Prepare yourself for war!

 So your at the chess board like a general leading his/her army to war. But have u ever wonder why u have to go for the center and y u have to develop and all the many different principles in chess. why is all that so important if u want to be good at chess and win the war. well lets see.....

1# A bad plan is better then no plan at all!  Prior planning prevents poor performance!

Q:- Why do i need a plan for my games? cant i just play whatever and not bother about a plan or purpose?

A:- Your the general of your own army,without a plan or pupose for your army to follow they dont know what to do with themselves and can get lost in the battle and beaten up by the general's army who does know how he is going to attack you. It helps bring them together for u better if u have a plan.

2# Whoever has greater control of the center wins or has major advantage!

Q:- Why do i have to control the center? why cant i just attack the flanks?

A:- Because you control more squares in the center, are far more flexible to go from one side of the board to the other with your pieces, it allows your pieces to develop and get active faster. Do this by using your pawns but not to many or u will neglect your development.

3# You cant go to war if your men are asleep at home! You must bring them out for them to fight!  And always develop with pupose!

Q:- Why do i have to bring out most of my pieces before i attack? Does it really matter how or where i bring my pieces out if im still developing? why isnt it wise to push more then a couple of pawns out in the opening?

A:- If you take all your pawns out in the opening, u leave a big gap where the pawns were, which for a beginner is generally fatal. You have more options to attack when your pieces are out in play. Yes it does matter where u put your pieces because if u place them in the wrong spot or have no reasons for them being there, then you limit there abilities to be effective for u and it will upset your whole game if your pieces are not working together as a whole and with purpose in mine. Also if u move to many pawns in the opening it slows down ur pieces development, only move 1 or 2 so u can get active and prepare quickly for war!

4# Castle quickly and castle often! kings safety must be assured!

Q:- Whats the pupose of castling? which side is best? and when should castle?

A:- Castling allows your king to get out of harms way, remember if the center is where the action is, its not wise for your king to be in the middle of it or it will be off with his head! and you will lose. Castling also allows your rook into the center to play a more vital role in the game.Which side is best depends on your plan and the position of the pieces and pawns. King side castling is faster normaly because u have one less piece to move, queen side castling u have to move your queen first to castle. You should castle as soon as your pieces are developed enough and your position is safe enough to allow it. Which brings us to the next principle.

5# Pawns are the soul of chess! They hold the power of life and death in this game of war!

Q:- Why are the pawns so important in chess? and what pawn positions are good? and what are bad?

A:- Pawns are like the frame-work of your house they form the foundations of your position, They can hold positions together or cause them to fall apart. So look after them and place them wisely! Good pawn structures include; pawn chains (pawns supporting other pawns), connected pawns (as in together in the center), protected passed pawns (pawns that are passed the other pawns and can only be defended against by pieces). Some bad ones would be; isolated pawns (pawns on there own without support from other pawns), doubled pawns and backward pawns (which are pawns that have no supporting pawns are normaly the ones at the bottom of a pawn chain). As a side note your pieces generally follow the direction of your pawns. This is truest in pawn chains, so if they are heading toward the kingside your attack tends to go that way, if queen side then it goes that way. Thats why its so important how u play them because they effect everything else so much.

Now for some usefull tips past the basic opening;

what's next?   Now your past the opening whats next u ask; well u look for weaknesses in there position i.e. pawn structure weaknesses for eg like we talked about before, or bad development in pieces meaning they wont defend against an attack as fast as u can attack or defend,if your developed better, or you can simply try and improve your pieces and pawn placement. Remember your overall objective plan, to kill the king!

Hint 1# Easy calculating method:- When you want to know if its safe to place a piece onto a square for combinations or to simply place it there, count how many pieces can attack the square vs defend the square. If you have more attacking then defending, attacker wins. If u have more defending then attacking,defender wins. If u have equal doing both then its about equal trade. Make sure u consider the value of your pieces  and theres,while considering where u place your pieces before u make your move! 

Hint 2# When your up and when your down:-   When u have more pieces or pawns then your opponent exchange off, simplify it! because the more u do that the more your extra material makes a difference in the endgame. But do it when the position is good for u, if u do it to soon u risk getting them back into the game by simplifying it for them too. But when your down complicate as much as possible by first keeping what u have as much as possible, 2nd keeping active look to use them to attack whatever is available try to gain some kind of momentum, only trade if u have to or its to your advantage. and look for constant tactical options. And remember; the most dangerous army is a wounded army! because they have little to lose and so will try anything to survive.

Hint 3# Counting space:-  Now heres a way to know whether u have more space then your opponent; first your space is represented by the 1st (4) squares going up so from 1st to 4th all along is your side of the board, thus your space ok, this is the same for them ,they have the other half as there space. Now that u know what yours and there space is, now the easy part, count how many of your pawns and pieces go across there space or squares, if u have more going over there side then they yours then u have more space. Its as simple as that!.

Well thats it for now if i remember more i will add to it. In the mean time i hope this has helped.Good planning generals and have fun!....