Fort Lee School # 2 Winter 2024

CLUB RULES:

1. Children will stay in their classes and be escorted to media center for chess club at 3:00.
2. No food, drink, or snacks during chess club.
3. Pick up is at 4:00 for kids who do not have after care. Please contact school immediately if there is a problem with pick up. If this will be an issue we will have to take your child out of the club.
4. Pay attention that two questions on registration form is now require response: a) does your child participate in aftercare program at school; b) Do you permit School 2 PTA to share photos/media of your child

BEGINNER I and BEGINNER II CLASSES

• Rules of the game: how pawns/pieces move & capture; what is attack, castle, 'en passant', pawn promotion; check; checkmate; notation – I.e. The “abc’s” of chess.
  
• Basic strategy:
  a. checkmate -or the goal of the game
  b. development of pieces (more squares means stronger pieces)
  c. stalemate
  d. capturing the opponent’s pieces
  e. piece value (absolute, and relative)
• Check Mate Concepts (The common 'how to's”)
  a) mate with queen & king against king
  b) mate with 2 rooks, or 1 rook 1 queen (Ladder mate)
  c) mate with 1 rook and king against king
  d) mate traps in the beginning of the game (scholar’s, fool’s, Legal’s)
  e) mate traps in the middle game (Batteries, plus Smother, anastasia, Arabian, etc.)
• Basic End-Of-Game principles
  a) King becomes strong at end-of the game
  b) Pawn & King against King (opposition, flanking)
  c) Simple end-game positions for practice
  

ADVANCED BEGINNER / INTERMEDIATE CLASSES (at least two semesters of chess) 

• Brief review of chess rules: capture; castle, 'en passant', pawn promotion; check; checkmate; stalemate (all from beginner class)
• Basic tactics I (tactical devices to gain material for purpose of later strategic victory)
  a. Pin
  b. Double attack (i.e. fork)
  c. Discover threat/check/attack (also double check!)
  d. Skewer
• Basic tactics II (simple combinations)
  a. Piece values (relative to each other, position)
  b. Unique piece combinations (i.e. Bishop, rook, etc.)
  c. Deflections, Decoys, “In-Between moves,”
  Overloads
• End-Of-Game (continue)
  a. Rule of the square of the pawn
  b. Zugzwang (possible in middlegame, probable in most endgames)
  c. Tempi (Triangulation as a means of losing tempi at end to force Zugzwang)
• Chess Tournaments