Three Types of Draws

Stalemate is not the only draw that can be achieved in the game of chess, although it is the most well known. The other two types of draws include the fifty-move rule and the three-fold repetition. If you are looking for the win then you want to avoid draws as much as possible and have the game result in a checkmate instead of a draw.
A stalemate is when it is your opponent's turn, but they have no legal moves that they can make. This means that the king is the only piece that can be moved, but it cannot be moved into check. Remember that it is illegal for a king to place himself in check. This results in the draw by way of stalemate. Neither player wins the game.
The fifty move rule is when there are no pawn movements and no captures for fifty consecutive moves. If a pawn move or a capture takes place, then the count resets to zero and begins again. Upon reaching fifty moves either player may claim a draw and again no one wins the game. Typically this happens when both players only have one or two pieces left on the board.
The three-fold repetition says that if the exact same position occurs on the board three times during a game, either player may claim a draw. Sometimes this is done on accident, other times it is forced by placing an opponent in check over and over again. Think of being able to take a picture of the board three different times during a game and the pictures come out identical to each other.
Try to avoid these draws so that you are able to come away with an official win. Avoid these by watching out for them and being sure to look for every opportunity to place your opponent in checkmate.

Uptown Shah Alam Chess Tournament 2010

Uptown Shah Alam Chess Tournament 2010

Seksyen 24.

Objective : Promote Chess, Uptown Shah Alam ( Berbumbung )

Places limited

Rating below 1800.

Limited to 64 players only. Hurry up

6 or 7 rounds

Fees : RM 20. U 17 : RM 15. Sijil akan diberikan kepada setiap pemain 17 tahun dan ke bawah.

Minuman ringan akan disediakan oleh pihak penganjur.

Closing date : 18 February 2010. Will start sharp 9 pm. no late registration.

*.- Only those who pay can play in that tournament.

Maybank Azwan Abdul Rahman. 164249001447.

do contact Saleh – 0196061948

Azwan – 0192788471

Suhairi – 0123631591

R1 – 9 pm – 9.30pm
R2 – 9.35 pm – 10.05 pm
R3 – 10.10 pm – 10.40 pm
R4 – 10.45 pm – 11.15 pm
R5 – 11.20 pm – 11.50 pm
R6 – 11.55 pm – 12.25 am
R7 – 12.25 am – 12.55 am
1.10 am prize giving.

1st – RM 300 and hamper
2nd – RM 150 and hamper
3rd – RM 100 n hamper
4th – RM 90 n hamper
5th – RM 80 n hamper
6th – RM 70 n hamper
7th – RM 60 n hamper
8- 10th – RM 50 n hamper

Best lady – must be above 12 years old.
Best Veteran – above 40 years old
Best U12 g, Best U 12 b, Best U 18,
Best U 1200, Best U 1400 and Best U 1600 – all hampers.
So RM 1000 and 18 hampers .

Sumber: http://stonemaster.info/2010/02/09/uptown-shah-alam-chess-20-feb-2010/

Strategy?

Meaning of Chess Strategy

The word strategy is often synonymous with chess. Almost every time someone wants to describe an activity that involves strategy, chess is used as a metaphor. Take American football for instance. Whether it is college football on Saturdays or the NFL on Sundays, you can rarely go through a whole game without hearing the TV commentators make some reference to chess.

When it comes to chess players though, the words 'strategy' or 'strategies' invoke different meanings. Players think of strategy as being the opposite of tactics. While tactics involve combinations and sacrifices, so-called "fireworks", strategic play is much calmer and involves long term positional planning aimed at achieving overall superiority.

Do you Need Chess Strategy?

The first question you might ask is do you really need to become better at chess strategy? Isn't tactics enough? As it turns out, strategy is incredibly important. I am not denying that you will always have a favorite. Even world champions are known for one or the other. When you think of Kasparov or Alekhine for instance, the words "tactical genius" immediately come to mind. Karpov or Capablanca on the other hand were famous for their positional play. Nevertheless, if you go over the games of these great players, you will quickly realize that they were incredibly adept at the other part of the game too.
How to Become Better at Chess Strategy

Improving your strategic play is much harder than working on your tactics. It is much more time consuming and many find it to be a whole lot less fun. The way to do it is relatively similar though: lots of practice, which in this case means going over dozens and hundreds of positions where the players had to make a choice of strategy.

Solving chess puzzles or problems is a whole lot of fun, isn't it? As all of us are well aware, we put a lot of effort into keeping our bodies fit. Gyms and hundreds of magazines and videos tell us how to do it. But what keeps our brains fit?

Well, the chess puzzles and problems that you will find in the Academy are a good start. As long as you have the discipline to try to find the solution yourself before jumping to the lesson, you should derive great enjoyment and benefits out of them.

As you will see, they vary between combinations, openings, middle games, endgames, and everything else there is. One of the more intriguing features about them is that you won't know in advance what you are looking for. All you will know is whose move it is. The rest is up to you!

The idea is for these chess puzzles and problems to simulate as well as possible a real life situation. During a real game nobody notifies you that you should be looking for a queen sacrifice or a great positional maneuver, right? It is up to you to study the position and decide what the best move would be right there.

In the Academy's training environment your task is very similar. The only advantage you have over a real game is that by showing you the position I am letting you know that something special is about to happen. Figuring out what exactly is your job!