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May 17th, 2007, 11:12:15 PM
#1
really boring conversation about chess.
Does anyone know an easy way to explain the difference between checkmate and stalemate to a ten year old? There's this kid in my building who's mum works a few jobs and he comes over sometimes. We were watching 'Searching For Bobby Fischer' a few months ago and he asked me to teach him chess. I'm a lousy teacher though, so far all of our lessons have gone like this.
Me: Okay Sam, so let's say you only have your King (you're the black king) left. He's on h8. I have my Queen here on h6 and a Rook on g1. What's happening?
Sam: Checkmate.
Me: Nope.
Sam: Uh, yeah.
Me: Your King isn't in check. So it's not checkmate.
Sam: How am I not in check?
Me: You're only in check when your King is being attacked by another piece.
Sam: Aren't I being attacked? I can be captured. So I lose.
Me: The point isn't to capture the King, it's to trap him.
Sam: But he can't move anywhere!
Me: Right.
Sam: So it's checkmate!
Me: No, he's not in check, so it's not checkmate. It's stalemate.
Sam: Huh?
Me: There are no possible moves, but you aren't in check, so it's a stalemate. The match is a draw.
And then inevitably this kid gets all frustrated and stops enjoying the game, which is a pity because he's caught on to everything else really quickly. I don't know how to explain the whole concept of 'check', 'checkmate', and 'stalemate' to him any simpler.
Any ideas?
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