does castling trap own king?

Hi! Why does it make sense to castle in any game?

Why is it false to think that I trap my own king with this move in the corner, especially if it hides behind pawns which block any possibility to evade a bank rank mate..

Why is it not better for the King to stand in the center of the board where it can evade in any direction?

Thanks for your help!

If you leave your King in the center, you will get demolished by opening the e file and attacking with rooks and a Queen. If you hide the King in the corner, it will be hard to get to your king and get mated unless you blunder.

In the center the King could be attacked basically from any direction.

When the King is castled and protected by the pawns in front of it and often a Knight and other pieces, it is way harder to attack it.

Just keep the back rank protected and you wont get mated there.

If the position is very closed and/or the Queens are off the board, you may want to consider not castling to get your King active for the endgame easier, but that would be an exception to the rule.

King safety and makes it easier to develop rooks. Sometimes the center is safer than the corners, or sometimes there are so few pieces that king safety doesn’t matter and you want to keep the king in the center for activity. But in general most of the time castling is better than not castling.

Well, at least it’s a glimpse of what’s to come at higher levels. I think at intermediate or a bit earlier, high level beginners.

Wasn’t one of the original (though ancient) versions of chess without castling, or castling by hand?

I know I didn't play out that game very well. but it is just meant to be a example

But! here is an example of why it can be very useful to not castle ( agin not perfect play)

If you don't want to get back rank mated after castling just throw in a pawn move to create luft space for your king. If you are white this is achieved after king side castling with either h3 or g3, and with black after king side castling with either h6 or g6. I promise the King is much more safer in the corner than in the middle. When it is in the middle the king can be attacked in multiple directions. When the king is in the corner it limits your opponent to attack in it one direction making it much more easy to anticipate their moves and defend.

Here is an example where GM Naroditsky is able to get out of getting back rank mated by creating luft with h6 starting at around 21:45, His opponent wasn't quick enough to create luft and so he quickly lost which he explains further : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfcdobOQxcw

Castling moves the king to a safer position, usually behind a wall of pawns. In the center, the king is more exposed to attacks from all directions.

Corner is better place for the king, and center is better place for a rook. Castling is a great way to take king safety and activate a rook at the same time.

@Post #1

Question: Does castling trap own King?

Answer: Yes

Since, I answered your question. I wish to ask you a question.

My Question: Does putting a Jewelry box in a Vault trap all the Jewels?

Perhaps a better way to think of castling is not that it keeps the king safe from checkmate, the king might even be harder to checkmate in the open, but more relevant is that it keeps the king safe from checks. Checks is the best fuel for tactics and you should starve your opponent of it, usually by castling. There are positions where you should keep your king in the center, but mostly only when the king can't be easily/usefully checked from the center, or when already close to the end game anyways.

This was btw my so far favorite game on this site. My opponent castled their king right into battle. It didnt end well for him. And yes I'm aware I didnt play too great either.