Chess Tip Of The Day

The queen is often treated with slightly too much respect at lower levels. It is an important piece, but stronger players are often happy to sacrifice it. Richard Palliser, Starting Out: Closed Sicilian

After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 almost everybody plays 3.d4. But isn't this a positional error? I am not joking. I like my centre pawns, and I like a d pawn better than a c pawn! Bent Larsen, How To Open A Chess Game

The general rule of thumb for the Dragon and Accelerated Dragon (as well as most other Sicilians!) is that an exchange of knights on c6 will usually help Black, because the recapture...bxc6 will strengthen his control over the centre and provide him with a half-open b file. Andrew Greet, Starting Out: The Accelerated Dragon

Try to avoid making passive moves just to defend weak pawns. Sometimes they cannot be avoided, but often the pawn can be sacrificed for activity. Richard Palliser, Starting Out: Sicilian Najdorf

The knight is notoriously bad at dealing with passed rook's pawns. John Emms, Starting Out: Minor Piece Endgames

The presence of a bishop on the long diagonal [a1-h8] and a knight on f5 is a clear warning that something unpleasant is about to happen on g7. David LeMoir, Essential Chess Sacrifices