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Quiz about Chess Strategies and Techniques

Chess Strategies and Techniques Quiz

This is a slightly more advanced chess quiz, but if you've played several times, you should do fine! Questions include terms, strategies, techniques, etc.

A multiple-choice quiz by Crystallina. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Crystallina

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
70,929

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
1682

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which one of these endgame White setups (assuming Black holds a lone king) will always end in a draw? Hint

king and two knights

king, knight, and bishop

king and knight

king and queen

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Question 2 of 10

2. If a knight is attacking the queen and king at the same time, which one of these strategies is being used? Hint

check

skewer

fork

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Question 3 of 10

3. Pins and skewers can be performed by several pieces, but not all. Which one of these pieces cannot pin or skewer? Hint

rook

knight

queen

bishop

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which piece does the fianchetto strategy mainly benefit? Hint

bishop

knight

rook

queen

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Question 5 of 10

5. Want to lose a chess game quickly? Fall for the commonly used Scholar's Mate. Which one of these squares is the target for this checkmate? Hint

e2 or e7

h2 or h7

d2 or d7

f2 or f7

6. This is a chess situation: suppose White has a rook on d4, and Black's king is on g8, with three pawns on f7, g7, and h7. The pawns and the king are Black's only pieces left. It's Black's turn, so she moves her g-pawn to g5. What kind of checkmate is Black trying to prevent with this pawn move? Hint

forced mate

back rank mate

smothered mate

double attack

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Question 7 of 10

7. Some structures of pawns are good, and some can really give you problems. Which one of these pawn structures is generally the strongest? Hint

doubled pawns

backward pawns

isolated pawns

passed pawns

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Question 8 of 10

8. Now for some chess terminology- which one of these terms describes a situation where it is your turn and this puts you at a disadvantage? Hint

fianchetto

zwischenzug

zugzwang

en passant

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Question 9 of 10

9. Another chess term- what is the term used for an 'in-between move', or a forcing move that is different from what would be normally expected? Hint

zugzwang

zwischenzug

castling

en passant

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Question 10 of 10

10. There are several openings in chess, all characterized by a move, a position, etc. In which opening does White move his knight to f3 on the first move? Hint

English Opening

Ruy Lopez

Reti's Opening

King's Gambit

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which one of these endgame White setups (assuming Black holds a lone king) will always end in a draw?

Answer: king and knight

King and queen is relatively easy to win with, and king, knight, and bishop is doable. Chose king and two knights? Close, but you can technically win. However, you need a pretty inept opponent.

2. If a knight is attacking the queen and king at the same time, which one of these strategies is being used?

Answer: fork

A fork is when one piece attacks two others at the same time. In the example given, the king would move out of check, and then the knight would then capture the queen- often quite shocking to the recipient!

3. Pins and skewers can be performed by several pieces, but not all. Which one of these pieces cannot pin or skewer?

Answer: knight

A pin is an attack that prevents a piece from moving because then it will expose a more important one to attack. A skewer is an attack that forces a more important piece to move, exposing the less important piece. These require straight lines; no knight move will make this happen.

4. Which piece does the fianchetto strategy mainly benefit?

Answer: bishop

The b or g-pawn advances one square to allow the corresponding bishop to move into its starting square. This allows the bishop to control the a1-h8 (or h1-a8) diagonal, also known as the 'long' diagonal. It can be a quite useful strategy at times.

5. Want to lose a chess game quickly? Fall for the commonly used Scholar's Mate. Which one of these squares is the target for this checkmate?

Answer: f2 or f7

These squares are weak because the only piece that guards them is the king. Because of their movement, the bishop and knight can't do a thing to guard them. It can be deadly if a queen lodges itself on that square with support.

Answer: back rank mate

If White had moved his rook to d8 on his next turn, the king would be trapped by his own pawns, nowhere to run. Moving to g5 gives it an escape route from the rook's check.

7. Some structures of pawns are good, and some can really give you problems. Which one of these pawn structures is generally the strongest?

Answer: passed pawns

A passed pawn is one that is not blocked by opposing pawns on the same or adjacent squares, usually leaving it an open path to promote. The other structures are generally weaker.

8. Now for some chess terminology- which one of these terms describes a situation where it is your turn and this puts you at a disadvantage?

Answer: zugzwang

This occurs often at the end of a game, where your only move will force you to accept a draw either by stalemate or insufficient material. This is when chess players wish they could just pass on their move.

9. Another chess term- what is the term used for an 'in-between move', or a forcing move that is different from what would be normally expected?

Answer: zwischenzug

Example: You exchange queens, but before taking the queen back, you capture a pawn with check. After the pawn is dealt with, then you grab the queen. The move must be forcing, because otherwise you'll lose the original opportunity- if that capture didn't force check, the queen would just slide on out of trouble.

10. There are several openings in chess, all characterized by a move, a position, etc. In which opening does White move his knight to f3 on the first move?

Answer: Reti's Opening

This move prevents Black from moving his e-pawn to e5, as it will be captured if she does so.

Source: Author Crystallina

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
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