Chess Tip Of The Day

The most far-reaching development decision in any opening is the placement of the bishops. Matthew Sadler, Queen's Gambit Declined

In 1.e4 e5 openings, if you are forced to play the retreat ...Nf6-g8 early on in the game, it usually means that something has gone wrong. John Emms, Starting Out: The Scotch Game

Black reveals something about himself when he answers 1.e4 with a move other than 1...e5 or 1...c5. An Alekhine's specialist, for example, almost certainly likes positional imbalances and quick counterplay. He may have a problem with 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3!? because the Vienna Game (2...e5) is not likely to give him what he wants. Andrew Soltis, Transpo Tricks In Chess

In the modern game there is a tendency for players to worry less about structural weaknesses in their positions if they can obtain compensation in terms of active piece-play, control of the centre, etc. Peter Griffiths, Exploring The Endgame

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

Tactics don't always work. If your opponent starts some tactics, it is important not to accept his idea at face value, but to look at it sceptically to see if it might contain a flaw. John Nunn, Learn Chess Tactics

A sacrifice of material in order to achieve a superior pawn-structure is often a typical method for the side wishing to obtain a static advantage. Valeri Beim, Lessons In Chess Strategy

If one wants to decline the King's Gambit, 2...Bc5 has to be the most logical way, taking over the critical g1-a7 diagonal and preventing White from castling. John Watson, Mastering The Chess Openings - Volume 1

The club player often describes himself as having an 'attacking style' or a 'positional style'. When the sharp tactician falters in a quiet positional struggle, he blames it on 'not being my type of position'. If you think in this manner, you don't have a style, you have weaknesses. James Rizzitano, Understanding Your Chess

Players waste much more time and energy when they are forced to play a position that doesn't suit their style. David Navarra, The Secret Ingredient To Winning At Chess

This type of position (a symmetrical pawn-structure) has a psychological aspect. Its apparent harmlessness sometimes causes the opponent to relax prematurely, or, conversely, annoys the opponent and affects his judgment. Boris Zlotnik, Zlotnik's Middlegame Manual

In many instances two knights battle against two bishops better than do a bishop and knight, by occupying strong points created in the opening up of the position. Mikhail Shereshevsky, Endgame Strategy

Good moves usually have at least two ideas. Lev Psakhis, quoted in Chess For Zebras

One of the most important strategic principles in the ending is the centralisation of the king. Luděk Pachman, Complete Chess Strategy 3: Play On The Wings

Early queen sorties like this (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Bc4 Qh4?!) are always doubtful, even if they win a pawn. Not only because the opponent can develop with tempo by attacking the queen, but also because its possible rambling can even lead to its getting trapped. András Mészáros, Traps In The Opening

There is a number of opening formations in which one side has a mobile central pawn, eg on e4/e5 or d4/d5, while the other has an extra pawn on the flank. The side with the central pawn strives to organise an advance in the centre, supported by the pawns on neighbouring files, usually the c or f pawn. The opponent attempts to restrict the mobility of the central pawn. Simplification is generally in favour of the player without the central pawn, since he can then exploit his wing majority. Alexey Suetin, Modern Chess Opening Theory

One of the most valuable devices in master play is to confront an opponent with an opening line of play quite different from what he has anticipated. Frank Marshall, My Fifty Years Of Chess

Don't worship at the feet of materialism. Other factors, like pawn-structure and the activity of the pieces, must also be given full respect. Jeremy Silman, The Reassess Your Chess Workbook

Often in the opening, if one player is aiming for the initiative, which he considers will be persistent and increasing, for the sake of this he may make positional weakenings or even sacrifice material. Alexey Suetin, Plan Like A Grandmaster

If you want to play for a win, give your opponent counterplay! Anatoly Karpov, Karpov's Collected Games

If a concrete plan of action, intended in the middlegame, requires the creation of backward, doubled, isolated and even a formation of (such) pawns, then it is necessary to go in for this by discarding abstract considerations relevant only to the endgame. Peter Romanovsky, Chess Middlegame Planning

Every idea deserves to be examined, but by no means all of them deserve to be carried out. Complicated logical constructs ought to be treated with suspicion, since they will all too often cause fresh problems to arise. Viacheslav Eingorn, Decison-Making At The Chessboard

An extra pawn can best be exploited in a pawn ending, or an ending with knights or like-coloured bishops. Luděk Pachman, Complete Chess Strategy 1: Planning The Pieces