My own experience: getting into it.
For this week’s inquiry post, I thought I’d tune in with how my own chess gameplay is going first. I have been playing at least two games once a day but have had limited time to really delve into a large string of games; I feel like I improve the most when I am able to play back-to-back without having to think about time and other distractions. One of the things I have started working on to get closer to my goal of 500 ELO has been online chess coaching. Though not perfect, this coaching has given me insight into things like positioning, openings and late-game strategies. This has helped my game sense and allowed me to close out games ending in draws or losses. A goal I am hoping to achieve by the end of this project is to learn a chess opening, specifically the “Italian Game.” For those who don’t know, an opening is:
A chess opening refers to the initial moves made by both players at the beginning of a chess game. The opening phase sets the stage for the middle game and can significantly impact the game’s outcome. Openings are a well-studied aspect of chess strategy, and countless established opening sequences have their own names and characteristics.
Typically, a chess opening includes the following elements:
- Development: Players aim to bring their pieces (knights, bishops, rooks, and queen) into active positions, usually by moving pawns to free up the pieces and then moving the pieces themselves.
- Control of the Center: Controlling the central squares (d4, d5, e4, and e5) is a common theme in openings, as it allows for greater mobility and influence over the board.
- King Safety: Players often aim to castle to ensure the king’s safety. Castling is a special move where the king and one of the rooks are moved to a more secure location.
- Pawn Structure: The choice of opening can influence the pawn structure on the board, which can have strategic implications later in the game.
- Avoiding Weaknesses: Players need to avoid weaknesses in their position, such as creating pawn weaknesses or leaving pieces vulnerable to attack.
Learning a beginner opening will allow me to have greater control of the early game and will help me feel comfortable as I enter the mid and late game. I assume you are tired of chess talk so I will finish this segment up.
Incorporating Chess into the classroom.
As stated last week, I am really hoping to incorporate what I learn from this experience into my future teaching. I hope to incorporate many subjects, such as art, English and math, into my project and am still working out what I want to do. As I get a firmer grip on what I want, I will provide more info. For now, this is all I really have. See you next week.
