In the opening ,
1 control the centre
2 , synthesise a forcing move to dominate the centre
The entire game is just a by product
Thank you
Aadi madya anth ( it is a term used in sanskrit to improve cognition , ) life is a double drama , every thing created in. Subtle thoughtless stage , manfastation is the by product of the effort of sublte thinking power . Manasaa vacha karamana ( thoughtt word and action , even this is to be tested in subtle minds laboratory by exicuting or by intense effort .
I dont use a checklist. If you're using a checklist then you're not thinking about chess, you're thinking about you're checklist.
...You just have to know the material. The more you know, the less you will not know, and the less you dont know, the better your chances of knowing more then you're opponent, and therefore increasing you're chances of winning. Simple.
You know, when you don't know what you know, then what you know might as well be what you don't know. But if you do know what you don't know then you will know that what you don't know is what you need to know. Simple.