The Lighter Side of Chess

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Chess in Poetry

The plots and feats of those that press
To seize on titles, wealth or power,
Shall seem to you a game of chess
Designed to pass a tedious hour.

What matters it to him who fights
For shows of unsubstantial good
Whether his Kings and Queens and Knight
Be things of flesh or things of wood?

We check and take, exult and fret,
Our plans extend, our passions rise,
Till, in our ardor, we forget
How worthless is the victor's prize.

Soon fades the spell, soon comes the night;
Say, will it not be then the same,
Whether we played the black or white,
Whether we won or lost the game?

from Sermon in a Churchyard
-Thomas Babbington Macaulay (1800-1859)

Rules of Thumb

• A Knight on the Rim is Grim
• The 4 Opening Moves of Chess - Center Pawns, Knights & Bishops, Castle, Attack
• Attack, Attack! Always Attack!
• In Scholastic Chess Most Games are Won by Taking the Free Pieces that are Offered
• Always Check, It Might be Mate
• When in Doubt, Don't Move a Pawn
• The King is an Attacking Piece (in the End Game)
• Combinations are the Building Blocks of Positional Play
• Passed Pawns Increase in Strength as the Number of Pieces Diminish
• Pawn Moves Should be Spent as if They were your Last Dollar
• The Passed Pawn is a Criminal that must be kept under Lock and Key
• Pawns are the Soul of Chess
• We Learn More from One Loss than a Hundred Victories
• Never Move a Piece Twice Before You Have Moved the Others Once
• Games are Won by Mistakes, Either Your Own or Your Opponents
• A Gambit Pawn is Worth 3 Free Moves
• There is No Victory Without Risk
• Never Take the Pawn on b2 with Your Queen
• An Isolated Pawn Spreads Gloom Across the Chessboard
• Every Move Should have a Touch of Poison in it
• The Sign of a Strong Player is the Ability to Win Won Games Easily
• On the Chessboard Lies and Hypocrisy do not Live Long
• An Attack on the Wing Should be Met by Counter Attack in the Center
• Nobody has ever Won a Game by Resigning
• It is Not Enough to be a Good Chessplayer - You must also Play Good Chess
• When You Find a Good Move, Look Again - There May be a Better One
• Holes & Weak Points in Your Opponents Position Must be Occupied by Pieces, Not Pawns
• The Most Important Piece in a Pawn Ending is the King
• The Threat can be More Powerful than its Execution
• A Defeated Attitude is the Seed of Defeat
• Exchange Pieces when Ahead, Exchange Pawns when Behind
• If you adopt a loser attitude you will play loser moves