Nice post on Chess.com

Thanks to George Duval for his recent post on Chess.com where he's referenced ChessBaron as a source of 'blunder proof' chess equipment. Blunder-proof (or blunderprone) is George's name on chess.com and on his own blog. Quite a character.

Weighted Russian Special Chess Set with 4.25 inch King

The Weighted Russian Special Chess Set with 4.25 inch King is a perfect blend of clear simplicity and Russian tradition. The neat lines are notably the most distinguishing factor that can set this set apart from other good chess sets from ChessBaron. The king accentuates its aristocratic look and feel with by its 4.25 inches height. The knight lucidly radiates confidence with its pretty hair lines and nice curves. All pieces are double weighted to ensure stability and easy movement on the board. The bottom of each piece is felt lined. To give ideal proportion, the squares on the board are a perfect 1.75 inch square each. The overall feminine design of Weighted Russian Special Chess Set with 4.25 inch King makes it an ideal present for women and other chess players looking for a less-manly appealing chess sets.

Compact Magnetic Travel Chess Set

Now this is the real travel chess set! The Compact Magnetic Travel Chess Set does not only give fun while you are away, but is can also showcase your taste for chess. Given with a lacquered finish, the board and the chess pieces are more than just toys. They are the best travel chess set at a great price around. The downside of this set is its size (3.5 by 7 inches (8.75 by 18 cm)). If you are the type who hates carrying something around, this one is not for you. If you sacrifice portability for style and functionality, this is your perfect choice. The pieces will pop out of their storage positions after you flip over the board. This set is cool, and in style--created simply for you.

Contemporary Modern chess set E2003

If you need a simple, yet striking design for a chess set, the Contemporary Modern chess set is the perfect choice. The set was made from golden brown sheesham, a favorite wood material by chess carvers. The name of the set suggests its contemporary look due to notable straight lines and an intentional omission of additional details. This one is an ideal choice for those who want a simple, functional chess set yet exhibiting taste and style. However, their overly simplistic feature is surely a turn off factor for those who wants intricate designs on a chess set. If you need a show off set with tastes for the contemporary, get Contemporary Modern chess set.

M7009 American Staunton in Black and White Chess Set with 4 inch King

It is hard to find top quality lacquer-painted chess sets today. The American Staunton in Black and White Chess Set with 4 inch King has a good lacquer finish. If you are looking for a good departure from the conventional, you need to get this one. If you also believe that life should be a black and white affair, then getting this set is the closest means of expression you can have. This set is made from fine chidar so you are assured of high value pieces that can last for several generations. You will know that the pieces are good because of their weight. Each piece of this set is heavily weighted to cater to your needs.

M3009 American Staunton in Dark Green-White Gloss Chess Set

Chess was a predominantly male game even when it was at its infancy. It was a favorite pastime of generals and the European ruling elite in the previous centuries. Even today, most players of this game are males. It is just natural that chess pieces are designed to appeal to male sensitivities like the American Staunton in Dark Green-White Gloss Chess Set. This set is a perfect gift for a husband, a father, a brother, or a boyfriend.  The bottom of each piece is lined with leather. The pieces themselves are carved from Blackened Chidor. This set can be expected to reach even after several generations, hence, making it a perfect family treasure in the future.

Chess Baron Isle of Lewis Chess Pieces

Collectors and chess players alike rarely find a good chess set that is made of crushed marble. In Chess Baron Isle of Lewis Chess Pieces, you will not only find quality but a healthy dose of history as well. The pieces are carved with courtly details and each one portrays a personality apart from the other. Just look at those weary horses bearing the knights on their backs! The white pieces show the nice combination of craftsmanship and choice of color. However, the black pieces are not that attractive. Overall, this chess set is still a fine one given its material and rich historical side. Perfect for history buffs who play chess from time to time.

M2039 Song of Solomon Bud Rosewood Chess Set

Chess can be played anywhere but there are times that you want to be one with nature by playing outside, especially in your garden. There is no perfect chess set available to indulge your wish than the Song of Solomon Bud Rosewood Chess Set. This highly ornamented set is carved from the bud rosewood only. This one is your perfect garden companion (together with a loved one of course). The designs are very symmetrical that each piece only gives you total delight whatever angle you are looking at. You can spend a long time just inspecting each piece and forget about the game for a while. With its reasonable price, you will also be smiling all day after you will get this set. 

M2030 Hannah Grand Staunton Ebonised Chess Set

There is nothing grand about this set aside from its name. First, it was made from some other wood except ebony through the process called ebonising. Although the finished product looks the same like ebony, with no clear signs for grains and almost like a black plastic, it is still essentially an imitation. Second, the carvings themselves are not that good especially on the knights--they looked to be smiling confusingly instead of trying to display a menacing grin. The only good thing about this set is its triple weight feature. Aside from that, the Hannah Grand Staunton Ebonised Chess Set is not even worth spending your time around with.

Globe Fret Weighted Chess Set 5.5 inch King

The Globe Fret Weighted Chess Set 5.5 inch King is named after the globe in the body of each piece. This unique feature in each piece makes it an excellent part of any good chess set collection. Putting those designs on the globe of each piece can easily be calculated to reach long man-hours since each piece was handcrafted to attain perfect resemblance to one another. I like the soulful stare of the knights! They look so gentle, unlike the usual depictions of mean knights in most sets. The king stands at an imposing 5.5 inches, clearly dominating the boards. Get your money's worth in this set. Grab it now!

When I play chess the pieces come alive!

As a 9 year old, when I play chess, it seems that the pieces are alive! I tell my dad, but he says its my imagination. But I'm sure I see the pieces move around! I think the pieces are trying to make me lose. I've lost every game since I first saw a pawn make a move without me touching it.  Sometimes I get scared when they move around the board, other times I laugh. I just want to tell myself this is all my imagination, but I'm just so sure I see the pieces alive. After my dad has won another game of chess, he says "We can only have one winner, the rest have to lose. Theres no point in getting upset about it, the next time you could be a winner instead." I know I should believe him about that, but I just get so angry when I lose every game because the pieces I play with make me lose, so I have every right to get upset about it.

When will chess champ Susan Polgar return my fan calls?

Susan Polgar is an Hungarian-born chess grandmaster who now lives in the US. She became the youngest female chess player to reach grandmaster status at age 15. Susan and her other two sisters, who are also excellent chess players, were coached by their father ever since they were little girls. In November 1986, Susan lost the number 1 spot in FIDE when a politically-motivated move was implemented to give all active female players 100 bonus ELO points. Susan now lives in Lubbock, Texas. If you are still waiting for her call, trash it. She's busy attending to her 2 children, her husband, and her Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence at Texas Tech University.

If I pray hard enough, will I get better at chess?

If you pray hard enough you won’t necessarily get better at chess, but you are on the right path! Keeping your mind in the game is always a good method to roll onto greatness, simply place your pieces and not only pray for the best, but practice, practice, practice! You can research other methods people have used, or come up with your own. Often times people use self training and find ways to play on their own for training purposes, or get a close friend to train with you. Now we even have technology to play online against random opponents, so you can get a different challenge each time!

A kids guide to chess, by Caroline Turner.

Chess is an enjoying game that gets you thinking. I am a 9 year old girl. I live in the UK and my dad is very fond of chess. Although I might want to watch TV or play games on my computer, chess is a much better way to spend your free time. My dad is teaching me chess, I love it. My brother and sister like chess too. So, in your free time, play a game of chess, its easy and fun and you'll love it.

Can a chess computer beat the best chess players?

 Most often, chess played on a square checkered board, be it, a very simple one or a very expensive, classy and handcrafted one, gives a player immense satisfaction. It is almost always said that what can be seen, heard, touched and felt is for real and gives your senses ultimate pleasure. But it is often not so, many computer fans or even expert chess players prefer computer chess. We or even the whole world watch live the performance of the players playing chess for real and not on the computer. So if one is a stickler for popularity or wants to become famous playing chess might think twice about his idea of playing chess on the ‘screen’.

Ever since the advent of digital computers in 1950’s chess enthusiasts and computer engineers have come together to build chess playing machines or computer programmes. “Programming a computer for playing chess”-was the ground breaking paper by Shannon in 1950.Many statisticians are of the belief the though computers might be able to beat even Grand Masters but not incessantly.

What is being involved in a chess club?

 A club means having people to play chess with. But it doesn’t mean just that. To many devotees of chess it is like their cult. They meet maybe once a week or during weekends…. and theses chess clubs usually have Speed Tournaments on weekends or lectures, casual games, simuls etcetera. There are millions of clubs like these all around the world- USA, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New-Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United-Kingdom, Uruguay. Chess is not just for experts, but also for beginners who want to learn the game.

The essentials of a chess club firstly are, Grand masters working full time, paying equal attention to each student. Chess related Tournament quality-sets of chess clocks, demo boards and a comprehensive chess library. Quiet comfortable classrooms with healthy atmosphere and individual chess sets.

Maybe if luck is on your side you could find yourselves a billionaire philanthropist, with extreme passion for chess to fund your club and donate a small fortune for it. If not, look for smaller sponsors you can be sure of. Students too, in your club need to be as enthusiastic and happy to be able to play chess, as the trainers or the Grand masters (if you are lucky enough to hire one, that is,) are to teach or guide them.

There are various stages to build a quality chess club:

-Start-up: No matter how fund-“less” or member “less” your club is, just go for it. Don’t sit at home and sulk about it.

-Recreational play: Creating a healthy and fun environment for kids and new beginners and to enthuse them to know more about chess and how to play it better.

-Club and Tournament Competitions: After the initial stages are done and over with successfully, there should be mini competitions and Tournaments between other clubs and yours, to stimulate and encourage interest in chess.

It might sound a bit difficult but once you get started, it’ll prove to be a marvelous investment of your time, energy and brain for sure!

Why are Chessmen best weighted?

Wood has been the most abundant material in the product of the greatest variety of chessmen over the last few centuries. These chess pieces are abound in various shapes, sizes and different types of wood. For example, dark ebony wood is the costliest material for quality and the finest pieces of chessmen available and also the most desirable.

For most chess players, weight adds to the desirability of the set of chess pieces. They enthuse the player to play better, give them a massive feel and also tend to tip over less. Not that they have to so weighty that they become difficult to handle but just enough to give the professional feel and touch to it. Many expert chess players purchase these chessmen over the net, and they are available in various types and of a variety of prices and material. Like, Golden Rose wood chess pieces, consisting the most  elegant chess pieces in beautiful Golden Rosewood with extra queens. Or the Ebonized Box Wood chess pieces. Jet-black pieces contrasting well with the light-yellow boxwood. Standard Staunton chess pieces- a simple Staunton set of playable chessmen, a tad bit smaller than the standard club size, solid, very playable, weighted and works wonders for any game of chess.

These chess pieces are priced anywhere between £62.95 to £75.95,going down to £28.95 for the Standard Staunton pieces. For chess players, looking for chess pieces a bit more expensive and sophisticated, the 3 3\4”Ebony and Kari Wood fits the bill perfectly. Costing one a neat £159.95 it is hand-polished, triple weighted with leather bottoms, and crafted from select Ebony and Kari wood and is definitely worth the money. So all you players out there what are you waiting for? To own a set of chessmen like these, one of a kind, is every chess players dream come true. So go get yours fulfilled.

Why do school teachers like kids playing chess?

Teachers, the second parents play an important role in child’s life. Chess one of the cool game liked by all always remained to be the famous sporting event not only at the international level but also in the primary levels. In order to make the dedication of teachers towards children a valuable one, technical skills should be imparted to the students. Teaching may not be the only way to impart the same. There must be external sources that make the children brainy and cheeky. The Masters game Chess plays a vital role in achieving the same. Teachers always like the inclusion of chess as the sporting event or competition in the school level. They like it being implemented in the schools from junior to senior levels especially among the kids to synchronize the growth of their brain to the growth of the ethical, competitive world.

Chess is correlated with the growth of the child nowadays and the research over it is done. It enhances creativity among the children and simulates their brain at the critical situations. Thus the problem solving skills gets developed among kids right from their young age. Thinking process of the children is active here and increases their concentration power by not allowing them to distract from the game. This art and elegancy of the game makes the kids to improve their reasoning skills. It teaches the importance of observation and adherence over any activity or towards the game.

Studies are conducted all over the world in making the above specified attributes to function more efficiently. Intelligence among the kids is significant in this intellectual world. The teachers strongly believe that the intelligence can be incorporated by making the kids play chess rather than any other games. Being an extra curricular activity it enables kids to improve towards their curriculum. These attributes makes the teachers like kids playing chess and recommend the same.

What makes for a quality chess set?

Chess, the best of the games in the world plays a vital role in imparting perfection among the humans. So the need for a quality chess set is necessary in order to make the player a quality producing player. The chess board must be of top quality which is an aesthetic that attracts the players towards the game. The chess board should be highly reliable and must produce a long life. The dimensions of the squares inscribed in the board should be standardized and should be perfectly designed during manufacture. It adds the beauty to the aesthetic game. The material to be incorporated to produce the board must withstand the adverse effects to the board. In case of wooden boards it should be highly polished and varnished.

Chess pieces should be stable, light weight and modern too. The design should add beauty to the pieces such that it attracts. The pieces should be highly distinguishable in their features based on their rank in the war of game. An easy identification to the players is necessary in case of chess pieces based on the ranks in the Warfield. The lowest or the eighth ranked pawns must be of same size and it should be the shortest of all the pieces available. Moreover the differentiation to the King and Queen pieces is important. The inclusion of manual about the pieces adds quality to the set as it may be used even by the budding artists of the game.

These are the attributes to be added in the manufacture regarding the pieces of the set and the board. Moreover an adherence to the international standards is an added advantage while manufacturing the chess set. Adherence to the international shapes with the above specified secondary attributes in higher proportion is an important feature of quality associated with the chess set. Thus the clear picture of the quality chess set is above specified attributes and nothing more than that. Manufacturers can be ethical for this ethical and the perfectionist’s game. 

Improving Ones Chess Game

If you are a newbie, this article would help you win through a game of chess. Basically one needs to get a better understanding of the game and the wise moves to make.

There are three stages of a chess game:

• ·        First is the opening stage. Here you need to be prepared to make wise moves regardless of the coins you get to play with-black or white. The general rule however is: if you get to play black, do not go on to attack until you get an opening, just play a defense game. The aim of this stage is not to move all the forces out immediately. For instance, forcing ahead all your pawns is stupid. Save one or two to block your opponents.
• ·        Next is the middle stage. Playing this stage involves a deep analysis of the coins on the board (a king and a pawn combinations works well most of the time). Your position of coins too plays an important role. Place and move the coins such that you target either more than one force of your opponent at a time or aim for a checkmate.
• ·        Next is the end stage. What you are likely to (lose or win) should decide your moves. If you have more no. of pieces than your opponent, it doesn’t mean that you can win. A pawn reaching the end of the board on your side can well be a crucial checkmate while your powerful coins might be blocked from movement. So be careful. If you have pieces and are losing by position, try to aim multiple checks at your opponent which might force the game to a draw.

These strategies will certainly help but it is wise to play the game according to the concepts and adopt the strategies with the progress of the game.