Chess Tip Of The Day

The basic aim of a pawn sacrifice is to seize the initiative - the overall control of events - and to improve the placing of your pieces. Isaac Lipnitsky, Questions Of Modern Chess Theory

Look around for combinations for yourself at every move; and before playing any move, visualise the whole position with that move made, and look around for combinations for your opponent. Cecil Purdy, The Search For Chess Perfection

At all stages of the game, a bishop is better than a knight against a rook. Cecil Purdy, On The Endgame

Chess is very much a team game. The pieces rely heavily on each other's help and cooperation, so if one does not pull its weight it lets the whole side down. Michael Stean, Simple Chess

The Stonewall (for White) is dubious where Black has developed or can develop his queen's bishop on the kingside. Cecil Purdy, CJS Purdy's Fine Art Of Annotation And Other Thoughts - Volume One

An extra pawn in a rook ending, with pawns on only one side of the board, should usually not be quite enough to win. However, it can still be quite a fight to draw. Jon Speelman, Endgame Preparation

Do not pin the adverse king's knight (by Bg5/...Bg4) before your opponent has castled. Emmanuel Lasker, Common Sense In Chess

Underlying all is the constant need for tactical vigilance. There are many players who never develop this awareness, though their positional grasp of the game may be good, and without it they make little real progress. Peter Griffiths, Better Chess For Club Players

One is well-advised to heed the maxim: castle if you must, or if you want to, but not because you can! Hans Berliner, The System: A World Champion's Approach To Chess

Generally speaking, the king (in an endgame) gains in power with every step he takes toward the enemy first rank. Al Horowitz & Geoffrey Mott-Smith, Point Count Chess

In rook endings the weaker side generally has some chances of a draw right up to the very end. Siegbert Tarrasch, The Game Of Chess

A bishop on a good diagonal, or a knight on a strong square, may prove as good, or even better, than a rook. Helmut Pfleger & Gerd Treppner, Chess: The Mechanics Of The Mind

Get the knights into action before both bishops are developed. The advantage obtained in following this law is certainly not great, yet it is distinctly perceptible. Emanuel Lasker, Lasker's Manual Of Chess

Patience is the most valuable trait of the good endgame player. Pal Benko, Winning With Chess Psychology

When down material, ie pawn(s), the rule-of-thumb is very clear: exchange pawns; do not exchange pieces. Edmar Mednis, From The Middlegame Into The Endgame

It is often better to retain active minor pieces than to take the exchange and lose the initiative. Shaun Taulbut, Positional Chess

One pawn plus the two bishops should be sufficient compensation for the exchange. Andrew Soltis, Rethinking The Chess Pieces

The central pawn-majority is chiefly characteristic of an attack on the opponent's king. Albéric O'Kelly, Assess Your Chess Fast

The king is always uncomfortable in the centre when the position is open. Most of the time he is decidedly unsafe. Edmar Mednis, King Power In Chess

Study of the games of one particular player can be particularly revealing. One can choose a role model that shares one's opening repertoire. This is a very efficient way of gaining experience. Jonathan Tisdall, Improve Your Chess Now

"What should I spend time on?" The answer is: "Where I'm weakest." This is the priority to follow even when you are working on a subject that you like, such as openings. Andrew Soltis, Studying Chess Made Easy

Each player has three main objectives in the opening: 1) to develop the pieces, 2) to safeguard the king (usually by castling), 3) to exert control over the centre. John Nunn, Understanding Chess Move By Move

The Benoni has suffered more in the new computer age than almost any other opening. However the Fianchetto Benoni [ie a Benoni with a kingside fianchetto by White] remains totally acceptable for Black. Matthew Wadsworth, Chess magazine

When you have an advantage, the simplest route is nearly always the best route. There is no point complicating matters and allowing the waters to be muddied. Simon Williams, Chess magazine

The advance of the king's pawn to the fifth rank usually entails an advantage only in positions in which a good deal of material is ready for an attack on the king whose defence is weakened by the absence of the knight the advancing pawn has chased away. Edward Lasker, Chess For Fun & Chess For Blood

It is normally impossible to calculate the consequences of a pawn sacrifice, but, as Bronstein once said, a pawn can always be given up for unclear threats when you already have a lead in development. Alexander Beliavsky & Adrian Mikhalchishin, Secrets Of Chess Intuition

Generally speaking it is better (in closed positions) to emphasise pawn-structure and quality rather than quantity of development. Nigel Davies, The Rules Of Winning Chess

Defensive technique has advanced to such an extent that even a minor pawn sacrifice should be based on concrete variations, otherwise the defence will take the upper hand. Garry Kasparov, Kasparov Teaches Chess

It is always a good policy in tactical situations to scour the whole board for candidate moves. John Emms, Chess For The Rank And File

If you can win the centre after opposite-side castling, you will control both battlefields: the one on which you attack, and the other on which you defend. John Walker, Chess: Attacking The King

A rook's strength is greatest in the endgame. In the middlegame a bishop or knight can easily be a match for a rook, and is sometimes superior. This is particularly true if there are few open lines along which the rooks can operate. Robin Smith, Modern Chess Analysis