Chess Tip Of The Day

Never forget that your opponent is always thinking of ways he can hurt you. The time to relax is AFTER the game. Samuel Reshevsky, The Art Of Positional Play

Quick rule for plans: look for your least-active piece or pieces, and then look for a plan to make them active. Cecil Purdy, The Search For Chess Perfection

A rook needs space - open files and ranks. Grigory Levenfish & Vasily Smyslov, Rook Endings

It's not most players' cup of tea to win an early pawn (as White) and then try to grovel out into an ending. Playing White should be more fun than that! John Emms, Attacking With 1 e4

Beginners often make a concerted effort to threaten their opponent's queen simply because it's so valuable. But queens are valuable because they're so mobile. They can run away. The best targets are typically pawns because they tend to be stationary. Most stationary of all are squares because, obviously, they cannot move. Andrew Soltis, What It Takes To Become A Chess Master

It is very difficult to play a strong novelty on move 25, as the position will probably never occur in your games. It's better to find a novelty around move 10 or 15, as then you will have a good chance to be able to play it over the board. Andreas Tzermiadianos, How To Beat The French Defence: The Essential Guide To The Tarrasch

Neglect of the centre in the opening for the sake of play on a wing may quite logically lead to defeat. Alexey Suetin, Modern Chess Opening Theory

Besides the Sicilian I can only really recommend 1...e5 if you want to get attacking positions as Black against 1.e4. Nigel Davies, The Chess Player's Battle Manual

Sometimes one has to sit and defend passively, but always make sure that there isn't an active and better alternative. Richard Palliser, Starting Out: Closed Sicilian

It is advantageous for the side with a cramped position to exchange pieces. Accordingly, the player with the advantage in space will benefit from avoiding such exchanges. Valeri Beim, Lessons In Chess Startegy

Good endgame technique can usually compensate for weaker play in the previous phases; in practice, an impressive number of half and full points can be saved by superior play in this last part of the game. Mihail Marin, Secrets Of Chess Defence

In rook-and-pawn endgames connected passed pawns are stronger than isolated passed pawns. Edmar Mednis, Practical Endgame Tips

When measuring compensation for an exchange, it is always a good idea to check out the mobility and effectiveness of the rooks of the side that enjoys an 'extra' one. Peter Wells, Winning With The Trompowsky

Solving endings is about the most useful form of exercise, because the positions used are likely to occur in actual play. José Capablanca, A Primer Of Chess

The great thing about an opening like the King's Indian Attack as White is that it is more about piece-placement and positional motifs that it is about specific book lines. Steve Stoyko, Lecture - Kenilworth Chess Club

It is always easier to attack in sectors where you have more space. John Emms, Starting Out: King's Indian Attack

The Open Variation (of the Ruy Lopez) has a large number of variations to choose from. Both sides have options on so many moves that very little has been definitively worked out. This is an ideal system for the average player, both from a practical and educational point of view. John Watson, Mastering The Chess Openings - Volume 1

Those who try to excel in chess, soccer or their work will always be targets for humour and jealousy. Just ignore people who cannot accept that you are trying to achieve something. Jacob Aagaard, Excelling At Chess

The first steps that some grandmasters take, after a queen trade, are literally steps - they get up and walk away from the board, even if it means letting their clocks run. The reason is that they want to clear their minds and put middlegame thoughts behind them. Andrew Soltis, Turning Advantage Into Victory In Chess

The biggest advantage in sticking to respectable main lines is that you can rest assured that the opening you are playing is fundamentally sound, and is not likely ever to be refuted. Steve Giddins, How To Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire

In order to handle pawns well, it is important to learn not to handle them too much. Preparing is better than repairing. Savielly Tartakower, A Breviary Of Chess

Always be wary of old theory in very sharp positions. There may well be a dangerous improvement lurking which computers will quickly spot. Richard Palliser, Starting Out: Sicilian Najdorf

It is not sufficient to be a master of one opening. You must also be a jack of all the rest! Sure, go ahead and learn one defence thoroughly, but also get a feel for the others. Force yourself to play through master games or play some blitz games. You only require some general knowledge of the general principles. John Emms, Chess For The Rank And File

Control of an open file is not dangerous by itself unless it can be constructively utilised. James Rizzitano, Understanding Your Chess

When your intuition tells you that there should be a forcing combination in the position, but your concrete analysis can't make it work, try the brainstorming technique of reversing the move-order. Lev Alburt, Chess Rules Of Thumb

The creation of an operation base for the knight is one of the most important motifs in chess strategy. Luděk Pachman, Complete Chess Strategy 1: Planning The Pieces

The formation and carrying out of a plan of action is the main task in the course of the process of the chess struggle. Peter Romanovsky, Chess Middlegame Planning

Players who study endgames learn to appreciate the powers of the individual pieces. Nigel Davies, The Rules Of Winning Chess

To play the Slav successfully as Black demands considerable tenacity, robust defensive abilities and a healthy confidence in one's all-round skills. Graham Burgess, The Slav

In general the popularity of chess openings does, over time, bear a reasonable relationship to their objective merits. Peter Wells, Winning With The Trompowsky

When an enemy king is stuck in the centre, do everything possible to rip open central lines. These act as highways for your pieces, and allow them to make quick progress into the opponent's position. Jeremy Silman, The Reassess Your Chess Workbook