How to Gauge One's Chess Skill

Your chess talent will be tested with the self-test provided by chess grandmaster Jonathan Levitt. The exam described in this article is taken from his book, "Genius in Chess."

Prior to taking the test, you may need to learn how to study the illustration of a chessboard in algebraic notation. If you are acquainted with chess notation, you can leave out this paragraph and move to the part where I describe the quiz. 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. Counting from left to right of white's side, the columns are labeled with letters "a" through "h." Each square is described by a letter-number combination based on the junction of the column and row which contains that square. So, a8 would be the designation of the top leftmost square on the side of the white player. As you will see on the illustration on the website mentioned above, the uppermost square, far to the right is a1.

Things you need for the test:

1. chessboard 2. timer or clock 3. 1 white knight 4. 1 black queen.

Objective

The white knight has to traverse all the squares without taking the black queen or putting the white knight in harms way from the black queen.

Rules

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

This test must be taken only once and you have to time yourself. According to the author, Jonathan Levitt, you have "real chess talent" if you can finish the test in ten minutes or less.

The quiz may seem simple at first glance, but it requires intense concentration, a special knowledge of the board, and the motivation to keep going. Others have given up after the 1st stage, because it takes nine steps.

I think it would be better if I provide you the answer to the quiz here than keep you hanging there with nothing to compare your answers with. You can find the answer in my chess tips site. It is found on the bottom of the site on the resources link. The results, shown in seconds, of some of the top chess players in the world are found in the site too.

So I guess it is now time to get up, pick up your chessboard, and give this quiz an attempt. You know what they say, there's no harm in trying.

You shouldn't worry if it takes you longer than ten minutes to complete the exam. bear in mind, it's not about memorizing the moves but to be able to analyze your move.

I know there are some people who would just memorize each and every move in chess. They are just taking the test for the heck of it and not to really learn chess. Real chess aptitude is determined only if you thought out a well-planned move. Your plan has to adjust to each and every game. As they say, practice makes perfect.

Bio: Chad Kimball has been playing chess even as a small child. Other than playing chess, he has written, edited, and published chess books. His books are published on the Internet. He also offers chess courses online. One of his greatest success is the online resource, "The Grandmaster Strategy Video Training Library." This is a very valuable resource found on the Internet.

This collection of 29 training videos and 14 training books has hours of teachings, and 2,213 pages of winning strategies in chess for the price of 1 chess book at the bookstore. These 29 videos enable you to confidently sit down at the board, knowing that you are prepared with years of tested strategies to beat your opponent. You can log on to the Internet and get this amazing chess game resource site.