--------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 123 CHESS Ref: E3200004 Date: 03/01/97 From: MODERATOR Time: 02:52pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: CHESS Echo FAQ F R E Q U E N T L Y A S K E D Q U E S T I O N S Compiled by David Zechiel Contents: 1. What is the best chess software for me? 2. How can I play a game of chess on this echo? 3. How are chess tournaments and matches scored? 4. What is the national chess organization in the U.S.? 5. What does "en passant" mean? 6. What is "algebraic" chess notation? 7. How are games of chess drawn? 8. What is a "patzer"? ======================================================================== 1. WHAT IS THE BEST CHESS SOFTWARE FOR ME? The truth is, if you have to ask, then Chessmaster 4000 should be all the chess software that you will need for some time. It has a good user interface, many different playing levels and it has a tutor mode that will help get the novice up to speed AND it is resonably priced. This software runs under Windows. 2. HOW CAN I PLAY A GAME OF CHESS ON THIS ECHO? Either post a message stating your approximate playing strength (if you don't know how good you are, you are a "novice") and ask for a game, or answer one of the many posts each week from others looking for a game. Traditionally you play two games at once, playing one as white and one as black. Use any chess notation that you agree upon, algebraic is recommended if both participants speak the same language. Try to post at least once a week and bear in mind that the drop out rate on this echo is very high. 3. HOW ARE CHESS TOURNAMENTS AND MATCHES SCORED? The result of a chess game is scored as 1 for a win, 1/2 for a draw and 0 for a loss. Most tournaments total these points and award first prize to the person with the most points, or in the case of a tie, they share the top prizes. For instance, let's say that out of 12 games you score 6 wins, 5 draws and 1 loss (usually abbreviated as +6 -1 =5) this would give you 8.5 points. Let's also say that this tournament had prizes of $5,000.00 for 1st, $3,000.00 for 2nd, $1,000.00 for 3rd and $500.00 for 4th. If nobody scored more than 8.5 and one other person also scored 8.5, then the first two prizes ($5,000 and $3,000) would be shared by combining them ($8,000) and dividing by 2, so you would both get $4,000.00. If there are trophies to distribute, they use a system of tie-breaks to try to determine which player faced the tougher competition. The scoring in match play is the same, except when one player gets more than half of the available points the match is ended. When Fischer won the 21st game of his 24 game match with Spassky in 1972 that gave him 12.5 points to Spassky's 8.5 points. Since Spassky couldn't catch up even if he won the rest of the games, the match was over and Fischer was declared the winner. 4. WHAT IS THE NATIONAL CHESS ORGANIZATION IN THE U.S.? The United Stated Chess Federation (USCF) represents the interests of U.S. players outside of their country as well as organizing chess nationally. Members of the USCF may play in nationally rated tournaments, purchase chess books and equipment from the USCF at discount and they receive the monthly "Chess Life", the official organ of the USCF. Membership comes in several flavors depending on your age, etc. The USCF can be reached at: United States Chess Federation 186 Route 9W New Windsor, NY 12553 800-388-5464 5. WHAT DOES "EN PASSANT" MEAN? "En passant" (pronounced "on puh-sahn") is French for "in passing". In the game of chess it is used to describe the capture of a pawn that just moved two squares by an enemy pawn that attacked the square that was passed over. Some history: as the game was played over 500 years ago, each pawn could only advance one square at any time. In order to speed the game up, it was decided that any pawn could advance one OR two squares on it's initial move. This had the side effect of now allowing a pawn to pass by an enemy pawn that could have captured it if the pawn had only advanced one square. Consequently a new rule was made that allowed a pawn to capture an enemy pawn that passed over a square that it attacked as if the pawn had only moved one square. This capture may only be made on the move directly following the two square pawn advance. Since the "en passant" capture must be made on the next move, it prevents a "zwischenzug" from being played. 6. WHAT IS "ALGEBRAIC" CHESS NOTATION? When you play a game of chess, you frequently wish to have a record of the game so that you may study it at a later date looking for your good moves and your mistakes. There have been several chess notations developed over the years, but the most popular and the most standard world-wide is "algebraic". It is so named because the squares of the board are each designated by a letter-number combination that reminds one of algebra. If you are sitting on the white side of the board the files are lettered a-h and the ranks are numbered 1-8. It looks like this: a8 b8 c8 d8 e8 f8 g8 h8 a7 b7 c7 d7 e7 f7 g7 h7 a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6 g6 h6 a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5 g5 h5 a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4 g4 h4 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3 g3 h3 a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2 g2 h2 a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1 g1 h1 White's king starts on e1, Black's queen starts on d8. Moves are recorded by first stating the move number (remember that a complete move consists of a "half-move" by white and a "half-move" by black). A half-move is composed of the piece that will move (always upper case [K, Q, B, N, R] to distinguish from the squares which are always lower case [this is omitted in the case of a pawn move]) and the destination square. So the first few moves of the Najdorf Sicilian Defence are listed as: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 It is customary to show a capture with an 'x' between the piece and the destination square, but it isn't required. Also, if there is an ambiguity, a letter or a number is placed after the piece to distinguish which is moving. So if rooks on both a1 and f1 could move to e1, you would use the letter of the file to eliminate the ambiguity, eg Rfe1. If knights were on both b1 and b5, you would write the move as N5c3 to show that the knight on b5 was the one moving. Some players show a check with a '+' sign and checkmate with two of 'em ('++'). Promotion is shown with an equal sign or slash (eg dxe8=Q++ means a pawn on d7 captured on e8, promoted to a queen and it's checkmate!) Castling on the king's side of the board is shown with O-O and one the queen's side of the board by O-O-O. The easiest way to learn algebraic notation is to print out one of the many games that are posted on this echo and play over the game on your own chessboard. You will be able to write your own games down in no time at all. 7. HOW ARE GAMES OF CHESS DRAWN? There are several ways that a game of chess may be drawn: a) by agreement. b) by three fold repetition of position. c) by the 50 move rule. d) by stalemate. The first, "by agreement" is by far the most common of all draws, and in fact, is usually taken when it looks like (b), (c) or (d) will come about. You make a move, ask "Do you want a draw?" and punch your clock. Your opponent says, "Yeah", and extends his or her hand. It's that easy. The second, "three fold repetition of position" is somtimes confused with repetition of moves. It is not necessary for the three identical positions to be arrived at in sequence. Identical positions may have occured on moves 21, 27 and 39 and a draw is allowed. What makes up an "identical" position is interesting. All squares must contain the same kind of piece of the same color, but not necessarily the same exact piece (the king and queen rooks may have exchanged places). The same player must be on the move (if it was white to move in the first position, it must be white to move in positions two and three). And, the pieces must have the same abilities, eg, if black could castle in the first position, he must still be able to castle in the latter positions, or they aren't "identical". The third "the 50 move rule" is in place to keep two kings from marching around the board forever. If after 50 moves there have been no captures and no pawn moves, then either player may claim a draw. There are exceptions to this rule, but only for certain rare positions, such as king and two knights against king and pawn, which has been shown in some situations to take more than 50 moves to effect checkmate. Lastly there is the rare and beautiful "stalemate". The term stalemate has been taken by the non-chess world to be synonymous with draw. In fact, it applies to perhaps the rarest form of a draw, a position in which a player has no legal move and is not in check. The special rule that makes this game drawn adds a very interesting dimension to the game. A player who has a stong winning position must always be on the lookout for moves by his opponent that will turn the win into a sudden draw by brining about a stalemate. It seems that you may have seen many games that ended in stalemate, but in fact, most games that would end in stalemate, still end by agreement because of the threat of stalemate. 8. WHAT IS A "PATZER"? I have been playing chess seriously since 1969 and have heard this term used many times. The word "patzer" has many subtle meanings, but basically it means someone who activley plays chess, but that YOU (the person using the term) can beat fairly easily. Fischer once referred to "those Russian patzers", meaning Russian grandmasters. Only Fischer could (barely) get away with that comment. Patzer always has a negative connotation and can be used as a self depreciating term. In his book "Chess Catechism", Larry Evans gives the following definition for patzer: "An affectionate term applied to anyone you can beat; an insulting epithet when used by certain wiseacres to describe you." That about sums it up. --- SendMsg/2 v1.00 --- Squish/386 v1.11 * Origin: TCRS Echomail Hub * Houston, Texas (1:106/8277) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 123 CHESS Ref: E3200005 Date: 03/01/97 From: MODERATOR Time: 02:52pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: CHESS Standard Notation Area : CHESS Date : Mar 03 '95, 05:37 From : Bruce Moon 1:356/4 Subj : Algebraic Notation First of all, the FILES (vertical rows of squares) are lettered "a"-"h" (see diagram); and the RANKS (horizontal rows of squares) are numbered "1"-"8" (see diagram). [NOTE: Chess diagrams are usually oriented with White at the bottom and Black at the top. Also, for purposes of this diagram and similar ASCII constructions, White pieces are represented by uppercase letters, Black by lowercase.] 8: r n b q k b n r R 7: p p p p p p p p A 6: - - - - - - - - N 5: - j - - - - - - K 4: - - - z - - - - S 3: - - - - - - - - 2: P P P P P P P P 1: R N B Q K B N R -------------------------- a b c d e f g h F I L E S This gives each square a unique name, since each square is located on exactly one file-rank intersection. In referring to specific squares, the file is given first, then the rank. In the diagram, the square marked with a "j" is called "b5", and "z" is named "d4". In describing moves, the pieces are reduced to their initial letters, with two exceptions. Knights are to "N" (since "K" already stands for "King"), and Pawns are not designated with a letter at all (I'll clarify that in a moment). In general, each move is represented by the initial of the piece moving followed by the square it lands on, such as "Nf6", "Bc4", "Rd1", etc. Pawn moves are indicated by the square they move to, such as "e4", "c6", "f4", c. Captures are indicated by inserting an "x" between the piece and the end-square: "Bxc6", "Kxd8", "Nxe5", etc. Pawn captures include the starting file: "exd5", "bxc6", "cxd4", etc. A plus mark "+" is used for "check", and "++" signifies "checkmate". For castling, "0-0" (Kingside) and "0-0-0" (Queenside) are used; and for en passant, "e.p." is added after the move ("dxc6 e.p.", for example). For Pawn promotion, an equal sign "=" and the letter of the piece promoted to are dded to the move: "g8=Q", bxa1=N, etc. Ambiguity occurs when two pieces of the same color and type are able to move to the same square. This can happen as early as the third move. Let's say White's first move was 1 d4 and his second was 2 Nf3. At this point either White Knight could move to d2, so writing "Nd2" is ambiguous. The situation is clarified by inserting either the rank or the file the moving piece starts on: 3 Nbd2 or 3 Nfd2. (NOTE: By convention, the file designation is used to resolve ambiguities, unless the pieces in question are on the same file to start with, in which case, the rank gets the nod.) As for the use of question marks (?) and exclamation points (!) -- these are chess writers' diacritical markings. "?" means a bad move, and "!" means a good or strong move. You will also see "??" (horrendous move) and "!!" (tremendous move). What writers are often inconsistent on are the meanings of "?!" and "!?". (Actually, the meanings are fairly well agreed upon -- it's which meaning goes with which symbol wherein the problem lies!). In my own chess writing (for the local chess club), "?!" indicates an "inexactitude", a move for hich there was probably a superior alternative, but the move actually made is not quite bad enough to be called a "blunder". Conversely, "!?" is an "inter- esting" move, and is used to indicate a move which is not quite a "strong" move, often mixed with a bit of uncertainty or risk. That's all there is to Standard Algebraic Notation -- except for practice, practice, practice! Later, Bruce Moon --- Maximus 2.02 * Origin: The Gate - Coos Bay, OR (1:356/4) --- SendMsg/2 v1.00 --- Squish/386 v1.11 * Origin: TCRS Echomail Hub * Houston, Texas (1:106/8277) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 123 CHESS Ref: E3200006 Date: 03/01/97 From: LAWRENCE GARVIN Time: 04:08pm \/To: MODERATOR (Read 0 times) Subj: CHESS Standard Notation Moderator said in a message to All: M> Area : CHESS M> Date : Mar 03 '95, 05:37 M> From : Bruce Moon M> Subj : Algebraic Notation These posts got out before I made some modifications to it that I intended to make. I should have made them last month. If anybody has Bruce's birth year, I'd like to properly designate the header with the correct dates. Here follow the new versions as they shall appear henceforth. Lawrence Garvin Moderator, CHESS lawrence@eforest.houston.tx.us --- * Origin: The Enchanted Forest | Houston, Texas (1:106/8277) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 123 CHESS Ref: E3200007 Date: 03/01/97 From: MODERATOR Time: 04:06pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Chess Echo Information I N M E M O R I A M Bruce Moon (b. d. Jan 5, 1997) a highly respected participant of the CHESS echo This Weekly 'How To' Guide was written and generously donated to this echo by Bruce Moon. 1. IS THIS ECHO FOR PLAYING CHESS GAMES OR JUST DISCUSSING CHESS-RELATED TOPICS? Both, actually. There are people here who play very little chess within the echo, but participate in most of the discussions. Conversely, there are those who play chess and leave the discussions to others. We also have many people who play chess and discuss topics. 2. ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON DISCUSSION TOPICS? Well, in general, the topics should chess-related without being mean-spirited or offensive. For a more complete run-down, post a message to "Moderator", asking for a copy of the ECHO GUIDELINES. 3. HOW MANY GAMES CAN I PLAY AT ONCE? As many as you can handle without feeling "crowded". The important thing is to be willing to finish any game(s) you start. Should you decide to stop playing, or if circumstances make it difficult to continue, you should notify your opponents of your intent to discontinue. (Notify them individually if at all possible, as a message to "All" may get overlooked.) 4. HOW DO I TELL MY OPPONENT WHAT MOVE I MADE? Moves are transmitted by writing them in some form of CHESS NOTATION. The three main forms of notation used in this echo are Algebraic Notation, Coordinate Notation, and Descriptive Notation. Because many of the players in this echo reside in non-English-speaking countries, it is strongly recommended that you use Algebraic or Coordinate notations for your games here. Descriptive simply doesn't "translate" well. Ask the moderator for a "how-to" sheet on Algebraic Notation. 5. HOW DO I MAKE DIAGRAMS? Although a few people use special software programs to generate diagrams, most of the players do without unless they are discussing a chess problem or some specific position. If you want to use diagrams, and you don't have the software, the easy way is to find a diagram format someone else is using you like and then "capture" it. 6. HOW DO I FIND AN OPPONENT? The usual way is to post a message to "All" stating your desire to play. Alternatively, you can send messages to other people who request opponents, or ask specific people already playing games if they can handle one more opponent. PLEASE BE PATIENT! Most of the players here are NOT in your local area, and some are even on other continents. It will probably be at least 7-10 days before you can expect to get replies. If you don't hear anything within 2-3 weeks, it means there is a communication problem somewhere -- just post your request(s) again. (If you are also new to BBS-ing in general, check with the sysop of your local BBS to make sure you understand how to receive messages.) 7. ARE THE GAMES THAT ARE PLAYED HERE RATED? No, but many of the players here are rated OTB (over-the-board) in their native countries, or carry ratings from various correspondence chess organizations. (But see also the note following the answer to #8.) 8. ARE THERE ANY ORGANIZED TOURNAMENTS ON THIS ECHO? Not right at the moment. But that doesn't mean there won't be. Such things are dependent on player interest, player commitment, and someone willing to accept the headaches of organizing and/or directing such events. (NOTE: A rating system could be worked out for such events.) 9. WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T HEAR FROM AN OPPONENT FOR SEVERAL WEEKS? Bear in mind that FIDONET is not a perfect system -- messages do get lost. Also, other things happen that prevent communcation -- satellite problems, regional snafus, individual BBSs go on the fritz or leave town or stop carrying the echo, players have equipment problems, etc. It is also true that players desert the echo and leave their opponents hanging. In general, though, most players reply to a move within 48 hours of receiving it, so if the usual flow of messages from a given opponent suddenly grinds to a halt, it means either your opponent never got your last message, or his reply never reached you. If you have difficulties establishing or maintaining communication with another echo participant, send a netmail or echomail message TO: MODERATOR requesting assistance in isolating the communication problem. --- * Origin: The Enchanted Forest | Houston, Texas (1:106/8277) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 123 CHESS Ref: E3200008 Date: 03/01/97 From: MODERATOR Time: 04:07pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Chess Standard Notation I N M E M O R I A M Bruce Moon (b. d. Jan 5, 1997) a highly respected participant of the CHESS echo Area : CHESS Date : Mar 03 '95, 05:37 From : Bruce Moon 1:356/4 Subj : Algebraic Notation First of all, the FILES (vertical rows of squares) are lettered "a"-"h" (see diagram); and the RANKS (horizontal rows of squares) are numbered "1"-"8" (see diagram). [NOTE: Chess diagrams are usually oriented with White at the bottom and Black at the top. Also, for purposes of this diagram and similar ASCII constructions, White pieces are represented by uppercase letters, Black by lowercase.] 8: r n b q k b n r R 7: p p p p p p p p A 6: - - - - - - - - N 5: - j - - - - - - K 4: - - - z - - - - S 3: - - - - - - - - 2: P P P P P P P P 1: R N B Q K B N R -------------------------- a b c d e f g h F I L E S This gives each square a unique name, since each square is located on exactly one file-rank intersection. In referring to specific squares, the file is given first, then the rank. In the diagram, the square marked with a "j" is called "b5", and "z" is named "d4". In describing moves, the pieces are reduced to their initial letters, with two exceptions. Knights are to "N" (since "K" already stands for "King"), and Pawns are not designated with a letter at all (I'll clarify that in a moment). In general, each move is represented by the initial of the piece moving followed by the square it lands on, such as "Nf6", "Bc4", "Rd1", etc. Pawn moves are indicated by the square they move to, such as "e4", "c6", "f4", c. Captures are indicated by inserting an "x" between the piece and the end-square: "Bxc6", "Kxd8", "Nxe5", etc. Pawn captures include the starting file: "exd5", "bxc6", "cxd4", etc. A plus mark "+" is used for "check", and "++" signifies "checkmate". For castling, "0-0" (Kingside) and "0-0-0" (Queenside) are used; and for en passant, "e.p." is added after the move ("dxc6 e.p.", for example). For Pawn promotion, an equal sign "=" and the letter of the piece promoted to are dded to the move: "g8=Q", bxa1=N, etc. Ambiguity occurs when two pieces of the same color and type are able to move to the same square. This can happen as early as the third move. Let's say White's first move was 1 d4 and his second was 2 Nf3. At this point either White Knight could move to d2, so writing "Nd2" is ambiguous. The situation is clarified by inserting either the rank or the file the moving piece starts on: 3 Nbd2 or 3 Nfd2. (NOTE: By convention, the file designation is used to resolve ambiguities, unless the pieces in question are on the same file to start with, in which case, the rank gets the nod.) As for the use of question marks (?) and exclamation points (!) -- these are chess writers' diacritical markings. "?" means a bad move, and "!" means a good or strong move. You will also see "??" (horrendous move) and "!!" (tremendous move). What writers are often inconsistent on are the meanings of "?!" and "!?". (Actually, the meanings are fairly well agreed upon -- it's which meaning goes with which symbol wherein the problem lies!). In my own chess writing (for the local chess club), "?!" indicates an "inexactitude", a move for hich there was probably a superior alternative, but the move actually made is not quite bad enough to be called a "blunder". Conversely, "!?" is an "inter- esting" move, and is used to indicate a move which is not quite a "strong" move, often mixed with a bit of uncertainty or risk. That's all there is to Standard Algebraic Notation -- except for practice, practice, practice! Later, Bruce Moon --- Maximus 2.02 * Origin: The Gate - Coos Bay, OR (1:356/4) --- * Origin: The Enchanted Forest | Houston, Texas (1:106/8277) --- Squish/386 v1.11 * Origin: TCRS Echomail Hub * Houston, Texas (1:106/8277) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 123 CHESS Ref: E3200009 Date: 03/01/97 From: JAMES RANSON Time: 12:02am \/To: HARALD WILHELMS (Read 0 times) Subj: FIDO FALL '96 TOURNEY On Feb 26 00:00, 1997, harald wilhelms wrote: HW-JR 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 Ng5 d5 5 exd5 Nxd5 6 d4 Be6 7 Nxe6 fxe6 8 dxe5 Nxe5 9 Qe2 Qh4 10 Bb5 Bc5 11 Bxc6+ bxc6 12 0-0 0-0 13 g3 Qh5 14 Qxh5 gxh5 15 Nd2 Rf5 16 Nb3 Be7 17 Nd4 Rf7 18 Nxe6 Kh8 19 c4 Nb4 James --- Msged 4.00 * Origin: Regina, SK (Ask me about Popup Slate) (1:140/234.2) --------------- FIDO MESSAGE AREA==> TOPIC: 123 CHESS Ref: E3200010 Date: 03/01/97 From: DOUG ATTIG Time: 03:04pm \/To: ALL (Read 0 times) Subj: Chess Files on Filebone! The following files were placed on the Fido Filebone and International Filegate systems on Saturday 03-01-97. They are also being archived on ftp.pitt.edu under group/student-activities/chess followed by the area tag listed below, without the 'CHS-' (e.g. /CA). From the Web: http://www.pitt.edu/~schach Mouse on FTP Site, or on allindex.txt to download the index to the entire site. Area : CHS-CA Comment : CHS: Chess Assistant Data Files ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 97CARDCA.ZIP 9,901 1997 First Cardiff Masters (21-27 Feb) Cat. 4 IM, from John Saunders (http://www.cableinet.co.uk/users/jsaunders) 97FAROCA.ZIP 21,606 1997 5th Visa Nordic Grand Prix (Faroe Islands, Iceland) 97PERMCA.ZIP 30,880 1997 Perm (RUS)