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The 6 Elements of Chess pt2

Comments (0) Added by Poisoned_Pawn February 5, 2008 (6:59PM)

The 6 Elements of Chess

The 6 Elements of Chess

By National Master Steve Colding

Introduction: Part 1

Chess like a table, chair, you or me is made up of certain things. The essential qualities which make up the game we love are called elements. The six elements which make up chess are:

1) Space

2) Time

3) Force

4) Position

5) Harmony

6) Dynamics

In this and future articles we will explain to you what each element is and how to recognise and take advantage of each. We will also explain to you the properties of each particular element and how to exploit them.

The Law of Equilibrium

In order to use the elements properly we must first recognise the Law of Equuilibrium in chess. The law of equilibrium states that the game of chess first starts off in a state of equilibrium.

That is not to say that the position is equal. The position is balanced like scales and when White makes a move he tips the balance in his favor if it is a good move and in Black's favor if it is a bad move. If White keeps making good moves and Black keeps restoring the balance with equally good moves then the game should end in a draw. That is why strong players say that the perfect game of chess must end in a draw. This practice however, as you well know, if a far from easy one!

The elements come into play because there are different types of advantages. Sometimes a player may sacrifice Force for space, or space for harmony or harmony for dynamics, in essence making little deals with his opponent to try to get the advantage. That is the idea of what a gambit does. White or Black sacrifices some material for some other type of advantage in the hope that their advantage will lead to a decisive one.

A player in practice juggles all of his elements planning that the elements he give to his opponents are less important than the one he takes. Now we must define what the elemes are:

Space- The amount of squares you control

Time -the amount of pieces you have developed

Force- The amount of Pieces or Pawns you have

Harmony- How well the elements work together

Position- Your King and Pawn set-ups.

Dynamics- Tactics

Any advantage in any one of the elements can be decisive or an advantage in most of them might lead to defeat.

Comments (0) Added by Poisoned_Pawn February 5, 2008 (6:41PM)

Humor in Chess

Submitted by kenytiger on Wed, 01/30/2008 at 8:29pm.

If there ever was a prize for the funniest game ever played, this game would be a strong candidate for first place; in the final position, you cannot help but laugh at the Black Queen, helplessly trapped by her own pawns. The position is considered by many as one of the most astounding endings on record.

"It is many years since I first saw this game, but the final position, with Black's Queen trapped by her own far-advanced passed Pawns, and White's King happily advancing down the board to assist in the final attack against his colleage, is still good for a chuckle. Who says there is no place for humor in chess?"

(From Al Horowitz's "Golden Treasury of Chess")

Comments (1) Added by admin February 3, 2008 (4:35PM)

Slick, Sly an Subtle

Submitted by kenytiger on Sun, 02/03/2008 at 2:11pm.

"Frank Marshall, the great American Master, staunchly upheld the view that in Chess it is more blessed to give than to receive. He despised players who were always avid for material gain, and his games are studded with speculative sacrifices and gimmicks. Even on the rare occasions when Marshall was defending, he favored indirect defenses which looked like oversights. To Marshall it was second nature to set pitfalls for the materialists by temperament.

Greed has been many a player's undoing. In his concentration on material gain, he often overlloks pitfalls based on a tactical finesse. Relying on the principle that material advantage generally assures victory, he is prone to forget other principles, those that warn against neglecting the King's safety, running into embarrassing pins, losing valuable time, and the like."

(Al Horowitz)

Take a look at the following position. Black is a piece ahead, but he has to be very careful on how he plays because the White pieces are very active and exert an uncomfortable pressure. White's a1 Rook is under attack and he has to move somewhere. Here White's Rook move, which passes for a would-be defensive move, turns out to be the prelude to a sly swindle.

Comments (0) Added by wote February 3, 2008 (4:22PM)

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