At the beginning of the game, there are 3 main concepts to focus on. I am also adding a 4th one that is less important, but still good to think about.
1) Control the Center with your Pawns: Having your pawns occupy the center of the board will give you more space to attack and restrict your opponent's options.
2) Develop your Minor Pieces (Knights and Bishops) Quickly: Get your knights and bishops out early in the game, and put them on squares where they help you to control the center of the board. There are various ways to do this. Unless you see a good reason to, try to avoid doing these things:
a) Moving the same minor piece multiple times in the opening (usually the first 10 moves or so)
b) Getting your queen out early (I will illustrate why this is bad with an example)
c) Keep knights off of the side of the board (A knight on the rim is ugly and dim!)
3) Get your King to Safety (Usually by Castling): Castling gets your king out of the center of the board where the battle is happening, puts it behind a wall of pawns, and also helps you to get your rooks active!
4) Pawn Structure: Try to have pawns protecting each other, and do your best to avoid pawns becoming doubled or stacked in front of each other where they cannot protect each other.
Exercise 1: Don't just click through this. Look at each move and identify how it aligns with the general principles of the opening. Think about why these are considered good moves
Exercise 2: See if you can punish white's bad choice to get his queen out early!
As you can see, white's choice to get his queen out early resulted in the queen being a target for the black pieces.
Exercise 3: If your opponent gives you the center, take it! There are several defenses where black allows white to take control of the entire center early on by not staking his/her own claim on the center of the board right away. This does not, by any means, mean that these defenses/openings are bad for black. In fact, these are very well respected openings used even at the top level. However, the best way to play against them is to follow the opening principles and take the center!
Of course, it's important to always be aware of what your opponent is doing, watch for tactics that you can play or that your opponent can play against you, and not just blindly follow a plan. This is a mistake many beginners make. They get too focused on what they are doing and don't realize that their opponent is making their own threats!
This is why you should take your time in the opening. Make sure every move you make actually has a purpose; you should be able to verbally explain why you play each move with regards to the Opening Principles. Remember, as Mr. Mott always says: "You probably won't win the game out of the opening, but you can definitely lose it!"
Opening Strategy
At the beginning of the game, there are 3 main concepts to focus on. I am also adding a 4th one that is less important, but still good to think about.
1) Control the Center with your Pawns: Having your pawns occupy the center of the board will give you more space to attack and restrict your opponent's options.
2) Develop your Minor Pieces (Knights and Bishops) Quickly: Get your knights and bishops out early in the game, and put them on squares where they help you to control the center of the board. There are various ways to do this. Unless you see a good reason to, try to avoid doing these things:
a) Moving the same minor piece multiple times in the opening (usually the first 10 moves or so)
b) Getting your queen out early (I will illustrate why this is bad with an example)
c) Keep knights off of the side of the board (A knight on the rim is ugly and dim!)
3) Get your King to Safety (Usually by Castling): Castling gets your king out of the center of the board where the battle is happening, puts it behind a wall of pawns, and also helps you to get your rooks active!
4) Pawn Structure: Try to have pawns protecting each other, and do your best to avoid pawns becoming doubled or stacked in front of each other where they cannot protect each other.
Exercise 1: Don't just click through this. Look at each move and identify how it aligns with the general principles of the opening. Think about why these are considered good moves
Exercise 2: See if you can punish white's bad choice to get his queen out early!
As you can see, white's choice to get his queen out early resulted in the queen being a target for the black pieces.
Exercise 3: If your opponent gives you the center, take it! There are several defenses where black allows white to take control of the entire center early on by not staking his/her own claim on the center of the board right away. This does not, by any means, mean that these defenses/openings are bad for black. In fact, these are very well respected openings used even at the top level. However, the best way to play against them is to follow the opening principles and take the center!
Of course, it's important to always be aware of what your opponent is doing, watch for tactics that you can play or that your opponent can play against you, and not just blindly follow a plan. This is a mistake many beginners make. They get too focused on what they are doing and don't realize that their opponent is making their own threats!
This is why you should take your time in the opening. Make sure every move you make actually has a purpose; you should be able to verbally explain why you play each move with regards to the Opening Principles. Remember, as Mr. Mott always says: "You probably won't win the game out of the opening, but you can definitely lose it!"