Chess Opening Principles

 NimzoRoy

 | Jun 10, 2012 at 5:38 PM

 | Posted in: NimzoRoy's Blog

 | 21095 reads

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Vlastimil Hort (born 12 January 1944) is

a chess Grandmasterof Czech nationality. During the 1960s and 1970s he was one of the world's strongest
players and reached the Candidates stage of competition for the world chess championship, but was never able
to compete for the actual title.
Hort was born in Kladno, Czechoslovakia and was a citizen of Czechoslovakia for the first part of his chess
career, winning national championships in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, and 1977. He achieved the Grandmaster
title in 1965 as a Czechoslovak citizen. While playing for Czechoslovakia he won a number of major
tournaments (Hastings 1967-8, Skopje 1969, etc.), gaining recognition as one of the strongest non-
Soviet players in the world. This led to him representing the "World" team in the great "USSR vs. Rest of the
World" match of 1970, where he occupied fourth board and had a commendable +1 score against the
formidable Soviet Grandmaster Lev Polugaevsky—in some regards his greatest result. He defected to the West
after the 1985 Tunis Interzonal, moving to West Germany and winning the national championship of his new
homeland in 1987, 1989, and 1991.
Despite advancing age he has remained an active tournament competitor, representing the
unified Germany and playing inter alia on "Veterans" teams in Scheveningen system matches against teams
of Woman Grandmasters. SOURCE: Wikipedia

CHESS OPENING PRINCIPLES by SIX FAMOUS GRANDMASTERS

Dr. Emmanuel Lasker's rules for the opening (from Common Sense In Chess)
1. Do not move any pawns in the opening of a game but the King and Queen pawns.
2. Do not move any piece twice in the opening, but put it at once on the right square.
3. Bring out your knights before developing your bishops, especially the Queen's Bishop.
4. Do not pin the adverse King Knight (ie. by Bg5) before your opponent has castled

GM Reuben Fine on the opening:

1. In the initial position White, because of the extra move, has a slight advantage. Consequently:
2. White's problem in the opening is to secure the better position, while...
 3. Black's problem is to secure equality.

Fine's rules for the opening

1. Open with either the e-pawn or the d-pawn.
2. Wherever possible, make a good developing move which threatens something or adds to the pressure on
the center.
3. Develop knights before bishops.
4. Pick the most suitable square for a piece and develop it there once and for all.
5. Make one or two pawn moves in the opening, not more.
6. Do not bring your queen out too early.
7. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the king's side.
8. Play to get control of the center.
9. Always try to maintain at least one pawn in the center.
10. Do not sacrifice without a clear and adequate reason, eg.:
* it secures a tangible advantage in development * it deflects the opponent's queen
* it prevents the opponent from castling * it enables a strong attack to be developed
Fine's two last questions to be asked before a move is made:
* How does it affect the center?
* How does it fit in with the development of my other pieces and pawns?

Nimzovitch's Seven Axioms (from My System)

* Development is to be understood as the strategic advance of the troops toward the frontier line (the
line between the fourth and fifth ranks).
* A pawn move must not in itself be regarded as a developing move, but merely as an aid
to development.
* To be ahead in development is the ideal to be aimed for.
* Exchange with resulting gain of tempo.
* Liquidation, with consequent development or disembarrassment.
* The pawn center must be mobile.
* There is no time for pawn hunting in the opening, except for center pawns.

GM Suetin's four principles for advanced players

* The fight for control of the center
* The striving for the quickest and most active development.
* The creation of conditions that permit early castling.
* The formation of an advantageous pawn structure

GM Hort's 13 rules for all players

* Take advantage of every tempo.
* Develop flexibly!
* Do not make pawn moves without careful planning.
* Begin the game with a center pawn, and develop the minor pieces so that they influence the center
* Develop harmoniously! Play with all your pieces
* Do not make aimless moves. Each move must be part of a definite plan.
* Do not be eager for material gain. The fight for time is much more important than the fight for
material, especially in open positions.
* A weakening of your own pawns may be accepted only if it is compensated by a more active
placement of your pieces.
* With the help of your pawns, try to get an advantage in space and weaken your opponent's pawn
position.
* Do not obstruct your pawns by grouping your pieces directly in front of them; pawns and pieces must
work together.
* During the first few moves, pay special attention to the vulnerable KB2 square on both sides.
 * Remember that the poor placement of even a single piece may destroy the coordination of the other
pieces.
* With White, exploit the advantage of having the first move and try to gain the initiative. With Black,
try to organize counterplay.

GM Portisch on forming a repertoire:

"Your only task in the opening is to reach a playable middlegame."

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 Chess Strategy for Chess Openings and Chess Principles
Chess Strategy For Chess Openings And Chess Principles
What is chess strategy? The art of chess strategy is knowing how to formulate a plan for the chess
game, and arrange your chess pieces to accomplish this plan. The chess strategy outlined below will
get any new chess player on the road to understanding correct chess opening strategy - how to
control the chess board from move one. Later you will discover many resources to aid in further
improvement.
Introduction to Chess Strategy
Beginning chess players discover very quickly that learning how the pieces move is only the tip of
the chess playing iceberg. It's usually after several moves of a typical chess game that the question
arises, "What now?" Here we will discuss general chess principles in the chess opening.
This page will provide you with some very simple, easy guidelines in chess strategy for playing the
chess opening. Aimed at beginners who know only the rules and moves, there is no talk about
specific openings or strings of moves to memorize; only general chess strategy principles to think
about when starting a chess game. Later you'll notice that on occasion (rarely) it's best to ignore a
principle of chess strategy in the opening; nothing here is carved in granite. But for right now, these
chess tips are excellent to follow during the first few moves of your game.
The underlying principle of chess strategy in the opening phase is control of the board's center
squares. These are the four squares right in the middle of the chess board (shown here in green):

Every chess opening aims to occupy or control these central squares. Why? In chess geometry the
center is important because each chess piece exercises maximum mobility in the center. Here's an
example using only the Kings and a Knight for each side:
The centrally placed White Knight can move to eight (green) squares; it attacks and controls them.
But the poor Black Knight in the corner only has two (yellow) squares, its mobility cut by 75% - plus
the White King, attacking eight squares, can move in (red arrow) to capture the Knight. Notice that
even the Black King has only three squares (yellow arrows) under control.
Center occupation and central control, getting the King castled to safety; these are the two principles
of chess strategy behind all popular chess openings. Below are some typical chess opening moves,
which illustrate the back-and-forth fight to dominate the center squares.
Strategy
[Event "?"] [Site "Anytown"] [Date "2015.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Beginner"] [Black
"Grandmaster"] [Result "*"] [ECO "C65"] [BlackElo "3000"] [Annotator "Pickard,S."] [PlyCount "8"]
[EventDate "2011.04.09"] [SourceDate "2015.04.30"] 1. e4 {[%csl Ge4][%cal Re4d5,Yd1h5,Yf1a6] [A
very good chess opening move, which conforms to all the chess strategy principles discussed. White
occupies one key center square with a pawn, also attacking another central point. In addition, the
move also liberates the White Queen and King's Bishop. As World Champion Bobby Fischer said of
1.e4, "Best by test." If unopposed White will likely play his d-pawn forward next move!]} ({The move}
1. d4 {[%csl Gd4][%cal Yd1d3,Yc1h6,Rd4e5] also meets our requirements, sending a pawn to the
center and attacking another central square. The Queen defends the pawn, and she is free to move
forward. In addition, the Queen's Bishop can now develop, and White "threatens" to play his e-pawn
up two squares to dominate the center.}) ( {Even a move like} 1. Nf3 {[%csl Gd4,Ge5] is quite good,
bringing the Knight toward the center, and attacking two center squares. The move also brings White
closer to castling his King to safety - another goal of good chess strategy in the opening.}) 1... e5
{[%csl Ge5][%cal Re5d4,Yd8h4,Yf8a3] [Black answers by staking his own claim to the center
squares, occupying one and attacking another. The move makes ready to deploy the Queen and
King's Bishop to active central squares. Now White cannot hope for two pawns abreast in the
center.]} ({Other moves are possible of course, but any good move here will be found to fight for the
center and rapidly develop the pieces to squares of maximum efficiency. For example} 1... e6 {[%cal
Re6d5,Yd8h4,Yf8a3] attacks an important central square and prepares to support the d-pawn's
advance two squares into the center next move. Now after} 2. d4 {(White controls the center of the
chess board, an ideal arrangement according to sound chess strategy in the opening)} d5 {Black
quickly strikes back in the center, firmly establishing a pawn foothold on the d5 square, for if White
captures Black retakes with his e-pawn. Notice that White's e-pawn is also threatened with capture.
This position begins the French Defense, a well known chess opening.}) 2. Nf3 {[%csl Re5] [An ideal
chess opening move. White develops a Knight to its best square (toward the center!) and attacks the
enemy pawn. Black is limited in his reply.]} ({Again, White could make other good moves, like} 2.
Nc3 {[%csl Gd5,Ge4] which also meets guidelines for proper chess opening strategy. A Knight is
brought out toward the center, two center squares are influenced and the White e-pawn is solidly
protected.}) 2... Nc6 {[%csl Yd4, Ye5] [Excellent - a Knight is developed actively, attacking two
central squares and defending the Black e-pawn. The influence of White's Knight is thus
counteracted.]} 3. Bb5 {[%csl Re5][%cal Ye1g1] [Rapid deployment and no wasted motion. This
move adheres to the principles of chess strategy, by preparing to castle and by undermining Black's
defense of this e-pawn. Without getting bogged down in chess tactics, observe that White is not yet
threatening to win the Black e-pawn, even if he could move again.]} ({Instead} 3. Bc4 {[%cal
Ye1g1,Ga2g8] illustrates good chess strategy as well, placing the King's Bishop on an active square
where it commands two long diagonals, attacks the d5 central square and prepares to castle.}) 3...
Nf6 {[%csl Re4] [Black counterattacks! He brings out the King's Knight and controls two center
squares, besides placing the enemy e-pawn under attack.]} 4. O-O {[%csl Gg1] [All according to the
best chess strategy. White's King is now safely tucked away in the corner, and his King's Rook is
brought toward the center. Next he will plan the development of his Queenside pieces while
hampering Black's attempt to smoothly develop.]} Bc5 {[%csl Rg1][%cal Ye8g8,Ga7g1] [The King's
Bishop takes up its most active post, where it commands squares leading all the way to White's
King. In addition, Black is now ready to castle. This position forms part of the Berlin Defense to the
Ruy Lopez.]} *

Ten rules for the opening

Submitted by DrDave on Mon, 30/08/2010 - 18:07

Table of Contents [show]

1. Get your pieces out into the centre quickly. The opening is a race to see who can get their
pieces out first while keeping at least a share of control of the centre.
o This is the main point to remember; all the other rules are just footnotes to this
one. Sortez les pieces!

2. Get a firm foothold in the centre - a pawn on one of the 'little centre' squares e4/e5/d5/d4 - and
don't give it up without good reason
 3. Move your king to safety at the side by castling
4. Complete your development before moving a piece twice or starting an attack. By move 12,
you should have connected your Rooks, or be about to do so.
5. More detail on winning the race:
o move pieces not pawns, and
o move them to their best squares in one move if you can, and also
o try to gain time if you can by aggressive moves.
6. Move your minor pieces out early on generally move Knights before Bishops, and generally
straightaway to f3/c3 or f6/c6 (but probably not both, as White)
7. Don't move out your major pieces (Q+RR) where they will get chased around by the little guys
and possibly trapped.
8. Don't grab pawns or attack if you haven't completed developmen; especially, don't charge
around with your Queen trying to hoover up pawns.
9. If one side gets ahead in development:
o If you are ahead in development, start something going and open up lines for your
better pieces
o If you are behind in development, don't start anything and keep things closed until
you have caught up. This is especially true if you have not castled!
10. Rooks are the hardest piece to develop: "openings should be judged on the prospects they offer to
ambitious young Rooks" - PURDY. To develop your Rooks, open a file; to open a file, bring
pawns into a position to swap them off; so after 1.e4, plan to play d2-d4 or f2-f4 soon.
o In fact, you have to attack the opponent's centre with pawns to get much chance of an
advantage as White (The Four Knights' Game is next to Old Stodge in drawishness), so
d2-d4 makes sense for more than one reason.

Further advice on playing the opening

I've collected here some other advice from the grandmasters of the past.

Lasker's rules for the opening

1. Do not move any pawns in the opening of a game but the King and Queen pawns.
2. Do not move any piece twice in the opening, but put it at once on the right square.
3. Bring out your knights before developing your bishops, especially the Queen's Bishop.
4. Do not pin the adverse King Knight (ie. by Bg5) before your opponent has castled.

COOL TIP: Why should you move the knights first? Well, knights are very much more effective if
they are in the centre. (Bishops are more effective here too, but they can work from a distance). For the
opening that has to mean Knights moving to c3 and f3 (or c6 and g6). Where should the Bishops go?
The White King's Bishop on f1 could go to b5,c4,d3 or even e2. Which is best? That depends on what
your opponent is up to. So, move your knights straight away to the centre, and while you are doing that
your opponent's moves may suggest to you where you should put your bishops.
Reuben Fine on the opening:
1. In the initial position White, because of the extra move, has a slight advantage. Consequently:
2. White's problem in the opening is to secure the better position, while...
3. Black's problem is to secure equality.

Fine's rules for the opening

1. Open with either the e-pawn or the d-pawn.
2. Wherever possible, make a good developing move which threatens something or adds to the
pressure on the centre.
3. Develop knights before bishops.
4. Pick the most suitable square for a piece and develop it there once and for all.
5. Make one or two pawn moves in the opening, not more.
6. Do not bring your queen out too early.
7. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the king's side.
8. Play to get control of the centre.
9. Always try to maintain at least one pawn in the centre.
10. Do not sacrifice without a clear and adequate reason, eg.:
o it secures a tangible advantage in development
o it deflects the opponent's queen
o it prevents the opponent from castling
o it enables a strong attack to be developed

Fine's two last questions to be asked before a move is made:

 How does it affect the centre?
 How does it fit in with the development of my other pieces and pawns?

Nimzovitch's Seven Axioms

(from My System)

1. Development is to be understood as the strategic advance of the troops toward the frontier line
(the line between the fourth and fifth ranks).
2. A pawn move must not in itself be regarded as a devloping move, but merely as an aid to
development.
3. To be ahead in development is the ideal to be aimed for.
4. Exchange with resulting gain of tempo.
5. Liquidation, with consequent development or disembarrassment.
6. The pawn centre must be mobile.
 7. There is no time for pawn hunting in the opening, except for centre pawns.

-- NIMZOVITCH

Suetin's four principles for advanced players

1. The fight for control of the centre
2. The striving for the quickest and most active development.
3. The creation of conditions that permit early castling.
4. The formation of an advantageous pawn structure

-- SUETIN

Hort's 13 rules for all players

1. Take advantage of every tempo.
2. Do not make pawn moves without careful planning.
3. Begin the game with a centre pawn, and develop the minor pieces so that they influence the
centre.
4. Develop flexibly!
5. Develop harmoniously! Play with all your pieces
6. Do not make aimless moves. Each move must be part of a definite plan.
7. Do not be eager for material gain. The fight for time is much more important than the fight for
material, especially in open positions.
8. A weakening of your own pawns may be accepted only if it is compensated by a more active
placement of your pieces.
9. With the help of your pawns, try to get an advantage in space and weaken your opponent's
pawn position.
10. Do not obstruct your pawns by grouping your pieces directly in front of them; pawns and pieces
must work together.
11. During the first few moves, pay special attention to the vulnerable KB2 square on both sides.
12. Remember that the poor placement of even a single piece may destroy the coordination of the
other pieces.
13. With White, exploit the advantage of having the first move and try to gain the initiative. With
Black, try to organize counterplay.

This last point is worth particular attention, for, although it contains much wisdom, it is not always
applied in current tournament practice. Unfortunately, we belong to a time when White usually tries to
gain only a minimal advantage, because to try for more entails the taking of risks. Black, having no sure
method of developing counterplay without risk, usually tries to minimise White's attacking possibilities.
The game thus proceeds towards an endgame in which neither side has real winning chances."
-- VLASTIMIL HORT
Here are my power principles of chess, something which all beginners and novice players
should follow:

1. Control the Center!

The center of the board includes the squares e4, d4, e5, and d5. When you start a game,
place your pawns in the center to occupy and control as many of these squares as you can.
Location, location, location!

2. Develop Your Pieces as Soon as Possible!

Get your Knights and Bishops out right away. This should be done before you try to
checkmate your opponent, some time in the first 6 or 7 moves if possible.

3. Castle as Soon as Possible!

Castle at the very first chance you have in order to keep your king safe. Remember, you
can’t win if your king isn’t safe and you get checkmated first. So don’t forget to castle! Then
after you castle, connect your rooks by developing your queen.

4. Keep Your Pieces Protected!

Don’t leave your pieces hanging without protection. Each and every piece you have is very
valuable, so don’t forget to protect them. Protecting means if your opponent can take your
piece, then you can take your opponent’s piece.

5. Have Fun and Win with Grace, Lose with Dignity!

This is my motto in chess. First and foremost, chess should be fun. Sometimes you win and
sometimes you lose, it’s all part of the game. When you win, be a good sport and don’t trash
talk or make fun of your opponent. When you lose, be an even better sport and not a sore
loser. Shake hands and congratulate your opponent. This will go a long way toward making
good friends.

Below is an example to demonstrate what can happen when one does not follow the above
principles:

Tarrasch, Siegbert – Mieses, Jacques [C10]

Match Game 3, Berlin 1916

1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 This is the French Defense.

3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.0–0 Nxe4 8.Bxe4 Nf6 9.Bd3 So far,
everything seems normal. In this position, Black should castle.

9…b6? This is a critical mistake by Black. One of the key opening rules of thumb is to
castle as soon as possible (General Principle #5: Castle Early). Black will pay for this
mistake. We shall see how White will take advantage of this.

10.Ne5! Black is facing serious problems. If Black develops the Bishop to b7, White will play
Bb5+ and Black will lose the right to castle. Now, Black realizes his mistake and castles
immediately. Unfortunately, it is a little too late. Let’s see how White takes advantage of this.

10…0–0 if 10…Bb7 11.Bb5+

11.Nc6 An excellent move! We shall see the purpose of this move shortly.

11…Qd6 if 11…Qd7 12.Qf3 Bb7 13.Nxe7+ Qxe7 14.Qxb7+-; 11…Qe8 This unusual move
is probably the best response for Black. 12.Nxe7+ Qxe7 13.Qf3 Rb8 14.Qg3 White has a
strong positional advantage with the pair of bishops and the queen aiming at Black’s
Kingside.

12.Qf3! Another excellent move! White is threatening a winning discovery (Discovered

Attack) with Nxe7+ (uncovering the attack by the white queen on f3 against the undefended
black rook at a8.)

12…Bd7 The only move. 12…Bb7 13.Nxe7+ Qxe7 14.Qxb7 and Black would be behind a
piece.

13.Nxe7+ Why does White exchange a good, active knight for a bad black bishop? This is a
very important question since you would not want to trade a good piece for a bad piece
without a good reason. In this case, White sees a deadly pin potential in the next move.
That is why he is willing to trade.

13…Qxe7 14.Bg5! Threatening 15.Qe4! Nxe4 16.Bxe7. Black has no way of getting out of
this pin.

14…Rac8 15.Rfe1 Bringing another important piece into action! Remember, you would
need to utilize all your pieces to achieve a winning attack. 15.Qe4 would be less accurate
for White. 15…Nxe4 16.Bxe7 Rfe8 17.Bxe4 Rxe7 +=
15…Rfe8 if 15…c5 16.Qh3 h6 17.Bxh6 gxh6 (17…c4 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Qg3+ Kh8 20.Qh4+
Kg7 21.Qg5+ Kh8 22.Qh6+ Kg8 23.Re5) 18.Qxh6 cxd4 19.Qg5+ (19.Re5? Rc5) 19…Kh8
20.Re4 and Black must give up his queen to avoid the mate.

16.Qh3! This move creates another threat. Because of the pin of the knight, the h7-pawn is
now vulnerable. White combines pressure against the h7-pawn from the queen at h3 and
the bishop at d3; meanwhile the white bishop at g5 threatens to trade off the only black
piece protecting h7, the f6-knight.

16…Qd6? Black’s position is very bad. This move just makes it even worse. 16…h6
17.Bxh6 gxh6 18.Qxh6 Qf8 19.Qxf6; 16…g6 17.Qh4 Kg7 18.Re4!; 16…e5 17.Bxf6 Bxh3
(17…Qxf6 18.Qxd7; 17…gxf6 18.Qxh7+ Kf8 19.Qh8#) 18.Bxe7 Rxe7 19.gxh3; 16…c5
17.Bxh7+ Kf8 18.Be4 Kg8

17.Bxf6 Eliminating the piece that protects the h7-pawn.

17…gxf6 18.Qh6! Black is hoping to create an escape for the king to f8 then e7. White
wisely cuts the king off. This is another important move to learn. When you are on the
offensive, do not let your opponent off the hook.

18…f5 if 18…Qxd4 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.Bg6+ Kg8 21.Qh7+ Kf8 22.Qxf7#

19.Re3 Bringing the rook into action and sacrificing the d4-pawn. In the meantime, Black’s
pieces are not coordinated to defend the king.

19…Qxd4 if 19…f6 20.Rg3+ Kf7 21.Qg7#; 19…Kh8 20.Rh3 Kg8 21.Rg3+

20.c3 Attacking the queen. The black queen will soon run out of squares to stay on from
which it can continue to defend the g7 square. I prefer 20.Rg3+ a little more since it attacks
the king immediately. 20…Kh8 Now I would play 21.c3 transposing to what would have
happened in the game. 21…Qe5 22.f4 The queen now has no squares to move onto to
continue defending g7.
Black resigns since the position is completely hopeless.

1-0

SUMMARY:

So what have we learned in this game?

1. Do not violate the Opening Principles of Chess. Make sure to castle as soon as possible;
Black did not do so on move nine – and paid the price later on.

2. When you are attacking, make sure to utilize your pieces. By bringing the rook into the
action, White created a winning attack.

Original Article by – GM Susan Polgar

Written by Yury Markushin

Friday, 15 May 2015 00:00

Many chess players get in trouble in the openings because they are not familiar with general opening
principles. These players may know the opening lines that they usually play, but if something goes differently they get confused
and in danger to get inferior position and even lose the game. The goal of this article is to remind you of these seven very
important opening principles that every chess player must know.

1. Develop pieces rapidly

It is not a secret that the main objective of opening is development. Even though it sounds like common sense it is not the case for
many amateur players. Some players use this phase of the game for quick queen checks, pawn hunt and launch of unprepared
attack.

Needless to say, that after their cheap shots fail (and that happens in 99% of the games) they end up in deep trouble. Imaging being
way behind in development, with an exposed king stuck at the center, under attack of opponent’s rooks and the queen. Not a very
pleasant position to be in. Focus on rapid development and you won’t be one of these “unlucky” players that lose in 15 moves.

In the position below Black is 2 pawns up but he is so much behind in development that the game is already lost.
 Black to move

2. Don’t move the same piece twice

This is a general rule to remember. Typically you want to move each piece just once during the opening phase. Unless there is a
very good reason (serious material gain, checkmate, etc.) to move the piece twice, it should be avoided. Give a chance to other
pieces to get developed before you start repositioning already developed pieces.

It seems like white found a nice attacking move Nb5, threatening a vulnerable c7 square. But this move was an inaccuracy because
it violates one of the basic opening principles of not moving the same piece twice. Black can easily defend with Qf7,
simultaneously opening the diagonal for the light squared bishop. White just lost a tempo. It would’ve been better for white just to
play O-O.
 Black to move

Tip:
In order to understand how to play openings it is important to have deep positional understanding. Only then you will be able to
develop the pieces correctly and understand the fundamental opening ideas. Opening and middlegame is very much connected. In
order to improve your positional understanding we suggest you to sign up for our comprehensive training course.

Hundreds of chess players already benefited from our training . Don't wait, start winning chess games today.

3. Don’t make unneeded pawn moves

Don’t spend valuable time in the opening making unnecessary pawn moves. Generally speaking, you should only make pawn
moves when they are needed to develop the pieces (central pawns, fianchetto, etc.) Especially avoid prophylactic pawn pushes;
they don’t do any good in the opening.

White just played an unforced pawn move h3. This is not very good move because it loses time. Better is just Qe2+ or Nxd5.
 Black to move

4. Develop knights before bishops

There are many reasons to develop knights before bishops. First of all, the knight is a short range piece, meaning that it only can
control the nearby squares. If a knight is not developed its effectiveness is close to zero. At the same time, a bishop is a long range
piece and can control many squares even from the back rank. Also, by developing the bishop before the knight you are leaving a
knight’s pawn unprotected.
5. Avoid exchanging a developed piece for an undeveloped counterpart
In order to develop a piece you invest a valuable chess resource: time. If you exchanged a well-positioned piece for an undeveloped
counterpart you are losing tempos, and that’s something you definitely want to avoid in the opening. Use these tempos to develop
more pieces instead!

In the position below it is not a good idea for white to play Bxb8 because it will lose a tempo.
 White to move

6. Castle early
Putting the King to safety is one of the priorities of the opening. Keep in mind that contrary to a popular belief it is much harder to
attack the castled king. At the same time, castling connects the rooks, allowing them to work more efficiently. Always castle early in
the game! Following this simple rules will save you handful of games.
 White to move

7. Control more space

The spatial advantage is a very important aspect of chess. Generally speaking a player that possesses a spatial advantage has
control of the game. Space allows you to much more efficiently coordinate the pieces for both attack and defense, at the same time
preventing your opponent from doing the same. In our training course we have excellent examples and a much deeper explanation
of how spatial advantage can be effectively used and converted into the win.

Notice how white advanced his pawns to occupy more space.

 White to move

If you want to improve your chess level, you need to have a clear study plan. If you aim for a dramatic improvement at chessyou
need to work on all of the elements of the game in a systematic way:

 tactics
 positional play
 attacking skills
 endgame technique
 classical games analysis
 psychological preparation
 and much more