Chess maxims

If the rules of chess are no longer a mystery to you, and you'd like to improve your chess game quickly, we recommend regularly solving chess puzzles and meditating upon the following chess tips and aphorisms:

  1. Consider your opponent's move: What did they do and why? Predict their next move.
  2. Start the game with pawns, possibly by opening up lines for your bishops. Then develop your knights. Delay moving the queen.
  3. Block your opponent's pieces, not your own.
  4. Move the least useful piece, i.e. the one that doesn't serve any strategic purpose or function.
  5. Maintain control (coverage) of the center of the chessboard. Pieces that lie more central cover more squares and have a shorter path to all sides of the board.

  6. The approximate value of pieces is:

    • Queen = 9 points,
    • Rook = 5 points,
    • Bishop = 3 points,
    • Knight = 3 points,
    • pawn = 1 point.

    When exchanging pieces in a battle, try to come out with the same number or more points than the opponent.

  7. Pawns can only move in one direction (forwards)—advance them with care.

  8. Neighboring pawns can protect each other, while isolated pawns or pawns that are one behind the other cannot.
  9. Pawns are the soul of chess, especially come endgame.
  10. Rooks are best-suited for covering open files.
  11. Always have a plan. A bad plan is better than no plan at all.
  12. Always stay a step ahead of your opponent.
  13. Wait for the right opportunity. Don't rush.
  14. The winner of the game is the player who made the next-to-last mistake.
  15. Attack is the best defense.
  16. Persist until the end—no one ever won a game by resigning. Do not underestimate, rather respect every opponent.
  17. Be realistic—plan for miracles.
  18. Make every move count.

example match between two masterful opponents

"Combinations have always been the most intriguing aspect of Chess. The masters look for them, the public applauds them, the critics praise them. It is because combinations are possible that Chess is more than a lifeless mathematical exercise. They are the poetry of the game; they are to Chess what melody is to music. They represent the triumph of mind over matter." — Reuben Fine