I was in Chess Club in high school. It was our first year establishing the club, the teacher hosting it didn't have any great insights into chess, we had no books, and so we just sat for hours every afternoon staring quietly at chessboards playing one another. I remember our minds being blown when we discovered you could achieve mate with just a king and a rook versus a lone king. We had formerly believed this meant a draw.
Skipping around on this site is a delight for me. We discovered so many of these tactics in our many hours of play, but we didn't have names for them beyond "fork" and "pin." Now I suddenly find I have a vocabulary for describing these tactics and situations to my kids when they get older. I can't wait to show them the "Back Rank Mate" with just a king and rook left on the board.
Skipping around on this site is a delight for me. We discovered so many of these tactics in our many hours of play, but we didn't have names for them beyond "fork" and "pin." Now I suddenly find I have a vocabulary for describing these tactics and situations to my kids when they get older. I can't wait to show them the "Back Rank Mate" with just a king and rook left on the board.