Opening Principles:
- Control the center squares – d4-e4-d5-e5
- Develop your minor pieces toward the center – piece activity is the key
- Castle
- Connect your rooks
Tactics...tactics...tactics...
The objective of development is about improving the value of your pieces by increasing the importance of their roles. Well-developed pieces have more fire-power than undeveloped pieces and they do more in helping you gain control.
Now we will look at 5 practical things you can do to help you achieve your development objective.
They are:
- Give priority to your least active pieces.
- Which piece needs to be developed (which piece is the least active)
- Where should it go (where can its role be maximized)
- Exchange your least active pieces for your opponent’s active pieces.
- Restrict the development of your opponent’s pieces.
- Neutralize your opponent’s best piece.
- Secure strong squares for your pieces.
Don’t help your opponent develop.
There are 2 common mistakes whereby you will simply be helping your opponent to develop:
- Making a weak threat that can easily be blocked
- Making an exchange that helps your opponent to develop a piece
Pre Move Checklist:
- Make sure all your pieces are safe.
- Look for forcing moves: Checks, captures, threats. You want to look at ALL forcing moves (even the bad ones) as this will force you look at, and see the entire board.
- If there are no forcing moves, you then want to remove any of your opponent’s pieces from your side of the board.
- 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.
- After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: "What is my opponent trying to do?"
My 8yo son has been playing on and off for about 2.5 years and is currently rated just under 1200. He loves chess, but only when the competition is good. He wants to keep advancing his rating this year though so competition is getting tougher playing in adult tournaments instead of just scholastic events. The “on and off” part of the 2.5 years can be summed up by the sting of a painful loss because of a “touch-take” oops and boredom. He recovered from the touch-take, but boredom still is a struggle. He as two chess clubs he does and enjoys, likewise has a good local teacher that he meets with some - probably more in 2019 and his interest is back to that point.
What I’m trying to help him with, and struggle with as I don’t play myself, is how to help him practice and improve day-to-day. For me I tend to think of it like personal training or learning guitar - areas I am not an expert in but have far more exposure. In each you identify areas that need improvement, break those down into obtainable chunks, decide quantity, frequency, etc. and then rinse/repeat routinely.
Is there anything like this for chess? Something that would give him some structure so he could practice day-to-day and would help help improve for doing tournaments every month or so...?