What to do at the chess board

    What to do at the chess board

           ( a 3 part series)

Consisting of 

Part 1    Principles and tactics

Part 2    Openings

Part 3    Traps

  Principles of Chess

01.  Develop your pieces quickly.

02.  Control the center.

03.  Try to put your pieces on squares that give them maximum space.

04.  Try to develop your knights towards the center.

05.  A knight on the rim is dim.

06.  Don't take unnecessary chances.

07.  Play aggressive.

08.  Calculate forced moves first.

09.  Always ask yourself, "Can he put me in check or win a piece?"

10.  Have a plan.  Every move should have a purpose.

11.  Assume your opponent's move is his best move.

12.  Ask yourself, "why did he move there?" after each opponent move.

13.  Play for the initiative and controlling the board.

14.  If you must lose a piece, get something for it if you can.

15.  When behind, exchange pawns.  When ahead, exchange pieces.

16.  If you are losing, don't give up fighting.  Look for counterplay.

17.  Don't play unsound moves unless you are losing badly.

18.  Don't sacrifice a piece without good reason.

19.  If you are in doubt of an opponent's sacrifice, accept it.

20.  Attack with more than just one or two pieces.

21.  Do not make careless pawn moves.  They cannot move back.

22.  Do not block in your bishops.

23.  Bishops of opposite colors have the greatest chance of drawing.

24.  Try not to move the same piece twice or more times in a row.

25.  Exchange pieces if it helps your development.

26.  Don't bring your queen out early.

27.  Castle soon to protect your king and develop your rook.

28.  Develop rooks to open files.

29.  Put rooks behind passed pawns.

30.  Study rook endgames.  They are the most common and most complicated.

31.  Don't let your king get caught in the center.

32.  Don't castle if it brings your king into greater danger from attack.

33.  After castling, keep a good pawn formation around your king.

34.  If you only have one bishop, put your pawns on its opposite color.

35.  Trade pawns pieces when ahead in material or when under attack.

36.  If cramped, free your game by exchanging material.

37.  If your opponent is cramped, don't let him get any freeing exchanges.

38.  Study openings you are comfortable with.

39.  Play over entire games, not just the opening.

40.  Blitz chess is helpful in recognizing chess patterns.  Play often.

41.  Study annotated games and try to guess each move.

42.  Stick with just a few openings with White, and a few openings with Black.

43.  Record your games and go over them, especially the games you lost.

44.  Show your games to higher rated opponents and get feedback from them.

45.  Use chess computers and databases to help you study and play more.

46.  Everyone blunders.  The champions just blunder less often.

47.  When it is not your move, look for tactics and combinations.

48.  Try to double rooks or double rook and queen on open files.

49.  Always ask yourself, "Does my next move overlook something simple?"

50.  Don't make your own plans without the exclusion of the opponent's threats.

51.  Watch out for captures by retreat of an opponent's piece.

52.  Do not focus on one sector of the board.  View the whole board.

53.  Write down your move first before making that move if it helps.

54.  Try to solve chess puzzles with diagrams from books and magazines.

55.  It is less likely that an opponent is prepared for off-beat openings.

56.  Recognize transposition of moves from main-line play.

57.  Watch your time and avoid time trouble. 

58.  Bishops are worth more than knights except when they are pinned in.

59.  A knight works better with a bishop than another knight.

60.  It is usually a good idea to trade down into a pawn up endgame.

61.  Have confidence in your game.

62.  Play in as many rated events as you can.

63.  Try not to look at your opponent's rating until after the game.

64.  Always play for a win.

Tactics

1. Forks
2. Pins:    absolute pin + relative pin
3. Skewer
4. Discovered Attack:     Discovered check + double check
5. Windmill
6. Interference
7. Overloading
8. Deflection
9. Decoy
10. x-ray attack
11. Zugzwang {move compulsion}
12. Zwischenzug  {in between move}
13. Undermining
14. Forcing Stalemate
15. Perpetual Checks
16. Underpromotion
17. Sacrifices:    Queen sacrifice
18. Sacrifices:    Exchange Sacrifice
19. Sacrifices:     Clearance Sacrifices
20. Exposing hanging pieces
21. Trapping a piece
22. Checkmates:    support mates
23. Checkmates:    smothered mates
24. Back rank mates

Chess Openings For Dummies Cheat Sheet

By: 

James Eade

Updated:  

08-04-2021

From The Book:  

Chess Openings For Dummies

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Introduction to Openings

Chess openings can be broken down into categories based on their pawn structures and how much mobility the pieces have. Players often prefer a certain category of chess opening because of the type of game it can lead to. Open games lead to a lot of piece movement, while closed games involve a lot of strategic maneuvering. Other categories of openings are semi-open, semi-closed, and flank openings.

For help with the chess notation used on this cheat sheet, see Understanding Chess Notation.

Opening up the board with open chess games

In chess, open games are defined by the moves 1.e4 e5. Many of these chess matches feature open files, ranks, or diagonals that facilitate piece movement. People who enjoy attacking early and often are typically drawn to open games.

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Picking a fight with semi-open chess games

Semi-open chess games are those in which White plays 1.e4, but Black doesn’t respond with 1.…e5. These chess openings typically result in asymmetrical games where finding the right plan may be difficult. Players who like complications, and mixing it up, often adopt a semi-open defense.

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Applying strategy with closed chess games

Chess openings that occur after the moves 1.d4 d5 often result in closed games. These games emphasize maneuvering because pawn exchanges are delayed. Players who prefer strategic clashes to tactical melees like closed chess games.

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Restricting movement with semi-closed chess games

Semi-closed chess games are those in which White plays 1.d4 and Black responds with anything other than 1.…d5. As with semi-open games, these openings can result in asymmetrical positions that can become quite complicated. They appeal to the player who likes to counterattack.

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Favoring the sides with flank chess games

In chess, the openings for flank games avoid or delay moving either the d-pawn or the e-pawn to the fourth rank. They appeal to chess players who want to play their system regardless of how Black responds.

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About This Article

This article is from the book: 

Chess Openings For Dummies

About the book author:

James Eade is a United States Chess Federation (USCF) chess master as well as a chess writer, tournament organizer, and teacher. He is the author of Chess For Dummies.

Chess Bonus section

How the Queen’s Gambit Is Played as a Chess Opening

Top 10 Chess Players: Paul Morphy (1837–1884), United States

Top 10 Chess Players: Garry Kasparov (1963–), Russia

10 (or So) Cool Facts about Kids and Chess

Top 10 Chess Players: Anatoly Karpov (1951–), Russia

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And lastly   //  Traps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhhG-FzzGNs&t=848s

https://www.youtube.com/@Magic_Squares/shorts

https://www.youtube.com/@GMIgorSmirnov/shorts

🔥Learn These 5 Patterns and MASTER 70% of Opening Traps.

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