believe, for the fascination of this game and the challenge to the minds.
The innumerable books, tons of material available in the writings of great chess players and the large collection of games that can be instantly accessed through the Internet, all fall short of meeting the requirements in the Middle game, and the human element, the thinking process, new and innovative tactics and the novel strategies deployed in this stage of the game make this the King of the games or the Game of the Kings.
If one were to gain proficiency in the game of Chess, one needs to do a lot of analysis as well as hard work and practice, especially in the middle game. Playing online chess with players from different places and having different types of approaches to the game, using the computer and the Internet, might help in speeding up your practice in this vital segment.
I would like to briefly highlight the importance of the middle game and provide you with some basic ideas that will help you in approaching this segment of the game.
What actually is the middle game, in the first instance?
Well. In simple terms, middle game is that intermediate part of the game that starts at the end of the opening stage and ends at the beginning of the end game. Does it appear vague to you? You are absolutely right. While there is some sort of clarity with regard to the end of the opening game, or the beginning of the middle game, there is still not much clarity with regard to the start of the end game of the end of the middle game.
Without dwelling much into the research of when the opening stage ended or when the end game begun, let us look at some of the fundamental aspects that every player, especially in his early stages of learning process, should bear in mind.
The basic ingredients that are required for a player to handle the middle game stage of the game should include the following things: a) Safety of his King; b) Material strength and positional values, and c) space for movement of the pieces or simply mobility of the pieces in the board.
It is the middle game in which both the players display their mental, analytical and strategical proficiency. Attack will be the keyword in this stage and both the players will be targeting the opponent’s King. As long as you ensure that your King is safe and secure, you have a better chance of launching attack on the opponent and devise innovative tactics and chess strategies that often include luring the opponent with sacrifice of one or two minor pieces.
How you approached the opening game will be reflected in your capability in terms of material strength and positional importance in the middle game. If you commit any calculation errors or misjudgment in the opening stage, then you may find it difficult in the middle game. Not only the equality of the material in comparison with your opponent, but also the position of the pieces has a vital role to play in the middle game. Sacrificing unnecessary pawns in the opening game or blocking the movement of the bishops or Knights by blocking their movement are the things that you should avoid and allow for free movement of the pieces in the board.
Once you ensure that these fundamental things are given adequate attention, you can have a fairly fascinating and exciting middle game in which you can challenge your opponent’s mind with confidence.
How Do Computer Chess Programs Work In Online Chess
Posted by in General on November 1, 2009
When online games were introduced in the World Wide Web, they open up opportunities for computer programmers to develop different versions of online games. Among the many online games that are developed, online chess games are the most popular. Although the programming of chess game is some kind tricky but the concepts of online chess are easy to understand. Evidently, online games would not materialize without the computer chess program.
Computer chess programs are used in tournaments like the one that was created by Larry Atkin, the Odessa. This program symbolizes the pattern of the eight by eight arrays of numbers that is equivalent with the pattern of the chessboard. Positive and negative numbers represent the chess pieces. Most computer chess programs are consist of modules that include evaluation function, quiescence function and generator. However, despite of these features of the programs, still it cannot calculate the millions chess positions involve.
Understanding the module is important for you to use properly the chess program. As stated, evaluation function is the first module that observes the possible move that a player can make from the original position. It also provides list of the possible situations and the corresponding move. The next module involves an algorithm that determines the concepts and strategies. It acts like playing the real chess that requires both players to respond in every move in chess openings, king’s safety as well as in defenses. On the other hand, the quiescence acts in evaluating the end position and the other possible move. Just like in the traditional chess game, every move from the opening to the end game is significant in winning the game.
Aside from Odessa, other computer chess programs emerged and developed with different new ideas. Kaplan created a program Turbostar as the product of his brute thinking. Because of his special knowledge in computer programming, he decided to improve the chess program with his ever-changing concept. He was a national master and a Junior Chess Champion when he created Turbostar. Up to this writing, the chess program created by Kaplan is still being used in playing online chess.
However, because of the innovation in technology, more powerful computer chess programs override those previously created. Fujitsu LLC developed a chess program SPACE that is considered as super computer that can process around 1.3TB raw details. It has also the capability to analyze the over 4 million games all over the world.
Time will come that because of the ever changing improvements in technology, thousands of computer chess programs would be created that would match or even surpass the ability of humans. Like what had happened before, it is more likely possible that a computer would defeat human player in a chess battle. However, although computers can work fast but they are not perfect. As a product of human knowledge, computer programs also have weaknesses that are inevitable. Indeed, man is gifted with talents and skills to develop chess programs that help chess players to understand the challenging game of chess.
Three simple ways to improve your chess skills
Posted by in General on September 29, 2009
It will not be an exaggeration to say with confidence that the more experienced you become in the game of chess, the better will be your quality of life.
Chess is also referred to as a war game or a battle of the minds. The expertise in the game of chess will not only help you become a better player and say “checkmate” quite often to the opponent, but also will help you take vital decisions in life guided by your mind. This is one reason this game of chess is surviving the test of time and technology and will continue to the King of Games as long as the humanity derives lessons from it for a better and organized life.
Chess is one of the easiest games to learn. All you need to know before playing the game is about the pieces, the arrangement of the pieces in the board, the basic movement of the various types of pieces, their capabilities and other simple rules of the game. One can learn these simple things in less than a couple of hours and start playing it. This is probably one reason that we find 9 out of 10 people aware of the game and have played it at some part of their life, but did not manage to go beyond the level of a novice or a beginner and lost interest in the same.
The unique feature of this turn-based game is that there is no room for luck or chance. As a player, you will be responsible for the fate of the game and you cannot throw blame on others for a bad result. If you ensure that you do not commit a mistake, then you are likely to avoid losing the game and manage to settle for a draw.
The first and foremost thing to improve the chess skills is to reduce the percentage of losses and replace with either wins or draws. As a new player or beginner in the game, you are bound to make mistakes. Mere understanding the rules of the game or learning the game will not guarantee you any success in this noble game. It is but imperative for a beginner to play as many games as possible, without worrying about the losses. What you should do to improve the skill is to learn from the mistakes. You lose the game only because of your mistakes and nothing else stops from winning the game or settling for a draw with the opponent.
Having gained the confidence in the game, the second thing one should try to do is to learn and master the theory of chess. No two games look alike in the game of chess though the game is being played for more than 1500 years now. The existence of the innumerable possibilities for any given move or given situation is what makes the game more challenging, fascinating and interesting. One should try to learn and grasp the theory behind the moves, the objective of the pieces and the positional influence of the pieces. How one can do that? Analyzing your own games played previously, or referring to chess books and literature in this context will be of immense use in this regard. Playing out the old games of grandmasters and trying to find the reasoning and motive behind every move played by those grandmasters is one way of gaining expertise.
The third thing one can try to do to improve the chess skills is to invite players with a relatively higher skill than you for a game of chess. An experienced player will have more variations in store and can play much better than you can. While you will lose most of the games played with experienced players, you can stand to learn new ideas from those games.
Now, learning chess and improving the skill set has been made much more easier, thanks to the contribution of the computer and the Internet to this war game. Anybody having a passion for the game and wanting to lead a better and organized life can learn the game of chess through the computer, play chess online with the computer or with a virtual partner in online chess site and gain the much-needed experience.