Sessions 4 & 5: Stalemate and Pins

Since we have finished going over what each piece can do, we've moved on to refining our skills.  We've started each of the past two sessions with a video.  In the 4th session, we looked at the one minute chess game video that I posted here. In the 5th session, we looked at this chess problem:

In Session #4, we talked about and looked at examples of stalemates.

We learned that:

• A stalemate is one way that a chess game can end in a tie.
• A stalemate occurs when one king is trapped and can make no legal moves, but is not currently in check.  In other words, the king is not being attacked, but would be attacked if he moved anywhere else.
• A stalemate is something that good chess players try to avoid by planning ahead.

In Session #5, we talked about pins.

We learned that:

• A pin occurs when one piece is trapped by another and cannot move.  For example, if a black bishop is between a black king and a white queen, then we say that the bishop is "pinned."
• Good chess players can use the pin to keep your opponent from using a piece.  This limits your opponent's ability to move freely.

Please make sure to come out for the next session.  It is our last session and I plan on doing some different things, as well as have a bit of a celebration!