I seen a topic about chess "rules" the other day and thought I would make my own set of 25 rules. In no particular order here are my top 25 chess tips/rules.
1. Know the REAL rules of chess (castling/en passant/movement/draw rules/proper draw offer if you play OTB)
2. Know the first 5 moves of each main opening (Kings Indian/Slav/QGD/Ruy Lopez/Italian/Sicilian). For example know that the Sicilian starts like e4 c5 nf3 d6 d4 cxd4 nxd4 nf6 nc3. I suppose we can call that the starting point for most Sicilians that are not the French Sicilian or the Kan Sicilian. Okay back to the actual topic at hand.
3. Save tempos when possible. In the QGD you often delay the light squared bishop development in order to save a tempo so you allow your opponent time to take on c4 having to move only once with the bishop. Not always a good idea but sometimes depending on the position.
4. Do not move more than once in the opening without a good reason. Example in the Sicilian you move your knight more than once...
5. Castle! Get the king safe then attack.
6. Don't create luft too early in the game. Sometimes players make luft too early instead of developing or castling. Not always the best idea even if it stops a pin. Solve the pin issue other ways.
7. Keep a neat pawn structure when possible. Note in some cases doubled pawns are a very good asset. Often doubled centered pawns or doubled C pawns can help you in the middlegame. Often it might open a file for a rook.
8. Don't get the queen out too early without good reason. Yes the Queens wayward attack is a terrible opening. Black can defend by developing with tempos on the queen and it might even get trapped.
9. Don't just develop for no reason. Find the most useful developing move you can make.
10. If you have an isolated pawn on the edge push it and trade it for the opponents good pawns. Or push it and grab space. Only do this though if you have time/tempos to do this. If you are still in the opening or early middlegame it is probably not the best use of your time.
11. You can never go wrong with studying endgames.
12. Center pawns are more important than side pawns in the opening and middlegame. However passed pawns on the side can often be turned into queens faster than center pawns in the endgame.
13. Trading is bad unless it isn’t. Great wording! Well don’t trade if it helps your opponent develop. Never trade an active piece for a non active piece.
14. If you have a pin keep it. If you have a bishop on g5 and your opponent plays h6 trying to break a pin (once he/she has castled) just move back and tempt him to weaken his king by playing g5.
15. Trade off a bad bishop if you can. Black in QGD lines often finds his light squared bishop doing nothing if he can trade it for whites black will often be equal or better. Another even possibly better example is in the French. Black will almost always have a bad bishop and whites bishop will often be very very good. Perhaps whites bishop is as valuable in some cases as a rook (in the opening and early-mid middlegame).
16. Trade pawns when you are down pawns. This might sound opposite to what you should do but depending on the circumstances a king and pawn vs a king and two pawns can be drawn. But do not think because I am down material I should not trade.
17. Don't trade major pieces down material.
18. Don't move pawns in front of your king. Unless it is to make luft or you are going to reposition your bishop to g7 as often seen in the Ruy Lopez (closed variations).
19. Ben Finegold says never move pawns. Pawns once moved stop defending squares. When you stop defending squares with pawns opponent can make use of this by placing pieces there.
20. Never play f6. Especially if you played h6 don't play f6 creating holes around your king.
21. Knights on the rim are dim. If you want to disprove this rule ask Magnus Carlsen about his dominating game against Radoslaw Wojtaszek. http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1766975
But for the most part knights on the rim are bad. So don't play them there without reason.
22. Know your playstyle. If you are good in sharp tactical positions play them the opposite is true.
23. Solve tactics. Lots of them. I personally do not believe that chess is mostly tactics but it sure helps A LOT.
24. Do two things at once. If every move you made had two purposes the opponent might not be able to stop both threats. Making two threats with one move is what Capablanca said gave him a winning edge over everyone else. Those two things could also be defensive moves as well. What is better than making threats of your own? Stopping your opponents threats while making your own.
25. Have fun. Sounds cheesy but its true. If you are in a good mood you are more likely to win games. If on tilt take a break.
There are a few different edges of chess that you also should understand in no particular order but piece activity is probably the most important one to understand.
1. Tactical
2. Positional
3. Piece activity
4. Pawn structures
5. Tempos and time
6. Clock control (more important in blitz and bullet but still important for long chess)
7. Sit chill - One that is often overlooked. Most players including myself need to learn to sit chill and not do anything. Another thing Ben Finegold says is never do anything. It is said as a joke but it is often true. Never do anything and let your opponent do something that is a mistake.
8. Manoeuvring
9. Sacrificing
Many of those would fit into sub categories of tactical or positional chess but I feel it is better to list them separate.
Other tips:
Look for checkmates, checks, forks, pins, skewers, undermining ideas.
1. Know the REAL rules of chess (castling/en passant/movement/draw rules/proper draw offer if you play OTB)
2. Know the first 5 moves of each main opening (Kings Indian/Slav/QGD/Ruy Lopez/Italian/Sicilian). For example know that the Sicilian starts like e4 c5 nf3 d6 d4 cxd4 nxd4 nf6 nc3. I suppose we can call that the starting point for most Sicilians that are not the French Sicilian or the Kan Sicilian. Okay back to the actual topic at hand.
3. Save tempos when possible. In the QGD you often delay the light squared bishop development in order to save a tempo so you allow your opponent time to take on c4 having to move only once with the bishop. Not always a good idea but sometimes depending on the position.
4. Do not move more than once in the opening without a good reason. Example in the Sicilian you move your knight more than once...
5. Castle! Get the king safe then attack.
6. Don't create luft too early in the game. Sometimes players make luft too early instead of developing or castling. Not always the best idea even if it stops a pin. Solve the pin issue other ways.
7. Keep a neat pawn structure when possible. Note in some cases doubled pawns are a very good asset. Often doubled centered pawns or doubled C pawns can help you in the middlegame. Often it might open a file for a rook.
8. Don't get the queen out too early without good reason. Yes the Queens wayward attack is a terrible opening. Black can defend by developing with tempos on the queen and it might even get trapped.
9. Don't just develop for no reason. Find the most useful developing move you can make.
10. If you have an isolated pawn on the edge push it and trade it for the opponents good pawns. Or push it and grab space. Only do this though if you have time/tempos to do this. If you are still in the opening or early middlegame it is probably not the best use of your time.
11. You can never go wrong with studying endgames.
12. Center pawns are more important than side pawns in the opening and middlegame. However passed pawns on the side can often be turned into queens faster than center pawns in the endgame.
13. Trading is bad unless it isn’t. Great wording! Well don’t trade if it helps your opponent develop. Never trade an active piece for a non active piece.
14. If you have a pin keep it. If you have a bishop on g5 and your opponent plays h6 trying to break a pin (once he/she has castled) just move back and tempt him to weaken his king by playing g5.
15. Trade off a bad bishop if you can. Black in QGD lines often finds his light squared bishop doing nothing if he can trade it for whites black will often be equal or better. Another even possibly better example is in the French. Black will almost always have a bad bishop and whites bishop will often be very very good. Perhaps whites bishop is as valuable in some cases as a rook (in the opening and early-mid middlegame).
16. Trade pawns when you are down pawns. This might sound opposite to what you should do but depending on the circumstances a king and pawn vs a king and two pawns can be drawn. But do not think because I am down material I should not trade.
17. Don't trade major pieces down material.
18. Don't move pawns in front of your king. Unless it is to make luft or you are going to reposition your bishop to g7 as often seen in the Ruy Lopez (closed variations).
19. Ben Finegold says never move pawns. Pawns once moved stop defending squares. When you stop defending squares with pawns opponent can make use of this by placing pieces there.
20. Never play f6. Especially if you played h6 don't play f6 creating holes around your king.
21. Knights on the rim are dim. If you want to disprove this rule ask Magnus Carlsen about his dominating game against Radoslaw Wojtaszek. http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1766975
But for the most part knights on the rim are bad. So don't play them there without reason.
22. Know your playstyle. If you are good in sharp tactical positions play them the opposite is true.
23. Solve tactics. Lots of them. I personally do not believe that chess is mostly tactics but it sure helps A LOT.
24. Do two things at once. If every move you made had two purposes the opponent might not be able to stop both threats. Making two threats with one move is what Capablanca said gave him a winning edge over everyone else. Those two things could also be defensive moves as well. What is better than making threats of your own? Stopping your opponents threats while making your own.
25. Have fun. Sounds cheesy but its true. If you are in a good mood you are more likely to win games. If on tilt take a break.
There are a few different edges of chess that you also should understand in no particular order but piece activity is probably the most important one to understand.
1. Tactical
2. Positional
3. Piece activity
4. Pawn structures
5. Tempos and time
6. Clock control (more important in blitz and bullet but still important for long chess)
7. Sit chill - One that is often overlooked. Most players including myself need to learn to sit chill and not do anything. Another thing Ben Finegold says is never do anything. It is said as a joke but it is often true. Never do anything and let your opponent do something that is a mistake.
8. Manoeuvring
9. Sacrificing
Many of those would fit into sub categories of tactical or positional chess but I feel it is better to list them separate.
Other tips:
Look for checkmates, checks, forks, pins, skewers, undermining ideas.
