Start here.

1. Control the centre
2. Develop your pieces quickly
3. Knights before bishops
4. Don’t move the same piece twice in the opening
5. Don’t bring your queen out too early
6. Castle before move 10
7. Connect your rooks
8. Rooks go to open or half-open files
9. Knights on the rim are grim
10. Try to avoid doubled pawns
11. Try to avoid isolated pawns
12. Try to avoid backward pawns
13. Don’t trade a bishop for a knight without a good reason
14. Avoid moving the pawns in front of your castled king
15. Don’t open the centre if your own king is still there
16. Two minor pieces are usually better than a rook and a pawn
17. Three minor pieces are usually better than a queen
18. Rooks are good on the 7th rank
19. Doubled rooks on an open file are very strong
20. Bishops like open positions, knights like closed ones
21. Meet an attack on the wing with a counter-attack in the centre
22. When two pawns can capture, capture towards the centre
23. Activate your king in the endgame
24. Rooks go behind passed pawns
25. Two connected passed pawns on the 6th beat a rook
26. Attack the base of a pawn chain
27. Knights are the best blockaders of a pawn
28. If you are cramped, trading pieces helps
29. Trade your passive pieces for your opponent’s active ones
30. When ahead in material, trade pieces, not pawns
31. When behind in material, trade pawns, not pieces
32. Opposite-coloured bishops: dangerous in the middlegame, drawish in the endgame
33. Don’t play “hope” chess
34. When you see a good move, look for a better one
35. A really good player knows when to ignore a principle

For the ten opening rules in more detail, see Opening Techniques.

Five steps to a plan

1. Find the imbalances in the position.
2. Pick the side of the board (kingside, centre or queenside) where the imbalances favour you, or where you can create them.
3. Dream about the best squares for your pieces.
4. Choose candidate moves that help.
5. Calculate to make sure it works.

1. Bishops and knights

1. Bishops and knights are both worth 3 points.
2. Bishops are best in open positions, where pawns don’t block their diagonals.
3. Bishops are stronger in endgames because of their long range.
4. A “bad bishop” is one on the same colour as your own centre pawns.
5. A bishop can only ever use one colour. That is why the bishop pair is so valuable: together they cover both.
6. Knights do well in closed positions with locked pawns, and usually stand best in the centre.
7. Knights need outposts (support points). They are strongest on the 5th and 6th rank. A knight dug in on the 6th can be almost as good as a rook.
8. Knights beat bishops in endgames where all the pawns are on one side.
9. To beat a knight, take away its advanced support points. Then it is worse than a bishop.

2. The centre

1. A full pawn centre gives you space and control of the key central squares.
2. Once you have one, try to make it unbreakable. It will cramp your opponent for the rest of the game.
3. Don’t push the centre pawns too early. Every pawn move leaves weak squares behind it. Only advance when it gains you something.
4. If your opponent has a full pawn centre, attack it and try to break it up.
5. If centre pawns are traded, open files appear for the rooks.
6. If the centre gets locked, the play moves to the wings.
7. With a closed centre, your pawns point the way: they point towards the side where you have more space, and that is where to attack.
8. An open centre lets you attack with pieces. A closed centre usually means attacking with pawns, to win space and open files for your rooks.

3. Space

1. When you have more space, it is usually a good idea to avoid exchanges.
2. If you have less space, an exchange or two gives your pieces more room.
3. A space advantage lasts a long time. There’s no hurry to use it.

4. Pawn structure

1. A weak pawn is only weak if it can be attacked.
2. Weak pawns must be held back or blockaded before you can attack them properly.
3. The weak square in front of a backward pawn is often a bigger problem than the pawn itself.
4. A backward pawn isn’t bad if the square in front of it is well defended.
5. Win a weak square by trading off the pieces that defend it.
6. Doubled pawns are less flexible. The front one is usually the weakest.
7. Doubled pawns do give you open files for rooks and control of extra squares.
8. An isolated pawn is most vulnerable on a half-open file.
9. An isolated d-pawn gives its owner space and open files. Play actively with your pieces.
10. Hanging pawns (on c and d) control key squares, but become targets if they can’t advance.
11. A protected passed pawn isn’t always an advantage if the square in front of it is blockaded.
12. A passed pawn is very strong when you have play elsewhere, or when the squares in front of it are clear.

See doubled and isolated pawns on the board in Middle Game Tactics.

5. Development

1. If you are ahead in development, do something active. Quiet moves give your opponent time to catch up.
2. A lead in development counts most in open positions. If you have more pieces out and the position is open, attack!
3. If the enemy king is still in the centre and you are ahead in development, that is your invitation to go for it.
4. A closed position often cancels out a lead in development, because blocked files stop you getting in.

6. Your opponent’s plans