Looks like fewer and fewer are interested...

[Blackmarch]

I play somewhat as well, but as everyone else has said, it is hard to find people who are really want to play. Some people would like to play however they feel intimidated at clubs and tournaments. All the video games these days that have lessened the number of young people who want to sit down and play a board game.

No kidding... Prefer a good game of battletech myself.

 

[Hermit]

Wouldn't it be easy to cheat on those online chess games? Have one of those powerful chess programs to do the playing for you...

 

[Blackmarch]

Wouldn't it be easy to cheat on those online chess games? Have one of those powerful chess programs to do the playing for you...

If someone wants to be a 'tard, let them.. you can do that with any chess game that doesn't have oth players sitting in front of each other.

 

[Hermit]

If someone wants to be a 'tard, let them.. you can do that with any chess game that doesn't have oth players sitting in front of each other.

Yeah I know, I was just checking some chess sites and noticed they have rankings, which are kind of meaningless I would think.

 

[LibertyChic]

/me tentatively raises her hand


Stupid question: What does "castle" mean? I think I knew at one time, but I'm drawing a blank....

 

[Warren Peace]

Castling is a move to bring the King into the corner for protection.

Essentially, when there are no pieces in between the King and one of the Rooks, and if neither the King nor that Rook has moved, then the player can opt to move the King two squares toward the Rook, and move the Rook right next to the King on the other side.

If you need a visual, I can post a couple of chess boards to help you see both King-side and Queen-side castling.

Take care...

 

[LibertyChic]

Oh that's right. See? I knew I knew what that was. No need for visual (unless someone else wants it)....I got it. Thanks WP!

Castling is a move to bring the King into the corner for protection.

Essentially, when there are no pieces in between the King and one of the Rooks, and if neither the King nor that Rook has moved, then the player can opt to move the King two squares toward the Rook, and move the Rook right next to the King on the other side.

If you need a visual, I can post a couple of chess boards to help you see both King-side and Queen-side castling.

Take care...

 

[Blackmarch]

Oh that's right. See? I knew I knew what that was. No need for visual (unless someone else wants it)....I got it. Thanks WP!

The easy way to remember it, is to move the castle next to the king and then have the king jump the castle (or rook depending what you want to call it).

 

[TheChessnut]

The easy way to remember it, is to move the castle next to the king and then have the king jump the castle (or rook depending what you want to call it).

Kind of like checkers, except you don't take the piece off the board.

 

[Blackmarch]

Kind of like checkers, except you don't take the piece off the board.

Yup (of course if my opponent took his castle off the board, one wouldn't complain )

The other special move to look out for is the enpassant;
when a player moves their pawn 2 squares for the initial move, the opponent may move one of their pawns into the square behind it to capture it (as if the captured pawn had only moved one square instead of 2)

 

[TheChessnut]

Yup (of course if my opponent took his castle off the board, one wouldn't complain )

The other special move to look out for is the enpassant;
when a player moves their pawn 2 squares for the initial move, the opponent may move one of their pawns into the square behind it to capture it (as if the captured pawn had only moved one square instead of 2)

They made that rule because originally you could only move the pawns one space. But to make the game faster the rules were changed so that on the first "jump" the pawns could move two spaces if the player so desired.

 

[Blackmarch]

They made that rule because originally you could only move the pawns one space. But to make the game faster the rules were changed so that on the first "jump" the pawns could move two spaces if the player so desired.

That was my guess, but didn't know for sure, thanks!

 

[LibertyChic]

The other special move to look out for is the enpassant;
when a player moves their pawn 2 squares for the initial move, the opponent may move one of their pawns into the square behind it to capture it (as if the captured pawn had only moved one square instead of 2)

They made that rule because originally you could only move the pawns one space. But to make the game faster the rules were changed so that on the first "jump" the pawns could move two spaces if the player so desired.

So why would anyone want to move their pawn 2 spaces on the initial move if they know they are going to lose it?

 

[Blackmarch]

So why would anyone want to move their pawn 2 spaces on the initial move if they know they are going to lose it?

That's the point- you wouldn't (unless the sacrifice helped you gain the upper hand), but some people are not aware of the enpassant move, and could do something foolish.

 

[dcrowther3]

My son Mark Crowther runs an international web-site on the chess world, keeping all the news well up to date.
It is called "This Week In Chess" -- TWIC.
Why not try it out.

 

[Warren Peace]

My son Mark Crowther runs an international web-site on the chess world, keeping all the news well up to date.
It is called "This Week In Chess" -- TWIC.
Why not try it out.

I've been reading TWIC since the day it came out many many years ago! It's REALLY big in Canada.