The Opening: Development

If you've taken a look at the information under The Opening then you've noticed that I've listed Development as the number 2 principle to consider during the opening phase of a chess game. Many chess grandmasters fail miserably to explain what chess development really is to us amateurs. Some mistakenly view it as "building and creating." The Oxford Companion To Chess is extremely vague in its own definition which is "to bring one's pieces into play during the opening phase." However, neither of those definitions will help you to understand exactly what development is. This is the actual definition when it comes to chess development:

"The process of evolving to a more useful stage."

As you can see from the definition above, development isn't simply about bringing pieces out from their starting positions (everybody does that in chess!) but it has to do with evolving your pieces into something useful. Yes, when your 16 chess pieces start out on your side of the board they are completely useless to say the least. But as you move them from their starting positions they can begin to become useful to you. Now at the beginning of each game there are a total of 20 moves that can be made (16 pawn moves; 4 knight moves). However not all of those possible moves may contribute to a successful development. Some may even interfere with further development in the game. Consider how development is connected to the other opening principles:

• Mobility- A lack of good development will likely hinder other piece's mobility. 

• Control Center - If your pieces aren't developed close enough to the center of the board then chances are your development is weak. 

• Attack and Defend With Purpose - Lack of development will ultimately mean that you have to give priorities to development while attacking and defending which may prove to be overwhelming.  

• Avoid Exploiting Your Queen - If you move your queen out early you may waste your moves on her, rather than much needed development.  

• King's Position -  If a player cannot castle or at least move his king to safety, then a lack of good development is most likely the reason. 

• Connect Rooks - If a player cannot connect their rooks, then a lack of good development could be to blame.  

• Minor Piece Dynamics - Lack of development equals limited dynamic strength for your minor pieces to attack and defend.

• Pawn Structure - How the pawns are structured could easily hinder your development progress. Moreover, since a pawn cannot move backwards this could be a permanent problem.

It's a no brainer why chess grandmasters everywhere speak so highly of development. In a future article we will go over some examples of how to actually employ development in the opening.