The Opening: Connect Rooks

If you've taken a look at the information under The Opening then you've noticed that I've listed Connect Rooks as the number 7 principle to consider during the opening phase of a chess game. Now this is one aspect of the game that the grand masters usually all agree on. It makes sense that if you have a powerful chess piece such as a rook that is sitting on the sidelines in a typical opening game that you would try to protect it dearly. Your pawns will offer you absolutely no assistance because they are progressing forward. Likewise your bishops and knights typically will not be a great long term defender of your rooks either because they are always on the move and fighting above and among your pawns. Okay so what does that leave us with? Your queen could act as a protector to one of your rooks early on, but eventually you will be able to bring her out into the playing field and she will leave that rook high and dry. But do not despair because if you are truly developing your pieces correctly and if you have already castled your king, chances are you do not need to be even worried about these rooks being protected because they will be protecting each other already! It is sort of like a buddy system where each rook has the other rook's back in the early stages of the game. Just how important is rook protection though? Well in most evenly matched games, losing a rook early on with no compensation for it usually spells defeat for you. Yet, if your rook is protected and you are able to compensate it with a minor piece, then you may still have a fighting chance. So connect your rooks and keep them connected until you have a good reason to break one off from its protection partner. This simple principle is even effective in the middle game and endgame because your rooks become more of a target and thus still require protection.

In a later article I will dive a little deeper into connecting the rooks and where and when to move each rook on the back row during the opening phase of a game.

The Opening: Attack & Defend With Purpose

If you've taken a look at the information under The Opening then you've noticed that I've listed Attack & Defend With Purpose as the number 4 principle to consider during the opening phase of a chess game. We've finally come to the heart of the game of chess. First off we talked about how we should move our pieces (Mobility, Development) then we've discussed where to move them (Control Center) and now we're going to focus on why we are moving them. Understanding why a certain piece should attack or defend is really what chess is all about. A person can memorize chess openings until there's no tomorrow, but if he doesn't understand why he's moving his pieces then the game of chess is lost to him.

Attack & Defend With Purpose is related to development in that it always involves moving your pieces to a more useful stage. But what sets it apart from development is that it involves either an attack or defensive move that benefits you. You may have heard grandmasters talk about developing with threats or plans. Others mention avoiding sacrificing pieces without a clear reason. All of those principles are actually lumped into Attack & Defend With Purpose. Moreover, like the other 3 opening principles mentioned earlier, this one can be employed from the very starting move of the game, and should be kept in mind all throughout the middlegame and endgame. Yes, in chess you should always be looking for Mobility and Development to move your pieces to better squares on the board. You should always be looking to gain Control of the Center as well. Last of all, you should always Attack & Defend With Purpose. 

In a future article on Attack & Defend With Purpose we'll go over some examples of employing it in an actual game.