When should I do Castling?
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Hello, I am Rajesh. My rapid rating is close to 900. My doubt is that is it a good idea to do castling in the begining of the game (i.e. as soon as possible say with in 10 moves) or should I do castling in the middle of the game when it is necessary?
Sep 4, 2020
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#2
Castling is a strategic decision just like any other in the game. There is no time to castle that is always correct any more than there is a right time to play Nf3. You castle when the position dictates it’s the right time.
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1337259
Knorre vs Chigorin, St Petersburg 1874. Giuoco Pianissimo. White castles too early given the position. Black didn't castle so was able to exploit the opportunity.
It's a good question. But it is something that you will learn from experience. Generally, castle early and learn from your losses about the sort of positions where this is a mistake.
Sep 4, 2020
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#6
well miistda rajesh, castle asap (if the positions open). don't rush castling in a closed position.
Sep 4, 2020
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#7
At your rating you shouldnt be critical of castling. Just focus on piece developement, castle and then open files for rook or place rook in open files and launch attack.
Sep 4, 2020
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#8
ajl721 wrote:
Castling is not great if the h-file is really open from my experience. it can lead to bad stuff. But like Mark Grubb said, the position dictates when it's the right time.
yes, it can lead to bad stuff.
Sep 4, 2020
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#9
I tend to just leave my King in the center a lot of the time. Granted, that can get uncomfortable.
Sep 4, 2020
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#11
Orhan2010 wrote:
Hello guys, I'm Orhan. I'm a professional chess player. Please play chess. It's very funny and very good game. Please play at Chess.com.
ah yes, your iconic masterpiece against drpowittle inspired me a lot.
Sep 4, 2020
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#12
why-does-we-exist wrote:
Orhan2010 wrote:
Hello guys, I'm Orhan. I'm a professional chess player. Please play chess. It's very funny and very good game. Please play at Chess.com.
ah yes, your iconic masterpiece against drpowittle inspired me a lot.
18. Ng5 Qf6 19. Rd8+ Qxd8 20. Qxf7 mate
I focus on getting my pieces out and setting up any relevant attacks/defenses, which has the side effect of making it easier to castle earlier. I save the actual castling for when I don't have anything else to support, or if I can use the castle as an actual support move. I also try to give the game time to find out which side my opponent's pieces are starting to push at so I can castle the other way. Obviously this is stuff you have to decide game by game. With that said, your opponent's ability to punish an early castle at that rating range probably isn't among the main problems you should be focusing on to improve. Avoid giving your opponents pieces for free, see when they give you pieces for free, put your pieces on squares that can cover a lot of areas rather than trying to just attack a piece that can move out of the way in one move without consequence. This is the kind of stuff that breaks 1000.
Sep 4, 2020
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#15
Castling depends on the opening really. In most cases castling kingside is most common. In the Dutch defense (white) Sicilian defense both sides, French defense (black), London system both sides or not at all in some case. There are probably more but these are the ones I know.
Sep 4, 2020
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#16
NikkiLikeChikki wrote:
Castling is a strategic decision just like any other in the game. There is no time to castle that is always correct any more than there is a right time to play Nf3. You castle when the position dictates it’s the right time.
Exactly! Follow general principles, but play the position.
I recently won a game that went 31 moves and I believe it is the first game I have ever played that I did not castle. Post game analysis showed a best move would have been to castle 2 or 3 times; however, the moves I made were considered good, sometimes a close second or third.
Always play the position while following general principles . . . 
Sep 4, 2020
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#17
As some other people have mentioned, there is no rule that is 100% correct teaching you when to castle. However, at your level, my rule of thumb is that you should castle once you have controlled the centre with your pawns and pieces. If your king can potentially come under attack from your opponent's pieces, then that would also be a good time to castle. If there is no threat, there is no need to castle and you'd much rather have developed pieces than a safer king.
Sep 4, 2020
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#18
Rajesh5222 wrote:
Hello, I am Rajesh. My rapid rating is close to 900. My doubt is that is it a good idea to do castling in the begining of the game (i.e. as soon as possible say with in 10 moves) or should I do castling in the middle of the game when it is necessary?
https://www.chess.com/blog/KeSetoKaiba/opening-principles-again This hyperlink may help you reach 1000+ rating; it also briefly mentions castling and recommends castling earlier.
As with most guidelines in chess, there are always a few exceptions. At 900 rating or so, I just recommend castling earlier (within first 10 moves) and keeping focus on development mainly. Strong players may be able to realize that there is little danger in not castling (or delaying it) for some positions (usually when the center is closed or more pieces are exchanged and the endgame approaches). However, castling earlier is likely best circa 95% of the time, so just do this as the default idea. Seldom does castling end up being a blunder. Sure, you could castle into mate in 1 or castle instead of picking up a hanging Queen etc. but this is rare. Besides, you should calculate and analyze if castling is good too - don't just blindly play it because you heard "castling early" was recommended. Usually castling early is helpful though - especially because it also develops the Rook from the corner in a single move.
