National Chess Day
President Gerald Ford set the 2nd Saturday in October aside as a day “To give special recognition to a game that generates challenge, intellectual stimulation, and enjoyment for citizens of all ages.”
National Chess Day was - Saturday, October 10, 2015.
Other videos in the daily series :
- Checkmate in One
- Mate with King and 2 Rooks
- Mate with King and Rook
- Fool's Mate - Two-Move Checkmate
Hunting for Checkmates
If you are a competitive chess player who is just getting started, this book will help you develop your ability to spot checkmating opportunities while in the heat of battle. There are over 400 unique high quality color diagrams providing clues and explanations for 138 checkmate problems. With the new formatting and the additional checkmate problems including a new Mate in Three section, it seems like a different and totally new book.
Working through this problem set will help the aspiring chess player develop pattern recognition skills while under pressure during competitive play. In over ten years as a chess coach I have found no better way to develop this skill than the methods used in this book.
Also included is a repeat of the checkmate problems in isolation from the answers. This section is designed for timed exercises where the students work to perfect their score, improve their time and practice writing down the moves. These are all essential skills for scholastic tournament play.
In the back of the book you will find a section called More Checkmates. In this section you will be offered an opportunity to join our e-mail list. This e-mail list will provide exclusive access to additional checkmate problems. Also as a member of the list you will receive advanced notice of upcoming books and discounts on those books.
I would like to point out that the book format is superior to chess playing software in one respect. The pages of a book are static, you can not move the chess pieces around. This will help discipline you to use your mind - not your hands. This is one more essential skill that must be mastered for successful scholastic tournament play.
Please note this book looks fantastic on a Kindle Fire and Kindle for PC. What you see here on the web site does not do it justice. I also tested the book on Kindle for Android - it looks good there also. You can try a sample of this book for free. See the section in the upper right portion of this page called “Try it free”. Also, if you buy the book and it is not to your liking, you can get Amazon to return 100% of your money within 7 days of your purchase.
The chess diagrams are designed to be aesthetically pleasing and to provide focus to the chess pieces and board markup. The color patterns of the chessboards mimic that of leather in order to make it easy on your eyes. On a Kindle Fire HDX you should be able to view the board positions for hours without eye fatigue.
With broadband, the download time is only a few seconds.
The book is best suited for USCF Class G - Class F players. There will be exceptions and they are all welcome. I personally think anyone who loves chess will enjoy working through this book.
The Rules of Chess
- Basics Improve logical thinking, memory and problem solving
- Chess Board The pathways of the pieces
- Queen The most powerful piece on the board
- Rooks Form a battery to increase their power
- Bishops A long range attacking piece
- Knights Must be centralized to be effective
- Pawns They move along the file and attack on the diagonals
- King If your king is in checkmate you lose the game
- Castling Keep the king safe and give him a castle
- Checkmate Game over
The Horizon of a New Dawn: Story of an ordinary man with an extraordinary dream for war-torn land Afghanistan
A young man, Barkhia, was born in a remote village in Afghanistan. As a young adult, he realized if he educated the children of Afghanistan, he soon would create a peaceful revolution to bring a change in the country.
Barkhia is committed to his dream even though it seems humanly impossible. He believes the power of the “3 C’s” is the answer to any hardship in life. He believes that education can help transform Afghanistan into a land of prosperity. He has tested out his ideas in the classroom. Now, he is prepared to spread his message to the people. When Barkhia is consumed with a wondrous vision for peace, he feels committed to share his dreams. Despite the threats to his organization, he works consistently to spread his message and gain followers. With each new success, he and his friends gain confidence in their organization. They are able to convince the majority of the citizens that peace is the only way.
We wrote The Horizon of a New Dawn to demonstrate the power of reason. We cannot let ourselves be limited by our circumstances. If Barkhia’s idea can work for a land ravaged by war, it can work anywhere. This simple lesson is a powerful force to change the world.
These basic principles, commitment, consistency, and confidence are the building blocks for change. This is a fundamental lesson for young people and people who think they cannot overcome their obstacles in life. The Horizon of a New Dawn can show readers how to put these ideas into action.
“The game of chess is a running theme in this book and the game of chess is used to teach the lessons of life!”― ChessTrek
Checkmates in Two
In order to be a successful chess player, you must master the art of checkmate. A good place to start toward that mastery, is through books like this one where you gain experience spotting common checkmate patterns that can occur in actual games.
Most checkmates are not brilliant examples requiring the sacrifice of material. Most are just ordinary easy to understand combinations that should require little or no thought to spot and then execute. The problem of spotting them in the heat of battle can be reduced substantially through the type of training that this book and the other books in this series provides. This type of training helps new chess players develop their board vision, so they can clearly see what is happening on the chess board.
In Checkmates in Two, there are 111 checkmate problems for you to solve with a total of 163 solutions. The books use a training method that Ron has developed and applied to his students. Some of his students have advanced about 1,000 USCF rating points in one year using this method.