Friday, March 7, 2008

South Miami Heights Making Moves


The South Miami Heights chess club meets a few times a week from 7:15 am to 8:15 am and on Wednesday afternoons. I was there yesterday morning and teacher Shari Sussman had the coffee brewing. She has high hopes for her students as they get ready for their Region V & VI tournament scheduled for May 10, at Booker T. Washington Senior.
The students asked me questions about en passant, how many pawns to promote, and the difference between the "touch move" rule and adjusting a piece. Based on their questions, I reviewed checkmate with a King and a Rook as well as checkmate with two Rooks. I explained that the problem with overpromoting is that you run the risk of being stalemated. I also gave examples of tactics and focused on Knight forks. At this level, tactics are so important e.g., forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks, batteries, combinations etc.

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