Openings and planning
How to leave the first ten moves with a position worth playing.
20 topics, all written
- 81Controlling the CenterPawnDirect deployment of pawns or pieces to claim space in the center on move one.
- 82Fast DevelopmentPawnEfficiently mobilizing your minor pieces (knights and bishops) to active squares quickly.
- 83King Safety (Castling)PawnTucking the monarch securely behind a solid, uncompromised wall of defensive pawns.
- 84Not Moving Same Piece TwicePawnEvery opening move can develop a new piece. Moving one twice spends that chance.
- 85Queen Out Too EarlyPawnAn early queen gets chased, and every piece that chases it gains a move.
- 86Choosing Open or Closed OpeningsKnightPick the kind of game you calculate well in, and steer towards it on purpose.
- 87Pawn Structure MemoryBishopRemember the pawn skeleton, not the move order. The plans come with the shape.
- 88Gambit PlayBishopA pawn for development and open lines, with a deadline attached.
- 89TranspositionsRookThe same position from a different move order, used deliberately.
- 90Flank OpeningsRookFighting for the centre from the side with c4, Nf3 or g3.
- 91Classical OpeningsKnightPawns in the middle, pieces out, castle. The approach to learn first.
- 92Hypermodern OpeningsRookLet them build the big centre, then take it apart from a distance.
- 93Isolation of Flank PawnsQueenTrading a bishop pair for damage that lasts into the endgame.
- 94Playing for a Pawn MajorityQueenOpenings played for the endgame, where one majority can make a passer and one cannot.
- 95Development TempoKnightCount the pieces each side has out. That number decides how to play.
- 96Memorizing Key LinesKnightWhat is worth learning by heart, how deep, and what is not.
- 97Studying Pawn BreaksRookThe pawn move that opens the position, and how to prepare it first.
- 98Sidestepping TrapsPawnMost opening traps are one idea repeated. The habit that dodges all of them.
- 99Evaluating PositionsBishopMaterial, kings, pawns, activity — the checklist that produces a plan.
- 100Transitioning to MiddlegameBishopThe moment nothing is forced any more, and what the first real move should be.