Chess Stack Exchange
Chess Stack Exchange

Most Popular

more tags
1500 questions
32
votes
6 answers

King or Queen-Which piece is which?

I recently bought a set of wooden chess pieces, which I liked for its simplicity. I'm not sure, however, which one is supposed to be the king and which one is supposed to be the queen. I would say that the one with the spike is the queen, and the…
Elerium115
  • 467
  • 1
  • 4
  • 7
32
votes
4 answers

Endgame problem: How to avoid stalemate and win?

I'm stuck on this problem a friend shared with me recently, with barely any pieces left and apparently white is able to force a win but I've been hitting a wall with everything I've tried so far, as everything seems to immediately lead to…
user929304
  • 3,396
  • 22
  • 45
32
votes
4 answers

When capturing en passant, is a position possible such that there is a pin over the square of the taken pawn, rather than the taking pawn?

I am trying to write a simple chess program, and as part of this I am writing methods to find all valid moves. I can detect pins and have no trouble leaving out the moves that would result in the moving player being in check, except for one…
11684
  • 1,296
  • 11
  • 23
32
votes
2 answers

How computers have changed the way humans play chess

A few years ago Vishy Anand mentioned in an interview that computers had changed the way humans play chess. Obviously computers help a lot in opening preparation, but what other concrete examples are there? Is there a certain opening line or…
user1583209
  • 20,735
  • 3
  • 41
  • 97
32
votes
11 answers

Is chess a solved game?

Chess is a zero-sum game of limited decisions. The number of possible moves at any given point, and the number of possible states of the board, are all finite. Tic-Tac-Toe, is one of the easiest examples of a solved game. I can't remember how many…
Tobi Alafin
  • 581
  • 2
  • 5
  • 6
32
votes
4 answers

Is it possible to checkmate with knight and king against king?

I would like to clarify two things: Is it possible to checkmate with only a knight and a king against a lone king? What will happen when one side has a king and knight and the other has just a king, does the game have to be drawn due to…
BlueBerry - Vignesh4303
  • 503
  • 1
  • 4
  • 9
31
votes
6 answers

Rules: en passant and draw by triple repetition

A question of rulebook pedantry: One can claim a draw when the same position occurs the third time, the same player having the move. Two positions are not the same if the earlier allows a capture en passant and the later does not, though men of the…
thb
  • 4,539
  • 2
  • 23
  • 47
31
votes
10 answers

Why would one promote a pawn to a knight?

I know that it is makes no sense to promote a pawn to a bishop or a rook as the queen can compensate for both but a knight is something different. However, the queen is still much more powerful. So what situations would provoke you into promoting…
MozenRath
  • 805
  • 1
  • 9
  • 16
31
votes
1 answer

Can all 64 squares be attacked or defended by the eight pieces?

Can you place the eight (non-pawn) pieces of one color on an otherwise empty chess board, such that every square (including the squares that pieces are on), is attacked / defended? This is a problem that I wrestled with in high school and I'm not…
Timmy
  • 411
  • 4
  • 4
31
votes
6 answers

Is there a name for a chess variant where you are allowed to capture your own pieces?

I occasionally think it might be fun to play a chess variant that is exactly the same as regular chess, except that it is permitted to capture your own pieces as well as your opponent's pieces - so, for example, if your king was alone on the back…
patbarron
  • 3,609
  • 1
  • 15
  • 37
31
votes
3 answers

Should a player be forced to move a piece that he has picked up after a spectator knocked it off the board?

While anyone can answer this, I do have official FIDE arbiters in mind. I am following a discussion on chess.com about the worst way you have lost a game. Someone related this story: This didn't happen to me, but it's the worst way to lose a chess…
PhishMaster
  • 32,477
  • 4
  • 105
  • 177
31
votes
4 answers

Is there an engine that finds the best "practical" move?

A standard chess engine will find the move it considers best assuming best play from both sides. But this move might lead to an insignificant advantage or a tricky line that can easily result in mistakes for a human player of a specific ability. Is…
Ari
  • 471
  • 4
  • 10
31
votes
7 answers

Would studying the games of old players hurt my progress?

I was watching a video last night by Ben Finegold on Paul Morphy and some of his games. He mentioned that some current GMs would discount Morphy's ability since all of his opponents were "terrible". However, Ben countered by observing that ok even…
Derek Allums
  • 1,117
  • 8
  • 19
31
votes
2 answers

How is the life of a professional GM with ELO around 2500?

How is the life of a professional chessplayer with ELO around 2500? I mean, someone who is no doubt strong, but hardly a top GM? How does he make a living these days, if he hasn't another job?
A. N. Other
  • 6,826
  • 2
  • 29
  • 67
31
votes
16 answers

How to learn chess if you're still a 3-digit rating after a few years

I know how all the pieces move and I've learned about castling and en passant. But all I do is play online against other people and get wrecked because I don't know how to "play." I make moves like Knight to h3 on my first move because I have no…
mr eyeglasses
  • 411
  • 1
  • 4
  • 5
1 2 3
…
99 100