early and often 
How fast should I castle?
Sort:
Oldest
T f-- up their s--, pawns won't do it. Around 10 moves in castling is good I'd say, sometimes more like 5 moves but by 15 moves You definetely know wheter Your K-- is safe.
Chess is not an easy game, and the easy rules ("castle early") are often true, but then again, not without exceptions. There are situations where an unexperienced player is castling right into an attack (positions with the classical bishop sac Bxh7+ come into mind). Sometimes a rook on h1 can be useful for an attack (h4-h5), in this case the white move 0-0 is not so productive for an attack.
It depends on the whole situation on the board, when a certain move like 0-0 or 0-0-0 (and which of the 2 is best in the situation?) is the best one. Sometimes it is a matter of style.
Not only the kings positions are important, but also the positions of the rooks. After 0-0-0, the rook is directly on d1 (and the rooks might become connected). After 0-0, the rook comes to f1 (this may be good, or not, depending on the position).
There are positions where no castling is required at all (f.ex. the Black side in the Berlin defence of the Ruy Lopez). After a queen exchange, it may be ok to have the king in the center. Or (another example) some very close positions do not require a castling (Black side in the French defense).
For beginners, the rule "castle early" is generally ok.
Mar 11, 2016
0
#5
There is no hard and fast rule. Sometimes castling needs to be instant, sometimes castling early is outright bad!
For example, take the King's Indian Defense and the KIA vs Sicilian:
My opinion may be shared by others, but to reinforce what others are saying. It depends on the game/position; open vs. closed, d4 vs. e4 for white, etc.
Personally, as white I try to castle when it accomplishes 3 things: King safety, connecting Rooks, and offensively applies pressure to my opponent's position (i.e. 0-0-0 thus having Rook on d1 pressuring the center). Of coarse, it usually doesn't work out that way. :)
As black, I usually try to 0-0 with a solid defense (i.e. King's Indian Defense or Chicago Defense).
Mar 11, 2016
0
#7
akafett wrote:
My opinion may be shared by others, but to reinforce what others are saying. It depends on the game/position; open vs. closed, d4 vs. e4 for white, etc.
Personally, as white I try to castle when it accomplishes 3 things: King safety, connecting Rooks, and offensively applies pressure to my opponent's position (i.e. 0-0-0 thus having Rook on d1 pressuring the center). Of coarse, it usually doesn't work out that way. :)
As black, I usually try to 0-0 with a solid defense (i.e. King's Indian Defense or Chicago Defense).
Black almost never gets time to castle in the Chicago Defense. If White plays it correctly, as shown below, Black's hopes of castling are zilch!
T-fan: Yes, that is why I said "try to 0-0." In the KID, it's easy. In the Chicago, it's hard. I was compairing two ends of the spectrum.
Apr 23, 2016
0
#9
early castling may end ur game early too.....sometimes castling makes ur movement weak and in a way an attack at castling side could make ur game to a total defence..............
so get prepared for castling....
once u know u are up in a game ....castle....and attack....
May 3, 2016
0
#10
At the 900-1200 level sometimes the opponent makes silly opening moves. If that happens you might not neet to castle at all. If the opponent has played poorly and weakened his position, then sometimes it is better to attack than to castle.
But it all depends on the position....
May 3, 2016
0
#11
castling can be overated , if it strengthens your position cool but if it lets your opponent know where to direct their attack then its a liability
May 3, 2016
0
#12
I am a bad one for castle late (and often too late). I get this idea I may be losing a tempo by castling when playing black and in certain positions.
I also like to hedge my bets, am often many moves into the game and still no idea which side I want to castle on, if any!
May 3, 2016
0
#13
bang on you said it so much better than me noahs dad , its a tempo thing too ie castling is a move thats defensive when a more aggressive move can be played
May 3, 2016
0
#14
Castling can on occassion be an attacking move. Particulary if its with a view to playing f4 or f5 next move for example. Or castling long gets a rook on a central file straight away.
There is the odd chess puzzle out there, and indeed the odd game where someone has checkmated the opponent by castling!
Castle in move 6 or move 7 is ok
But for the error in opening , don't castle. Just attack
When you're King is ok and queenside , kingside is dangerous.Don't castle
May 3, 2016
0
#19
I have won more than one game where my opponent castled to the wrong side and made my attack easy.
jengaias wrote:
Play against a good player and you will realise that throwing all your pawns against him while remaining uncastled in an open position will only make his win easier.
Whilst this alone doesn't directly answer the OP it is the only answer required. It answers the mentality of the OP. The mentality that castling early is risky. Huh? Castling late can be risky, castling early almost never is.
So yeah, +1.
Title says it all. Around 10 turns is best for me, but it's somewhat risky. I see people castling at 4-5 turns but then I just throw all my pawns and f--- up their sh--. Is there a general rule?