How To Open a Chess Game

Without the proper principles for the opening, you might unknowingly affect your middle game.

 To help you with this problem, we have gathered the important principles of the opening which will help you in your games.

1. Don't make too many pawn moves:- One of the most fundamental mistake people make while playing chess is making too many pawn moves. Pawns can move only one step at a time(excluding their first move). If you make too many pawn moves in the opening and your main pieces are not in the game you would be at a loss. This is because the pawns attack diagonally and have limited power. Whereas a Bishop that is in a good square can attack in diagonal direction and can travel how many ever steps on the board.

   

2. Do not develop the queen early in the game:- You might notice in that in the previous point instead of using the Queen for the analogy I used the example of a bishop. This is because developing the queen early in the game often results in a disadvantage. Your opponent can develop other pieces like knight and bishop who in turn can attack your queen. Even if the queen is protected, attacking the queen would result in an advantage to your opponent.

3. Develop your pieces early in the game:- This point is a continuation of the previous point. Developing the pieces early in the game would be extremely good. Your pieces in their original place do not have any place for movement. But once development, they gain more than one square to move. If developed well, your pieces will have the control of many squares on the chess.

4. Don't move the same piece too many times:- In the opening of the game, moving the same piece too many times will not be beneficial. When you choose to move the same piece more than once, you are also choosing not to develop the other pieces. Pieces need to be developed in such a way that there is protection too, and that can happen only when you develop more pieces. You must develop a new piece in every move instead of trying to move the same piece more than once to attack something. Opening is all about the structure and less about the attacking.

5. Control the centre:- What does controlling the center mean? We now know that it is important to develop the pieces in the opening. But, what if you develop your pieces towards the sides of the board? It is indeed a disadvantage to develop your pieces towards the sides of the board instead of the center as your pieces will have limited space to move. Developing the pieces towards the center of the board is good as you can control the centre and your pieces can have more space to move to. This means that your pieces are controlling and protecting more number of squares.

6. Castle early:- Look at the positive of the rooks in the beginner of the game or while you are setting up the board. The rooks are placed at the two corners/ ends of the board and do not have much space for the movement. Now look at your king in the center. When you move your pawns and develop your pieces your king is more exposed for attack by your opponent. There is a special move that can solve both these problems and it is called castling. Castle early to protect your king and bring your queen into play.

7. Be careful of the piece you exchange:- In the opening of the chess when your opportunity tries to attack your piece and you decide to attack back, be careful of which piece you choose to trade your pieces with. For example if your opponent attacks your undeveloped piece and you in turn attack their development piece, it makes your position on board better. Getting rid of developed pieces is more important as they pose a greater threat on the board since they have more space to move, whereas the undeveloped pieces have limited space. That's why trading your developed pieces for your opponents undeveloped piece can be a great disadvantage in the opening

8. Two rooks connected are more powerful than the queen:- Yes, you read that right. Two rooks that are connected are indeed sometimes more powerful during the game. This is why you should try to connect the two rooks early in the game for more powerful moves. Two rooks that are connected can help you gain control of more squares, capture more pieces and most importantly provide protection to one another and otherwise.

So next time you play chess, keep these points in mind and improve your game. Enjoy the benefits of knowing the principles of the opening while your opponent crumbles against your strong moves!!