Garry Kasparov’s View of Chess Computers
Of all the top grandmasters who could give their views of chess-playing computers, Garry Kasparov is probably the best qualified. He has played several matches against computers at a time when programmers were trying with all their might to make a computer that would defeat a world champion.
In his review of Chess Metaphors: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Mind, Kasparov makes several interesting observations about the affect computers have had on humans who play chess.
Chess Endgame Strategy – The Square of the Pawn
How to tell if the King can catch a Pawn in a race
(Video below the jump.)
Often a game of chess will end with two Kings and one Pawn: King and Pawn vs. King. And very often in those situations, the question is simply this: can the King catch the Pawn?
In the following diagram we have just such a situation … the King would like to catch the Pawn before it reaches the 8th rank to become a Queen, and the Pawn is trying to race to its 8th rank. Who wins? There is a simple rule to decide which side wins these races.
An Illustration of the Power of the Queen – How the Pieces Give Check
We all know that the Queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard. What some beginners (and even some intermediate players) don’t appreciate is the great trouble the Queen can create for the other player. I want to try to give you an idea of how the Queen can be used by showing you how many ways a Queen can make trouble against the enemy King.
To show you the Queen’s great power, I will first show you a feature of the other pieces that they have in common. The Bishop, Knight, and Rook can all give check to the enemy King in at most two ways in any given position.
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