How to Win at Chess – Part 3: Bring a Bigger Army

Bring a bigger army. That’s how to win. More forces equals more power – nothing fancy about that. Which is why it puzzles me when beginners choose to galavant with a single knight or a wayward queen in the opening. One foolhardy spy can’t properly infiltrate the enemy camp. Yet new players try that, all the time.

Because it’s easy.

But bring a bigger army than your opponent is also easy. For rank beginners, there are even guidelines to follow. Even experienced players can get value from reviewing these suggestions, to make sure they’re not slipping into bad habits or wallowing in openings that aren’t working for them. For newbies and old hands alike, here are those guidelines for making your first 9–10 moves in every chess game:

1. Push one or two pawns two spaces into the center. Favor your e-pawn and d-pawn. The c-pawn can also be effective. Avoid all other pawn pushes. By pushing your pawns two spaces you also free diagonals so that your bishops are not hemmed in.
2. Develop your minor pieces next, knights before bishops. Rooks and queens are called major pieces; these two are minor. Of those, move your knights first, and toward the center. Knights are slow; give them a head start. After them, push your bishops as far as is safe.
3. Castle early. As soon as you can castle, do so. This usually means on the king side. Castling gets one of your major pieces toward the center, reinforcing your army, while also protecting your king.
4. Connect your rooks. By now all your minor pieces are off the back rank, leaving only your queen between the two rooks. Find a safe space for her majesty on the second or third rank. When your queen moves, your two rooks are now “connected.” They protect each other and your king, guarding against back-rank threats.
5. Centralize your rooks. If tactics have not intervened, it’s now move 9. Continue bringing a bigger army to the center, where the battleground is forming. Move your non-castled rook to a more central square: an open file (no pawns on it) if there is one, or perhaps the same file as your opponent’s queen.

This finishes development, getting all your pieces into play before move 10, accounting for some likely tactics and exchanges along the way. These guidelines also translate into what not to do:

• Don’t leave your rooks abandoned in corners.
• Don’t waste time building fancy pawn structures.
• Don’t move the same piece multiple times before developing your others.
• Don’t leave your king in the center.
• Don’t trap your bishops behind your own pawns.
• Don’t expose your queen to early harassment from your opponent’s minor pieces.

Following these opening recommendations will have you playing with a bigger army than your opponent, which makes gaining any material advantage that much easier. And exploiting that advantage, from part 2 of this series, is how to win the game.

Previous in the series – Part 2: Get Ahead and Stay Ahead.

Next in the series – Part 4: Make Checkmate.

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