Outline of chess

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Starting position of a game of chess Chess board opening staunton.jpg
Starting position of a game of chess

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chess:

Contents

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard (a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid). In a chess game, each player begins with sixteen pieces: one king, one queen, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, and eight pawns. The object of the game is to checkmate the opponent's king, whereby the king is under immediate attack (in "check") and there is no way to remove or defend it from attack, or force the opposing player to forfeit.

What type of thing is chess?

Chess can be described as all of the following:

Chess equipment

Essential equipment

A Staunton chess set ModernStaunton.jpg
A Staunton chess set

Specialized equipment

Digital game clock Digitalna sahovska ura2.jpg
Digital game clock

Rules of chess

The modern rules of chess (and breaking them) are discussed in separate articles, and briefly in the following subsections:

Initial set up

Moves

How each piece moves

  • Moving a pawn pawns move straight forward one space at a time, but capture diagonally (within a one-square range). On its first move, a pawn may move two squares forward instead (with no capturing allowed in a two-square move). Also, pawns are subject to the en passant and promotion movement rules (see below).
    • En passant on the very next move after a player moves a pawn two squares forward from its starting position, an opposing pawn that is guarding the skipped square may capture the pawn (taking it "as it passes"), by moving to the passed square as if the pawn had stopped there. [5] If this is not done on the very next move, the right to do so is lost.
    • Pawn promotion when a pawn reaches its eighth rank it is exchanged for the player's choice of a queen, rook, bishop or knight (usually a queen, since it is the most powerful piece).
  • Moving a knight knights move two squares horizontally and one square vertically from their original position, or two squares vertically and one square horizontally, jumping directly to the destination while ignoring any pieces in the intervening spaces.
  • Moving a bishop bishops move any distance in a straight line in either direction along squares connected diagonally. One bishop in each army moves diagonally on white squares only, and the other bishop is restricted to moving along black squares.
  • Moving a rook rook may move any distance along a rank or a file (forward, backward, left, or right), and can also be used for castling (see below).
    • Castling special move available to each player once in the game (with restrictions, see below) where the king is moved two squares to the left or right and the rook on that side is moved to the other side of the king.
      • Requirements for castling Castling is legal if the following conditions are all met:
        • 1. Neither the king nor the rook involved have previously moved.
        • 2. There are no pieces in between the king and chosen rook.
        • 3. The king is not currently in check. (For clarification, the involved rook may be currently under attack. Additionally, the king may have previously been in check, as long as the king did not move to resolve it.)
        • 4. The king does not pass through a square that is under attack by an enemy piece. (For clarification, the rook may pass through a square that is under attack by an enemy piece; the only such square is the one adjacent to the rook when castling queenside, b1 for White and b8 for Black.)
        • 5. The king does not end in a square that is under attack by an enemy piece.
  • Moving the queen queen can move like a rook or like a bishop (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally), but no castling.
  • Moving the king king may move one square in any direction, but may not move into check. It may also make a special move called "castling" (see above).

End of the game

Competition rules and other features

Minor variants

Gameplay

General situations

Pawn structure

Pawn structure describes features of the positions of the pawns. Pawn structure may be used for tactical or strategic effect, or both.

Chess tactics

Chess tactics a chess tactic is a move or sequence of moves which may result in tangible gain or limits the opponent's options. Tactics are usually contrasted with strategy, in which advantages take longer to be realized, and the opponent is less constrained in responding.

Fundamental tactics

Fundamental tactics include: [8]

  • Battery two or more pieces that can move and attack along a shared path, situated on the same rank, file, or diagonal; e.g., the queen and a bishop, or the queen and a rook, or both rooks, or the queen and both rooks.
  • Block (blocking an attack) interposing a piece between another piece and its attacker. When the piece being attacked is the king, this is blocking a check.
  • Deflection tactic that forces an opposing piece to leave the square, rank or file it occupies, thus exposing the king or a valuable piece.
  • Discovered attack moving a piece uncovers an attack by another piece along a straight line
  • Fork attack on two or more pieces by one piece
  • Interference blocking the line along which an enemy piece is defended, leaving it vulnerable to capture.
  • Overloading giving a defensive piece an additional defensive assignment which it cannot complete without abandoning its original defensive assignment.
  • Pin piece is under attack and either cannot legally move because it would put its king in check or should not move because it will allow an attack on a more valuable piece.
  • Skewer if a piece under attack moves it will allow an attack on another piece
  • Undermining capturing a defensive piece, leaving one of the opponent's pieces undefended or underdefended. Also known as "removal of the guard".
  • X-ray (1) synonym for skewer. The term is also sometimes used to refer to a tactic where a piece either (2) indirectly attacks an enemy piece through another piece or pieces or (3) defends a friendly piece through an enemy piece.

Offensive tactics

  • Battery two or more pieces that can move and attack along a shared path, situated on the same rank, file, or diagonal; e.g., the queen and a bishop, or the queen and a rook, or both rooks, or the queen and both rooks.
    • Alekhine's gun formation named after the former World Chess Champion, Alexander Alekhine, which consists of placing the two rooks stacked one behind another and the queen at the rear.
  • Cross-check tactic in which a check is played in response to a check, especially when the original check is blocked by a piece that itself either delivers check or reveals a discovered check from another piece.
  • Decoy ensnaring a piece, usually the king or queen, by forcing it to move to a poisoned square with a sacrifice on that square.
  • Deflection forces an opposing piece to leave the square, rank or file it occupies, thus exposing the king or a valuable piece. [9]
  • Discovered attack attack revealed when one piece moves out of the way of another. [10]
    • Discovered check discovered attack that is also a check
  • Domination occurs when a piece has a relatively wide choice of destination squares, but nevertheless cannot avoid being captured.
  • Double attack attack on two pieces at once, such as in a fork, or via a discovered attack where the piece that was blocked attacks one piece while the piece moving out of the way threatens another.
    • Double check check delivered by two pieces at the same time. [11] [12] In chess notation, it is sometimes symbolized by "++".
  • Fork when a piece attacks two or more enemy pieces at the same time. [13]
  • Interference interrupting the line between an attacked piece and its defender by sacrificially interposing a piece. Opportunities for interference are rare because the defended object must be more valuable than the sacrificed piece, and the interposition must itself represent a threat.
  • King walk several successive movements of the king, usually in the endgame to get it from a safe square (where it was hiding during the middlegame) to a more active position. Not to be confused with "king hunt", where a player forces his opponent's king out of safety and chases it across the board with a series of checks.
  • Outpost square where a piece can attack the opponent's position without being attacked by enemy pawns. Knights are good pieces to occupy outposts.
  • Overloading giving a defensive piece an additional defensive assignment which it cannot complete without abandoning its original defensive assignment.
  • Pawn promotion moving a pawn to the back row to be promoted to a knight, a bishop, a rook, or a queen. While this is a rule, it is also a type of move, with tactical significance. Pawn promotion, or the threat of it, often decides the result of a chess endgame.
    • Underpromotion promotion to a knight, bishop, or rook is known as an "underpromotion". Although these pieces are less powerful than the queen, there are some situations where it is advantageous to underpromote. [14] For example, since the knight moves in a way which the queen cannot, knight underpromotions can be very useful, and are the most common type of underpromotion. Promoting to a rook or bishop is advantageous in cases where promoting to a queen would result in an immediate stalemate.
    • In FIDE tournament play, spare queens are provided, one of each colour. In a tournament match between Emil Szalanczy and Thi Mai Hung Nguyen in Budapest, 2009, six queens were on the board at the same time. [15]
  • Pawn storm several pawns are moved in rapid succession toward the opponent's defenses. [16]
  • Pin piece is under attack and either cannot legally move because it would put its king in check or should not move because it will allow an attack on a more valuable piece.
    • Absolute pin pin against the king is called absolute since the pinned piece cannot legally move (as moving it would expose the king to check).
    • Relative pin where the piece shielded by the pinned piece is a piece other than the king, but typically more valuable than the pinned piece.
    • Partial pin when a rook or queen is pinned along a file or rank, or a bishop or queen is pinned along a diagonal
    • Situational pin when a pinned piece is shielding a square and moving out of the way will allow the enemy to move there, resulting in a detrimental situation for the player of the pinned piece, such as checkmate.
  • Sacrifice move which deliberately allows the loss of material, either because the player can win the material back or deliver checkmate if it is taken (sham sacrifice or pseudosacrifice), or because the player judges he will have positional compensation (true or positional sacrifice).
    • Greek gift sacrifice typical sacrifice of a bishop by White playing Bxh7+ or Black playing Bxh2+.
    • Queen sacrifice sacrifice of the queen, invariably tactical in nature.
    • Plachutta a piece sacrifices itself on a square where it could be captured by two different pieces in order to deflect them both from crucial squares.
  • Skewer attack upon two pieces in a line and is similar to a pin. In fact, a skewer is sometimes described as a "reverse pin"; the difference is that in a skewer, the more valuable piece is in front of the piece of lesser or equal value.
    • Absolute skewer when the King is skewered, forcing him to move out of check, exposing the piece behind him in the line of attack.
    • Relative skewer the skewered piece can be moved, but doesn't have to be (because it is not the King in check).
  • Swindle ruse by which a player in a losing position tricks his opponent, and thereby achieves a win or draw instead of the expected loss. [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] It may also refer more generally to obtaining a win or draw from a clearly losing position. [22]
  • The exchange see § Chess tactics above
  • Triangulation technique of making three moves to wind up in the same position while the opponent has to make two moves to wind up in the same position. The reason is to lose a tempo and put the opponent in zugzwang.
  • Undermining capturing a defensive piece, leaving one of the opponent's pieces undefended or underdefended. Also known as "removal of the guard".
  • Windmill repeated series of discovered checks which the opponent cannot avoid, winning large amounts of material.
  • X-ray attack indirect attack of a piece through another piece.
  • Zwischenzug ("Intermediate move") To make an intermediate move before the expected move to gain an advantage.
Checkmate patterns

Checkmate pattern a particular checkmate. Some checkmate patterns occur sufficiently frequently, or are otherwise of such interest to scholars, that they have acquired specific names in chess commentary. Here are some of the most notorious:

  • Back-rank checkmate checkmate accomplished by a rook or queen on the opponent's first rank, because the king is blocked in by its own pieces (almost always pawns) on its second rank.
  • Bishop and knight checkmate fundamental checkmate with a minimum amount of material. It is notoriously difficult to achieve.
  • Boden's Mate checkmate pattern characterized by a king being mated by two bishops on criss-crossing diagonals, with possible flight squares blocked by friendly pieces.
  • Fool's mate shortest possible checkmate, on Black's second move. It is rare in practice.
  • Scholar's mate checkmate in as few as four moves by a player accomplished by a queen supported by a bishop (usually) in an attack on the f7 or f2 square. It is fairly common at the novice level.
  • Smothered mate checkmate accomplished by only a knight because the king's own pieces occupy squares to which it would be able to escape.

Defensive tactics

  • Artificial castling (also known as "castling by hand") taking several moves to get the king to the position it would be in if castling could have been done.
  • Block (blocking an attack) interposing a piece between another piece and its attacker. When the piece being attacked is the king, this is blocking a check.
  • Blockade to block a passed pawn with a piece.
  • Desperado piece that seems determined to give itself up, typically either (1) to sell itself as dearly as possible in a situation where both sides have hanging pieces or (2) to bring about stalemate if it is captured (or in some instances, to force a draw by threefold repetition if it is not captured).
  • Luft German for "air", meaning squares available for the king to escape an attack, typically through a fortress.
  • X-ray defense indirect defense of a piece through another piece.
Possible responses to an attack
  • Capture the attacking piece
  • Move the attacked piece
  • Block interpose another piece in between the two
  • Guard the attacked piece and permit an exchange
  • Pin the attacking piece so the capture becomes illegal or unprofitable
  • Use a zwischenzug
  • Create a counter-threat

Chess strategy

Chess strategy aspect of chess playing concerned with evaluation of chess positions and setting of goals and long-term plans for future play. While evaluating a position strategically, a player must take into account such factors as the relative value of the pieces on the board, pawn structure, king safety, position of pieces, and control of key squares and groups of squares (e.g. diagonals, open files, individual squares).

Schools of chess

School of chess group of players that share common ideas about the strategy of the game. There have been several schools in the history of modern chess. Today there is less dependence on schools – players draw on many sources and play according to their personal style.

  • Modenese Masters – school of chess thought based on teachings of 18th century Italian masters, it emphasized an attack on the opposing king.
  • Hypermodernism – school of thought based on ideas of some early 20th century masters. Rather than occupying the center of the board with pawns in the opening, control the center by attacking it with knights and bishops from the side.

Game phases

  1. Chess opening – first phase of the game, where pieces are developed before the main battle begins.
  2. Chess middlegame – second phase of the game, usually where the main battle is. Many games end in the middlegame.
  3. Chess endgame – third and final phase of the game, where there are only a few pieces left.

Chess openings

Chess opening group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as finished by White, or defenses as finished by Black, but opening is also used as the general term.

    • Fool's mate also known as the Two-Move Checkmate, it is the quickest possible checkmate in chess. A prime example consists of the moves: 1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4#
    • Scholar's mate checkmate achieved by the moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6? 4.Qxf7#. The moves might be played in a different order or in slight variation, but the basic idea is the same: the queen and bishop combine in a simple mating attack on f7 (or f2 if Black is performing the mate).
    • Smothered mate checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because he is surrounded (or smothered) by his own pieces.
    • Back rank checkmate checkmate delivered by a rook or queen along a back rank (that is, the row on which the pieces (not pawns) stand at the start of the game) in which the mated king is unable to move up the board because the king is blocked by friendly pieces (usually pawns) on the second rank (Burgess 2009:16).
    • Boden's mate checkmating pattern in chess characterized by bishops on two criss-crossing diagonals (for example, bishops on a6 and f4 delivering mate to a king on c8), with possible flight squares for the king being occupied by friendly pieces. Most often the checkmated king has castled queenside, and is mated on c8 or c1.
    • Epaulette mate checkmate where two parallel retreat squares for a checked king are occupied by his own pieces, preventing his escape. The most common Epaulette mate involves the king on his back rank, trapped between two rooks.
    • Légal's mate chess opening trap, characterized by a queen sacrifice followed by checkmate with minor pieces if Black accepts the sacrifice. The trap is named after the French player Sire de Légal (1702–1792).
  • Chess Informant
  • Chess opening theory table
  • Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings
  • Gambit sacrifice of material (usually a pawn) to gain a positional advantage (usually faster development of pieces)
  • List of chess openings
e4 Openings
  • King's Pawn Game – Games that start with White moving 1.e4.
    • Open Game – Games that start with 1.e4 followed by 1...e5 by Black.
    • Semi-Open Game – Games that start with 1.e4 followed by a move other than 1...e5 by Black.
King's Knight Openings
Sicilian Defense
Other e4 opening variations
d4 Openings
Queen's Gambit Openings
Indian Defense
Other d4 opening variations
Flank openings
Irregular Openings
Openings including a trap

Endgames

Endgame phase of the game after the middlegame when there are few pieces left on the board

  • Checkmate patterns Patterns of checkmate that occur reasonably often.
  • Chess endgame literature Literature on chess endgames.
  • Endgame maneuvers
    • Prokeš maneuver maneuver from an endgame study that sometimes occurs in games.
  • Endgame positions
    • Endgame study – A composed position with a goal of either winning or drawing
    • Particular endgame situations
      • Bare king situation in which one player has only the king left on the board.
      • Fortress position in which a player with weaker material is able to keep the stronger side at bay and draw the game instead of lose it.
      • King and pawn versus king endgame fundamental endgame with a king and pawn versus a king.
        • Key square square that a player needs to occupy (usually by the king in a king and pawn endgame) to achieve some goal.
      • Opposite-colored bishops endgame Endgames in which each side has one bishop and the bishops are on opposite colors of the board.
      • Opposition When two kings face each other with one square in between (with generalizations).
      • Pawnless chess endgame Endgames without pawns.
      • Queen and pawn versus queen endgame difficult endgame with a queen and pawn versus a queen.
      • Queen versus pawn endgame fundamental endgame with a queen versus an advanced pawn protected by its king.
      • Rook and bishop versus rook endgame well-studied endgame with a rook and bishop versus a rook.
      • Rook and pawn versus rook endgame fundamental and well-studied endgame with a rook and pawn versus a rook.
        • Lucena position one of the most famous and important positions in chess endgame theory, where if the side with the pawn can reach this type of position, he can forcibly win the game.
        • Philidor position if the side without the pawn reaches the Philidor Position, he will force a draw.
      • Two knights endgame endgame with two knights versus a lone king cannot force checkmate, but they may be able to force a win if the defender has a pawn.
      • Wrong bishop situation in some endgames where a player's bishop is on the wrong color of square to accomplish something, i.e. the result would be different if the bishop was on the other color.
      • Wrong rook pawn an endgame situation very closely related to the wrong bishop, where having the other rook pawn would have a different result.
  • Endgame principles
    • Tarrasch rule guideline that rooks should usually be placed behind passed pawns – both its own pawns and the opponent's.
  • Endgame tablebase computer database of endgame positions giving optimal moves for both sides and the result of optimal moves (a win for one player or a draw).

Venues (who and where to play)

Casual play

Chess clubs

Online chess

Correspondence chess

Competitive chess

Titles

Chess title

Computer chess

Computer chess

History of chess

History of chess

Famous games

History of chess, by period

Timeline of chess

Years in chess

Chess players

World Chess Championships

Science of chess

Psychology and chess

Chess programming

Chess theory

Chess theory

Chess in culture

Chess media

Chess essays

Chess video games

Chess books

Periodicals

Chess websites

Chess-themed movies

Chess organizations

Some influential chess persons

Some influential persons who played chess

Chess variants

Chess variant  – games similar to chess but with different rules or pieces.

Variants with a different starting position

Variants with different forces

Variants with a different board

Variants with unusual rules

Variants with incomplete information and elements of chance

Multimove variants

Multiplayer variants

Variants with unusual pieces

Variants with bishop+knight and rook+knight compounds

Games inspired by chess

Historical variants

Xiangqi and variants

Shogi and variants

Other national variants

Chess combined with other sports and pastimes

Chess variants software

Fictional variants

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chess</span> Strategy board game

Chess is a board game for two players. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to distinguish it from related games such as xiangqi and shogi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shogi</span> Japanese strategy board game

Shogi, also known as Japanese chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular board games in Japan and is in the same family of games as Western chess, chaturanga, xiangqi, Indian chess, and janggi. Shōgi means general's board game.

Chess strategy is the aspect of chess play concerned with evaluation of chess positions and setting goals and long-term plans for future play. While evaluating a position strategically, a player must take into account such factors as the relative value of the pieces on the board, pawn structure, king safety, position of pieces, and control of key squares and groups of squares. Chess strategy is distinguished from chess tactics, which is the aspect of play concerned with the move-by-move setting up of threats and defenses. Some authors distinguish static strategic imbalances, which tend to persist for many moves, from dynamic imbalances, which are temporary. This distinction affects the immediacy with which a sought-after plan should take effect. Until players reach the skill level of "master", chess tactics tend to ultimately decide the outcomes of games more often than strategy. Many chess coaches thus emphasize the study of tactics as the most efficient way to improve one's results in serious chess play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King (chess)</span> Chess piece

The king is the most important piece in the game of chess. It may move to any adjoining square; it may also perform, in tandem with the rook, a special move called castling. If a player's king is threatened with capture, it is said to be in check, and the player must remove the threat of capture immediately. If this cannot be done, the king is said to be in checkmate, resulting in a loss for that player. A player cannot make any move that places their own king in check. Despite this, the king can become a strong offensive piece in the endgame or, rarely, the middlegame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen (chess)</span> Chess piece

The queen is the most powerful piece in the game of chess. It can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally or diagonally, combining the powers of the rook and bishop. Each player starts the game with one queen, placed in the middle of the first rank next to the king. Because the queen is the strongest piece, a pawn is promoted to a queen in the vast majority of cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop (chess)</span> Chess piece

The bishop is a piece in the game of chess. It moves and captures along diagonals without jumping over interfering pieces. Each player begins the game with two bishops. The starting squares are c1 and f1 for White's bishops, and c8 and f8 for Black's bishops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight (chess)</span> Chess piece

The knight is a piece in the game of chess, represented by a horse's head and neck. It moves two squares vertically and one square horizontally, or two squares horizontally and one square vertically, jumping over other pieces. Each player starts the game with two knights on the b- and g-files, each located between a rook and a bishop.

The endgame is the final stage of a chess game which occurs after the middlegame. It begins when few pieces are left on the board.

This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in chess, in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like fork and pin. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific to chess problems, see Glossary of chess problems; for a list of named opening lines, see List of chess openings; for a list of chess-related games, see List of chess variants; for a list of terms general to board games, see Glossary of board games.

The fifty-move rule in chess states that a player can claim a draw if no capture has been made and no pawn has been moved in the last fifty moves. The purpose of this rule is to prevent a player with no chance of winning from obstinately continuing to play indefinitely or seeking to win by tiring the opponent.

Stalemate is a situation in chess where the player whose turn it is to move is not in check and has no legal move. Stalemate results in a draw. During the endgame, stalemate is a resource that can enable the player with the inferior position to draw the game rather than lose. In more complex positions, stalemate is much rarer, usually taking the form of a swindle that succeeds only if the superior side is inattentive. Stalemate is also a common theme in endgame studies and other chess problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Checkmate</span> Winning game position in chess

Checkmate is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game.

In chess, a tactic is a sequence of moves that each makes one or more immediate threats – a check, a material threat, a checkmating sequence threat, or the threat of another tactic – that culminates in the opponent's being unable to respond to all of the threats without making some kind of concession. Most often, the immediate benefit takes the form of a material advantage or mating attack; however, some tactics are used for defensive purposes and can salvage material that would otherwise be lost, or to induce stalemate in an otherwise lost position.

In chess, a relative value is a standard value conventionally assigned to each piece. Piece valuations have no role in the rules of chess but are useful as an aid to assessing a position.

In chess, an isolated pawn is a pawn that has no friendly pawn on an adjacent file. Isolated pawns are usually a weakness because they cannot be protected by other pawns. The square in front of the pawn may become a good outpost for the opponent to anchor pieces. Isolated pawns most often become weaker in the endgame, as there are fewer pieces available to protect the pawn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Promotion (chess)</span> Chess rule

In chess, promotion is the replacement of a pawn with a new piece when the pawn is moved to its last rank. The player replaces the pawn immediately with a queen, rook, bishop, or knight of the same color. The new piece does not have to be a previously captured piece. Promotion is mandatory when moving to the last rank; the pawn cannot remain as a pawn.

Tsume shogi or tsume (詰め) is the Japanese term for a shogi miniature problem in which the goal is to checkmate the opponent's king. Tsume problems usually present a situation that might occur in a shogi game, and the solver must find out how to achieve checkmate. It is similar to a mate-in-n chess problem.

In chess, the exchange is the material difference of a rook for a minor piece. Having a rook for a minor piece is generally advantageous, since the rook is usually more valuable. A player who has a rook for a minor piece is said to be up the exchange, and the other player is down the exchange. A player who wins a rook for a minor piece is said to have won the exchange, while the other player has lost the exchange. The opposing captures often happen on consecutive moves, but this is not strictly necessary. Although it is generally detrimental to lose the exchange, one may occasionally find reason to purposely do so; the result is an exchange sacrifice.

A pawnless chess endgame is a chess endgame in which only a few pieces remain, and no pawns. The basic checkmates are types of pawnless endgames. Endgames without pawns do not occur very often in practice except for the basic checkmates of king and queen versus king, king and rook versus king, and queen versus rook. Other cases that occur occasionally are (1) a rook and minor piece versus a rook and (2) a rook versus a minor piece, especially if the minor piece is a bishop.

Shogi, like western chess, can be divided into the opening, middle game and endgame, each requiring a different strategy. The opening consists of arranging one's defenses and positioning for attack, the middle game consists of attempting to break through the opposing defenses while maintaining one's own, and the endgame starts when one side's defenses have been compromised.

References

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  3. Recognized Sports of the International Olympic Committee International Olympic Committee official website. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
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  5. FIDE rules (En Passant is rule 3.7, part d)
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  10. Discovered Attack Article at Chesscorner.com
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  15. "Emil Szalanczy vs Thi Mai Hung Nguyen (2009) Sixth Sense".
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  17. Edward R. Brace, An Illustrated Dictionary of Chess, McKay, 1977, p. 276. ISBN   0-679-50814-7.
  18. Byrne J. Horton, Dictionary of Modern Chess, Philosophical Library, 1959, p. 199.
  19. I. A. Horowitz and Fred Reinfeld, Chess Traps, Pitfalls and Swindles, Simon and Schuster, 1954, p. 12. ISBN   0-671-21041-6.
  20. Walter Korn, The Brilliant Touch in Chess, Dover Publications, 1966, p. 4. SBN 486-21615-2.
  21. Graham Burgess, The Mammoth Book of Chess, Carroll & Graf, 1997, p. 489. ISBN   0-7867-0431-4.
  22. See, e.g., Ali Mortazavi, The Fine Art of Swindling, Cadogan Books, 1996, p. 44. ISBN   1-85744-105-2 (referring to Em. Lasker–Ed. Lasker, New York 1924, as a "celebrated swindle").
  23. Pritchard, D. B. (1994), The Encyclopedia of Chess Variants, Games & Puzzles Publications, p. 107, ISBN   978-0-9524142-0-9
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