On May 19, 2007 Jose Fernando Cubas of Paraguay was playing White in a tournament in the city of
Santos in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil. We note in passing that Santos was founded in 1546 by
Portuguese nobleman Brás Cubas. White has just sacrificed a rook by moving from the empty red
outlined square to the rook's present red outlined position to capture Black's bishop. For readers
not familiar with chess, a rook is generally considered to be worth a bishop plus two pawns, so
White is expecting mobility and initiative to either gain material back or to lead to a successful
attack on the Black king. Throughout the early and even into the middle phase of the game pawns
are considered the slowest moving and weakest of the pieces. However, if a white pawn is advanced
"up" the board to the eighth rank (top) it becomes a queen, the most powerful piece on the board.
Similarly, if a black pawn is advanced "down" the board to the first rank (bottom)
it also becomes a queen, which is generally accounted as worth nine pawns.
Far away, the nation of Kyrgyzstan finds itself as a pawn in a complex game involving Russia,
China, the United States and others. Throughout its own history Uruguay has found itself
surrounded by its larger and more powerful neighbors, Brazil and Argentina.
Santos in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil. We note in passing that Santos was founded in 1546 by
Portuguese nobleman Brás Cubas. White has just sacrificed a rook by moving from the empty red
outlined square to the rook's present red outlined position to capture Black's bishop. For readers
not familiar with chess, a rook is generally considered to be worth a bishop plus two pawns, so
White is expecting mobility and initiative to either gain material back or to lead to a successful
attack on the Black king. Throughout the early and even into the middle phase of the game pawns
are considered the slowest moving and weakest of the pieces. However, if a white pawn is advanced
"up" the board to the eighth rank (top) it becomes a queen, the most powerful piece on the board.
Similarly, if a black pawn is advanced "down" the board to the first rank (bottom)
it also becomes a queen, which is generally accounted as worth nine pawns.
Far away, the nation of Kyrgyzstan finds itself as a pawn in a complex game involving Russia,
China, the United States and others. Throughout its own history Uruguay has found itself
surrounded by its larger and more powerful neighbors, Brazil and Argentina.
