Chess

[ChrisV]

Unstuck Chess Tournament

I thought it might be fun to have an Unstuck chess tournament. Everyone is welcome, total noobs included, as long as you don’t mind probably getting crushed against the stronger players. The plan would be Round Robin, either blitz or rapid, with time advantage based on rating. What that looks like exactly depends what time control we play, but I’m currently thinking a minute for a 100 point rating difference and two minutes for each of the next two 100 points, to a maximum of 5 extra minutes? I…

[smrk4]

I’ll play whatever, but I’d rather play rapid (10+0) than blitz with an increment, but I’d prefer 3+0 or 5+0.

[smrk4]

Missed one of the more brutal mates ever, see if you can get there. Mate in 6, Black to move.

[Jalfrezi]

Good one. A slight shame the WB has the delaying block.
Did you play Bxe5 instead?

[smrk4]

yeah, it wins pretty easily. I saw the first few moves of the mate when I looked at the Q sack followed by R exchange followed by last rook to a8+, then I just didn’t see the dark square bishop maneuver that would have ended it. Can’t blame time control either, this was from a rapid.

[catfacemeowmers]

Sac everything on a2, end up with rook on a8 and bishop on c1

[darksideofthewall]

How did I have the lower accuracy?!

[Jalfrezi]

@catfacemeowmers

Sac everything on a2, end up with rook on a7 and bishop on c1

Nitting you up here.

[Melkerson]

So, I’m trying to teach my kids chess. I got them those canvas boards that roll up. Any tips on how to store them? If I store them rolled up, then when I try to flatten them, they stay a bit curled at the edges while in use.

Also any general tips or resources on how to teach kids to play? One complicating factor is they have very little motivation to play on their own. I’m hoping they develop it and if they don’t, they don’t. But I’m going to give it a solid effort before I throw in the towel.

[Jalfrezi]

Show them some pretty mates eg stifle mate.

[Melkerson]

@Jalfrezi

Show them some pretty mates eg stifle mate.

They’re not ready for that yet I don’t think. They’re 5 and 8 and have had very little exposure so far. They can set up the board and know how the pieces move, but that’s about it.

For example, yesterday I was showing them how to force a mate with Q+K vs K. They got frustrated after about a half hour and I’m still not 100% sure they can do it.

[Jalfrezi]

Okay then - show them simple boards with 3 pieces + Ks and forks, skewers and pins.

[Melkerson]

@Jalfrezi

Okay then - show them simple boards with 3 pieces + Ks and forks, skewers and pins.

Sounds good. I’ll try that.

[Melkerson]

@zarapochka

From my experience as a kid who was taught by a father who is pretty OK at chess:
Let kids occasionally win so that the game remains fun and does not end-up in an endless frustration.

My dad managed to turn me off of chess for 20+ years. I am just now discovering it again and to my surprise: I have fun.

Yeah, that is something that I might need to think about doing. It’s very unnatural for me, largely because when I was that age, I would have hated it if someone (even an adult) let me win. So, I avoid that when we play games (any games), but it’s very slowly dawning on me that they don’t like that. On the other hand, my wife lets them win at stuff all the time and they love it. So they enjoy playing games with her more. And when we all play something together, I am constantly reminded to let up.

I’m slowly coming around to the fact that my kids aren’t wired like me and I need to adapt.

[Devil]

@Melkerson

If I store them rolled up, then when I try to flatten them, they stay a bit curled at the edges while in use.

Try rolling them so that they curl toward the table when unrolled. The weight of the pieces will flatten them out while playing. You’ll need string to keep the ends tightly rolled up. Paracord looks better and you can use it to show them some simple knot-tying as well.

A square know or clove hitch (pictured) works fine.

Edit: rubber bands are a lot easier than string if you’re not interested in knots, ha.

[Melkerson]

@Devil

@Melkerson

If I store them rolled up, then when I try to flatten them, they stay a bit curled at the edges while in use.

Try rolling them so that they curl toward the table when unrolled. The weight of the pieces will flatten them out while playing. You’ll need string to keep the ends tightly rolled up. Paracord looks better and you can use it to show them some simple knot-tying as well.

A square know or clove hitch (pictured) works fine.

I actually was rolling it the other way and decided to give this a shot yesterday. I’ll see how it goes. What I do is I roll them up and put them inside an old cardboard paper towel tube. To keep them in place. Might need to rethink that. I need to roll it fairly tight to get it in there and that might be part of the problem.

[cassette]

With a 5-year-old I would start with just pawns. Whoever can promote to a Queen first wins. Once they get a hang of that, add another piece, and so on. It’s the Russian way to teach kids.

[Melkerson]

@cassette

With a 5-year-old I would start with just pawns. Whoever can promote to a Queen first wins. Once they get a hang of that, add another piece, and so on. It’s the Russian way to teach kids.

I like this.

And if the Russians do it, it has to be good.

[mjiggy]

What should I do first if I want to get better than “knows how each piece moves” but don’t necessarily care about learning advanced theory or anything?

[Devil]

@zarapochka

I am not sure how it is exactly called, but basically get a piece of the opponent glued to one place because it protects a better piece.

It’s called a pin. A piece is said to be pinned. You pin a piece.

For mj, other basic tactics: discovered attack, fork, skewer, double check. These are all some form of double attack. Focus on moves that force your opponent to respond in particular ways. You want to make life difficult for him and easier for you. Idk, it’s hard to give general advice that doesn’t seem obvious.