Saturday, February 24, 2007
Chess Strategy
  Chess Strategy By Elizabeth Morgan Chess is a conceptual strategy board game for two players. It is played on a square board of eight rows and eight columns. The rows are known as ranks and the columns are known as files. This results in sixty-four squares of alternating color. Each player starts the game with sixteen pieces, which are gradually eradicated in time (captured and removed from the board by opposing pieces) as the game proceeds. The main objective of the game is to checkmate the opponent. This usually takes place when no further move can prevent the king from being captured. Chess has since long reigned as one of the world's most popular games. It has been described not only as a game but also as an art and a science, which requires a lot of thinking and patience. Chess strategies are extremely important as it helps players understand the finer aspects and features related to the game of chess. A game of chess is divided into three segments, the chess opening, the middle game, and the end game. An appropriate analysis of the openings is also considered to be extremely vital in conceptualizing an effective strategy. Players should be well conversant with the subtleties and beauties of the many and compound variations in the different chess openings. Often it is the starting move, which determines the move and strategy to be followed. The middle game refers to the phase of the game that takes place after the opening and usually merges somewhat with the endgame. During this time, an effective strategy revolves around players attempting to reinforce their positions while weakening their opponent's. The endgame is that point of the game when there are only some pieces left on the chessboard. Here the strategies used in the beginning and the middle comes to use. In chess, detailed knowledge of the moves and how to play under certain given conditions play a crucial role in determining the game strategy to be followed. An efficient strategy acts as a guideline in ensuring a good game of chess. |
Chess: Choosing A Perfect Opening Theory
 Choosing A Perfect Opening Theory By: George Wood Chess Openings A number of theories are available for opening of chess. These recommended theories are practiced almost everywhere although there are a number of other variations are also available. A large number of variations just prove the complexity of the game! Some variations are considered equally good for both the White and the Black. However you don't need to learn these openings, they come through experience. You must use your logical and healthy thinking to play chess. Each opening has a name of its own so to classify a game one needs to know the move which characterizes an opening. Each of the openings also has a number of variations and these variations also have different names! Openings which are similar lead to positions which have similar features. The classification of the openings depends mainly on the first move. An opening can be an open opening, a semi- open opening or a closed opening. An opening is called Open if White starts the move with 1.e4 and Black responds with 1.e5. It is called semi-open if White starts with 1.e4 but Black does not respond with 1.e5. An opening is called closed if White does not start with 1.e4. Some of the most common open openings are described below: Italian game- [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4] White castles while making the most of the piece's mobility. d5 square is controlled by 3.Bc4 move. The free move d7-d5 is thus inhibited. It also keeps a check on a weaker square f7 and also on the square which is immediately related to the safety of the Black King. Spanish Game- [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5] The black pawn is threatened by White with 2.Nf3. Black also supports it with 2.Nc6. White now moves 3.Bb5 which threatens the pawn as he may capture c6 and e5. Scotch game- [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4] White opens the lines for the pieces quickly. The answer that one gets is 3.exd4. White may either play 4.c3 or take the pawn back with 4.Nxd4. The former is a variation which is known as Scotch Gambit. Four Knights Game- [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6] This non demanding opening is stable for White. 3.Nc3 faces no threats and the opening is thus non-demanding. Phillidor's Defence- [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6] The opening results in closed positions though the plans are still open. Russian Game- [1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6] It is an interesting opening theory though it's not used much now. Bishop's Opening- [1.e4 e5 2.Bc4] It is an extremely old opening which is rarely used nowadays. King's Gambit- [1.e4 e5 2.f4] White captures the f pawn later on after 2.exf4. To keep the material advantage Black will like to settle for cover. Some of the most common semi-open openings are described below: French Defence- [1.e4 e6] Black prepares to play the freeing move which is d7-d5. Caro-Cann Defence- [1.e4 c6] Black plays d7-d5. Bc8 develops easily which is a major difference from the French Defence. Scandinavian Game- [1.e4 d5] Black opens the position on its own and tries to play actively. Alechkin's Defence- [1.e4 Nf6] If White moves 2.e5, Black does not move the same piece again. Black weakens its centers with the side thrusts like d7-d6, c7-c5 if White moves his centre pawns. Sicilian Defence- [1.e4 c5] Many possibilities are available for both and hence it is the most commonly used opening. It also leads to wild strategies. Some of the most common closed openings are described below: Queen's Gambit- [1.d4 d5 2.c4] White captures c4 later on if Black captures c4. English Game- [1.c4 e5] It almost always leads to closed positions. King's Indian Defence- [1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d6] This opening has gained popularity due to its rich strategies and tactics. It is used in games of top class. Dutch Defence- [1.d4 f5] This opening usually leads to closed tactical positions. Slav Defence- [1.c4 c6] Tactical considerations play a very important role here. It leads to drawish and balanced positions. A good player should know about all the openings and then play accordingly. One should try to gain experience and knowledge about these openings. Each opening possesses a key idea, which becomes easier to implement once it is perceived. |
The Basic Details Of The Game Of Chess
 The Basic Details Of The Game Of Chess By: Lee Dobbins The Chess Game was invented thousands of years ago and right throughout its history it has become known as the king of board games. Such people as Napoleon, Charlie Chaplin, Einstein and Nikola Tesla where renowned for their chess skills. Not only can the game of chess provide you with hours of pleasure it is great for exercising the intellect and the game is known to be able to improve someone's analytical thinking their creativity and judgment. Although during the past Chess was mainly played by those of a high standing such as courtiers etc., today you will find that the game attracts people of all ages and all works of life from around the world. Not only do many people find chess intriguing, but it also gives them a chance to pit their wits and skills against another. All that anyone requires to be able to play chess is a chessboard and chess pieces, you can even play online if you want (all you need then is a computer). A normal chessboard is 8"x 8" with alternating black and white squares. There are a total of 32 chess pieces, 16 white and 16 black. One player will play with the white pieces (WHITE player) and their opponent gets the black (BLACK player). The 16 pieces are made up of the King, Queen, 2 Rooks, 2 Bishops, 2 Knights and 8 Pawns. At the start of any game the pieces are placed in their initial places as follows: 1. The player places each of his pieces along two rows of the board (ranks) closest to him. 2. The 8 pawns are placed in the front rank with the rest of the pieces placed behind them closest to the player. 3. Starting from the outside of the board and working into the middle the pieces closest to the player should be placed in the following order Rook, Knight, Bishop, Queen, King, Bishop, Knight, Rook. The order they are placed in for the WHITE player is from left to right on the board and for the BLACK player from right to left. Thus you end up with the opponents same piece in each column (file) facing each other on the board. To help describe the chess positions an "algebraic chess notation" was invented and is easy to learn as it helps the players to identify squares and pieces that are on the board during a game. Below we describe how it works. When viewing from the WHITE player's point of view the left most file (column) is known as "A" and the next one "B" and so on until we reach the right most file (column) known as "H". The rank (row) which is closest to the WHITE player is then called "Rank 1" or the "First Rank" and then comes "Rank 2 (Second Rank)" and so on until we reach the 8th Rank which is the rank (row) closest to the BLACK player's pieces. Chess play can be complicated as each piece moves in a different manner. The object is to take the oponnents king, but this piece itself is fairly liminted in movement and can only move to an adjacent square. The Queen is the most versatile piece and can move any number of squares in any direction. The bishop can move any number of squares on the diagonal. The knight is the most interesting and moves in an "L" shape - up 2 squares and over 1 (or up 1 and over 2) in any direction. The rook can move any number of squares forward, backward, left or right. The pawn can advance only 1 square unless it is his first move then he can move two sqaures forward provided no other pieces are in the way. |
Understanding Chess Move By Move
 Understanding Chess Move By Move By: Lee Leong It is so much to learn when you first started playing chess. These includes understanding the chess board, understanding chess move by move and so on. No doubt the more you take time to learn and apply the strategies you learnt, the better you would be in the long run. With that said, it is worthwhile to understand chess move by move, both basic and special moves. In a game of chess, each piece moves in a different way. Normally, a piece can not pass through squares occupied by other piece. However, it can move to a square occupied by the opponent's piece. When a piece moves to a square occupied by the opponent, it is said to 'capture' the opponent. Hence, the piece which is captured is eliminated from the board for the remainder of the game. There are six different pieces in a chess game, namely - King, Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight and Pawn. The King moves orthogonally and diagonally across only one square at a time. The Queen moves orthogonally or diagonally across any number of squares. The Rook moves forward, backward, left or right across any number of squares. Bishop moves diagonally across any number of squares. The Knight moves in two squares in one direction and one space orthogonal to it. It is the only piece which jumps over other pieces, the rest cannot jump over a square occupied by a piece. The Pawn can move only one square at a time backward or forward. However, if the Pawn is the first piece moved at the start of a game, i.e. if it is the opening move of the game, it can move two squares forward. The Pawn can move one square diagonally in front to capture an opponent piece. It cannot capture an opponent piece by moving forward straight. Apart from the basic moves, it is also important to understand special chess moves as well. One such move is called 'Castling'. This involves the King and the Rook. If the King and the Rook have not moved yet and all the squares between them are blank, then the King moves two squares forward, towards the Rook. At the same time the Rook moves the two spaces the King has just jumped over. However, this move cannot happen if the King is threatened or has to move through a danger square. Another special chess move involves the Pawn. If the Pawn moves two squares forward on its first move, it can be captured on the square it has jumped over, as if it had moved only one square only, during the turn immediately after its two-square move. This can be done only by another Pawn. Remember, the more you increase your undestanding of chess move by move, the better chess player, you will become. |
Reading Improved by Chess
 Reading Improved by Chess by Chris Heringer The last five decades has yielded scientific research into the benefits of chess for children and has been dramatically documented and presented to school commitees and groups globally. The result? Chess has been shown to improve pattern recognition, analytical ability, focus, memory, and skill in reading. Below is a recent letter received from a Chess for Kids family which testifies to just one of these benefits. Our thanks to Kevin and family for taking the time to write. "Our son Peter was unable to read in Grade 1 to the point where they were going to make him repeat the grade. Reading with him was frustrating. He would come across a word and we would spend time learning it, and on the next page he would be unable to read that word again. He would be looking around not looking at the book, which was frustrating as I would think that he was not even trying. My wife insisted that he be tested to see if there was a problem. Peter was diagnosed with a left ear disorder which can cause a lot of symptoms. The main problems it causes is inability to recognize the difference between small words. He will confuse word pairings such as "too" and "the" for example. It causes problems with focusing on, losing and being unable to find his spot on the page. This is why he would be looking away from the page, he was lost and unable to find where he was. It also causes problems with learning to read phonetically. Finding out that he had this P300 disorder really helped me deal with his poor reading as I now knew that he was trying his best, he just could not do it. My work is manufacturing woodturning equipment and I thought that a good item for me to make to demonstrate our lathes would be a chess set. Everyone knows what a chess set is and the pieces are small so that they can be turned easily in public. While hunting around on the internet for a chess set design I accidentally came across sites which tout the educational benefits of chess. I was surprised to find that chess helps reading, perhaps more so even that mathematics. So I started to teach him to play. Since then I have found out a little bit about how people play chess. It is not a only game of calculation as most people think, but also a game of pattern recognition. Peters P300 learning disorder interferes with his ability to recognize letter patterns so learning to play chess is an excellent pattern recognition training tool. Peter took to the game quite quickly and in Grade three he played 3rd board in the Grade four chess club. This did a huge amount of good for his self confidence. He went, in the eyes of his classmate, from being dumb because he could not read to a source of pride for his whole class because he was beating the Grade four's at chess. Nobody in his class would play him at lunchtime last year as he just wiped them off the board. Not really a big deal to beat someone who has had no training in chess but the other kids in his class did not see it that way and his confidence skyrocketed. Another P300 disorder symptom is the inability to break a large task into smaller tasks. Telling Peter to pick up his toys is a waste of time as the task is overwhelming for him. If you say, Peter put your beyblades away into the beyblade box he can do that. Playing chess is a very large task and to play it you must learn to break it into smaller pieces. Develop a pawn, bring out a knight, and so on. I think the game has helped him in that way. Along the with exercises in pattern recognition which chess provides, the boost in his self esteem which convinced him that he was smart, and a bit of task management, we also finally found books with easy vocabularies that had stories that interested him. Peter has always loved being read to. I read him the first three Harry Potter books when he was in Grade two and he understood the stories. It is difficult to interest someone in primary readers when their comprehension level is so high. Combining the four factors was enough to push Peter over the top and start him on his way to being a self sufficient reader. On our summer vacation last year Peter was reading a Goosebumps book a day. He has read all the Animorph books and the Deltora Quest books. Did chess alone teach Peter to read? I don't think so but within three months of learning the game he went from being unable to read to reading by himself. In the last year he has gone from being reading at a level one year behind to probably the top reader in his class. -- Kevin" |
Chess – The Game of Kings
 Chess – The Game of Kings By: David Yuri The game of chess has a long history. Though known and played all over the world, chess is supposed to have been born in India around 5000 years ago. The birth place of this amazing game was identified by a few early chess historians like Sir William Jones who wrote in 1763 the poem “Caissa” and in 1790 the paper “On the Indian game of Chess” and like Duncan Forbes who published “The history of Chess” in 1860. The problem with the origins of chess is that, no full set of pieces was discovered dating from that period of time. Some artifacts that archeologists identified as chess pieces might have served a different purpose than the one we suppose – for the game of chess. H.J.R. Murray published in 1913 the 900 page book called “History of Chess” which is a complete work based on 14 years or research by using translations made by specialists of original documents from the best chess libraries. He underlined the fact that there is no physical evidence or document to demonstrate the existence of chess anywhere in the world for the period before the seventh century BC. The earliest version that some believe to be the ancestor of chess was the Indian Chaturanga - a game that was played by four persons and which used dices dating as far back as 3000 BC. But Murray showed that this version came after the two player version. The time of the Persian Empire sets the bases of Chatrang as a game invented after a war between the two sons of a Queen, by the writings in the “Book of Kings” and the “Book of Deeds”. Until 656, the Persian Empire was conquered by the Moslem Empire. This was the time when the game Shatranj flourished and this is also the period of the first chess documents which attest characters that were known to play chess. During this time the game spread as far as Spain. Before these recordings, there were legends that said that the game was used to explain the death of one of the Persian Queen’s sons who was killed by the other, or that the inventor of chess asked to be paid by a grain of cereal doubled on each of the 64 squares of the board that was used to play chess. The literature of The Middle Ages gives us information about the chess game played at that time. There are even partial sets and pieces dating from that period to support its existence. The Einsiedeln Poem, also known as “Versus de scachis”, written in 1000 A.D. describes in its 98 lines the game of chess, the rules by which to play chess and a few strategies. The way the pieces were named and the rules that were used to play chess show that the game’s ancestor was the game of Shatranj. Chess arrived in Europe, in the Balkans in the time of the Byzantine Empire and up the Volga river trade route in Russia and Scandinavia, when Italy and Spain were conquered. The popularity of the game increased due to the interest of the nobility and of the upper classes. At the end of the 15th century a lot of improvements were made to the game of chess by enhancing the power of some pieces, making the new game be more well-liked than the old one, making most people that were accustomed to play chess adopt the newer version and set aside the old one within just a few decades. The game earned its name - the Game of Kings - partially because crowned heads like Henry IV, Louis XIII, Elisabeth I, James I, Charles I and many others used to love to play chess. In the 19th century, in London, everybody could play chess. A lot of clubs were brought into being because of the popularity of the game. Parsloe’s was among the first chess clubs ever born in England and it was also the place where Frenchman Philidor used to amaze the public with exhibitions of 2-3 simultaneous blindfold games. There were a lot of matches between the English and the French, but many other countries soon developed great players, like Germany, Hungary and America. This is the time when the game became organized and all the rules that we now know and after which we play this beautiful strategic game were established. The days of nobility chess playing have only begun. These days you can have your own set of pieces and a board to play with your friends or family in a nice mind working get-together. In fact you can just sit in front of your computer, log on to websites like chessboss.com and enjoy a nice game with people all over the world. Chess is so popular that you can even play it on your computer!
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Thursday, February 22, 2007
In Memory of my Brother Steve
In Loving Memory of Steve  Today is an extremely sad day for me, my youngest brother Steve passed away after a long battle with cancer. In a lot of respects this blog has been inspired by my love for the game of chess, and for the passion my brother Steve had for the game. In this respect, this site is dedicated to him. We both learned this game at an early age, and through out the years have enjoyed many games together. Steve took the game seriously in his younger years, reading book on chess, and learning strategies, he was good! He constantly kicked my butt, however, being a sporting player, would let me take my move over when he saw I had made a serious mistake. Some of my fondest memories are the games we would play together while relaxing at a variety of local coffee shops around town. When we couldn't meet, we would often play online, his nic being General Disaster and mine being ChessClown. Backing up a little, when we were kids, seldom did we hang together. The age difference put little in common for the two of us. As we grew older we were very much alike. Our interest in games, sports, and other activities were very much the same. We both had the same occupation, and worked together on several projects together for a number of years. We both enjoyed riding motorcycles, and when we both bought our first Harley Davidson motorcycles, we bought the same model, same color, and on the same day. Now get this, "We didn't talk about or tell each other we were buying motorcycles!" The things we share in common are to numerous to name, and were the cause of many debates between us, debates being a kind word for the fights we had... First, I want to thank my father Gabriel, who has been standing fast these past few months helping in every possible way comforting Steve. Also, a warm thanks to Steve's best friend, Hobie. People like Hobie are the definition of a true friend. As you can imagine, it is hard to put into words my love, my feelings, and the respect I have for my brother, so in ending I will just say, "Your are going to be truly missed, Bro. I love you." When we meet again, we can ride over to the local outdoor cafe and have a game of chess there, General Disaster. Well, maybe we won't ride, I may want to test out those new wings of mine. All my love, Ray CousinIt a.k.a. ChessClown Update: 09-18-07 Our father Gabries has writen a book to help our youth from starting smoking, and to help smokers Stop Smoking. Visit his website and help spread the word. http://mystopsmokingbook.com/ |
Improve Your Thinking with Chess
  Improve Your Thinking with Chess By Alan Kintel Considered the ‘king’ of board games, chess has been around for thousands of years. It attracts people round the globe of all ages like magnets, including famous chess experts like Napoleon, Einstein, Nikola Tesla and Charlie Chaplin. And the game is well known for improving creativity, analytical thinking and judgment skills. Nuts and Bolts To get started playing chess, you can either head online to popular chess sites, or play offline with an 8x8 chess board made up of alternating black and white squares, and chess pieces: 16 white and 16 black. Both sets contain these pieces: a King and Queen, two each of Rooks, Bishops and Knights, plus eight Pawns. One player is called ‘white,’ the other ‘black.’ White starts, and the goal is to trap your opponent’s King. The first dozen moves or so are referred to as the 'opening' phase of the game. Then comes the 'middle game' and finally the 'endgame', with only few pieces left on the chess board. Note that at any point in time, though, a game may end due to an unexpected move or incorrect move on either player’s part. Basic Strategy These general principles can be applied to the game of chess and to life: 1. Development Like with any good venture, good development is needed. For example, just as in the entrepreneur arena where you generally cannot simply open up a business without having developed or purchases license to a product or service line (either yours or someone else’s) and expect instant success, similarly in chess you cannot just jump right in and expect to win without developing your opening moves first. 2. Control Also important in chess as well as the world outside of the game, people constantly battle to take control of their central playing field. And while one person may indeed be in charge one moment, another may come along and bump that person out of center stage. It’s all part of the game, of chess, of life. 3. Safety Keeping your main interests, like your king, safe is a goal. For example, a move called castling should be done as soon as possible in the game to increase the king's safety. And likewise outside the playing field, people have specific steps they can take to help ensure safety like using a bank for deposits and transactions instead of stuffing money under a mattress and using cash for everything in business. 4. Plan As the game of chess and life develop, people need to mentally develop a basic plan or strategy to succeed, and then strive to follow it, overcoming obstacles. Try to outthink your opponent and competition, and set out to win. So join the experts and improve your thinking with chess. Improve your creativity, analytical thinking and judgment skills and go for a win! Alan Kintel is a writer that concentrates on helping people better themselves, for cutting edge information you NEED to know check out his website at http://someofthebest.info Article Source |
How To Improve Your Chess Game
 How To Improve Your Chess Game By Ari Darmapala It is a mistaken belief that playing chess is a god-gifted art and barring reaching an ordinary 'cognizable standard' you cannot improve. The 'cognizable standard' means you are reaching to the standard which makes you only recognize the good and bad points of the game but without any ability to develop your game accordingly. No doubt, it is a game of superior intelligence. The alertness of the mind, capacity to contemplate on and select the right future are some basic requirements of this brainy game. Of course, you cannot cultivate talent only with the help of your labor but if you have a little of it you can surely bone it. Do not forget the age-old maxim that genius is five percents inspiration and ninety-nine percents perspiration. Moreover, hardly any human being is totally devoid of the element of talent. Only when we fail to perspire for making it develop that we lag behind the others who do. This is what we purpose to do with this article. There are times when in the absence of the right kind of guidance our talents wither. Since they don’t know how to properly irrigate and fertilize this plant of talent, this get withered away. Remember that like any other discipline, chess also needs your unwaivering devotion. The young boys normally don’t know how to utilize their free time, especially those who have the potentials. Follow the guidelines given ahead and become a good chess player. 1. Read Chess-books and Magazines After playing some games, read the book carefully. Play more games and the read the book. Each time you absorb some points that seemed previously obscure or did not grip you. The way you improve most is not by playing opponents, but by playing over well-annotated games. Cover one side’s move usually the winner’s) and think out of each move before looking. If you are eager to improve your play rapidly, write down the moves of all your games, not only the competitive one (in which recording is compulsory). It is best to write them in chess scorebooks, as loose score-sheets are easily lost. Afterwards, play each game and jot down critical comments. This how the grandmaster developed his skill in chess and became proficient in a short time without any coaching. It is surprising how much the game became clearer when you see every position a second time, in the light of what happened first time. You become your own tutor. If, after writing your comments you submit some of your games and your comments to a competent coach or top player for assessment for a suitable fee will improve more rapidly still. Reading chess books by standard authors will also help. Try to follow the notations in a particular style. In case you get hold of those old books in which the notations are not in algebraic form, try to convert it in that form. Even this conversion exercise would give you a good peep inside the intricacies of the game. Write them down in a separate exercise book and the same way you do to develop you ability, say in Mathematics. This is very enlightening exercise. Just keep a small chess board with pieces alongside and convert descriptive notations into Algebraic notations. It is necessary because the algebraic notation was devised only a couple years ago while the earlier chess-books where only written in descriptive style. Remember that it is not a time consuming and boring exercise but a very rewarding one. Besides doing this read some good magazines or newspapers having chess columns. Nowadays there is hardly any good journal or newspaper not having chess columns. Read those problems and solve them. Your intention while solving them should be to prove the given solution to be wrong! The idea is that you should independently try to attack the problem. In the process if you happen to hit some different solution deem it that you are on the right path of progress in your chess studies. You may join a club having the facility of chess. You might develop you chess skill in the company of the other learners. Of course, you can enjoy chess without worrying about improvements. However, this is a natural tendency of an awakened mind to improve one’s performance in any sphere. By following the methods recommended here, almost anybody can become a strong player in a fraction of time normally taken. Doctor Emanual Lasker (World Champion 1897-1921) considered that given a logical approach, a person of average talent would not need to give chess more than 200 hours to reach a stage where a master player who conceded him or her handicap would surely lose. Lasker’s 200 hours was an underestimate, no doubt, but certain it is that most players could reach in months a standard that usually takes them years to attain. Some newspapers publish regular chess columns in which composed chess problems are a feature. In a problem, an artificial position is setup and a solver is required to find a way to check mate in a specified number of moves, usually 2 or 3, no matter what replies the defender makes. In these, for the sake of uniformity, White always makes the first (key) move. In 2-move problems, only the key move is required. In 3-move problems, the second moves are required for correct solutions. As the composer’s purpose is to make the task difficult, the key move is usually on that would be unlikely to occur to a player in an actual game, and is never capture (except of a Pawn) and never a check. 2. Play Handicap Chess with Senior Players The often given advice to play against stronger players has two distinct drawbacks. Firstly, it is discouraging if you invariably lose. Secondly, it is painful boring for the opponent if the different in skill is great. The strong player would be too polite to tell you this, but will find some excuse to stop playing. To fore stat this, ask the opponent to give you a handicap (give you odds in the chess parlance) e.g. to remove a Knight, a Rook, a Rook plus Knight, or even the Queen. Once the right odds found, both players can have exciting game. When removing a Knight or a Rook as a handicap, convention decrees that it shall be the one on the Queen’s wing. Another kind of handicap is possible with the use of chess clocks. The expert can play with a very short time limit, his opponents at a much greater one. If the difference in skill is not too wide, this sort of handicap is better, as there is no alteration of the starting position. If the difference in skill is very great, it is a good idea to use both systems. For single games, you cannot use a time handicap unless you have chess clocks. However, in simultaneous exhibitions, a time handicap operates automatically. Here the expert opposes a large number of players seated in a circle or rectangle, each with a board and pieces in front of him or her. The expert steps from board to board, making a move at each one. Obviously, the expert can take only a fraction of time that opponents take, as the master may have to make 10,20,30,40 or more moves in the time that each opponent has for one move. Simultaneous exhibitions have provided, from time immemorial, an excellent opportunity for a large number of players to oppose a master under conditions that give the amateurs some chance of bringing off a draw or even a win. 3. Have Chess Software Playing chess against a well-programmed computer also helps in your developing chess-skill. It was inevitable in our age of electronics that chess would engage the attention of computer engineers. The real revolution in computer chess was brought about by the introduction of portable, relatively inexpensive microcomputers. These have been steadily improving and the latest models feature up to sixty-four levels of play, programmed openings and games, a voice announcing moves, and sensitized squares to eliminate the need for a keyboard. Most can play a reasonable game, while the more advanced models complete successfully in open tournaments. As hinted before, microcomputers are most useful to players who have a problem in finding an opponent. Teaching level with programmed opening variations and suggested best moves are provided to help the students. For top players computers provide a convenient way of storing information on openings and end games. Most top players use personal computer for this purpose. 4. General Advice You should start playing preferably with another beginner, as soon as you have learned the moves. Do not be discouraged if you are slow in remembering the rules. With a little practice, you will get accustomed to the moves of the pieces and will be able to start working things out without trying to remember how each one move and capture. Chess is competitive and a desire to win is its strongest motivation. This is why you should play with another beginner whom you have a chance to defeating. It is better if you have an instructor who can supervise the game to make you sure that the rules are observed and to point out where you went wrong after the game. Textbook dealing with all aspects of the game in one volume, vary in scope and price. Some chess manuals are written by champions, others by chess teachers – they all help the beginner to delve deeper into the mysteries of chess. Later the person wishing to improve skills further more can specialize by studying various aspects of the game and here there is a vast choice of aids. Books dealing with openings range from comprehensive manuals in several large volumes, not recommended for beginners, to books designed to explain the reasons why the openings are played in a certain way. The Middle game is dealt with by explaining the basic strategic principles and by giving examples of tactical combinations. There are many books dealing with this subject. The end game is part of the game, which all aspiring players should study. Here again there is a choice of many books. Best for beginners are elementary books, which explain basic principles that are most likely to occur in practical way. For advanced players there are books, which deal with specific ending in depth. Finally, we come to collection of games of great players. We recommend the books with detailed comments, especially those designed for beginners. The young learners are advice not to rely heavily on chess problems to acquire mastery in this game. These problems are as removed from as crossword puzzles are from literature. Surely, they bone one’s power of visualization of the moves. Play as many actual games as possible and solve chess problem to keep your mind alert in the chess-sense. Remember in chess (the actual game) the object of the game is to defeat the opponent, the means by which this end is achieve or the time is takes, being unimportant. In problems, however, the opponent represents by time. Mate must be effect with in the stipulated number of moves. Since the position given in the problems is frequently quizotic, most of the seasoned chess players dismiss then as situation unworthy of consideration. On the other hand, the problemists maintain that game involves too much laborious and profitless wood shifting, and that the artistry of fifty games can be compound into a single artificial position. Nevertheless, the best courses open for young learners to have the judicious mixture of the two. The author is the site admin of Chess Learning. If you want to read and learn more about the game of chess, check out http://www.chess-learning.com Article Soruce |
Chess Strategy
 Chess Strategy By Elizabeth Morgan Chess is a conceptual strategy board game for two players. It is played on a square board of eight rows and eight columns. The rows are known as ranks and the columns are known as files. This results in sixty-four squares of alternating color. Each player starts the game with sixteen pieces, which are gradually eradicated in time (captured and removed from the board by opposing pieces) as the game proceeds. The main objective of the game is to checkmate the opponent. This usually takes place when no further move can prevent the king from being captured. Chess has since long reigned as one of the world's most popular games. It has been described not only as a game but also as an art and a science, which requires a lot of thinking and patience. Chess strategies are extremely important as it helps players understand the finer aspects and features related to the game of chess. A game of chess is divided into three segments, the chess opening, the middle game, and the end game. An appropriate analysis of the openings is also considered to be extremely vital in conceptualizing an effective strategy. Players should be well conversant with the subtleties and beauties of the many and compound variations in the different chess openings. Often it is the starting move, which determines the move and strategy to be followed. The middle game refers to the phase of the game that takes place after the opening and usually merges somewhat with the endgame. During this time, an effective strategy revolves around players attempting to reinforce their positions while weakening their opponent's. The endgame is that point of the game when there are only some pieces left on the chessboard. Here the strategies used in the beginning and the middle comes to use. In chess, detailed knowledge of the moves and how to play under certain given conditions play a crucial role in determining the game strategy to be followed. An efficient strategy acts as a guideline in ensuring a good game of chess. Strategy provides detailed information on Strategy, Business Strategy, Strategy Games, Marketing Strategy and more. Strategy is affiliated with Strategic Planning Info. Article Source |
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Chess Is Cool for Kids!
 Chess Is Cool for Kids! By Leopold Lacrimosa Walt Disney Pictures announced they will start production on the movie “I Choose to Stay”, to be released in 2005. It is based on the book “I Choose to Stay: A Black Teacher Refuses to Desert the Inner City”, published in 2003 by Kensington Publishing and written by Salome Thomas-EL. Mr. Thomas-El, a gifted child who was raised in the projects of Philadelphia, Pa., earned an Ivy League education and returned to Philadelphia in 1987 to become a teacher at Vaux Middle School. There he revived the then dormant chess club and with a profound belief in his student’s potential, taught the children to play chess. These children then went on to win local and national competitions. Mr. Thomas-El used these accomplishments to motivate hundreds of the children to attend magnet high schools and then go on to major colleges and universities. Many have gone on to do greater things in higher education and in the professional world. Can Chess Really do that for Kids? But is this result all because of chess? After all it’s just a game, right? What many parents are beginning to learn is that chess can and does help foster developmental thinking in children. Yasser Seirawan, one of America’s premier Grand Masters, World Junior Champion (1987), four-times U.S. Champion (1981, 1986, 1989 and 2000), ten-time member of the U.S. Olympiad chess team (he was also one of the top scorers at Bled 2002 Olympiad, achieving an individual silver medal for his performance) and five time contender for the World Crown (1985, 1987, 1997, 1999 and 2000) is fond of saying that chess teaches the 5 R’s. Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Responsibility and Respect. Chess and the 5 R's for Kids: Chess and Reading: because kids must study from many chess books in order to develop their game. Chess and Writing: because the rules of chess state that you must keep a score of your game. Chess and Math: because each piece on the chess board has value, some greater than others; if you loose stronger pieces for lesser ones, it may cost you the game. Chess and Responsibility: because you and you alone must direct your army of pieces to its best deployment, and bad decisions will allow your men to be captured with little or no compensation, which may also cost you the game. Chess and Respect: because you respect yourself as well as your opponent, each game begins with a handshake and ends with a handshake. Chess Helps Developmental Thinking in Kids As a chess coach, I have seen that chess does more, much more. When a child takes up the Royal game, (chess has been around since about 550-620 A.D. and has been known as the “King of Games" and the "Game of Kings”), he begins to develop logical thinking, critical thinking, decision making, problem solving, as well as, mathematical skills, algebra and geometry. A study by Dr Peter Dauvergne at the University of Sydney, has found that students who play chess have raised their intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in the following areas: Strengthened problem solving skills: Learned how to make difficult and abstract decisions independently Enhance reading, memory, language, and mathematical abilities; fostered critical, creative, and original thinking. Provided practice at making accurate and fast decisions under time pressure, (a skill that can help improve exam scores at school). Taught them how to think logically and efficiently, learning to select the "best" choice from a large number of options. Challenged gifted children while potentially helping underachieving gifted students learn how to study and strive for excellence. Demonstrated the importance of flexible planning, concentration, and the consequences of decisions. Reached boys and girls regardless of their natural abilities or socio-economic backgrounds. Chess Is Cool for Kids! Other Studies Showing that Chess is Good for Kids "Chess in Education Research Summary" by Robert Ferguson (1995). A 14-page summary of key chess research. "Chess Improves Academic Performance" summary of NY School Chess Program. "The Importance of Chess in the Classroom", Atlantic Chess News, 1990 (Michael D. Wojcio). Wojcio teaches chess to slow learners in 5 NJ schools and this describes his program and the benefits. "Chess and Education" (John Artise). After 2 years of psychological research in chess, Artise found cognitive improvements in memory, logic, observation and analysis, and operant conditioning. "The Effect of Chess on Reading Scores" by Stuart Margulies, Ph. D. "Teaching the Fourth R (Reasoning) Through Chess" (Robert Ferguson). A 1979 project teaching the gifted (grade 7-9) in Bradford Pa. Statistical "proof" that chess increases thinking scores. Also, includes description of teaching program. "Chess Makes Kids Smart" (Anne Graham-PARENTS-Dec 1985). Urges parents to introduce their kids to chess and quotes work of Pete Shaw, Jeff Chesin, Bob Cotter, etc. "Chess Makes Kids Smarter" (Dr. Gerard J. Dullea). "Chess as a Way to Teach Thinking" (Diane Horgan). These are only scratching the surface. In the Netherlands, the Dutch found that kids who play chess overall do 8% better in mathematics and science compared to kids who didn’t play (The statistic for girls alone is a difference of 12%). Chess in the Schools Chess (long embraced by the Russians and Europeans who have taught the game as part of their educational curriculum) has now moved as part of the curriculum in hundreds of schools in our Northern neighbor, Canada. They have seen the benefits of children learning the game. But these reasons don’t compel children to take up the game. As a chess coach, I have seen attendance swell in the school chess clubs I teach. The company I work for in Phoenix, AZ, has seen a 20% annual growth in children’s chess participation from its onset eight years ago. When I started teaching chess five years ago, we would hold a scholastic tournament with 70 players. When we had a hundred and fifty entrants we thought it was big. This year (2004) in the eight tournaments we’ve held, the average attendance exceeded 350 in 5 sections, and that’s only from the greater Phoenix area. The Arizona State Championship and the Arizona Governor’s Cup each saw close to 600 entrants while the recent U.S. Chess Federation’s Elementary Championship was close 2100 children in attendance. Kids are Attracted to Chess So why are children attracted to chess? I believe that it appeals to our (their) inherited, individualistic, competitive nature. As a child grows, he/she wants to stand on their own, away from any parent or guardian and at the same time, when achieving a goal, say to them, “Hey, look what I can do!” Unlike many team sports, chess players do stand on their own. If they loose a game, it is their fault, their failure and no one else’s. They cannot blame their loss on a teammate’s failure to pass the ball, miss the goal, or in being forced to play no matter how bad at the game the teammate may be. At the same time, when they win, it is also on their shoulders. It is because they were the ones who had put a little extra effort into learning the intricacies of the game. They are the ones who out thought their opponent in a long drawn out struggle or a short trap. And after their match, that win can create an adrenaline high that is unmatched except at the professional levels of sports. Children who take up chess harbor deep emotions for the game. Once learned, it is with them for life. Yet, it is only those who play competitive chess who will develop into better players quicker than those who just learn the moves of the game. But is this healthy? Isn’t fostering a competitive attitude in our children supposed to be a bad thing? I don’t believe so, at least not in the competitive chess arena. I’ve seen kids in chess grow up to become great kids. Kids who are jumpy, calm down; Kids who are overly hyper, sit and play for hours; Kids who are too emotional, learn to take losses and come back to play again; Kids who are over achievers, learn that there is always someone else out there who can beat you; Kids who never believe that they can perform or excel at anything, win games. Kids who want to win at all costs learn that winning isn’t everything. And I’ve seen kids, win or loose, connect with their parents at an indescribable level when they walk out of the tournament hall. I believe chess is good for you and is great for children. And in the immortal words of the 13th World Chess Champion, Gary Kasparov: “If you think it’s just a game, then you’re not playing it right!” By Leopold Lacrimosa |
Chess: A Learning Tool - Part 1 of 3
 Chess: A Learning Tool - Part 1 of 3 For years, school children in the former Soviet Union, Belgium, East Germany, Zaire, and other countries have been taught chess as a way of improving basic reasoning as well as math and verbal skills. Finally, almost half a century after the Soviets, chess is being introduced formally in our public schools, from New York to California. There are many studies that substantiate the value of chess in the schools. We will take excerpts from several to build our case for "chess is a learning tool." The results as we will see, will lead us to logical conclusion, "Chess exceeds all other thinking development programs available!" (e.g. future problem solving, independent study, problem solving with computers, creative writing, etc.)
Why should we teach chess? What are the hard facts about chess and academic achievement? Chess has been proven to enhance creativity, concentration, critical thinking skills, memory, academic achievement, problem solving, cultural enrichment, intellectual maturity, self-esteem, standardized test scores, and a host of other qualities that every parent and teacher desires. The Margulies' study conclusively proved that students who learned chess enjoyed a significant increase in their reading skills. "Inside Chess" (Feb 21, 1994, p.3) states: "the Margulies Study is one of the strongest arguments to finally prove what hundreds of teachers knew all along, "chess is a learning tool." In Ferguson's third study, which included many poor readers, the students showed significant growth in verbal reasoning skills. After only one year of chess study in Zaire, the students participating in the chess course showed a marked development of their verbal and numerical aptitudes. Chess: A Learning Tool - Part 2 of 3 |
Chess: A Learning Tool - Part 2 of 3
 Chess: A Learning Tool - Part 2 of 3 Roger Langen (1992) claims that "children who learn chess at a early age achieve more in the traditional math and sciences. Chinese, European, and American research all find significant correlational values after just one year of systematic chess exposure." Langen also states: "The most striking benefits are those associated with problem-solving and creativity." Langen goes on to say: "University symposia, like the, "Chess and Mathematics conference" at Forli, Italy, in September 1992, now take the chess and math relation as established." Chess was integrated into the French Canadian school systems beginning in 1984. The New Brunswick research showed that problem solving skills increased an average of 19.2% after the chess in math program was introduced.
The Bradford ESEA Title IV-C Project found that chess demonstrated the greatest growth over all other activities four years in a row. Since critical thinking is crucial in all aspects of life, it is imperative to disseminate the effects of this study and to implement a chess curriculum in the schools. In their study the average annual increase in percentile score for "Critical Thinking Appraisal" in the chess group was 17.3%. Nationally, students who take this test at yearly intervals do not show a gain in percentile ranking. In 1992 New Jersey Bill #S452 - CHESS IN THE SCHOOLS BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey: 1. The legislature finds and declares that: a. chess increases strategic thinking skills, stimulates intellectual creativity, and improves problem-solving ability while raising self-esteem; b. when youngsters play chess they must call upon higher-order thinking skills, analyze actions and consequences, and visualize future possibilities; c. in countries where chess is offered widely in the schools, students exhibit excellence in the ability to recognize complex patterns and consequently excel in math and science: and d. instruction in chess during the second grade will enable pupils to learn skills which will serve them throughout their lives. 2. Each board of education may offer instruction in chess during the second grade for pupils in gifted and talented and special education programs. The Department of Education may establish guidelines to be used by boards of the education which offer chess instruction in those programs. 3. This act shall take effect immediately. Chess: A Learning Tool - Part 3 of 3 |
Chess: A Learning Tool - Part 3 of 3
 Chess: A Learning Tool - Part 3 of 3 This act was signed by the Governor after a 23-1 vote for the act by the senators. Observations and research show that young children can be taught to think clearly and with discipline, to plan ahead, and to make sound decisions. Learning these skills early in life can only benefit later intellectual development. Teaching children to perform a complex task like chess may give them problem-solving advantages later in life. Heidema is quoted as saying, `Recent research indicates that one of the most neglected areas in today's educational system is instruction aimed at developing logical reasoning and critical thinking." (Mathematics and Science for the K-12 Curriculum,p.104) Billings (1985) wrote: "the most important skill a gifted student can learn is how to THINK more CREATIVELY and EFFECTIVELY." I agree and playing chess does all of these!
The New York City Schools Chess Program Report is impressive, here is what Christine Palm writes in 1990. In its four-year existence, NYCHESS has proven that: a. Chess instills in young players a sense of self-confidence and self-worth; b. Chess dramatically improves a child's ability to think rationally, c. Chess increases cognitive skills; d. Chess improves children's communication skills and aptitude in recognizing patterns; e. Chess results in higher grades, especially in English and Math studies, f. Chess builds a sense of team spirit while emphasizing the ability of the individual; g. Chess teaches the value of hard work, concentration and commitment; h. Chess makes a child realize that he or she is responsible for his or her own actions and must accept their consequences, i. Chess teaches children to try their best to win, while accepting defeat with grace; j. Chess provides an intellectual, comparative forum through which children can assert hostility i.e. "let off steam" in an acceptable way; k. Chess can become a child's most eagerly awaited school activity, dramatically improving attendance; 1. Chess allows girls to compete with boys on a non-threatening, socially acceptable plane; m. Chess helps children make friends more easily because it provides an easy, safe forum for gathering and discussion, n. Chess allows students and teachers to view each other in a more sympathetic way, o. Chess, through competition, gives kids a palpable sign of their accomplishments, and finally; p. Chess provides children with a concrete, inexpensive and compelling way to rise above the deprivation and self-doubt which are so much a part of their lives. Most people naively believe that any child who becomes proficient at chess must be an extremely rare prodigy (probably with grand masters as parents). On the contrary, particular chess coaches consistently produce strong players, year after year, even though specific children move on. While the child's individual talent is important, the training a child receives appears to be equally important. In fact Coaches like me often say that given a few months of training, any motivated and bright 10 year old can become a proficient player. Skills acquired by playing chess are not just for the select few extremely gifted children; they are trainable skills for all. Chess educators have argued that chess is beneficial, not just for the intellectually gifted, but also for the learning disabled and hyperactive children. The United States Chess Federation has sold buttons that say, "Chess makes you smart". I agree, let us use this wonderful teaching tool of chess to help our children learn. For more information about how your children can become involved with chess. Visit the Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Organization’s website at www.okschess.org. Compiled by Steve Sawyer, Oklahoma Scholastic Chess Organization Charter President. |
Chess Makes Kids Smarter
 Chess Makes Kids Smarter Chess lovers have long contended that chess should be a valuable classroom tool. It can provide an intellectually stimulating, rewarding activity, but it can also teach discipline, concentration, planning and all the other good things that go into successful chess. In 1977, however, the National Institute of Education (NIE) argued against this position, saying in effect that good students and good chess players tend to be the same group simply because they are more intelligent and more intellectual than their classmates. NIE contended that transfer of skills is minimal, arguing that time spent on one skill detracts from the learning of another. Some months later, Dutch scholar Adriaan de Groot wrote a rebuttal of NIE's position basing his arguments on a careful two-year study in Belgium. Now, thanks largely to Harry Lyman of Massachusetts, in behalf of the Massachusetts Chess Association and the American Chess Foundation, the Flemish source of de Groot's argument has been translated into English.
The Belgian study was the doctoral thesis of Johan Christiaen, titled "Chess & Cognitive Development." It was a carefully controlled experiment with 20 students in the fifth grade in 1975, following them through the sixth grade the next year. As might be expected of a foundation for a doctorate in psychology, the test was carefully designed and executed, complete with a control group and other features of good experimentation. Christiaen's aim was to use chess to test Jean Piaget's theory about cognitive development, or intellectual maturation. Piaget holds that an important growth period occurs approximately between the ages of 11 and 15. In this stage, the child moves beyond physical trial and error and begins hypothesizing and deducing, developing more complex logic and judgment. In Piaget's terms, the youngster moves from the "concrete" stage to the "formal" stage. Piaget further contends that the environment of a child can speed up or slow down the maturation. So Christiaen proposed to vary environment with either chess or no chess. If chess were the significant variable between two groups of youngsters, any significant difference in the development of students could be attributed to enrichment brought by chess to their environment. And it worked! In the words of Harry Lyman, "Learning chess makes kids smarter in the classroom!" On 42 Friday afternoons, after school, Christiaen taught chess to 20 boys randomly selected from a group of 40. The other 20 were the control group, the one that would be compared. He did his best to keep these students ignorant of their experimental function. In testing after these two years, the chess group scored somewhat better than the control group on several of Piaget's tests for cognitive development. More of a difference, however, was evident in their regular school testing! In the school testing, the chess group did significantly better in both the fifth grade tests and (somewhat less so) in the sixth grade tests. Christiaen notes that some of this difference may be due to what Robert Rosenthal of Harvard calls the "Pygmalion effect." That is, teachers who may give special treatment to "special" students may get special results from those students. On the other hand, classroom testing was supported by standardized testing administered by an outside agency, which did not know the identities of the two groups. On these tests too, the chess group performed better than the control group. This study by Dr. Christiaen needs support, extension, and confirmation. And other tests can be made too. For the moment, however, we have scientific support for what we have known all along - chess makes kids smarter! BY DR. GERARD J. DULLER Reprinted from the November 1982 issue of Chess Life magazine. |
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Brief History on the Game of Chess
 Brief History on the Game of Chess By: Raymond Roy Chess is a captivating battle of strategy and one of the oldest board games. No one is certain who created chess, however many sources suggest the game of chess originated in India, about 1,500 years ago. The original name of that game was Chaturanga, and according to Indian mythology, the best chess player of all is, "Indra, King of Gods." Oddly enough, in those days, chess was played with dice, with a toss of the dice to determine which piece to move. The game of chess spread first to the Arabs, closely following on to Russia where it inherited most of its present form. Later on, the game of chess finds its way to Europe where the present day game of chess is the result of this migration. Considered a sport by present day standards, the game of chess has been played for hundreds of years in many cultures, becoming a great equalizer of nations, races, genders, and classes. Related Articles: Introduction to Chess Basics of Chess Chess 101 |
Monday, February 19, 2007
Chess Strategies 101 Welcomes Chesshouse.com
Our newest affiliate member to meet our standards is Chesshouse.com. Chesshouse.com has joined our affiliate program. This means Chess Strategies 101 believes in their ability to offer quality merchandise and customer support. By screening our affiliates, their services, reviewing their privacy policies first, offers our visitors confidence, with a secure feeling our sponsors are worth taking a look at. Below is an Ad-link for Chesshouse.com. This is a good opportunity for guest to evaluate their services, and to report their experience to Chess Strategies 101 and the Chess Strategies 101 community. Chesshouse.com. Serving the Chess Community Since 1972! Chess Sets & Chess Supplies Ray |
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Saturday, February 17, 2007
Welcome to Chess Strategies 101
 Wouldn't you prefer a nice game of chess, Professor? That is a quote from the 1983 movie, WarGams by the computer Joshua. David Lightman: C'mon. What is the primary goal? Joshua: To win the game. Our blog will focus on chess and chess strategies as a teaching aid for children. Chess as a learning aid is often overlooked in Western Culture while around the globe chess is taught in the schools. Concerned parents and teachers are finding the many advantages, as well as the fun, and entertainment aspects of teaching chess to their children with the many benefits that are a direct result of this simple board game. Here at Chess Strategies 101, you will find articles on how chess is able to help kids to improve pattern recognition, problem solving, their reading ability, as well as how chess helps memory, thinking, reasoning, judgment, self confidence, self worth, and a childs social skills. Some of the feature articles will provide information such as, playing chess with kids, chess books and magazines for kids, chess in schoold, chess clubs for kids, as well as related links to products provided by our affiliates. As time permits, we will go over the basic elements of playing chess. Learning opening, middle, end game, as well as basic strategies. Join us! Have some fun! Post your comments, contact us if you wish to publish your own article, or participating by recommending our blog. We have three extremely helpful search tools available. We feature the familiar Google.com partner search tool in the top center column. In the left hand column we have two Directories, Blog Archive and Labels/Keywords. Each will greatly facilitate your search through our archives containing articles that may be of readers interest. We truly hope you find useful and helpful information at Chess Strategies 101. If so, help us to spread our usefulness to like minded parents, teachers, and other individuals by becoming a participating member of Chess Strategies 101. Not by joining a membership, but by simply using links, which we provided, to recommend our site, and links recommending individual articles of interest. These simple recommendations, or votes, will help others find our articles when they do a online search using the various search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. By clicking the link located below each article titled, "Create a link" you will help us to spread the messages published on our blog. Of course, word of mouth, and using email to help spread the messages published on our site are important resources we encourage all concerned individuals to use. We provide an eMail function below each article for your convenience. Please take this as a warm handshake in appreciation for your concern in child development. Sincerely, Raymond Roy a.k.a. CousinIt |
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Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy Chess-Strategies-101.blogspot.com has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for Chess-Strategies-101.blogspot.com Information Automatically Logged We use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our Web site. Your IP address is also used to gather broad demographic information. Cookies Our Site and/or Affiliates Sites, uses cookies to keep track of your shopping cart, and to make sure you don't see the same ad repeatedly. We also use cookies to deliver content specific to your interests, to save your password so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit our site. Advertisers We use an outside ad company to display ads on our site. These ads may contain cookies. While we use cookies in other parts of our Web site, cookies received with banner ads are collected by our ad company, and we do not have access to this information. Registration Forms Our site's registration form requires users to give us contact information (Like their name, and email.). Contact information from the registration forms is used to send information about our company, and to send promotional material from some of our partners to our customers. The customer's contact information is also used to get in touch with the customer when necessary. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below. Demographic and profile data is also collected at our site. We use this data to tailor our visitor's experience at our site showing them content that we think they might be interested in, and displaying the content according to their preferences. Order Forms We collect contact information (like their email address), and financial information (like their account or credit card numbers). Contact information from the order forms is used to ship purchases, information about our company, and to send promotional material from some of our partners to our customers. The customer's contact information is also used to get in touch with the visitor when necessary. Our site may, in some cases, use an order form for customers to request information, products, and services.
Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below. Financial information that is collected is used to check the users' qualifications for registration, to bill the user for products and services. Surveys We will occassionally run surveys where user information is collected. Our online surveys ask visitors for contact information (like email address) and demographic information (like zip code, age, or income level). Contact information from the surveys is used to ship purchases, information about our company. The customer's contact information is also used to send promotional material from some of our partners to our customers, and to get in touch with the visitor when necessary. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below. Unique identifiers (such as social security numbers) are collected from Web site visitors to verify the user's identity, for use as account numbers in our record system. Demographic and profile data is also collected at our site. We use this data to tailor our visitor's experience at our site showing them content that we think they might be interested in, and displaying the content according to their preferences. Contests We may, on certain occassions, run contests on our site in which we ask visitors for contact information (like email address). Contact information from the contests is used to ship purchases, information about our company, and to send promotional material from some of our partners to our customers. The customer's contact information is also used to get in touch with the visitor when necessary. Users may opt-out of receiving future mailings; see the choice/opt-out section below. External Links This site contains links to other sites. ArticleCity.com is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites. Security This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. These security measures include password protected directories through the use of .htaccess files and customized cgi programs to prevent access to specific areas of the web site. Children's Guidelines We care about children and understand that they have special privacy needs. Therefore, we have adopted the following privacy policy regarding children: We will NOT collect, use, or distribute to third parties personally identifiable information without prior verifiable parental consent. We will NOT give the child access to unmonitored chat rooms, message boards, email accounts, or other services that would give the child the ability to publicly post or otherwise distribute personally identifiable information without prior verifiable parental consent. When verifiable parental consent is not obtained, we will only use the online contact information (such as email) to: Respond directly to the child's request on a one-time basis and not use that information to re-contact the child for other purposes. Request the name or online contact information of a parent for the purpose of obtaining verifiable parental consent or providing parental notification. Respond more than once directly to a specific request from a child (such as in the case where a child requests a newsletter subscription) and not used to re-contact the child for other purposes. We will use our best efforts to provide parental notification, which will include the nature and intended use as well as an opportunity for the parent to prevent the use of the information and participation in the activity. We will NOT entice the child to divulge more information than is needed to participate in any activity, game, or service. We will provide the parent a description of the specific types of a personally identifiable information collected from their child upon request. We will allow the parent to refuse further use or future online collection of personally identifiable information and provide a way for a parent to obtain any personally identifiable information collected from their child. We will provide notice to children in age appropriate terms of what personally identifiable information is to be collected. We will NOT provide any links to Web sites that are unsuitable for children. We will encourage children to get their parent's permission before sharing personal information online. Choice/Opt-Out Our site provides users the opportunity to opt-out of receiving promotional/marketing information from our partners, and us. You can send email to chess.strategies.101@gmail.com Attn: Admin Data Quality/Access This site gives users the following options for changing and modifying information previously provided: You can send email to chess.strategies.101@gmail.com Attn: Admin Contacting the Web Site If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this Web site, you can contact: chess.strategies.101@gmail.com Attn: Admin Related Articles: Terms of Use - (TOS) Authors' Agreement Disclaimer: The information presented and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Chess-Strategies-101.blogspot.com and/or its partners. |
Terms of Use (TOS)
Terms of Use, TOS. Please read and understand this section thoroughly before accessing or using this site. By accessing or using the contents (hereinafter "Contents") on this site, you agree to be bound by this agreement. The information and services on this site are provided by ArticleCity.com (hereinafter "ArticleCity.com") and its suppliers, subject to your agreement to the terms and conditions below. Legal Information All trademarks, registered trademarks, service marks and copyrighted materials on Chess-Strategies-101.blogspot.com are owned by their respective owners/companies. Unless otherwise stated, all Contents on Chess-Strategies-101.blogspot.com is licensed under the following terms: Copyright © 2007-Present Chess-Strategies-101.blogspot.com Copying of Contents, in whole or in part, is permitted provided that author by-lines are kept intact and unchanged. Hyperlinks and/or URLs provided by authors must remain active. A link to the Chess-Strategies-101.blogspot.com site (either by printing the URL, http://Chess-Strategies-101.blogspot.com/, or by providing an anchor tag to that location, depending on the medium) is suggested.
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