Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Chess

2009-11-17T19:05:47Z

GeddyAlexNeil: /* The Board */

[[Image:Staunton chess set.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A typical chess set and tournament clock.]]

'''Chess''' is a turn-based [[board game]] for two players, and is one of the most popular games in the world. The goal of the game is to place the opposing king into ''checkmate'', that is, a position in which the king is under attack but cannot escape. The game used to be treated as a status symbol of education and aristocracy and in recent times has become to be known as an [[elitist]]'s game.

Modern international chess has a powerful, sweeping [[queen]] who was not a piece provided in the original game. The long reach of bishops today was also lacking at first. Maneuvers such as castling or capturing ''en passant'' have been developed within the past few hundred years.

Today, chess is one of the most popular board games in the world. International competitions, including world [[champion]]ship events, are organized by an organization called FIDE and American competition organized by the USCF (United States Chess Federation). The only American world champion was [[Bobby Fischer]], although [[Paul Morphy]] of [[Louisiana]] was likely the strongest player in the world in the 1850s, before a formal world champion was determined. The current world champion is [[India | Indian]] Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand.

==Origins==
Chess has its roots in [[India]], where a game called Shaturanga was played. The earliest extant description of the game is contained in the [[Bhavishya Purana]], which dates from A.D. 300 to A.D. 600. Shaturanga used [[dice]], but [[Hinduism]] bans gambling. As a result, the game of chess developed free from any dice or chance. The exact rules of Shaturanga are not known, but the game developed further in Persia into something very like its modern form. The Persian game Shatranj - which remains popular in the middle east today - is nearly identical to modern chess. By A.D. 1200 the game reached southern Europe, and in the late fifteenth century the Europeans adopted a number of changes: the queen, which had formerly been a very weak piece, became the strongest piece on the board, and allowing pawns to move two squares on the first move became standard. These changes had the effect of speeding up play, and they brought the game into the form we know today.

There has been some speculation that chess has roots in [[China]]. It's clear that chess is in some way related to [[XiangQi]] (Chinese Chess) and [[Shogi]] (Japanese Chess), but scholars disagree about whether either of these variants predates Shaturanga.

==The Board==
The chess board is a square, divided into 64 smaller squares arranged in eight rows of eight. The squares are alternating light and dark, with a light square in the bottom right hand corner.

The horizontal rows of squares are referred to as "ranks" and the vertical rows are referred to as "files".

==Pieces==
[[Image:StauntonPieces.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Staunton Style chess pieces. From left to right: King, Queen, Bishop, Knight, Rook, and Pawn.]]
Each player has a total of 16 pieces; 8 pawns, 2 knights, 2 bishops, 2 rooks, 1 queen, and 1 king. 

===Relative Value of Pieces===
There are several different ideas about the relative value of the pieces. It is important to note that the "points" used to assign a value to each piece are hypothetical and do not constitute a score; they are merely an attempt to quantify the relative power that each piece can hypothetically exert upon the board.

The method most often used is:
*[[Image:chesspawn.jpg|20px]] Pawn--1
*[[Image:chessknight.jpg|20px]] Knight--3 (some say 2.5, as Knights are generally regarded as slightly inferior to Bishops in many middlegame and endgame situations)
*[[Image:chessbishop.jpg|20px]] Bishop--3
*[[Image:chessrook.jpg|20px]] Rook--5
*[[Image:chessqueen.jpg|20px]] Queen--9
*[[Image:chessking.jpg|20px]] King--Priceless, since its loss means the loss of the game. However, as an active piece in the endgame it is usually considered to have a value of 3.
 (The value to the player of some pieces will actually vary during the course of the game, for instance, in an endgame, the King has an attacking power of about 3)

===Style===
The most popular style of pieces are known as Staunton style pieces, the tournament standard for chess pieces, although other types exist. Often, popular themed chess sets will appear with characters from [[popular culture]] or [[fiction]] taking the places of the more common Staunton style pieces. These novelty pieces are not tournament sanctioned however, and can sometimes cause confusion during game play as to which piece is which.

Although chess pieces can come in a variety of materials, [[marble]] and [[glass]] tend to be very popular, but for most chess tournaments, simple [[plastic]] pieces are usually favored. Also, while many home chess sets use heavy boards made out of [[wood]] or [[stone]] or some [[polymer]] material, tournament boards are actually roll-able mats with the board printed on it.

==Gameplay ==

The object of the game is to checkmate the other player's '''King''' before he checkmates your king. When a pawn reaches the far side of the board, it may be promoted to any other piece (except a King).

*The players alternate moving until the game has ended.
*The player with the White pieces always moves first.

===Initial Conditions===
The pieces are put on the board in each player's side as follows:
*In the first row from left to right (with the leftmost square being black): '''rook''', '''knight''', '''bishop''', '''queen''', '''king''', '''bishop''', '''knight''' and '''rook'''.
*The second row is filled with '''pawns'''.

===Movement===
The pieces move as follows.
*The '''pawn''' moves one square forward, except when moving from its opening position, when it can optionally move two. The pawn is the only piece that captures in a way different from the way it moves. It captures opposing pieces by capturing one square diagonally forward. When another piece is on the square directly in front of a pawn it cannot move unless it is making a capture. 
*The '''knight''', which is the only piece that can jump over other pieces, moves one square in one straight direction and two in the other. 
*The '''bishop''' can move as many squares as desired diagonally. 
*The '''rook''' can move as many squares as desired in a straight direction. 
*The '''queen''' is the most powerful piece in the board. It can move as many squares as desired (without jumping over another piece), either straight or diagonally. 
*The '''king''', which is the most important piece on the board, moves one square, either straight or diagonally.

====Capturing====

All pieces except for the pawn capture along their lines of motion. A capture is made by moving a piece to a square occupied by one of the opponent's pieces, and removing the opponent's piece from the board. If a piece can move to occupy the location of an opponent's piece, it can capture that piece. The '''pawn''', can only capture by moving diagonally forward one square. A piece is said to be undefended if it has no piece "supporting" its position - i.e., preventing an opponent from capturing it by threat of losing his attacking piece.

====Special Moves====
*'''Castling'''- When a player has no pieces between a rook and his king, and he has not moved either piece, he can move the king two squares in the direction of the rook, and then place the rook on the square that the king passed over. A player cannot castle if the King is currently in check, would be in check after castling, or would move through a square which is under attack.
*'''en passant'''- French for "In passing." In chess, if a player pushes his pawn far down to the end of the board, and his opponent pushes a starting pawn 2 spaces ahead, to put the pawn on the same row to avoid confrontation, the player may choose to invoke the "en passant" move, which treats the enemy pawn as though it had only moved one space. The player may capture diagonally on the square '''behind''' the enemy pawn, and remove the enemy pawn. The principle is that the two space rule for a pawn's first move cannot be used to avoid confrontation between two pawns. However, the player may only invoke "en passant" on the first turn after the opponent pushes his pawn. He cannot make it after that turn.

===The end of the game===
A chess game may end in a number of ways.
*'''Checkmate''': The winning player checkmates his opponent's King (see below).
*'''Resignation''': The losing player, facing an inevitable future checkmate, ''resigns'' rather than play out an extended series of hopeless moves. A player may indicate resignation by toppling his king on its side.
*'''Loss on Time''': In games with a time limit, a player may lose by failing to make a time control, causing his clock to run out.
*'''Draw''': The game may end in a draw, in which case neither player wins.

====Checkmate====
Checkmate is achieved when the following conditions are met.
* The King is ''in check''; that is, it is directly attacked by an opponent's piece.
* Every square that the King can move to is also attacked by an opponent's piece.
* The Piece that is attacking the King cannot be captured.
* Another Piece cannot be interposed between the attacking piece and the King to block the check.
When a King is checkmated, the game is over, and the player initiating the checkmate is the winner.

====Draw====
There are several ways that the game can end in a draw.
*'''Stalemate''': A player is said to be ''stalemated'' when he cannot make a legal move, and is not in check.
*'''Draw by agreement''': The players mutually agree to a draw. In competitive chess, a player may make a draw offer after he has made his move, but before he has started his opponent's clock.
*'''Draw by repetition''': Either player may claim a draw if the same position has appeared on the board three times. The three occasions need not be consecutive.
*'''50 move rule''': Either player may claim a draw if fifty moves have transpired without a capture or a pawn move.

==Notation==
Chess notation is used to record the moves of a chess game. This has several uses. Notation can be used to record games for review at a later time. There are two major methods of chess notation, Algebraic and Descriptive.

====For all forms of Notation====
The notation for a chess game is taken like this. At the top of the page are the players — white listed first — with their names under their colors. Numbers go down the left side of the page to indicate the move number. (see below) 
White, Black 
Name Name
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 

Moves are recorded in columns, separated by commas.

Space is usually allotted on the top of tournament scoresheets to record the date and location of the game, and sometimes to record the time limit and opening name.

=====Pieces=====
Each piece is designated by its corresponding letter as follows: 
K = King 
Q = Queen 
R = Rook 
B = Bishop 
N = Knight (notice 'K' is reserved for the King) 
P = Pawn

(In strict chess parlance, the pawns are not considered pieces; officially, a standard chess set consists of sixteen pieces and sixteen pawns.)

=====Moves=====
- Moves to
x Captures
+ Check
++ Checkmate
0-0 Castles king-side
0-0-0 Castles queen-side
e.p. en passant
/ to indicate which square a piece moved from (only when needed to clarify)
/Q Pawn promotion. (use /Q for queen, /R for rook, etc.)
! A good move
!! A very good move
!? An interesting move
?! A dubious move
? A questionable move
?? A blunder

===Algebraic===
Algebraic is the most commonly used method of notation. [[Image:Chessboardanote1.jpg|right]]

====The Board====
In algebraic notation, each file is assigned a letter, and each rank is assigned a number. Each square is designated by the letter and number from it's rank and file. a1 is the square in the bottom left corner for the white player.

====Movement====
Moves are recorded by indicating the piece to be moved and the square it is to be moved to, sometimes using a hyphen (-). For example, if white wants to move his Kingside Knight towards the center of the board to start the game, the notation would be:
White Black
1. Nf3, ....

or

White Black
1. N-f3, ....

In algebraic notation, a P is not used to indicate the pawn. A pawn move is implied when no piece is indicated. So if white wants to advance his king pawn 2 squares, and black responds by advancing his king pawn 2 squares, the notation would be:
White Black
1. e4, e5,
2. ....

Occasionally, two pieces of the same type can move to the same square. To eliminate ambiguity, the unique rank or file of the moving piece is identified after the piece symbol. For example, suppose both of Black's Rooks are on the 8th rank (on the squares f8 and a8), and there are no pieces in between them. Black moves the f8 Rook to d8. In other circumstances, the move would be annotated
17. .... Rd8
but because either Rook could have moved to d8, the identifying file for the f8 Rook must be included, as in
17. .... Rfd8

====Captures====
Captures by a piece or pawn are indicated by first transcribing the symbol for the piece performing the capture, followed by an 'x', followed by the square the capturing piece or pawn moved to. For example, if White uses his Queen to capture a piece on the square h7 on move 23, the correct notation is
23. Qxh7, ....

Because pawns are not designated with a symbol, the system is slightly different for pawn captures. The file originally occupied by the pawn is used to identify the pawn performing the capture. If a black pawn on e5 captures a white piece or pawn on d4 on move 5, the notation is
5. ...., exd4

===Descriptive===
In the more archaic descriptive notation, squares are described according to the starting piece positions. The square originally occupied by the Rook on the Queenside is referred to as "Queen's Rook One" (QR1), while "Queen's Rook Four" is the square directly in front of the Queen's Rook on the fourth rank. Thus, a typical opening move is described as "Pawn to King Four", and is written as
1. P-K4, ....

Note that in descriptive notation, pawns have the designation 'P'. The notation's disadvantages become apparent over the course of a complex game, especially because the same square has different names depending on the perspective of the White and Black pieces. King's Bishop Three (KB3) for White is King's Bishop Six (KB6) for Black.

Captures in descriptive notation operate similar to algebraic notation; for example,

45. .... R-xQN7

means that on his 45th move, Black captured a piece or pawn on his Queen's Knight Seven square (the b2 square in algebraic notation).

==Tactics and strategy==
Chess players often refer to shorter, forcing sequences of moves that lead to clear advantages as ''tactics'', while moves designed to create or nurture long-term advantages are called ''strategic.''

For more information on specific tactics, see [[chess tactics]]. For more information on specific strategic themes, see [[chess strategies]].

==Chess Variants==
There are a number of games based on chess with rule variations, and these are referred to as ''chess variants''. One of the most popular of these is ''Bughouse'', a partner-based game in which a player who captures his opponent's piece can give it to a partner on another board to drop on a square of his choosing. Another is ''Kriegspiel'', a game in which a player can see his pieces but not that of his opponent. [http://www.chessvariants.com/incinf.dir/kriegspiel.html] A simpler variant is ''Antichess'', which is also called ''Suicide chess'', in which a player must make a capturing move if any legal captures exist on the board, and in which the goal is to run out of pieces first.

In 1996, [[Bobby Fischer]] introduced a variant called FischerRandom Chess, which involves scrambling the positions of the pieces on the first and eighth ranks before starting play. A number of rules govern the precise manner in which the pieces can be arranged; for example, the king must be somewhere between the two rooks, so that castling to either side is still possible, and the black and white positions must mirror one another. The rules provide for 960 possible starting positions, and for this reason the game is sometimes called Chess960. Fischer hoped his variant would encourage creative thinking and avoid the memorization associated with opening play in modern chess.

==Computer Chess==
Deep Blue, a computer developed by IBM, was the first computer engine to beat a human world champion in 1997, when it defeated Garry Kasparov in a six game series. This series was a rematch of 1996 series which Kasparov won, although Deep Blue had been upgraded since the first series. It should be noted that during this second match, Deep Blue was also upgraded between games to avoid falling into the same type of trap more than once.

Chess engines have increased in strength in recent years to the point where humans are falling behind. In 2005, Michael Adams, one of the top fifteen players in the world, played a six game match against the engine Hydra, and lost five games with only one draw. Chess writer Eric Schiller, who uses computer assistance in writing his books, admits that "computers have taken some of the fun out of (chess)." Despite this, chess remains far from being a [[solved game]].

==External links==
:[http://www.fide.com/ FIDE] - World Chess Federation
:[http://www.uschess.org USCF] - United States Chess Federation
:[http://www.iccf.com/ ICCF] - International Correspondence Chess Federation
:[http://www.chess-players.org/eng/index.html ACP] - Association of Chess Professionals
:[http://www.freechess.org FICS] - Free Internet Chess Server

[[Category:Chess]]

Rush (band)

2009-11-17T19:04:38Z

GeddyAlexNeil:

'''Rush''' is a Canadian rock band formed in the summer of 1968 initially comprising lead vocalist and bassist [[Geddy Lee]], rhythm/lead guitarist [[Alex Lifeson]], and drummer [[John Rutsey]]. [[Neil Peart]] replaced Rutsey in July 1974 and this lineup has been unchanged ever since. Early in the band's career, most of their musical output emulated blues-inspired rock bands such as [[Cream (band)|Cream]] and [[Led Zeppelin]] with lyrics that focused on epic fantasy or science fiction stories. Over the years, however, the band shed this emulation with inspiration and subsequent integration of a variety of styles including progressive rock, hard rock, [[pop rock]], [[reggae]], and [[modern rock]] characteristics.

Despite the band eschewing mainstream media exposure, their popularity grew as the years wore on, spawning fan-favorites such as 1980's ''Permanent Waves'' and 1981's quadruple platinum ''Moving Pictures''. The latter is conventionally considered the band's quintessential album and was the apex of their mainstream success. The band is still highly active with respect to touring and recording. They recently released their latest studio album ''Snakes & Arrows'' May 1, 2007. The band's catalog is vast (composed of 19 studio albums, 7 official live recordings and numerous compilations) since their activity spans over 30 years.

Some of Peart's lyrics, however, especially during the late '70s and early '80s (e.g ''[[2112]]''), were inspired by the [[objectivist]] philosophy of novelist [[Ayn Rand]], as well as by psychedelic [[Illegal drugs | drugs]] (e.g. "A Passage to Bangkok"). The band received some criticism for these lyrical themes, especially in the pro-[[collectivist]] British press in the wake of this album in the 70s, although this did not deter them from their favorite topics of songwriting.

The band finished an intercontinental tour in support of their most recent album ''Snakes & Arrows''. A double live album dubbed ''Snakes & Arrows Live'' was released on April 15, 2008 chronicling this tour.

===Band Members===

* Geddy Lee - Bass guitar, lead vocals, synthesizers (1968 - Present)
* Alex Lifeson - Guitar, mandolin, mandola, bass pedals, backing vocals (1968 - Present)
* Neil Peart - Drums, acoustic and electronic percussion (1974 - Present)
* John Rutsey - Drums and percussion (1968 - 1974)

== Discography ==

=== Studio Albums ===
# [[Rush (album)|''Rush'']] (March 1974)
# ''[[Fly by Night]]'' (February 1975)
# ''[[Caress of Steel]]'' (September 1975)
# [[2112 (album)|''2112'']] (February 1976)
# ''[[A Farewell to Kings]]'' (September 1977)
# [[Hemispheres (1978 album)|''Hemispheres'']] (October 1978)
# ''[[Permanent Waves]]'' (January 1980)
# [[Moving Pictures (album)|''Moving Pictures'']] (February 1981)
# [[Signals (album)|''Signals'']] (September 1982)
# [[Grace Under Pressure (1984 album)|''Grace Under Pressure'']] (April 1984)
# [[Power Windows (album)|''Power Windows'']] (October 1985)
# ''[[Hold Your Fire]]'' (September 1987)
# [[Presto (album)|''Presto'']] (November 1989)
# ''[[Roll the Bones]]'' (September 1991)
# [[Counterparts (album)|''Counterparts'']] (October 1993)
# ''[[Test for Echo]]'' (September 1996)
# ''[[Vapor Trails]]'' (May 2002)
# ''[[Feedback (Rush album)|Feedback]]'' (June 2004 - Cover Album)
# ''[[Snakes & Arrows]]'' (May 2007)

=== Other Studio Records ===
* [[Not Fade Away (album)|''Not Fade Away'']] (1973 - 7" Single)

=== Live Albums ===
* ''[[All The World's a Stage]]'' (September 1976)
* ''[[Exit...Stage Left]]'' (October 1981)
* ''[[A Show of Hands]]'' (December 1988)
* ''[[Different Stages (1998 album)|Different Stages]]'' (November 1998)
* ''[[Rush in Rio]]'' (October 2003)
* ''[[R30 Live In Frankfurt|R30: Live in Frankfurt]]'' (November 2005)
* ''[[Snakes & Arrows Live]]'' (April 2008)

=== Videos ===
* ''Through the Camera Eye'' (VHS, Laserdisc)
* ''Exit..Stage Left'' (VHS, Laserdisc)
* ''Grace Under Pressure Tour'' (VHS, Laserdisc)
* ''A Show of Hands'' (VHS, Laserdisc)
* ''[[Chronicles (1990 album)| Chronicles]]'' (VHS, Laserdisc, DVD)
* ''Rush in Rio'' (DVD)
* ''[[R30 Live In Frankfurt|R30: Live in Frankfurt]]'' (DVD - November 2005)
* ''[[Snakes & Arrows Live]]'' (April 2008)

=== Compilations/Interviews ===
* ''[[Archives (Rush album)|Archives]]'' (April 1978) – Repackage of the first three albums (''[[Rush (album)|Rush]]'', ''[[Fly by Night]]'' and ''[[Caress of Steel]]'')
* ''[[Chronicles (1990 album)|Chronicles]]'' (September 1990) – Essentially a "Greatest Hits" release
* ''[[The Story of Kings - Interview]]'' (1992) – Interview with [[Alex Lifeson]]
* ''[[The Interviews - Vol 2]]'' (October 1995) – Interview with [[Geddy Lee]]
* ''[[Retrospective I]]'' Repackaging of best songs from their first decade
* ''[[Retrospective II]]'' Repackaging of best songs from their second decade
* ''[[The Spirit of Radio: Greatest Hits 1974-1987]]'' (February 2003) – Repackaging of [[Mercury/Polygram]]-held songs up to [[Hold Your Fire]]
* ''Retrospective 3'' Repackaging of best songs from third and fourth decade

=== Solo Efforts ===
* ''[[Burning for Buddy, Volume 1]]'' ([[Buddy Rich]] tribute album) – (Solo), Peart, ''et al.'' (1994)
* ''[[Burning for Buddy, Volume 2]]'' ([[Buddy Rich]] tribute album) – (Solo), Peart, ''et al.'' (1994/-5)
* ''[[Victor (album)|Victor]]'' – (Solo), Lifeson, ''et al.'' (1996)
* ''[[My Favorite Headache]]'' – (Solo), Lee, ''et al.'' (November 2000)

== Books ==
* ''Rush: Visions: The Official Biography'' – Banasiewicz, Bill. (1988), Omnibus Press – ISBN 0711911622
* ''Rush Tribute: Merely Players'' – Telleria, Robert (2002) – ISBN 1550822713
* ''Rush: Success Under Pressure'' – Gett, Steve. (1984) – ISBN 0895242303
* ''Rhythm & Light'' – Nuttall, Carrie, (2005), Rounder Books, ISBN 1579400930
* ''Drum Techniques of Rush'' – Peart (1985) – ISBN 0769250556
* ''More Drum Techniques of Rush'' – Peart, Wheeler (1989) – ISBN 0769250513
* ''The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa'' – Peart (1999) – ISBN 1895900026
* ''[[Ghost Rider (book)|Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road]]'' – Peart (2002) – ISBN 1550225464 (hardcover), ISBN 1550225480 (paperback)
* ''Traveling Music: Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times'' – Peart (2004) – ISBN 1550226649
* ''Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away'' – Popoff, Martin. Publisher: Ecw Press (June 28, 2004) – ISBN 1550226789
* ''Mystic Rhythms: The Philosophical Vision of Rush'' – Price, et al. (1999) – ISBN 1587151022

[[Category:Rock Bands]]

==External links==
*[http://www.adequacy.org/stories/2001.8.22.0219.37804.html Understanding Ayn Rand through the music of Rush]
*[http://www.rush.com Rush Official Website]
*[http://www.neilpeart.net Neil Peart's Official Website]