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Pawn Structure
In a game of chess, the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton) is the configuration of pawn (chess), pawns on the chessboard. Because pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus plays a large role in determining the strategic character of the position. General observations Weaknesses in the pawn structure, such as Isolated pawn, isolated, Doubled pawns, doubled, or Backward pawn, backward pawns and , once created, are usually permanent. Care must therefore be taken to avoid them (but there are exceptions—for instance see ''Boleslavsky hole'' below). In the absence of these structural weaknesses, it is not possible to assess a pawn formation as good or bad—much depends on the position of the pieces. The pawn formation does determine the overall strategies of the players to a large extent, however, even if arising from unrelated openings. Pawn formations symmetrical about a vertical line (such as the #e5-chain, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to as White and Black in chess, "White" and "Black", each control sixteen Chess piece, pieces: one king (chess), king, one queen (chess), queen, two rook (chess), rooks, two bishop (chess), bishops, two knight (chess), knights, and eight pawn (chess), pawns, with each type of piece having a different pattern of movement. An enemy piece may be captured (removed from the board) by moving one's own piece onto the square it occupies. The object of the game is to "checkmate" (threaten with inescapable capture) the enemy king. There are also several ways a game can end in a draw (chess), draw. The recorded history of chess goes back to at least the emergence of chaturanga—also thought to be an ancesto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alekhine's Defence
Alekhine's Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 Nf6 Black tempts White's pawns forward to form a broad , with plans to undermine and attack the white structure later in the spirit of hypermodern defence. White's imposing mass of pawns in the centre often includes pawns on c4, d4, e5, and f4. Grandmaster Nick de Firmian observes of Alekhine's Defence in ''MCO-15'' (2008), "The game immediately loses any sense of symmetry or balance, which makes the opening a good choice for aggressive fighting players."Nick de Firmian, ''Modern Chess Openings, Fifteenth Edition'', 2008, p. 159. . History The opening is named after Alexander Alekhine, who introduced it in the 1921 Budapest tournament in games against Endre Steiner and Fritz Sämisch. Four years later, the editors of the Fourth Edition of ''Modern Chess Openings'' (''MCO-4'') wrote: Nothing is more indicative of the iconoclastic conceptions of the 'hypermodern school' than the bizarre defence introdu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation
In chess, the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves: :1. e4 c5 :2. Nf3 d6 :3. d4 cxd4 :4. Nxd4 Nf6 :5. Nc3 g6 In the Dragon, Black's bishop is fianchettoed on g7, castling on the king's side while aiming the bishop at the center and . In one of the most popular and theoretically important lines, the Yugoslav Variation, White meets Black's setup with Be3, Qd2 and Bh6, exchanging off the Dragon bishop, followed by launching a pawn storm with h4–h5 and g4. To involve the a1-rook in the attack, White usually castles queenside, placing the white king on the semi-open c-file. The result is often both sides attacking the other's king with all available resources. The line is considered one of the of all chess openings. The modern form of the Dragon was originated by German master Louis Paulsen around 1880. It was played frequently by Henry Bird that decade, then received general acceptance around 1900 when playe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess Engines
Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on a square board consisting of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to as "White" and "Black", each control sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two bishops, two knights, and eight pawns, with each type of piece having a different pattern of movement. An enemy piece may be captured (removed from the board) by moving one's own piece onto the square it occupies. The object of the game is to " checkmate" (threaten with inescapable capture) the enemy king. There are also several ways a game can end in a draw. The recorded history of chess goes back to at least the emergence of chaturanga—also thought to be an ancestor to similar games like and —in seventh-century India. After its introduction in Persia, it spread to the Arab world and then to Europe. The modern rules of chess emerged in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicilian – Boleslavsky Hole
Sicilian refers to the Italian island of Sicily. Sicilian can also refer to: * Sicilian language, a Romance language spoken on the island of Sicily, its satellite islands, and southern Calabria * Sicilians, people from or with origins in Sicily * Sicilian Defence, a chess opening * ''The Sicilian'', a 1984 novel by Mario Puzo * ''The Sicilian'' (film), a 1987 action film based on the novel See also * * Caecilian, an order of amphibians, occasionally pronounced ''Sicilian'' * Sicily (other) * Siciliano (other) Siciliano may refer to: *Siciliana or siciliano (also known as sicilienne or ciciliano), a musical style or genre * Siciliano (surname), surname * Siciliano indigeno, breed of horse from Sicily * Nero Siciliano, breed of domestic pig from of Sicil ... {{Disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chess Middlegame
The middlegame is the portion of a chess game between the opening and the endgame. It is generally considered to begin when each player has completed the development of all or most of their pieces and brought their king to relative safety, and it is generally considered to end when only a few pieces remain on the board. However, there is no clear line between the opening and middlegame or between the middlegame and endgame. At master level, the opening analysis may go well into the middlegame; likewise, the middlegame blends into the endgame. Theory on the middlegame is less developed than the opening or endgames. Since middlegame positions are unique from game to game, memorization of theoretical variations is not possible as it is in the opening. Likewise, there are usually too many pieces on the board for theoretical positions to be completely analyzed as can be done in the simpler endgames. Defining the middlegame Views vary on when the opening ends and the middlegame be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Opening
The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move: : 1. c4 A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, one of the four most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the by staking a claim to the d5-square from the wing, in hypermodern style. Although many lines of the English have a distinct character, the opening is often used as a transpositional device in much the same way as 1.Nf3 – to avoid such highly regarded responses to 1.d4 as the Nimzo-Indian and Grünfeld Defences – and is considered reliable and flexible. History of the opening The English derives its name from the leading 19th-century English master Howard Staunton, who played it during his 1843 match with Saint-Amant and at London 1851, the first international tournament. It did not inspire Staunton's contemporaries and caught on only in the twentieth century. It is now recognised as a opening that may be u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation
In chess, the Scheveningen Variation of the Sicilian Defence is an opening that is a line of the Open Sicilian characterised by Black setting up a "small centre" with pawns on d6 and e6. There are numerous move orders that reach the Scheveningen; a common one is: :1. e4 c5 :2. Nf3 d6 :3. d4 cxd4 :4. Nxd4 Nf6 :5. Nc3 e6 The seemingly modest d6–e6 pawn centre affords Black a solid defensive barrier, control of the critical d5 and e5 squares, and retains flexibility to break in the centre with either ...e5 or ...d5. Black can proceed with rapid , and the opening provides sound counterchances and considerable scope for creativity. The line has been championed by Garry Kasparov, among many other distinguished grandmasters. Origin The variation first came to international attention during the 1923 chess tournament in the village Scheveningen at the North Sea coast near The Hague. During the tournament the variation was played several times by several players, includi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation
The Najdorf Variation ( ) of the Sicilian Defence is one of the most popular, reputable, and deeply studied of all chess openings. ''Modern Chess Openings'' calls it the "Cadillac" or "Rolls-Royce" of chess openings. The opening is named after the Polish-Argentine grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, although he was not the first strong player to play the variation. Many players have relied on the Najdorf (notably Bobby Fischer and Garry Kasparov, although Kasparov would often transpose into a Scheveningen). The Najdorf begins: :1. e4 c5 :2. Nf3 d6 :3. d4 cxd4 :4. Nxd4 Nf6 :5. Nc3 a6 Black's 5...a6 aims to deny the b5-square to White's knights and light-square bishop while maintaining flexible . If Black plays 5...e5 immediately, then after 6.Bb5+ Bd7 (or 6...Nbd7 7.Nf5) 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 (or Qxd7) 8.Nf5, the knight on f5 is difficult to dislodge without concessions. Games in the Najdorf frequently feature opposite-side castling, where White and both sides launch simultaneous att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: :1. e4 c5 The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. The opening 1.d4 is a statistically more successful opening for White because of the high success rate of the Sicilian defence against 1.e4. '' New In Chess'' stated in its 2000 Yearbook that, of the games in its database, White scored 56.1% in 296,200 games beginning 1.d4, but 54.1% in 349,855 games beginning 1.e4, mainly because the Sicilian held White to a 52.3% score in 145,996 games. 17% of all games between grandmasters, and 25% of the games in the Chess Informant database, begin with the Sicilian. Grandmaster John Nunn attributes the Sicilian Defence's popularity to its "combative nature": "in many lines Black is playing not just for equality, but for the advantage. The drawback is that White often obtains an early initiative, so Black has to take care not to fall victim to a quick attack." Gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London System
The London System is an in chess where White opens with 1.d4 and develops the to f4, then supports the d4-pawn with pawns on e3 and c3. The other bishop is developed to d3 (or occasionally e2) and the knights typically to f3 and d2. This set-up often results in a . The London System can be used against virtually any Black defence and thus comprises a smaller body of Chess theory#Opening theory, opening theory than many other openings. Although it has a reputation as a opening, the London System has faced criticism for its tedious nature and lack of . The rapid of the dark-squared bishop in the London System can be contrasted with the Colle System, in which the typically remains on c1 during the opening phase of the game. History The Irish-American James Mason (chess player), James Mason was the first Chess title, master-level player to regularly employ the London System, including at the strong 1882 Vienna Tournament (in which he finished third) and later at tournaments at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colle System
The Colle System, also known as the Colle–Koltanowski System, is a chess opening for White, popularised in the 1920s by the Belgian master Edgard Colle and further developed by George Koltanowski. The Colle is characterised by several moves. White's center pawns are to d4 and e3, the king's knight is developed to f3, the king's bishop is developed to d3, and the queen bishop's pawn (c-pawn) is developed to c3. Common continuations include development of the queen's knight to d2 (Nbd2) and castling (0-0). A major theme of the Colle System is the ambition to play a well-timed e4, where the square is defended by the bishop on d3, the knight on d2 (following Nbd2), and possibly the rook on e1 (following 0-0 and Re1). Although sometimes described as a specific sequence of moves, the Colle System is not a fixed line of play, but rather a ''system'' for White where the moves may be permuted at the player's discretion. When a game opens with most or all of the above moves, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
