@1
- Giving check after c4 or ...c5 is OK.
E.g. 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Bb5+
or 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Bb4+ - Trading queens is fine. After queens are traded it is OK not being able to castle.
E.g. 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 d4 Nxe4 5 O-O Nd6 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 dxe5 Nf5 8 Qxd8+ Kxd8
or 1 e4 c5 2 f4 d5 3 d3 dxe4 4 dxe4 Qxd1+ 5 Kxd1 - Putting a knight in the center is often good, even if it is driven away.
E.g. 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 Nc3 Nxc3+ 6 dxc3
or 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7 5 Nf3 Ngf6 6 Nxf6+ Nxf6 7 Ne5
Maybe I'm wrong about some of these. If so, feel free to offer a good explanation, but here are a few common things I've seen that I can't make sense of. Disclaimer, this post is 50 percent vent.
1.) Giving a check with the bishop on the 2nd or 3rd move. We're not even out of the opening and bishop to b4 get's played. In order to block the check, pawn to c3. Congratulations, you just forced your opponent to play a move that greatly inhibits your ability to fork the king and rook with your knight. Now you're sliding the bishop back that just got kicked, but now it gets kicked again, then again, and now you're trapped. Why? Because you saw the most meaningless check imaginable, took it, lost 4 moves of tempo, and now have to trade a bishop for a pawn. This happens so much, it's mind boggling.
2.) Taking center pawns in the opening and getting rewarded with a surprise queen trade and the forfeiture of your ability to castle. It happens so often, I actually pre-move it. That lone pawn that initiated the trade gets taken immediately after as well. I'm fine with this, but why? I get upset or sad emojis all the time after a >5 move queen trade it's like "You, you did this to YOU!"
3.) Parking a knight on top of the opponent's knight after >5 moves. Like, it's just going to get kicked and you're going to now be 2 moves behind. Why? What's the intention? There's nothing you can safely take. You just want to be there because it's further up the board and that's it? That by itself isn't a good enough reason?