Hi Michael,
Here you go. See below my signature.
==========
Jim Homme
Skype: jim.homme
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Website: jimhomme.com
101 best chess tips
1. Rapidly develop all pieces
The main goal at opening is to develop pieces and reach castling as quick as
possible. Opening is complete when one or both players have their Rooks
connected.
The player, who finishes the development first, gains the initiative.
2. Develop Knights before Bishops
While Bishops can control several squares from their original position, if
there are no pawns obstructing their way, Knights dominate only their neighbor
squares and takes longer to reach the opponent's field, because they are less
mobile pieces.
3. Don't move the same piece twice during opening Try to place your pieces at
the best possible position at the first move. It is a waste of time to move
the same piece more than once during opening and it may cost you the initiative
in the game.
4. Don't make unnecessary pawns moves during opening Pawn moves should be
restricted during opening, because the time involved in these moves could be
applied to develop another piece. Generally, moving pawns is suitable when the
player aims to open diagonals for the Queen or Bishops or occupy the center.
5. Don't check if not necessary
A check that can easily be defended by the opponent is unnecessary. Most of the
checks during opening can easily be defended by moves that favor development
6. Don't open a position if you are late in development An open position favors
the color with more pieces in the game. Therefore, only the player who
has an advantage in development should produce an open position 7. Place the
Queen behind the line of friendly pawns during opening Since the Queen is
a very powerful piece, it is also very vulnerable to the opponent's constant
attacks. Therefore, it's convenient to place it behind a pawn, preferably
on the second rank so that the first one is free for Rook development.
8. Avoid trading a developed piece for a not developed one Generally, it's a
bad deal to trade a well-positioned piece for a bad-positioned one. When you
trade one of your developed pieces for one of your opponent's not developed
ones, you waste time. The same is true if you trade a piece that has moved
a lot for one that your opponent moved only once 9. Castle as quickly as
possible The King's safety is one of the most important things to care about
during
opening and middle game. The King in the center will always be very vulnerable
to the opponent's attacks, especially in open positions. Castling means
placing your King comfortably behind a pawn blockade and allowing development
of one of your Rooks. Then, the Rook may rapidly occupy an open or half-open
file.
10. Kingside castling is safer than Queenside castling Kingside castling places
the King away from the center and safer behind a rank of protected pawns;
furthermore it's a quicker move than Queenside castling since only 2 pieces
have to be moved before. On the other hand, castling on the opponent's opposite
side may be very interesting to create more attacking opportunities.
11. Try to prevent the opponent from castling If your opponent is waiting too
long to castle, try to keep the enemy King even longer in the center. One
of the most common ways to do so is to control one of the squares serving as
passage for the King (usually f1 or f8, when Kingside castling). Most of the
times it's worthwhile to sacrifice a pawn in order to keep the King in the
center.
12. Dominate as much territory as possible The player, who has an advantage in
space, enables greater mobility to friendly pieces and can, therefore, transfer
pieces from one side to the other with more flexibility. On the other hand, the
player in a more restricted position finds it difficult to maneuver pieces,
which might be fatal if they are requested to defend the King.
13. Advance pawns in order to conquer space Although advancing pawns is the
main resource to restrict the opponent's position, this rule should be
considered
carefully because the farther the pawns are from base position the harder it is
to defend them. Furthermore, each position advanced by a pawn creates weakness
at its adjacent squares, which may be occupied by enemy pieces 14. As pawns
advance they get more difficult to protect A weak pawn is one that is not
defended
by another pawn, which means, that it must be defended by pieces, when it is
under attack. Those pieces lose much of their effectiveness because they have
to assume a defensive role, while enemy pieces get an active role.
15. Place your pawns in the center
The center of the chessboard consists of e4, e5, d4 and d5. The expanded center
also includes the 8 squares that form the c3, c6, f3 and f6 rectangle.
Pawns are the best units to create the center because, differently from pieces,
they are not vulnerable to the attack of enemy pawns.
16. Keep your pieces as close as possible to the center In the center, a piece
controls more squares than anywhere else on the board. The Knight, for instance,
may move to different squares from the center while it has only 2 options when
placed in corners. The control of the center is also important because it
enables pieces to move rapidly from one side of the board to the other, and if
your pieces move faster than the ones of your opponent, you have greater
chances to create a successful attack.
17. When trading pawns, try to get yours as close as possible to the center If
two of your pawns can retake the opponent's piece that previously captured
one of your pieces, it is recommended to move the pawn that, at the end, will
be closest to the center, since central pawns are more important than lateral
ones.
18. Control the center before attacking
Successful attacks on the wings depend mostly on center control. Therefore,
concern yourself with a strong and stable center before starting any lateral
attack.
19. Pawns are the foundation of strategy The pawn structure is fundamental to
any position, because it improves or reduces the effectiveness of pieces.
In order to achieve good pawn conformation, all different kinds of weak pawns
should be avoided: isolated, doubled, backward and hanging pawns.
20. Pawn weakness is eternal
While pieces can move to become more active, any deficiency in pawn structure
is a long-term weakness. Therefore, if your opponent has weak pawns, you
don't need to hurry to explore them.
21. Avoid doubled pawns
Doubled pawns are two pawns of the same color lined up on the same file.
They have less mobility than normal ones and are more vulnerable to attacks,
especially when isolated. However, they do not always represent a disadvantage.
Dominance of an open or a half-open adjacent file, or even additional control
of the center, may often be a sufficient compensation.
22. Avoid isolated pawns
Isolated pawns are those with no friendly pawn on either adjacent file.
Therefore, they cannot be defended by a pawn of the same color,when they are
under attack and have to be protected by a piece. The main weakness of an
isolated pawn is that the square directly in front of it is debilitated (a
hole), because it cannot be controlled by another pawn and is easily occupied
by an enemy piece. Isolated pawns are even more vulnerable when placed in
half-open files, because they become easy targets for enemy Rooks.
23. Avoid backward pawns
A backward pawn is closer to its base considering its adjacent comrades and is
prevented from advancing, because the square directly in front of it is
under an enemy pawn's control. A backward pawn usually impairs communication
between defensive pieces and the weak square (hole) in front of it may easily
be occupied by an enemy piece.
24. Avoid creating holes (weak squares)
Every time you advance a pawn, the squares beside him become holes. A hole is a
square that cannot be protected by pawns. Its main disadvantage is that
it is easily occupied by enemy pieces, improving their effectiveness, because
they are not easily chased away from their positions, since they are free
from opponent pawn attacks.
25. Avoid pawn islands
A pawn group separated from the others by one or more files is called an
island. Each island contains a basic position that has to be protected by other
pieces. Therefore, the more islands a player possesses the harder it gets to
defend them. It is useful to consider influences on the pawn structure every
time you trade pieces. At the endgame, the smallest number of islands may be
considered a significant advantage.
26. Think carefully before advancing hanging pawns Hanging pawns are two
friendly neighbor pawns that have no comrades on adjacent squares. If they are
placed in the same rank, they can control many squares in front of them, which
is an advantage. But, on the other hand, they cannot be defended by other
pawns. Advancing one of them results in creating a backward pawn and a hole,
both to be explored by the opponent.
27. Put pressure on the opponent's backward pawn Usually, the best way to
explore a backward pawn is to put pressure on it, so that the enemy uses
resources
in its defense, and afterwards, attack at another point of the board.
28. Force your opponent to advance hanging pawns In order to fight hanging
pawns, you have to put them under pressure until a pawn advances, which results
in a hole that you can occupy.
29. Whenever possible, create a passed pawn Passed pawn is the one that doesn't
have enemy pawns in its way in its file or in adjacent files. A passed
pawn is considered a very dangerous weapon, because it may reach the final rank
and be promoted.
30. Always blockade your opponent's passed pawns A passed pawn can become a
very powerful weapon, especially when it is well protected by enemy pieces;
therefore it has to be immobilized as fast as possible. To block a pawn is to
prevent it from advancing by placing a piece in its way. Knights and Bishops
are considered the best pieces for blockades.
31. The Knight is the best piece to block a passed pawn Thanks to its ability
to jump over all units, the Knight is considered the best piece to block
a passed pawn, because its range isn't impaired bythe pawn itself. The Bishop
is the second best blockader, especially if the pawn's adjacent diagonals
are open.
32. Pawn majority distant from the enemy King is an advantage Majority is when
a player possesses more pawns on one side than the opponent. For example,
2 against 1, 3 against 2, etc... In many cases, majority results in a spatial
advantage, but most important is that this majority always produces a passed
pawn, when pawns are correctly advanced.
33. Minority attack
Whenever a color has majority of pawns on one side, the other color may perform
a minority attack. This attack consists of advancing pawns in order to
force trades, leaving the opponent with only one isolated pawn or a backward
one.
34. Avoid unnecessary trades
As a general rule, you should only trade pieces: when your opponent has the
initiative, when you are in a restricted position, in order to weaken your
opponent's pawn structure, when you are in material advantage, in order to
trade off a passive piece for an active one of your opponent, in order to
simplify
position and reach a more favorable endgame or in order to eliminate an
important enemy defense.
35. The value of a piece varies according to its position The value of a piece
is, generally, consistent with the number of squares it dominates, because
the more squares it controls, the more it threatens the opponent. A
well-positioned piece is of much higher value than the equivalent enemy piece
that
occupies a bad position.
36. Whenever possible, place your Rooks on the 7th or 8th rank
A Rook on the 7 or 8 rank is an advantage, not only because it represents
danger to enemy pawns, but also because it restricts the opponent'sKing and
creates various mate possibilities.
37. Double Rooks on the 7 rank
Two Rooks occupying the 7 rank is an extremely dangerous weapon, because the
enemy is condemned to the most complete passivity. The enormous amount of
pressure on the pawn base and the possibility of innumerous tactic themes,
almost always turn this advantage into a win.
38. Not always should a pawn be promoted into a Queen In amateur games,
automatically queening a pawn has been the reason for many stalemate draws.
Carefully
consider which piece is most appropriate for that specific circumstance.
39. Keep your Knights close to the center Knights, more than any other piece,
need to be close to the center of the chessboard. First, because a Knight
can control 8 squares from the center, while from the borders it controls only
4.
40. Rooks should rapidly occupy open or half-open files During opening, Rooks
are the last pieces to be developed, because they are effective when they
settle on open or half-open files. Usually, the ideal squares to place Rooks
are e1, d1 and c1 (e8, d8 and c8 for Black), because from these positions
they can put pressure on the center and defend the backrank at the sametime.
41. Keep your Bishops active
The activity of a Bishop depends mostly of his friendly pawns' placement. A
Bishop that is not blocked by its own pawns is a good Bishop and the one that
is limited by its pawns is a bad Bishop.
42. Keep your pawns on squares of the same color of your opponent's Bishop When
your opponent has only one Bishop, you should place your pawns on squares
of the corresponding color of the square occupied by the enemy Bishop. However,
if you have only one Bishop, then the color of your pawns'
squares should not correspond to your Bishops placement, whether your opponent
has only one Bishop or not.
43. A Bishop is worth more than a Knight on open positions Bishops must have
diagonals to operate in order to be more effective, therefore the less there
are pawns on the chessboard, the more effective they get. In open positions -
when diagonals aren't obstructed by pawns - a Bishop can attack the kingside
and protect its own flank from the Queen, at the same time. On the other hand,
a Knight can maneuver only on one side due to its restricted mobility.
44. A Knight is worth more than a Bishop in closed positions Due to their
ability to jump over other units, Knights perform better than Bishops in rigid
pawn chain positions.
45. Knights need outposts
An outpost is a square, usually in the 5 and 6 ranks, that is under the
protection of a pawn and isn't subject to enemy pawn attacks. When a Knight
occupies
an outpost, it puts a great deal of pressure on the opponent's camp and it also
supports the development of flank attacks.
46. Usually, in mobile pawn endgames, the Bishop is worth more than a Knight In
the Bishop's fight against the Knight, the Bishop's color should try to
keep its pawns mobile, while the other camp should paralyze these enemy pawns,
preferably on squares of the same color as the square occupied by their
Bishop.
47. Two Bishops are, usually, stronger than Bishop and Knight and than two
Knights The Bishop is a long-range piece and its main disadvantage is the
ability
to control only squares of the same color. Therefore, two Bishops complement
each other perfectly. When well coordinated, they are superior to a Bishop
and a Knight, because these enemies4 take too long to reach the active field
due to the limited mobility of the Knight. Another advantage of a pair of
Bishops is that, at any moment, you may trade one of them for the enemy Knight,
while it is very difficult for the opponent to trade the Knight for one
of the enemy
48. How to fight against a Bishop and a Knight If you own a pair of Bishops and
your opponent a Bishop and a Knight, restrict the enemy Bishop's range
by placing pawns on squares of the same color as the Bishop's square, and
reduce the power of the enemy Knight by preventing it from occupying outposts
and central squares.
49. How to fight a pair of Bishops
If your opponent owns a pair of Bishops, restrict their activity with blocking
pawn chains and conquer outposts for your Knights.
50. Keep your pawns on squares that are different from the ones of your Bishop
If you own only one Bishop, try to place your pawns on squares of the opposite
color of the Bishop's square. Besides keeping the diagonal clear for the
Bishop's operation, this enables your pawns to work in perfect harmony with the
piece, controlling one color of squares, while the Bishop controls the other.
51. Bishops should be placed in front of a pawn chain A Bishop will be very
weakened if it is restricted by pawns, therefore always try to place it out
of the pawn chain, when they are on squares of the same color as the Bishop is.
52. If your opponent owns two Bishops, try to trade one of them off When you
are fighting a pair of Bishops, try to trade one of them off, because this
will withdraw the dominance your opponent had over the squares the Bishop used
to control.
53. Keep your eyes on the squares controlled by your opponent's Bishop If your
opponent owns two Bishops and you only one (the white-squared Bishop, for
instance), the enemy has control over the color of this pare Bishop's squares
(the black squares, in this example). That means, that you have to watch
carefully over these squares, because the other Bishop (of the black squares)
can attack pawns and squares your Bishop cannot defend.
54. A Bishop can dominate a Knight
Due to its wider range, the Bishop can totally control a Knight that is placed
at a border of the chessboard. In end games, this may be fatal, because
the color that owns a Bishop is, in effect, playing with an extra piece.
55. Think about defense first
The most important principle in chess is safety. At each move your opponent
makes stop and ask yourself the following questions: Where is this move
threatening
me? What are my opponent's intentions? What would I do in my opponent's place?
56. Assess the changes resulting from your opponent's move Each move may
considerably change the situation on the chessboard.
Therefore, it's recommended to ask yourself the following questions after each
of your opponent's move: What does the new move attack and defend?
Where has defense and attack been withdrawn? Which diagonals, ranks and files
have been obstructed? Which diagonals, ranks and files have been liberated?
Which enemy piece can occupy the square left by the piece that made the move?
57. Keep the back rank protected
Make sure your King is able to escape any back rank chchecks, before moving
your Rooks from the 8 rank. It's always wise to open a small escape path for
the King, before withdrawing Rooks from the 8 rank.
58. Don't let your pieces get overloaded An overloaded piece is a piece
performing more than one function at the same time. Usually, it's the one that
is busy defending two or more pieces.
Overloaded pieces are reason for tactic strikes leading to loss of material,
because they leave something unprotected when they are forced to move.
59. Don't recapture pieces automatically It's recommended to consider the
possibility of intermediate moves before retaking any piece. Intermediate moves
are powerful weapons because they surprise the opponent, besides being an
important tactic component.
60. Avoid advancing pawns that protect your King Every pawn move creates a
weakness that may seem irrelevant at first site, but that can be explored later
on by your opponent.
61. Never allow your King to stay in danger of a check Unexpected checks are,
many times, the key to tactic strikes.
62. Avoid placing heavy pieces in the range of lower pieces A piece of greater
value should never be placed in the way of a less aggressive one, because
the latter will be nullified.
63. If you've got little space, try to trade off one or two pieces Try to trade
one or two pieces in order to liberate some space, when you are in a restricted
position. The other way round, when you have space advantage, avoid trading and
use this advantage to quickly shift the attack from one side to the other.
64. Eliminate your opponent's best piece If one of your opponent's pieces is
very well positioned, try to trade it off.
65. Keep your pieces protected
Every unprotected piece may be the target of an enemy combination. The ideal is
to keep all pieces protected by pawns or, if there aren't any available,
by other pieces.
66. Keep your pieces on a square of a different color than the enemy Bishop is
on If your opponent has only one Bishop, try to place all your pieces on
a square of a different color than the enemy Bishop can control.
67. Try to get rid of all pinned pieces
A pinned piece is immobilized and always vulnerable to new attacks. It is
impossible to avoid losing material, when the opponent gets to attack this piece
with a pawn.
68. Never make the job easy for your opponent Don't despair when you are under
attack; even in a clearly inferior position, there is always a chance for
survival. The main principle consists in making things difficult for your
opponent's attack, placing many obstacles in the enemy's way, lingering as much
as possible your defense and inducing your opponent to a mistake.
69. If your opponent attacks on one side, counter-attack in the center Many
times, the best answer to a flank attack is a counter-attack in the center,
even if it costs you a pawn.
70. Try to anticipate your opponent's threats Usually, a direct threat can be
easily defended, but a remote threat, on the other hand, is only defended
if you are able to anticipate it some moves before Otherwise, when the remote
threat becomes imminent, it will come with another direct threat that will
also need to get your immediate attention.
71. Trade off the opponent's Fianchettoed Bishop This means to weaken a group
of squares close to the King, which may open lines for an attack.
72. Improve your pieces' position
Try, gradually, to improve your pieces' position so that they can control more
important squares, cooperate with friendly pieces and put more pressure
on the enemy territory.
73. Restrict the movement of enemy pieces Try, whenever possible, to keep enemy
pieces as far as you can from the field of action.
74. Confine an enemy piece
Keeping an enemy piece out of the game for a while may be sufficient to gain
decisive advantage.
75. Do always create a threat
Your opponent is forced to allocate resources in order to contain the threat
you created, which draws attention away from the enemy's own plans.
76. Crate new weaknesses in the enemy field Never be satisfied in attacking an
existing weakness on your opponent's position, but try to create new ones.
Many times, the first step to a kingside attack is to force the weakness of a
pawn.
77. Concentrate your forces on your opponent's weak points As you put pressure
on certain point, your opponent is forced to bring in pieces in order to
protect this point, which leaves other areas on the chessboard unprotected and
subject to new attacks.
78. Cumulate advantages before attacking Before starting an attack, you should
create weaknesses in the opponent's position and place as many pieces you
can in aggressive position. A premature attack offers the opponent a chance to
organize defenses.
79. Concentrate as much as possible your forces when you attack In order to
ensure a successful attack, it's essential to concentrate your forces on your
target, preventing your opponent from an effective defense.
If the attack fails in this case, the opponent's weaknesses are very likely to
increase.
80. Open ranks, files and diagonals
It's important to open ranks with pawn moves or piece sacrifices, because it's
through these ranks that attacking pieces can enter the enemy position.
81. Eliminate key pieces of your opponent's defense Identify the most important
piece of your opponent's defense, when you are attacking, and try to eliminate
it.
82. Avoid trading while attacking
Unless there is a very good reason, it's recommended not to trade pieces while
attacking (trading *pawns* is usually a plus because it can open lines),
because this may make the opponent's defense easier. Especially Queen trades
will debilitate the attack as the Queen has potential all over the board.
Another example is opposite colored bishops, which are an endgame disadvantage
most of the time; however, in an attack, the player with the attack is at
advantage with opposite colored bishops so allowing a trade (for example, the
bishop for a knight) will slow the attack or halt it altogether.
83. Plan hypothetical trades
Mentally withdrawing pieces from the chessboard, assessing the new position and
verifying if the new situation is worse or better than the previous one
is a very useful technique to evaluate if an exchange is to be made or not.
84. Quickly move your attack from one side to the other Many times it's
necessary to create at least two weaknesses in enemy positions to win a game.
Then,
an alternated attack on these weak points is a very powerful weapon,
especially,when your opponent has a lack in space, since enemy pieces will get
overloaded
by defending both positions at the same time.
85. Whenever you have material advantage, simplify Material advantage gets more
and more intense as the number of pieces on the chessboard falls. The difference
of 1 unit in a battle of 4 against 3 is much more significant than in a battle
of 10 against 9.
86. After an attack, reorganize your pieces Usually, after an attack pieces
lose their harmony. Therefore, before starting a new incursion against your
opponent, reorganize your forces and protect your weak points as quick as
possible.
87. When a player has an extra pawn it's recommended to trade pieces instead of
pawns The principle is very simple: the fewer pieces in a game, the less
complicated is the position and much easier it gets to explore material
advantage.
88. Centralize your King as quick as possible in endgames After most of the
pieces, especially Queens, have been traded off, the King takes a predominant
role in the battle and becomes an aggressive piece.
Since the King is a piece of little mobility, it's recommended to centralize it
as quick as possible so that it may move fast to the position on the chessboard
where it is most needed.
89. The King must be active in the endgame During most endgames, the King must
worry less about mates and should assume a more active position, especially,
pursuing and blocking enemy pawns.
90. Drag your opponent into Zugzwang
Zugzwang is a situation in which any movement the player makes results in an
even worse situation than if no move at all was performed. This resource is
particularly important in Bishop versus Knight endgames. Since the Bishop has
control on practically the same squares when it moves on a diagonal, it has
a great time advantage on the Knight that loses control on squares when it
moves.
91. Many wins are based on winning opposition Kings are in opposition when they
are placed on the same file, rank or diagonal with only one free square
between them. Opposition is a kind of Zugzwang, in which the move of one King
opens the way to the passage of the other one. Winning the opposition means
that a player moves the King in order to put the enemy King in Zugzwang,
forcing the latter to make the next move.
92. Endgames with Bishops of opposite colors usually result in a draw Bishops
of opposite colors may represent an advantage for the active color in the
middle game, since the Bishop of the defensive part won't be able to neutralize
the pressure on a certain diagonal. Nevertheless, in endgames one Bishop
cannot attack the points the other can defend.
93. Flank pawns are very strong against Knights Usually, a Knight has a hard
time to fight passed pawns, due to its little mobility. When these pawns are
Rook pawns, it gets even harder, because Knights have more restricted movements
close to the borders.
94. Keep your Rooks active in endgames
An active Rook is much stronger than a passive one. In endgames, this may,
sometimes, be enough to win a game.
95. Always place a Rook behind a passed pawn Rooks become more active behind
passed pawns, both to support friendly pawns and to attack enemy ones.
96. The color that has an exchange down should avoid trading the second Rook
Many times, when a player has an exchange down, the simplest way to win an
endgame is to trade off the opponent's second Rook. Usually, a lonely minor
piece has little chance against a Rook.
97. Create a passed pawn if you have majority In order to create a passed pawn
from a majority of pawns, advance the pawn first that has no opponent in
its file. When the opponent succeeds in placing a pawn directly in front of
your most advanced pawn, the advantage of your majority tends to disappear,
because lateral pawns have no support to advance.
98. Centralize the Queen in end games
Although the Queen should not be too exposed during the first part of the game,
after some piece trading, it should be centralized whenever possible.
On a central square the Queen reaches its highest mobility (almost half of the
chessboard) and it prevents the enemy Queen from occupying the most important
positions.
99. Always expect your opponent to make the best move Never make a move
believing that your opponent won't find the best answer to it. Always try to
make
moves that gradually improve your position, even if your opponent finds the
best answers.
100. Not every weakness is bad
Weaknesses only are relevant if the opponent can explore them. A pawn is only
weak if it can be captured; a square is only weak if the opponent can occupy
it.
101. Every rule was made to be broken
Chess is not an exact science and all tips and concepts presented hereby cannot
be applied in 100% of the situations, neither should they be followed blindly.
One of the great differences between a Grandmaster and an amateur is knowing
when basic strategy principles are to be violated or not.
