Chess Tip Of The Day

[Comment after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3] Not aiming for an opening advantage. Only 4.0-0 gives chances of an advantage. Garry Kasparov, My Great Predecessors

The possessor of the isolated d pawn often employs the h pawn in his attack. Usually it happens when there is an enemy pawn on g6 (g3), which in this case attracts the h pawn like a magnet. Alexander Baburin, Winning Pawn Structures

It is possible to manoeuvre behind one's lines without running any special risk; one may even halt the development of one's pieces altogether, without doing oneself any particular damage - but ONLY in a closed position. Aron Nimzowitsch, Carlsbad International Chess Tournament 1929

The power of connected passed pawns far outweighs that of the lone passed pawn (in rook-and-pawn endings). John Emms, The Survival Guide To Rook Endings

The ending is that part of the game when the temporary placement of pieces is not of primary importance. More significant are: material advantage; promotion races between pawns; qualitative advantage in structure or pieces; the possibility of bringing the king into the fight to help its men. Mihai Șubă, Dynamic Chess Strategy

The two bishops are most effective when their owner also controls an open file with his rooks. Samuel Reshevsky, The Art Of Positional Play

Your chess program can be an excellent partner when studying the endgame, and optimally it should be used in parallel with reading a good chess book. 'Playing out' positions from an endgame book is a rather slow way of reading the book, but your understanding of the positions will be much better. Christian Kongsted, How To Use Your Computer To Improve Your Chess

In pawn-endings, if you have a majority on one side and your opponent on the other, advance your pawns on the side of his majority in such a way as to prevent him mobilising it in a healthy, flexible way. Edmar Mednis, Questions And Answers On Practical Endgame Play

Meeting the always unpleasant Minority Attack does not necessarily have to be a depressing job of passive defence. Unfortunately, in most cases the reality Black is forced to experience is the grinding task of passive opposition. The psychological burden of long hours of of defence usually exceeds the difficulties on the board. Dražen Marović, Dynamic Pawn Play In Chess

The blockading knight of a passed pawn fills two roles: 1) a defensive one, holding up the enemy pawn; 2) an active one, as it often draws strength from its post in front of the pawn (especially when this is a centre pawn), being protected from a frontal attack. Luděk Pachman, Complete Chess Strategy 2: Pawn-Play And The Centre

Playing black openings as White with a move in hand rarely promises a significant advantage, despite the extra tempo. Steve Giddins, How To Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire

The elaboration of a good repertoire for White is more time-consuming, as one is forced to prepare for a wide range of openings, whereas for Black it is satisfactory to have one or two openings 'on stock'. András Adorján, Black Is Still OK!

The advance of the black queenside pawns to create counterplay is one of the key ideas in the Queen's Gambit Accepted. Graeme Buckley, Easy Guide To The Queen's Gambit Accepted

The stronger side (in a middlegame with opposite-colour bishops) should, as in the endgame, position his pawns on the same-colour squares as his opponent's bishop. Mark Dvoretsky, Positional Play

The worst sin in chess is to become predictable, using the same lines year in year out without improvements. Andrew Soltis, Confessions Of A Chess Grandmaster

To win a rook-and-pawn ending usually involves generating a passed pawn and supporting it with your king. A rook on its own is not effective at shepherding home a passed pawn, principally because, unlike a king, it can't dislodge a blockading rook. James Howell, Essential Chess Endings

A rook on the seventh rank [in an endgame] is sufficient compensation for a pawn. Reuben Fine, Basic Chess Endings

A passed pawn increases in strength as the number of pieces on the board diminishes. José Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals

When you're up the exchange you want to trade a pair of rooks. That's because a trade magnifies the mismatch between the remaining rook v piece. Andrew Soltis, Grandmaster Secrets: Endings

I have always considered purely technical books on the openings as fit only for experts or near-experts. For the average player it is better to have a book dealing with the openings in a more general way. José Capablanca, A Primer Of Chess

You should not attach too much value to small samples. If you want to know if Alekhine's Defence is the opening for you, then the tournament performance rating of your first five games with it won't tell you anything. But 50 games might form a big enough sample to build some conclusions on. Willy Hendriks, Move First, Think Later

The average player will do best to rely on plans that are as short-range as possible; and he will find it safest, over the board, to discard a plan that violates a 'principle' or gives something away. Cecil Purdy, CJS Purdy's Fine Art Of Chess Annotations & Other Thoughts - Volume Two

Opportunities to sacrifice pawns offer themselves frequently. In particular, the b pawn (and to a lesser extent the a pawn and f pawn) can be left unguarded in the opening or early middlegame, while one is busy doing more important things. Tim Harding, Better Chess For Average Players

Aim for positions you enjoy playing. An even position which one player enjoys playing, and the other doesn't, is not an even position! Ian Mullen, Master Chess: A Course In 21 Lessons

An important method of playing against hanging pawns is to attack them with adjacent pawns. This technique forces one of the pair to advance and be blockaded, or to exchange itself and leave behind an isolani to be blockaded. Robert Leininger, Middlegame Strategy: With The Carlsbad Pawn Structure

The Colle System is the nearest approach to a foolproof opening. Cecil Purdy, Action Chess: Purdy's 24 Hours Opening Repertoire

In the earlier phases of the game, a piece should be more than a match for two pawns and quite often three pawns as well. In the endgame, the situation may well be reversed. Tony Kosten, Winning Endgames

One practice which should be avoided is moving swiftly to keep the opponent in time trouble. This simply makes the game a lottery, and the first player to blunder usually loses. Nigel Povah, Chess Training

It takes great skill to conduct a successful passive defence, so I recommend that you find active means of resisting wherever possible. David LeMoir, How To Be Lucky In Chess

The best way to start learning an opening that is new to you is to gather some published master games that have good annotations (preferably by the players) and work through these until you understand why each move was made, including those where no comment is made. Tim Harding, Why You Lose At Chess

The best way to learn endings, as well as openings, is from the games of the masters. José Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals