Greater Peoria Chess Foundation

The information on this page is intended for beginners and players under 2000. It is informative and instructional in nature. Everything is intended to promote your knowledge and understanding of everthing under it's stated topic. We have personally reviewed and included the books, videos and general information and believe it is useful as it shows you an insight to a specific important part of the game. It is intended to be easy to understand. If you find other gems on the internet that you feel that does a better job, or even a look from a different point of view, please let us know so we can keep this material current and easy to use.

How to Play Chess - Learn how the pieces move and some basic ideas about how to play the game. This presentation by Chess4Life is an ideal introduction to the game for the young beginning player. Chess4Life also has some interesting ideas about chess clubs in the lower grades.

A List of Basic Tactical Motifs - Many tactical patterns share similar ideas with other named patterns and because of this overlap it’s difficult to say exactly how many unique tactics exist. But on this page you will find a fairly comprehensive list of chess tactics, 56 in total, with simplified examples of how they work.

A List of Basic Check Mating Motifs - A checkmate pattern is a particular and recognizable arrangement of the pieces that deliver the checkmate. You can further improve your chess tactics skill by studying all the different checkmates that commonly occur in chess games. Learn the names of the patterns and impress your friends.