The Journal to Knitehood #1: The First Step
We finally made it! The first Step!
Many of us have been waiting for this day. The day we finally take our first step on this journey. We have our bags packed, our minds are set upon the path to greatness!
Unbeknownst to me because of my excitement I forgot something. We always forget something when we are eager to hit the road. whether it's our tickets, our keys or God forbid we forget to bring somebody! Unfortunately that almost happened, well kind of. Let me explain.
I took it for granted that I knew everyone that was joining me on this Journey. One of the key components in having a successful mission is to know and trust your companions! I'm so glad that we got to know the new members of the community and we had a chance to welcome viewers new to the game and many returning to the game after nine plus years away from it! I'm so excited and extremely encouraged to finally get a hold of this wonderful game of chess!!
Alright, we know who we are rolling with , now lets get into this!
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Schlemeel, schlemazel, hasenfeffer incorporated!"
We began our journey from the very beginning by reviewing the rules and of course it began with setting up the board. I have to share a little secret. the first time I went through this I learned that I was setting up the board incorrectly the whole time! I was spoiled by the board in online chess!
The community began contributing a wonderful ditty to help with setting up the board,
"White on the right"
Meaning the bottom right square on the right! Se the example below. See that the bottom right square on the correctly placed board is white. So simple!
Once we were comfortable with the orientation of the board we moved on to setting up the pieces. This was quite interesting.
We discovered the following
1. The chess pieces are arranged the same way each time.
2. The 2nd (White) and 7th (Black) row (or rank) is filled with pawns,
3. The rooks go in the corners,
4. The knights next to them,
5. Followed by the bishops,
6. The queen, the most powerful piece and always goes on her own matching color we earned another Ditty
"Queen on Color"
7. Finally the King the most important piece goes on the remaining square.
Next show we will discus how the chess pieces move and the role they play! I told you we will be taking it slow and steady. We don't want leave anyone behind!
In the meantime if you haven't already please do the following to get the most out of the journey
- Chess.com account - If you do not have a premium chess.com account click here to sign up for a free seven day trial.
- Watch the last Stream - We go over what to expect and review some of the lessons and puzzles that we will go over in the Journey. Click on the link below of the episode that you have missed
The Journey To KniteHood: Packing for the Journey Episode #0
- Book mark and review the Study Plan - We are going to adhere to this plan so review it and be ready to follow along! Click here for the Study Plan.
Remember to be ready to participate, be ready to improve, be ready to laugh, be ready to watch me cry and lets have a blast on this Journey to KniteHood!
Peace!