Gary's Adventures in Chess Country Read online

  Introduction by Susan Polgar 4

  Chapter 1

  The Chess Pavilion 5

  Chapter 2

  Lines 9

  Chapter 3

  The Diagonal 13

  Chapter 4

  Magical Pieces 16

  Chapter 5

  The Gates of Caissia 20

  Chapter 6

  The Rook's Place 24

  Chapter 7

  The Friendly Bishops 33

  Chapter 8

  Visiting the Queen 45

  Chapter 9

  The Knight in Shining Armor 57

  Chapter 10

  Pawn Kindergarten 70

  Chapter 11

  An Audience with the King 83

  Chapter 12

  The Flying Carpet 96

  Chapter 13

  Checkmate and Stalemate 1o6

  Chapter 14

  Gary is solving Difficult Problems 118

  Chapter 15

  Goodbye, Chess Coutry 135

  Chess Notation 147

  Answer Key 149

  Anyone can reap benefits from learning chess, but young children often gain the most from the game. Chess provides children the opportunity to learn pattern recognition and critical thinking skills. Practicing basic chess skills motivates them to think, which, in turn, builds nerve connections in the brain.

  Social benefits are often reaped as well. The game of chess rewards courage, sportsmanship, and self-control, while allowing children to positively interact with their peers. Chess players who learn to win and lose graciously often make many lifelong friends as a result. Perhaps the greatest social benefit chess can offer is an avenue for earned success, the kind that helps children build the confidence and self-esteem they need to excel in school.

  Many parents feel daunted by the prospect of trying to teach their young children to play chess. If you are unsure of how to teach your child the game, fear not. The book you now hold in your hands, Igor Sukhin's Gary's Adventures in Chess Country, has been carefully designed to take the intimidation factor out of learning chess. Set in the magical realm of Chess Country, it reads like a children's bedtime story; yet, at the same time, it introduces the game of chess gradually, using stories, puzzles, riddles, and quizzes.

  Too often I have seen young students overwhelmed by the task of learning the moves of the chess pieces. If the entire game is presented at once, without time for any review, frustration often results. Gary's Adventures in Chess Country continually reinforces what has been learned through its stories and chess problems. By the time your child plays his or her first game, he or she will already have solved dozens of puzzles reinforcing each chess rule. He or she will be able to make chess moves with confidence.

  Finally, Gary's Adventures in Chess Country is more than just an instruction manual. It is a tool to help you create your own unique chess adventure with your child. It is an invitation to a chess expedition, an exciting journey that just keeps getting better. It is my hope that after reading about the adventures of Gary, Cassie, Riddles, and their friends, your child will embark on his or her own richly rewarding chess adventures.

  Susan Polgar

  Women's World Champion, 1996-1999

  Sometimes, when you want something interesting to happen to you badly enough, your wish can come true. Or, at least Gary hoped so. His parents were away on a trip and had left Gary with the most boring babysitter in the history of the universe. So he really, really wanted something interesting to happen to him right this very minute! But Gary had no idea he'd end up starring in a magical story. And this is how it happened.

  On Sunday morning, the doorbell in Gary's apartment rang. He hoped it was one of his buddies. But Gary opened the door and, instead of one of his friends, he saw a girl in a checkered dress.

  "Hello, Gary," the girl said. "My name is Cassie. I have come to take you to Chess Country."

  Before Gary could reply, or even ask how she knew his name, his mysterious visitor took him by the hand and led him to a six-seated tricycle parked nearby. Cassie got in front, and Gary made himself comfortable in one of the back seats.

  And so the journey began. The tricycle traveled at an unbelievable speed. Cities, forests, and rivers came up and fell behind in the blink of an eye. With his heart pounding in his chest, Gary knew something wonderful and amazing was about to happen. Then Cassie slowed down and stopped the trike in front of a beautiful pavilion that looked like a tower.

  "This is the Chess Pavilion," Cassie said. "Here we will have our first lesson."

  Outside, a boy about Gary's age was playing. He scowled when he saw Gary and Cassie.

  "You're going to learn chess?" he asked with a sneer. "You'll never beat me, no matter how much you practice."

  "That's Zug," Cassie said. "Just ignore him. That's how he is to everyone."

  Gary followed the girl inside and froze in amazement. On a massive table that gave off soft, pink light, lay a big board with many dark and light squares.

  "This is a chessboard, where chess battles are fought," Cassie explained. "The chessboard is divided into equal square pieces. The white ones are called light squares. The black ones are dark squares."

  Light squares

  Dark squares

  "Light squares, dark squares," Gary repeated.

  Suddenly, the squares on the board quivered and darted off to the ground. Black and white, they began to dance around Cassie and Gary.

  "These are my little friends," Cassie said with a smile. "Here in the Chess Pavilion, the squares are magical."

  Soon, the squares stopped dancing, and in a flash they were back on the board.

  Gary was puzzled. Did that really happen, or was he imagining things? He stepped closer to the board to see what was going on and almost fell, stumbling over something. On the floor he saw a thick notebook, the size of The Yellow Pages. Gary picked it up and read from the cover: "Riddles' Pad."

  "Oh! This notebook belongs to my friend, Riddles," Cassie said. "It's great that you found it! It's full of jokes, puzzles, and chess exercises. If you read it and try to answer the questions, even a little at a time, it will help you to learn the game of chess. Shall we start?"

  Gary nodded, still too surprised by what was happening to speak.

  i. Riddles says you'll easily get the point of this question: Point to a dark square and a light square on a chessboard. Which is bigger, dark or light?

  2. What shape is the chessboard, square like a piece of bread or round like one of Cassie's tricycle tires?

  3. What's bigger: a chestnut, a chess square or a chessboard?

  4. What board cannot be used for surfing or skating? (Or ironing!)

  5. Find all the chess patterns on this picture.

  "Now let's start our second lesson," Cassie said.

  "The game of chess is played by two people who compete against each other," she told Gary. "They are called opponents. The two sit face to face across the board. The chessboard is arranged so that the corner square to the right of each opponent is light. It's easy to remember. Just say to yourself: "Light on the right!"

  How should we sit down and set up the board?

  Gary showed Cassie where she should sit. Then he sat across from her, like this:

  "The light corner square is on my right," Gary said.

  Then Gary noticed that off to the side of the board, there was a tiny house shaped like a cube. The house had carved windows, a very small door, and a fancylooking porch. On the porch were three brightly colored buttons: a red one with the letter F on it, a blue one with an R, and a green one with a letter D.

  Gary was puzzled.

  "What is that?" he
asked.

  "I will explain the house and buttons in a minute," Cassie told him. "First, look at the chessboard. Squares of different colors (light and dark) always switch back and forth. Dark is followed by light, light by dark."

  "Any dark and light path of eight squares going from left to right is called a rank," she said. "Look, here is a rank."

  Cassie pressed the button that had an R on it.

  Precisely at that moment, the door of the cube-house opened and a tiny, smiling creature appeared. He gracefully jumped on the first light square and hopped through the first row of squares to the opposite side of the board. Then he turned around and, just as quickly, ran back to his little house and disappeared inside.

  Gary was so surprised, he stumbled sideways, bumping into the chessboard and knocking a few squares to the floor.

  "Is that tiny man alive?" he asked, still staring into the little cube house.

  "No, he's just a toy," Cassie said, and looked sad for a moment.

  But she quickly brightened. "He's our friend, and he's a robot. He just showed you one of the horizontal lines, a rank. There are eight of them altogether. Look! As you move along the ranks, every light square is followed by a dark square."

  Gary picked up the dropped squares and looked at the board in confusion.

  Where did they all go on the board?

  Suddenly Gary figured out the answer and, relieved, clapped his hands. When he put the dark and light squares back in their proper places, Cassie cheered, then got back to their lesson.

  "You already know what ranks are," she said. "Are you ready to learn the rest of the lines?"

  She reached for the button with the F on it.

  "Any up and down row that leads across the board from one opponent to the other is called a file," she explained. "Just like with the ranks, there are eight files."

  Cassie continued. "And just like with ranks, every dark square is followed by a light one, every light one by a dark one."

  The little robot again came out of his house and ran towards the board. He crossed the board from one side to the next, this time going on a file.

  As he was running back, he bumped a couple of squares so they piled up on one another.

  "Which squares did he move?" Cassie asked.

  This time, Gary easily returned the squares to their proper places.

  "Bravo," Gary's new friend said as she clapped her hands. "You are learning quickly. Now you are ready to do some riddles from the notebook."

  1. Besides putting your bottom on a chair, what's the right way to sit at the chessboard?

  2. Ready to show a rank? How many squares does it have?

  3. OK, if you're so smart, show all the ranks. How many of them are there?

  4. Show a file. (And not a computer file!) How many squares are there?

  5. Show all the files. How many of them are there?

  6. You won't need a ruler for this one. What's longer: a rank or a file?

  7. Think carefully! Could there be 2 dark squares next to each other on a file? What about 2 light ones?

  8. If you got the last one, this one will be easy. Could there be 2 dark squares next to each other on a rank? What about 2 light ones?

  9. How many light squares are on a file? On a rank?

  10. We hope you're not afraid of the dark! How many dark squares are on a file? On a rank?

  11. Are there more dark or light squares on a file? What about a rank?

  12. Are these ranks and files drawn correctly?

  Just then, another boy came into the pavilion. He had a pug nose and large, friendly eyes. Under his arm he carried a long, thin stick.

  "Gary, this is Riddles," Cassie said happily. "He will travel with us. He knows a lot of funny chess stories."

  "Why are you carrying a stick?" Gary asked.

  Riddles looked a little offended at the question. "It's not just a stick; it's a pointer. It will come in handy on our journey."

  "It sure will," Cassie agreed. "Now, let's talk about diagonals on the chessboard. A diagonal is a straight chain of squares of the same color that touch each other's corners. Diagonals are slanty like an X and come in different sizes. The shortest ones are only two squares long!"

  Riddles waved his pointer and showed the short diagonals.

  "There are also two very long diagonals on the chessboard, going all the way from corner to corner," Cassie continued. "One dark, and one light. Each of them has eight squares. Our little friend will show us the big light diagonal."

  Gary looked expectantly at the little cube house, and Cassie pushed the bright green button with the letter D on it.

  The odd little robot man hurried to the opposite corner of the board and back before disappearing into his tiny house.

  "Chess Country is fun," Gary said to Cassie. "And your friends are cool."

  Just then, all the squares jumped off the board and danced around Gary. Like snowflakes in a storm they went around, up, and down. It was hard to keep track of them.

  Gary couldn't resist; he reached out and caught a bunch of dark squares. When the rest of them returned to the board, one of the dark diagonals was not there.

  Gary quickly released the dark squares he was holding, and sighed with relief when they returned to their proper places on the board.

  "Now you have seen all the paths of the chessboard: ranks, files, and diagonals," Cassie said. "Next, Riddles will show you the center."

  "The center is the four squares in the very middle of the board. Two of which are dark and the other two are light." Riddles said as he pointed. "Now, Gary, it is time for you to solve more of my puzzles."

  With that, Riddles opened his notebook.

  1. Maybe you don't have a fancy pointer like Riddles', but you only need your finger to point to a diagonal. How many squares does it have?

  2. Show the long dark diagonal. How many squares are there?

  3. Here's a riddle for you. Which diagonal is longer: the long light one or the long dark one?

  4. Point to one of the shortest diagonals. How many squares are there?

  5. Put on your detective cap and find a diagonal that contains 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 squares. Do the end squares of each diagonal have the same color?

  6. Are these diagonals drawn correctly?

  7. Point to the center.

  8. You can't eat it, but what shape is the center, round like a donut or square like ravioli?

  9. How many light squares live in the center? How many dark ones?

  10. Are two squares of the same color next to each other in the center?

  11. Is this a correct drawing of the center?

  "OK, I understand everything about the board," Gary said. "But what do you use to play chess?"

  "Chess pieces," answered Cassie. "On the chessboard, two armies of chess pieces fight a battle. One of the opponents leads the army of light pieces. They are called White. The other opponent commands the army of dark pieces. They are called Black."

  Gary was fascinated. "What are the pieces like?" he asked.

  "Our robot friend will show you, if you guess how to ask," Riddles said.

  Gary was a bit frustrated at this answer.

  "Does he have to talk in riddles?" he wondered.

  He leaned over the house-cube and whispered: "Hey, dude, show me the pieces."

  There was no response. Then Gary remembered his manners. "Please?"

  Still, no answer. Gary tried to open the door, but it didn't budge. What could he do to solve this puzzle? He went around the board, inspecting every inch of the space. Then, next to the house, he discovered another six buttons, with the letters P, N, B, R, Q, and K on them.

  These must somehow be related to the pieces, thought Gary. He reached out and pressed the closest button, the one with the letter P on it. Two short figures with round heads appeared on the chessboard: a white one and a black one.

  At the same time, the door of the house-cube opened and the tiny robot man appeared on the porch with an explanat
ion:

  "These are called Pawns. Each side, Black and White, has eight of them to start the game."

  Gary stared for a moment, then pressed the B button. The pawns began to grow; their round heads became pointed and sharp.

  Gary rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times. The pieces remained tall and pointy-headed.

  "These are the Bishops," the robot man explained. "There are two each, Black and White, to start the game."

  Gary continued his investigation, this time pressing the N. The pointed heads of the bishops started to blur again, and this time, they turned into something that looked like horses.

  "These are Knights," the little robot continued, "And again, each army gets two apiece."

  "Yes, the knights had to give up their first letter," Riddles said, "because somebody very important wanted to use it. You will see later."

  Gary pressed the button with R on it, and the knights morphed into two massive forms, shaped like towers.

  "These are Rooks, white and black, two to a customer," the robot said.

  "Some people call them castles," Cassie said. "My name is actually Castle, but my friends call me Cassie."

  "Rooks." repeated Gary. He examined the new pieces for a moment, and then pressed the Q button. In a flash, in place of the rooks appeared two beautiful, tall pieces with elegant crowns on their heads.

  "These are Queens," the robot told Gary. "Queens are so important that each army only gets one."

  "Now, press the last button. What do you think is there?"

  Gary shrugged his shoulders, then pushed the button with K, transforming the queens into majestic kings.

  "Yes, they are kings!" the robot man confirmed upon seeing Gary's awed look. "So royal and powerful that, like the queens, each army only gets one."

  "Wow, they do look royal and powerful," Gary said with admiration.