Chess Tip Of The Day

C8 is where the black queen's rook belongs in most Sicilians, on the semi-open file. Daniel King, Chess magazine

As an extremely rough guide I tend to think of IQP positions with four sets of minor pieces as favourable for White, ones with three sets of minor pieces as about level, and when it gets down to just two sets then things are starting to turn Black's way. This rule assumes that White has the IQP and that the major pieces are still on the board. Joe Gallagher, Starting Out: The Caro-Kann

I am firmly convinced that, at the club and weekend level, a player will usually get better results by sticking to a narrow range of openings. This is because the biggest weakness of most players at that level is a lack of understanding of the typical middlegames and endgames reached from the opening. Steve Giddins, How To Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire

As a rule the best players in the world play in time-trouble as if they were not short of time; so learn to follow their example. Alexander Kotov, Think Like A Grandmaster

The true purpose of the opening is to create imbalances and develop your army in such a way that they can take advantage of them. Jeremy Silman, How To Reassess Your Chess

The three major features of opening play are development, central control and king safety. If you can obtain an advantage in one of these three areas it can prove decisive in winning the game. Mike Basman, Chess Openings