Note from the author: This article was written in 2021 on my old blog on medium. I am reposting it here for archival purposes. This article has been modified to fit the new blog.
I have always thought about chess as a hobby. A simple game, and nothing more. Until a month ago. I realized that chess is so much more than just a game. There are strategies, tactics, gambits, baits and so much more. Let’s take a dive into the crazy world of chess.
In this, I will assume you know the rules of the game.
This is a standard chess board. Two sides, with the power pieces in the back protected by a layer of pawns. There are three major parts of a chess game: openings, middlegames, and endgames.
Openings are where you set your pieces up for most of the games. It is very crucial to set things up correctly, otherwise you can lose the game very early on.
Middlegames are where most of the action takes place. Pieces are killed most frequently here, and some games are even won in midgame.
Endgames are the result of a midgame. Many pieces are killed, and you are left with a few power pieces and pawns. Endgames can drag on for hundreds of moves, but can last only a few moves if you play your pieces correctly.
Today, we are going to look at openings.
Before we go there, let’s establish a few things. The center of the board is a very important part of the board. It consists of these 4 squares: d4, d5, e4, and e5. Don’t know what these letters mean? No problem. These letters indicate a location on a board. This is called algebraic notation. Pieces are indicated as follows: Q for Queen, K for King, N for Knight, B for Bishop, R for Rook, and nothing for Pawns. x is used to indicate capture, + for check, and # for mate. ! is good move, !! is great move, ? is bad move, ?? is blunder, !? is interesting move, and ?! is dubious move. These concepts are very important.
Let’s begin with openings. Openings are usually when you start to attack or be in the center. This is usually done by moving your pawns to the center. There are many well-known openings, but let’s look at a few. This is the standard King’s Pawn opening:
White moved to e4, and black responded with e5. This is a very popular and standard opening that most players use. The pawns stay at the center, and attack the two other center squares.
Let’s look at another opening — The Sicilian Defense.
This may seem like a strange move for black. White moves the kings pawn to e4, and black moves to c5? This is actually a great move for black. Black is attacking the center (as indicated by the arrow) and shifting the game to the side, which is good for black. In addition, most consider it superior to 1… e5 due to the aggressive nature of the opening.
Ruy Lopez was a chess master in the 1500s, and he created a variation on the King’s Pawn opening that many grandmasters use to this day. It shows a good development of power pieces, and shows a lot of pieces attacking the center.
I hope this article helped you. Have fun playing chess!