WHITE Division - Ready to Play!

Students in the WHITE Division are ready to play the game of chess, and begin to compete!

TO EARN THE WHITE WRIST BAND, A PLAYER MUST PASS A TEST, AND DEMONSTRATE THE FOLLOWING:

• Board setup
• Basic chess rules
• Piece movement, Castling
• Checkmate, 4-move Checkmate, Stalemate

AFTER EARNING YOUR WHITE WRIST BAND, you should learn the following to prepare for your next (Blue) Division:

·         Basic Opening Principles

o   Piece Development
o   King Safety
o   Controlling Center

·         Basic Openings: 4 Knights, Ruy Lopez, Italian Game, French Defense, Queen's Gambit
·         Thinking like other player – “why did they move there and what can they do to me?” 

·         Playing Slowly- THINKing between each move

·         En Passant and when to use
·         Battle Squares- counting defenders and attackers (Piece Safety)
·         Overkill Checkmates

o   K+2R vs. K
o   K+Q vs. K

·         Avoiding Stalemate
·         Basic Tactics

o   Mate in 1
o   Pin
o   Fork
o   Skewer
o   Mate in 2
o   Removal of the Guard

·         How to Take Notation
·         Tournament Basics- sportsmanship, manners, basics, etc.

Outside of Class, a White Division player should:

·         Watch White level videos on this Blog (http://muskegochess.blogspot.com)
·         Practice tactics on ChessTempo.com
·         Get a free Chess.com account and play online
·         Take Notation in Important Games
·         Ask about Tournaments- Pick one to shoot for!
·         Test into BLUE Division when ready!