Chess Introduction and Theory

Chess is one of the most amazing games ever created. With two equal armies, White and Black, the game starts off with no distinct advantage to either side, theoretically. As the general of your forces, you are meant to attack and checkmate your opponent’s king while protecting your own. Whether you are pushing pawns, setting up a viable fortress for your king, or maneuvering your queen into a strategic position, you have an infinite amount of possible moves to make your position stronger than your opponents. Here's an example of a chess game so you can get a better idea of how a chess game plays out.

This game is particularly interesting because White sacrifices his queen, the most powerful piece on the board, in order to deliver a checkmate to his opponent.

There are more variations of chess than there are stars in the universe. That means that virtually every chess game ever played is a new game that has never been played before. After both players move, there are 400 possible positions. After two turns, that spirals into 197,742 possible positions. After just three turns, there are 121 million different positions. Chess games can last anywhere from ten to above one hundred moves. That means that your chess game is unique to yourself; it has most likely never been played before in the history of mankind.

When you get to upper level chess though, you may notice that the professionals stick to predetermined lines and openings. Why? Because certain moves are better than others and they know the safety of certain lines. For example, the Ruy Lopez opening (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bb5) is a classic chess opening played millions of times because it is a functionally viable opening - Control the center, attack the knight defending the e4 pawn. Conversely, Bird's Opening (1.f4) is almost never played by professionals because it has proven to give an advantage to the opposing player by weakening the player's kingside.

How do you know the right move to play? As mere mortals, we cannot comprehend the chaotic amount of possible variations that could happen in a chess game. Therefore, when in a game of chess, it is advised to stick to certain principles, and to trust your instinct. Games can quickly go from wipe outs to even positions and then back to a wipe out based on a couple of moves. Putting your bishop on a long diagonal, your rooks on open files, and your knights on the 5th and 6th rows are generally accepted as good ideals to follow in chess. Professional chess players though, can read the board and synthesize a long term strategy in order to defeat their opponents while dishing out short term tactics in order to seize the initiative on the board. Here's another example of a great chess game in which White strategically uses his pieces to open up the Black player's kingside in order to win.

Hopefully, you know have a better idea of how a chess game works. If you're interested you can try your hand at your own chess game on sites like chess.com or lichess.org. As you can see, every position starts off exactly the same, so even if you are playing the best player in the world, Magnus Carlsen, you guys will start off with an exactly equal position.... though he will definitely destroy you. That's why he's the best in the world. You might want to learn how the pieces move, and the general rules of the game before you start challenging grandmasters.

Anyways, enough about human chess, let's get to the more interesting theoretical parts about chess.

1. Does White have an advantage in chess because White moves first?

Theoretically, no. Statistically, yes. What does this mean?

Well, in theory, every move that White makes, Black can respond with the perfect move that counteracts White's move (1. e4 e5) or (1. c4 e5). Many believe that chess is a perfect game meaning that if both White and Black play the absolute perfect moves, the game will end in a draw.

Statistically though, if you look through databases of chess games that have been played and recorded, you will notice that White wins around 54.5% of them. How can both of these ideas be simultaneously rational yet have completely opposite conclusions.

In other words, if you take out a chess board right now, and sit down with your buddy across the street, and he starts setting up the White pieces on his side of the board, are you at a disadvantage? In theory, you aren't, because as Black, you can formulate the perfect response to whatever move White decides to play. But statistically, White is given an advantage - the 54.5% win percentage listed above.

Just with 1.e4, the King's Pawn Opening, White wins 38.5% of games, Black wins 30%, and the remaining 31.5% are draws. Does White have an advantage? Without a doubt, chess elitists are always happy to be drawn with the White pieces against their opponents though does that advantage really show up on the board?

The argument about White's advantage is one that has been debated and will continue to be debated by chess enthusiasts for eternity. I personally don't think there is a conclusion that can be made.

An interesting note to make is that if Black just mirrors White's moves, Black will generally lose or have to break the mirroring pattern once White puts his King in check.

2. Will chess ever be solved?

Computers took over chess in the early 2000s. Able to calculate the millions of different variations, chess engines have obliterated their human opponents for the last decade. Magnus Carlsen has a rating of 2808. Stockfish, the best engine in the world, has a rating of 3464. 800 points is a huge difference in chess. Here's a quick rating schedule so you understand how strong these computers are.

100 - 1000 - Novice, still learning the rules

1000 - 1500 - Average, understands general strategy but much to learn. (Me)

1500 - 2000 - Talented, lethal, clear strategy and understanding of the board

2000 - 2500 - Dedicated player, advanced ideas and strategies

2500 - 3000 - Natural, prodigy, full understanding of the board (Magnus Carlsen)

3000+ - Unbeatable by humans, every move you make will have the perfect response (Stockfish)

So if we created the perfect chess engine, would that essentially wipe out chess? If every single move is entered into a database where it can be analyzed and then be counteracted by a perfect move, what use is there in playing chess if you already know the perfect move? There is no variety or suspense, the computer will already know the perfect move to win... or draw. Luckily, or unluckily, for us though, computers haven't reached that strength because chess is too complex of a game. The question if though, can chess be solved?

I personally think that yes, chess is a finite game. There are X amount of variations that can happen in a chess game, and a strong enough computer can run through every single line that can be played (1. e4, 1.e3, 1.Nf3), formulate the perfect response, and take it from there. Of course, it will only suggest the perfect move, rather than the countless amounts of errors we human chess players make in all of our games but it will essentially kill chess because we will already know how the game will play out if the most perfect moves are played.

3. Why aren't you playing chess right now?

Go start a game, the worst thing that could happen is you lose. :)

If you play chess, don't hesitate to hit me up on chess.com. My username is HaadiHusain.

As you can see, I've had a love and affinity for the game for quite some years now, and I don't plan to stop. Play on.