Chess rules

Restricted pieces, pins and well-posted knights must be addressed immediately.

Don’t attack your opponent’s poorly placed pieces.

Hold your pawns back when under attack by enemy pieces.

Watch out for “in-between” moves (1) such as captures, checks and attacks on your Queen.

(1) In-between moves interrupt a tactical sequence because they must be addressed immediately.

Bc4 (or Bc5 for black) as an opening move is premature when the pawn structure is indeterminate (opponent should play e6 or c6 then d5 to gain a tempo).

A duo (1) is the most efficient and powerful pawn structure.

(1) A duo is two pawns adjacent to each other.

It’s generally better to maintain pawn tension instead of exchanging (though there are tactical exceptions).

In the middle game, two minor pieces are superior to a rook and a pawn; in the endgame, a rook is better, especially with open files.

Move your worst piece first.

(Worst = poorly placed or restricted)

Â

Exploit opponent’s loss of “good bishop”(1) by exchanging knights.

(1) Your good bishop is on the opposite-colored square of your fixed center pawns.