What does a check look like? What is checkmate in a chess game? History of the game

Chess has attracted attention for a long time. After all, this is not only a game of intellectuals. It combines creativity and mathematics, logic and a non-standard approach to solving situations.

So, let's see where it all began.

History of the game

An unusual word is “chaturanga”. Few people have heard it today. In fact, this is the name of the game in ancient India, which became the ancestor of chess. It was played by four people, and each of them had only eight pieces. Raja (king), chariot (rook), cavalry, bishop and four pawns. The colors were also different from modern ones. There were red, green, yellow and black figurines on the board. It’s not easy to put checkmate!

There was, however, an option for two players. In terms of the number and arrangement of pieces, it exactly corresponds to chess today.

The second version of the origin is Byzantine. In the Middle Ages, the Roman nobility had fun at Zatrikion. Two opponents, 16 pieces each. It seems that everything is the same as now... But not everything is so simple! The board was round! Sixteen fields along the outer circumference and four along the width of the playing ring.

In the Russian Empire in the XVIII-XIX centuries. Chess for four players with fortresses was popular. 76 pieces, 192 cells and a twenty-sided board!

Today there are fields in the shape of a cylinder and a torus (donut). You can put checkmate by going around from behind!

A modification of this game, invented in 1948, is supplemented with the rules of checkers and is called chess mats. You can only move on black squares, and each participant has 8 pawns, 2 kings, 1 bishop and 1 camel (another name is nanny; the same as a knight in standard chess).

The “combat” version of the game suggests the following. The board is divided horizontally into two halves, and opponents place troops hidden from each other. Then it is assembled into one whole and continues according to the usual rules.

What is check

So, let's go back to the standard field. The goal of the game is to destroy the king of the other side. So, an attack on him is a check. If the opponent was able to defend himself or avoid him, the fight continues.

Let's understand it with an example. The picture shows this position: attacks the black king.

Eternal(as soon as the player moves away from the threat, on the next turn he is again under attack).

This method of attack will greatly lengthen the game time, almost up to several hours. However, on the other hand, it is very beneficial for the loser. You can make a repeating move three times and, if the player wishes, a draw will be declared.

Hidden(a figure checks, which was previously hidden by another of the same color. That is, one moved away, the second attacked).

A fairly common type of attack. The beauty of it is that when you create a suitable arrangement on the board, you can take one of the enemy fighters, while the enemy king will be under attack. The opponent's next move will also be a plus for you, since he will have to defend himself rather than attack and develop his position.

Cross(having closed yourself from the threat, you respond with the same move by attacking the enemy king yourself).

A very common response to the previous option, which was not thought through in all details. Often, beginners find themselves in a situation where the opponent seems to be “gazey.” A stunning figure stands under battle, or the check is asking for itself. If it seems to you that the situation is completely in your favor, and everything is going like clockwork, stop and look at the board from a different angle. Perhaps you are walking with your head held high towards your own defeat, right into a laid trap.

What is checkmate

This is not an abuse of the defeated side, but simply a similar-sounding word. In Persian it means “helpless, immobilized,” and in Arabic it means “died.”
Your king is being attacked, but there is nowhere to run, nothing to beat and no way to defend yourself? This is what happened. That's it, checkmate, which means “the end of the game.”

The main task is to prevent such a turn of events at any cost. It may turn out to be a draw, creating a stalemate. But it is better to understand in detail all the intricacies of the game and control the position on the board yourself.
Analyze games based on records, analyze the decisions of grandmasters at world championships. Finally, learn how the opening differs from the middlegame!

This amazing game is so diverse and multifaceted that once you become friends with it, you will begin to change for the better. Even if now everything is not as good as we would like.

Well, never mind, soon you will master strategy and tactics so much that you will be able to fight several opponents at once!

Now let's look at the main options for winning.

Checkmate with queen

One of the first two studies for beginners. We know how to walk, we learned how to record games. It's time to put the first mat in greenhouse conditions. Well, training is necessary. Hard to learn, easy to fight.

We carefully examine the composition. A great combination for beginners. It can be solved simply, no matter where the pieces are located. The white king stands on A1, and on the next move the black queen attacks him, moving to A3. Can I close or beat the attacker? How about escaping from a blow? A difficult situation. The game is over, and the loser should disassemble the game according to the record and analyze the mistakes made.

Checkmate with bishops

Also a fairly common variation of victory. One or two officers can play a key role in the battle. And if the enemy short-sightedly leaves the flanks open, it would be a sin not to take advantage of the moment. Checkmate, gentlemen.

Please note that the stronger pieces have not actually moved yet. The cavalry and elephants did all the work! This happens in games when the players get carried away by some strategic ideas. Imagine, yesterday you analyzed Capablanca's opening, and today your opponent moves in such a way that there is an opportunity to realize it. Beauty!

Checkmate with rook

A classic composition for beginner players. One or two rooks, two kings and an empty board. One of the first sketches that you will become familiar with in the process of mastering this excellent strategy. The white king holds G7 and H7, the tour attacks along the eighth rank. "Finita la comedy".

Checkmate with bishop and knight

A more difficult task. The cavalry walks in the letter “G”, the officer only walks diagonally in one color, in our case white. The black king can run away from such company for quite a long time until he is pushed into a corner. And there are already three for one.

Such moments, of course, happen in regular play, but more often it happens in etudes. Start with short examples and work through all possible events. Later, you will move to a more complex level, figures will be added. Solutions will be hidden not after three moves, but after seven. We develop combinatorics and improve our powers of observation. It's only begining!

Checkmate with king and pawn

Another element of the composition. Even if there is no opponent, and you are just learning the basics. Take a couple of puzzles, a board and a set of figures. Try to record the parts for later analysis.

In our case, there are several plot developments. Checkmate in chess is done in this way by pawns or, if one of them reaches the last rank, by one of the previous methods.

You can choose any piece instead of a pawn.

So, today we got acquainted with the history of the amazing game - chess, and looked at the basic studies. We understood such concepts as check and checkmate.

But this is only the first step. We haven't even entered the threshold of this magical palace yet. The joys of the greatest victories and the sorrows of irreversible defeats still await you ahead. Happy tears of a national or world champion, the proud title of grandmaster.

Who knows, having become infected with prospects, you may begin to develop and bring an idea to the masses. Logical thinking will become flexible, and an attentive gaze will become tenacious.
The versatility of the world of chess is breathtaking and amazing in its prospects. As the classic said, Moscow will be renamed New Vasyuki, and Vasyuki - Old Moscow.

The rest is a matter of practice. Good luck, dear readers!

The other day, news spread around the world: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has revived the tradition of his grandfather and father and started his own harem, the “Garden of Delights.” The harem seems to the European to be a kind of abode of young and beautiful women from the Arabian fairy tales “1000 and one nights”. Meanwhile, interesting photos of the harem of Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, who ruled Iran at the end of the 19th century, destroy existing stereotypes. In our review you can see the beauties of the Iranian ruler's harem with your own eyes.

Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, the fourth Shah of Iran, gained power in 1848 and ruled for 47 years. His reign was the longest in Iran's 3,000-year history.

Historians say about Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar that for his time he was well educated and was known as a sybarite, so much so that he subsequently displeased his associates.

One of Shah Qajar's many passions was photography. He liked photography as a child, and when he came to power, he decided to create the first official photo studio in his palace. In the 1870s, Russian photographer Anton Sevryugin opened his studio in Tehran, who became the court photographer of the Iranian ruler. Sevryugin created a photo chronicle of Iran and was awarded an honorary title for his services.

A Russian photographer could photograph the Shah himself, his male relatives, courtiers and servants. And Qajar, an ardent admirer of photography, reserved the right to photograph his harem, in which, according to historians, he had about 100 concubines.

It is known that Nasser ed-Din Shah printed the photographs himself in the palace laboratory and kept them in satin albums in his Golestan Palace, where the museum is currently located.

The extraordinary nature of the photographs of his concubines lies in the fact that according to Shiite laws at that time it was prohibited to photograph people’s faces, and especially the faces of women. And only the most powerful man in the country could afford to break the law.

Looking at the photos of the ladies from the harem, you understand that they look quite modern for their time. Women are confident in front of the camera, calm, not timid or flirtatious.

Photographs of women challenge the generally accepted idea of ​​life in a harem - the Shah's wives look quite modern for that time and self-confident, they calmly look into the camera lens, without flirting or shyness.

One can even assume that the wives in the harem had friendly relations - some photographs show groups on a picnic.

From the photographs one can judge the tastes of the Iranian monarch - all women are in the body, with fused thick eyebrows and a clearly visible mustache. It is clearly seen that the women did not suffer from hunger and were not burdened with physical work. Experts say that Golestan’s collection even contains nude photos, but they are safely hidden.

I am glad to welcome you, dear friend!

In any sport, and not only in sports, there are moments of apotheosis. So to speak, the final scene of the play. In boxing, for example, there is a knockout. In chess, this is checkmate. Let's take a closer look at what checkmate is in chess and why it is the crown of chess action.

Checkmate with another piece

You already know that checkmate can be achieved by any other piece except the queen. However, this is less common than checkmate by queen.

The most “mate” piece after the queen is the rook. The rook, as a rule, puts a linear checkmate. You and I already know what it is. An example in the previous paragraph of our article.

Examples of checkmate with a minor piece and a pawn:

On stage checkmate with knight.

Now the elephant:

And let's not forget the pawn, of course.

When writing a game, a check is indicated by the sign X; in international notation, # is used

How to checkmate?

I'll tell you a little secret. Checkmate is a consequence of your good play, not an end in itself.

If you play hard, outplay your opponent, and use your time wisely, you will achieve a winning position. Checkmate will not take long, you will deliver it.

If you play poorly, you will be able to checkmate rather by accident. As a result of a blunder or a “yawn” by a partner. And this will happen less and less as your opponents grow in strength.

Therefore, the correct goal of the game is to beat your opponent.

I believe you have noticed that when strong chess players play, they almost never play to checkmate.

When the position is losing, a strong chess player gives up. Thus, showing respect to the opponent, as if without doubting that he will bring his advantage to the checkmate. Playing until checkmate among experienced chess players is a sign of bad taste . Please keep this in mind.

So, learn to play well, and mating won’t matter.

Thank you for your interest in the article.

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Good luck at the chessboard!

Let's expose! Is this what the Shah's harem looked like? March 4th, 2017

Now on the main page in LiveJournal there is a post hanging, which claims that Shah Qajar personally photographed his harem. This seems like nothing, but it also states that the average wife in a harem looked something like the one in the first photo. What a horror!

But we are accustomed to the fact that in films they show us a harem consisting of oriental beauties, with pitch-black hair and sparkling eyes that beckon with their beauty. But it turns out that during the reign of Nasreddin Shah in his harem there were such wives, looking at whom you just want to say “Gulchatai, cover your face!”

Let's take a look at this strange situation. Look at the rest of the photos for yourself...

Ad-Din Shah Qajar and photographer Sevryugin before photography

So, we are told that one of Shah Qajar's many passions was photography. He liked photography as a child, and when he came to power, he decided to create the first official photo studio in his palace. In the 1870s, Russian photographer Anton Sevryugin opened his studio in Tehran, who became the court photographer of the Iranian ruler. Sevryugin created a photo chronicle of Iran and was awarded an honorary title for his services.

A Russian photographer could photograph the Shah himself, his male relatives, courtiers and servants. And Qajar, an ardent admirer of photography, reserved the right to photograph his harem, in which, according to historians, he had about 100 concubines.

Completeness is the main criterion of beauty

It is known that Nasser ed-Din Shah printed the photographs himself in the palace laboratory and kept them in satin albums in his Golestan Palace, where the museum is currently located.

The incomparable Anis al-Doleh - the beloved wife of the Shah (right)

The extraordinary nature of the photographs of his concubines lies in the fact that according to Shiite laws at that time it was prohibited to photograph people’s faces, and especially the faces of women. And only the most powerful man in the country could afford to break the law.

The thin inhabitants of the harem did not suffer

Looking at these photographs, one could draw a conclusion about the tastes of the Iranian monarch - all women are in the body, with fused thick eyebrows and a clearly visible mustache. It is clearly seen that the women did not suffer from hunger and were not burdened with physical work. Experts say that Golestan’s collection even contains nude photos, but they are safely hidden.

How so! But even at that time there were still different standards of beauty!

By the way, does this photo remind you of anyone?

And it reminded me of this figure :-)

Let's move on to the revelation!

These photos are circulating on the Internet with the caption "Harem". In fact, these are photographs of male actors of the first state theater created by order of Shah Nasereddin (a great lover of European culture) at the Dar el-Funun Polytechnic School in 1890, who performed satirical plays only for the palace nobility. The organizer of this theater was Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered one of the founders of modern Iranian theater. Since women were prohibited from performing on stage, these roles were performed by men. The first women appeared on stage in Iran in 1917.

In 1861, Mirza Malkom Khan published three satirical works in Istanbul. plays on socio-political text: “The Adventure of Ashraf Khan, Governor of Arabistan”, “Methods of Governance of Zaman Khan of Borujerd” and “Shahkulimirza Goes on a Pilgrimage to Karbala”. Mirza Malkom Khan became the founder of Iranian drama, although his plays were intended more for reading (they were never staged in theaters). In the 2nd half. 19th century a play appeared on a local unknown theme. author of "A Scandal in the Presence of His Majesty", a close satirical plays of Mirza Malkom Khan. At the end of the 19th century. Azeri plays were popular in Iran. playwright M. F. Akhundov (his plays were translated into Persian and published in Tabriz as a separate collection in 1873). These were the first plays, post. for a wide audience in Tabriz and Tehran in 1906.

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