1. Apostles Chess Club Lesson #4

2. Algebraic Chess Notation System The board is set up from white’s position. Black must look at the board from the white perspective.

3. King = K Queen = Q Bishop = B Knight = N (K is already taken.) Rook = Rook Pawn = No notation The letters must be capitalized to indicate a piece, otherwise they indicate a square. The pawn doesn’t get its own designation. If a move indicates only a square, you can assume that the move involves a pawn.

4. 1. e4 e5

5. 2. Nf3 Nc6

6. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5

7. Draws A draw in chess means there is no winner. A drawn chess game occurs for different reasons. Repetition Rule If both players make exactly the same moves three times in a row, the players may agree to end the game in a draw. Insufficient Material If both players don’t have the necessary pieces left on the board to win, the game is a draw. Stalemate A player can only move his king either because it is his only piece left on the board or his other pieces are blocked. His king is not in check, but any square the king moves to will place the king in check. This is called a stalemate and makes the game end in a draw. Fifty Move Rule If the last 50 moves (both players combined) have not captured a piece or moved a pawn, then the game may be declared a draw. Player Agreement A draw may occur at any time if both players agree to it.

8. 1. Draw by threefold repetition The threefold repetition rule (also known as repetition of position), states that when an identical position has just occurred three times with the same player to move, or will occur after the player on turn makes his move, the player on move may claim a draw. The right to claim the draw is forfeited if it's not used on that move. Fig. 1 shows a game played between Bobby Fischer and Tigran Petrosian. Fischer claimed a draw by the threefold repetition rule. The position shown below repeated exactly 3 times on moves 30, 32, and 34.

10. 2. Draw by stalemate When the player to move has no legal move (and is not in check), it is called a stalemate and is an automatic draw. This can occur if your King and other pieces have no available squares that they can move onto, or your pieces are blocked by friendly or enemy pieces and they can't move, or your pieces are protecting your King from an opponent's attack and cannot move, etc. The following diagram (Fig. 2) shows a game with a clear victory for Reshevsky (black) but Pilnick forces a stalemate by moving his Queen to f2.

12. 3. Draw by the fifty move rule On this 50-move rule, a player can claim a draw if in the previous 50 moves by each player, no Pawns have been moved and no captures have been made. The claim can be made by either player and as with the threefold repetition rule, the right to draw the game is forfeited if it's not used on that 50-move. This draw is not automatic and must be claimed if a player wants to draw. Fig. 3 is a game played between Karpov and Kasparov, and shows the 63rd move (Kxh4) as the last capture by either player. Later, in move 113 (63 + 50 = 113) Karpov or Kasparov could have claimed a draw but instead both kept playing.

14. 4. Draw by insufficient material This kind of draw happens when neither player has sufficient material to perform a checkmate. This commonly occurs when there are not enough pieces on the board or when no sequence of legal moves can lead to checkmate. This also applies to the following scenarios when all left in the board are: King against King, or King and Knight against King, or King and Bishop against King, or King and two Knights against King, or King and Knight against King and Knight, or King and Bishop against King and Bishop. In the graphic below (Fig. 4), the white Knight captures the black Pawn at a6 drawing the game by the insufficient material rule. Neither player can win this game.

16. Promoting a Pawn When a pawn advances to the 8 th rank, it can be exchanged for a Queen, Rook, Bishop, or Knight.

17. Starting a Game of Chess 1) If possibly only one game is going to be played, then one player places a white pawn in one hand and a black pawn in the other and places them behind his/her back. Both fists are brought to the front and the other player selects a fist. The fist is opened and if the white pawn shows, then the player who picked gets to choose what color he wants. If the black pawn shows, then the player holding the pawns gets to choose what color he wants. White always starts. 2) Both players may simply agree on who starts with white. For additional games players simply take turns on who will play with the white men.

18. After the colors are chosen and the board is ready, the players shake hands. White then moves.

19. Players should shake hands after each game.

20. To achieve Level Three you must: 1) Answer a series of questions on the algebraic chess notation system. 2) Explain all the types of drawn games. 3) Attempt to promote a pawn against Mr. Stubalt. You will have two pawns and a king. I will have a rook and a king. 4) Explain the steps in starting a game of chess.