Checkmate comes from the Persian “Shahmat” meaning the King (shah) is dead (mat). Three elements of chess – space, time, and force – constantly change after each move. But Pawn structure is enduring.
Chess is a game of strategy and tactics. Each player commands an army of 16 chess pawns and other pieces (the king, queen, bishops, knights, and rooks). A well played game has three stages. In the opening, the players bring out their forces in preparation for combat. The middlegamebegins as the players maneuver for position and carry out attacks and counterattacks. The final stage is the endgamewhere, with fewer pawns and pieces left on the board, it is safe for the king to come out and join the battle. As play proceeds, each player will capture some of the opponent’s men; often, the capturing pieces are immediately recaptured.
A solid and unpretentious defense. An excellent defense for players who want a game with a locked Pawn structure and a minimum of early tactics, combined with the possibility of strong counterattacking chances later in the game.
This book is one in a series of books by GM Lev Psakhis. His previous books for Batsford include The Complete French and The Complete Benoni, as well as other volumes.
The book presents a wealth of illustrative games by Viswanathan Anand, Alexei Shirov, Alexander Grischuk, Jan Timman, Viktor Korchnoi and other leaading players, critically annotated with the most up-to-date theoretical refinements. An enthusiastic devotee of the French Defence for over 20 years now, Psakhis remains strictly objective in his judgments, so whether you play the French for White or Black, this is the most authoritative and comprehensive guide available today.
This is a rule which applies only to Pawns. If, when making its first move, a Pawn moving two squares forward, lands beside a Pawn of the opposition, it can be taken "en passant", e.g. a black Pawn moving from E7 to E5 lands beside a white Pawn on D5. The black Pawn has moved over E6 which is controlled by the white Pawn on D5. Therefore, the white Pawn can capture on E6. The white Pawn is placed on E6 and the black Pawn is removed. (Note: this capture can only be carried out on the move when it becomes possible. It may not be deferred to a later move).
It's important to know how powerful each piece is in relation to the other pieces.
Pawn = 1 Knight = 3 Bishop =3 Rook = 5 Queen = 9 It is common for chess players to talk about capturing the pieces through trades or exchanges. Important for the students' decision making, chess players use this information to their advantage. Strong chess players use their chess pieces as a team.
Chess is played with 32 men. Each player having sixteen pieces of opposite colors including one King, one Queen, two Bishops, and two Knights, two Rooks, and eight Pawns.
The eight up and down columns called files and the eight side-to-side rows called ranks make up the 64 squares of the checkered chess board. The 8 files have letter names : a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h. The 8 ranks have number names: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Place the chess board between players so that each player has a white square at the right hand corner of the board. White always moves first. The letters of the 8 files begin from white's left-hand side--a-h. The square in the upper left hand corner of the board would then be named a8 while the square in the bottom right hand corner would be named h1. Using this algebraic notation, you can easily follow the chess pieces around the board. For a full game, set up the pieces in the positions as follows. The white pieces are placed on rank 1 with a1 rook b1 knight c1 bishop d1 queen e1 king f1 bishop g1 knight h1 rook with the white pawns in front of them on rank 2 on a2 through h2. The black pieces are placed on rank 8 with a8 rook b8 knight c8 bishop d8 queen e8 king f8 bishop g8 knight h8 rook with the black pawns in front of them on rank 7 on a7 through h7.
The Pawn moves forwards only, never backwards. On its first move only, it may move one or two squares. After that, it can move only one square at a time, capturing only on the diagonal.
Promoting of Pawns: When a pawn arrives at its eighth rank on the other side of the board, it must be exchanged for one of the following: a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight of the same color without regard to the number of such pieces already on the board.. As the game nears the ending, the Pawns become increasingly valuable.
Each side gets only one Queen in which she moves along the diagonals, and the ranks, and the files. The Queen can move as far as she wants in any direction until she encounters another chess piece or the edge of the game! The Queen is the most powerful piece on the board.
The Rook is next in power to the Queen. The Rook moves in straight lines, never on diagonals. Most often the power of the Rooks is evident in the endgame.
The Knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. The Knight moves in an L-shape but he can capture only on the square where he finishes his jump. Always the Knight moves first two squares forward or backwards or sideways, and then finishes the L-shape by moving right or left one more square.
In chess, you have one King that can move one square in any direction. The King is the most important piece in a game of chess, but it is very limited. The King can go in any direction, forward, backwards, to the sides, or diagonally, but only one square at a time. The King can capture any enemy piece or pawn that is undefended and must always stay at least one square away from the opposing King.
CHECK The King is in check when he is attacked by the opponent's piece or pawn. His capture is not allowed. The Player making check must say "check" when he is attacking the opponent's King; however this is not done in proper tournaments. If your King is in check, you must get out of check on the next move. There are three ways for you to do this: 1. Move the King to a safe square. 2. Move one of your pieces in the way of the check by blocking. 3. Capture the attacking piece
CHECKMATE Since the object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's King, the game is lost if you cannot stop the check by blocking, capturing the attacking piece or moving the King to a safe square. The "check" then turns into a checkmate.
This means the King is dead. When the King is checked and cannot move out of check, then he is checkmate and the game is over.
Chess is a game of strategy and tactics. Each player commands an army of 16 chess pawns and other pieces (the king, queen, bishops, knights, and rooks). A well played game has three stages. In the opening
, the players bring out their forces in preparation for combat. The middlegame
begins as the players maneuver for position and carry out attacks and counterattacks. The final stage is the endgame
where, with fewer pawns and pieces left on the board, it is safe for the king to come out and join the battle. As play proceeds, each player will capture some of the opponent’s men; often, the capturing pieces are immediately recaptured. 
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