By Joshua Anderson

1) Johnny was very excited to play in a simultaneous exhibition with his favorite chess player, Viswanathan Anand. "Vishy" sacrifices one pawn and then another. Johnny's bishops have almost no movement so he trades one for a knight and then trades the other for 2 pawns. Johnny misses a fork and loses an exchange. Who is leading in points and by how many?

2) Susannah sits down at the board eager to trounce Cecil, her annoying little brother. Not focusing on the game, she loses a rook for 2 pawns. Still in shock, Susannah loses a bishop for a pawn. She concentrates and with stronger play manages to trade a set of bishops and then wins a rook for a pawn. Then Susannah wins a rook for a knight. She is also able to capture a knight for two pawns. Has she achieved material equality?

3) Wayne challenges his girlfriend Jennifer to a game of chess, expecting an easy victory.  Jennifer, full of surprises, plays solidly and is able to gain a pawn after trading off a set of bishops. Wayne sacrifices a rook for the other bishop. A set of rooks and 3 sets of pawns are traded off. Feeling that her position is about to crumble, Wayne sacrifices a knight for two pawns. Jennifer comes up with a brilliant defensive idea and is able to rebuff the attack and exchange queens. As they approach the endgame, how much material is Jennifer ahead? Is this generally considered enough to win a chess game?

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