Chess Tips set # 2

I did a post about chess tips several days ago but I realized I had more tricks up my sleeve than I had posted then.  Some of the most important points that I had not covered in my first post are shown below.

1) Fianchettoing normal is generally a good thing.  It is part of development.  This can be done in mid game or opening.  The Knight and Bishop, if done normal, are lined up with a discovered attack on the long diagonal.  If the Knight were to move out of the way and pose an immediate threat while the Bishop attacked a piece less important than the attack by the knight, the Bishop would win the piece.

2) Fight for the center.  This is vital for defending your king.  Castling can only be done after you develop all of your pieces in between your rook and king (note that when castling, move your King first so your opponent doesn’t claim that your original intention was to move your Rook.)  If you don’t develop properly, you will feel cramped with no developing squares.  Without center squares, you cannot get your knights into your opponent’s camp without moving to the outer files.

3) Attacking comes in the middle game when your pieces are active.  It is important to develop your pieces efficiently so they are focused on various points in the board.  These points are preferably weak points in your opponent’s camp.  But don’t position your pieces for attack only.  Be ready to defend at all times.

4) Be aware that when you loose a tempo even in middle game, especially middle game, it is a point in time for your opponent to attack and potentially win if he takes out all of your pieces.

5) You’ll do best if you place your pieces in the ideal places.  Knights belong in outposts, Bishops are best on open diagonals (owning the long diagonals is like $1000 to me.)  Rooks or Castles are best on open Ranks and Files.

6) As you progress to the endgame, you will no longer need to protect your King.  In fact, he can become a deadly weapon.  Use him to get opposition to win the game, usually by promoting a pawn.  This is done by getting it to the 8th rank.

I hope that these 6 other ideas will help you in your next game.  Any other things that you want answered may be in this link about other chess tips.