Re: Chess Golden Rules
This is really good! Thank you.
Chess "Golden Rules"
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Good article! Thank you, Jim!! 
Excellent strategy, reminds of the Tao of Chess.
Chess Golden Rules
By Rodrigo Bravo
Mexican Tournament Player
(edited)
GOLDEN RULE: Begin the game by moving the pawn in front of your king (preferable) or queen two or a least one space forward.
By move 3, at least one of your knights should be out.
Never, ever, move your f-pawn (with black or white) if there are still Queens on the board. The only exception to this rule is once you have castled long (queenside).
No matter what, avoid exchanging your fianchettoed bishop. If forced to do so, exchange it for your opponent’s bishop of the same color. Never, ever exchange it is your opponent will get to keep HIS own bishop of that color.
Fianchetto: The development in chess of a bishop from its original position to the second square of the adjacent knight’s file.
GOLDEN RULE: A piece is safe only as long as it defended by the same number of pieces that are attacking it. If your opponent attacks one of your pieces, count the number of your pieces that defend it immediately to make sure that it is safe.
GOLDEN RULE: When you are down in material, avoid by any means possible any further piece exchanges.
Especially, hold on to your queen like your life depended on it.
GOLDEN RULE: When your king is under direct attack, exchange as many pieces as possible. Go those extra miles calculating if there is some way to exchange your opponent's queen.
GOLDEN RULE: Before you make your own move, ALWAYS ask yourself what your opponent is up to with the last move he/she just made.
GOLDEN RULE: Complete your development as fast as you can. If you reach move 15 and you have not completed development, you have broken this rule. Development includes: castling on either the kingside or queenside; moving all minor pieces (knights and bishops) from the first rank; connecting the rooks by moving the queen from the first rank.
GOLDEN RULE: Castle as soon as you can; if you have reached move 8 and have not castled, you have broken this rule.
GOLDEN RULE: Try to always keep your rooks connected.
It is the connection between the rooks that makes them powerful.
GOLDEN RULE: Rooks belong in open files.
An open file is a file (a vertical column) that has no pawns in it. Hence a rook is free to move up and down this file for attacking or defensive functions. This rule also applies to semi-open files. A semi-open file is a file where there are no pawns of your, but your opponent still has a pawn in it. Of course, ideally you want your rook to be attacking this enemy pawn! It's very important to understand that rooks are very powerful pieces, but quite literally, they are useless unless they have open files to move in. So, as soon as an open or semi-open file is created, your goal should be to have your rooks take over it.
Now that my rook is in the semi-open g-file, it will play an important role in the ongoing attack against your king.
GOLDEN RULE: A piece is safe only as long as it defended by the same number of pieces that are attacking it. If your opponent attacks one of your pieces, count the number of your pieces that defend it immediately to make sure that it is safe.
GOLDEN RULE: When you are down in material, avoid by any means possible any further piece exchanges.
Especially, hold on to your queen like your life depended on it.
GOLDEN RULE: When your king is under direct attack, exchange as many pieces as possible.
Go that extra mile calculating if there is some way to exchange your opponent’s queen. The idea behind it is that even the queen by itself cannot deliver checkmate.
Suppose your opponent is attacking your king with his queen and one or two other pieces. If you trade the attacking pieces, there will be no checkmate possible.
GOLDEN RULE: When attacking your opponent's king directly, avoid exchanging pieces; you will need them for your attack to be successful.
It's important to keep in mind that sometimes a successful attack does not necessarily result in checkmate; for instance, an attack is just as successful if you put enough pressure on your opponent's position that you win some material (a pawn or a piece).
Knights should always be developed toward the center (i.e. not to squares like a3 or h3) in accordance to an old saying in chess which states that "A knight on the rim is dim".