Top 5 Rules In The Opening

 

By International Master Daniel Rensch

There are many rules and principles for the three stages of a chess game: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. Today we'll focus on the opening — how to "get out of the gates" quickly! Read this article and you'll be in great shape to play in a real tournament.

Rule #1: Develop Your Pieces!

Development, or to develop, loosely translated to chess means "to build and create." When the game starts, instead of just looking at all your pieces perfectly lined up on the back rank, develop them! Get them out! Start the party! As you will see, I can't say it often enough: The most important thing to do in chess is to develop and use ALL of your pieces. Keep reading!

Rule #2: Develop Your Pieces!

Wait a second, isn't that the same rule? Hmmm, that's weird. But wait! This time I'm going to tell you which pieces you should develop first. In general, your minor pieces — your knights and bishops — should come out first. They are the easiest to develop, and because your rooks and queen can't really get out until later, you shouldn't think about moving "the big guys" until the "little guys" are in the game.

Rule #3: To Develop Your Pieces, Or Not To Develop Your Pieces? DEVELOP!

Okay, that's it! You must think I'm totally off my rocker! I just gave you the same rule three times in a row! Well, that's because development really is that important!

Without the help of your whole team, how can you expect to win? Below you will see a fun example of what, in a perfect world, might be the best way for White to develop:

Rule #4: Don't Move A Piece Twice Before Move 10!

Right on cue! After reviewing the first three rules and seeing an example of how you might complete your development before you "go chasing," this next step should be easy to understand.

Just look at the last example, and imagine what kind of trouble someone would be in if he or she tried to battle White's entire army with one piece at a time. Use all your pieces!

Look what happens when one player develops all his pieces, and the other player develops only one:

Rule #5: Don't Bring Your Queen Out Early!

If you're really following our first four rules, and you have developed all your minor pieces, the last thing you want to do is bring your queen out too early. Think about it: The queen is worth more than any piece besides the king. Some would even say the queen is more important than your mother (just joking, kids ) . If the queen starts mixing it up with the little guys, she has a good chance of getting lost. Here is an example: