The Understanding of Openings: Opening Principles
Hi,there!
How are you?
I hope you are fine!
Are you ready for a lesson?
Let's start!
Development of pieces
King safety
Don't move the same piece twice or more times in the opening
Don't bring the queen too early in the opening
Don't move too many pawns
Connect your rooks
Develop plans!
Watch out for your opponent's threats!
What is an opening?
A game of chess is divided into three phases:
- The opening
- The middlegame
- The endgame
The opening refers to the first phase of the game (the first 10-15 moves), when you develop your pieces and start thinking of plans that can give you an advantage. The main goals of the opening are to develop your pieces, control the center of the board, and castle your king to safety.
The middlegame is the middle part of the chess game, as its name says, and comes after the opening. The goals might be similar to the opening, but the main ones are to find good tactics and strategies. Trading pieces can also be an advantage in any phase of the game.
The endgame is the last part of the game, when many pieces have been traded. The main goals are king activity and pushing your pawns for promotion.
But let's not waste time; let's get to the heart of the matter. What are the opening principles? They are a set of "rules" that you should follow if you want to create a solid opening position. So, let's dive in!
Control of the center
The center squares are e4, e5, d4, and d5. These squares are in the middle, so why is it so important to control them? Well, controlling the center is one of the most important things you can do in the opening. The reason for this is straightforward: a piece placed in the middle of the board simply has more influence and commands more squares than it would anywhere else.
Development of pieces
In chess, development means bringing your pieces into the game. It is a basic opening principle, and in my opinion, development should be completed by the end of the opening, or in other words, within the first 10-15 moves. However, it can also continue into the middlegame. The development of your pieces is very important because if you don't move them in a timely manner, your opponent will get an advantage and will probably win, as they will trap your pieces by developing their own.
King safety
King safety is one of the most important opening principles! If you don't move your king to safety, it might be in danger soon, or even worse, it might get checkmated! Why? The king is in the center, and the center is a target for every piece. Castling is the solution! By castling, your king is protected by a wall of pawns (so make sure your "wall" isn't open), and your rook becomes more active and is ready for action!
Don't move the same piece twice or more times in the opening
Don't bring the queen too early in the opening
Don't move too many pawns
You know, the thing with pawns is, you don't want to move too many of them in the beginning. It's a really common mistake. The biggest problem is, a pawn move is permanent. Once you push a pawn, you can't take it back, and that can create weaknesses in your position that your opponent will find and attack later on. And it just wastes time, basically. While you're busy pushing pawns, your opponent is getting their knights and bishops into the game. So, you end up way behind in development, and they're ready to attack you before you've even got your army out. It's a huge disadvantage.
Note: In Diagram #5, we moved too many pawns. But we had already developed our pieces, and we were kicking the knights. So, there wasn't a problem with our position.
When I say connect your rooks, what I'm really talking about is getting them to protect each other. You do this by clearing the back row—getting your other pieces out of the way, and then castling your king. Once that back rank is empty, your rooks can move back and forth as a team. This is a huge deal for both attacking and defending, like when you want to support a pawn push. The ultimate goal, in a perfect world, is to get both of those rooks on open files right in the center of the board.
After your development, you need a plan to win the game. For example, find your opponent's weaknesses, weak pieces, or a way to attack their king with strategies and tactics. I will tell you a lot more about plans in my futures blogs! For now, focus more on the previous chapters.
Watch out for your opponent's threats!
Puzzles
Unfortunately,I couldn't make good puzzles because they are too many options to choose and chess.com puzzles won't let me to choose more than one correct move
.However,you can play this instead!Outro
Ultimately, these principles are the keys to getting your game started on the right foot. They're designed to help you avoid the most common mistakes, like getting your pieces trapped or leaving your king exposed, and they ensure you're fighting for the center and developing your army effectively. By focusing on these core ideas, you'll build a solid foundation that will give you a real advantage as the game progresses. ⬆Go back to the chapters
Rate This Blog
