How do the little horses jump again?!?! :-D
Written: Jan 11 '07
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Pros: Amazing game...
Cons: ... but, I would think, too complex and time-consuming for most...
The Bottom Line: If you think you have the time and patience for it, chess will challenge you forever.
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| captaind's Full Review: Chess |
Chess Is an extremely difficult game to review. Everybody’s heard of it, many can play it, few can master it.
The game is played on an 8 x 8 chequered square board. The first two rows on either side are populated to begin with by the white and black pieces. After deciding which player is which colour, white begins.
There are 16 pieces per side and of those there are 6 different types of playing piece; Pawns, Castles (also called Rooks), Knights, Bishops, a Queen and a King. Each of these pieces moves in a different way. Loosely speaking, the object of the game is to force the opposing player’s king into a position where it can be taken on the following move whatever move the player makes.
As you will no doubt realise, that’s over-simplifying matter to a great extent. With different pieces all moving in different ways, and having to think several moves ahead – and work out what your opponent is thinking of doing several moves ahead – chess is a game that requires a great deal of concentration and ingenuity, as well as time. Good player might take a couple of hours on a single game – great players might take many hours. The full extent of the game’s complexity will only become clear after you’ve been playing for a very long time (I must admit that I am unlikely to ever get past the “moderately good beginner” stage – if that!). There have been countless books about the game and its “gambits”, as the opening sequences of moves are called. Because of this awesome complexity that very few people will ever truly master, I don’t feel that chess, amazing game though it is, truly deserves 5 stars – it’s just not as accessible to the majority of people as so many other games are. On the other hand if you want a long-term challenge, you could easily spend a lifetime on chess.
When the King is in trouble – in position to be taken if nothing else happened – it is called “check”. If you are in check, you have to do something to protect your King – even if it means sacrificing an important piece – no other move is allowed at that point. “Checkmate” is when you’ve lost. An impossible situation might be ended by a player knocking their king over, thus conceding defeat.
Another thing about chess is the amazing range of boards available – some themed, some made from precious stones, and of course the more reasonably priced wooden and plastic sets (personally I’d recommend wood – hand-carved if you can get it - over plastic any day). There are also computerised versions that can challenge you and teach you some basic or even advanced moves. Offline and online computer game versions of chess are also plentiful.
I’ve always been fascinated by chess and have enjoyed playing it from time to time, and find that I get a lot better if I’ve got into the swing of things with a few games. (One time though after I’d played a really tough game my mind gave out on me and I lost to Fools Mate – the least possible number of moves to lose by – twice running. Unsurprisingly I called it a night at that point…) If you have someone who enjoys the game and is at about the same level as you, or you join a club or online league, you will no doubt find chess a continual source of entertainment and contest. However most people will, I feel, only play it from time to time and have forgotten how to play a good game until it’s time to pack up and go home.
Overall Chess is an excellent game, the limitations are more because of its players than the game itself.
To get a decent chess set in one form or another is probably going to set you back somewhere in the region of £8-10 (about $15-20). A good way to spend your precious cash wisely might be to buy one of the sets that have several games in one (chess, checkers, perhaps backgammon, etc) – but make sure it’s good quality first, several poor quality versions of games is less worthwhile than one good version of one!
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Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 20
Type of Toy: Board Game
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