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- Hints
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- 1. In the opening try to establish a strong pawn front in
the centre.
- - Matthew Sadler 1999
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- 2. Grandmasters never specialise in one area of the game -
they are good all-round players.
- - Andrew Kinsman 2000
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- 3. Unless forced, don't move the same piece twice in the
opening. Early in the game time is crucial - don't waste it!
- - Matthew Sadler 1999
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- 4. Unless forced, don't move the same piece twice in the
opening. Early in the game time is crucial - don't waste it!
- - Matthew Sadler 1999
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5. Pieces have more activity near the centre.
having active pieces will give you the initiative.
- - Matthew Sadler 1999
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Back to Basics
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- First, a quick primer on the relative values of the pieces. These
values only have meaning when deciding whether or not to trade pieces.
One is not necessarily winning just because one has more material.
Having said that, here it is: Pawn = 1 Knight = 3 Bishop = 3.25 Rook=5
Queen=9
The King is never actually captured, and thus is not
listed. The Bishop, while slightly more valuable than a Knight in most
cases, is often traded on an equal basis with the Knight. Two Bishops,
however, is almost always better than Two Knights, as the advantage of
the Bishops is additive. In fact, one place they are definitely
superior is in the endgame. You can force checkmate with Two Bishops
vs. a lone King, but cannot _force_ checkmate with two Knights vs. a
lone king. Also, in chess parlance, the Pawn is not considered a
"piece" - Pawns and pieces are usually referred to as
separate things. Knights and Bishops are considered minor pieces,
Rooks and Queens major pieces. If you hear someone say he is "a
piece up", that generally means he is a minor piece ahead in
material. If he were a Rook or Queen up, he would usually specify
which. If you've managed to trade your Knight or Bishop for a Rook,
you are said to be up the Exchange. Trading a Bishop for a Rook is
called being up the minor Exchange, and trading a Knight for a Rook is
called being up the major Exchange, though most often no distinction
is made between the two, as the difference is small. Having defined a
few terms, on to the guidelines.
- - Joe Brooks 2001
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