60 pieces of simple chess advice

Introduction

This is a collection of 60 pithy pieces of chess advice to keep in mind. Some of these are generalizations, and every position's needs must be judged on a case-by-case basis: the point of such guidelines is to get you to ask the right questions about the position, and to find the winning ideas.

Practical advice

1. Don't switch repertoires right before an important tournament.
2. Calculate how much time you have per move before playing a tournament.
3. In longer games with increment, don't compare times with your opponent.
4. Converting takes much more time OTB than online — leave enough time for it.
5. Look for general ideas on your opponent's clock in speed chess.
6. Mental energy can be more important than time in long games.
7. Don't be afraid to make practical decisions in rapid and blitz. Time is a resource.
8. Bring food and drink for classical games.
9. Turn off every visual aid online (legal moves, arrows, etc.) to help with improvement and OTB play.
10. Stay calm when worse; anger and frustration destroy logical thinking.
11. Always assume your opponent sees everything you do, except when desperate.
12. When worse, complicate. When better, simplify.
13. Don't give up too early — "easy wins" are drawn or lost all the time.
14. When winning, ask yourself "How can I possibly lose/draw?" and solve those issues: reverse when losing.
15. Two healthy extra pawns are generally winning.

Opening

1. You probably underestimate how important development is.
2. Control the center, control the game.
3. Keep your king safe; an open king allows tactical ideas and attacks.
4. Two central pawns (c-f) next to each other on the 4th rank are very strong.
5. Castling is committal: sometimes delaying it is good.
6. Sometimes (rarely) the king is the safest in the middle.
7. Don't be afraid to return sacrificed material (e.g. gambited pawns) for a good position.
8. Grab central pawns, beware of poisoned flank pawns.
9. Pawns on the 5th rank can be strengths, but also weaknesses.
10. Don't spend more than a third of your time on the opening.
11. Don't move the same piece twice except for very good reasons. Tempi matter.
12. Avoid unnecessary flank pawn moves.
13. Moving two pawns one square apart (e.g. the e- and g-pawns) always leaves weak squares between them (e.g. f3).
14. If there is a diagonal both players want their bishops on, gets yours there first.
15. Develop your kingside first to prepare castling.

Middlegame

1. Opposite-colour bishops favor the attacker.
2. Knights and queens coordinate well together when attacking.
3. Open positions favor bishops; closed positions favor knights.
4. Rooks aren't great in the middlegame. If you think you can win in the middlegame, look for exchange sacrifices.
5. Pawn structure matters more in the endgame. Look for an attack when yours is damaged.
6. Knights change the color of square they attack every time they move.
7. Bishops are very slightly better than knights, but the needs of the position come first.
8. A queen is slightly better on the color of square that your central pawns are not on, in the same way that bishops are.
9. When in doubt, improve your worst piece.
10. When there is only one open file on the board, do your best to control it.
11. Don't be afraid to move pieces backwards!
12. A bishop on f1 or f8 can be a very strong defender.
13. After castling long, Kb1/...Kb8 is often a powerful prophylactic move.
14. When considering trading down into an endgame, see whose king is better positioned.
15. When your opponent is playing on the flank, open the center.

Endgame

1. King activity is paramount; a king is worth roughly 31⁄2 pawns as a fighting piece.
2. When better, trade pieces; when worse, trade pawns.
3. A king cannot win two connected passed pawns on its own.
4. Queen endgames often end in draw by repetition,
5. Always look for simplifications into winning pawn endings.
6. Bishops like pawns on both sides of the board; knights on one.
7. A rook cannot stop two passed pawns on the 7th rank, whether they're connected or not.
8. A healthy extra pawn is often winning in king-and-pawn endgames.
9. A rook on the seventh rank can be extremely powerful due to opposing pawns being there.
10. Look for pawns that cannot be defended if attacked.
11. Opposite-color bishop endgames have a strong drawing tendency.
12. Pay close attention to Zugzwang — it's why most beginners struggle with endgames.
13. Protected passed pawns often decide pawn endgames.
14. Two passed pawns one square apart (e.g. on f3 and h3) can't be captured by a lone king unless it is directly between them.
15. Always look for ways to sacrifice one or more pawns to generate an advanced passed pawn.

Ín conclusion...

I hope these pieces of chess advice helped you! I might write another such article if there is demand. Remember, though, that rules are made to be broken... but only with good reason.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a like if you enjoyed the post.
— Numerot