list of general principles, guidelines and rules of thumb

hey everyone!

this thread is dedicated to list all of those wise "one-liners" of good chess playing. 

i started to write these things down in my journal whenever i encounter them.

here are a few to start the topic/discussion:

- "if you see a good move - look for a better one"

- "in the opening, move every piece once before you move any piece twice, unless there is a tactic"

- "A premature attack is doomed to failure"

- "if you don't know what to do, identify your worst piece and make it better"

- "In the endgame the most important idea is often to activate your king"

it would be cool if you could contribute some more of those, with or without further explanation

thanks

also: (from a chess cafe article):

"Because guidelines are so variable, learning how to apply and prioritize them becomes 

at least as important as learning them in the first place"  see: http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman09.pdf

after researching a little more ... i found this list:

http://danheisman.home.comcast.net/~danheisman/Articles/Dan_sayings.html

AWESOME !!! =)

I can contribute a valuable piece of information about the phrase 'rule of thumb':

the phrase is derived from an old english law, which states that you shouldn't beat your wife with anything thicker than a man's thumb.

I agree with it 100%

informative though . . . .

When attacked on a wing, counter-attack in the center.

All rook endings are drawn.

When you see a bad move, look for a worse one.

"Two bishops are worth three bishops. One bishop is worth half a bishop."

When in doubt, whip it out!

"Queen and a knight, you're alright." (referring to how the queen coordinates with the knight well)

-

Philidor said "pawns are the soul of chess" so you're in good company.

Bc5 in the Ruy Lopez by black should be reflexively met by white with c3.

LOLZ!

The rules (eg. general principles) are made to be broken. Just make sure you can get away with it!

lmbo

"'Chess is a big fat waste of time.' -Garry Kasparov"

    -chessplayer11

"Bogolyubov is big and fat." --Alekhine