Lesson Two Lecture Notes

“Review, Three Special Words (Check, checkmate, stalemate),

Liberty Knights

As each student enters the room ask “How many hours did they spent this week teaching themselves
chess.” This will remind them that you actually expect them to practice 3 hours per week
practicing/playing chess. Remind them that “The average person spends 4 ½ hours per DAY watching
TV. All I am asking is that you only spend 4 hours per day watching TV and that you dedicate that ½
hour chess. Is that fair enough?”

Take Roll
This of course lets them know that you care about whether or not they show up. Remind them of the
first principal of success.

Review Lesson One

Now we are going to have a quick review of what we covered last week. During the review I want you
to answer as a team.

How much is a PAWN WORTH? Queen worth? Bishop worth? Rook worth? Knight worth?
What is this ROW OF SQUARES CALLED? (I.e. the 3rd rank)
What is this COLUMN OF SQUARES CALLED? (I.e. the g file)
What is THIS SQUARE CALLED? What is this square called? What is this square called?

You did great! Any questions? Team time is done. Now you have to raise your hand for the rest of the
class.

Are there any questions about LESSON ONE?

Who can teach you chess?

Remember, I, your coach, can’t teach you how to play chess. Everyone in history who has learned how
to play chess have taught themselves, so if you don’t spend 3 hours each week playing chess outside of
this class you will never learn the game. You can’t learn chess by only coming to this class. YOU
MUST PRACTICE AND PLAY CHESS OUTSIDE OF THIS CLASS TO LEARN CHESS.

Three Special Words

We are going to start by learning about three special chess words. Check, Checkmate and Stalemate.
For those of you who know what these mean, listen closely, you might learn something new.

Check
(Set up the position on your demonstration board as in the lesson plan). “THE WORD “CHECK”
MEANS THAT ONE OF YOUR OPPONENT’S PIECES IS THREATENING YOUR KING, or
that one of your pieces is threatening your opponent’s king. In this situation you are playing the white
pieces and your opponent is black. Let’s say that you now move your rook to a8. Notice that your rook
is now threatening your opponent’s king along the 8th rank. Imagine that everywhere your white rook is
threatening we in our minds put a CHECK MARK. The black king is now said to be CHECKED or
IN CHECK.

When you check your opponent’s king many people say the word “check.” This is simply a courtesy,
not an requirement.

Also whose responsibility is it to know the rules of chess? Each player. SO IF YOU CHECK YOUR
OPPONENT AND DON’T SAY, “CHECK” AND HE MAKES AN ILLEGAL MOVE YOU
SIMPLY SAY “THAT’S ILLEGAL.”

There is a choice of three things you MUST do when you are in check.

1. TAKE THE PIECE. Does anyone see a piece that can take the rook? That’s right, the bishop
here can take the rook. After the rook is captured the king is no longer in check.
2. BLOCK. Does anyone see a piece that can block the check. Remember rooks are never
allowed to move over other pieces. That’s right! The knight can move to f8 and the threat to the
king is blocked.
3. MOVE THE KING. Does anyone see a square where the king can move safely? That’s right-
f7! It is very important to understand that THE KING CAN NEVER STAY IN CHECK OR
MOVE INTO CHECK. THERE IS NO KING SUICIDE IN CHESS. Notice that the black king
can’t move to g7 or h7 because your king is putting check marks there because your king can
move there. A king can never check a king or threaten to take your opponent’s king.

Your assignment for next week is that you MUST memorize the following word for word like you know
your own name. “TAKE THE PIECE, BLOCK, OR MOVE THE KING.” The reason why is
because during this chess course I am going to say “Now the king is in check…and the three things you
can do are…” and I am going to hold up my index finger and I want everyone in unison to say “TAKE
THE PIECE” and then I will hold up two fingers and I want everyone to say in unison “BLOCK” and
then I will hold up three fingers and everyone in unison will say “or MOVE THE KING.”

How do we memorize it? Repetition is the mother of skill. Let’s all say it 10 times as I hold up my
fingers. So the king is in check. What are the three things that you can do when you are in check?
“TAKE THE PIECE, BLOCK, MOVE THE KING”, “TAKE THE PIECE, BLOCK, MOVE THE
KING”, “TAKE THE PIECE, BLOCK, MOVE THE KING”, ETC.”

Are there any questions about IS THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT CHECK AND WHAT YOU
MUST DO WHEN YOU ARE IN CHECK?

Checkmate
Notice that with the white king moved over one square and the bishop and knight gone black can’t either
take the piece that is checking the king, block or move the king to a safe square. This is called
“checkmate” or “mate” for short and the game is over with white winning. If someone asked you “What
is checkmate” you should say, “CHECKMATE IS WHEN 1. THE KING IS IN CHECK
(remember: no check, no checkmate) AND 2. YOU CAN’T TAKE THE PIECE, 3. YOU CAN’T
BLOCK, OR 4. YOU CAN’T MOVE THE KING (TO A SAFE SQUARE).” Therefore if your
opponent claims you are in checkmate there are 4 things you must check. Notice that even though the
game is over both kings are still on the board. When playing chess the kings never leave the board.
THE ONLY TIME THE KINGS LEAVE THE BOARD IS WHEN THE SET IS PUT AWAY.
Named Checkmates
There are several checkmates that have names that you must memorize so that you can do them against
your opponent and so that you can avoid having them done to you.

This one using only a king and rook is called “THE KING AND ROOK CHECKMATE” duh. Isn’t
chess easy? In order to do a King and Rook Checkmate you must force the black king to the edge of the
board and your white king must be opposite the king that is being mated (opposite meaning straight
across with a single square in between) and the rook must check along the edge rank or file the black
king is sitting on. How to achieve a King and Rook Checkmate will be discussed later. Right now it is
just important that you see the pattern. Chess is all about “PATTERN RECOGNITION.” If you are
going to teach yourself how to play chess well, you must see the patterns. If you don’t know the pattern
of a King and Rook Checkmate you can’t do it to your opponent and your king will likely fall into it.

Are there any questions about THE KING AND ROOK MATE?

Fool’s Mate
Starting with the board set up watch this- 1. f4 …e6 2. g4?? Qh4 Checkmate. This is the shortest
checkmate possible. It is called a FOOL’S MATE. Check it out to make sure it is checkmate. Is there
a check? Yes. Can you take the queen? No. Can you block? No. Can you move the king to a safe
square? No. Checkmate. Checkmate rarely happens because white must cooperate by making a poor
move and a very bad move. What you should learn from Fool’s Mate is to be very careful to avoid
pushing the f pawn and opening up the e1-h4 diagonal.

Are there any questions about FOOL’S MATE

Scholar’s Mate
Starting at the beginning of the game there is a checkmate also known as the Four Move Checkmate
that goes like this- 1. e4 …e5 2. Qh5 …Nc6 3. Bc4 …Nf6 4. Qxf7 this is a check because the queen is
threatening the king right? What are the three things you have to do when you are in check? (Take the
piece, block, move the king) Can black take the queen (No the king can’t take the queen because it is
protected by the bishop. That would be committing suicide and there is no king suicide in chess right?)
Can you block? No, there is no square between the king and queen to block in is there? Can you move
the king to a safe square? No, because the only square the king can move to is e7 and the queen can still
take him. So this is Checkmate. This checkmate is known as Scholar’s Mate. As a beginner you will
have slightly more experienced players do this to you over and over again until you learn how to defend
against it. Here is a FUNSHEET that tells you how to protect yourself against the Scholar’s Mate. In
order to pass Lesson Two you must show me that you can defend against the Scholar’s Mate. Study the
FunSheet after class.

Are there any questions about THE SCHOLAR’S MATE?

Back Rank Mate

(set up position in the lesson handout)

Notice that in this position of white moves the rook to e8 it is check. What are the three things that you
have to do when you are in check? (Take the piece, block, or move the king) Can you take the rook?
No. Can you block? No. Can you move the king to a safe square? The black king can’t stay on the 8th
rank can it? And he can’t move forward because his 3 pawns are in the way. (You are not allowed to
take your own pieces). This is checkmate! This kind of checkmate is called a BACK RANK MATE.
The rank closest to you is called your back rank. For black, the 8th rank is called his back rank. That is
why this is called the Back Rank Mate.

Now let’s say that instead of white moving the rook to e8, he moved it to e7. Since there is no check
black decided to play Rc1 check. Is this a Back Rank Mate? No, because white had previously pushed
his h pawn to h3. Now the white king can move to h2. Moving the pawn to h3 creates a LUFT on h2.
Luft is German for “air” or in this case “breathing space” for the king to move when checked. It does
not have to be the h pawn you move. You can move the g pawn forward or the f pawn.

There are 3 different sections to a game a chess. The beginning is called the OPENING. The middle of
the game is called the MIDDLEGAME and the end of the game is called the ENDGAME (duh). A
Back Rank Mate is usually done in the endgame when the back rank is unprotected.

Are there any questions about THE BACK RANK MATE?

Firing Squad Mate

(set up position in the lesson handout)
The FIRING SQUAD MATE is aptly named because it involves walking the king up against a wall
and then shooting him. A firing squad mate can only be done with two rooks or a queen and a rook (or
two queens if you promote a pawn). Queens and rooks are called MAJOR PIECES. As opposed to
knights and bishops, which are called MINOR PIECES. A FIRING SQUAD MATE CAN ONLY BE
DONE WITH MAJOR PIECES. Notice how the major pieces walk the king up against the edge of the
board so that it has no place to run and then the final check shoots the king through the heart finishing
him off.

Are there any questions about the FIRING SQUAD MATE?

Kiss of Death Mate

(set up position in the lesson handout)
Suppose the queen was here and moved to here. THIS IS CALLED A KISS OF DEATH MATE. It’s
called that because the queen has to get right up next to the king, so close she can kiss him. A QUEEN
CAN ONLY DO A KISS OF DEATH CHECKMATE. Remember though that the queen must be
protected. Here the king protects the queen, but she could be protected by any other piece. If the queen
is not protected the black king will just take her because she is so close.

In order to do a kiss of death checkmate THE KING MUST BE FORCED TO THE EDGE OF THE
BOARD. Notice that in many of the checkmates the king must be forced to the edge of the board.
Look at the king placed in the center of the board. HOW MANY SQUARES MUST YOU ATTACK
IN ORDER TO CHECKMATE THE BLACK KING IN THE CENTER OF THE BOARD? All
the places the king can move to (8) and the square the king is setting on making a total of 9 squares.
How many squares must you attack in order to checkmate the king at the edge of the board. Count
them…everywhere the king can move to (5) plus the one the king is setting on making 6 squares.
WHICH IS EASIER TO DO, ATTACK 9 SQUARES OR ATTACK 6 SQUARES? Of course,
attack 6 squares. That is why you want to force the king to the edge of the board to make it easier to
checkmate.

Are there any questions about the KISS OF DEATH MATE?

Stalemate
STALEMATE HAPPENS WHEN IT IS A PLAYER’S TURN, AND HE HAS NO LEGAL
MOVES ON THE BOARD TO MAKE. For example, this is a stalemate. See how the King has no
legal place to move to? Remember the King is never allowed to do anything illegal like moving into
check. If there are pawns on the board or other pieces that can move it is not stalemate.

IF YOUR OPPONENT MOVES INTO CHECK, OR DOES ANY OTHER ILLEGAL MOVE
YOU MUST WHISPER, “THAT’S ILLEGAL.”

IF YOU ARE THE PERSON WITH MORE PIECES, STALEMATE IS BAD because you should
win, but instead the game is a draw. That means that instead of getting one point for winning you both
get ½ of a point. IF YOU HAVE ONLY A KING, STALEMATE IS GOOD because you should lose
and get no points, but instead you get ½ of a point.

If it is black’s move, and the King is not allowed to move into check and there are no other pieces, what
is this called? Right, stalemate! If you are white, it is bad, like trying to eat an old stale piece of bread
with mold and flies on it. Yuck! You could have a win, but instead you get a draw.

Are there any questions about “STALEMATE”?

ASSIGNMENT: THE MATE GAME

Even though this is only your second week of play you get to checkmate your opponent with the Mate
Game. White sets up a king, queen, bishop, knight and rook randomly around the edge of the board.
The black king is placed in one of the center squares so that it is not in check.

Black’s goal is to avoid checkmate as long as possible and white’s goal is to checkmate the black king.

There are 5 principles to follow in order to checkmate the black king and avoid stalemate.

1. Try to CHECK the King with every move.

2. Try to CHANGE the piece that is checking each time.
3. Try to move pieces CLOSE to the king but to a SAFE square.
4. Try to move the King to the EDGE of the board.
5. Say “THAT’S ILLEGAL” if an illegal move is made.

Remember: If there is ever any question about the legality of a move you first RAISE YOUR HAND
AND WHISPER “COACH” to get the coaches attention to settle the matter. If the coach is not
available then you QUIETLY CONSULT THE LESSON PLANS. Chess is a game between ladies
and gentlemen. THERE IS NO ARGUING IN CHESS! Good Manners apply at all times.

See the FunSheet for LESSON TWO in order to learn a fun way to memorize these principles.

Have fun!

Have the students do what each individual needs to do…take a test, study, practice or play.

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