4 ms·

Good insight re long- and short-range pieces. A pawn can never pin or skewer because it can only attack one space away. Also a knight cannot pin or skewer, beca

• jfarmer 13y ago
  As a beginner this was totally invisible to me and nevertheless it's critical to understanding why pinning and skewering are valuable: you can control your opponent's behavior from a distance. This is the curse of expertise. Experts have internalized the most important distinctions so well they're like air. Beginners haven't internalized any distinctions and therefore couldn't possibly see that their struggle is a product of not having them. They can't even express the concept of air. "Just breath! Inhale! Fill your lungs up!" the expert says, as the beginner coughs and grabs at their throat.
  • socillion 13y ago
    First, some context: I haven't played or watched chess at all in about 8 years (quit when I was 12) but before that I was a competitive player. I did all the "moving past the basics" problems apart from the opening moves, and found all but 1 or 2 trivial. The long-winded descriptions didn't really help at all. Something that might help a ton to grasp the concepts is to provide annotated example boards where the same technique is demonstrated. It feels like a situation that is very accurately described by "a picture is worth a thousand words". I'm very curious how a beginner would approach a simple ending like King+Rook vs King.