The Importance of Development

The following game ilustrates what poor development can do to a chess player. I played Black against Michael189, a very good player and a good friend of mine. White sacrificed a Knight early in the game for no apparent reason, then he had me "on the ropes" with a Mating threat and my pieces all cramped. I was in an uncomfortable position, but I managed to get out of it. Next, I decided to "return" the Knight to bring my Bishop to life, after which I sacrificed my other Knight to get my Rook into the action. White made a fatal mistake; he never moved his Queen side Bishop, Knight and Rook. Technically, he was giving me the odds of three pieces. Had he followed the principles of good development by bringing those pieces out, I would have probably lost the game. I noticed in later games that he learned his lesson, improved his game and beat me a few times.