10 best 'what NOT to do' tips in Chess

my number 1 rule against stronger players is 'dont try anything new play thee best opening you know and play it by the book for as far as you can'

totatlly agree with Scarjo and Sheath about:

Don't start thinking after you made your move; rather do it before.

 ... never actually saw it in writing but have done it a lot!

yes, it doesn't work. As tested.

Don't take an asswhippin  ppppersonallly!!!!!

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       "hold your piece in one hand, and make your move with the other"

        (second time I used the same line tonight!)

Avoid the temptation to launch an attack before it's really ready...

You are not playing your opponent, you are playing chess, so even if a monkey opposes you at the board, any bad move you play is still a bad move, and even if a Grandmaster opposes you at the board, any bad move they play is still a bad move. 

If Black protect, fall back and have look for opportunity

If White siege, tempo, push, overwhelm

 Need to read the original post.  He's looking for things not to do as a beginner.

Here's all the things I fail so miserably at, at least after I go back and look at what I did wrong...

(I ended up with 6)

Do Nots:

1.  Don't isolate your pawns.

2.  Don't bring out your queen early.

3.  Don't fall for the knight fork.

4.  Don't move too quickly.  You have time to think.

5.  Don't move the same piece twice in a row if you can help it.  (Ok, I know this is hard to achieve in practice, but as Nimzowitsch says, your two moves vs. one of your opponent's is a loss of tempo - see if you can find a better move)

6.  Don't gambit or trade unless you're coming out ahead.

One of my fav's:

• Don't do a big attack until you have develped your Queenside rook.

Don't run when you're holding scissors and playing chess

Don't lose. Follow this one simple rule and you will be a great success. 

seriously, tho... If I was going to offer one tip for beginners, it would be to ignore many of these other tips (at first) and just try everything that looks logical to you, and find out what happens when you make bad moves and blunders. That way you'll start to understand exactly why a move is bad (or good). Just play a lot of games... you'll learn a lot more from losing than winning, and you'll remember better if you pay for your mistakes.

Don't complicate things thinking you have to know a bunch of openings and special positions. Pick one popular opening that's easy to remember and play it until you've got it down.

Don't buy a fancy/slylized/pewter-dragons chess set. Get one with standard shaped pieces that are easy to tell apart and that you won't be afraid to knock off the table on occasion.

Don't learn by only playing on screen. Get a real chess set you can turn around and see from different angles. Solid shapes work the brain differently than on a computer screen.

I know this is a don't do list, but I would also add a do item... find a local club or join your highschool/college chess club/team or something where you can play with real people, face to face.

And of course, as has been said already, don't get mad/take it personally/get frustrated/throw stuff/etc. when you lose. You're gonna lose, and probably often unless you only play with others who are just starting out (which is ok, but you should also play good players and pay close attention to how they beat you). Play to learn, not to win... then after you've learned the basics you can start focusing on winning, and take another look at all the great tips listed above.

Don't be influenced by "general principles" when you're in the middle of a tactical melee; you have to be PRAGMATIC.

Don't play on and on with games you know are lost.

Always develop from the queen's side to launch an offensive attack!

Don't exchange pieces when you are behind on material.

Don't make a move as soon as you have decided what to play.  Take another look at the position through the eyes of a patzer to make sure you haven't missed a mate in one, left a piece en prise, etc.  Kotov calls this Blumenfeld's rule.

I made a big blunder recently by not doing your 2nd point.   Lapse of concenstration or just sloppy I suppose.

My bit of advice is, look at the board from your opponenets viewpoint.  If you had their poisition, what would you be thinking.

1. Look for a good move then find a better one.

2. Ask the question, am I leaving a piece hanging?

3. When making a move, try to figure what possible options your opponent will respond with.

4.  Try to anticpate what your opponents game plan is before you make your move.

5.  Try to plan 4 or 5 moves ahead.  Really great players plan many more than that.

tip 1) imagine the move been played before playing it actually.

Are you satisfied?

tip 2) Fall in love with an opening. When you get bored with it, try another one.

Find a basic opening and study it superbly. Understand the strategies behind it, see the usual tactics and sacrifices that are involved, play it against a computer and see how you can transpose to it when you are playing another opening or with the opposite colour.

You can find online many master games that begin with your moves. Play over them, see the endings they end up to...

Something like falling in love with an opening.

When you have enough with it, try another one.