How Good Will You Fare in this Chess Aptitude Exam?
Test Your Chess Game
Jonathan Levitt, a chess grandmaster with a great deal of experience in chess under his belt, formulated one of the most valuable "self-tests" to determine chess talent. The test is discussed in his book, "Genius in Chess."
Chess Notation
Before taking this test, you need to learn how to understand the diagram of a chessboard using algebraic notation. If you are acquainted with chess notation, you may disregard this paragraph and move to the part where the test is described. Based on algebraic chess notation, every row of the chess board is numbered from one to eight, starting with the white side. Starting from left to right of white's side, each column is labeled with letters "a" thru "h." Every square, which is where a row and column would intersect, is described by a number and a letter. If you are on the side of the one playing white, the uppermost square, farthest to the right, is h8. As you will see from the illustration on my webpage mentioned above, the uppermost square, farthest to the right is a1.
I've posted an illustration of a chessboard showing the algebraic notation method on my chess tips site. The diagram of the chessboard can be accessed by scrolling to the bottom of the website and clicking on the resources link.
Let me illustrate to you the test:
This test requires a clock, a chessboard, 1 white knight, and one black queen.
White's knight is placed on b1. Put the black queen on d4. White's knight has to traverse all the way around the chessboard, visiting the squares in this order: c1, e1, f1, h1, a2, c2, e2, g2, h2,…,g8. Some squares like h8 that cannot be visited because the black queen is attacking it. During the test you can't move the queen, and you can't put the knight en prise at any time.
It's all right to move to any of the squares in the list in any order, but only if you're using them to get from one square to another, for example, c1 to e1. But, these squares have to be visited again at the correct time in the order listed above. The quiz is time-critical and has to be completed only once. Jonathan Levitt considers anyone who can finish the test in 10 minutes or less has "real chess talent."
Unwavering concentration and the will to learn is what is needed to pass the exam. You should think of the moves the knight has to take and do it as quickly as possible. Not everyone who took the exam made it passed c1.
I have provided the solution to the quiz to help you evaluate yourself. The answer is found in my chess game strategies site. You would need to click on the resources link to view it. The results, listed in seconds, of some of the top chess players in the world are found in the site too.
Give your pc a rest and give this test a try.
You do not have to worry if you finish the quiz after ten minutes because this quiz is about thinking strategically and not just memorizing the moves.
Those people who just memorize moves, but don't understand chess strategy, will have trouble with this exam. Real chess skill is not about memorizing chess moves and tactics but it's about strategy. Spatial talent is also a quality that this test needs. You get these talents from your own experience, nonstop learning, and training.
Chad Kimball has been enthralled with chess ever since he was a small kid and now works as an editor and publisher. He is the reason for bringing an exciting resource to the Internet: "The Grandmaster Strategy Video Training Library."
This amazing training tool contains twenty-nine training videos, fourteen training e-books, and some bonus items. Why purchase a chess book at your local bookstore when you can just log on to the Internet and get this helpful resource at the same price. Beating your challengers on the chessboard is just a few clicks away. There is more information found in the chess game resource site
