The basics of each phase of the game
Opening:
Follow the Opening principles:
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Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5
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Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key
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Complete your development before moving a piece twice or starting an attack.
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Move pieces not pawns.
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Castle
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Connect your rooks
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By move 12, you should have connected your Rooks, or be about to do so.
Middle game:
When you have completed the Opening Principles, you are now at the middle game. Now you need to formulate a middle game plan. The middle game is a very complicated part of a chess game. A simple way to develop a middle game plan is to perform the following steps.
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Scan your opponents 5th, and 6th ranks (3rd, and 4th if your black)
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Look for weak pawns, and or weak squares.
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Weak pawns and squares are Pawns, and squares that cannot be defended by another Pawn.
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Knights are excellent pieces on weak squares.
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When deciding on weak squares, and weak Pawns to attack, the closer to the center the better
End game:
Start with the basics:
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Learn basic mates – KQ vs. K, KR vs. K, KRR vs. K
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Learn Opposition, and Key Squares
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Learn basic King and Pawn endings
Pre Move Checklist:
1. Make sure all your pieces are safe.
2. Look for forcing move: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
3. If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
4. If your opponent doesn’t have any of his pieces on your side of the board, then you want to improve the position of your least active piece.
5. After each move by your opponent. Ask yourself: “What is my opponent trying to do?”
At this level Discovering Chess Openings by John Emms is very good at helping you play the Opening correctly I am currently going through this book for the second time.
The truth is that almost every game you have every played and ever will play until your ranking is considerably higher has been or will be won or lost by tactics. At this level how good you are at chess is mostly a reflection of how good you are at tactics.
Winning Chess: How to See Three Moves Ahead by Irving Chernev is the best book for making rapid improvements in your tactical ability. This book is organized by tactical motif and does teach you how to see 3 moves ahead. If you can master this skill ( seeing 3 moves ahead) you will become a Titan of Tactics your ranking will go up, and at times you will be amazed at how little most players see at this level. I personally believe that mastering the knowledge in this book will do more to improve your chess than any other book. the draw back is that it is in descriptive notation. But the good news is that since it is tactics it is not too hard to follow. Get this book, yes you have to buy it used. Learn descriptive notation and become a Titan of Tactics!
A lot of people on this site will tell you that beginners need to study end games. I agree, however the studying I am talking about is solving checkmate puzzles. It is very important that you learn to recognize checkmate patterns. At first you should solve mates in one puzzles, and then mates in two. Chess: 5334 Problems Combination and Games in my mind is the best book for this. I went through the mates in one twice. After which I could solve most of the problems on site or with in a few seconds. Solving the mates in two is considerably harder, but what do you need to solve a mate in two? You need to be able to see three move ahead! Solving mates in two will help you master the material in Winning Chess: How to See Three Moves Ahead, and is a great way to practice what you learn.
The above two books on tactics have added 200 points to my rating, and I believe that I am one of the better traction at my level. Yes I still lose games, yes I still make mistakes. But I am still working at becoming a master at always looking 3 moves ahead. But I can tell by the moves that my opponents make I am one of the few people at my level who does try and look 3 moves ahead.