"You always look out for enemies threatening you. Oh yes, and you always look where you're going and make sure every move is safe." |
"But if my enemies always defend themselves and run away how do I ever kill anyone who's any good?" "Good question. To defeat the strongest warriors you need some SPECIAL WEAPONS AND TACTICS. S.W.A.T. But only the world's most aggresive kids can use weapons like these." |
"The first thing you need is one of these. It's called a FORK. What you do with this is threaten TWO enemies at the same time. Remember: a THREAT is an ATTACK on an UNDEFENDED piece or on a STRONGER piece. If one of them defends himself or runs away, then you just kill the other one. Come with me and I'll show you how to use it." |
"See what happens if the White Knight plays the move shown by the blue arrow. The Knight will then THREATEN both the Black King and the Black Queen. According to the rules of intergalactic combat the King has to move. So next move the Knight will kill the queen - and there's nothing Black can do about it. |
"Here's another example. If the White Queen moves to the square indicated by the blue arrow it will be THREATENING both the Black King and the Black Rook. Again the King has to move out of check so the Queen will be able to kill the Rook next move. You see how a FORK works - it's a move that THREATENS TWO (or more) enemy pieces from DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS." |
"ALL pieces can do FORKS - but the best pieces for FORKS and QUEENS and KNIGHTS. You know why? Because Queens and Knights move in EIGHT directions, but Bishops and Knights only move in FOUR directions. FORKS are really nasty, horrid weapons. Only really nasty, horrid kids are allowed to use FORKS, you know." |
"Hey. FORKS sound really great. Can I have a go at using a FORK?"
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"Here's another really dangerous weapon for you. This is a PIN. There are TWO sorts of PIN. One of them is not always dangerous, but the other one is very often lethal. While a FORK involved attacking in TWO directions a PIN involves attacking TWO pieces in the SAME direction. |
"This sort of position often happens early on in the game. Look at the Bishops and Knights. The Knights on the LEFT of the diagram CANNOT move because they would leave the King in CHECK from the Bishop. The Knights on the RIGHT of the diagram CAN move, but if they do, the Bishop would be able to take the Queen." |
"We say that the Bishops are PINNING the Knights. PINS like this are usually not very dangerous. But you still have to be VERY CAREFUL. Millions and millions of Queens have met an untimely death because of a careless knight move in this sort of position. But that's for another lesson." |
"But this PIN really is lethal. This time the PINNING piece, the BISHOP is creating a THREAT as it is PINNING a more valuable piece. As you see, the Queen can't run away because it would leave the King in CHECK. And if the Queen takes the Bishop, the Knight will take the Queen." |
"Here's another LETHAL PIN! This time it's the ROOK that's doing the PINNING. The only pieces that can PIN are QUEENS, ROOKS and BISHOPS - pieces which move along straight lines." |
"A very similar weapon to the PIN is the SKEWER. With a PIN the more valuable piece is at the back stopping the piece in the middle from moving. But with a SKEWER the more valuable piece is in front and has to move, leaving the less valuable piece to be taken. Here, the White Rook SKEWERS the Black King and Queen. The King must move out of CHECK, and, once again, the Queen loses her life. |
PINS and SKEWERS sound like some more really good ways of killing enemies. When do I get to have a go? |
Look out for chances to use these weapons next time you're in battle" |
The Caissans have returned yet again, this time with an even stronger army. You're going to have to use those FORKS, PINS and SKEWERS if you're going to beat them this time!" |
"Congratulations on beating the Caissans yet again. Next time they'll be stronger still, though. You've got a lot to learn before then. |