This mixed conditionals chess activity is an opportunity for higher Intermediate and advanced students to practice using conditionals.
Let’s review the four conditionals before we play.
0 Conditional
If + Present Simple, Present Simple
If you lose your king, you lose the game.
If + Present Simple, Imperative
If your pawn reaches the other side of the board, promote it.
Vocabulary and 0 conditional review – Describe where you put the pieces when you set up the board.
Does the queen go on her own colour if you set up the board correctly?
If you set up the board correctly… [Add where you put each piece.]
If you plan to castle… [Add imperatives to say what pieces you need to move.]
1st Conditional
If + Present Simple, will/can/may + base form of verb
If you move your rook, you will expose your queen.
Chess Puzzle – Use the 1st conditional.
It is white’s move. What is the best move?
If white moves the queen to H8, what will happen?
Black will have to move the king out of check. Then the white queen will capture the rook.
2nd Conditional
If + Past Simple, would/could/should + base form of verb
If I were a better player, I would win the game.
Chess Puzzle – Use 2nd conditionals.
White moved the bishop. This was a mistake. Do you see why?
What would happen if black moved the queen to E5?
If you were white and black made this move, what would you do next?
3rd Conditional
If + had + past participle, would/could/should have + past participle
If I had seen the opportunity, I would have captured your rook.
Chess Puzzle – Use the 3rd conditional.
It was black’s move.
Black moved the rook to E1.
Black shouldn’t have done that. A different move would have resulted in a check mate.
What move would have been better?
The chess puzzle ideas for the 2nd and 3rd conditionals are from Chessfox’s puzzles #1 and #2. There are lots of other great puzzles you can solve together and use to practice both chess and using the conditionals. Check it out!
Practice using the conditionals while you play.
Stop the game every few turns and analyse the moves you have made and what you might do next. Predict what would happen if you moved specific piece. Ask what you could have done differently, and what the result would have been.
