While this might work sometimes, generally it leads to losing time or that lonely piece. Talking about piece placement this is a good time to go to strategy #2:Ĭhess Strategy #2: Play With All Your PiecesĪ mistake I often see from beginners is the following: eager to immediately put pressure on the opponent, one takes a piece, moves it several times, and tries to invade the opponent’s camp as fast as possible. In one move, you gain as much control over the board as possible. That is also why in the opening you should try to place your knights on f3/c3 as white, and f6/c6 as black. On all these squares, it controls 8 squares.

Remember this: a knight is best placed in the middle 4×4, thus from f3-f6-c6-c3. The same piece, but a 4x difference in controlled squares (and possible destinations)! Now compare it to the absolutely sad knight on a8, which only controls 2 squares. That is why Chess players sometimes refer to a knight in the center as an ‘octopus’. The white knight posted centrally on e4 has 8 squares under control. To visualize the difference between center vs side we can look at two totally different knights: Difference between a central Knight vs a Knight in the corner

Controlling the center also diminishes the scope of the pieces of your opponent.

Controlling the center helps you to win more space for your pieces.

Pieces in the middle of the board have much more influence and potential than those on the side.

By controlling the center you can at any time switch your focus to the King- or Queenside.

You take some valuable squares in the center under control and open up the way for your Bishop to develop towards the center.īut why is the center so much more important than either side? And with 1.e4 or 1.d4, you do exactly this. That is why you should fight from move 1. The reason is pretty simple: controlling the center of the board is crucial in chess.

You might have asked yourself why most people suggest you start with either 1.e4 or 1.d4. Now let me explain why you should use those basic chess strategies in all your games and how you can do so.Ĭhess Strategy #1: Control The Center Of The Board Move pawns only when necessary, they can’t move backward!.Simplify (=exchange!) when you are material up.When in doubt, improve your worst-placed piece.Here is what you will learn in this article: You will also have a toolkit to beat your friends, family, or online opponents more easily. Having those basic principles to rely on will make it much easier and more fun to play chess. And in this article, I will teach you 5 beginner chess strategies that will take your game to the next level! This means having a deep understanding of the game and outplaying your opponents with deep plans and ideas.īut before getting there, you should learn the basic chess strategy. Mastering Chess strategy is the non-plus ultra for many Chess players.

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