"Chess is not something that drives people mad . It is something that keeps mad people sane." /Willian Hartston/
The 4-Move Checkmate
At beginner levels, games are frequently won and lost with the four move checkmate, most commonly played with 1. e4 e5 2. Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 with Qxf7# on the next move. It's very important to defend your weakest point from checkmate. That's the f7 pawn for Black and the f2 pawn for White. As long as you're careful to block opposing pieces from attacking that square, you can reach a good position.
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Assisted Checkmates
Because the king can't move into check it is often possible to checkmate by placing a queen next to the opponent's king and having the queen defended by another one of your pieces. If the king can't move away and no other piece can capture your queen, then you'll have a checkmate!
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Checkmate with 1 Rook
The easiest way to checkmate with king and rook against king is to follow this process: 1. Use your rook to put the opposing king in a box. 2. Bring your king towards the rook to protect it. 3. If it's possible to shrink the box with the rook each turn, do it. If not, move the king closer to the opposing king. 4. Once the opponent's king is on the edge of the board checkmate by using the rook with your king covering the escape squares.
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When to Trade Pieces
It's usually helpful to trade if you can get ahead but what should you do if a potential trade doesn't gain or lose material? It's usually a mistake to initiate a trade unless you can tell how your position benefits. Good reasons to trade could be to simplify when you're ahead, to remove a well placed opponent's piece or to gain control of an open files.
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PUZZLES AND TACTICS