Chess Teaching post

Rules for the opening

The initial moves of a chess game are called the opening. There are a lot of different openings (with their own names) and we will pay more attention to some of these openings later on.
For now the most important thing to know about the chess opening is a set of general guidelines that can be used for almost all chess openings. In general learning a sequence of moves doesn’t help to understand the game of chess.

  1. Begin the game with a centre pawn.
    • In fact beginners should only consider 1.e4 as their first move.
    • Make only one or two pawn moves in the opening, not more.
  2. Develop the minor pieces so that they influence the centre.
    • Move pieces not pawns.
    • Keep your queen safe.
    • Do not bring your rooks out in the opening.
    • Develop knights before bishops.
    • Move the knights toward the center (and not on the side) of the board.
    • Don’t attack if you haven’t completed your development.
    • Don’t move a piece twice before all pieces are developed unless it is necessary.
  3. Move your king to safety
    • Pay special attention to the vulnerable f2 and f7 squares (before castling)
    • Castle king’s-side or when this seems to be unwise queen’s-side.

2 Responses to “Rules for the opening”

  1. [...] Scotch opening is a chess opening that fits in very well with the Rules for the opening from the previous series of chess [...]

  2. [...] Italian game is a very popular opening, especially with kids. The opening is played very strict by the Rules for the opening. In this opening both players are trying to gain control over the centre. White tries to accomplish [...]

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