Take the Chess Aptitude Quiz and Know Your Score

Beyond Chess Moves: The Test

A chess grandmaster by the name of Jonathan Levitt devised this self-test to help you find out how much you are familiar about the game of chess. The quiz depicted in this article is a portion of his book, "Genius in Chess."

Chess Notation

Prior to taking this quiz, you may have to know how to understand the illustration of a chessboard using algebraic notation. Veteran chess players can disregard the subject of chess notation and jump to the test. Algebraic chess notation uses numbers 1 through 8 in proportion to each of the chessboard's eight rows beginning from the white player's side. Starting from left to right of white's side, the columns are labeled with letters "a" thru "h." A square, which is where a row and column would meet, is labeled by a number and a letter. If you are on the "white's" side of the board, the topmost square, farthest to the right, is h8. As you will see from the figure on the webpage that I mentioned above, the topmost square, farthest to the right is a1.

I've added a diagram of a board showing the algebraic notation method on my chess game strategies site. The illustration of the board can be accessed by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on the resources link.

Things you need to get ready before taking the test include a chessboard, some sort of clock or timer, a white knight, and a black queen.

Objective

The objective of the exam is to move the knight to all the squares other than those where it can be captured by the queen.

Rules

What you have to do is to position the black queen on square d4 and the white knight on square b1. The white knight should move in this order: c1, e1, f1, h1, a2, c2, e2, g2, h2, and so on until it gets to g8. The knight can visit again a certain square without following the sequence but only, for example, if it is needed to get from c1 to e1 and then you need to return to the sequence.

You have to do the exam once only, although you might want to take this again only to test how your speed will improve. According to the author, Jonathan Levitt, you have "real chess talent" if you can finish the test in ten minutes or less.

The exam may seem easy at 1st glance, but it requires intense concentration, a special understanding of the chessboard, and the resolve to keep going. Others have given up after the first stage, because it takes nine moves.

The solution to this exam and the results of several of the best players of chess are in the resources link of my chess tips site.

So I guess it is now time to get up, open your chessboard, and give this exam a try. You do want to evaluate yourself on how great you really are at chess, don't you?

You don't have to worry if it takes you more than ten minutes to finish the test. bear in mind, it isn't about memorizing the moves but to be able to plan your move.

It seems that there are some people who would just memorize the moves in chess. These people would surely have some difficulty finishing the exam. Real chess aptitude is achieved only if you plan your move. Your strategy has to adapt to each and every game. As in every game or sports, you need to learn from experience and practice, practice, practice.

Bio: Chad Kimball has been playing chess even as a small boy. He is currently an editor and publisher of chess books. His books are published on the Internet. He also teaches courses on chess via the Internet. One of his greatest achievement is the online resource, "The Grandmaster Strategy Video Training Library." This is a very helpful resource found on the Internet.

This set of 29 training videos and fourteen training books contains hours of instructions, and 2,213 pages of winning strategies in chess for the price of 1 chess book at the bookstore. All of the twenty-nine videos will show you how easy it is to defeat your opponents. You can go online and get this wonderful chess game resource site.