Chess

Merit Badge Workbook

This workbook can help you but you still need to read the merit badge pamphlet.
This Workbook can help you organize your thoughts as you prepare to meet with your merit badge counselor
Merit Badge Counselors may not require the use of this or any similar workbooks.
You still must satisfy your counselor that you can demonstrate each skill and have learned the information.
You should use the work space provided for each requirement to keep track of which requirements have been completed,
and to make notes for discussing the item with your counselor, not for providing full and complete answers.
If a requirement says that you must take an action using words such as "discuss", "show",
"tell", "explain", "demonstrate", "identify", etc, that is what you must do.
No one may add or subtract from the official requirements found on Scouting.org.
The requirements were last issued or revised in 2024 • This workbook was updated in November 2023.

Zachary Rosenthal
Scout’s Name: ___________________________ Troop 124
Unit ____________________________________ 7/12/2024
Date Started _______________________

Mrs. Kondoleon
Counselor’s Name: _______________________ [email protected]
Phone No.: ______________________________ Email: ____________________________
Please submit errors, omissions, comments or suggestions about this workbook to: [email protected]
Comments or suggestions for changes to the requirements for the merit badge should be sent to: [email protected]

1. Discuss with your merit badge counselor the history of the game of chess.

Explain why it is considered a game of planning and strategy.

2. Discuss with your merit badge counselor the following:

a. The benefits of playing chess, including developing critical thinking skills, concentration skills, and decision-making
skills, and how these skills can help you in other areas of your life

Workbook © Copyright 2023 - U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. - All Rights Reserved
Requirements © Copyright, Boy Scouts of America (Used with permission.)
This workbook may be reproduced and used locally by Scouts and Scouters for purposes consistent with the programs of the
Boy Scouts of America (BSA), the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) or other Scouting and Guiding Organizations.
However it may NOT be used or reproduced for electronic redistribution or for commercial or other non-Scouting
purposes without the express permission of the U. S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. (USSSP).
Chess Scout's Name: ________________________
b. Sportsmanship and chess etiquette

3. Demonstrate to your counselor that you know each of the following.

a. The name of each chess piece
King Queen Rook
Bishop Knight Pawn

Then, using Scouting’'s Teaching EDGE*, teach someone (preferably another Scout) who does not know how to play
chess:
* You may learn about Scouting’s Teaching EDGE from your unit leader, another Scout, or by attending training.
 b. How to set up a chessboard

c. How each chess piece moves, including castling and en passant captures.
Pawn Forward 1 or 2 squares on the first move, then forward 1 square each move if it is
not blocked by another piece. Diagonally (up 1 and right 1 or up 1 and left 1) to
capture an enemy piece.
Bishop Diagonally in any direction, any number of squares until blocked by anothher piece.

Knight Knight

Rook In a straight line (horizontally or vertically) in any direction, any number of squares
until blocked by anothher piece.

Chess - Merit Badge Workbook Page. 2 of 6

Chess Scout's Name: ________________________
Queen Combines moves of rook and bishop - in a straight line or diagonally in any
direction, any number of squares until blocked by another piece.

King Like the Queen but only one square - diagonal, horizontal, or vertical one square,
unless blocked by a friendly piece. Cannot move to a square that puts the king in
check.
When you castle, the king moves two spaces toward a rook and that rook moves to
castling: the other side of the king. To castle, you must not be in check, castling must not
move the king through check, and there must be no pieces between the king and
the rook.
If an enemy pawn moves 2 squares on the previous move and is directly horizontal
en passant captures (1 square left or right) to a pawn, your pawn may capture the enemy pawn by
moving to the side and up 1 to end up 1 square above that pawn (en passant). This
move must occur immediately after the enemy pawn moves 2 squares.
4. Do the following
a. Demonstrate scorekeeping using the algebraic system of chess notation..
White Black
1. e4 e5

2. f4 exf4

3. Nc3 Qh4+

4 Ke2 Bc5

5. Nd5 Nf6

6. d4 O-O

7. Qd3 Re8

8. Bd2 Nxe4

9. Nf3 Nc3#

10. 0 1

b. Discuss the differences between the opening, the middle game, and the endgame.
opening

middle game

endgame

Chess - Merit Badge Workbook Page. 3 of 6

Chess Scout's Name: ________________________
c. Explain four opening principles.
1.

2.

3.

4.

d. Explain the four rules for castling.

1.

2.

3.

4.

 e. On a chessboard, demonstrate a "scholar's mate" and a "fool's mate."

 f. Demonstrate on a chessboard four ways a chess game can end in a draw.
5. Do the following.
a. Explain four of the following elements of chess strategy: exploiting weaknesses, force, king safety, pawn structure,
space, tempo, time.
1.

Chess - Merit Badge Workbook Page. 4 of 6

Chess Scout's Name: ________________________

2.

3.

4.

b. Explain any five of these chess tactics: clearance sacrifice, decoy, discovered attack, double attack, fork,
interposing, overloading, overprotecting, pin, remove the defender, skewer, zwischenzug.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

 c. Set up a chessboard with the white king on e1, the white rooks on a1 and h1, and the black king on e5. With White
to move first, demonstrate how to force checkmate on the black king.

Chess - Merit Badge Workbook Page. 5 of 6

Chess Scout's Name: ________________________
Zachary Rosenthal

 d. Set up and solve five direct-mate problems provided by your merit badge counselor.
 1.

 2.

 3.

 4.

 5.

6. Do ONE of the following:

 a. Play at least three games of chess with other Scouts and/or your merit badge counselor. Replay the games from your
score sheets and discuss with your counselor how you might have played each game differently.
 b. Play in a scholastic (youth) chess tournament and use your score sheets from that tournament to replay your games with
your merit badge counselor. Discuss with your counselor how you might have played each game differently.
 c. Organize and run a chess tournament with at least four players, plus you. Have each competitor play at least two
games.

When working on merit badges, Scouts and Scouters should be aware of some vital information in the current edition of
the Guide to Advancement (BSA publication 33088).Important excerpts from that publication can be downloaded from
http://usscouts.org/advance/docs/GTA-Excerpts-meritbadges.pdf.
You can download a complete copy of the Guide to Advancement from http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33088.pdf.

Chess - Merit Badge Workbook Page 6 of 6