Opening Principles:
- Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5
- Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key
- Castle
- Connect your rooks
Tactics...tactics...tactics...
The objective of development is about improving the value of your pieces by increasing the importance of their roles. Well-developed pieces have more fire-power than undeveloped pieces and they do more in helping you gain control.
Now we will look at 5 practical things you can do to help you achieve your development objective.
They are:
- Give priority to your least active pieces.
- Which piece needs to be developed (which piece is the least active)
- Where should it go (where can its role be maximized)
- Exchange your least active pieces for your opponent’s active pieces.
- Restrict the development of your opponent’s pieces.
- Neutralize your opponent’s best piece.
- Secure strong squares for your pieces.
Don’t help your opponent develop.
There are 2 common mistakes whereby you will simply be helping your opponent to develop:
- Making a weak threat that can easily be blocked
- Making an exchange that helps your opponent to develop a piece
Pre Move Checklist:
- Make sure all your pieces are safe.
- Look for forcing moves: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) as this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
- If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
- If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
- After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"
Middlegame Planning:
- Expand your position:
- Gain more space.
- Improve the position of your pieces.
- Decide on what side of the board to play.
- Queenside: a-c files.
- Center: d-e files.
- Kingside: f-h files.
Compare, space, material, and weakness(es)
Play where you have the advantage.
- DO NOT HURRY. Regroup your pieces, and be patient.
Hi guys, I have been trying to improve my chess, i have played over 3000 daily games in the last year or so, i improved from 600 to 1300 but I do not feel like i have improved to my best yet, my problem is that I sometimes get lost in a position, i want to train my self to play slower and give more thought to the position, what I want to get at is, if you could make a list of questions to ask oneself what would they be???
I want to have a notebook open with me so i could whatever questions you guys put here before making any move, so I can improve and at some point internalize these questions
Thank you