Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Church Chess League


Monday, January 10, 2011

Chess On In 2011

Well, it's a new year and I want to once again push chess as the answer to many of society's problems. Over the years as a teacher of the game, I have seen transformations in people with my own eyes that can only be compared to a metamorphosis. Children I have taught and helped to see themselves through the game of chess have made the transition from nerd to cool person, and from bully to thinker and achiever. They've changed from the quiet little girl to state champion. This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to chess.

Chess is magical. It has changed entire school environments that were almost impossible to learn in and calmed the mind of the students, allowing them to see that they make a choice about their education. They make the choice of the environment they learn in and who will and who will not allow them to learn. When enough students are awakened to the fact that they are losing ground because of disruptive people around them, they take a stand and stop this behavior themselves.

It is not cool not to be cool. It's that simple. Once the misbehavior becomes uncool, everyone still trying to continue it is out of place. Chess is the game that allows that person to get back into place by sitting down, shutting up, and having a good time fitting in. It allows them to be part of the crowd without losing so called "cool points" because they checked themselves instead of someone else trying to adjust their attitudes or behavior. How? Why? because every one of the students in any school wants to fit in and be cool.

The student who will not do anything the teacher says is taught the game of chess by me, of course, because I can see into any child and touch their curiosity about themselves. I say this because if you are not the right person, in certain environments, you simply can't reach the students. This child will learn that inside of them there is a person who can learn, win, think, and make better choices. And they'll realize just how much time they have been wasting. The things they did not believe or have been told all their lives that are not true about themselves are revealed. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I am here to serve the nation and help with my weapon -- the game of Chess. I have seen students improve in all of their other subjects for this reason alone. And chess is the tool that has done this! Give Chess a try at your school and if you need a Fixer, just call me -- Charles A. Smith. I can change everything!!

Chess On!!!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Now what !?

Play, play, play, and I will tell you more if you are interested! Let me know!!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Real System

Now that we have learned to move the pieces, we need to begin learning a system. The System that I will be teaching came to me in my chess beginnings and is now called The Matrix. Some have put their name on this opening and I am no different. Many chess ideas come to people at the same time or at one time or another and who's to say who deserves the credit. I put my claim on the Matrix because I learned chess without a teacher. As a matter of fact, I learned by watching my brother who was 7 years older than I am playing his friends.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010


Well, I know by now you have gotten a feel for moving the pieces. And after playing "Take the King," you are now ready to continue the learning process. In chess, you cannot really take the king. Thus far, I have allowed this to teach you the game quickly. Now in order to progress, you must stop taking the king. For very young students this will be difficult. This is what I want you to do.

When you get in a position to take the king, I want you to say "check." What is check? Check is said when you any of the pieces are in a position to take the king. For example, let's say most of the pieces have been removed from the board. And all you have are the king and a castle(Rook). Your opponent has only a king on the board. You move your rook to a position to take his king. At this time, you must say "check", giving your opponent notice that you are eying his/her king. The lone king now in check must get out of check. If he cannot, the game is over and it is checkmate.

There three ways to get out of check.
#1. Take the piece that has put you in check if you can. That is the number one way I teach beginners to get out of check. Take the piece that has attacked your mighty king. This is a game of war, and as a warrior, you should do whatever you can to prevent your enemy from getting close to your king. Your opponent is a threat to your king and your kingdom. In real life, as a warrior, you'd defend the kingdom and take your opponent out if you could. The same thing applies in chess. You have to defend the king or you lose most of the time.

#2. Block the threat. In chess this is called interposing. What is interposing? Interposing is blocking the attack of the enemy piece. Let's say you have a castle and a king and your opponent has a king and a bishop. You move your castle down the board and call check five squares away from the king. Your opponent sees that he can put his bishop right next to his king and block the check. This is interposing. It is the number two way of bringing a halt to a check. All of the pieces on the chess board can check and interpose. Yes, even the one point pawns can do both of these powerful movements on the chess board.

#3 Run!!! This reminds me of my father Charlie Henry Smith who once told me in the hard streets of Brooklyn, New York growing up that the next time I came home with my bike stolen, I at least needed to look like I had been robbed. What he meant by that was that I should put up some resistance and not just come home crying. To some, this might seem cold, but in the big city, my father who was from Southern Pines, North Carolina knew how to help his son survive. I had to be tough. And so do you on the chess board and in this world. The last thing you do is run when attacked if you cannot take the checking piece. And if you cannot interpose, you run. Your king must survive, so the last thing you would do is flee as a last resort. These are the three ways to get out of check, and if your king cannot do so, then he can not move and this is called checkmate.

So, I would like you to try to play with the new word "check". You must call check when you attack the king to alert your opponent that he or she is eying your king. He must get out of check before he can do anything else. And If he cannot get out of check, the game is over and you won't hear your opponent say check, you'll them say checkmate as they claim the win.

That's the game in a nutshell. This method of teaching beginners has been proven by me and hundreds of my students. I invented this method of teaching to allow my students to enjoy the game while they learned. You or your students will enjoy this way of learning as well. I'll be back regularly from here on out. Chess On!!

Monday, November 16, 2009

Adding the King and Queen

Now that you have developed a feel for the pawn game, it's time to add the King and Queen. Set up the rest of the pieces as I've described their proper setup before.

The "Queen always gets her color" is one way I convey to my students where to place the Queen. What this means is if the Queen is white, she stands on a light square. If the Queen is black, she stands on a dark square when the pieces are set up. That leaves a lone square for the King, and this means he will always start the game on a square that is opposite color of his hue. This is the starting position for the beginning of the end of The Pawn Game. We no longer play to get a pawn to the other side of the board anymore; now we play a game I call Take The King.

In Take The King, you must take or kill the other person's king to win the game. The movement of the King is simple: he can move one square at a time in any direction on a empty board. However, in his current position, he can't move at all because he is surrounded by other pieces. His movements are slow and plodding, and must be kept safe and away from the enemy or the game could be lot! The King is the deciding factor in the game at this point, so he is the most important piece on the board. Therefore, we say his value is the whole game itself.

The Queen is the strongest piece on the chess board, is usually the most aggressive piece on the board and is the most effective if used properly. Her value is nine points. I like to describe her movement to new students as such: She moves like a Rook and a Bishop combined. In other words, she has the power of both the Rook and Bishop. She can move across an empty board from one end to the other in one movement just like a Rook or Bishop!

So go at it now kiddies of all ages. Take The King!! Remember, the first move is still the same for both sides. Chess On !!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The SuperNationals

To be good at this game one must put in the time. Many hours must be given to study and practice. Or you can just be good without a lot of study! Stay alert -- my book is coming and in it I explain how I turn young people into chess champions. In the 2009 Super Nationals Chess Tournament, three of my players placed in the top twenty in the country One of my students, a TRUE beginner having just learned the game in school 2008-2009, was in first place alone going into the last round with the score of 6 wins 0 losses. Billy Knapp of Birmingham Alabama almost shook up the world he lost in the last round and came in a very respectable fourth in the country in the unrated section. Temple Price, another student of mine, tied for thirteenth in the high school rated section 6-1 -- very impressive. Also in that same section, Waymen Benifield came in sixteenth place 5 1/2 - 1 1/2. Also very impressive. These young men played in sections with over 500 other young girls and boys and did more than hold their own! These students (with their hard work and my teachings) really represented and helped to establish Birmingham and Alabama as a force in scholastic chess that is growing. Look out: the south is rising again! Led by a yankee general -- a poor boy from Brooklyn!